On August 3, Coupang Play released an official statement in response to ‘Anna’ director Lee Joo-young’s statement that has been issued a day before.
Coupang Play stated, “From the very early stages of filming, Coupang Play has supported and trusted the director and production staff members of ‘Anna’. However, we learned that the editing did not reflect the direction originally agreed upon by Coupang Play, the director, as well as the production company.”
The streaming platform added, “Throughout the past months, we asked the director to make changes, but the director refused these requests. Based on our rights as stated in the contract, we made the changes to reflect the story that was originally agreed upon by the parties, which resulted in the huge success of ‘Anna’.”
Coupang Play added that they will release the director’s cut of ‘Anna’ once the version completes receiving its rating, in order to respect the director’s direction.
‘Anna’ tells the story of a woman named ‘Lee Yu-mi’ (played by singer/actress Suzy) who creates a new identity for herself, ‘Lee Anna’, climbing up the social ladder while struggling to keep her lie from being exposed.
Shortly after the series’ success, however, director Lee Joo-young claimed that the series was edited without her consent; and that she would take legal action unless Coupang Play release an apology and take her name off from the credits.
The chief editing director of ‘Anna’, Kim Jung-hoon, also gave credence to Lee Joo-young’s allegations.
Kim Jung-hoon shared, “The ‘Anna’ that I watched on June 24 was not the same one that the director and I spent sleepless nights working on.”
He added, “I also asked Coupang Play to take down my name from the credits, but it’s still there. I didn’t edit the series, and it’s hard for me to take credit for work done by someone that I don’t even know. If you are a creator or a staff member who worked tireless nights together, I’m sure you would feel the same way. I feel the same way with what director Lee Joo-young stated.”
(Credit= Coupang Play, Facebook)
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