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라디오스타를 우연히 다시 보았다. 매일 영화한편씩을 보고 있는데 어제 고른 영화가 별로여서 검증된 영화를 다시 보는 방법을 선택했기 때문이다. 최곤은 88년 가수왕이다. 그와 수십년 동고동락을 해온 박민수매니저는 그가 무명일때무터 가수왕을 거처 이제는 퇴락한 상태까지의 동반자였고 더 이상 스타가 아닌 그를 스타로 대우해준다. 폭행, 대마초 등을 거처 다방에서 기타를 치는 신세가 된 그는 다시 우발적폭행을 하게되고 합의를 위해 급전이 필요해져서 강원도 영월에 디제이로 취업하게된다.
민수는 최곤팬클럽회장과 결혼했지만 지금은 김밥집을 딸과 같이하는 그녀를 도와주지못하고 최곤을 따라다니느라 자주 귀가도 어렵다. 영월라디오방송국은 속초방송국과 통합예정이다. 여기에 속초에서 방송사고를 낸 강피디가 좌천되오고 음악방송을 시작하는데 가출한 다방아가씨, 아버지가 자기때문에 가출했다고 생각하는 소년 등의 심금을 울리는 사연과 홈페이지를 활용한 홍보로 전국적인 인기를 유지하게 된다. 그래서 7080인기를 활용한 음악사에서 최곤을 스카우트하려하고 민수는 매니저를 그만두게된다.
김밥집이 확장되어 도움이 필요하다는 사직의변을 하고 서울로 올라가지만 그 김밥집은 망했고 그 부부는 지하철에서 김밥을 팔고 있다. 이 사정을 나중에 알게된 최곤은 서울로의 입성을 거부하고 방송은 영월에서 전국으로 송출되게 된다. 그의 빈자리를 느낀 최곤은 민수의 복귀를 눈물로 호소하고 그들은 비가오는 가운데 재회를 하면서 영화는 마무리된다. 비디오가 나오면서 라디오스타는 퇴출되게 된다. 최곤도 20년전에는 스타였지만 세대의 흐름에 적응하지 못하면서 비슷한 운명에 처한다. 7080세대의 향수는 그를 진정 복귀하도록 했을까?
그리고 그를 다시 스타로 만드는 것이 민수의 옛날 방식으로 성공할 수 있을까? 내 생각은 부정적이다. 하지만 최곤이 방송국장의 성공하기 싫냐는 질문에 싫다며 전화를 끊는 것을 본다. 성공이 유일한 답은 아니다. 우리 인생의 성공은 국장이 이야기한 성공이 아닐수있다. 대중적 인기가 소중한지 아니면 마음이 중요한지, 결과와 과정중 무엇이 더 좋아야 하는지에 따라서 우리의 결정은 달라져야 한다. 물론 세대의 흐름에 상응하도록 우리 자신을 끊임없이 개발하는 것이 제일 중요하다.
Radio Star | |
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Theatrical poster | |
Directed by | Lee Joon-ik |
Produced by | Jung Seung-hye Lee Joon-ik |
Written by | Choi Seok-hwan |
Starring | Park Joong-hoon Ahn Sung-ki |
Music by | Bang Jun-seok |
Cinematography | Na Seung-yong |
Edited by | Kim Sang-bum Kim Jae-bum |
Distributed by | Cinema Service |
Release date |
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Running time | 115 minutes |
Country | South Korea |
Language | Korean |
Budget | US$3 million |
Box office | US$12.5 million |
Radio Star (Hangul: 라디오 스타; RR: Ra-di-o Seu-ta) is a 2006 South Korean comedy-drama film directed by Lee Joon-ik, starring Park Joong-hoon and Ahn Sung-ki in a story about an aging, has-been rock star who, plagued by debt and run-ins with the law, unwillingly begins working as the DJ of a small radio show in the countryside, with his loyal manager of 20 years in tow.[1][2]
Choi Gon had a big hit in 1988 with his song "The Rain and You" and became one of the top stars of the 1980s, but did not handle the fame very well, acquiring bad habits and quickly spending most of his money. In 2006, now past his prime, leather-jacket-and-jeans-wearing Gon resents that the spotlight has moved on to younger entertainers, but he still lives the life of a rock star, getting into drunk driving incidents and drug scandals. The only thing Gon has left is his longtime manager and friend, Park Min-soo, who has stood by him since the peak of his career. Min-soo still manages to find Gon small gigs in little coffee shops on the outskirts of Seoul and continues to look after him and keep him out of trouble, even if that means neglecting his own family.
One day Gon gets in a fight with a customer at a cafe and ends up in jail. Because of Gon's prior record, the bail is set so high that the desperate Min-soo sees no way to deal with it on his own, so he goes to a major radio station to call in old favors. The only thing he turns up is a job as a DJ at a local radio station in a small provincial town in the remote mountainous county of Yeongwol.[3] The radio station itself is on its last legs and is close to shutting down.
