Korea’s largest entertainment conglomerate CJ E&M wants everyone to feel young again by announcing that a total of 6 remakes for “Miss Granny” will be released in the coming years.
According to Variety, the hit comedy-drama film will be remade in 6 countries including Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and Germany.
This decision is made after the massive success of the original film and its Leste Chen-directed Chinese remake, “20, Once Again“.
Directed by Hwang Dong-Hyuk (of “Silenced” and “My Father” fame), the 2014 rom-com centres on Oh Mal-soon (played by Na Moon-hee), a 74-year-old widow who turns back into a 20-year-old woman after taking a self-portrait at a mysterious photo studio. She changes her name to Oh Doo-ri (played by Shim Eun-kyung) and decides to just see where life takes her in her youthful form.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie made USD53.7 million from 865 admissions. The Chinese version of the movie, which starred Luhan and Chen Bolin, became the all-time biggest Korea-China joint production in China with its USD57.4 million gross.
Production on the Vietmanese and Japanese versions have already started, with the former scheduled for a December release.
Directed by Phan Gia Nhat Linh, the Vietnamese version is retitled “Sweet 20”. As for the Japanese version, it is tentatively retitled to “Ayashi Kanojyo”, with Mizuta Nobuo (of “Maiko Haaan!!!” and “The Apology King” fame) helming.
Mikako Tabe and Mitsuko Baisho will co-star in the Japanese remake that is eyed for an early 2016 release. The adaptation is a global project jointly invested by CJ Entertainment, as well as Nippon TV Network Corporation and Shochiku.
C&I Entertainment, which previously produced “Rurouni Kenshin” and “Book of Circus”, is handling the production.
“Miss Granny” is CJ’s signature global project that leads its “one source multi-territory” strategy. It offers various localised products of a given content in order to cater to audiences in different regions.
Kini S. Kim, executive vice president and head of international sales and distribution at CJ, said:
We are focusing on localising the film to appeal to Japanese audiences, like how we did for the Chinese. For example, we tried to put more love stories in the Chinese version and used popular Chinese music for the soundtrack.
“For this new remake, the Japanese director participated in script adaptation in order to better localize the original story,” he added.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkWhntKKrIU
Thai, Indonesian, Indian, and German versions of “Miss Granny” are still in development.
Regarding the other 4 remakes, Kini said, “CJ E&M’s global entry strategy has been considered so unique that major foreign studios have taken interest.”
Release dates for the upcoming remakes are not announced yet, but would you watch all the remakes? What do you think of the original film and the Chinese remake? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.
