BYJ gave up "Drops Of God"

Jan. 5, 2010


Source : My Daily
( http://korea.sohu.com/20100105/n269390065.shtml)
English translation by Cam of BYJ Quilt (Lots of thanks sis)

The production of BYJ’s "The Drops of God" has been canceled.
The plan to return to TV has reached a temporary deadlock

Based on the media report in Korea, Korea.sohu.com in Beijing reported in the afternoon of the 5th January that BYJ’s Keyeast has announced the cancellation of the production plan for the TV drama "Drops Of God" staring BYJ. This news has greatly disappointed many viewers who have long anticipated for his return to the TV screen.

"Drops Of God" is the first TV production for Keyeast. In early 2008 Keyeast signed an agreement with Kodansha of Japan for the remake of the TV version, in the hope of promoting wine appreciation in Korea.

However if they choose to follow the original manga, it is inevitable that numerous brands of wine will be appearing on TV. This will be in violation of S Korea’s indirect advertisement provision. But filming with fabricated brands would diminish the original storyline.

Due to the many issues in question, in addition the agreement of the remake has- expired. After careful consideration of all aspects, Keyeast has finally decided to cancel the plan production of "Drops Of God" .



Source: The Korea Herald

Bae's series scrapped over regulations

Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon's latest television serial has been scrapped indefinitely due to the production's failure to gain authorization to use the name of a brand of wine, his management company Key East said yesterday.

For the drama to have been successfully developed the production team needed a particular brand of wine to be used on the show to stay faithful to the original source material.

But Bae and camp hit a snag with local advertising regulations which limit the amount of product placement on television shows in Korea.

According to Key East, the television adaptation rights for the property was returned to the Japanese publishing house that released the original comics.

Bae, who holds a major stake in Key East, purchased the rights to the popular Japanese comic book in 2008, which was to be developed as a follow-up to his hugely popular television series "Legend."

Bae is currently involved in the pre-production phase of the ambitious new television series he is producing with K-Pop mogul Park Jin-young titled "Dream High."

The 39-year-old actor has also recently published a travelogue of Korea that he penned himself.

(kws@heraldm.com)
Source: Korean Times 2010.01.05

Bae’s 'God’s Waterdrop' Project Turns Sour

Actor Bae Yong-joon gave up on his project of turning a popular Japanese comic series, God’s Waterdrop, into a drama due to rules restricting the use of real wine brands.

Top star Bae Yong-Joon has been forced to give up on his project of turning a popular Japanese comic series, God's Waterdrop, into a drama due to rules restricting the use of real wine brands, officials from his agency said.

The comic book, featuring a renowned wine critic and two men searching for 12 kinds of wine called God's disciples,' recently boosted sales of wine in Korea and had been called a CEO's must-read at one point.

However, the project went bust, as they could not overcome the rules on product placement, which tightly restrict indirect advertising of products such as the use of real wine brands in dramas.

Keyeast, an entertainment company controlled by Bae, has relinquished its right to make the comic into a drama to the Japanese publisher.

"On top of the expired contract we signed in 2008, the key reason for the cancellation of the project is because we were unable to resolve the problems involving indirect ads,"' a Keyeast official said.

On top of production, Bae originally planned to take a leading role in the drama, targeting Asian markets.

It is known that the writers of the comic book are avid fans of the Korean hallyu star.