"Many young, talented actors in Hong-Kong can do three flips and give three kicks in a row," said Kung-fu star Jackie Chan at the 8th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) in June. "I am very impressed, but none of the producers want to bet on them!"
A major player in the film industry over the past four decades, Chan is getting a bit old for back flips but he knows the film business intimately. When Chan talks, people listen. And one of his biggest concerns is that this new generation of Chinese actors and directors lack industry support, without which, he fears, Chinese cinema will find it difficult to compete in both domestic and international markets.
"Nurturing new generations of moviemakers and actors should become a priority of the industry," stresses Chan. He hopes to set an example with his company JCE Movies, and has produced several films such as House of Fury and Rice Rhapsody with young actors and emerging directors. Despite his efforts, he remains worried about China's film industry: "I really don't know what will be the next step," says Chan.
One thing is clear; the future of the industry is likely to involve compromise on both sides, creative and commercial. True, the Chinese mainland is pulling ahead of Hong Kong in film production; the former released 212 films compared to 63 in Hong-Kong. But the challenges are the same. New filmmakers are under tremendous pressure from investors, stars and the media to play it safe. Few investors are willing to back novice directors, and even when they do they frequently insist on controlling the shape of the film. What's more, the field has become extremely competitive, just as investors have cooled towards the industry. As a result, young filmmakers have become more and more timid — one mistake and they're out of the biz.
Take award-winning Hong Kong filmmaker and actress Barbara Wong (Wong Chunchun), for example. Wong spent nine long months building a network of connections to finance her first project — A Carburetor for Suzy – some of whom wanted to make significant changes to her script. Says Wong, "You need to persevere and to talk to many producers, but shouldn't be influenced by others' opinions." Unlike her early non-mainstream work featuring relatively unknown actors, Wong's latest movie Six Strong Guys, starring Ekin Cheng and Chapman To, was a modest success at the box office.
But hiring 'names' is something of a doubled-edged sword. Many investors are more interested in the cast, than the script. For Chinese mainland director Lu Chuan, filmmaking is a power struggle. The first battle is to convince investors the project is commercially sound; the second is to maintain authority with often pompous and petulant stars. "I don't feel comfortable with stars," says Lu, recalling his directorial debut, Missing Gun, starring Jiang Wen. "I will never use a star that ruins the direction of my movies."
The Xinjiang-born director's second film, Kekexili, with a cast of unknown mainland actors, won many awards for its poignant story and minimalist cinematography. Indeed, awards are near essential for young directors. "The media are so picky," says Lu. "If you don't get an award you're a nobody." But making films to please festival judges, is no guarantee of commercial success.
Lu's latest project, Bian Jiang, will be shot in Shanghai in Shanghainese, and concerns a local teacher who travels to Xingjiang to teach English. To increase the film's commercial potential, Lu agreed to the producer's request to cast big names – on one condition, that he maintains full control of the process.
Special thanks to the organizers of the 8th Shanghai International Film Festival.
(c)
that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
August 2005 issue
