Chinanews client, Beijing, May 5 (Reporter Song Yusheng and Yuan Xiuyue) Since April this year, actor Zheng Shuang has become the focus of public opinion.
While the matter was fermenting, there were reports that several star studios were cancelled, which aroused public curiosity about the capital of the entertainment industry in mainland China: How many hidden corners are there behind the glamorous stars?
A reporter from Chinanews.com conducted a combing investigation, trying to get a glimpse of the secrets of capital.
However, in the story we are about to tell, Zheng Shuang, who is attracting huge attention right now, is not the protagonist. If a protagonist is really to be selected, "Star Studio" may be more appropriate.
Data map: Zheng Shuang.
Photo by Zhai Lu, China News Service
Where did the mainland studio system begin?
In 2005, a major event happened in the mainland Chinese entertainment industry.
This year, the well-known agent Wang Jinghua and Huayi Brothers completed their five-year cooperation agreement and led their famous actors including Chen Daoming, Carina Lau, Liang Jiahui, Xia Yu, etc. to change jobs.
Today's young people may not have intuitive feelings about the status of Huayi Brothers in the mainland movie circle more than a decade ago.
In short, the Huayi Brothers in the past occupies half of the world, and they are all slightly conservative.
At the turn of the century, director Feng Xiaogang’s domestic film Lunar New Year file has been influential to this day, and he has in-depth cooperation with Huayi Brothers and has brought a lot of actors to the scene.
Wang Jinghua is far from being an ordinary broker today.
She once held a number of artists such as Li Bingbing, Ren Quan, Hu Jun, etc., and was known as the "gold broker" in the industry.
Against this background, Wang Jinghua's departure from the Huayi Brothers can be said to have caused an "earthquake" in the entertainment industry in the Mainland at that time.
Data map: Wang Zhongjun, founder and chairman of Huayi Brothers.
Photo by Lu Xin
Although Wang Zhongjun, one of the founders of Huayi Brothers, said to the outside world that "anyone can be without Huayi"; but the rules of the entertainment industry have really changed.
Huayi Brothers began to establish an artist studio system: each artist is assigned to a tailor-made group, each group is composed of a big agent, a small agent, an artist assistant, and an enterprise propaganda, and the artist is regarded as a brand Build.
The studio uses the celebrity's popularity and influence, borrows the company's resources for personal integration, and the benefits are also shared with the original company.
It is a common mode for celebrities to open studios under the contracted agency. Artists get better service, and the company can also use this to bind well-known artists.
However, this model is more suitable for big-name celebrities, and it is difficult to solve the problem of the balance of interests between the company and the artist.
It was also during that time that Zheng Shuang, who was still studying at the Beijing Film Academy, began to enter the film and television industry and made his mark.
In 2009, the campus youth idol drama "Let's Watch the Meteor Shower" brought Zheng Shuang into the public eye.
With the help of Chu Yuxun, she quickly grew from a newcomer in the circle to a "flow manager".
That year, Zheng Shuang was 18 years old.
Video screenshot: "Let's watch the meteor shower together"
Treat celebrities as IP
After becoming popular, Zheng Shuang's film appointments continue.
In 2010, she starred in "Watching Meteor Showers Together" was broadcast; in 2011, she starred in TV series "The Secret History of Wu Zetian", "Phoenix Totem" and the movie "Painting Wall", "Infinite Crisis Express" and other works were broadcast or released. .
The 20-year-old young actor already has a "star look".
Of course, this is not only the result of her own efforts, but also the background of the return of the TV station's self-produced drama.
Around 2008, the TV station's self-produced dramas returned to the audience's vision.
Hunan Satellite TV's "Let's Watch Meteor Shower" is one of the representatives of the "self-made drama" of this period.
Some studies believe that such "self-made dramas" on the one hand digest the talents of the TV station's talent show, on the other hand they also cultivate potential actors.
In "Let's Watch the Meteor Shower", Yu Haoming and Wei Chen, former contestants of "Happy Boy", belong to the former, while Zhang Han and Zheng Shuang are obviously the latter.
Taking advantage of the development of TV station's self-produced dramas, Zheng Shuang appeared in a large number of film and television works in those years.
