Yahoo Lifestyle ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ Star Adeline Rudolph, ‘Partner Track’s’ Arden Cho to Lead K-Pop Thriller ‘Perfect Girl’ for Badlands; Upgrade to Launch Project at EFM
Rolling off her lead role in “Mortel Kombat 2,” Adeline Rudolph will star opposite Arden Cho (“Partner Track,” “Avatar: The Last Airbender”) in “Perfect Girl,” an elevated psychological thriller set in the competitive world of K-pop.
“Perfect Girl” (previously titled “Unnie”) will be directed by genre filmmaker Hong Won-ki (“Goedam,” “Zombie Hunter”), with an original soundtrack created by K-pop powerhouses Sunshine (renowned for producing K-pop hits for BTS, among others) and Moonshine.
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Upgrade will introduce the project to buyers in a couple weeks at the EFM in Berlin, with CAA Media Finance handling domestic rights.
The project hails from Badlands, a one-year-old new indie genre label which brings together Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee’s Thunder Road (“John Wick”) and former Sony executive Scott Strauss.
The screenplay, penned by Lynn Q. Yu, landed on the 2023 Black List script and has been described as a “Scream-meets-Black Swan,” revolving around a brand new K-Pop super group preparing to be launched to the world at a massive concert. “A group of girls have trained for years for only four spots, and the final cut is only a week away. The competition is off the charts. But when a talented and mysterious new girl is introduced at the last minute, things start to get strange – girls are being hunted and attacked one by one,” reads the synopsis.
“In addition to compelling scares and an authentic portrayal of K-pop, Director Hong envisions an elevated psychological thriller which demands actresses of Adeline and Arden’s caliber,” said Strauss. “After a long search, we’ve found the perfect leads for ‘Perfect Girl.'”
Rudolph, a Hong Kong-born actor of Korean descent, will next star in “Mortal Kombat 2” directed directed by Simon McQuoid for New Line. She previously starred in Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and “Resident Evil,” as well as The CW’s “Riverdale.”
Cho is a Korean American actor who broke through in the MTV hit series Teen Wolf. She recently played the lead in Netflix’s “Partner Track” and has a recurring role in Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
Hong, whose work has often been based on popular Korean urban legends featuring K-pop idols, is also behind the music video production company Zanybros which he founded with videographer Kim Jun-hong.
Backed by Andrew Schwartzberg and Jon Shiffman’s Renegade Capital, Badlands is already in post with Angel Gómez Hernández’s “Arachnid” starring Matilda Lutz (“Revenge”) and in prep on Gomez Hernandez’s next feature “Dangerous Games to Play.”
Rudolph is represented by IAG, Luber Roklin, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher. Cho is represented by Innovative Artists and imPRint. Zanybros is represented by IAG and Magnolia Entertainment. Lynn Q. Yu is represented by Verve and Code Entertainment. Thunder Road and Badlands are represented by CAA Media Finance.
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