Media Watchdog To Crack Down On Exorbitant Actors Fees

[Xiaoshu]

• China’s state broadcaster said actor and actress compensation above RMB 25 million as excessive.  
• Film regulators say they will direct actors’ guilds to establish self-discipline on pay for talent. 
• Media criticize high pay as a root cause for poor film and TV quality.

 

 

China’s media watchdog says it will crack down on the high fees being paid to the country’s top celebrities after the country’s state broadcaster found some were receiving up to RMB 100 million yuan (US$15 million) for a single movie or TV series.

 

A China Central Television (CCTV) report on Friday claimed the minimum payment for some high-profile actors and actresses in China has reached RMB 25 million ($3.5 million), with some receiving upwards of RMB 100 million ($15 million).

 

The report singled out Ruyi’s Royal Love In The Palace (如懿传), a TV series produced by New Classic Media (新丽传媒) which follows a love story set in the Qing Dynasty, for overpaying its leading actors Wallace Huo (éœå»ºåŽ) and Zhou Xun (周迅) to the tune of RMB 150 million ($22.5 million) combined.

 

New Classic Media produced 2014’s feature films Jianbing Man (煎饼侠) and Goodbye Mr.Loser (å¤æ´›ç‰¹çƒ¦æ¼) and is also producing veteran director Chen Kaige’s new movie Legend of the Cat Demon (妖猫传).

 

The international rights to Ruyi’s Royal Love have been sold to Fox Networks Group, according to New Classic Media’s officialWeibo account.

 

On Friday, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) weighed in, saying it would direct actors’ guilds and film and television production companies to formulate self-discipline on the appropriate remuneration of actors.

 

On Sunday, Beijing Maite Media CEO,Chen Lizhi, (陈砺志) took to Chinese social media to defend Cui and Zhou’s renumeration. Chen, who co-produced Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal (钟馗ä¼é­”：雪妖魔çµ), said CCTV was right to shine a light on the issue, but singling out Ruyi’s Royal Love didn’t make sense.

 

“It looks like they’ve received a high payment for the show, but Ruyi’s Royal Love In The Palace has 90 seasons!†the entertainment executive posted on Weibo.

 

Chinese media has been saturated with reports bemoaning the parlous state of the country’s film industry and the effect of poor quality movies on box-office earnings. In early August, the People’s Daily saw fit to launch a broadside against the film industry, blaming the sector’s dramatic reversal in fortunes on “terrible†and “mediocre†films.

 

Friday’s CCTV report stressed that high payouts to actors has not been translating into high-quality films. Ice Fantasy (幻城), which stars William Feng (冯ç»å³°), as well as Jiu Xian Qingyunzhi (诛仙é’云志), Jiu Zhou Tiankong Cheng (ä¹å·žÂ·å¤©ç©ºåŸŽ), andThe Mystic Nine were cited as examples of TV shows with high-profile and highly-paid actors that have been poorly received by viewers.

 

The report quoted a producer of Descendants of the Sun (太阳的åŽè£”), a South Korean television series which is hugely popular in China, who claimed that Korean actors only account for 20 to 30 percent of production costs compared to China, where actors took 50 to 80 percent.

 

Remuneration for Hollywood actors only accounts for 10 percent to 30 percent of production costs, Olga Rodriguez-Aguirre, the national director of theatrical contracts at the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, told CCTV.

 

Lu Di, a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Peking University, told Global Times that the government should impose more taxes on actors’ payment and set up a remuneration ceiling.

 

“A good film or TV series is the result of teamwork. If the majority of production funding has already gone to performers, other team members cannot be paid properly, which makes them unable to produce good-quality films and TV series,†said Lu.

 

 

http://chinafilminsider.com/media-watchdog-crack-exorbitant-actors-fees/

[Zenist]

Good.

[Hemlock]

I do think that in general entertainers and athletes are overpaid, but blaming that for putting out low quality media is dumb. 

[waycrispy1]

I do think that in general entertainers and athletes are overpaid, but blaming that for putting out low quality media is dumb. 

 

It's especially bad in Chinese entertainment though. All the big stars, even not so big stars have an entourage of 10+ people that the production company have to accommodate. In other countries the actors have to listen to the directors, but in China a lot of actors and actresses will make script changes on the spot if they don't like what they see. Another problem is top stars filming multiple dramas at once. Angelababy was recently rumored to only be on set for one day to shoot all her scenes, she couldn't make it the rest of the time so they had to use a body double to shoot a lot of non frontal scenes. 

 

The media is also spreading rumors now about Luhan and Yang Yang getting paid ridiculous amounts, but they claim it's false and will take legal action.

[5201314]

Its true that when most of your budget goes towards the lead actors, other aspects will suffer, like employing a decent CGI production team

[Hemlock]

It's especially bad in Chinese entertainment though. All the big stars, even not so big stars have an entourage of 10+ people that the production company have to accommodate. In other countries the actors have to listen to the directors, but in China a lot of actors and actresses will make script changes on the spot if they don't like what they see. Another problem is top stars filming multiple dramas at once. Angelababy was recently rumored to only be on set for one day to shoot all her scenes, she couldn't make it the rest of the time so they had to use a body double to shoot a lot of non frontal scenes. 

 

The media is also spreading rumors now about Luhan and Yang Yang getting paid ridiculous amounts, but they claim it's false and will take legal action.

They are willing to spent too much money on stars and created this problem themselves. They shouldn't have to put up with that Angelababy situation but they do. They're willing to pay for that one expensive day. They could take a stand and hire someone less expensive. Ratings might take a hit but if they are getting quality complaints even with these stars, then maybe it's worth it to reevaluate. It's the show/movie runner's fault for choosing to spend their money that way. But instead of blaming themselves, they are shifting the blame to the actors for some reason.

[Cassiemissy]

I think there should be some control over the prices for actors and actresses but in this new where they single out RUYI's Zhou Xun and Wallace is unfair. 

 

Ruyi is scheduled to film for 8 months and this drama is said to have about 90 episodes. Compare to other drama which usually only be filmed for 2-3 months and having about 50 episodes? If you average out their pays, that's not a lot.

 

Also for Wallace who had shaved his head for this drama, he couldn't possibly take up another drama (unless it's another Ching period) throughout the next 8-10 months (including the time he needs to grew back his hair). I hope before they single out the artists in their new report, they better do some good analysis first as well. 

 

But don't get me wrong, I'm not agreeing for actors/actresses to be paid crazy high salary for half amount of effort put in by the production crews and etc. I just don't like them finger pointing at the Ruyi casts.