"Let's watch the meteor shower together" stills
Almost at the same time, more and more artists choose to establish themselves after the contract expires.
Around 2010, Zhou Xun, Li Bingbing, Ren Quan, Huang Xiaoming, Chen Kun, and Su Youpeng all set up individual studios.
At that time, in most people's minds, star studios mostly relied on well-known artists.
Various studios are often compared by the media, and even employee year-end awards are used as indicators for comparison.
Combining previous reports, the scale of celebrity studios in the mainland was not large at that time, some studios had only a dozen employees, and the celebrities themselves became the symbols and even brands of their studios.
From today's point of view, to a certain extent, the star can be regarded as an IP supported and guaranteed by his studio.
Data map: photo by China News Agency reporter Luo Yunpeng, photo courtesy, photo by Chen Chao, photo by Li Xueshi, photo by China News Agency reporter Cui Nan (from left to right)
With the increasing number of industry practitioners and the increasing number of film and television comprehensive works, the number of registrations of celebrity studios is also increasing year by year.
The enterprise information query system "Enterprise Check" has collected statistics on the changes in the registration volume of artist brokerage companies in my country over the past ten years from 2011 to the present.
The results show that up to 2019, the registration volume of artist brokerage companies has been increasing year by year.
In 2013, Shanghai Zheng Shuang Film and Television Culture Studio was established.
According to the contents of the company's search, among the seven studios where Zheng Shuang was or still serves as the legal representative, this one was established the earliest.
Based on the analysis of the situation at the time, this studio should be related to Tianyu Media, which is closely related to Hunan Satellite TV, and did not operate independently.
Enterprise check screenshot
The multiple possibilities of star studios
But soon, the star studio began to show a more market-oriented side.
The establishment of a personal studio by a star is much more than just to run a certain artist well.
In addition to filming, celebrities began investing in film and television projects, signing other artists, and operating sideline businesses; what's more, celebrities became investors directly.
For example, Huang Xiaoming's studio once invested in film and television dramas such as "A Strange Story" and "Splendid Fate Adventure", and Huang Xiaoming himself also opened hot pot restaurants, barbecue restaurants, and even technology, investment, and trading companies.
In 2017, Chen Kun and Zhou Xun jointly established the cultural brokerage company "Dongshen Future" and signed a number of artists such as Ni Dahong and Hai Yiyi. Last year, Shu Qi also joined as a partner.
Weibo screenshot: Dongshen Future officially announced the establishment
In addition, under the brand effect of celebrities, capital is also involved.
Huayi Brothers is a bound star, and once purchased at a premium price the shell companies of such stars as Feng Xiaogang, Zheng Kai, Li Chen, Angelababy, Feng Shaofeng.
There are also Zhao Wei holding shares in Tang De Film and Television, Liu Tao, Deng Chao, Sun Li and others indirectly holding LeTV.com, and Baofeng Group intends to acquire 60% of Straw Bear Pictures at a premium of 15 times (later rejected by the Securities Regulatory Commission).
In 2014, Yang Mi and two brokers jointly invested 3 million to establish Haining Jiaxing World Film and Television Culture Co., Ltd.
Since then, many of the film and television works starring in him have participated in the performance of his sub-artists Di Lieba, Gao Weiguang, Zhang Binbin and so on.
In 2017, Perfect World invested 500 million yuan to acquire 10% of Jiaxing Media, which was once valued at 5 billion yuan.
Screenshot of Jiaxing Media Weibo
In 2016, some researchers pointed out that celebrities do not rely on acting, but rely on the secondary market to make money, which has become an industry phenomenon.
In this environment, in February 2016, Zheng Shuang announced that he would no longer renew his contract with Tianyu Media and set up his own studio instead.
Since then, a newcomer has been signed, and the two have co-starred in "Emerald Lovers" and "Small Smiles Are Allure".
Stills of "Small Smiles Are Allure"
"Reasonable tax avoidance"
Today, in the view of legal professionals, the establishment of studios by celebrities can, on the one hand, get rid of the constraints of brokerage companies and develop more diversified development; on the other hand, it can also reduce taxation standards and reasonably avoid taxes.
