# Rough Cut (2008 film)

Rough Cut (Korean: 영화는 영화다; lit. A Movie is a Movie) is a 2008 South Korean action film. It is the debut feature of director Jang Hoon and based on an original story by Kim Ki-duk. The film had a total of 1,307,688 admissions nationwide.

## Synopsis

Gang-pae, played by So Ji-sub, is a local organized crime leader who still wishes he could be in movies. Soo-ta, played by Kang Ji-hwan, is a haughty actor who is easy to provoke. Within his latest film, where he plays a gangster, he gets into the role too much and sends one of the stuntmen to the hospital. The two men meet by chance at a room salon and Soo-ta enlists Gang-pae to join the production. But this real-life gangster will only join the production if the fights are real. The two main characters continue to try and one-up the other every chance they get.

## Cast

* So Ji-sub as Gang-pae (gangster)
* Kang Ji-hwan as Jang Soo-ta (actor)
* Hong Soo-hyun as Kang Mi-na (actress)
* Park Soo-young as Chief Lee
* Ko Chang-seok as Director Bong (director)
* Song Yong-tae as Chairman Park
* Jang Hee-jin as Eun-sun (Soo-ta's girlfriend)

## Blurring of real and fake

Since this film crosses back and forth between being an actual movie and a movie within a movie, the lines get blurred as to which the audience is watching. Examples:
* The character name Soo-ta (수타) is a parody of 스타 meaning "(movie) star" in Korean. And the character name Gang-pae (강패) is a parody of 깡패 which means "gangster" in Korean.
* Choreographed fights become "real" and a "real" fight turns out to be planned but is however "real".
* The actual movie script for Rough Cut is shown being read and held several times by rehearsing characters and crew within the film.
* Numerous members of the actual crew, including the producer and editor, are seen in the film as "crew members".
* Various movie posters can be seen including Time also written by Kim Ki-duk and an early draft of a Rough Cut poster, which is the same image on the cover of the scripts.
* The "real" arrest of a bloodied Gang-pae for a recent murder turns out to be in image from a film shown in a theater right before the actual credits roll.

## Awards and nominations
### 2008 Blue Dragon Film Awards

* Best New Actor - So Ji-sub
* Best New Actor - Kang Ji-hwan
* Nomination - Best Supporting Actor - Ko Chang-seok
* Nomination - Best New Director - Jang Hoon

### 2008 Korean Association of Film Critics Awards

* Best Actor - So Ji-sub
* Best New Director - Jang Hoon
* Best New Actor - Kang Ji-hwan

### 2008 Korean Film Awards

* Best New Actor - Kang Ji-hwan
* Nomination - Best Film
* Nomination - Best Actor - So Ji-sub
* Nomination - Best Supporting Actor - Ko Chang-seok
* Nomination - Best New Director - Jang Hoon
* Nomination - Best Screenplay - Kim Ki-duk

### 2008 Director's Cut Awards

* Best Producer - Kim Ki-duk

### 2009 Asian Film Awards

* Nomination - Best Newcomer - So Ji-sub

### 2009 Baeksang Arts Awards

* Best New Actor - So Ji-sub
* Best New Actor - Kang Ji-hwan
* Nomination - Best Film
* Nomination - Best New Director - Jang Hoon
* Nomination - Best Screenplay - Kim Ki-duk

### 2009 Shanghai International Film Festival

* Best Music - Roh Hyoung-woo

### 2009 Buil Film Awards

* Best New Actor - So Ji-sub

### 2009 Busan Film Critics Awards

* Best New Actor - So Ji-sub
* Best New Actor - Kang Ji-hwan

### 2009 Grand Bell Awards

* Best Screenplay - Kim Ki-duk, Jang Hoon, Ok Jin-gon, Oh Se-yeon
* Nomination - Best New Director - Jang Hoon
* Nomination - Best New Actor - So Ji-sub