“These so-called stars, they are not from the artistic and literary world, they’re from high traffic 流量 circles. These “plastic” actors are hyped about purely based on their “packaging”. Although they are also active in this industry, their presence has affected the integrity and honour of many outstanding creators”. Harsh words from veteran actor Chen Daoming who in a recent literature and art symposium bluntly talked about how liu liang 流量 celebs or high traffic stars just about ruined the essence and spirit of the entertainment industry.
Liu liang celebrities are considered to be extremely bankable stars these days since the huge number of clicks their popularity brings translates to big bucks commercially. But clearly it looks like Chen Daoming is not a fan since his comments seem to imply that perhaps high traffic stars have little or next to no substance at all when set against more “traditional” artists. From his standpoint, an artist’s acting skills is of paramount importance and is second to none, which is why he says he looks down on many directors who choose to work on costumed dramas thinking that these directors don’t really value the actor’s skills and whose appreciation of the arts is merely superficial.
Chen Daoming recently appeared in a couple of costumed dramas, most recently taking on the role of the Emperor in the popular hit Joy of Life. His comments have drawn mixed reactions from netizens.
Kopiqini
I mean he’s not wrong…those idol and traffic starred celebs and dramas have no added value to anything but $$$ for profit. I also wish for more artistic value and for more developed real actors and actresses to have their chances too and obv also for those directors and script writers to wake up and do better!
Anon
Leave that to the audience to decide
Why not
I am really curious about the way Wetv will handle their “Ambassadors” seams to me that exactly what about Chen Daoming is speaking a lot of idols but except for XZ actors?
Anon
Uhmm…What’s wrong with the wetv ambassadors now?
Anon
To be fair some of these liuliang actors work harder than the rest, they didn’t have quality project opportunities like most of these great actors when they broke out or good directors to work with. Working from one trashy script to the next with weak directors without a break until they were recognized by the public. I don’t believe there’s anyone (at least that I know of) that’s getting undeserved popularity, they worked hard for it and of course there’s good luck at play.
But when you think of mediocre projects like legend of fei and the amount of $$ that was raked in by the production team and actors for doing basically nothing but being mediocre in all aspects, something has to be done or I don’t think I want to keep watching this kind of works. I don’t remember the last time I watched a chinese drama that was good and got a lot of hype bcoz it was good. The more fans praise these trashy projects the lower the standards until we came to this.
Sky's the limit
Yes, totally agree
Sky's the limit
Correct me if I’m wrong but China really hasn’t produce or groom a good solid actor/actress for the last decade or longer. With this move, I am hopeful the industry will develop in a different direction from the current environment.
laihonn
Yeah, they haven’t had solid actors/ actresses in the past decade that’s international known. The one that get international recognition are just Zhou Xun, Gong Li, Tang Wei, Zhao Wei, Liu Ye and Zhang ZiYi (people I remembered at the moment) but they also benefit from starred in HK and TW produced movies. Once the HK movies industry dried up, so are the C-ent.
There’re very few China made movies that are not on borderline melodrama, and they don’t do a lot of variety of genre like Korea or Japan. For the most part, China produced movies seems to missing the emotional impact, most just tell you a story and you just watch it unfold even with melodrama.
One of the things I’m not impressed with how some of these actors / actresses graduated from prestige school like The Central Academy of Drama, Shanghai Theatre Academy, etc but they’re still lack the acting ability. What are they teaching in those school?
Sky's The Limit
I think it may be due to capital. Many of the film/television projects that came out and those on the way are essentially limited to the popular idol themes such as xianxia (I do like some but it does get old if the same theme gets retold over and over), romcom or school romance or other popular categories that will generate clicks. What this does, in my opinion, is that it limits the range of acting, not just for newly graduates but also any veteran actors/actresses as there’s little to craft the character within the script. And let’s not talk about some of the lousy screenwriting. lol
XZF
I agree with you also. There are so many C-dramas came out for 2020 and 2021 and only a very few of them are worth watching. It seems like any actors/actresses can play main leads lately. Personally I prefer quality dramas, movies and shows over quantity anytime.
Aya
Lets be honest here, just because these “high traffic” actors are cast and these “less artistic” dramas and movies are made doesn’t stop these so called amazingly talented and artistic people from doing their thing. What he seems to be more upset about is the fact that the public appreciates those idol actors and dramas more so his artistic stuff doesn’t get as much attention. And yes, we all appreciate talent and there are always people who love artistic movies, but we also love being entertained and just watch something fun. At the end of the day it’s up to the public to decide what they want to watch and if it’s an idol drama then it’s an idol drama and if it’s and deep and artistic movie, then it’s an artistic movie. I don’t see why anyone needs to get upset about it. It’s the Marvel movies aren’t real movies thing again.
Anon
I agree, it upsets me when people say things like this actor is only popular because they are pretty or why is so so so and so so popular in the first place, the good actors are so so so and so. It is insulting another person’s preferences and calling everyone shallow minded just bcoz we are not intrigued by these so called good actors. The entertainment industry shouldn’t be so rigid, people should like who they like freely without being called out for idol worshipping or whatnot. If you want to escape into your tv screen should there also be so much rigidity there?
Some of these heavy themed dramas can be draggy and boring, I can’t take consistent doses of them, When I watch tv, I’m trying escape from the outside world not run into it again. Sometimes I want to watch something emotional, but that’s rare. It’s a personal preference and there’s no unfair play here. So this subtle attack on the liuliang doesn’t seem completely innocent.
