Remakes are no longer a strange concept and have become a growing trend all over the world. 

When deciding to remake a piece of work, investors and producers calculate based on the attractiveness of the originals to audiences and media.

So, even when a film still has not yet come out, it already has caught the attention of the public, and film producers can expect a considerable number of viewers.

For creators of products, especially screenwriters, composing a work based on a plot of an existing novel/play and a network of existing characters will free up film producers. They can immediately set to work on scripts as they already have characters and important events.

Some remakes are created based entirely on original products. In other cases, screenwriters only use the original as a source of inspiration.

Remaking a film is not easy because of the audiences’ high expectations.

In general, when audiences watch original products, they tend to compare remakes with the originals and comment if the remakes are as interesting as the originals. This puts pressure on the authors of remakes. 

If screenwriters create a script which doesn’t have something new in comparison with the original product, the content won’t attract audiences. And if they adapt it too much, they may face criticism that the remake is too far from the original. 

I know that in many cases, audiences don’t watch the originals, but they still have preconceptions about new products.

However, not many people are like this. In general, we still can receive the support of most audiences, and remakes are still favored.

Every film bears the hallmark of the country where it is made. It takes filmmakers time to learn about the life, culture, social conditions and people in originals, so as to make reasonable changes for new products. 

The taboo in remaking foreign films is that Vietnamese people don’t find the ‘Vietnamese soul’ in the products.

Most of the products chosen for remaking are from countries with better television and film technology than Vietnam’s. Therefore, it is really a big challenge to create the products which are more interesting than the original films.

Khanh Ha (screenwriter)