According to incomplete statistics, more than 6,000 minor actors will participate in the more than 130 movies, web dramas, and TV dramas that will be filmed in Hengdian in 2021.
They are called "Little Hengdrifts", and they embarked on the road of chasing dreams at a young age. However, what awaits them is not all the Avenue of Stars, there are also countless surging undercurrents.
01
"Little Hengdrift"
Within a month, 9-year-old Chen Xinyue ran nearly 10 crews in Hengdian.
It was mother Wu Ping who took her daughter on this road. "There is a lot of competition in society, and I don't want my children to repeat my life."
Wu Ping said that her daughter cried a lot when she was a child, and she was not able to handle affairs easily. She was worried that her daughter would not be competitive in the workplace in the future.
In order to have multiple paths, Wu Ping started making career plans for her daughter very early: she wanted her daughter to learn to sing and become a music teacher or singer in the future; or to learn acting and become an actor.
had such a longing, this summer, Wu Ping brought Chen Xinyue to Hengdian from the south, rented a room for 750 yuan, and started a " horizontal drift " life.
It's not long, but this 9-year-old girl has already tasted the "complex" taste of the melting pot of Hengdian.
It is not easy for a "little Hengdrift" who has no resources or connections to get the first stepping stone in Hengdian. What mother Wu Ping has to do every day is to report for her daughter in various recruitment WeChat groups, hoping to be selected by the brokerage company and recommend the role to the crew.
As for the remuneration, the inexperienced "little drifter" can only start with a group performance with almost no footage, and the salary is 100 yuan a day. Special actors with one or two lines are generally paid 500-800 yuan.
In July of this year, mother Wu Ping helped Chen Xinyue to report the drama and won a group role. Although the role was small, it was very hard to film.
's daughter was notified only after she was admitted, and her parents could not accompany her during the filming.
Chen Xinyue recalled afterwards that she and more than 20 other small group performers were taken to a closed and dark room, where they waited for the shooting. The "teacher" is very strict, preventing them from talking and moving, and if they want to go to the toilet, a "teacher" must follow them. She was just making eye contact with her partner, and the "teacher" hit her hard on the back. "If you don't obey, then go to the toilet." "Teacher" said.
Another child stood a little crooked, and was kicked into the corner by the "teacher", and he was also swearing, saying, "Why is the child of XX so disobedient, I knew he would be kicked to death."
On the day of
, Chen Xinyue and Xiao The friends waited for a long time in the sultry little room, and the "teacher" took a plastic cup for several children to drink water. Later, Chen Xinyue felt that she was suffering from heat stroke, so the "teacher" gave her Huoxiang Zhengqi water . After the
incident, her mother Wu Ping was no longer willing to accept the crew's request not to allow her parents to accompany her.
Photo | When the children are filming on the playground, the parents are waiting in the room
The scenes are not heavy and the pay is not high. Even so, the little Hengdrifts are still facing the situation of being "deducted from their wages", even if it is only 100 yuan for group performances .
"Chen Xinyue didn't get a penny for the first three plays." The agency deducted all the remuneration, and only reimbursed travel and accommodation expenses.
Wu Ping chose to be patient. At the beginning, there was no way, and the recommendation of a brokerage company was the only way to enter the group. Moreover, as an ordinary parent without any background in the entertainment industry, he cannot easily offend anyone, especially a brokerage company that has a certain right to speak in front of the major crews.
But there is not only bad news. From the mother's point of view, her daughter has grown up despite suffering.
One month of living in Hengdian, Wu Ping found that her daughter often chatted with the staff casually, and she became more and more brave to express herself. Her ability to deal with setbacks has also improved. Once, after 50 shots of a scene, she was yelled at and cried, but she insisted on finishing it.
Usually, in addition to the logistical work, Wu Ping also pays great attention to the guidance of her daughter. When a crew wanted to try a crying scene, Wu Ping went to the Internet to search for a sample for Chen Xinyue to refer to - a girl who "cried badly" in the video.
A few days later, Chen Xinyue stood out in another crew, and the director selected her to play the leading role from more than 30 small groups. Coincidentally, the starring role is the "model girl" in the video. They had a great time on the set that day, and agreed to take a group photo after the shooting.
is different from the waiting room where Chen Xinyue was with dozens of people. That girl has a special lounge. After the shooting, each went in a different direction. The girl is now a child star and starred in a popular cinema movie some time ago.
Wu Ping knows that the pure daughter has not yet understood the objective gap between them. She persuaded her daughter to have a chance in the future, urging her to change clothes quickly and drive the next crew.
