Lee Ji Ah in Talks to Join the Casting Embattled Weekend Drama Thrice Married Woman
I’m not a Lee Ji Ah fan but this casting news makes me happy. Lee Ji Ah is reportedly signing on as the female lead of the upcoming Kim Soo Hyun penned weekend drama Thrice Married Woman. She has come a long way as an actress both personally and professionally since she made the biggest debut acting role I’ve ever seen in K-dramaland as the leading lady in the big budget fusion sageuk spectacle The Legend opposite Hallyu superstar Bae Yong Joon. Back then there were murmurs that she was well-connected with entertainment industry insiders, but some liked her raw and earnest performance enough to deem her a promising new face. I though she was okay in The Legend but couldn’t stand her at all in her subsequent leading roles in Beethoven’s Virus and Style. Ugh. But then came her “scandal” in late 2011 when her marriage and divoce to Seo Taiji was unearthed by netizens, which in the misogynistic world of K-ent really hit her harder than Seo Taiji. That was followed by a brief went-down-in-flames romance with Jung Woo Sung, to which neither ever spoke out about it until this year when he went on a talk show and discussed that he wished they could have stayed friends and he was never a victim of her other scandal and never regretted the love they shared. So after starting off so high, Lee Ji Ah really crash landed hard but she picked herself up and delivered a truly wonderful, nuanced, bravura performance in the MBC underrated drama Me Too, Flower! It was that drama which changed my impression of Lee Ji Ah from can’t-stand-her to solidly-improved-actress. To know Kim Soo Hyun okayed her casting after publicly vetoing Han Ga In and Kim Sa Rang is yet another acknowledgement that she’s really got potential. Here’s to hoping TMW locks down its cast and starts filming soon, because I don’t know how long Goddess of Marriage can keep torturing viewers.
Have a Me Too, Flower MV since this is a Lee Ji Ah post. This is the drama where I fell in love with Yoon Si Yoon, and grew to like Lee Ji Ah. It was a little drama about second chances, forgiveness, and taking a leap of faith. She later revealed that all the pain she endured with her marriage-divorce scandal with Seo Tai Ji and public break up with Jung Woo Sung added to how she expressed the internal pain felt by her character Cha Bong Sun. I believe her, she really made me feel all her emotions. This MV is wonderfully done, but what makes it cool is that is travels in reverse chronology of the drama. But watching it isn’t spoilery but instead shows that the chemistry between the leads was there from the very first frame to the very last. The writing failed in the second half but the acting and the story was very moving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41PYTHGJ9LU
About goddess of marriage, I can’t decide whether I’m going to watch or not, is it that bad? I like LSW.. the reason I want to watch GOM is only for LSW. However, I heard it’s not a good drama, and KJH’s character is so much better than him… *sigh*..
I’ve seen Me, too flower! Not my cup of tea though :).
Out of topic.. Has anyone heard about BOF (american version)? If not, yes.. there will be. And yes.. they already casted those 4 boys n Jandi.
Yes! I’ve seen the casting for the F4 and I’m not liking it!!!! Especially Yi Jeong (Kim Bum’s character) Just a big NO for me! Anyways I wasn’t hoping for much but I’m not feeling the cast. The guy who’s going to be Goo Jun Pyo (Lee Min Ho) looks like an arrogant chabeol, and is quite handsome. I’m going to wait till this airs to have a solid opinion of it.
I just re-watched Me Too Flower a few months ago, with appropriate use of FF, but this makes me want to watch it again
There’s a vibe i get from lee jin ah that differs from majority of k-actresses. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it just seems like she’s been through alot from eyes alone. She’s pretty (but easy on the eyes, if you know what i mean) and her acting is grounded and soothing.
**Sigh**
M2F was so good in so many ways, mostly due to the amazing chemistry between a YSY who had never been seen before- angry, complicated, sexy, not-too-cute, manly, and a good kisser and LJA who broke my heart and was lovely.
They were the couple on paper that should NOT have worked, but really did. I thought they were very realistic in how they were attracted, fought, made up and comforted one another.
