"Speed Racer" was selected as one of "The Fifty Films That Defined 2008"

Rain's "Speed Racer" was selected as one of "The Fifty Films That Defined 2008" by Empire, professional movie journal in England.

According to Empire Internet Edition, "Speed Racer" was selected as one of 50 movies with Dark Knight, Happening, Iron Man, Lust Caution, and etc.

"Speed Racer", which was released on May 8th in Korea and on May 9th in the USA, is the movie that Rain played Taejo Togokahn who was Asian-American automobile company businessman's son and car racer, Wachowski brothers directed.

Before this, "Speed Racer" was also selected as one of "Top of Movies" by Time Magazine, American news weekly.

Source: MoneyToday
Translation credit: rain bird@rain-eu.com

Top star Rain is looking forward for billions of additional income through SR

'Speed Racer' DVD sales record top, running guarantee contract.
Additional income of billions of won.

Top star Rain is looking forward for billions of additional income through as debut movie 'Speed Racer' tops DVD sales in North America.
According to America's internet site 'The numbers' that totals up box-office profits,
'Speed Racer' sold a total of 406,280 DVDs in a week since its release on September 16th,
and raised 8.4 million dollars (around 10.2 billion won), putting it on top the of chart on the 21st.

Rain, when staring in 'Speed Racer', made an agreement with Warner Brothers about running guarantees that might occur in sales from DVDs and other merchandises.
Through this, Rain is bound to receive a portion of the DVD sale profit as running guarantee. How much Rain will actually receive is unknown, but it is estimated to round up to billions of won.

The DVD sales of 'Speed Racer' in North America is looking bright to raise Rain's recognition. In particular, Rain is scheduled to release an album in the American market next year, and at the same time, to release his first Hollywood leading movie, 'Ninja Assassin', which will bring positive results.

Source : Sports Dongah
Translation credit : rain bird@rain-eu.com

Speed Racer to be shown during the Olympics

Determined As First Movie To Be Shown During The Olympics

The big budget Hollywood movie that was produced by Warners Brothers will be distributed by Chinese motion picture distribution corporation Hua Xia Films officially beginning August 10th. This will also be the first movie to be screened during the ongoing schedule of this year's Olympics. Yesterday reporters learned that Rain, whose character in the movie 'Taejo' is the representative of a family motorcade corporation, will hopefully come to China to attend the premier event.

After the movie followed by , Hollywood has been using Eastern elements for big productions this year. Not only did the Wachowski Brothers base off Japanese anime for their movie creation, they also invited 3 stars from China, Korea and Japan to participate in the movie, with Rain having the most on-screen time in the movie. Rain's 'alliance' enabled to be unconventional on the Korean box office, but this time Rain plans to come to China to join forces with Yu Nan and participate in the event for the movie's first showing in China.

Reporter: Yan Yun Fei (The Morning Paper) // Sina Entertainment
Posted by dada@RainHK
Translation: dsl99a@Rain-USA & SexyBi

Rain cannot attend Japan SR Premiere

Rain will not be able to attend "Speed Racer" Premiere in Japan on June 29th
because of the movie "Ninja Assassin" shooting rush schedule.
It is a pity that cannot make it to the premiere.
But Rain will attend the Japan fan meeting on June 30th as scheduled.
Thanks to those who care and support Rain.

Source: www.rain-jihoon.com
Brief English Translation by Rain-America

Speed Racer

Managed to catch Rain’s 1st movie ‘Speed Racer' over the weekend. It’s definitely a worth-watching movie. The movie was mind blowing & the scene were a kaleidoscope of colours. I got a bit of a shock there when the evil men were trying to put Rain’s hands into the tank of piranha.
The bed scene was the best. Heehee… The way he swiped the stuff off the table was really cool. I am going to grab a copy of the Speed Racer DVD once it’s out.

Oh! Btw, for those of who have watched ‘Speed Racer’, please keep your ticket for the ‘Speed Racer Rain And Cloud Project’
For detail of this project, please check out: http://www.speedracerrainandcloud.blogspot.com

Please support this project by donating your ticket receipt. ;)

Speed Racer World Premiere

Speed Racer World Premiere (Mnet Wide Ent. News)

Credit: tuliplilacshirley

Rain: Interview about "Speed Racer" and his career

The Korean Superstar Discusses His Role in the New SPEED RACER Film.

As part of the publicity tour for SPEED RACER, Rain took part in a round table interview in Los Angeles on April 25. Rain answered questions in both English and Korean, with translation assistance from Lena Shin. Rain at the SPEED RACER press interview:

Rain: Thank you for coming. I’m very honored and thankful to be here. It was great working with the Wachowski brothers, and it’s an honor to be here promoting this movie.

