Director Hyun Sol-ip expressed his affection for Park Sung-woong.
The MBC two-part drama ‘The Critic of Director Maeng’ (directed by Hyun Sol-ip, written by Kim Dam), which is set to premiere on the 23rd at 10 PM, depicts a comedy of two men as pro basketball coach Maeng Gong, who is on the verge of being ousted due to poor performance, teams up with his critic Hwa-jin for the sake of the team's success.
With a solid script that won the Grand Prize at the MBC Drama Script Contest, stylish direction, vivid performances from the actors, and an exciting sports theme, the drama promises a perfect synergy and raises expectations for a well-made production.
In the midst of this, director Hyun Sol-ip directly answered questions about the work. He generously shared behind-the-scenes stories, including casting anecdotes, the preparation process for basketball scenes, and the unique charm points of the work.
First, director Hyun Sol-ip expressed 100% satisfaction with the casting of the two lead actors, Park Sung-woong and Park Soo-oh, who boast perfect synchronization with their characters. Regarding the character of pro basketball coach Maeng Gong, director Hyun stated, “Since he is a character from the pro basketball All-Star, height and physique were the most important. Casting actor Park Sung-woong, who is a former volleyball player and a first-generation action school graduate, felt like a predetermined fate.” He continued, “Having a great actor like Park Sung-woong in the role of Maeng Gong has made the story more complete.”
As for Park Soo-oh, who plays the role of Hwa-jin, the dedicated critic of Maeng Gong, he said, “Since the character goes through complex inner conflicts, I thought it needed to be played by an actor with inner goodness to resonate with the viewers. I cast Park Soo-oh without hesitation after seeing his big, clear, and kind eyes.” He added, “I hope the viewers will love the character Hwa-jin played by Park Soo-oh.”
Another highlight of ‘The Critic of Director Maeng’ is the numerous basketball game scenes. Regarding this, director Hyun Sol-ip mentioned, “Preparing the game scenes was the most challenging and difficult task.” The first step to vividly portray the basketball games was finding actors to play the roles of the players.
Director Hyun revealed, “We held auditions four times for over 100 actors, covering everything from acting to basketball. The final selected actors, including Kim Taek, Kwon Joo-seok, Oh Hyun-joong, Kang Hee-goo, and Moon Soo-in, underwent rigorous pre-training for about two and a half months, just like actual pro basketball players.”
He continued, “We held strategy meetings with the advisory team more than three times and even conducted separate camera rehearsals for the basketball game scenes in advance.” He expressed deep trust and gratitude, saying, “Thanks to the efforts of both the actors and the production team, the actual filming went smoother than expected, and we were able to capture vivid scenes that were not even in the script.”
Finally, director Hyun Sol-ip stated, “Unlike typical two-part dramas that generally unfold with 2 to 4 main characters, ‘The Critic of Director Maeng’ has over ten main roles due to its nature as a sports genre. This means there is a lot to enjoy. It will be a bright and warm drama that the whole family can comfortably watch together.”
MBC's two-part drama ‘The Critic of Director Maeng’ will air on May 23 and 24 at 10 PM.
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
