Rockstar Shin Hae-chul’s agency has teamed up with a local film company to make a biopic about the late singer.

On Thursday, local film production and distribution company Acemaker Movie Works announced the production of a movie in remembrance of singer Shin’s short, dramatic life.

For the production, the company will team up with N.E.X.T United, an agency led by Shin’s wife. The agency currently holds the copyrights to Shin’s songs and the work of his band N.E.X.T. 

Shin died in October 2014 few days after a cardiac arrest. His death was blamed on a doctor who had conducted stomach reduction surgery on Shin to treat gastrointestinal problems and was later jailed for medical malpractice. Shin was 46 years old when he died.

Shin was nicknamed “Mawang” -- meaning “Evil King” -- due to his charismatic performances and cynical persona.

“The movie will portray not only the Shin that we knew as ‘Mawang,’ but also reveal the human side of Shin that most people were not aware of, ” the statement released by Acemaker Movie Works read.

The film will include recordings of Shin’s voice, applying a sound-restoration technology held exclusively by N.E.X.T United to make them sound as close to his original voice as possible.

Shin shot to fame in 1988 through his debut stage at MBC College Musicians Festival. As part of the band “Muhangwedo,” Shin topped the contest with his self-composed song “To You,” a song still often used by cheerleading squads here.

Throughout his 25 years of career as a rock vocal and singer-songwriter, Shin has left more than 30 albums to his credit. In 1992, Shin formed a rock group N.E.X.T with which he released his last single in September 2014, “I Want it All.” Shin was also known for hosting a popular radio show between 2001 and 2012.

An official from the Acemaker Movie Works said the company would begin production of the movie this year and expects it to take three to five years to complete.


By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)