Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1544083
fighting sequences, all portrayed in a mesmerizing animation style. The directing team worked closely with dance and martial arts ex- perts to bring authenticity to these action-packed sequences. "We had to do a lot of K-pop choreography, so we actually went to the K-pop choreographers for inspiration and reference," Kang notes. "We worked with a choreographer named Ling Zhang and also Jam Republic—Nain was a choreographer that we worked with there. Also this group called K-Tigers, that really mix Taekwondo fighting with pop dance and modernize it. It was really cool." "We would shoot reference videos with them and we would hand it to our animators," she continues. "The team would sometimes be inspired by the moves exactly. But a lot of times they were actually creating choreography themselves—things that needed a bridge be- tween two shots, or if we forgot to get the reference for this part. So they would come up with ideas inspired by what they were seeing. Some of them were actual dancers, and they would record them- selves doing the moves." With inspiration being such a core principle of the film's produc- tion, we asked the directors to share words of wisdom that inspire them creatively. Appelhans tells us, "I wanted to share a quote that I love and that I use for all the development of my films. It's by François Truffaut, who talked about what makes a great film. He said, 'A great film has truth and spectacle,' and that is something I've always looked to in terms of checking my ideas and my stories—whether or not they have something fantastic and entertaining and original to offer, and also, do they have something true to say about the world or the way we are or the way we feel? And if you're doing both those things and mashing them up, then I think audiences will always re- spond to those kinds of films." Kang shares, "A quote that I remember a lot is actually from my dad. He is a huge cinephile and I get my love of storytelling and mov- ies from him. He told me it at a time when I felt very kind of lost and a little insecure about making a movie that would represent Korean culture. I felt like it was a lot of pressure on me. He said, 'As a director, you have one job. You can only tell the story that you can tell.' And so I try to remember that a lot when I'm directing." We also asked the team to recommend an underappreciated piece of art or an artist who inspires them. Appelhans recalls a fa- vorite film from the early 2000's: "I'm going to shout out a Korean romcom that everyone should watch if they haven't. It's called My Sassy Girl. It's really funny and the leading duo are amazing. It was my first time kind of falling in love with Korean cinema a long, long, long, long time ago…because I am old." Kang recommends the work of an iconic figure in cinematic his- tory: "One of my biggest inspirations is Charlie Chaplin, and I think young filmmakers really don't know him too well. What's so great about him is he does all his storytelling through pantomime and act- ing. So I've personally learned so much from him about comedy, posing, and how to storyboard, because he's so expressive with his movements and his facial expressions—and to only have to rely on your physical body to tell a story and convey emotion. It's what we have to do a lot in animation. So I highly rec- ommend his work." A sequel to KPop Demon Hunters is now officially in development, with Kang and Appelhans both back on board to write and direct. 16 cgw j a n u a r y • f e b r u a r y • m a r c h 2 0 2 6