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iu-jjang · 1 year

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[INTERVIEW] 230422 The Big Issue Korea <#DREAM> Special Edition - Full Translation

Movie <Dream> IU

In a recent episode of ‘IU’s Palette’, Yoo Inna, who was a guest on the YouTube show, introduced her best friend IU as ‘a child who is like a bead that God made delicately and rolled down to the world’. A bead so precious that In Na would always ask IU to get home safely every time she drove the younger home in case she gets hurt. Someone who is like a bead made by all the precious talents gathered together, and now the bead grows so solid that it never breaks under any friction and shines as it moves here and there.

When celebrities had rarely graced the cover of <Big Issue> since the magazine started its publication, IU became a cover model and empowered it.

This time, IU plays a documentary producer ‘So Min’ in <Dream>, a movie based on the true story of individuals who sell Big Issue magazines for a living and try out for the Homeless World Cup. When IU received the script, she gasped “Oh, it’s Big Issue” with delight and sent her regards first. Although So Min, IU’s character in Lee Byeong Heon’s movie <Dream>, describes herself as someone ‘passionless’, she is in fact a bright and tenacious person who wants to give her best more than anyone else. IU liked the pure side of So Min and said that thinking about this movie reminded her of the sound of cheery laughter and filming in May.

Q1. You mentioned in an interview before that you “always had a destination in mind, but nowadays, for the first time, you’re enjoying an itinerary without a destination”. How is it like for you now?

IU: I rarely have the time to think about what state I’m in these days. For now, my break has come to an end. (Laughs) I have to shoot a new drama and I’m preparing for a new album, so I’ve been super busy. Each day, after completing the tasks given to me for the day, I ask, “What’s the next mission?” and I’m simply focused only my work.

Q2. You mentioned on YouTube that “if 2022 was a period of rest, then this year would be a period of running (t/l note: being busy). It seems the start of your busy period is the movie <Dream>.

IU: I think the staff and actors have been counting down to the release of <Dream>. The same goes for me too. Everyone dispersed after filming ended, but once the release date was announced, everyone’s like, ‘What? We need to gather again?’ and met once again. Many actors were involved in the show, so the groupchats were suddenly bustling once again and everyone was cheering each other on.

Q3. This movie is IU’s first full-length film. How was director Lee Byeong Heon on the set?

IU: There was an overlap with the filming of <Broker>. We started filming <Dream> first, followed by <Broker>, but we continued filming for <Dream> even after that. In terms of the timeline, <Broker> was filmed within <Dream>. For <Dream>, there were distinct characteristics of director Lee Byeong Heon at the filming set. A question I often asked the senior actors while filming was, “Are filming sets usually like that?” (Laughs) He’s someone with a clear blueprint in his mind and would say, ‘Ok, cut’ with certainty.

Q4. Was it tough getting used to working together with the team quickly?

IU: I recall what it was like filming at the start.

In the film, it’s the scene when So Min makes her first appearance and I deliberated over whether to do it this way or that way and prepared a lot before I went. I gave myself mental preparation that there was long dialogue, so the filming would probably end late. But we started filming at 9am and we were done before lunch. If we capture the image that the director has in mind, the filming is done quickly. This speed is rare when filming a drama, so even when I heard them say that the filming ended, I asked, “Are you sure we are done filming?” I’m someone who takes awhile to warm up to others, so I was being cowardly initially. Also, Seojoon-ssi is very flexible and someone with an amazing ability to adapt to any environment. Hence, at the start I felt worried that I was lagging behind in my ability to work together with the rest. The filming set was fast-paced, filled with certainty, bustling and enjoyable. As a delightful movie, having filmed <Dream> in summer, it left me with a ‘green’ impression. Personally for me, it is a movie that lightened my mood too.

Q5. Director Lee Byeong Hyeon tends to write lines that are not used in daily conversation, but show an individual’s character. In particular, So Min’s lines have the clearest signs of being written by director Lee Byeong Hyeon.

IU: I memorised all my lines, but I also felt pressured to go along with the rhythm of the film. During the start of the filming, the director suggested that I speak three times faster than my usual speed. He read out So Min’s lines and I thought right then, ‘Ah, so this is So Min!’, which helped me to find the vibe. The director was clear about what he wanted, so this was a piece of work that I pounded at the stone bridge that was the director to cross over. In a way, it’s a production that I received the most help from the director.

Q6. What was it about <Dream> that appealed to you?

