THE POWER OF YONSAMA

Korean actor, Bae Young-Jun, (aka Yonsama) is so popular in Japan that middle-aged housewives beat each other to death just to get a whiff of his sweat. But now his popularity becomes...more popular? Korean film, APRIL SNOW, by Hur Jin-Ho and starring Yonsama, made so much money when it was released in Japan that they had to open a second mint. Now, the Director's Cut of APRIL SNOW is set to come out on September 9 and advance tickets have just gone on sale (July 7 was T-day).

The crowds were so large that the ticket sellers just gave up and opened two hours early. The sales were in the 9,000 ticket range. This set the record for largest first day sale for advanced tickets ever for any movie in Japan. Tours were arranged for people who wanted to come in from out of town and buy advanced ticekts. Five housewives were so excited that they set their hair on fire and ran through downtown Osaka screaming, "Yonsama! We greatly respect your acting!" Rumors fly that the moon is carving itself into a giant statue of Yonsama's head.

But the real loser in all of this is a dejected Jay Chandrasekhar who wonders why this kind of hoopla didn't greet the premiere of his Unrated Director's Cut of THE DUKES OF HAZZARD. Sometimes, life just isn't fair.