Tran Thanh ruthlessly cuts a female actress from her role in a Lunar New Year film, causing Duong Lam to express his "outrage".

At the recent press conference announcing the 2026 Lunar New Year film project directed by Tran Thanh, in addition to information about the plot and cast, an unexpected behind-the-scenes detail was shared that quickly attracted public attention.

Accordingly, during the Q&A session at the event, Le Duong Bao Lam revealed that Ngoc Nguyen – the actress who appeared in the film Mai – had actually participated in Tran Thanh's film The Four Contresses, but ultimately her scenes were not kept. Le Duong Bao Lam shared that he and Ngoc Nguyen had hastily filmed additional scenes at Tran Thanh's request, and even dubbed the roles, but when the film was released, all of these scenes were cut.

Le Duong Bao Lam shared: "There was a scene that Lam and Ngoc filmed all night long. After filming, Thanh said it wasn't enough and we could film it again. At that time, Lam was performing in a distant province, while Ngoc was in Hanoi. Thanh called to tell us to reshoot, so we had to rearrange our schedules, and it took us 6 hours to complete. Ngoc was completely exhausted after filming that scene. Afterwards, everyone happily did the voiceovers, but in the end, everything was cut out in the final film."

Ngoc Nguyen was supposed to be in the film "The Four Vengeful Spirits" but ultimately didn't appear. The actress said that even though she was cut from the film, Tran Thanh still paid her fee. On stage, Ngoc Nguyen humorously revealed that this year in "Tho Oi!" (Oh, Rabbit!), she definitely won't face a similar situation. The main reason is that she has many scenes involving the main cast. "This year, they can't cut Ngoc because she's involved too much; if they cut Ngoc, there won't be a main actress anymore," the actress jokingly said.

Before gaining attention for her acting roles, Ngoc Nguyen was a familiar face in the online sales world, especially through her Facebook livestreams. Initially, she only went live to sell personal items, but later realized she was quite comfortable talking in front of the camera, so she gradually shifted to selling more seriously. At this time, Ngoc Nguyen quickly attracted a stable audience thanks to her charming, straightforward, sometimes slightly blunt but very genuine and likeable speaking style.

Returning to Tran Thanh, each new film season generates much discussion. In his return to the 2026 Lunar New Year film race, the director admitted to facing considerable pressure. Regarding "Tho Oi" (Oh, Little Rabbit), Tran Thanh stated that he accepts facing comparisons in exchange for a different direction in his career.

"My only pressure is whether I'm doing my job well or not. I don't set a goal of beating anyone, surpassing this person or that person, or even surpassing my past self. I don't have that criterion, because success cannot be measured solely by specific numbers."

Some films are more artistically significant, making them harder to sell tickets for than mainstream films, or they may have themes that resonate more with a wider audience; or there are works with a more unique style, requiring a higher level of skill. Cinema has many such metrics. My only pressure is whether I can successfully achieve the goals I set for that year. Only when I do that can I truly breathe a sigh of relief.

"You can tell me to go down if you want, I accept it all. Because, honestly, those are two completely different approaches, and the same goes for this year's 'Rabbit, Oh!' project; they can't be compared directly. Works are like food, each has its own flavor; which one you prefer depends on your personal taste."

Tran Thanh's Lunar New Year film releases poster, revealing the female lead is EXSH through one detail. Bảo Nam18:23:55 10/12/2025As soon as Tran Thanh released the first poster for his Lunar New Year film project, "Tho Oi!" (Oh, Little Rabbit!), social media immediately became abuzz because the female lead's face was hidden. In the poster, the female character only appears in a very small profile.