Inside Chollywood

101 East asks if Chinese cinema is about to enter a golden age that will make it too lucrative for Hollywood to ignore.




In 2006, when Tang Long made the long journey from rural Hubei to the Hengdian World Studios in eastern China, he had one dream in mind – to make it as an actor.

Arriving at the largest outdoor film set in the world, where hundreds of productions take place every year, he knew nothing about the film industry and no one in it. Tang started out as an extra, and was paid $4 a day to be part of a large crowd in the background of a scene.

The next step up would be what the industry calls a "contract extra", where he gets a close-up shot, possibly with a line if he is lucky.

"I never made it," says Tang, who stands at about 1.6 metres tall. "I don't have the physique and there was just too much competition. Everyone here is dreaming of stardom and trying to show off their talents."

To feed himself, Tang took on any behind-the-scenes role that came along. As a tea boy with a can-do attitude, he quickly impressed and worked his way up to managing location runners.