According to the excess progressive system of the "Personal Income Tax Law," the tax rate for the portion of annual income exceeding 960,000 is 45%.
Some media have calculated an account: According to this tax rate, 160 million film remuneration needs to pay at least 71.95 million tax; and signing a contract in the name of a legal studio or film and television company can save at least 10% of the tax rate, which is about 15.9 million yuan less. .
Screenshot of the website of the State Administration of Taxation
The report of "Nanfengchuang" concluded that no matter how the comparison is, the establishment of a personal studio or a film and television company is an "excellent means" for tax avoidance.
Of course, this is only a theoretical algorithm.
The actual situation should also consider the use of more complex and diverse reasonable tax avoidance methods by some studios.
In addition, if you encounter local tax reduction and exemption policies, the tax payment should be even less.
Khorgos, a small town on the northwestern port of Xinjiang that was once regarded as a "tax haven", has attracted much attention for this reason.
Relevant documents have made it clear that from 2010 to 2020, new enterprises in the economic development zone that are within the scope of the key industries to be encouraged to develop will be granted five years of corporate income tax exemption from the tax year in which the first production and operation income is obtained. .
Reports show that the catalog covers various industries such as financial services, film and television, cultural media services, and tourism.
And this is only part of the preferential policy.
Under such preferential policies, various enterprises including star studios have poured into this small city.
During this time, Zheng Shuang also opened many new studios.
According to the company’s investigation, in 2016, the two studios where she was the legal representative opened in Xinyi, Jiangsu, and they were cancelled in 2018; in 2017, the other two studios where Zheng Shuang was the legal representative were established in Jiujiang, Jiangxi and continue to exist. to date.
Enterprise Check APP screenshot
"Sky-Priced Remuneration" and "Salary Limit Order"
As celebrity studios are getting bigger and bigger, capital is getting stronger, and more and more businesses are involved, the voice of artists has become more and more important in the entire entertainment circle, especially the bargaining power of "first-line celebrities". .
On the contrary, the video websites that bow to traffic and the film and television companies that are trapped in them have become relatively weak.
As a result, as the film and television industry is developing increasingly prosperous, the issue of "sky-price remuneration" has gradually surfaced.
In the opinion of some people in the industry, the excessively high pay of certain actors not only pushes up the production cost of film and television works, but also severely reduces the cost of drama production, resulting in problems such as the revolving of works around "stars" and quality giving way to "flow".
Because of this, shoddy works with poor acting skills were frequently produced, and the industry and even the social atmosphere were affected.
Faced with these problems, the first to respond is directly involved in the film and television companies and video websites.
In August 2018, the three video sites of "Aiyouteng" and six film and television companies issued a statement stating that the total remuneration of actors should not exceed 50 million yuan.
Since then, it has been reported that the salary of stars participating in variety shows has also been regulated. "The salary for a single program of a single program does not exceed 800,000 yuan, and the total salary for a season of resident guests does not exceed 10 million yuan."
Full statement
In October of this year, the taxation department investigated and dealt with actor Fan Bingbing's "yin and yang contract" and other tax evasion issues in accordance with the law.
Fan Bingbing was ordered to pay taxes, late fees, and a fine of more than 800 million yuan.
This matter has aroused widespread concern.
In the same year, the State Administration of Taxation issued the "Notice on Further Regulating the Taxation Order of the Film and Television Industry."
It is mentioned that in recent years, my country's film and television industry has developed rapidly, showing a good overall trend.
At the same time, problems such as sky-high remuneration, "yin and yang contracts", and tax evasion were exposed, which undermined social fairness and justice, damaged the image of the industry, and affected the healthy development of the industry.
The notice requires that starting from October 2018 and ending before the end of July 2019, follow the steps of self-inspection and self-correction, supervision and correction, key inspection, summary and improvement, etc., to gradually promote the standardization of taxation order in the film and television industry.
Screenshot of the website of the State Administration of Taxation
It is worth noting that the time of the chat record of Zheng Shuang's "high-priced film remuneration" revealed on the Internet is in the time period involved in the notice.
From this point of view, it is not without basis for some netizens to call it "compete against the wind".
