RM and Lee Sung Jin
Han Myung-gu/WireImage; Araya Doheny/Getty Images
Beef creator Lee Sung-jin says he's relishing the opportunities presented by the Emmy-winning Netflix series. This includes his latest project, directing a music video for BTS superstar RM.
Lee collaborated with RM on “Come Back to Me,” a six-minute music video that was beautifully shot like a short film. The song, which begins with an acoustic vibe and includes whistle sounds and guitar riffs, was released on Friday and marks a departure for the BTS members. The song appears on his second solo album, Right Place, Wrong Person, which will be released on May 24th.
“It's so sneakily catchy. I heard it once and was humming it to myself all day after that. I'm like, 'Dude, that's an earworm.' It just comes in,” Lee says of the song.
“I was really surprised, [had] “It was a very different aesthetic and tone and a different side of RM that I had never seen before,” he added. “RM is known for rap and of course for BTS in general, and I'm a big BTS fan. I saw him at the Rose Bowl and I thought, 'Okay, I see he's going in a different direction.' I knew that was the direction, but I didn't expect it to be this way. I was really excited about the idea of coming up with a music video for a song like that because it was so fresh and unexpected. ”
Lee worked with art director and production designer Ryu Seong-hie (The Little Drummer Girl, Old Boy) and cinematographer Kim Woohyung (The Little Drummer Girl, Assassination) to complete the video. ”), and other heavyweights from the creative world. The video also features an all-star cast, including pachinko actress Kim Min-ha, Emmy-nominated Beef actor Joseph Lee, and Kang Gil-woo from “The Glory.”
“I think we all really came together for this idea. It really felt like we were assembling the Korean Avengers,” Lee says. “I'm so grateful to them for taking the time. I know music videos are always a little tough and a little daunting, but the fact that they came out and gave such a great performance was amazing.” I am truly grateful.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lee talked about working with RM, how he quickly recovered after RM bruised his eye on set, how he returned to South Korea from elementary school to shoot a music video, and how he worked with Marvel. He talked about the upcoming work of the studio movie “Thunderbolts”.
rm big hit music
What was going through your mind when you were putting this video processing together?
It was a bolt out of the blue at first, but I think in my head I was still thinking of it as a music video at first. I think I was pitching a lot of dance numbers and stories that involved dancing. After a few failed attempts, they quickly realized that this is what they really wanted to do. They reached out because they actually wanted to tell a story. I knew RM was a fan of Beef and I think he was really interested in trying something new. [and] We put the dance aspect aside, we put the music aside for the most part, and we tried to figure out what the theme of the song actually is and how it feels true and relatable, but kind of mysterious and open. We focus on being able to tell a unique story. I also interpret it at the same time. It took a lot of conversations, both on his side and on my side, for us to share back and forth stories and personal things. And so we arrive at a strange story about a man who seems unable to leave his home, trapped in his past, present, and future.
This video includes a fair amount of acting, what was it like working with RM in that regard?
I'm always a little nervous when I work with these huge global superstars. Will they want to rehearse? Are they going to take notes? RM was all about the game. He was there for a long time. In the first take of the very first scene, he bends over and his head hits the camera, and he gets a big gash in his eye, and I thought right away. National treasure. ” To his credit, he went to the hospital, got stitches, came back and was ready to go. He's very versatile and open to directions and pushing me. He comes over to check the monitor and says, “Oh, I think we can do a little better with this.'' He also has a great team behind him.
It was really refreshing. I thought it would be a little more like a traditional K-Pop structure, but RM and Team RM really wanted to create a new chapter for K-Pop, a new path forward, and I'm just so excited about it. It was an honor to be a part of it.
rm big hit music
Did he come back on the day of the accident and continue filming?
