Some film producers may buy insurance for leading actors. It is common for others to not be insured for either their health or their life.

Some film producers may buy insurance for leading actors. It is common for others to not be insured for either their health or their life.

Three years ago, an actor named Le Quang asked Chanh Phuong Film to compensate him for an eye injury sustained during the filming of a dangerous scene in the “Rebel”. The case would have been easy if the producer had bought insurance for the actor.

Last December, actor Hong Son was in an accident on the road from Lang Son province to Hanoi after he finished his role in “Promising Land” series. The actor had to stay in the hospital for several months and suffered financial problems since his main source of income was royalties from movie projects. It would have been easier for Son if he had had insurance.

VietNamNet asked some actors about insurance in movie projects and all of them said they didn’t have that kind of insurance. Some didn’t even know anything about this kind of insurance.

Kathy Uyen, a Vietnamese-American actress, was very surprised that Vietnamese actors are not insured. Her role in “Untold Love” movie in Vietnam was not insured either.

Kathy Uyen has acted in some movies in the US and she said all of the roles were insured. She said her interests were protected by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Like Kathy Uyen, 13,000 actors in the US have joined SAG to be protected. In Vietnam, without an actors’ association and articles on insurance for movies and actors, artists have to take care themselves.

A director asked: “If my movies don’t have action scenes, why do I have to buy insurance for my actors?” Some say that it is unnecessary to have regulations on compulsory insurance for actors. However, accidents at film studios cannot be foreseen.

“I think producers and actors can negotiate about insurance for dangerous scenes. Producers should buy insurance for their movies so they will be compensated in cases of disasters. I think it is unnecessary to add regulations on insurance for movies and film crews to the law because the funds for movie projects are very limited, and producers cannot buy insurance. In this case, the rules on insurance would be a burden on producers,” said reputed director Bui Thac Chuyen.

However, some private film companies have realised the benefits from insurance so they pay for it. Producer Phuoc Sang said that he has bought insurance for most film projects, both on equipment and actors. The biggest policy taken out on a movie star is one billion dong.

“It is quite costly but I feel assured. I think it is extremely necessary to buy insurance for movies because this is a risky job. It would be good to have compulsory regulations on buying insurance for films,” Phuoc Sang said.

Bich Hanh