South Korean actor Gang Dong-Won (Kundo, Master, The Priests) is one of his region's most popular actors. That said, if you were to ask me if he would be on par for a Western debut, I'd say your guess is as good as mine...or in this case, Stratton, Gun Shy and The Expendables 2 helmer Simon West's.
Per Variety's exclusive over the weekend, Tsunami LA is the title of Gang's American debut with international reps Hannibal Classics and Foresight Unlimited producing through a $55 million dollar budget. The film is currently in pre-production for a 2019 relese with a story telling of a massive tidal wave that hits Los Angeles.
“I found the script very interesting when Hannibal first showed it to me. Also, people of my generation all have a special reminiscence about West’s ‘Con Air’,” Gang told Variety. “And it is a rare opportunity obtain a leading role in a Hollywood film on my international debut.”
“I am very excited to be the one to present this accomplished actor to the rest of the world in such an exciting project,” said West in a statement. “Our goal is to make a movie that reflects and celebrates the diversity of Los Angeles in a way that thrills worldwide audiences. West and I really wanted Gang as a co-star for this adventure. We will round out the cast with talented actors from all over the world, including the U.S., Europe, Australia, China and Brazil.”Gang is currently in production with director Kim Jee-Woon for Inrang, an adaptation of Jin-Roh, the 1999 animated feature succession of Oshii's Kerberos saga manga and live action feature films of the 1980s. Production is expected to wrap in February according to Variety with Gang set to join West's Tsunami L.A. in Spring to shoot in the U.K. with Gurkin Asia overseeing his next career transition.
“A Korean distributor has yet to be decided, but West is already thrilled to visit Seoul for the film’s Korean premiere,” said Gang...
“If I get good results in Hollywood, that means I can help Korean films get bigger budgets when I join them [as bigger casts attract bigger investments],” Gang said.Gang is managed by South Korea's YG Entertainment.
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