PhantomBy Jo Nesbo(Knopf) Jo Nesbo, whose crime thrillers have sold more than 10 million copies in Europe and the United States, has been anointed as the latest king of Scandinavian noir, the heir to the addictive-page-turning throne left vacant by the death of Stieg Larsson.But reading his books in Los Angeles brings to mind a different archetypal noir figure: Michael Connelly’s tortured LAPD detective Harry Bosch.Nesbo’s detective, who is featured in nine of his 16 books, including his latest,

Two years ago the run-up to America’s Iraq invasion was driving Tony Kushner crazy, so he started writing a play in response. In early 2003, The Nation magazine published the first scene of this work in progress, “Only We Who Guard the Mystery Shall Be Unhappy.” In the scene, a frankly audacious and compelling polemic, First Lady Laura Bush reads “The Brothers Karamazov” to the ghosts of dead Iraqi children.In recent months this scene, along with part of a second one, has been presented at dozen

Medical examiners were not sexy, crime-solving heroes when Patricia Cornwell wrote her first Kay Scarpetta mystery 22 years ago.Today, with the publication of the 20th book featuring the pasta-cooking, sharp-dressing forensic scientist, there is an entire industry of sexy medical examiners on television, and Cornwell accepts the responsibility.“I think you can blame Scarpetta. She opened the gate that made it accessible,” Cornwell said. The Scarpetta books, with their grisly autopsies and violen

Korea National Ballet’s top dancers, Kim Ji-young and Lee Dong-hoon, have been invited by the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Russia as guest principals, the troupe announced on Tuesday.The two will play the lead roles in legendary choreographer Yury Grigorovich’s 1968 piece “Spartacus,” along with members of Bolshoi Ballet. The Russian troupe is one of the most renowned classical ballet companies in the world. According to Korea National Ballet, it is the first time for two Korean dancers to

Local director Kim Jin-man’s animated film “Noodle Fish” won the top prize at the Asiana International Short Film Festival (AISFF) on Tuesday.The film, which tells the story of a fish and its moving journey, won the Best Picture prize at the closing ceremony of ASIFF at Cinecube Gwanghwamun in central Seoul.Kim, who studied sculpture and visual design at Hongik University, majored in multimedia and film at ChungAng University’s graduate school. He currently works for an animation studio.Director

Following is part of a series exploring unique museums, collections and the passionate collectors behind them. ― Ed.Though many writers now use computers when they create their works, there’s always something emotionally gripping about looking at their handwriting.Late author Park Wan-suh, for example, would leave handwritten notes to her children whenever she left the house unattended. She told them to not to fight over cakes, how to cook a meal in detail, and what not to do when taking care of

Taiwanese-born American filmmaker Ang Lee said that working in Hollywood requires great communication skills.“Working in Hollywood requires directors to persuade others and explain about everything, even the trivial matters,” said Lee when asked, during a press conference held in Seoul on Monday, for his thoughts on Korean filmmakers’ recent foray into Hollywood. “It’s almost how presidents explain about policies to their people. It’s certainly not easy, and the whole process is like a test. But

For those familiar with director Jo Sung-hee’s previous work, his first commercial film, “A Werewolf Boy,” will come as a surprise.This is mostly because of the tone of the movie. The star-studded film, featuring Song Joong-ki and Park Bo-young, is a fantasy romance between a teenage girl and a feral “wolf” boy who can neither read nor speak. Taking place in a rural Korean town in the 1960s, the film feels very much like a children’s story, filled with innocence, curiosity, humor and moving dram

The Vienna Boys’ Choir welcomed a Korean conductor for the first time in history, according to news reports.Kim Bo-mi, who is currently a Ph.D. student at University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, has been newly appointed as a conductor for one of the four touring teams of the choir, named “Mozart.” The 36-year-old is the first East Asian musician to serve in the position, as well as the first woman.Prior to moving to Vienna, Kim studied music at Yonsei University in Seoul. She’s been stu

Disney Animation takes a page out of Pixar’s well-worn playbook for “Wreck-It Ralph,” a screwball farce with a novel setting and more edge than your average Disney ‘toon.Where “Toy Story” showed us the off-duty shenanigans of a kids’ toy collection and “Monsters, Inc.” took us behind the scenes of the bogeyman business, “Ralph” finds fun in the outside-the-arcade-game life of the characters trapped in those games, forced to play hero, pawn or villain forever. Or until the game falls out of favor

