Attention is focusing on whether “From Now On, Showtime!” will bring a new wind to MBC’s weekend drama.
On the afternoon of April 22nd, an offline production presentation was held at Sangam MBC Golden Mouse Hall, featuring leading actors Park Hae-jin, Jin Ki-joo, Jung Joon-ho and director Lee Hyung-min.
Jung Joon-ho, who played the role of a ghost, said, “Each drama has its own style of comedy, and in this work, the body gag and witty gag are properly mixed,” adding, “There are many sympathetic stories between souls and human, making it a drama that can give us the chance to look back on the wheel of life. I think it will be a fresh comedy with a big temperature difference from all the comedy series I’ve shown the audience so far.”
Park Hae-jin said of his returning to MBC after two years, “I feel a lot of pressure. I had fun during the filming process and the results are good, but this is the most enjoyable work I’ve ever done, and I think this is my most honest role,” he said. “I’ve played many roles like a professional actor, but I think my role in this work has the image of ‘Park Hae-jin’ the most. He has a lot of feisty and sloppy personalities,” he hinted.
Director Lee Hyung-min said, “I wondered if I could do well because I would have to destroy the handsome image of Park Hae-jin, but he came to me and said, ‘I like comedy and Stephen Chow’. I couldn’t make use of his role easily at first because he is so handsome and has a special aura, but he threw his body into doing everything and studied a lot. He always came early and prepared, looked at the script a lot and asked me a lot of questions. I’m really satisfied with the results.”
As for Jin Ki-joo, director Lee praised her highly, saying, “She is really good at acting like she is not acting at all,” and added, “I even thought why I hadn’t such an actress sooner.” Regarding Jung Joon-ho, he said, “It’s an honor to be able to work with him. He is an actor who doesn’t have a lot of acting work, but I think he only does the right drama for him,” he said. “The script went (to Jung Joon-ho) and I didn’t expect much, but I got a call three to four days later from his side. He worked really hard on the scene and had good chemistry with his juniors,” Director Lee said with satisfaction.
Regarding the reason for choosing a comedy genre drama after his previous work ‘Kkondae Intern’, Park Hae-jin said, “In the case of ‘Kkondae Intern’, some situations are funny. But in this work, every situation and every scene are funny”, adding, “At the filming site, I always thought about how to bring out the lively atmosphere of this interesting script”. The actor added, “Through this work, I once again felt that comedy acting was so difficult”, adding, “I have been doing lots of serious and boring acting, so it was so nice to put down everything and enjoy the acting together with others. Whatever I did, they received it well”.
Jin Ki-joo also talked about the synchronization with her character, saying, “This character has pain but she doesn’t realize it at all. Even if something upsetting happened just yesterday, she still continues to work like that”. She laughed and added, “I don’t think I’m synchronized with the character. I’m not that bright and brave, but her rough side resembles mine. Those who called me ‘noona’ at the filming set now call me ‘hyung’”.
Meanwhile, regarding Shin Hyun-joon’s cameo appearance, Jung Joon-ho said, “The writer wrote it in the script. I wondered why it had to be Shin Hyun-joon”, adding, “I called him and asked him to appear as a cameo. I waited for two days but he didn’t contact me. It turned out that he was discussing the appearance fee”. He continued, “I told him that if he didn’t cooperate, he could drop it then I would talk to Tak Jae-hoon”.
Regarding their goal and promise for ratings, Jung Joon-ho said, “The rating report will definitely be released on the day after tomorrow. I think the minimum rating might be 7% while the maximum can be 5%”. Park Hae-jin said, “I hope to keep the rating in the two-digit range. If we reach 15%, I will reveal my staff”.
Jin Ki-joo also shared about her teamwork with Park Hae-jin, saying, “He prepared everything so well on the set. We know everything about each other so we were able to show perfect chemistry with each other”. She expressed her satisfaction about their filming process, “I felt really comfortable and free when working with him because he knew what I did and made it more complete. We had good chemistry from the beginning of the filming”. Park Hae-jin explained, “Our chemistry was good from the beginning, and it got better as time went by. We became so close that I was worried about what if we got fluttered by each other. It’s more affectionate than just a lovely relationship.”
Regarding Kim Hee-jae, who took on acting challenge, Jin Ki-joo shared, “Every time I saw this friend, my first drama came to mind. I was very nervous, but it was amazing that Kim Hee-jae looked relaxed. He was already relaxed and adapting well, so there was nothing to help.”
Finally, director Lee Hyung-min said, “I made it fun for 6 months. It’s a drama like junk food. Please take a look first. Once you watch it, you won’t be able to get out of it.” Park Hae-jin expressed his confidence, “I don’t think I’ve ever been this confident while waiting for the result.” Jin Ki-joo wished, “I’ve become more attached to this drama than any other work. Everyone worked hard, cherished and loved the set. I hope viewers will also be as affectionate as we are.”
Jung Joon-ho continued, “I was worried that I might get confused in the drama because I had a similar impression to Park Hae-jin, but looking at the screen, I don’t think I have to worry about that.” He drew laughter by revealing, “I’ve never seen a junior who read the script so much like that. When I heard the director raise his voice, it turned out that they fought to see who read the script more.” Jung Joon-ho also evaluated the two junior actors and asked for viewers’ expectations, “To the point where I thought how nice it would have been to have a younger sister like this, she often spaced out on the set yet became a smart girl when acting. I wondered how she could have started acting after having a different job.”
It is expected that “From Now On, Showtime!“, which made viewers look forward to the cast’s perfect chemistry as its face-to-face production presentation was held in a friendly atmosphere, will be an addictive and energetic comic drama like junk food as the director said.
MBC’s Saturday-Sunday drama “From Now On, Showtime!” is a romantic comedy between a charismatic magician and a passionate but hot-blooded police officer with supernatural powers. It will premiere at 8:40 p.m. on April 23rd.
