Jun Jong Seo, who appeared in ‘Burning’ will star in the American language film ‘Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon.’
Well Go USA
Jun Jong Seo, who co-starred in the film Burning with Yoo Ah In and Steven Yeun will make her English-language film debut in Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, which also stars Academy Award nominee Kate Hudson.
Jun is one of the latest South Korean stars to cross over into the U.S. film market. As Korean media reaches a wider international audience and thereby expands exposure to Korean talent, this crossover trend is only expected to grow.
Although Jun is about to break into the U.S. market, her talent was only recently discovered in South Korea. Her role, as Hae Mi, in Lee Chang Dong’s Burning was not only her first film role, but the first role she auditioned for. Despite her lack of experience, the director felt she could convey the complexity required of such a central character, as well as hold her own while co-starring with two established actors.
In her first film Jun Jong Seo co-starred with Yoo Ah In and Steven Yeun
Well Go USA
In an article in the Chosun Ilbo, Jun described her audition for Burning as a “once-in-a-lifetime stroke of luck.”
That lucky role led to her to walk down the red carpet at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival when Burning competed for the Palme d’Or. Burning was also the first Korean film to make it into the nine-film shortlist for the 91st Academy Award.
While Jun has said she was not sure what to do the first day she showed up on set, her portrayal of the mysterious Hae Mi earned her praise from several prominent film U.S. critics and landed her on The Hollywood Reporter Critics’ 15 International Breakout Talents of 2018 list.
In early 2019, Jun starred in her second film, the science fantasy story Call.
Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon is a fantasy adventure film that follows a girl with unusual and dangerous powers, who escapes from a mental asylum and tries to make it on her own. The film is directed by Ana Lily Amirpour, the English-born Iranian-American director, screenwriter, producer and actor.
Amirpour’s debut film, shown at the Sundance Film Festival, was A Girl Who Walks Home Alone At Night, a self-described “Iranian Vampire Spaghetti Western art movie.” Amirpour’s second film, The Bad Batch, won a Special Jury Prize at the 2016 Venice Film Festival.
Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon will also star Craig Robinson, Ed Skrein and Evan Witten. The film is produced by Academy Award winner John Lesher and Dylan Weathered through Grisbi Productions and Adam and Robbie Mirels through 141 Entertainment. Black Bicycle’s Erika Olde and Sam Roseme and wiip’s Luke Rogers are executive producing.
CAA Media Finance represents the film’s domestic distribution rights, with Rocket Science handling international. Jun Jong-Seo is represented by Chris S. Lee at B&C Group, Stuart Rosenthal of Goodman Schenkman & Brecheen and My Company in Korea.
Principal photography for Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon has already taken place in New Orleans, where the film is set.