It's been more than 20 years since author Han Mal-sook's novel “Hymn of the Spirit” was published, but the book continues to get reviews from foreign countries, this time from Sweden.The 1981 novel is Han's exploration of spirituality, dreams, death and local shamanism, told through the story of a Korean housewife and her relationship with others ― including her ex-boyfriend and his current wife. The book was translated into English in 1983 and is said to have been considered by the Nobel Commit

Korean filmmaker Kim Ji-woon, best known for his 2003 horror “A Tale of Two Sisters” and 2010 thriller “I Saw the Devil,” won a coveted prize from U.S. Filmmakers Alliance ― a group of cineastes working for and promoting independent movies ― according to local movie house and distributor CJ Entertainment.Kim was given the Vision Award at the annual VisionFest celebration hosted by the organization on Wednesday. The prize is given to an “established filmmaker whose artistic ambition and consisten

Making new friends is always exciting, especially if they share your interests and understand the hurdles of what you do.Two writers, one from Korea and the other from Thailand, meet for the first time during a literary event in Korea and shared their thoughts about each others’ work. Thai writer Uthis Haemamool and Korean writer Yun I-hyeong are among the 20 writers participating in this year’s Seoul International Writers’ Festival. The literary bash, which also serves as a networking event amo

After the very successful first run of “Elisabeth,” ― which was about the real-life 19th-century Austrian Empress ― earlier this year, local musical company EMK is showcasing another European show with an all-Korean cast, this time about the very empress’ son.Titled “Rudolf,” the show is about Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (1858-1889) and his affair with Baroness Mary Vetsera. The piece is based on the famous “Mayerling Incident,” where the crown prince and his mistress were found dead, an app

“I’m a big girl, now,” Eva Marie Saint famously purred to Cary Grant in Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest.”“Yaaaas,” Grant drawled back. “And in all the right PLAY-sez.”So it is with Victoria Justice, former child star, now a stunning young brunette trying to make her way in the big girl world.“I’m 19,” she says. “So no curfews. I can do what I want!”She laughs. What she wants, right now, is to do movies, to star in a hit. Justice, late of TV’s “Victorious,” is the latest in a legion of Disney/ Ni

The fourth installment of a book series consisting of four local and Western classics, published at a low-price to make the books accessible to the less fortunate, sold out less than a week after going on sale online last week.Published by non-profit corporation Olje, the “Olje Classics” series’ newly released books are comprised of “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” by Friedrich Nietzsche; John Bunyan’s “The Pilgrim’s Progress”; “Joseon Gyeonggukjeon” by 14th-century scholar Jung Do-jun; and “The Caigent

After the successful press screening of fantasy drama “A Werewolf Boy,” another fantasy-like film, featuring a pair of conjoined twins, was unveiled to the press on Thursday.A second feature-length film by actress-turned-filmmaker Koo Hye-sun titled “The Peach Tree” is almost like a cinematic version of a children’s story, filled with imaginative and original exploration of the human condition. The film tells the story of Sang-hyeon (Jo Seung-woo) and Dong-hyeon (Ryu Deok-hwan), who were born as

DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Rise of the Guardians’ to be released next monthThe original “Rise of the Guardians” stars Chris Pine, Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin and Jude Law.For the film’s Korean release, however, four local actors have been selected to voice the fantasy characters. Titled “Rise of the Guardians,” the computer-animated fantasy film is an ambitious project by the U.S. animation studio DreamWorks. Based on American author William Joyce’s “The Guardians of Childhood” book series, the film

 On Saturday, local period film “Gwanghae: the Man Who Became the King” (Masquerade) surpassed the 10 million mark in attendance, becoming the second Korean film this year to reach the milestone.The film reached the mark in just 38 days, only about two months after director Choi Dong-hun’s star-studded heist film “The Thieves” achieved the same feat. Only five other local films, including Bong Jun-ho’s 2006 monster flick “The Host” and Yoon Je-kyoon’s disaster film “Haeundae,” have ever passed t

Three multinational singers to star in ‘Phantom of the Opera’One is from Broadway, one from Australia, and the other from South Africa.Three singers, each from a different country, will be starring in the upcoming run of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera” in Seoul.The main cast of the upcoming run consists of veteran Broadway actor Brad Little, Australian actress Claire Lyon, and South African actor Anthony Downing. The three are performing for the first time as a team during the run i