Character Profiles and Fantasy Casting

Aaaand here we go! Character profiles, and fantasy casting just for kicks. I promise not to give away too much here, though there are some specific character changes you should look out for.


Kang Mu-gyul: My Mu-gyul is pretty much the same person he was in the drama. One of the better written characters imho. Free-spirited rocker dude. Largely laid back, hardly ever gets upset or angry. Makes do as a couch surfer and a moocher. Has a strained relationship with his mother because she’s always leaving him, has abandonment issues, so keeps all his relationships brief and casual, never getting too attached, and bailing if things ever get serious. Only things he devotes himself to are his music, and by extension, his band.

Casting: I'm good with Jang Geun-seok in this role. He was great.

Wi Mae-ri: Recent college grad. Sole caretaker of wayward father, Jung-seok. Despite being devoted to her father, she also strives for independence from him, and the chance to live her own life free of his debt troubles. Has worked numerous jobs, and has become pretty street smart, knowing how to get out of any possible fix you can think of, often by wacky methods. Once wanted to be a writer, but has pushed that dream aside and settled for less inspiring jobs in order to support her father and avoid losing their home. She's learned to be a realist, and just survives from day-to-day, as opposed to dreaming of a better life. She's kind and loyal, and cares about the people around her.


I really wanted to make her less weepy and mopey more proactive, as she proved herself to be a few times in the original drama. Also she was so precious, which was annoying - never been kissed and drama-obsessed and a bleeding heart romantic. The long-suffering yet extremely-adorable girl-trope had to go. She needs to do something other than cry and wait for the other men in her life to sort out their own issues.

Casting: Moon Geun-young, Park Bo-young

Okay so I realize that the above photo is not Moon Geun-young. But it looks like her! And I think her hairstyle is completely appropriate for my re-imagined Mae-ri. Cute and pretty, but doesn't make her look like a hairy animal. Also we're doing away with the hippie wardrobe. A few of the things she wore were cool, but overall it was just weird. And I'm not sure I want her to be weird. We'll see... Now that I think about it though, my new Mae-ri might require a different type of actress. I saw Park Bo-young in Speed Scandal and thought she was good at being sweet yet savvy, and playing a girl wiser than her years. So she'd do as well.

Jung-in: Obedient chaebol son. Wants to pursue his own dreams, but is stuck in the filial piety loop with his dad, who's strict and inflexible. Studied Economics, but actually wants to be a filmmaker. Is extremely awkward, as he balances his perfect son persona with his quirky artist persona. Dad puts him in charge of one of the newspapers owned by his media conglomerate. Idealistic, almost to a fault, and naive. But good-hearted.

Casting: Kim Jae-wook, Kim Soo-hyun, Lee Tae-sung

From this:

To this:

Oh Kim Jae-wook. As much as I love him as a character, the Jung-in I'm imagining in my head is maybe not best suited for Kim Jae-wook. In fact, maybe I should make him Mu-gyul instead, and cast someone else as Jung-in. I know only a few young up-and coming actors, so I'm hardly the expert on this, but I can see Kim Soo-hyun playing this to the hilt and bringing some comedy as well, which would be good. Lee Tae-sung would be good too. On a purely visual basis, however, I imagine an actor who looks like Infinite's Woohyun being perfect for the role. Weird, but yeah.

Seo-jun: Up-and-coming actress, Mu-gyul's ex-girlfriend. No one really knows what her deal is (I'll admit it, it's because I have no idea how I want her to work into this story just yet). Talented, but also a huge diva. The press alternately loves her and hates her, but she does what she wants either way. No news on her family background (yet).

Casting: Kim Hyo-jin, Yoo In-na

Oh the dreaded second lead. Half the girls who take up this role end up in similar roles for most of their careers, because the role is the same and they do it decently. They're always kind of just there to mess up the works, but I'd like to see her become more integrated into the main love triangle. Kim Hyo-jin is in my opinion a good actress, she just had crappy material to work with in this drama. Despite that, I think she could still work in my reimagining of the role. Only difference being I'd give her long hair instead of that awful red wig she wore. Barring that, I also think Yoo In-na would do well in it. Her comedic prowess might just make Seo-jun into a more interesting character.

Other characters that we'll see are Mu-gyul's flighty mother, Mae-ri's girlfriends and Mu-gyul's band mates. I want to have more moments with them, and less on the parental machinations (which I promise will be considerably reduced). Mae-ri and Jung-In's dads are still old friends in an old love triangle with Mae-ri's mom. This was probably one of the worse storylines in the drama, but I've rethought it into something I think complements the young people's story very well. It will definitely be less icky, though, so don't worry.

So a few subtle adjustments, but hopefully you have an idea of how their lives will all collide eventually in the space of the drama. Even though the fantasy casting was just for kicks, in my new vision of the drama, I might just switch things up a bit more... stay tuned :)

Also a note: these characters are subject to change as I actually start plotting it out in more detail, but I will let you know of any changes, and also try and keep them consistent as the drama unfolds.

Update

Hi all! And when I say all I mean the two people following this blog, and anyone else who randomly stumbles upon this blog as you aimlessly browse the internet. If you're here, it means you've seen and are somewhat interested in the Korean drama "Mary Stayed Out All Night", and also, sadly, know what a failure of a drama ended up being. I had started this blog a while back to do a rewrite/adaptation/reconceptualizing of the drama in order to make myself feel better about it, and also to explore some of the themes I felt the drama should have touched on but didn't. I let it die for a while though, because I got discouraged and overwhelmed at what I had to do, but I'm back! I got a little pep talk from a friend, and desperately needed to be writing again, so here I am, once again picking up my pen and attempting to do justice to a good premise.