Question: For American audiences who are just getting to know you, what would you like them to know about you… something that maybe defines who you are?

Rain: First of all, I don’t try to wrap myself up in a pretty bow, and I hate being pretentious. I think being honest is the best policy here, and when I don’t know something, I’ll admit it. I try to be pretty open, and just be myself. If there’s anybody that admires me as a role model, I think that’s the best way to represent myself: being honest and being who I am.

Q: In America, Asian males are often stereotyped; typecast as not highly sexualized figures… something that you might be trying to change. I was wondering if you could talk about that.

Rain: Well, what I’m trying first is to carry out both my singing career and acting career together. SPEED RACER being the first American film that I’m in, it is a very lucky thing for me since it’s helping me tremendously to break into the American entertainment industry. I’m preparing an album in English as well, so I think that might help introduce me to America. I think the result is more important than the process, so as long as I put my effort into the process the results will show eventually.

Q: Regarding SPEED RACER, was the original Japanese MACH GO GO GO anime series popular in Korea?

Rain: Yes. It is very popular.

Q: Were you a fan of the cartoon before you got offered the part in the movie?

Rain: Actually, I didn’t watch it, but I knew it was very famous.

Q: Tell us about your character, Taejo Togokahn.Friend or foe? Taejo (Rain) throws a punch at Speed (Emile Hirsch) but isintercepted by Racer X (Matthew Fox).

Rain: In the original cartoon there was no Taejo character; he was invented by the Wachowski brothers for this movie. It’s actually a very important role. On one side he’s kind of dark, and on the other, he’s supportive of Speed, because he helps Speed get an entry ticket for the final race. Over all, I think the character is a good guy because he genuinely enjoys the moment when Speed wins. I asked the Wachowski brothers “Why am I so happy for Speed?”, and they told me maybe they’d show why in the next movie. [laughs]

Q: Did you sign a contract for another SPEED RACER?

Rain: I signed a contract for 3 years but that doesn’t guarantee there will be another movie. Also, most of the things in the contract are confidential so I can’t say much about it. [laughs] I suspect that if there is another SPEED RACER, I’ll have a bigger role.

Q: What was the biggest challenge in coming to Hollywood?

Rain: Working with the Wachowski brothers made it pretty easy, because they don’t differentiate between the starring roles and the supporting roles. They give all the actors concrete ideas for their characters and treat everyone as equals.

Q: Wasn’t it a risky choice to do this movie because your performance may be overshadowed by the fame of the Wachowski brothers?

Rain: I don’t believe they would’ve chosen me if they didn’t think I could deliver a strong performance. They looked at me closely when I auditioned for the role, and during filming I did my best to live up to their expectations. No matter what kind of a movie and role I get, if I like the film I’ll do my best even if it’s only for a single scene. I chose to be part of SPEED RACER, even though it’s a supporting role, because I would rather be a small player in the major leagues than a star player in the minors. It still feels surreal working with them. I’m currently doing another project with them, NINJA ASSASSIN, and I think I’ll be in the next SPEED RACER as well.

Q: How did you train for an English speaking role?

Rain: I believe, since I’m Korean, it’s pretty obvious that I wasn’t able to speak English in the first place. For an American citizen, it’s taken for granted that you have to speak English, but I’m not an American so I was kind of intimidated to speak English. I was thinking “What would other people think?”, and “Maybe I’m not pronouncing things right”, or “Maybe my grammar’s not right”. But then I started to think that my position was pretty good, since this was a perfect opportunity for a Korean to learn English. So, when I auditioned with the Wachowski brothers, I said to them, “Right now, my English might not be perfect, but if you guys wait and see, I’ll do my best on my acting. My English will improve and you’ll see me doing very well.” The Wachowski brothers didn’t cast me strategically, thinking that I’d market well. They really cast me because they believed in me and had trust in me.When I first saw Susan Sarandon [Mom Racer] on the set— I was her biggest fan when I was young— so I went up to her and said, “Hi, Susan. I’m learning English, so I might just make a mistake in grammar or pronunciation. Would you please correct me, because I’m going to try speaking in English?” And she helped me out. My English is improving day by day, and by the time NINJA ASSASSIN is released next year, I’ll be much better than I am now.Sorry about that… it’s a long answer. [laughs]

Q: What actors do you draw inspiration from when you do your acting? Do you have any favorite actors that you try to emulate?

Rain: Do you know Scarface? Yeah, Al Pacino, he’s my favorite. I grew up watching Hollywood action films and I always thought maybe one day I’d be in one, and my dream came true. I’m very happy.

Q: You’ve had some great success as an actor/ singer at a fairly young age. You’re one of the big stars in Asia, and now you’ve got your foot in Hollywood movies. What is your final goal?