"A Chinese Ghost Story" (later renamed "Just Asking This Life Love Cang Ming") record information
In November 2018, the State Administration of Radio and Television announced a notice on further strengthening the management of radio, television and online audiovisual cultural programs.
The notice requires that the total remuneration for all guests of each program for variety shows broadcast on the satellite integrated channels 19:30-22:30 shall not exceed 40% of the total cost of the program, and the remuneration of main guests shall not exceed 70% of the total remuneration of the guests.
The remuneration of all actors in each TV series and online drama (including online movies) shall not exceed 40% of the total production cost, and the remuneration of the main actors shall not exceed 70% of the total remuneration.
Screenshot of the SARFT website
The studio in the era of "salary limit order"
After the "salary limit order," a report quoted industry insiders as saying, "The pay of artists must have fallen." Some people even bluntly said, "The era of over 100 million film pay is over."
On the other hand, the tax issue of celebrity studios has gradually attracted public attention.
Zhejiang Dongyang’s 2018 Corporate Taxation List and the list of top 100 tax-paying companies showed that Zhang Yixing, Yang Mi, Jing Tian, Nine stars including Hua Chenyu were on the list as the "corporate legal representative" of the artist studio.
Zhejiang media called it "the first time a celebrity studio was on the list."
In the list, Dongyang Hengdian Zhang Yixing Film and Television Studio paid 19.1362 million yuan; Dongyang Hengdian Yang Mi Film and Television Studio, 15.533 million yuan; Dongyang Hengdian Jingtian Film and Television Culture Studio, 10.4373 million yuan.
Data map.
Zhang Yunshe
In the context of the taxation department regulating the taxation order of the film and television industry, some local policies have a more direct impact on the stay of celebrity studios.
Also in 2018, Xinjiang Horgos' tax policy, which has always been regarded as one of the tax "depressions" of the film and television industry, began to adjust.
Reports show that in January of that year, Khorgos began to suspend two local policies of value-added tax refund and personal income tax preference; in April, Khorgos again required companies to register "one site, one photo", that is, to have a physical registered address And office space; local tax authorities began to restrict invoices.
Some media said that since June of that year, more than 100 Khorgos film and television companies have applied for cancellation, including Xu Jinglei and many other well-known artists as legal persons and stock-holding companies.
However, from a macro point of view, the growth trend of the number of star studios has not changed significantly.
According to the data from the enterprise search, the registration growth rate of artist brokerage companies began to accelerate in 2016, with a total of 1,357 registered that year, a year-on-year increase of 128%; 2019 was the highest registered year for artist brokerage companies in the past decade, with a total of 2,535 companies, a year-on-year increase of 14 %.
Affected by the epidemic, the number of registrations of artist brokerage companies in 2020 has decreased, to only 1,138, a year-on-year decrease of 55%.
Enterprise Lookup Data
In fact, just as some celebrity studios have recently logged off and attracted attention, there are also data showing, including Shen Teng, Wang Qianyuan, Huang Lei, Xu Zheng, Tao Hong, Chen Sicheng, Huang Zitao, Hou Hongliang, Yuan Quan, Jia Nailiang, Na Ying, Kan Qingzi, Bai Jingting, He Jiong Artists and others have registered new companies in Hainan since last year.
Many netizens associate such changes with the tax issues of star studios.
However, Xu Xiaodan, an entertainment law lawyer at Beijing Tianchi Juntai Law Firm, pointed out that if a certain studio does have tax problems, even after it is cancelled, the tax authority can still investigate and punish the illegal acts at that time.
Since April of this year, chat records involving Zheng Shuang's pay have once again aroused public attention to the problems arising from the star studio.
In this regard, the Shanghai taxation and Beijing radio and television departments have investigated in accordance with the law, and the State Administration of Radio and Television, the State Administration of Taxation, and the State Film Administration have successively spoken out.
At the age of 19, Zheng Shuang, who had just entered the industry, looked forward to his 30-year-old life like this-"I hope to have time and the surrounding situation is relatively stable. To me, I like actors, but it's just a job."
In 2021, Zheng Shuang will happen to be 30 years old.
As a player in the game, she has personally experienced the rise and fall of mainland star studios for more than ten years, but she doesn't know if she still remembers what she said 11 years ago.
(Finish)