Profiles

Helping stars shine through

By Pei Pei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-04 07:08

Reporters surround Chang Jihong at Chinese actor Liu Ye’s wedding ceremony in this file photo. Chang, who has represented a who’s who of A-list names in the Chinese entertainment industry, says treating stars like cash cows can cause their talent to dry up.[Provided to China Daily]

Beijing - Chang Jihong believes it is what an agent does for stars' offstage lives as much as for their onstage performances that makes the difference.

Chang, who has represented a who's who of A-list names, such as actress Jiang Wenli, actor Liu Ye and actress Sun Li, says treating stars like cash cows can cause their talent to dry up.

"As an agent, you should invest your heart and soul in your work," she says.

"It's like falling in love. And the stars will notice the difference and know whether you truly care about them or not."

One of the most important things Chang did after becoming Liu's agent was arrange for him to take a much-needed rest, as he had overextended himself on his climb to stardom. Chang believed he needed to slow down and map out the next turns in his career path.

Chang became Liu's agent soon after he won Best Actor at Taiwan's 38th Golden Horse Awards for his performance as a young gay man in the film Lan Yu in 2001.

In 2006, the overstretched Liu became depressed and reclusive, and did not want to leave his house.

Chang did everything she could to get him out and about, organizing chats and mountain-climbing excursions with friends.

She also arranged for Liu to drive from Beijing to his hometown in Changbai Mountain, Jilin province.

Chang even managed the most trivial details of Liu's wedding to his French bride last year, ensuring the ceremony would be something he could never forget.

Director of the 2009 film Nanjing! Nanjing! Lu Chuan wrote about the ceremony in his blog: "I'm moved by Chang's energy. She's like Liu's mother. She works tirelessly and does everything for him."

But while Chang says it is sometimes important to ease stars' pressure, at other times, an agent should pile it on.

She recalls that Sun felt too tired to act any more when she got a chance to star in a soap opera that did not pay much for an actress of her caliber but fit her acting style to a tee. In addition to boosting her career when the TV series, Happy Like a Flower (Xingfu Xiang Hua'er Yiyang), became the most popular show of 2005, she also met her Mr Right on the set.

"Sun appreciates me more deeply because of this decision," Chang says.

It was a chance conversation with actress Jiang Wenli in the 1980s, before Jiang's rise to fame, that caused Chang to swap her career as a film producer for that of an agent.

The two women, who met when Jiang starred in and Chang assistant directed the film Apricot Blossoms in March (Xinhua Sanyue Tian), had become great friends and spent one night chatting about future aspirations.

Jiang told Chang: "If I become a superstar, you can be my agent." A few years later, both dreams came true.

Attending commercial events was illegal then and was usually arranged through xuetuo, the precursor of the agent in China, who was usually a relative.

"Most people still think I'm Jiang's cousin," Chang jokes.

But Chang, who had previously worked as an ivory carver, says it was difficult to give up her producing career to delve into a field she knew little about.

"Jiang's encouragement and a promising tomorrow gave me the courage to make this leap," Chang says.

Her passion, patience and genuine care for clients led her to become one of the mainland's leading agents. She believes her art studies also contributed to her ability to detect true talent.

A senior agent can easily earn at least 10,000 yuan a month, about as much as a white-collar employee of a Fortune 500 company in China.

Most of the country's agents come from the Central Academy of Drama, Beijing Film Academy and Communication University of China, which are also the cradles for the performers whom agents serve.

"The entry threshold for this job isn't that high, but it's very difficult to build it into a career, because there are almost no rules to live by, except instinct and your personal sense of responsibility, in such a disorderly and unregulated market," she says.

This means agents must learn not only to multitask when handling pressing issues but also should not let the easy money and their high profiles go to their heads, she says.

Chang also says that even though she knows many of the stars better than their families, she refuses to use their private lives to grab publicity.

She believes China should learn from the United States, where the Screen Actors Guild of America effectively bridges the gap between government administration and unordered market competition, ensuring self-discipline and industry autonomy. China has no comparable organization.

"I am really looking forward to the day when we have our own industry association," Chang says.

"It's a platform for effective communication and a meaningful starting point for rules that encourage self-discipline in light of our experiences and understanding of Chinese show business. Nothing can be achieved without norms."

Until then, she will continue relying on her personal touch to realize the dreams she shares with clients.