Rain: Right now, for me, my primary goal is to see SPEED RACER at #1 on the US box office. I’m not the star, but I am one of the important supporting roles, and being in a great movie that becomes number one would be a dream come true. I’m not allowed to drink right now because I’m in training for NINJA ASSASSIN, but I really feel like I should go out and have a drink. [laughs]

Q: Do you fear for your longevity, ten years, twenty years from now? And what are your thoughts and plans to maintain your success?

Rain: With SPEED RACER now, and everything I’ve done in the past, I’ve given my all. There’s going to be NINJA ASSASSIN and my English album next year, and I’m gonna do my best to put NINJA ASSASSIN at the top of the box office, and the album at the #1 position in the charts. Whatever I do, I’m very lucky to be in this position, but I believe nothing is impossible when I put my mind to it. Maybe, this isn’t related to the question, but in 20 or 30 years when my popularity has faded, I’ll be able to look back and be glad. It’ll be mission accomplished.

Q: What’s the first thing you want to do, if you return to a normal life after being a celebrity?
Rain: I’m gonna hit on every girl, as many girls as I can.
Thanks, have a great day.

Author: Keith Aiken
Source: Warner Bros.
Official Site: Speed Racer The Movie
Special Thanks to Gemma Cacho, Warner Bros.
As shown on: www.scifijapan.com

Speed Racer~Rain (MBC Section)

Credit: tuliplilacshirley

'Speed Racer' premiere to be held on world's largest screen at Tokyo Dome

Saturday 19th April, 06:43 PM JST
TOKYO —

Warner Bros Japan will hold the Japan premiere for "Speed Racer", using the world’s largest screen, at Tokyo Dome on June 29. Warner Bros said the massive screen will be 7.45 meters tall and 37 meters wide.

Directed, produced and written by Andy and Larry Wachowski, "Speed Racer" is a live action film adaptation of the 1960s Japanese animated series of the same name. Warner Bros says it was filmed in high-definition video, which keeps both the foreground and background of scenes in focus. At the premiere, American actors Emile Hirsch, 23, and Christina Ricci, 28, will be joined by Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada, 47, and Korean singer Rain, 25.

Source: JapanToday

Rain in Holy Moly Report

Speed Racer Magazine

Speed Racer scan from Mexican magazine "Premiere"

Source: Rain Community
Credit: crimson_music@li.com

Rain at LAX airport

Source: rain-usa
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Posted on 28th April 08 (7:44 PM)








Source: GENKINOMOTO
Credit:sanly@rainhk

Rain at LA premiere - Speed Racer Interview

Rain ('Taejo Togokahn')
How tough was it to star in your first American big feature film?

Rain: "You know I'm so excited. It's my first Hollywood film. I think it will be huge. Yeah."

How much fun was it to act like you're racing? How difficult was the greenscreen and how much fun?

Rain: "It was good experience. Greenscreen is very hard, sometimes very fun. It's awesome. I like greenscreen, really."

What was working with these directors like?

Rain: "There's nothing to talk about. They are the best. They have, you know, amazing abilities to make dreams come true with powerful imagination."

Were you a fan of Speed Racer to begin with?

Rain: "For the cartoon, right? Actually I didn't watch it but I love Speed Racer."

And you're doing Ninja Assassin?

Rain: "Yeah."

And you're starring in that one?

Rain: "Yeah, I'm working on it - Ninja Assassin."

Are you getting in shape?

Rain: "Yeah, every day hard working."

Are you learning a lot of different fighting skills?

Rain: "Yes, yes. It's amazing. Please wait for me next year."

Credit: tuliplilacshirley

KBS Love Movie-Speed Racer (Rain's interview)

Credit: tuliplilacshirley

Speed Racer UK Premiere Footage at Yahoo.com

Click on UK Premiere Footage to view.
Source: Rainasia
Credit: all4u

Rain-Hollywood Red carpet (MBC Section)

(Part 1)

(Part 2)

Credit:tuliplilacshirley

Captures from MBC sections

Source: Daum

Rain's greetings (Speed Racer - Taiwan)

Credit: tuliplilacshirley

Speed Racer Poster at Somerset MRT station

Spotted the Speed Racer poster at the Somerset MRT station on my way home & OMG the poster is huge.

Can I have the poster???
But... ... ... ...
I only want the part that features Rain & not on Emile Hirsch. Heehee... ;)

London Central Park Speed Racer Premiere

London Film Premiere: Speed Racer [Rain only]

Credit: BlueXrain
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London Film Premiere: Speed Racer [Full Version]

Credit : LeicesterSquareTV @ youtube & benamoo