Kang Je-gyu shooting star-studded My Way

Director of the watershed blockbusters Taegukgi and Shiri, Kang Je-gyu is currently shooting My Way, a WWII Invasion of Normandy film featuring top Asian stars Jang Dong-gun, Joe Odagiri and Fan Bingbing. The film is set to be released simultaneously in Japan and South Korea this coming December.

Major Japanese distributor Toei announced this with its 60th anniversary line-up today (Jan 19). Toei and CJ Entertainment Japan will co-distribute My Way on more than 250 screens at the same time as the South Korean wide release, which is set to be handled by CJ Entertainment with SK Telecom. 

Currently in production, My Way started shooting in mid-October 2010 and is set for release in December of this year. The film’s budget is reported to be around $27m.

Set during World War II, the film is based on the true story of a Korean man who was surprisingly discovered in the German military and taken prisoner by the Americans at Normandy. Forcibly drafted into the Japanese Imperial Army, the Korean man had struggled through China to Russia to Germany and ended up in France on the German side. My Way dramatises his story with a Japanese man who shares his fate and friendship.

Jang Dong-gun previously worked with Kang Je-gyu on Taeguki (a.k.a. Brotherhood: Taegukgi and Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood Of War), a record-breaking hit set during the Korean War. He recently starred in The Warrior’s Way and his other credits include Friend and Good Morning Mr. President.

Odagiri Joe’s credits include Tokyo Tower, Air Doll and Maison de Himiko. It is his first time working with Kang, although he previously worked with another Korean director, Kim Ki-duk, when he starred in Dream.