A top Chinese studio known for its lavish TV costume dramas set in imperial palaces and villages has slashed the hourly wage of its extras amid the economic downturn, amid calls for the highest-paid stars to take a pay cut instead.
Zhejiang-based Hengdian World Studios, which boasts large-scale sets including Ming and Qing Dynasty imperial palaces, a replica of a mid-19th century Guangzhou street for productions set during the Opium Wars, a replica of Shanghai’s Bund, complete with colonial-era buildings from the 1930s and the palace of the first Chinese emperor Qin Shihuang, told extras it would be cutting their hourly rates from 15 yuan (US$2) to 13.5 yuan (US$1.87), according to the Hengdian Film and TV City Actors' Guild, which posted the notice to social media.
The move shot to the top of search terms on Weibo, with many expressing shock that an hour’s wage wouldn’t even buy an aspiring movie star a cup of bubble tea these days.
“Standing there for an hour, and they can’t even afford a cup of milk tea,” wrote one Weibo user, while another commented: “Even extras at Hengdian are getting a pay cut.”
Not everyone agreed, with one user commenting: “They should cut the salary of the famous stars instead.”
Actors also pointed out that 10% of their pay is already deducted by the Guild, making the eventual hourly rate still lower.
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A film industry insider who gave only the surname Zhang for fear of reprisals said Hengdian, which doubles as a theme park and hosted more than 20 million tourists and 300 film and TV crews before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the economy, was now struggling.
“During the three years of zero-COVID policy, there were no movies being shot at Hengdian and a lot of the crews were shut down,” Zhang said. “The market didn’t bounce back immediately after the end of the pandemic restrictions.”
“Demand for films and TV shows has fallen, and so have budgets,” he said. “So they had to cut the amount they pay their extras.”
According to Hengdian World Studios' website, the facility employs more than 6,000 people across 10 subsidiaries specializing in sports, cultural activities, conferences, transportation and entertainment.
China’s Securities Times newspaper recently estimated its total revenue for 2023 at around 16 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion).
Magnet for aspiring creatives
A former Hengdian employee who gave only the surname Wang for fear of reprisals said the facility is vast, and mostly focuses on costume dramas, catering to Han, Tang and Qing dynasty settings.
The studios are a magnet for young people, particularly actors and other creative professionals, who hope to make it big there.
“Hengdian naturally attracts large numbers of young people who dream of working in film and TV, and they usually work as extras,” she said. “Back in the day, young people would wait at the gates of the Beijing Film Studio to be hired by the crews as extras - anyone picked as an extra would get their wages and food for that day.”
“Later, the crews started going to Hengdian to shoot, and the young people started gathering there, too,” Wang said. “Extras at Hengdian are now much more institutionalized, a major operation divided into different types and classes.”
While some extras are discovered and go on to greater things - including award-winning martial artists, as well as actor and director Wang Baoqiang - many aren’t so lucky.
“There are restaurants and hotels there now, but of course the lowest-level extras can’t afford to stay or eat in those places,” Wang said. “They’re mostly aimed at the big stars or upper middle class workers in film and television.”
“The extras sleep in basic bunk beds - some people feel it’s enough to make a bit of money and get three meals a day, so Hengdian World Studios has never had any wage or labor disputes before,” she said.
“Most of the extras are students in high school, junior high, and college - they’ve never been paid as much as white-collar workers.”
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Joshua Lipes.