Arriving in Yeongwol, nothing seems to suit Gon, despite all the efforts Min-soo makes to make his life there as comfortable as possible. Gon pretty much sabotages everything by being pessimistic and negative—even when he is on the air. But to everyone's surprise, his daily show Choi Gon's Midday Songs of Hope becomes a big hit in the small town, as he allows the locals to tell their own eccentric stories. Also, hard rock music, which was initially foreign to the townspeople, becomes the bridge between them and Gon. When his newfound fan club begins to put the recordings of his show on the internet, soon the big bosses in Seoul become aware of Gon's fame and want him to make a comeback—but without his manager.[4][5]
After making Korean cinematic history with his record-breaking hit period film King and the Clown (2005), director Lee Joon-ik wanted his follow-up to be a smaller-scaled, character-driven film. Like King and the Clown, Lee wanted his next film to also be about the lives of outsiders, saying, "I think the tragedy of capitalist society is that so many people endlessly struggle to become part of the mainstream. I want to keep showing that those outside the mainstream of society can also be happy."[7] Screenwriter Choi Seok-hwan brought him a script he had been working on for years; Choi had collaborated with Lee on his previous films King and the Clown and Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield (2003). An early draft revolved around the character of a young, female manager, but Achim Pictures president Jung Seung-hye pointed Lee in a different narrative direction, and the film became a bittersweet dramedy about two older men.[8]
Actor Park Joong-hoon (who once experienced the life of a KBS 2FM DJ in the 1990s) was cast first, and for the role opposite him, Park suggested his real-life longtime friend Ahn Sung-ki, with whom he had starred in three previous films, namely, Chilsu and Mansu (1988), Two Cops (1993) and Nowhere to Hide (1999).[8] Ahn said, "If we did not sustain our 20-year friendship, we could not have done justice to the touching scenes in Radio Star. The film has a cunning resemblance to our ordinary life, and (while we were acting), we felt it firsthand."[9] Park said the project appealed to him because the film industry rarely focused on characters in their forties and fifties (his and Ahn's age), and that as an actor for 21 years, he had had a similar career trajectory to Gon's, "Because we went through similar things in the same period, then it's an analogy that works perfectly. I mean, I've had plenty of ups and downs in my career: repeating the same comedies over and over brought me to a slump, I had to bridge the gap after coming back from the US, I had a little redemption... many things happened over the years." Park added that his friendship with Ahn "has gained depth, we're much more comfortable working together. We've known each other for 20 years, and Choi Gon and Park Min-soo in the film have been together for 20 years. The situation is a little different, but the fundamental relationship between us and the two characters is very similar. Sometimes we feel as if we're shooting a documentary, in a way. But hey, we're happy."[8]
Members of real-life punk rock band No Brain appeared in supporting roles as a fictional band who helps the character Gon find enthusiasm for rock music again. They also contributed their songs to the soundtrack, which is a mix of old pop classics and modern rock.[10][11]
Radio Star was a co-production between Achim Pictures and Lee's own production shingle Cineworld, was distributed locally by Cinema Service and sold internationally by co-investor CJ Entertainment. It was filmed on location in Yeongwol County, a remote area in the mountainous Gangwon Province. After three months of shooting, the film wrapped on July 8, 2006.[12]
When asked about the film's themes, Lee said, "Before the advent of television, most people including myself learned a lot about life through radio. But these days we depend on visual media. If visual media is regarded as a channel for spreading fully constructed images, then the radio can be seen as one that encourages people to use their imagination. Success does not necessarily mean happiness, nor does failure mean unhappiness. Through this film, people will realize that there's more to life than winning or losing. What's important is that you live a happy life."[13]
Radio Star was released in theaters on September 28, 2006, during the Chuseok holidays.[14][15] Despite high expectations and positive reviews from critics, the film made a disappointing debut, drawing 150,684 viewers on its opening weekend. But it earned average ratings of 9.22 out of 10 in a poll of 7,749 netizens by the portal site Naver, and ticket sales surged exponentially over the following weeks, with strong word of mouth ultimately making the movie a success.[16][17][18] It drew a total of 1,879,501 admissions,[19][20] and grossed a decent US$12.5 million.[21]
According to film critic Lee Sang-yong, part of the film's appeal was due to nostalgia, saying, "Radio Star attracted a big audience among middle-aged people who miss the songs of their times."[22][23]
Park Joong-hoon and Ahn Sung-ki tied for Best Actor at the 2006 Blue Dragon Film Awards,[24] and Ahn also won Best Actor at the 2006 Korean Association of Film Critics Awards and the 2007 Grand Bell Awards.[25] Music director Bang Jun-seok received several nominations for his work on this film, winning Best Music at the 2006 Korean Association of Film Critics Awards and the 2007 Korean Film Awards.
Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
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2006 | Special Jury Prize | Park Joong-hoon | Won | |
Best Film | Radio Star | Nominated | ||
Best Actor | Ahn Sung-ki | Won | ||
Park Joong-hoon | Won | |||
Best New Actress | Choi Jung-yoon | Nominated | ||
Best Music | Bang Jun-seok | Nominated | ||
Best Couple Award | Park Joong-hoon and Ahn Sung-ki | Nominated | ||
Best Actor | Ahn Sung-ki | Won | ||
Best Music | Bang Jun-seok | Won | ||
Woman Filmmaker of the Year | Jung Seung-hye | Won | ||
2007 | Best Film | Radio Star | Won | |
Best Film | Radio Star | Nominated | ||
Best New Actress | Choi Jung-yoon | Nominated | ||
Best Film | Radio Star | Nominated | ||
Best Actor | Ahn Sung-ki | Won | ||
Best Music | Bang Jun-seok | Nominated | ||
Radio Star | Jin Jue for Best Film | Nominated | ||
Best Music | Bang Jun-seok | Won |
In 2008, the film was adapted into a stage musical. The original run starred Jung Sung-hwa and Seo Beom-seok in the role of Park Min-soo, and Kim Da-hyun as Choi Gon, and was held at the Seoul Arts Center from January 26 to March 2, 2008.[32][33]
Praised for its "refined" stage design, "appealing" music and a "well-developed plot that elicited laughter and tears from the audience," Radio Star won Best Musical at the 2009 Daegu Musical Awards, a ceremony that marked the end of the Daegu International Musical Festival. Seo Beom-seok also received the Best Actor award.[34]
Jeong Jun-ha, Im Chang-jung and Kim Won-jun have also starred in later runs.[35]
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