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Movie biz takes baby steps

By Alexis Hoo/Liu Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-08 09:41

"The budget I get is often a mission impossible. In September 2007, the price of pork rose from 10 yuan a kg to 30 yuan, but the catering budget for actors did not increase," he says.

"But the key problem is, we have so many people and a few jobs. You don't show up for work? OK, we have 100 backups ready to take your place."

Paisley maintains that a guild or association could be the first step to help foreign actors stuck in a system they cannot comprehend.

"There's general agreement that we could improve the relations between actors, directors, agents and so on. And improving that relationship would result in an improvement in the quality of the product," Paisley says.

"But there's one fundamental problem at the moment and this is in relation to Western actors. There is an increasing number of them who are new they get someone through the 'normal process' and discover when they start filming that the person can't act," Paisley says.

"Money is not what concerns me. My wife Keying thinks it would be nice if I got more but that's not my complaint. It's the sense of being part of system that is ... grubby.

"The way the cast is selected still leaves much to be desired. Getting the right actors from the start would improve standards and bring the industry to the next level," he says.

"Audiences would be the ones to benefit."

Not everyone, however, is so hopeful.

"The Chinese entertainment industry still needs time to grow into a sophisticated one," says Tan Fei, a producer, director and renowned film critic.

"The most feasible way for Paisley to overcome the barriers is to focus on himself and become more famous, so that he can bargain for his best interests."

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