Three major online media platforms and six production houses in China issues a joint statement on Saturday, announcing that they would be “resisting unreasonable pay and rejecting unhealthy industry trends” in the wake of the “Yin-Yang contracts” scandal which engulfed Fan Bingbing back in June.
Here’s the background on that:
Streaming giants iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent were joined in signing the statement by TV and film production companies Ciwen Media, Daylight Entertainment, Huace Film & TV, Linmon Pictures, NCM, and Youhug Media.
The statement commits the companies to paying actors no more than 1 million RMB (around 145,000USD) per episode and no more than 50 million RMB per series — including tax.
In late June, government authorities announced that they would be taking action against “unreasonable” pay packets, “money worship”, and the “distortion of social values”, with likely measures including a pay cap. The statement from the companies issued at the weekend looks like an attempt to head that off via self-regulation.
The full statement, posted by Sina Entertainment’s Weibo account
The statement has led to some sarcastic comments about the likelihood of a surge of regular mini-series and expressions of disbelief that actors can still command such huge sums compared to other professions such as those working in healthcare. Nevertheless, a post featuring the statement by Sina Entertainment’s Weibo on Saturday also sparked plenty of supportive comments.
Cui Yongyuan, the TV personality who kicked off the “yin-yang contracts” scandal by publishing two separate contracts allegedly showing tax evasion by and exorbitant fees for Fan Bingbing, has yet to comment on his Weibo account.
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Cover photo: A promotional image for the film Hello Mr Billionaire
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