I'm happy to report that I have character sketches nearly done! And have a few major plot points planned. I'm actually super excited now - more so than when I first had the idea, because it's growing into something that I can actually visualize and I have a story that I want to tell. Which is great.

I've decided that I want the story to focus on the four main characters - Mae-ri, Mu-gyul, Jung-in and Seo-jun, and them basically dealing with being young and becoming adults. The whole premise of the story - young girl gets married to two different guys - means that you have young people dealing with things they shouldn't really have to deal with and thinking about questions that they normally wouldn't be, so it makes for a good contemplative-type drama. But, I do realize that bigamy is a pretty out there concept, particularly for 22 year olds, so I also want to keep it light and funny as well. It kind of has to be ridiculous, but I also want it to "think", if that makes any sense. I'm also kind of upset that I'm coming back to this after Lie to Me has aired, because the fake marriage thing is now done and done again, but hopefully, I can do something different with it.

As of right now, I don't plan to do any screenwriting, and will probably do more of a prose-as-outline style rewrite. Almost like I'm recapping the drama, only with a different story. I want to do it this way because it would be near impossible for me to write a script for a Korean drama, when I'm not Korean and am by no means expert on Korean culture. A lot of what makes k-dramas interesting and funny is the cultural element to it: they're very grounded in their place of origin, and the way familiar stories are told from the point of view of a different culture is what makes them appealing. So I don't want to mess with that, for fear of failing to meet up to expectations - my own and those of others. However, I will be consulting other k-drama fans and Korean friends for some ideas and suggestions, and inserting cultural elements that I am familiar with into the drama, so it won't be completely non-Korean. Also, as this is a "rewrite", I'm going to be borrowing a lot of ideas from the original drama. I mean, they had a lot of good stuff in there, they just didn't know what the hell to do with it.

So that's what's going on now. I want to finish my character sketches and outline a bit before posting my work on this blog, so you'll have to wait a bit longer, but please, if you're even curious, come back, read and let me know what you think!

Unofficial Mary Stayed Out All Night OST - What are your picks?

Hey everyone,

I'm sorry I've gone a week without posting anything - I've been busy, as well as at a loss as to where to start with this whole thing!!! But after listening to the lovely OST tracks from Mary Stayed Out All Night, I decided to start with the music for the drama. That and I write a blog about music (mostly Korean pop music at the moment), called Mixtapes and Liner Notes (go visit please! :D), so I figured this would be a good place to start.

Now, if any of you read Dramabeans, you may remember a comment by girlfriday about the drama's OST, and how it wasn't very indie for a drama about an indie band. She also compared the OST to that of Coffee Prince, which was very indie pop. (I don't remember when/where she said it, but I think it was in their last podcast). I remember disagreeing a little because Absolute Mu-gyul is an indie band by definition, even though they mostly play rock music. Also, indie is a very broad term, and can encompass everything from dreamy indie pop a la Coffee Prince to hard rock to alternative electro music, so I don't really see how they're not indie. Finally, I actually listened to the Coffee Prince soundtrack, and I realized that Absolute My-gyul sounds very much like Tearliner, who have a number of songs on the OST.

That being said, the drama's OST overall is not very indie: save the original songs written for Absolute Mu-gyul/Mu-gyul to play, everything else was done by a pop artist. So I see her point. And now I'm wondering what kind of music would have been better for the drama. I definitely would have hired an indie producer to be the sole producer of the music, and left off featuring big names like TRAX and KARA's Seung-yeon in favor of lesser known artists. I recently gushed about the My Princess OST, which is mostly indie, and one band in particular, Every Single Day, seemed like they would be a good fit (check out their song for My Princess, Sunset) - or Tearliner. Also, for a cute song to suit Maeri's character (though I'm thinking of changing her characterization slightly, so cute might not be appropriate), I would have gone with Yozoh and had her write the song herself. And I would have gotten rid of the creepy marriage song, and cut out the meows in the song called "Mu-gyul's Theme" which I think is absolutely adorable.

Finally, I honestly wish that the band had more songs. While I love "Take Care Of My Bus" they played it so often that it got old real fast. In reality, if a band has such a limited repertoire (which seemed odd since they managed to perform in packed clubs every time they had a gig) they do cover songs.  Imagine the awesomeness of a Boohwal cover, or the hilarity of a k-pop cover in a karaoke bar. (I am totally writing a scene for that now :)

Anyway, those are my thoughts - what do you think? Which artists would you have liked to see on this drama's OST? Do you think the music concept as a whole could have been better utilized in the drama? Or did you like the music as is?

Welcome To The Maeri Project

Hey everyone! I'm Mellowyel and I watch k-dramas. I recently watched a k-drama, "Mary Stayed Out All Night", which had great leads but absolutely shitty writing. I am thus starting this blog in an attempt to dull my utter disappointment from the show and also to try my hand at screenwriting. Basically, I plan on rewriting the drama through this blog. I have no idea if anything decent will come out of it, but I'm trying anyway.

I'm not entirely sure how I want to do this: a fellow blogger rainerust suggested a round robin type thing where a bunch of people contribute to a scene or episode, and I like that idea. But I also want to do character sketches and plot outlines and stuff like that. Right now, the plan is to do all of it :) If you're interested in joining The Maeri Project, introduce yourself in the comments section and let's talk about our ideas for this thing. Otherwise, stay tuned as I bring you an amateur's attempt at writing a 16-episode miniseries.

Best,
Mellowyel

What have I gotten myself into?