CJ Entertainment

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CJ Entertainment ( Korean CJ 엔터테인먼트 ) is a South Korean film production studio and part of the CJ Group . It is the brand of the film division of the media conglomerate CJ ENM . The film division is officially called CJ ENM's Film Business Department . The division is headed by Jeong Tae-sung. Active in the distribution and financing of films, CJ Entertainment has been the film production company with the highest turnover in South Korea for years . Some of the most successful films in South Korea have been produced by CJ, including The Admiral - Roaring Currents (2014), Extreme Job (2019), Ode to My Father (2014), Masquerade (2012), Tsunami (2009), Parasite ( 2019).

history

After the death of Lee Byung-chull in 1987, the Samsung Group was restructured over several years and divided among the heirs. Miky Lee (Lee Mi-kyung), Lee's granddaughter, graduated from Harvard and then worked in Samsung's US branch. In late 1994, she received an inquiry from Steven Spielberg , David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg as to whether Samsung was interested in investing in a new film studio . Miky Lee presented the plan to her uncle, Samsung CEO Lee Kun-hee . This one was interested. However, Samsung wanted to focus on hardware and the investment did not materialize. At that time Cheil Jedang had its own management, but was only part of the Samsung group. It was a disengagement process that would last until 1997. Cheil Jedang was run by Miky Lee's brother, Lee Jay-hyun. He decided to invest 300 million US dollars , with which the later CJ Group acquired a company share of 10.8% and the exclusive distribution rights to DreamWorks films in Asia , excluding Japan . Shortly afterwards, Cheil Jedang founded a multimedia division that would later become CJ Entertainment.

The multimedia division invested in the opening of new cinemas, which later became the company CJ CGV . During the 1997 Asian Crisis , CJ's importance in the South Korean film industry increased . Larger conglomerates like Samsung withdrew, and smaller film companies also had to close. CJ took advantage of this and had great success with Park Chan-wook's debut film Joint Security Area .

In 2011 the company CJ Entertainment was merged with CJ Media, M-net Media, On Media and CJ Internet to form the new company CJ E&M (CJ Entertainment and Media). CJ Entertainment was retained as the new company's brand. In 2018, there was another merger with CJ O Shopping to form CJ ENM (Entertainment and Merchandise). CJ Entertainment is thus the film label of CJ ENM.

Strategically, CJ aims to become a global company. In 2013, CJ produced the international action film Snowpiercer by Bong Joon-ho . While the CJ Group is successfully represented in many countries by the cinema chain CJ CGV , CJ Entertainment has also intensified foreign film productions since the publication of Snowpiercer . Another English-language production is Endings, Beginnings (2019). Furthermore, CJ produces remakes of films that have been successful in South Korea in various countries. From Miss Granny (2014) with Shim Eun-kyung produced CJ Entertainment for example. A Vietnamese remake ( Em là của anh bà nội ), a Chinese remake ( Chong fǎn Ershi suì ) and even more. The reason is that the South Korean film industry does not have a global distribution system like Hollywood , whose films do not encounter any cultural barriers. According to Jeong Tae-sung, Korean films had to struggle with cultural and language barriers abroad. An American remake of Save the Green Planet directed by Jang Joon-hwan , who also designed the original work, and production by Ari Aster is planned.

It also produced Bong's film Parasite , which won an Oscar for Best Picture in 2020 as the first non-English language work .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DreamWorks East Miky Lee Hitches Her Star to Hollywood's Red-Hot Trio. In: Fortune. October 28, 1996, accessed May 10, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Rebecca Sun: From 'Parasite' to BTS: Meet the Most Important Mogul in South Korean Entertainment. In: The Hollywood Reporter . February 7, 2020, accessed on May 10, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Patrick Frater: After 'Snowpiercer' and 'Parasite' Korea's CJ Entertainment Hatches Plans to Become a Global Studio. In: Variety. November 9, 2019, accessed May 12, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Rumy Doo: CJ E&M aims to become global film production studio. In: The Korea Herald . September 13, 2017, accessed on May 12, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Patrick Brzeski: Korean Cult Hit 'Save the Green Planet!' Set for Remake from CJ Entertainment, Ari Aster's Square Peg. In: The Hollywood Reporter . May 7, 2020, accessed on May 12, 2020 .