Military Veteran’s First Feature Film Selected for SxSW

Los Angeles, (March 5, 2015) – When the prestigious South by Southwest film festival kicks off next week, among its ranks in the Narrative Spotlight category will be Ktown Cowboys, a film produced by two retired U.S. Army officers, Brian Chung and Greg Bishop, both veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Chung and Bishop first met at the Army’s Office of Public Affairs West Region, more commonly known as the Army’s Entertainment office. Bishop was assigned there as the Deputy Director and it’s where they both got an inside look at film production while supporting movies like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Dear John and others.

Ktown Cowboys is not a military themed project, but the partners point to their military background for the successful production of their first movie. Bishop said, “one of the first ‘ah-ha’ moments I had on a movie set was that it wasn’t much different from a military operation. The planning, task organization, logistics, problem solving and teamwork are all elements of film production and something we knew a lot about from our military experience.”

Chung added, “we knew enough to know we had the skill set to succeed, we just needed to learn the language of producing.” So upon his retirement in 2009 he founded Musa Military Entertainment Consulting Inc. (Musa MEC) and Bishop joined as a full partner in 2010 when he retired.

“Musa” is Korean for “warrior” and honors both Chung’s Korean heritage and the ethos the partners carry from their military experience into their business. The consulting firm flourished over the years working on a wide spectrum of projects across multiple platforms (television, video games, advertising and feature films). Bishop explained, “being a part of so many different productions with so many different production companies gave us a wide spectrum of experiences to pull from.” In 2013, the two launched Musa Productions, LLC. Under this banner they helped produce a segment of History Channel’s Top Gear USA at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, they were the U.S. unit production company for two Korean blockbuster action films shooting in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Los Angeles, and their company owns and operates the “All Warrior Network,” a digital military-themed entertainment network with channels on Hulu, AT&T Uverse, YouTube, AmazonPrime, and others.

Musa Productions partnered with the creators of the popular web series Ktown Cowboys to adapt it into a feature film. Ktown Cowboys is a bro-mantic dramedy that follows a group of ball-busting, hard-partying friends wrestling with their evolution into adulthood. As their individual struggles come to light, the group of friends band together in Koreatown and through late nights at seedy after-hour soju bars, karaoke drinking girls and even a stint in jail, each emerges as a better version of himself. Musa oversaw the entire production from development to delivery of the final film, and is featuring the film at the prestigious festival for sales. KTOWN COWBOYS is helmed by first time director Daniel “DPD” Park, written by Danny Cho (Mad TV, Parks and Recreation) and Brian Chung, and executive produced by Ken Jeong (The Hangover and Community). The film is represented by Chris Sablan (Original Artists) for sales.

South by Southwest is the 4th most prestigious film festival in the world behind only Sundance, Toronto and Cannes. SXSW offers the unique opportunity to enjoy music, watch independent films, and be immersed in emerging technologies. The festival includes everything from film screenings to creative panels and trade shows showcasing the newest ventures in the creative space. You can learn more about the festival by visiting their website: www.sxsw.com