Director Yeon Sang-ho: "The original draft of 'Paradise Lost' was a three-page story written by my mother... I bought it for money"

*This content was translated by AI.

Director Yeon Sang-ho revealed that his new film 'Paradise Lost' unexpectedly began with a three-page story written directly by his mother.

On the 18th, a production briefing for the film 'Paradise Lost' (directed by Yeon Sang-ho) was held at Seoul Yongsan-gu CGV Yongsan i-Park Mall. Actors Kim Hyun-joo and Bae Hyeon-seong attended the event.

'Paradise Lost' is a psychological thriller that begins when Ryu So-young, a mother who lost her son in a camping school bus disappearance incident nine years ago, sees her son Ryu Seon-woo, whom she had believed dead, miraculously return alive. The film was officially invited to the Special Presentation section of the 51st Toronto International Film Festival.

On this day, Director Yeon Sang-ho cited "low-budget production" as a connecting thread between his previous work 'Face' and 'Paradise Lost'.

He explained, "'Paradise Lost' was shot in 14 takes. It was the same when I filmed 'Face', but receiving investment brings a sense of responsibility. However, with 'Face', since I invested directly, I felt at ease. The thought 'Let's do it my way' came to mind, and that became addictive, leading us all the way to 'Paradise Lost'."

He added, "We wanted to work comfortably with the actors and staff and create the film we truly desired."

The planning process of 'Paradise Lost' was also revealed. Director Yeon Sang-ho drew attention by stating that a story written directly by his mother became the original draft for the work.

He recalled, "I mentioned this before during 'COLONY', but my mother has always cherished me greatly. She raised me with great affection. One day, after watching the making-of trailer released when 'COLONY' premiered, she called and cried, saying, 'I didn't know you were working so hard.'"

He continued, "During a holiday visit to our ancestral home, my mother asked, 'How are you writing stories?' I replied, 'I can write anything.' But the next holiday, when I visited again, I found that she had written a story of about three pages herself. That was the original draft for 'Paradise Lost'."

Director Yeon Sang-ho explained, "So I bought that story from my mother. I bought it at a relatively low price. I thought, 'Let's try turning this into a film,' and afterward, I wrote three versions of the film, with 'Paradise Lost' becoming the final version."

He laughed, saying, "What's interesting is that after watching the film, my wife sent me her own story via KakaoTalk. Because of that story, I'm writing again now. I don't know when it will be released, but my wife's story seems even more difficult."

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*This content was translated by AI.