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Good news if you’re a guy like–meaning one who now lives in the sticks and never gets to see cool movies because they don’t release them in here in redneck-ville. Park Chan Wook’s vampire flick Thirst (which played in limited release around the country this summer) has a DVD date.

DVD Times is reporting that the film, which revolves around a priest who undergoes an experimental blood transfusion and winds up a vampire, will hit DVD (courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment) on November 17th. The disc is set to retail at $29.98. No mention of a Blu-ray version, so the traditional disc might be your only option.

No details on what kind of extras the disc will be packing, but I’ll share them as soon as Universal makes the official announcement. Until then, enjoy the cover art for the disc (pictured above). Unfortunately, it’s the “edited” image and not the one with the legs that make the whole thing look like a giant bat head.

Some interesting news coming from Twitch today–apparently Oldboy director Park Chan Wook has lined up his next project. The particularly interesting news is that it’s going to be making a film version of Donald Westlake’s novel The Ax. The film is technically a remake (the original version was made in Europe), but the subject matter sounds like something perfectly suited to a filmmaker of Park’s “unique” sensibilities.

Here’s what Twitch had to say on the subject:

“According to a Star News exclusive (so we’ll treat this as an informed rumor until more sources pop up), Park will in fact return to Chungmuro with the first remake of his career, adapting Costa-Gavras’ 2005 film Le Couperet (The Ax), itself adapted from Donald E. Westlake’s eponymous novel.

Park was approached by Studio Canal at the last Cannes Film Festival, right as offers from Hollywood were raining down on him, so it’s likely they will join Moho Films in a co-production. Last year’s debutant Lee Gyeong-Mi of (Crush & Blush) is writing the script as we speak, and the film plans to shoot in New York. Feels exactly like the kind of film Park might turn into brilliance (particularly following the global crisis), so we’ll just have to hope this turns out to be true. In any case, we’ll keep you updated.“

If you couldn’t tell, I’m pretty excited about this news. Westlake and Park Chan Wook sounds like a fantastic set of collaborators to me–I look forward to checking out the finished product whenever it hits theaters.

I spend every waking moment of my life trying to figure out how to get out of Florida and back to the Bay Area. News like this only exacerbates my angst. They open movies like Thirst in San Francisco–not places like Tampa. I live in a cultural black hole.

Focus Features unveiled the list of theaters premiering Park Chan Wook’s vampire film Thirst yesterday. Good news if you live in NYC, LA, or San Francisco. Not so good news if you live anywhere else. The film is slated to debut on July 31st at the following locations:

New York
Landmark’s Sunshine Cinema (143 East Houston Street, near 2nd Avenue)

Los Angeles
Laemmle’s Sunset 5 (8000 Sunset Boulevard, at Crescent Heights)

San Francisco
Landmark’s Bridge Theatre (3010 Geary Boulevard, near Blake Street)

We’ve known the basics of what the film was about for months now, but here’s a much longer official synopsis:

A priest becomes a vampire…another man’s wife is coveted…a deadly seduction triggers murder. Thirst is the new film from director Park Chan-wook (Old Boy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance). Already a boxoffice smash in Korea, Thirst was honored with the Prix du Jury [Jury Prize] at the 2009 Cannes International Film Festival.

Continuing his explorations of human existence in extreme circumstances, the director spins a tale that he conceived and then developed over several years with co-screenwriter Chung Seo-kyung.

Sang-hyun (played by top Korean star Song Kang-ho, of The Host) is a priest who cherishes life; so much so, that he selflessly volunteers for a secret vaccine development project meant to eradicate a deadly virus. But the virus takes the priest, and a blood transfusion is urgently ordered up for him. The blood he receives is infected, so Sang-hyun lives – but now exists as a vampire. Struggling with his newfound carnal desire for blood, Sang-hyun’s faith is further strained when a childhood friend’s wife, Tae-ju (Kim Ok-vin), comes to him asking for his help in escaping her life. Sang-hyun soon plunges into a world of sensual pleasures, finding himself on intimate terms with the Seven Deadly Sins.

