Being caught up with two in-progress film projects, are you confident when you announce a huge historical drama project on a hard-to-deal-with theme about Nguyen Trai?
The film Hero and Hero recalls the tragedy of Le Chi Garden involving great historical figures, including the national hero Nguyen Trai and King Le Thanh Tong. The story was set in 1464, 22 years after the tragedy, when King Le Thanh Tong vindicated Nguyen Trai overnight. I have thought twice before I decided to launch this film project. It is aspirational, but it is also difficult to implement in Vietnam.
It’s difficult because historical drama hasn’t been a trend in Vietnam yet. I am aware that there is no available resource and we have to start developing everything. The reason I made this decision is that I have quite a full filmmaking experience and I have a good team.
Another reason is that I have friends in the domestic and international film industry. They made movies and they paid much for the experience. I invite them with respect and they will cooperate with their intellectual property, which money can’t buy.
The fact that there are not many experienced film producers is worth considering, so I will invite international experts in historical drama production for advice on production. I will invite an expert team, who work seriously on the film and become a good fulcrum for me to start making the film.
Making historical drama is not just about the budget, but without a huge budget, it is impossible to start the project. Is this true?
I always think about the expenses on making films, especially in Vietnam where there is no modern studio. As for Hero and Hero, we expect the Government will support us and invest in it. If it is so, the team is both encouraged and accompanied for a historical topic.
Moreover, the investment can be the starting point for many filmmakers sharing the same ambition to make historical drama. Vietnamese history is an endless source for all filmmakers. I think, once successful, historical films will bring many incalculable values. I will find funding to produce this film.
You consider yourself to have a forte in horror and action movies, can this forte be effective in the historical drama Hero and Hero?
Each genre has its own level of difficulty and any director has to go through the starting points and overcome the difficulties. In the Hero and Hero, the revival of the context, and many other problems such as costumes and horses, will not be an easy problem.
However, the current cinematic technology enables fast VFX processing with outstanding advantages. For many scenes, visual effects will save more than they should cost if created in real contexts. There are even scenes that can only be created using visual effects to express the director’s intentions.
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| Director Luong Dinh Dung working on a scene |
Nevertheless, the most crucial and essential of historical drama is the spirit of the film and the majesty of the characters. These factors need to be displayed through specific images for the spectators to admire.
And I think what I consider to be my forte will be properly utilized in this historical drama project. I know how to have a vivid and truthful movie.
Historical drama is always scrutinized. Do you think you are overconfident with this beginning while there are still debates among historians, for example, on the matter of costumes?
Making historical drama is indeed very risky and challenging. But it gives me the opportunity to make a work of pride because the Fatherland is present in the historical information of the movie.
It is opined that the director needs to understand history to make historical drama. My point of view is that a historian spends his lifetime researching to obtain in-depth understanding. There are dozens of important jobs in a movie. If the director needs to have expert knowledge, it may take hundreds of years to complete. So, inviting an expert, as it is often done in the world, is the best and most appropriate way. The director’s responsibility is to focus on recreating the story in the cinematic language in a significant manner.
No one lived in the historical period to be absolutely certain of what was right and what was not. We must follow what is recorded in history books or other sources from experts in each field and do the best.
We have taken these as top priorities in the Hero and Hero and invited experts to give advice. We understand that even the smallest mistakes can affect the whole movie. Perhaps, the spectators’ high expectations put me under pressure. But if I had not been sure, I wouldn’t have decided to work on this project.
Is there any goal of revenue for the Hero and Hero?
Any financially unsuccessful project is a pain and sadness not only for me, but also for investors. Therefore, I will find a way to continue with other projects to compensate for the losses that investors have already shared with me.
I remain silent but make effort to speed up. I hope Hero and Hero will have many spectators, especially the young, so they can better understand the history of their nation.
Thank you very much!