Hollywood to remake Hello Ghost
by girlfriday
Looks like Hello Ghost is on a roll. The dark comedy starring Cha Tae-hyun as a suicidal man who gets saddled with a couple of invasive ghosts was a huge box office success in Korea, selling over 3 million tickets in two months. And after being exported stateside, it’s already been snatched up for a Hollywood makeover.
Chris Columbus (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Home Alone) is set to direct and produce the remake with 1492 Pictures. What, am I gonna complain? The man wrote The Goonies, for crying out loud.
Columbus is reportedly a fan of Korean cinema, and told Deadline: “After watching Hello Ghost I was immediately struck by the film’s ability to mix comedy, drama and complex emotional themes. Its strong universal storyline translates to any culture, and I’m looking forward to bringing a version of this wonderful story to the English-speaking audience.”
Jang Kyung-ik, VP of Hello Ghost‘s distributor Next Entertainment World, said, “We have gladly accepted his offer knowing that he is the guru of family comedy films, and someone who has a solid fan base throughout all ages.”
I’ve been dying to see this for the last two months, but just haven’t gotten there yet. Perhaps if I had a ghost or two on my back about it, I’d get on it. Wait. That wasn’t an invitation!
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Tags: Cha Tae-hyun, Hollywood, remakes
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1 niKai
February 28, 2011 at 5:30 AM
i want to watch this one too!!!
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Ms Guccibabie
February 28, 2011 at 11:22 AM
I want to too!!! Plus I wouldn't mind watching the remake, anyone who had anything to do with The Goonies is "good enough for me"!
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2 hope
February 28, 2011 at 5:33 AM
Hh another fan of korea thing.
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3 queencircles
February 28, 2011 at 5:47 AM
I want this to show in chicago! ...does anyone know how well it did in the us cities that it did open in?
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JO
February 28, 2011 at 9:58 PM
usually the Niles Showplace theater has Korean movies, also the Evanston Century Theater :))
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4 supah
February 28, 2011 at 5:57 AM
He did the Goonies?
OK, now I can't cringe at the idea. Goonies PD remaking a Korean movie which had Parang in it. <3
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5 byul1232
February 28, 2011 at 6:08 AM
Really funny and touching movie
I was laughing aloud and crying so much at the same time.
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6 lixin64
February 28, 2011 at 6:12 AM
I really wish that, instead of doing a remake (however awesome it may be), more people in the entertainment industry would recognize that some members of the "English-speaking audience" actually don't mind watching the original version with subtitles...Or maybe I should just move to California where I'd be more likely to find theaters showing foreign movies.
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KombatPiggie
February 28, 2011 at 6:55 AM
I agree with you lixin. let the world be introduced to korean movies. Rarely are remakes up to par with the original. i can't watch to catch this one.
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Severine
February 28, 2011 at 7:25 AM
Ditto.
Every time I hear that Hollywood's remaking a Korean film, I cringe a bit. I just wish studios would try to make foreign films more accessible to an English-speaking audience instead of re-making them. More often than not, remakes just fall flat of the original because there are certain cultural components that simply can't be translated/Hollywoodized. Some would argue that the same cultural differences are why films need to be remade, but I think they're the reason Korean and foreign films in general are more fun to watch in their original format.
That said, I'm cautiously optimistic for this version, since I have faith in Chris Columbus (love the Goonies and Gremlins!). I'm just hoping they cast someone remotely as awesome as Cha Tae-hyun. I'm leaning toward Paul Rudd, maybe Steve Carell or Johnny Depp (is it too much to ask for a bit of quirky pretty?).
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???
February 28, 2011 at 7:53 AM
not sure about Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell, or Johnny Depp taking the role...
i mean, Cha Tae Hyun is awesome because well, he's Cha Tae Hyun lol (Idk if my comment made sense)
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Ani
February 28, 2011 at 8:11 AM
Makes perfect sense to me. Cha Tae-hyun is, in his own right, irreplaceable.
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Ani
February 28, 2011 at 8:12 AM
I meant IS irreplaceable.
Severine
February 28, 2011 at 10:11 AM
Actually, I totally agree with you. I was just trying to think of potential American replacements, but they all fall short in one way or another. *sigh* I just wish people would give the original a chance instead of making an American re-make.
