Two trillionaire directors: One was expelled from school, the other was a street vendor since the age of 8

In recent years, Ly Hai and Tran Thanh both have had "money-making" works, with revenue of hundreds of billions of dong.

Tran Thanh - Once expelled from school for running shows

Tran Thanh is Vietnam's first trillion-dong director. Tran Thanh's three films includeThe Godfather, Mrs. Nu's HouseandTomorrowhas total revenue of more than 1,400 billion VND.

In there,Godfather(2021),Mrs. Nu's house(2023) have revenue of 395 billion VND and 459 billion VND respectively. Mai is holding the record for the highest revenue in the history of Vietnamese box office with 520 billion VND after 41 days of release, selling 6.5 million tickets (according to Box Office Vietnam).

It is worth mentioning that Tran Thanh achieved this success after only 4 years of entering the film industry. He is considered one of the most successful filmmakers at the domestic box office.

Before Tran Thanh became the first trillion-dong director of Vietnamese cinema, few people knew that the male director was once a student who was expelled from school.

During the talk showThe first time I toldIn 2016, Hari Won's husband revealed that he only studied at the University of Theater and Cinema for exactly 1 year. However, his studies were later interrupted because the school expelled him for performing too many shows and owing tuition fees.

Tran Thanh said:"The name Tran Thanh exists today because a student was expelled from school halfway through. However, I was free and diligent enough to follow actor Huu Nghia to the stage to watch all the plays and all the roles so enthusiastically that I memorized them."However, Tran Thanh does not regret his decision. He shared that being forced to drop out of school helped him learn many things and become more mature.

After leaving school, Tran Thanh continued to pursue his passion for acting. Through his years of working in the acting profession, he accumulated experience in filmmaking.

In 2020, Tran Thanh tried his hand at producing an online movie.Godfather.The series quickly created an effect, continuously topping YouTube's trending list, each episode reaching tens of millions of views.

Not stopping there, he made a movie version, the content is separate from the online version.GodfatherReleased in 2021, this is the first movie that Tran Thanh has played many roles, from writing the script, co-directing, and starring. The film quickly became a hit and won big at the domestic box office. The film was also selected to participate in the preliminary round of the Best International Film category at the 2022 Oscars, then missed the shortlist.

The success ofGodfatheris the motivation for Tran Thanh to continue making the next two films.Mrs. Nu's houseand Mai. The male director also does not hide his ambition to bring Vietnamese cinema to the international market. Recently, Tran Thanh's film Mai earned 1.66 million USD in North America and 341,000 USD in Europe.

Even though he is a talented director, Tran Thanh does not focus on revenue. "CAs long as the work is rated higher in content than the previous film, for me it is a success.", the artist said.

Explaining Tran Thanh's success, experts say that this male artist knows how to grasp the psychology of the majority, exploiting the right psychological and family topics.

According to critic Ngo Huong Giang, Tran Thanh's film is a rewind of social psychology aimed at ordinary people, with a convoluted but aspirational lifestyle.

Evaluating Tran Thanh's film works, Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, former Director of the Department of Cinema, said that although there are conflicting opinions, some praise or some criticize, it must be recognized that Tran Thanh's works are films that are both entertaining and have positive social messages, set Vietnamese box office records, and gradually affirm Tran Thanh's style in Vietnamese cinema.

Ly Hai - Collecting scrap metal and selling on the street from 7 to 8 years old

With revenue exceeding 200 billion VNDFlip Side 7: A Wish, Ly Hai is the second person to become a trillion-dong director in Vietnamese cinema. Lat mat also holds the record as the Vietnamese film series with the highest revenue of all time.

Previously,Flip Side 1with revenue of 72 billion VND,Flip Side 2: Film Studioearned 80 billion VND,Flip Side 3: Three Disabled Menmore than 85 billion VND,Flip Side 4: House with Guestsearned 120 billion VND,Flip side 5: 48hbrought in 150 billion VND and most recentlyFlip Side 6: The Fateful Ticketaccounting for 273 billion VND in revenue.

StillFlip Side 7: A Wishis approaching the 300 billion VND mark. Up to now, Ly Hai's latest film still has "no rival" at the Vietnamese box office.

Talking about the title of trillion-dong director, Ly Hai shared that he has never been greedy for the title:"When making a film, I put my reputation as a director first. I did not choose the goal of this project earning several hundred billion VND, surpassing the previous film. My only fear is that the audience will leave in disappointment. I have never been greedy for the title of "thousand-billion director" because I want to keep the "feeling" of an artist in me."

Unlike Tran Thanh, Ly Hai received formal training at the University of Theatre and Cinema. Graduating from the drama course of the School of Theatre Arts 2 (now the University of Theatre and Cinema, Ho Chi Minh City), in the early 1990s, due to lack of plays, he had to find opportunities to sing.

In 2010, Ly Hai left the stage and turned to directing. However, his first film did not achieve the expected success. Undaunted, Ly Hai continued to pursue his passion for cinema and achieved great success with the series of films.Flip side.

After 10 years of making films, Ly Hai has become one of the most successful producers and directors in the film industry, opening up the trend of making franchise films on Vietnamese screens.

"In the past, more than 20 years as a singer, I still dreamed of one day being able to do my job: making movies. Now I am realizing that dream. So I no longer care about my name, fame going up or down, how much the movie's revenue will be, or having to compare with anyone... What's important is that I have realized my dream of making movies."Ly Hai shared.

The male director also expressed his opinion when compared with Tran Thanh, he said that happiness is not being better than others but being better than yourself.

"I'm not stuck in one place, I'm better than I was yesterday."is good enough. Who is good, who is good, we have to learn", Ly Hai said.

Explaining Ly Hai's success, many people say that Ly Hai's films often exploit everyday stories, close to life but still full of emotions, making it easy for the audience to sympathize.

This probably comes from Ly Hai's difficult childhood, struggling to collect scrap metal, drain ditches, catch fish, and sell goods on the street since he was 8 years old.

The director said that since he was a child, he had to help his family earn a living by taking goods to sell at ferry terminals. Many times he lost his goods and "lost his capital", Ly Hai could only stand there and cry. Having lived through difficult times, Ly Hai has an understanding and sympathy for the less fortunate in society.

Besides, Ly Hai always devotes his whole heart to cinema. He constantly learns, improves his knowledge and directing skills to bring high-quality works to the audience. In addition, Ly Hai also always updates new cinema trends and applies them to his works, creating newness and attraction for viewers.

Ly Hai and seriesFlip sidealways renews himself and experiments with many different genres to attract audiences. His films all have distinct content, genres ranging from action, comedy, psychology, horror, thriller, romance, creating a unique feature for the public.