Meet The Movie Star of The Future

Why ''Ninja Assassin'' and its lead actor, Rain, could just be the perfect movie model for tough times.

Dorothy Pomerantz, 11.19.09, 12:00 PM ET
The Movie Biz

LOS ANGELES - Chances are you've never heard of Jeong Ji-hoon, better known as Rain. But the 27-year-old South Korean pop star is one of the most famous people in Asia. His 2005 album, It's Raining, sold more than 1 million copies. In 2006 he topped a Time Magazine online poll of the most influential people in the world (beating out an angry Stephen Colbert.)

Now he has his first starring role in an American movie: Ninja Assassins. The Warner Bros film, which hits theaters Nov. 25, tells the story of a ninja who seeks revenge against his teacher and fellow ninjas after they kill the girl he loves.

Studios would do well to pay attention. The film could serve as a roadmap for the kind of mid-budget movies they'll need to be making in the coming years. Expensive movie stars no longer guarantee a film will be a hit. Just look at recent box office stinkers like Land of the Lost (staring Will Ferrell) and The Box (staring Cameron Diaz). DVD sales, which once protected studios against losses on mediocre films, continue to slide. And ticket sales are no longer just about how a film performs in the U.S.

Ninja Assassin is a global movie by design. Its violence has an almost universal appeal among young men, so the film, which cost a modest $30 million to produce, should perform well in the U.S. It is being strategically released against the female-leaning vampire flick New Moon.

Then there's the overseas market. Rain's millions of fans in Asia will no doubt shell out good money to see him fight on the big screen. Most of the movie takes place in Berlin (which offered the filmmakers excellent tax credits) and the other stars are British which gives the movie European appeal.

"It's critical for the studios to have a mixed cast and use foreign locations," says Ashok Amritraj of Hyde Park Entertainment, an independent production company that specializes in films with cross-border appeal. "The box office revenue overseas has suddenly eclipsed the domestic box office."

Rain came to the attention of producer Joel Silver when he was filming Speed Racer. The film turned out to be a disaster for Warner Bros but Silver and his directors, the Wachowski Brothers, saw potential in Rain, who had a small role in the film.

"We wanted to find a way to create a star like Bruce Lee or even Steven Segal," says Silver. "Rain is charismatic and because of his dance training he can fight as well as anyone. He fulfilled all our hopes and dreams."

Silver, who has a 15-picture guaranteed deal with Warner Bros through his genre production company, Dark Castle, quickly decided to create a martial arts film as a vehicle for Rain. He brought on director James McTeigue who directed V for Vendetta and had done second unit work on Speed Racer.

Rain has few lines in the movie. He's a mysterious character who mostly lets his weapons do the talking. That should also help the film overseas. And he worked cheap. He might be huge in Asia, but in the U.S. he's not even big enough to be featured in promotional material for the film. The poster for Ninja Assassin features Rain but half of his face is off the page.

If the movie is a hit, expect studios to focus even more development dollars on films aimed at an international audience. Rain might become the model for the modern movie star.

Says Silver: "As the business becomes more international and we're looking for international growth, it's nice to find someone like Rain who can travel."