The Assassins: Screenwriter Wang Hailin Shares Experience of Being a Creator of AV Works in China Today

The Writers & Directors Worldwide 2015 annual congress held for the first time in Beijing, China included a lively session, sharing of experiences of audiovisual creators from China and abroad. The discussion on Remuneration Rights of Secondary Use of Audio-visual works in China was introduced by Professor Wang Qian of the East China University of Political Science and Law. It was followed by a film screening of The Assassins; a big investment project involving renowned photographers, international movie stars and Hollywood composers.

The screening was followed by a lively panel discussion involving Mr Wang Hailin, screenwriter of The Assassins, the film’s directors and other screenwriters from around the world. Today, the majority of writers in China produce work for television, which remunerates its authors better than film and for which over 3,000 channels need content.  Surprisingly, Mr Hailin explained that less than 20 people currently write for movies in China.  Stressing the disparities in remuneration between authors and performing actors,

Only a handful of authors can earn up to 3 million yuan per film, compared to actors who can make up to 30 million yuan", he said.

He also explained that today, China counts many young writers.

The attending authors, as well as CISAC representatives, were very supportive of the planned amendments to copyright law currently being discussed by the Chinese government. These amendments would significantly improve the situation of the creative community in China. For example, currently screenplays are not specifically cited as written works.  Instead, they are listed under the generic term “etc”. Acknowledging issues like these and altering copyright legislation accordingly will enable China to reach a similar level of copyright protection for authors as that which exists in other major markets.