Yeah. He returned the same day. I think it took three days to shoot, and it was shot in Paju City. Paju City is about an hour and a half away from Seoul, close to the North Korean border. I had never filmed in Korea before, so I was very nervous. Park Chan-wook, who I met through “Beef,'' was one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, and a very kind and generous person. When I told him that I was going to do this music video, he introduced me to the great Ryu Sung Hee, who has been a production designer for many years and has also worked on director Bong Joon Ho's work. . [Her credits include] “Memories of Murder,” “The Handmaiden,” and “The Host” are all my favorite movies. Director Park then introduced me to Kim Woo-hyun (we call him Woo-shu), one of the directors he often works with. He did “The Little Drummer Girl'' with Florence Pugh. He also appeared in director Park's early films. He made a great Korean movie called “Assassination.”
These two are at the top of their craft in Korea, and I think the fact that they wanted to do this little music video says a lot about how much RM means to everyone. [and] How excited was everyone about this idea? On set, they really saved the day. The lighting and production design of this production is absolutely stunning.
What was it like filming in Korea?
I was nervous because I went to elementary school there and hadn't been back since, but after about a week of preparation, it felt so hard — suddenly my Korean was so good Suddenly, I blended into the environment and felt at home. It felt like being away from home for a while and it was very comfortable. The crew was great. They work so hard on this thing, and I'm not going to lie, the food in between takes — in America, we've had some good sloppy here, but Korean sloppy… It's reached another level.Take a break and buy some of it [Korean food]. I was like, “Damn, I have to bring this to America.” It was really comfortable in every way. I'm really looking forward to shooting something in Korea again. I want to go again.
Lee Sung-jin Elise Jankowski/WireImage
You obviously have a connection to music, as you sing in an a cappella group and play several instruments. Is music something you have always pursued career-wise or is it something you still want to pursue?
I thought that when I graduated from university, that would be my career – music. In college, I belonged to an a cappella group and was also active in a band. I was a concertmaster for an orchestra in high school and it was my passion so I gave it a try. I was in a band, but I quickly realized that there were other people who were much better at this than me. I thought, “Okay, I guess I'll just stay as a fan,'' but music is very important to me. The way I write, I always write with music in mind. I think of storytelling like a chord progression. I think of story structure the same way I map chords, so I'm always trying to figure out what chords I'm playing in the story.
It was really cool to be a part of the music video. I had never done this before, but I was able to combine her two loves with natural storytelling. In this work, I think you can feel the rise and fall of that as well. The songs themselves and the ups and downs within the music. I don't know if I'll make another music video because it's going to be hard to top this video, but if someone like RM approaches me again, I'm sure I'll convince myself to go back to this video. You could also try combining both sides.
How has life changed since Beef’s success?
It was a wild ride. I think one of the biggest changes was meeting people like RM. I remember that I was checking Instagram at home when I suddenly received a DM from Sun. [Yawn]Who is there? [the South Korean music collective] Balming Tiger is the creative director of this album and this music video. I'm also a big Balming Tiger fan. When RM collaborated with them on “Sexy Nukim”, the music video blew my mind. I got a DM from him and I thought he was reaching out to do something with his Balming Tiger, and I was like, “Oh, cool, I love Balming Tiger.” . Then he said “No, this is for RM” and my mind was blown and I stared at that DM for a while. Yeah, it's a dream come true when people you respect and admire so much watch your show and want to work with you. I never take that for granted and I'm looking forward to seeing who I can collaborate with in the future.
You wrote about Marvel Studios' new movie Thunderbolts. What was that like?
I was working on an existing script from Eric Pearson, which I took over, and the director, Jake Schreier, is one of my best friends, so I had a shorthand and I was excited to work with him. It was really fun. Eventually, a few things kept me from that project, and I was able to hand over the writing to my girlfriend, Joanna Calo, who also wrote about the beef. She is co-showrunner and co-director of The Bear. She's also one of my oldest and dearest friends, so it was a really natural handover, and I know they're filming right now, and I'm excited for Jake and Joanna to get it to the finish line. I'm so excited to see what you've done to lead. is special, and I hope audiences will feel like a Venn diagram between Beef and Thunderbolts in terms of some of the themes we wanted to explore through this film.