EXCLUSIVE: Seoul Searching director Benson Lee has signed with Verve.
He was previously with WME, having signed on the eve of Seoul Searching‘s premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015, as we told you at the time.
The Korean-American is currently attached to direct Kpop Superstar for Paramount, with Scooter Braun’s SB Projects producing and Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians) penning the script. He’s worked in drama, docs and commercial production since breaking through in the late 1990s.
Lee is also working on a breakdancing documentary that will feature exclusive access granted by the World DanceSport Federation in the run up to the 2024 Paris Olympics. We hear other projects include an Asian-American dance-themed drama series set in southern California’s hip-hop scene
He’s best known for Sundance Film Festival title Seoul Searching, a John Hughes-style comedy set in the 1980s about a group of Korean teens who meet at a summer camp in Seoul in which many children have flown in from around the world to attend.
Lee made history at the same fest when his film Miss Monday was the first from a Korean-American to be accepted into Dramatic Competition back in 1998 and received a Grand Jury Prize for Acting.
He is also behind Sony Pictures’ 3D adaptation of Planet B-Boy, titled Battle of the Year 3D, which starred Chris Brown and Josh Holloway.
Lee continues to be represented by Marathon Management.