If you aren’t excited to see this, I have to wonder how you wound up on this site in the first place.

Yesterday we got our first look at the domestic one sheet for Park Chan Wook’s vampire film, Thirst. Today we get a look at the redband trailer courtesy of IGN.

I’m not gonna say much about it (you should watch it for yourself), but I will tell you that I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing it when it hits theaters on July 31st. A lot of folks are saying it could very well be this year’s Let the Right One In–but I think it could be better than that, given Park’s penchant for making engaging yet controversial films.

Does the trailer make you interested in seeing this or are you vampired out at this point?

AICN scored the first look at the official US poster for Park Chan Wook’s Thirst. It’s essentially the same as the modified Korean version–and not the more controversial one, unfortunately (which you can see here).

The film focuses on a priest (played by Song Kang-ho) who becomes a vampire after undergoing a blood transfusion. Focus Features is handling the US release. The film hits theaters on July 31st.

The Cannes Film Festival has wrapped up–and it was nice to see a few horror flicks get some attention.

Charlotte Gainsbourg picked up a best actress award for her work in Lars Von Trier’s controversial Antichrist. The film’s sparked outrage for its sexual violence and gory imagery, but apparently it’s not all just about shock, splatter, and titillation. Gainsbourg stars alongside Willem Dafoe in the film–which tells a tale of a grieving couple who retreats to their cabin ‘Eden’ in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse. IFC will be bringing Antichrist stateside, presumably later this year.

Park Chan Wook’s vampire film Thirst also was honored, picking up a jury prize. Song Kang-ho plays a priest who struggles with becoming a vampire in the film. A US release is already in the works, as is a potential remake. Meanwhile, Kinatay helmer Brillante Mendoza snagged the best director award.

And while it’s not a horror film, congratulations to Michael Hanke for taking the top prize for his latest, The White Ribbon. Haneke’s a guy near and dear to the heart of many a genre fan for his disturbing films like Funny Games, Benny’s Video, and Cache.

Park Chan Wook’s vampire thriller Thirst hasn’t even hit theaters yet, but there are already talks in progress for a US remake.

According to Variety, Universal’s Focus Features (the company who’ll be releasing the original film domestically later this year) has the rights to take a crack at an American remake–and according to one of the other production companies involved, the idea of a remake is generating some serious buzz.

This would mark the third potential remake of a Park film–with Oldboy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance redos already in the works.

If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that people will be able to see Thirst in America before a remake of it–a luxury that people who got stuck viewing Quarantine instead of [Rec] never had.

I’m very interested in Park Chan Wook’s vampire thriller Thirst. It’s a horror flick, first off, and Park is a really intriguing filmmaker who makes interesting films even when they don’t quite work in the way you’d hoped (I think Lady Vengeance was a huge disappointment…)

Fangoria brings us news that Thirst will actually show on some screens here in America come July. The plan currently is to open the film in limited release then expand slowly based on reaction and box office receipts. If the film does well, it’ll spread to other cities. If it doesn’t, they’ll simply pull it. Good idea, although if you live in the sticks odds are this isn’t going to turn up at your local multiplex.

Thirst, which tells the tale of a priest who receives a blood transfusion and wakes up a vampire, will play at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

I’m really looking forward to Park Chan Wook’s vampire flick Thirst–even moreso after checking out this trailer. My only complaint is that there are no subtitles on this, so I have no idea what’s really going on. The visuals are gorgeous, though.

Check it out for yourself and see that you think.

Park Chan Wook’s Thirst hasn’t even hit theaters yet, but it’s already stirring up controversy in South Korea.

The film’s one-sheet (above) has been banned by the country’s Media Rating Board. The reason? “It’s too provocative and disturbing”. Apparently, showing a priest with a naked woman is frowned upon in South Korea. Feel free to insert your own priest and altar boy joke here. The offending poster has been replaced with a new version, which is exactly the same, except the naked woman’s legs have been removed.

I dig the original poster. It’s got that whole sex thing happening, but the positioning of the actors also makes a bat head, which ties into the title and looks cool. Hopefully they use that imagery when the film turns up here in the States.