Hà LinhInformation about Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien being prosecuted in relation to the counterfeit production case at Chị Em Rọt Corporation and Asia Life Corporation is causing a stir in the public. This also makes the future of the movie "Chốt đơn" - the film in which Thuy Tien plays the lead role - more uncertain than ever.
"Chốt đơn" no longer has the possibility to be released in theaters?
On the evening of May 19, the official fanpage of the movie was inaccessible. The movie was also removed from the distributor's website. Currently, the production team and distributor have not made any statements, while audiences have various opinions and predictions about the fate of the movie.
Many people believe that the possibility of "Chốt đơn" being released in theaters is close to zero. Speaking to a reporter from Dân Trí, expert Nguyen Phong Viet believes that the movie no longer has a chance to be screened when the main actress is prosecuted.
"At this point, I think the possibility of the movie being released is impossible. Back in March, when the film crew postponed the release date to June, they may have known about some issues related to the main actress, so they needed to delay the schedule to ensure safety.
However, the seriousness of the situation has increased significantly now, everything is clear, there is no way to salvage the movie," Mr. Nguyen Phong Viet said.
According to the expert, the incident is classified as loss due to "objective reasons" that the production team and investors have to accept.
Mr. Nguyen Phong Viet said: "This is a situation that all parties have to accept, the situation cannot be changed. I believe that the film crew is very heartbroken, but they will not make any more statements, accepting the closure of the project and putting the film 'on the shelf'."
On social media, some audiences discussed the possibility of replacing the actress in "Chốt đơn". However, expert Nguyen Phong Viet believes that the likelihood of re-shooting the film, replacing Thuy Tien's image, is very unlikely.
According to the expert's explanation, Thuy Tien is the lead actress, accounting for 70-80% of the film's duration. If a replacement is made, the crew will have to reshoot almost the entire project, the costs skyrocketing as if producing a new film.
Furthermore, for a film that has faced controversies regarding the actress, even if the film is released with a replacement, it may not receive support from a large audience.
Additionally, another actor in the film, Quyen Linh, recently faced controversies related to product advertising, leading to mixed opinions in the public.
"With two actors, one being prosecuted and the other embroiled in controversies, the film will have difficulty gaining audience favor if it tries to be released," a film critic commented.
The film crew loses tens of billions, will there be a lawsuit?
Since the project was introduced and some promotional activities were carried out, the "Chốt đơn" team has not disclosed the specific production budget.
However, some industry sources shared with Dân Trí reporters that the project's investment is around less than 20 billion VND. With the current situation, the economic loss for the film production unit, investors is unavoidable.
"The film has not been released, so we cannot clearly see the context, the extent of the project's investment, so it is difficult to determine the specific numbers. But I think the film has suffered a big loss, including costs such as pre-production, production, distribution...
This level of loss for an ordinary film cannot be less than 15 billion VND. Even for 'Chốt đơn', the loss cannot be less than 20 billion VND," expert Nguyen Phong Viet assessed.
According to Mr. Nguyen Phong Viet, not only will the film "Chốt đơn" suffer losses, the film "Linh miêu" (a project Thuy Tien starred in, set to be released in 2024) may also be affected by Thuy Tien's case.
Recently, the distributor of "Linh miêu" planned to screen it online, sell the film to some OTT platforms. However, Thuy Tien's case may render these contracts void.
"If 'Linh miêu' cannot be shown on OTT platforms, the film production team will not be able to generate revenue from this platform. I estimate the loss to be around tens of billion VND," Mr. Viet said.
When asked by a Dân Trí reporter about the possibility of a lawsuit for compensation between the "Chốt đơn" film crew and Thuy Tien, an anonymous expert said that it is not clear about the constraints in the contract between the actor and the producer, but the "Chốt đơn" production team is likely to accept the "loss" of the invested amount, rather than getting involved in a noisy lawsuit.
"At this point, I believe that the investors will accept the loss because the damage due to objective reasons in business is something that no one can predict. Like the movie 'Bụi đời Chợ Lớn', all parties accepted a permanent ban on screenings rather than blaming anyone.
If litigation is brought to court, the case may not be resolved for 1-2 years, affecting the reputation of directors, producers in the industry. Therefore, investors will not want to get involved in a noisy lawsuit for a few billion VND," the expert evaluated.