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Arhazivory
February 28, 2011 at 12:15 PM
Its only a minority though, who wouldn't mid watching the original version. About 95% of my friends and family hate subtitles and no matter how much I try to tell them how great a movie is, they refuse to watch it unless its in English. The minority will find it online but I think remaking it for a wider English-speaking audience is good too.
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harukogirl
February 28, 2011 at 1:24 PM
Well, as much as I want to agree with you....I have to say, do you realize that nearly EVERYTHING that EVERY country comes up with is a remake? Ugly Betty is from columbia, Japan/Korea/china have been remaking each other's stories/manga for YEARS (I mean, 3 hana yori dangos?), House, the Office (from Britain, I believe)....You're Beautiful is pretty clearly based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night....Fantasy Couple was a COMPLETE (and acknowledged) remake of the 1980's movie "overboard" with Goldie Hawn....Korea also just remade "ghost" ....
So, yeah. I love watching subbed movies as well....but the rest of the world seems to want it in their own language....including Asia :D.
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ar_arguably romantic
February 28, 2011 at 4:41 PM
so true!
On the more optimistic side, I think Netflix is also including more foreign films and recommending them, so I think the number of people open to subtitled foreign films are increasing, though not by very much. It is always interesting how each country does its own rendition. It just sucks that so many korean remakes are done with a mediocre cast and/or mediocre production team and the movies chosen tend to play to modern Hollywood's weaknesses.
I have a good feeling abt Hello Ghost. If Korea hadn't made it, I can see Americans making something like it. And I can see people paying to watch it (unlike the American remakes of My Sassy Girl and Il Mare, when the only romances people will watch now are those insipid Nicholas Sparks adaptations).
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7 Mal
February 28, 2011 at 6:41 AM
@lixin64, excellent point! I couldn't agree more.
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8 sunshine
February 28, 2011 at 7:50 AM
I'm usually very wary of remakes, but I actually look forward to this one. I haven't seen the Korean version, but I can imagine Columbus's comedy style in Home Alone translating well to Hello Ghost. Also, his experience with Harry Potter gives him experience in dealing with the fantastical.
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9 QuietLurker
February 28, 2011 at 8:28 AM
Chris Columbus wrote Goonies? I thought Steven Spielberg wrote it, or maybe he produced it...not sure.
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10 pohonphee
February 28, 2011 at 8:52 AM
Glad I'm not the one who mind with subtitles. It is better than dubbing and ho ,ho subtitle makes people smarter, doesn't it? :D
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11 nokcha
February 28, 2011 at 9:44 AM
Now, this looks like a promising remake! I've always thought Speed Scandal could make it as well.
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danna
February 28, 2011 at 3:39 PM
me too...someone should definitely get on a Speed scandal remake!...I think these two have the potential to be good remakes unlike say My Sassy Girl, because they have a much more broader theme as family movies and can be good if they have the right team and cast behind it
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12 amber
February 28, 2011 at 12:15 PM
The only thing that always bugs me about these "remakes" is why? Why are they remaking them when we don't do the same for them. I'm a white female american from Utah and i personally really love korean films. Even if I have to watch with subtitles it's far better to have the original than always have to make it in different forms. Imagine if friends or Mr. and Mrs. Smith were remade, but the exact same story.... it just wouldn't of been the same without the same people playing those roles.
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gingganggolli
February 28, 2011 at 3:50 PM
...If the movie is great/good why not remake it! for god sake, everybody wants profit. Don't you think? But morality aside, this shouldn't be the case....gee now were talking about ideals, which is far far far from this world. But frankly speaking I don't mind those movie outfit making this action coz you know not everybody had the privilege understanding the language of another and a movie is for fun and entertainment, right? Why watch if your don't feel entertain and feel burden reading the sub? Though I for one doesn't watch copy cut preferring the original version of course, but maybe for the sake of reminiscing the old feeling, specially if that movie have great impact on me, I wouldn't mind watching for comparison...but if they make a shit of the original, that's another story.
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13 danna
February 28, 2011 at 12:17 PM
looks like Cha Tae Hyun has another hit in the bag!!...this will also be his second movie remade to English....looking forward to seeing both versions soon!!
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mskololia
February 28, 2011 at 12:32 PM
Ditto!
