Actor Ryu Seung-ryong, front, in a scene from upcoming comedy flick “Amazon Bullseye.” Courtesy of Barunson E&A By Baek Byung-yeul Actor Ryu Seung-ryong pledged to provide audiences with hearty laughter in the upcoming comedy movie "Amazon Bullseye," in which he plays a former archer who trains members of an Amazon tribe in archery. "The character I play, Jin-bong, is someone who has to survive in his company, at home and even in the Amazon.
It's a story about searching for archery masters in the Amazon," Ryu said in a press conference for the film on Tuesday. "I focused on acting in a way that people could empathize with and root for. I aimed to hit the comedic points through the clashing happenings.
" Jin-bong is a former national team archer and now an office worker whose company is restructuring. He is headed to Boledor, a fictional country near the Amazon, on business, when he crash-lands due to an unexpected accident. After surviving, he arrives in the Amazon, where he meets Bbang-sik (Jin Sun-kyu), a Korean interpreter, and three Amazon tribespeople with natural talent in archery.
He then decides to train them to be the national archery team of Boledor. Ryu is widely known as a master of comedy acting, having played leading roles in "Extreme Job" (2019) , which tops the country’s box office history for comedy films with over 16 million viewers, and "Miracle in Cell No. 7" (2013) , which ranks second.
The 53-year-old actor revealed he practiced archery extensively to portray the former archer character. "I sought advice from former national archery team coaches. I practiced a lot," he said, adding that the Brazilian actors who played the Amazon tribesmen practiced even harder than him to portray athletes competing in archery tournaments.
From left, actors Ryu Seung-ryong, Yeom Hye-ran, who plays Ryu's wife, and Jin Sun-kyu pose during a press conference for upcoming film “Amazon Bullseye” at a theater in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap Jin, who plays Bbang-sik, reunited with Ryu five years after they appeared together in "Extreme Job." Jin said their chemistry was still excellent in "Amazon Bullseye.
" "(Ryu) was still great and a big support. He was like a big pillar (of the production)," Jin said. "In 'Extreme Job,' he embraced the actors playing detectives, and it was the same this time.
We could tell what the other was thinking just by looking at each other." The movie was filmed in both Korea and the Amazon. Director Kim Chang-ju noted authentic contributions from actual Amazon natives as supporting actors and Brazilian art and design staff helped create the film's unique setting.
"The Amazon is a very unfamiliar place to us. I wanted to capture the mysteriousness that comes from this unfamiliarity. We had local natives as supporting actors and they gave very natural acting despite being unfamiliar with cameras.
Also, the art team from Brazil did a great job decorating an existing village for filming," Kim said. He added that the movie was inspired by Korea's dominance in the global archery scene. At the Paris Olympics in July, Korea won its 10th consecutive Olympic gold medal in the women's team event and swept all events of the Games, winning a total of seven medals, including five golds, one silver and one bronze.
"The suspense that comes from a one- or two-point difference in archery is tremendous. Victory or defeat is decided by a few millimeters. I think it's a movie that shows suspense, comedy and even catharsis through showing the excitement of archery," Kim added.
"Amazon Bullseye" will hit theaters on Oct. 30..
