Nguyen Nhat Anh talks about "hot" scenes in young adult stories

He recalled the process of writing the novel Once Upon a Time There Was a Love Story (released in 2016) when the work was adapted into a movie. Referring to the "hot" scene of the main characters, the writer said that this detail would be a challenge for director Trinh Dinh Le Minh when bringing it to the big screen.

In the story, he describes: "I don't know if it was Phuc, me, or the sudden pain that came like a wave crashing on the shore that made the two of us fall onto the old and rickety bamboo mat in the hut. And what happened next was almost beyond my control, and it seemed like I had agreed to do it instead of a long-term promise. That night, amidst the chirping of insects, the rustling of the wind on the roof of the hut, the rustling of grass in the melon field outside, I gave Phuc everything, without calculation, without hesitation, and without even thinking. Everything happened naturally as if I was repeating from memory something I had never actually experienced."

The author said this was the first work in which he specifically described intimacy between a man and a woman. "Reading it now, I still find it funny because I don't know what the two of them were doing. I described it so indirectly that many young readers don't understand how they had a baby," he said.

Compared to many books with the same theme such as Blue Eyes, Red Summer, Passing Through Chrysanthemums, in Ngay Xua Co Mot Chuyen Tinh, the author goes into more sensitive details. The first clumsiness develops into a deep love relationship, including "eating before the bell rings", the female protagonist becomes pregnant and has to be a single mother. Tre Publishing House initially planned to label the story 16+, then decided not to limit the age because it considered the work highly educational.

Nguyen Nhat Anh is not worried when his work is adapted into a film, because after the book is finished and reaches the public, the writer has fulfilled his responsibility. The author believes that the pressure now belongs more to the director. "100 readers will have 100 different images, depending on each person's experience. The director is the same, Trinh Dinh Le Minh will imagine Vinh, Phuc, Mien according to his own feelings and imagination," he said.

The film is currently in the casting stage, expected to be released in 2024. The casting team is casting the three main characters: Phuc, Vinh, and Mien in their childhood (around 12 years old) and adulthood (from 17 to 25 years old). The director set the criteria for choosing young faces to bring him a fresh perspective on acting.

The story Once Upon a Time There Was a Love Story was released in 2016, revolving around the lives of the characters Vinh, Phuc and Mien. All three grew up in a town in the Central region. Their beautiful friendship was the soil for love to blossom. But in adulthood, the characters were placed at a crossroads. They had to pay the price for their mistakes and had to choose a path to happiness. The story sold more than 100,000 copies, making it into the top 10 best-selling works of Nguyen Nhat Anh.

Nguyen Nhat Anh's books have been adapted to the screen many times. In 1994, the film Ao trang san truong was released, directed by Le Dan, based on the story Nu sinh. In 2004, the TV series Kinh kaleidoscope was released, with actors: Ngoc Trai, Tieu Long, Anh Dao. The movie Toi thay hoa vang tren co xanh, directed by Victor Vu, was released in 2015. The work Mat biec by Nguyen Nhat Anh was also adapted to the screen by this director at the end of 2019, earning a revenue of 180 billion VND.

According to VnExpress