Tuesday, August 3, 2010

K.J. Choi moves to 'Utopia'


Seven Days in Utopia, the inspirational golf flick shooting in Fredericksburg (that's Texas, y'all)has added a pro golfer to the cast. Here's the official press release:

Korean pro golfer K.J. Choi has joined the cast of Seven Days in Utopia, the feature film adaptation of Dr. David L. Cook’s best-selling book, Golf’s Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia. Directed by Matthew Dean Russell, Seven Days in Utopia stars Lucas Black and Academy Award-winner Robert Duvall.

Filming on location in Fredericksburg and Utopia, Texas, Seven Days in Utopia follows the story of Luke Chisolm (played by Lucas Black), a talented young golfer set on making the pro tour. When his first big shot turns out to be a very public disaster, Luke escapes the pressures of the game and finds himself unexpectedly stranded in Utopia, Texas, home to eccentric rancher Johnny Crawford (played by Robert Duvall). But Johnny’s more than meets the eye, and his profound ways of looking at life force Luke to question not only his past choices, but his direction for the future. The cast also includes Deborah Ann Woll (HBO’s True Blood), Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker) and Academy Award nominee Melissa Leo (Frozen River). The feature adaptation was written by Russell, Cook and Rob Levine.

Since joining the PGA Tour in 2000, Choi has quickly gained notable success, finishing in the top 30 money winners in each of the last three years with over two million dollars in earnings in 2004. The first Korean born player to have secured a PGA card and won on the PGA tour, Choi is one of only two Asian born players with multiple wins on the PGA Tour and is only the fourth Asian born player with a PGA Tour victory.

Choi plays ‘Tae Kwon Oh’, one of the chief and most intimidating competitors that Black’s ‘Chisolm’ character must face during his attempt to succeed on the PGA tour. Of taking on his first role in a feature film, Choi said, “I was inspired by Dr. Cook’s book. Acting in a feature film is a new challenge, and one I am enjoying undertaking.”

“Having a genuine star of the PGA tour onboard to play this role automatically raises the game so-to-speak,” said producer Mark G. Mathis. “K.J. Choi’s presence adds another level of legitimacy and authenticity to a project that has already soared beyond any of our expectations.“

Seven Days in Utopia is being produced by Mark G. Mathis (Brick, Precious) and Jason M. Berman (The Dry Land). Executive Producers are Ken Herfurht, Phil Myers, Robert Carliner and Lucas Black. The film was cast by Mary Vernieu and Lindsay Graham.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

We watched KJ perform for the film last week from the set. He did a professional job of acting the character TK Oh! Had lunch w/ him and his manager Mike. Great guys. This will be a great family movie.

Anonymous said...

Utopia rocks. I miss that sleepy town. A little.