Admittedly, the low production quality of dramas these days I believe are directly related to these liuliang actors, and the new outcrop of liuliang are to an extent ridiculously bad, but it’s unfair to try to push them out of the industry as a so called solution, there are other measures.
Vee
“Artistic” stuffs lol. Btw Chen Daoming and his works are much more popular and widely respected by general public in China than any liuliangs.
Anon
Since such works are highly respected my point is, he and his audience should keep to their own and the less respected liuliangs and their audience should keep to their own. It’s just like a restaurant manager coming down to it’s neighbors roadside stall to rant about how they profit much more than them.
Joni
I don’t think he was talking about audience’s preference or individual stars. They all understand very well how market works. I think he was talking about an industry that rewards the liu liang stars so very much more than the really good actors. Just imagine from another point of view – it’s like saying that a Rembrandt is worth less than a school kid’s drawing despite the obvious difference in quality. He is not the first veteran actor to express such views. A number of others in the industry (actors, producers, directors) has been voicing out strongly on this as well.
Many of the liu liang celebrities act like divas, late for work, not able to remember their lines, do not do their homework, don’t know how to act cos they were not properly trained (they are basically trained on the job), etc … And indeed, we can see many older support actors doing a much better job in dramas. So he is voicing what many are already saying – proven talent, quality and experience are paid much less than pretty faces. Indeed, I watched an interview once when a young liu liang star said he is not going to waste time going to a drama school when he is already so successful as an idol. Quite arrogant and disrespectful.
Anon
I believe many of these liuliangs take on more projects each year, have ridiculously tight schedules and endorse heavily, how exactly won’t they make more money than actors that get fewer and quality scripts in the same time period? I heard the salary of actors was slashed down sometime last year, these actors don’t rely only on projects to be popular and make money, they are constantly on the move trying to leverage the little recognition they’ve received to boost them into fame. They are sacrificing their normal lives, some can’t even keep up with family and in result they get paid and they get fame, on the other hand most of these respected talents have a more normal private life in comparison, they win awards, they don’t get hate, they receive the respect due them for being talented and most of them have the time to maintain families. They don’t seem interested in CF’s or the hustle of fame.
Again he’s implying that these talented actors should be the ones working on the projects the liuliangs are working on which raises the question, which of these actors are willing to work on them? Should Betty Sun or Liu Tao have played FL in princess agents or Legend of Fuyao. Or is it Nini and Zhou Dongyu? Is it the newbie talented ones? lmao, then they’ll become untalented in no time given the monotony. What space are the liuliangs occupying that they aren’t supposed to? people that enjoy watching the liuliangs, does he think they don’t know about these talented actors? If they get the kind of attention (positive and negative) that these liuliangs are getting I doubt they’d want it, bcoz if you look at it their PR doesn’t steer them in that direction.
Again I don’t see how anyone is getting more than they deserve, if I’m wrong you can correct me.
Lizzie Glee
True, I agree with you..besides this traffic actors also worked hard to be recognized to be also at a point where they cab be casted and given roles in quality drama..at the end of the day, nobody starts in the entertainment industry as veteran or good actors, at some point most stars starts from being a traffic star until they achieved that high esteemed status..nobody starts in equal footing and even veterans actor are not valued equally..
At the end of the day the entertainment industry is an artistic and literary world in one end and a business in another end- so whether you are an actor or director or producer you will strive hard to survive- catering to what the audience preferred..
Laila
I get that it can feel or be unfair sometimes but he shouldn’t assume that all these “traffic stars” aren’t working hard to get where they are also. Some have been in the industry for a few years, sure not veteran status, but they still work hard to get their roles. They still have to go through long and excruciating schedules too. I love dramas with good acting and talent but sometimes it’s okay to just enjoy dramas that are easygoing, cliche and “less artistic”. I do agree that a lot of the new actors/actresses with “pretty faces” are mediocre at best but there are also vey good ones too that can actually act. It’s all preference at the end of the day.
Anon
No, he wasn’t talking about who is working harder or stuff like that. They all work hard – just at different things. Nor is he talking about all young actors. There are some older (>30 y.o.) liu liang actors as well. There are also a number of young serious actors. This kind of young serious actors are no longer viewed as liu liang category. People in the industry know who is who. It is okay to have a wide variety of entertainment for the audience. He probably is saying that the way the entertainment industry have developed has also in a sense produced even more liu liang as it is a short cut to fame and fortune and ultimately will bring down the overall quality as well.
Wuxia Indonesia
i agree with him, but it’s all about money, so we cannot say or do anything about it. money is always the main priority.
better spend your budget for high traffic stars (even with low acting skill) than anything else.
it’s why i call the producer of Novoland Eagle flag a moron, they spent budget 500 million CNY, one of the highest in chinese drama series industry, in which only 30% of that is going to the cast. so they got a C-rated stars, and without a good rating of performance, the drama only got mediocre result.
if i am a producer, i would rather pay A-rated stars (even the one with low acting skill) with 80% of budget (using Yin-Yang contract) , and producing a common romance-focus story drama
easy to made, fast to produce, high traffic, high profit, guarantee of attracting high traffic
Jurema Rodrigues
I agree. I would like to watch a 2nd season of Joy of Life. Chen Daoming made an Emperor unlike any he had ever seen, he is the best in China. (I’m from Brazil)
H.a
The guy is terrific and high class actor i yhonk he is almost 70 and he saying truth ,many if not most of them don’t know how to act ,period ,so they are ruining agood project and taking opportunities from talented actors ,,yhey deserve the criticism for sure
H.a
Joy of life is masterpiece and had all good actors ,and his role was so impacyfu