Star power

Such an operation essentially turns an ad hoc entourage into a more formal business. The agent, the manager, the publicist, the chauffeur, the accountant, among others, can now work in tandem and with the single purpose of promoting the career of their boss. Some even have staffers who sift cyberspace and confront anyone who dares badmouth their employer. Such image-shaping efforts can be heavy-handed and backfire, but most of the time they create a positive environment - some deceptively so - that can impress potential audiences and investors.

However, studio-affiliated star workshops can run into conflicts of interest. When a plum role comes up and the studio that will produce it has two equally well-known stars, it does not matter whether they have their own workshops. The one not offered the role will be offended.

Unless that project is made possible by one of the stars.

In China, there is so much hot money chasing film and TV projects that investors tend to be ignorant of generally accepted practices of the industry. The less they know about the inner workings of the business, the more they'll be focused on the things they know - and they know how big a star is.

That makes the Chinese system fundamentally different from that of Hollywood. Because most investors in China cannot tell a great story or a quality script from a mundane one, all they do is throw money at known quantities, and that has been driving up star salaries at an utterly insane pace. Much more so than Hollywood - even though salaries for Chinese stars still lag behind those for Hollywood A-listers.

It also makes it possible for China's top entertainers to completely sever ties with large studios, State-owned or private, and become the masters of their houses. They are now not only their own agents, but can even represent other talents. They can spearhead projects in addition to headlining them. Huang Xiaoming turned around a dead project, which became An Inaccurate Memoir. It would not have been possible without his involvement, as the director is a young man with little clout and the studio that produced it was half-hearted about it.

However, star workshops rarely include funding for their movies or TV drama series. Their expertise is to play matchmaker between those looking for projects and those who need finance. Some even assume roles exclusively behind the scenes, producing the projects without starring in them. Many also cover their overhead expenses by having people with deeper pockets either sharing an equity or sponsoring the workshop.

For more coverage by Raymond Zhou, click here