02
The undercurrent and turbulent star road
The dream of "little wandering", in the eyes of some people or companies, "there is no limit to money".
has developed from the deduction of film remuneration, to the collection of signing membership fees, and even to the "group fee with capital", from various non-standard stakeholders in the child star incubation and packaging industry chain, taking advantage of the poor information and unequal market supply and demand relationship And the right to speak, to grab huge benefits from it.
—30,000 yuan to buy a character—
Chen Xinyue was deducted several hundred yuan for the group performance fee. Compared with the following example, the loss seems to be nothing.
Wu Ping heard when she communicated with another "Little Hengdrift" mother that the mother spent 30,000 yuan to buy a role for her child from a brokerage company. And this character is only used as a "background board", running around the field with a balloon and , and there may not be scenes in the final film.
This mother only felt cheated after chatting with others. In fact, she is not rich, and the 30,000 yuan was paid by credit card.
—98,000 membership fee—
There are agencies that are particularly harsh on young actors, and there are also agencies that are particularly attentive.
Wu Ping recalled that some brokerage companies said they were very optimistic about their daughters and wanted to sign a contract, and would give priority to recommending resources in the future. However, the recommendation is not free, and a membership fee is required. The asking price of different institutions ranges from several thousand to tens of thousands, and the highest is 98,000.
Wu Ping originally thought that the brokerage contract was signed, but after the artist became famous, he split with the company. The brokerage company could not guarantee to make her daughter popular, but asked her to pay a high membership fee first, which made her feel unreliable.
—Performance training institutions that cost 10,000 yuan per 6-day class—
In addition to brokerage companies, Wu Ping also has access to many performance training institutions. She took Chen Xinyue to a free experience class, and then a sales teacher recommended the course to her. The 6-day course costs 10,000 yuan, or you can choose a permanent class of 50,000 yuan.
Faced with the promotion of the performance training organization, Wu Ping hesitated a little, but she did not expect that the teacher who had always had a good attitude before turned her face instantly, accusing her of lack of credit, saying that she would sign up, but she regretted it, and finally threw a sentence at her: "I It’s up to you to bring your children home and go to school.”
—Bringing funds into the group—
Another mother, Wang Fang, took her children to play for 6 years, during which time more than 100 agents were blockedPeople, have seen all kinds of routines. In the announcement group, the crew information released by the agent often does not come with remuneration, but instead requires young actors to provide audition videos first. After
passed the audition, the agent said that this role needs to "bring money into the group", not only does not have a salary, but also the parents pay a certain fee.
If the parent refuses to bring the money, the agent will tell the crew that the young actor selected by the crew has no schedule and has to be replaced by someone else, and sometimes even give the director-approved child's audition video to other children to imitate.
"It's like asking children to copy homework." Wang Fang, who used to be in the education industry, is very dissatisfied with the atmosphere in the circle.
Even large-scale and formal brokerage companies have "undercurrents". Once Wang Fang reported to her children through a well-known brokerage company in the industry, and it was already at the stage of choosing one or the other. The teacher in charge of casting the company recommended to her and her children a training class that she had run privately, saying that it was organized by Beijing Film Academy. Retired teachers from teach at a price of 200,000 yuan. After rejection, the child loses the role that is coming.
Sometimes, the crew will cooperate with the agency to "make money". Some crews lacked start-up funds, so they deliberately set up several children's roles in the script and handed them over to the agency to find parents who are willing to bring funds into the group.
Parents "buy" characters for their children to fill the funding gap for the crew. On the set, the main creator briefly took a few scenes for the young actors, but in the final film, the scenes of these children may be deleted. Even if the parents complained, the crew would prevaricate on the grounds that "the length of the film is limited" and "the child's performance is not up to standard", which is enough to exempt them from liability.
—Gorgeous packaging fee—
Outside of Hengdian, some parents will also choose some bluffing and “reliable” brokerage companies for their children.
In June 2020, the court publicly heard a lawsuit between Beijing Century Bowan Company and a client. This is a brokerage company that focuses on cultivating child stars.
At the end of August 2016, the plaintiff Yan and his mother were stopped by a salesperson from Century Bowan on their way home from get out of class. The employee said that Yan was so beautiful that Century Bowan could package him as a child star for free.
After that, Yan's mother received several telemarketing calls, and finally took the child and signed the "Artist Cooperation Agreement", "Artist Packaging Promotion and Production Affairs Agreement" and "C-Class Child Star Class" with Century Bowan Company. Course Agreement" and paid 86,000 yuan as a packaging fee. Century Bowan made many commitments to Yan's development in the contract, including shooting valuable promotional photos and video actor cards, and providing training and performance opportunities.
