Boring, boring web drama: Don't dream of going to the big screen
The story of converting a web drama script into a movie appeared about 5 years ago. Sister Thirteen ( the movie version of the web drama Thap Tam Muoi) by comedian Thu Trang can be said to be the work that marked a milestone in this trend. Next to mention are Bo Gia by Tran Thanh or Phap Su Mu by Huynh Lap. However, after the above works, experts or audiences still find it difficult to find movies that resonate in both the online and movie versions.
At present, The Very Stable Squad is the most concrete proof that the distance from web drama to cinema is still... very far.
The film was developed from the popular web drama Gia Dinh Cuc Suc , released in 2021 - attracting more than 13 million views in the first episode alone when released online. However, the film version, which premiered nearly a week ago (from March 31 to April 6), "lost badly", recording low revenue of just over 8 billion VND, according to data from Box Office Vietnam - an independent box office revenue statistics unit.
The movie version of "The Very Good Squad" brings together famous actors such as: Hoang Oanh, Le Khanh, Hua Vi Van (Photo: Film crew).
This result can be said to be a failure and "not at all okay" for the very stable Biet Doi because the film was released at this time - not only did it have many screenings but it also did not have to compete with many strong opponents when films by My Tam, Thai Hoa, Ly Hai... were all released in mid to late April this year.
According to many reviews, the film has errors and loopholes in the script and the actors' awkward acting... The story develops in the direction of the heist genre, the group of characters discuss how to approach the fake diamond necklace that Tuan gave to Tu Xoàn, proving that he is a fraud. However, the way they plan is not convincing.
Many comments said that Ta Nguyen Hiep's work can hardly be considered a complete film project, the story is empty, illogical, the script does not guarantee quality and clearly shows the arrangement. Throughout the duration of 104 minutes, the special impression that the film leaves is a project... stupid comedy and lack of charm. Some viewers think that this is a forgettable product of actors Hua Vi Van and Le Khanh.
Critic Nguyen Phong Viet also frankly said that the crew of Biet Doi is very good underestimated the audience's taste and made a film that was not really dedicated. "They thought that since Gia Dinh Cuc Suc was so successful on the web and Youtube, Biet Doi is very good will follow suit and be successful. But in reality, it's not that simple.
I think, the filmmakers themselves should wake up and remember one thing: We are selling tickets for 80, 120 and 150 thousand to the audience. The audience not only spends money to go to the cinema, but they also spend time and, importantly, trust. But in the end, what they receive is disappointment."
Bringing the web drama "Family of Brutes" to the big screen was not highly appreciated (Photo: Film crew).
Critic Nguyen Phong Viet also shared that in the context of 2023, when the film industry is developing, domestic audiences are accessing good movies and television shows from countries around the world through many movie viewing platforms, we do not allow toxic works to be released in theaters and reach young people. "Be open to freedom of creativity, not open to toxic, nonsense things, open to toxic things," he said.
Producer and actress Thu Trang, despite the success of the film version of "Thap Tam Muoi" which earned hundreds of billions of dong, had to admit that bringing the online film to theaters was a risky decision.
In recent years, famous artists and many amateur filmmakers have competed to produce online movies. The number of releases is high, but the quality is not commensurate. Names like Sugar daddy and Sugar baby, Dai Cathay,.. have been criticized many times for their nonsense content, using hot scenes to attract viewers.
Critic Nguyen Phong Viet commented that the reason why web dramas are developing and becoming popular today is because of the rise of social networks. Moreover, web drama producers are not too worried about censorship, while movies are the opposite.
"Online movies are free for viewers to watch and most of them are not artistic. They attract viewers with vulgar 18+ themes, vulgar comedy and gangsters," he said.
Critic Nguyen Phong Viet believes that the responsibility once again lies with the censorship agency. He suggests that there should be clear criteria and requirements: "This is the time for lawmakers to have regulations and rules to ensure that any work, whether appearing in theaters or on the web or YouTube, must comply with the regulations of works in Vietnam," he shared with Dan Tri reporter.
He also expressed: "I believe no filmmaker wants to make a boring, stupid movie. But basically it's their assessment of the audience and their ability to not have it.
I advise that if you are not capable of making a quality film, it is best to be an investor. If you want to contribute something to Vietnamese cinema but are not capable of being a director, a screenwriter or a producer, then take the role of an investor to put money into the market, to help the market have good financial resources to produce good products."
"The Squad is very good" but was rated "not good at all" because the film's content was boring, bland, clichéd and illogical (Photo: Film crew).
Whose responsibility is it?
According to the provisions of the 2022 Cinema Law and the Decree detailing the implementation of the law, films disseminated on cyberspace are managed in the form of post-audit. Enterprises that disseminate films must self-classify according to the criteria specified in the Cinema Law and must provide a list of disseminated films to the Department of Cinema.
Speaking with Dan Tri reporter, Mr. Le Thanh Liem, Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) confirmed the information that the Department of Cinema established a working group on this content to review a number of film dissemination platforms and businesses that disseminate films on cyberspace, thereby requiring good implementation of the Cinema Law, contributing to cleaning up the cyber environment.
"We will closely coordinate with the Department of Cinema in the process of checking and reviewing the content of online films, and strictly penalizing violations of warning display and film classification according to regulations. Agencies need to coordinate and clearly define responsibilities to clean up the cultural environment on cyberspace," said Mr. Le Thanh Liem.
Mr. Liem said that in case of detecting violations, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will not only issue a decision to impose a fine, but also require intermediary businesses with network platforms to be responsible for implementing technical solutions, removing and blocking infringing content. Enterprises with telecommunications networks must also prevent access to infringing films at the request of competent management agencies.
Director of the Cinema Department Vi Kien Thanh also said that the Cinema Department is meeting to discuss a plan to review online movies. The 2022 Cinema Law and related documents stipulate quite detailed regulations on the management of movies on cyberspace.
The Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism affirmed: "To effectively suppress bad and harmful online movies, there needs to be coordination between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC). The Cinema Department has sent a document advising the leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to send a document requesting coordination with the Ministry of Information and Communications .
The two sides will first review and handle any content that violates the official list provided by the units that distribute and popularize online movies. During this process, if any online movie or short clip is discovered that is not classified as an online movie, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will send a notice to the Ministry of Information and Communications for handling according to regulations."
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