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14 jyiskool
February 28, 2011 at 12:21 PM
Hello Ghost was really awesome and I don't think a remake is a really good idea because all the actors in Hello Ghost were really great at portraying the characters in a way that the ending was hidden, unexpected, and unpredictable.
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15 Nadia
February 28, 2011 at 1:07 PM
HARRY POTTER. I trust the man.
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16 Jenju
February 28, 2011 at 2:16 PM
First thought:
Nooooo! God damn it, stop remaking Korean Films!
2nd:
Chris Columbus??? EEEEEEEEE!!! (Huge Harry Potter fan)
3rd:
I still don't care. Why must everything become Americanized in order for it to be recognized by Hollywood?
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17 S@lly
February 28, 2011 at 2:30 PM
I'm excited that they're remaking a version since it most likely not be a bad remake, now it's wanting me to watch Hello Ghost, it must a GOOD movie if he liked it! I was gonna watch it anyway but unfortunately I can't find it, how the heck did he get a chance to watch it?
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18 Ashley
February 28, 2011 at 5:06 PM
Yes, Chris Columbus wrote The Goonies, but he also directed what most people agree to be the worst Harry Potter films and that Percy Jackson mess. I am very afraid of this being a huge mess.
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19 Honggdaebuko
February 28, 2011 at 5:15 PM
I'm so excited!! What's other Korean films have been remaid?
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20 boo
February 28, 2011 at 6:57 PM
Woah,,Read this news in a US film news outlet the other day. I cant help thinking if they consider remaking Speed Scandal too, I mean the universality of the story totally allows for it eh?That'd be awesome!
On another note, who do you guys think should play him in the US version??? I'm thinking guys with dorky charm like Ryan Reynolds (eye candy in the package too), or Adam Sandler (even though he tends to go for raunchy comedy most of the time). WHo do you guys think??:D
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21 fffffff
February 28, 2011 at 7:19 PM
WTFFF why always hollywood? they better give korean films some credit and say on the film its based on this.
they better now make a shitty remake like they did with my sassy girl. they KILLED IT. but considering the guy did home alone + harry potter, he better do it right
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22 kenken24
February 28, 2011 at 11:37 PM
wow! newbie here.. can't wait to see the remake...
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23 jinkzz
March 1, 2011 at 5:34 AM
Anybody know if this has been shown at CGV or MPark4 in LA yet? Right now, CGV is showing SSH's Ghost and JJY's Glove while MPark4 is showing Kim Byung Man's Super Monkey Returns.
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24 Carinne
March 1, 2011 at 10:37 AM
Didn't Hollywood learn anything from "Il Mare" and "My Sassy Girl?" Oy vay! I will predict: failure.
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25 nan345
March 3, 2011 at 11:26 PM
English remake...= Epic FAIL. But prove me wrong this time. Hopefully. (sigh...i don't even want to think about what happened to my sassy girl. They ruined a perfectly good storyline.)
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26 liveforlove
May 14, 2011 at 7:42 PM
Halfway through, I thought this movie was entertaining, but by the end it had me bawling like a baby.
I'm not sure Hollywood can make such a fantastic film any better, but I hope the remake does the original movie justice.
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27 JAMBO42
February 16, 2012 at 7:59 AM
If this ever happened....(i'm commenting one year later) it's just interesting to me that the Korean movies that Hollywood has remade thus far both starred the two main leads in My Sassy Girl, Cha Tae-Hyun and Jeon Ji Hyun. These movies include: 1) My Sassy Girl, 2) Il Mare (w/c starred Jeon Ji Hyun) remade into the Lake House, and then 3) Hello Ghost (w/c starred Cha Tae-Hyun).
These two actors actually started my love for Korean movies and dramas.
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28 Epic fail of an epic fail
July 23, 2013 at 3:06 AM
I saw a movie very similar to this 2 decades ago and totally forgot about it. The memory loss is so complete I didn't even remember the stars. One thing for certain, I knew this Korean movie isn't original. So I went to Google for help. Some digging later, voila.
http://collider.com/chris-columbus-hello-ghost/
In other words, Adam Sandler and company will be remaking a Korean remake of a Hollywood movie.
That's not all, the robot anime featured in the K-movie also has a long winding history.
http://kakuregaijin.blogspot.com/2007/01/taekwon-v-korean-version-of-mazinger-z.html
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