Star Billing for the Dear Leader
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If you run a search via the portal site Naver of the 2004 documentary "A State Of Mind", which is set to open on August 26, star credit goes to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, right after director Daniel Gordon. The movie follows for eight months the lives of two girls, 13-year-old Hyon-sun and 11-year-old Song-yon, as they prepare for North Korea's notorious Mass Games marking the country's "victory" in the Korean War. The film gives an unfiltered insight into the lives of the two as they train to "present their proud image to General Kim Jong-il" in what passes for a middle-class family in Pyongyang.
In the end, Kim Jong-il is not the "star" of the film, but he does make an "appearance" as himself, being a documentary. So why the star billing? Dongsoong Art Center's film foundation, which handles local distribution, said it was due to the failure to update the film information from the movie's initial promotion, adding the center will ask Naver to make a correction.
Kim Jong-il has already starred in another picture. The 2004 animated film "Team America: World Police", Kim appears as the secret hand behind a world terrorist organization. Since the dear leader was unable to appear in person, a puppet closely resembling him takes his place. The satire recorded US$12.12 million in earnings and rose to No. 3 in the weekend Box Office when it was released in the U.S. With such figures to his credit, Kim is an A-list actor. Closer to home, he also made an appearance in the opening scene of the recently released Korean film "Heaven's Soldiers".
Kim's archrival for the title of most unpopular man alive, U.S. President George W. Bush, has an even longer line of credits. Bush makes frequent comic appearances in documentaries dealing with the Iraq War or the War on Terror, being listed in the credits to "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Le Monde selon Bush". He also appears in "Landscape Of My Heart", "The Divided State" and "Bowling For Columbine", and has the dubious distinction of having been named "Worst Actor" in the 25th Golden Raspberry Awards.
In the end, Kim Jong-il is not the "star" of the film, but he does make an "appearance" as himself, being a documentary. So why the star billing? Dongsoong Art Center's film foundation, which handles local distribution, said it was due to the failure to update the film information from the movie's initial promotion, adding the center will ask Naver to make a correction.
Kim Jong-il has already starred in another picture. The 2004 animated film "Team America: World Police", Kim appears as the secret hand behind a world terrorist organization. Since the dear leader was unable to appear in person, a puppet closely resembling him takes his place. The satire recorded US$12.12 million in earnings and rose to No. 3 in the weekend Box Office when it was released in the U.S. With such figures to his credit, Kim is an A-list actor. Closer to home, he also made an appearance in the opening scene of the recently released Korean film "Heaven's Soldiers".
Kim's archrival for the title of most unpopular man alive, U.S. President George W. Bush, has an even longer line of credits. Bush makes frequent comic appearances in documentaries dealing with the Iraq War or the War on Terror, being listed in the credits to "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Le Monde selon Bush". He also appears in "Landscape Of My Heart", "The Divided State" and "Bowling For Columbine", and has the dubious distinction of having been named "Worst Actor" in the 25th Golden Raspberry Awards.
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