IU: I received the script for <Dream> after <My Mister> and <Hotel del Luna> ended. Shall I say that I was kind of tired of playing characters with stories behind them one after another? I felt like acting as a character without a story and Somin in <Dream> was someone with the least story to her. I think I was waiting for a simple character like this back then. So Min acts instinctively, says right away what she thinks and is someone who is exactly the way she looks. I like that So Min doesn’t have a plot in mind and I think I figured out right away what kind of person she is.

Q7. So Min describes herself as someone who “while receiving passion pay (t/l note: unpaid internship), her passion matches up to the pay.” (t/l note: This basically means she’s passionless.)

IU: She’s a child with a good social skillls, such as how to give a fake smile (putting on a smile for show), or faking her behaviour depending on the situation. But she’s basically a really cheerful and tenacious person. I felt that she would have been more passionate than anyone else in the past. She faced the world with her burning passion, but was disregarded and felt hurt, which made her rather cynical. To defend herself from being hurt again, she thinks to herself, ‘Alright, I’ll just do what I need to do and live in moderation.’ I felt that’s the mentality she had. In the film, So Min gives us the feeling that ‘It’s alright to do just this much. Let’s just do a rough job of it.’ Yet if you look more carefully, she’s actually working really hard. (Laughs) I felt that she’s someone who must have been really serious about her work in the past.

Q8. So Min reminded me of your YouTube character, Lee Ji Dong, since her role is that of a company intern.

IU: Lee Ji Dong basically finds any work really annoying. “You’re asking me to do that? I have to do that?” (Laughs) I listened to stories shared by my friends and unnies about their work life and often used that as a reference for Lee Ji Dong.

Q9. So Min often has a towel hanging around her neck. How did you get the idea for such an appearance?

IU: During shoots for variety shows, I noticed that the producers would wear towels around their necks like this, as well as comfortable attire and clothes that would absorb sweat well. I was thinking what kind of clothes to wear to film well at a futsal practice court and since So Min isn’t a PD with special equipment, I thought perhaps a cap or a towel. A short-sleeved tee, with arm sleeves (t/l note: for sun protection) and a towel around the neck. I suggested this to the director who said it was good, so I had my towel or arm sleeves with me on the filming set all the time.

Q10. So it was your idea. Just like how singer IU is the overall planner for your concerts and producing your albums, actress IU also enters the plans for the production team and becomes a part of the big picture.

IU: That’s the biggest difference when I’m being a singer and being an actress. As a singer, I often take the lead at the set, whereas for dramas and films, there’s a captain for me to trust and follow. I become one of the team members. That sense of belonging feels great.

Q11. You said that you gain something from each production you work on, so what did <Dream> leave you with this time?

IU: Not to rely too much on what I came prepared with. (Laughs) You never know what will happen on the set and the way everyone works together might be different from what I had imagined. Due to the weather, an outdoor shoot might become an indoor shoot. I learnt that I had to react quickly to adjust to those changes. Watching the other actors flexibly deal with each take right away, I was motivated with the thought, ‘Amazing. I want to be able to do that too.’ I didn’t have much experience in comedy acting, so it was unfamiliar for me to cooperate with others on that. So I worked hard to catch up with the other senior actors. In particular, Seo Joon-ssi is a very flexible actor who left me amazed. Seo Joon-ssi became the perfect ‘Hongdae’ who annoyed me into giving reactions right away. (Laughs) At the filming set, there were things requested of us every now and then, but Seo Joon-ssi was able to flexibly pull it off. He’s an actor who made me want to become more flexible too.

Q12. You said before that you’re not someone who ad-libs on the set. You’re the type to stick closely to the script. Even so, are there any parts that were added to the script when So Min met IU?

IU: I discussed a lot with the director about the props to wbe used. Umm, I think out of the productions I’ve participated in, this is the one that I followed the director’s opinions most faithfully. Other people would be suggesting this and that, but eventually, the director’s idea would be the best. (Laughs) ‘After trying this and that, eventually the director’s idea is still the best!’ Because of that, there was barely any projection of my own ideas at the set.

Q13. From <Dream>’s Lee Byeong Heon director, to <My Mister>’s Park Hae Young writer and currently, <You’ve Worked Hard>’s Im Sang Choon writer, as well as <Broker>’s Koreeda Hirokazu director, you’ve worked with many outstanding storytellers. What does an ‘attractive story’ mean to you?

