Fans outside the Grauman Chinese Theatre at last Thursday’s Ninja Assassin premiere
KoreAm‘s Sophia Kim filed this report, and Elizabeth Kim the photos above, from last Thursday’s Hollywood premiere of Ninja Assassin, starring Rain:
Hundreds of giddy fans of all ages lined Hollywood Boulevard across from the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre last Thursday night, hoping to catch a glimpse, and maybe press the flesh, of the South Korean pop idol, Rain. It was a night that many die-hard Clouds (as Rain fans are called) had been anticipating for months—the Los Angeles premiere of Ninja Assassin, a martial arts action film in which “Bi,” as he is called in Korean, plays the lead role.
Paulina Yeung, one of the artist’s many international fans, said she flew in from Hong Kong just for the premiere. “I want to support Rain, to be here for him,” said Yeung, a retired government worker who wouldn’t give her age, but revealed she has a college-aged daughter. “Him being Asian, I am so proud of him.”
In Ninja Assassin, Rain plays Raizo, an orphan who is trained by the secret-society Ozunu Clan to become a deadly assassin. He later seeks revenge against the clan when his female friend is executed by the group’s leader, played by legendary martial arts performer Sho Kosugi. Produced by the Wachowski brothers of The Matrix triology and directed by James McTeigue, who directed V for Vendetta, Ninja Assassin opens nationwide and around the world on Wednesday. The film also features several Korean American actors, including Rick Yune, Sung Kang and Randall Duk Kim.
But, at Ninja Assassin’s Los Angeles premiere, much of the fan attention focused on Rain. Screaming females greeted the star who arrived around 6:30 p.m, looking quite GQ in a dark gray pin-striped suit and a solid magenta-colored tie. His short hair stylishly tousled at the top, the superstar took off his shades and broke into a broad smile. Much to the delight of his fans, he walked across the street to shake hands and sign autographs.
“It was a dream come true,” Rain would later say during an interview at Yamashiro Restaurant in Hollywood, two days after the premiere. “Wow, so many people! I thought, ‘Wow, am I popular in Hollywood?’ It was amazing.”
Check out more from the premiere and from KoreAm’s interview with Rain in our December issue!