I don’t know why you wrote this post today because I had almost exactly the same thoughts about LJA this morning. Specifically while I was cleaning under my daughter’s bed, I swear to goodness. How her role in M2F came at a time when she really could understand how to act depressed and hurt. They handled her depression well, even showing that she needed counseling. And, by the way, where Jo Min Ki played a character who for once was not out to destroy someone. 🙂
Another fun thing is the writer who wrote this also wrote What’s Up Fox? Both have a similar scenes where a confident but poor younger man tells his woman to hop on his motorcycle as if he were driving a Porshe. I squealed when YSY pulled up to the bus stop and commanded LJA, “Ta!”
Still haven’t gotten around to watching M2F (though I can’t help but be persuaded by the glowing recommendations), but I thought YSY’s character was a chaebol?
WE knew that, but she didn’t. This is not a spoiler, btw.
I wish she would agree to take that project: She has a maturity and a depth in her acting that I love. I still find unfair how she was treated because of her personal life: I would take her over many flower pot “actresses” any day…
For Me2F, Ms K and me agree totally on everything. It’s sad that the story was butchered at one point to try and save the ratings (makjjjjjaaaang). It didn’t work and it did a disservice to the story. Still, one of the best OTPs out there, age gap and all.
So Dramagods, please, let her be cast. While I’m at it, give a drama to YSY too. I’ll consider this my Christmas gift.
She totally deserves this role, and I hope it brings her success.
Honestly, that crap she got two years ago was one of the most ridiculous scandals I’ve ever seen, and the way that it threw her career for a loop still makes me upset because it was nothing more than a reflection of male chauvinism. I’m happy she rebounded so well.
I must’ve been living under a rock but I didn’t know about her whole marriage/divorce news till now. And it’s really unfair how she ended up losing so many things from it. I don’t know if this is a good show to pick given all the drama we had off screen. I think the expectations would be for this to be brilliant; because the writer is so picky and rejected some huge actresses on the way.
Would that mean too much pressure on her? In any case; I hope whatever she picks – she does well in it… This drama isn’t one I’m even considering to watch, but maybe I will for her.
I’ve always loved Lee Ji Ah, she has an aura that puts her apart from the rest of the industry, she doesn’t feel like a celebrity, much more like a normal person who keeps to herself and very much prefers it that way. I think that’s something she shares very much with Yoon Shi Yoon, which is perhaps why Me Too Flower was as horrible but as memorable as it is. Thank you Koala for the MV, it brought me tears.
Yes, the second half of Me Too Flower went crazy, but I still loved the OTP because Lee Ji As and Yoon Shi Yoon had enough chemistry to blow up the Brooklyn bridge. There was a depth of pain and honesty in both of their performances–real passion and not just the sexy kind–that made me want to keep watching them and watching them afterwards. Yoon SHi Yoon angry was a scary thing, and when she made him dinner for the first time, I had tears just like he did . . . such a tender moment.
On another note–Goddess of Marriage must end. I have already made up a truckload of “Free Kim Ji-Hoon!” t-shirts. Any takers?
Thank you Mrs K. for this very beautiful pic of LJA and this original M2F MV.
@trotwood: been running out of socks? 😀 *wave*
@denali: I was wondering if you would be in the market for “Free Kim Ji Hoon” t-shirts, denali. I still have a truckload of socks (you should see my garage with all the socks and t-shirts now:). If you remember, you beat me to the punch in distributing them. I have been keeping my eye out for naked ankles. It’s starting to get chilly outside.
Hahaha. Indeed temperatures have gradually dropped and one should always be careful about keeping warm. Especially with a human blanket. ahem. Thanks for your offer. However I must decline. Sadly my attic’s already top full of boxes filled with “Kim Soo Rawrrr” caps, “Joo Won’s noona” t-shirts and “Tony Par♥” banners. Yet if I’m not mistaken, jomo also was very much concerned by Kim Ji Hoon’s well-being back in the days. She might take one of your made-with-love items.
I’ve always loved Lee Ji Ah, even though I recognize that she didn’t act so well in a couple of roles. I felt really bad for her when the Seo Taiji scandal broke out. Then I was super happy to see her take on “Me Too Flower” and actually improving her acting.
Now I’m dying to see her again. I hope she takes on this project!