The Assassin(s) has cancelled its October 3–5 cast appearances at Korean cinemas, and its team will no longer attend the Busan International Film Festival opening ceremony. Producer Hive Media Corp also called off the film’s October 7 outdoor greeting at BIFF.
The company announced the changes on October 2. It said the cinema appearances had become too much of a burden for the cast and crew outside their work. It also said it had considered the people attending the events and the cinema staff.
“We made this decision for everyone’s safety and the smooth running of the events.”
Hive Media Corp, in its October 2 announcement about the BIFF appearances. Translated from Korean.
Which events were cancelled?
The cinema cast greetings scheduled for October 3, 4 and 5 will not go ahead. Hive Media Corp apologised to people who had booked tickets and made plans to meet the cast. It said it would take responsibility for audience notices and follow-up arrangements.
At BIFF, the film’s team withdrew from the October 6 opening ceremony. The festival’s revised schedule also marks its outdoor greeting on October 7 at 1 p.m. KST as cancelled.
BIFF separately cancelled Actors’ House: Lee Min-ho, which had been scheduled for October 7 at 6:50 p.m. KST. The festival cited unavoidable circumstances and did not give a more specific reason. It said tickets for that event would be automatically cancelled and refunded, with no refund request or fee, and that ticket holders would receive individual text notices.
What the producer said about the film
Some groups have accused the movie of distorting history and called for screenings to stop. Hive Media Corp says the film combines research into the 1974 shooting with invented characters and scenes. It says the plot does not present a new historical conclusion or name a particular person as the figure behind the attack.
Directed by Hur Jin-ho, The Assassin(s) begins with the August 15, 1974 shooting that killed South Korea’s first lady, Yuk Young-soo. The investigation in the movie follows three fictional characters: a detective, a newspaper editor and a rookie reporter. Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho play those leads.
Who's who in The Assassin(s)
The notices about cast greetings do not announce a nationwide withdrawal from cinemas. The movie opened in South Korea on September 23. A cancelled appearance should not be treated as confirmation that every screening has been cancelled.
For the story, main cast and official trailer, see The Assassin(s) movie page.