IU: Umm, for a start, if the character I’m given is someone I can’t identify with at all, that’s going to be difficult. It has to be within the category that no matter what, I’ll be like, ‘Ah, I know this feeling’, for me to be able to stretch out my hand for it. Whether my character is good or bad doesn’t matter, but I’m not confident in roles that are too bright or overly negative, so I have turned them down before. But the range within this is not narrow either. I’ve been lucky to be able to work with really outstanding writers and directors and what attracted me to their works was also that there were parts I found that I could relate to. Outstanding writers can write about a broad spectrum of human emotions, philosophies and thoughts. I think out of the proposals I receive, I find characters that those with individuality and three-dimensionality tend to appeal to me.

Q14. Is there any particular theme you really want to try that comes to your mind these days?

IU: I mentioned in a previous interview about floating. Without a particular set destination in mind, even if my direction yesterday and today are different, it doesn’t matter and I just want to maintain being in a drifting state. My personality is such that if I decide to do something, I work really hard to achieve it. That might have limited me within those confines at times. I’ve relaxed my state a lot now and want to be more flexible.

Q15. Is there a sentence that touched you, or a sentence or memo you wrote that you feel describes you?

IU: Hold on. (Searches for her phone) Ah, here it is. It’s about a drifting spore. I’m currently writing a song based on this sentence, “She has decided to live as a spore instead of a flower.” The last thing I wrote… let me read it to you. “I just want to tickle the wind and fly now (nareullae). I just want to be myself now (naillae).” That’s what I wrote.

(t/l note: The last part rhymes.)

Q16. After filming for <Broker>, you donated to the Single Mothers’ Family Association and you’ve been regularly making donations every year. Also, at the end of the videos on your YouTube channel, there’s an advertisement for missing children with IU’s voice. What brought you to do all these?

IU: As long as it’s within my abilities, I would like to volunteer and donate more, but currently, I can’t do more than what I have done, which makes me feel sorry at times too. My mum likes to help others too, so I spoke to her a lot as well. For today’s <Big Issue> cover photoshoot, I also told my company since the start of filming for <Dream> that I really wanted to shoot something for <Big Issue>. When I took part in the cover photoshoot 11 years ago, I roughly knew <Big Issue> was a magazine with good intentions, but didn’t understand it as much as I do now. I found out afterwards that it’s really a magazine made with a big heart and found out that the company has been helping the homeless all along, so I thought to myself that I had to come back here again some day.

Also, when I first read the script for <Dream>, because I knew about <Big Issue>, I was feeling happy inside. (Laughs) I thought to myself then that when this movie is about to be released, I had to do something related to the <Big Issue> magazine. As I get older, I also wonder what’s the point of hiding my talents. (Laughs) I can help by singing too. I think it’s great that my actions can help others. When I do so, my fans volunteer at the places I’ve been to as well. I didn’t ask them to do so, but I think it’s really cool when I see them doing so together. I think of such things as ‘things we do together’. (t/l note: IUAENA 🙌🏻)

Q17. Uaena (IU’s fanclub) is famous for volunteering and donating frequently too right?

IU: I didn’t suggest to them to do so, but they did so by themselves. (Laughs) I do it of my personal accord, but I can’t place the burden on my fans to do so. My fans tell me, “We do it too because IU does it.” It is not easy either to put one’s mind to do so. It seems I’m competing with my fans for a good purpose. (Laughs)

Q18. You seem to have a fond and special relationship with your fans. (Laughs)

IU: That’s right. I think the culture and atmosphere of fandom is really precious. We don’t take each other for granted. Ever since the beginning when we formed the fanclub until now, it has been the same. Let’s not take each other for granted. Always be grateful to each other. That’s the kind of feeling we have.

Q19. You mentioned before that you really enjoyed the first year of your 30s. What are your plans for this year?

IU: There are lots of things that I’m working on right now, so I’m just spending each day completing my tasks for the day. When I complete my tasks properly and feel satisfied, it puts me in a good mood.

Q20. Could you share with us more about the drama <You’ve Worked Hard> which you are currently filming?

IU: Umm, I play Ae Soon, a girl who lives on Jeju. I think it’ll tell the story of a long time period. We just started filming and I’m impressed by the props, art and directing teams that brought the script to life. I’m so proud to be part of this project filled with delicate touches.

Q21. The title of this movie is <Dream>. What’s your dream currently?

IU: I hope the movie does well. (Laughs) I don’t have big dreams usually. Rather than setting a big goal, I’m the type to attain anticipated goals at each point in time. My current goal is for this movie to bring joy to many people. I remember laughing a lot while filming <Dream> in the verdant field. It was so fun on the set that it felt like we were filming <The Game Caterers> every week. I hope those who watch the movie will enjoy a fresh sense of enjoyment.

Translated by IUteamstarcandy with love

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iuteamstarcandy · 7 months