Inaugural ceremony of China TV Director Committee [Xinhua]

The newly established China TV Director Committee has gained high attention in a bold move aimed at curbing the casting couch and other ills that afflicts the world of Chinese television soaps.

Comprising directors of TV dramas and famous TV actors, the launch of the committee was attended Wednesday by hundreds of TV professionals who vowed to cleanse up the television industry. The first general assembly was held Thursay gathering 33 executive members of the council and dozens of TV stars. There are 120 members in the concil who are all popular and influential directors in China.

Labeled “hidden rules,” the compromises actors and other talents of TV have to make to grab roles has been worrying the industry for long.

“We will strive to expose and stop all the unhealthy practices currently plaguing our industry,” said director Chen Jialin, who has been assigned the role of the president of the committee. “And the most important way of doing that is being alert about what the directors and producers are doing.”

Chen said it was time to get rid of such tendencies as it was taking the TV industry downhill.

Until now, there had been no organization of this kind overseeing TV drama directors, or any regulation that could bring in any punishment for erring people in the TV industry.

Casting couch and bribes for good roles, also prevalent in other television and film industries of the world, has been frequently surfacing in China as scandals that many in the industry wanted to swiftly get rid of, believes Chen.

TV wannabes have often to end up in a relationship with directors and producers to get work. “These practices among some of our directors have harmed the development of the whole industry,” said Chen.

Apart from clearing up the industry, the committee will also focus on protecting the rights of TV drama directors, according to director Yang Yazhou.

“Sometimes we have to give in to the producers because it is them who fund the projects. Since they seek only commercial benefits, undoubtedly the quality of the drama suffers to a large extent,” said Yang.

“Now we are united, and we are going to fight against these producers who care about nothing but money,” said Yang. “It is a good news for both us directors and the audiences.”

Famous actor and director Zhang Guoli (L) smiling at the board with the name "China TV Director Committee" [Xinhua]

Another famous actor and director Zhang Guoli said, “With the establishment of our committee, the TV drama directors at last have a platform to communicate with each other. This will definitely boost the TV drama industry.”

(Global Times June 18, 2009)