Le Thanh Son broke his bone while demonstrating for the actor of 'Claws'

Director Le Thanh Son and the cast of the film Claws - Photo: Producer

Le Thanh Son is the director of two landmark films of Vietnamese cinema.

That is Dragon Trap - a 2009 martial arts action film starring Ngo Thanh Van and Johnny Tri Nguyen, which is considered a big step forward for Vietnamese action films with beautiful effects and images.

And Em chua 18 - a big boost in revenue for the Vietnamese film market in 2017 when it reached 171 billion VND in revenue, a school rom-com with humorous and fresh 16+ content.

Le Thanh Son has a new dream after "Em chua 18"

The number of works that Le Thanh Son directs is quite small, but the film industry is familiar with him as an assistant director of major films such as Ao lua Ha Dong, Dong mau anh hung or as a producer of films such as De Mai tinh, Long Ruoi, Saigon Yo!, Lua Phat, Am muoi giay hep sine, Cu va chim se sparrow...

Director Le Thanh Son when meeting the media to introduce the film Claws on May 21 - Photo: DPCC

In recent years, after the fever of "I'm not 18 yet" , Le Thanh Son's name should have been warmed up and made famous with the brand "hundred billion director".

Instead, he pursued more ambitious, long-term projects that were more challenging in terms of production.

One of them is Claws - a survival film about a group of young people attacked by bears, with a thorny post-production and special effects process.

Claws is complete and will be in theaters on June 7.

"After many years of incubation, I set out to "catch the beast" for the past two years.

When the Claw project bullet points were still numerous, I had little fear. But today, when the bullet points were few, I suddenly trembled.

"I feel the "claws" alive and moving in my hands" - Le Thanh Son shared his feelings when the long-time film is about to be released in theaters.

He also said in a media interview more than a week ago:

"Whether it's movies like Dragon Trap, Em chua 18 or small products like MV and TVC, I always delude myself that when I make a work, it must be the first or bring very strong emotions."

Broken bone while demonstrating, cried when the movie was finished

As Claws neared completion, Le Thanh Son told lead actor Tuan Tran that he felt like "he was about to marry his daughter off" and he cried.

Even though Le Thanh Son "lost sleep" because Kaity Nguyen dropped out of the role and investors avoided him, Tuan Tran still believed in the director, because according to him, a big project always has variables. Who knows, changes might be necessary for the project to go in a better direction.

During the past two years when the film encountered difficulties, Tuan Tran was very worried about Le Thanh Son, thinking that maybe he had placed his trust wrongly, but his trust was reinforced when he watched some early scenes edited by Le Thanh Son.

Actress Thao Tam said the director was very enthusiastic in demonstrating on set.

Despite not having any protective gear like an actor, he still performed a realistic fall scene that broke his ribs and only went to the doctor a few days later. After being injured like that, he continued to sit on set for the rest of the day and did not leave the set.

Claw Teaser - KC: 07.06.2024

Witnessing the way director Le Thanh Son works, the actors realized why it took him seven years to have a new film after the success of Em chua 18. The reason is that he always puts a lot of effort into each project.

With a budget far exceeding the producer's expectations, Claws is a risky experiment because the film's survival genre is still unfamiliar to Vietnamese audiences.

The special effects are very expensive and invested, but the plot and logic of the script - which is considered an inherent weakness of Vietnamese films - greatly influences the audience's judgment and choice.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/le-thanh-son-gay-xuong-khi-thi-pham-cho-dien-vien-mong-vuot-20240523103639413.htm