tsunami Tagged Articles at Cinematical

As if a tsunami in Korea weren't bad enough, now it's leaking onto the Internet! Fortunately, it's only a disaster of a cinematic kind; Haeundae, Korea's first-ever disaster movie, has been making waves (har har) at the box office since its release on July 22, selling more than 10 million tickets, which makes it the most popular local film of the year. Over the weekend, an illegal copy was "briefly" leaked across local peer-to-peer sites, according to JoongAng Daily, and distributor CJ Entertainment plans to request a police investigation this week.

This might sound like a case of 'too little, too late,' as far as the timing of the leak is concerned. After all, one of the reasons that the leaked copy of X-Men Origins: Wolverine caused such an uproar was that it happened more than a month in advance of its theatrical release. Most people want to see a movie before (or shortly after) it's released, not weeks later, don't they? Korean movie piracy is reportedly "rampant," though they don't seem to be in as big a rush as in other parts of the world. According to JoongAng Daily: "What makes this case different is the movies involved have usually finished their runs. Haeundae, though, is playing and ticket sales are growing."

CJ Entertainment, one of the heavyweight distributors in Korea, has already sold the film in 24 territories, including the United Sates, and doesn't want to jeopardize the profit potential, especially with an 800-pound gorilla in Roland Emmerich's 2012 waiting to take over the the disaster spotlight in November. Derek Elley of Variety called Haeundae (named after a beach in Busan) a "thoroughly entertaining, tightly cut slice of hokum." Sound familiar?

Watch the apocalyptic trailer for Haeundae after the jump!

After a flurry of 9/11-related films and Hurricane Katrina docs, Hollywood is now setting its sights on the 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India, with an official death count somewhere in the range of 230,000.

Variety reports the always reliable David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck) has signed on to star in Hereafter, to be produced by Chris Bender, Ben Katz and Madeline Ryan. Michael Patwin will make his directorial debut (from his own script) with a story that centers around an American clothing designer who goes on a frantic search for his wife and children after the tsunami separates him from his family. Pic will begin shooting in Thailand early next year, with filmmakers donating a portion of the proceeds to orphaned children forced into child labor following the tsunami.

   

What if you wanted to help out the victims of the most catastrophic disaster ... but were not allowed to? Dhruv Dhawan's From Dust is the kind of inspiring documentary that typically has festival viewers pulling out their checkbooks at the end of a screening, but unfortunately its subjects are incapable of receiving charitable donations or any other sort of assistance. Trapped in the subsequent extensions of an already unbelievable tragedy, Sri Lanka's survivors of the 2004 tsunami are now also the victims of bureaucracy and greed.

Immediately following the tsunami, the Sri Lankan government issued a ban on the rebuilding of homes within 100 meters of the ocean. To ensure this mandate was followed, it spread rumors and issued false warnings to the media about more tsunamis being on the way. The government also forced the U.S. Army and relief organizations to follow the new rule, and even demolished any houses that were constructed or repaired if they were in violation. Meanwhile, citizens questioned the logic of such an edict since the tsunami had actually touched land nearly ten times past the distance of the buffer zone.

Mixed in with the unending reports of horror and death that filled the media in the wake of the Asian tsunami were periodic feel-good stories, most of them about reunited families, impossible survival, and Anderson Cooper. The best one, however, involved none of the above. Instead, it was the story of the doomed love between a baby hippo and a tortoise, thrown together as a result of the tragedy and doing their best to built a life for themselves. Or, you know, they were just hanging out because there were no other animals left in the sanctuary. Either way, the relationship was documented all over the place (accompanied by outrageously adorable pictures), and Walden Media have decided to turn the animals into movie stars.

Not surprisingly, said movie will be called Tortoise and Hippo. It was written by Roger S.H. Schulman, and will be directed by effects legend John Dykstra, who created "the first computer-operated motion-control camera system" while working on Star Wars in 1977. He's pretty much the man in his field (and has two visual effects Oscars to prove it), but this will be his first effort at direction. Walden is hoping to have the movie ready for release some time next year.