But the opposite is true. Yan's mother said that the photos were taken in a basement with poor environment, and the training sessions were not organized. Century Bowan also did not provide Yan with the opportunity to shoot film and television dramas and print advertisements.
In the end, the court ruled that Century Bowan breached the contract based on the facts, and sentenced it to refund Yan a 30,000 yuan contract payment. But until 2021, Century Bowan did not pay the compensation and was therefore restricted from spending.
Up to now, Tianyan check shows that Century Bowan has been sued 29 times, of which 19 are contract disputes, and a total of 4 consumption restriction orders have been received in the past two years.
03
Standard start
For the gray area in the children's entertainment industry chain, the relevant departments have taken action this year.
Recently, the People's Procuratorate of Dongyang City, Zhejiang Province, together with seven departments including the Hengdian Film and Television Cultural Industry Cluster Management Committee, the Education Bureau, the Public Security Bureau, and the Women's Federation, established a protection mechanism for underage entertainers, and issued the "On Legal Protection of the Rights and Interests of Underage Performers". "Implementation Opinions" to strengthen the supervision of performance brokerage agencies and brokers.
"Implementation Opinions" clarifies the criteria for the definition of minor entertainers and related subjects, and at the same time supervises performance brokerage agencies and performance brokers, guardianship and protection of minor entertainers, management and services of relevant social organizations, and responsibilities of relevant departments, etc. make provisions.
If a performance brokerage agency that has close contact with minors is recruiting, it should inquire about information on illegal and criminal records such as sexual assault, abuse, abduction, and violence. Performance brokers and other practitioners who have close contact with underage entertainers commit sexual assault, abuse, abduction, trafficking, violence and other crimes, and they shall strictly implement the practice prohibition system in accordance with the law. The relevant personal information and privacy of registered minor performers shall be strictly protected in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. The
document also proposes that the procuratorial organs should strengthen legal supervision over the protection of minor entertainers. If it is found that the legitimate rights and interests of minor entertainers have been damaged, normalized and precise supervision can be carried out by making procuratorial suggestions, filing lawsuits, supporting prosecutions, and intervening in advance.
Photo | Hengdian Actors Guild
Every generation of Chinese has its own child star, which is loved by everyone. Wang Longji , who played Sanmao in the movie " Sanmao Wanderer " released in 1949, is known as one of the earliest child stars in New China.
In the past ten years, from a group of small actors in " has children ", to Rong Zishan , Wang Shengdi from "'s hidden corner "; from Lin Miaoke at the Beijing Olympics , and then to TFBOYS under the era Fengjun , the brilliance and success of the child stars under the spotlight have brought imagination and direction to many parents and children.
However, there is a " 28 effect " in any industry, especially in the entertainment industry. Only a very few can truly become successful national idols.
Some time ago, " Lehua Entertainment " applied for listing in Hong Kong, and disclosed the company's trainee training business in its prospectus.
General trainees need to sign a three-year trainee contract with Leroy . During these three years, they cannot participate in concerts or other commercial activities, but must undergo basic training, advanced training and debut training. Weekly and monthly evaluations. Only after successfully passing the final evaluation can you make your debut as an artist.
According to reports, Lehua Entertainment's trainee program has received more than 58,000 applications worldwide, but only 19, 28, and 50 candidates were admitted in 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. The acceptance rate is not higher than 0.3%. This year's national entrance examination admission rate is 1.46%.
At the same time, the prospectus shows that for the four months ended April 30, 2019, 2020 and 2021, and April 30, 2022, the revenue of the company's top-ranked artist accounted for 16.8%, 36.7%, 49.5% and 49.5% of the total revenue for the same period, respectively. 56.8%, showing that social resources tend to be more and more concentrated to top artists.
Before the end of the summer vacation, Wu Ping left Hengdian with her daughter Chen Xinyue. Not a broken dream, but a summary and a new direction.
"The main roles of many large production crews are set early in Beijing, and when they arrive in Hengdian, only some group performances and special appointments will be recruited." Wu Ping said. It is undoubtedly a waste of time to play a role with few lines all the time.
Wu Ping discovered in the process of delivering the materials that some crews proposed that they hope that the young actors can bring some traffic, preferably a "little Internet celebrity" with dozens or millions of fans on social media.
Inspired by this, Wu Ping has started to help her daughter start running Xiaohongshu.
She said: "In the future, I just want to accept good dramas for my children, have important roles, or go to Beijing to see."
*In the textCharacters Wu Ping, Chen Xinyue and Wang Fang are aliases
