Discussion About Artistes and Managers

*Picture from: Asian-gossip.blogspot.com

The latest HK scandal brewing was the Isabella Leung-EEG relationship being on the rocks. A discussion was held with several managers of well-known artistes about manager and artistes relationships. Mani Fok is the manager for a number of artistes at EEG, including Twins, Joey, Nic Tse, and Isabella Leung. Wong Jing is a movie and series director, producer, screenwriter, etc. Virginia Lok is TVB production executive. Paco Wong is CEO/Manager of Gold Label Entertainment which includes artistes like Leo Koo, Stephy, and Alex Fong. Miriam Yeung used to be under his management/label.

It was quite an interesting news article to read about several managers' perspectives from the HK movies, series, and music industry. It seems like the people there were making jabs at each others' companies. I would've liked it if we could see the whole discussion on tv to see their facial reactions while they made the comments!

On the Issue of Signing Contracts:

"First, I am against signing long term contracts. Like the long contracts at EEG; I am against it. Fifteen years is too long. Normally it is eight to ten years.” - Wong Jing

“If it is that short, then they would easily leave after they become famous.”
- Mani

"If you are still investing (in the artiste) in the seventh year and there is no contract extension then you are stupid! Actually, if you have a long term contract in your hands then you are powerless in their betrayal."
- Wong Jing

On the Issue of Freezing:

"Wong Jing smiled and pointed out that Ng Yu’s company (EEG) has the biggest freezer.

Mani believes that during freezing, it can give the artiste time to think things over more clearly. They are more conscious and aware when they come out.

Ng Yu points out that Virginia’s company, TVB, has the largest freezer. They froze people like Chow Yun Fat, Andy Lau and others.

Virginia joked: “We moved already. It was taken down! Actually artistes should be rewarded and punished because the buffer period gives them time to think.”

My Thoughts on the Two Issues:

I think I have to agree with Wong Jing there about signing long contracts. I think a shorter contract gives the artistes some room to breathe so that they can evaluate their potential and plans further down the road. It is also like saying, we care about you, but you have the right to choose another company because we respect and value you as an artiste.Plus, at the beginning, a newcomer will be excited to become a star so they most likely will sign anything, but when it comes time to actually fulfilling the term, it might be a different story.

As for the freezing issue, I am 50-50 about it. In some ways, freezing can be a good thing because like Virginia Lok says, it gives time for the artistes to reflect on their behavior and direction. However, some of the reasonings behind freezes, as reported by media, are silly....such as for people dating, saying the wrong things according to the company. If the artistes are doing their jobs well, then they can have their fun and be blunt all they want. Freezing an artiste is probably only justified if whatever they are doing/have done negatively affects their work such as partying/drinking so much that they are constantly late to work or making NGs, stuff like that.

The Source of the Article:
- Asianfanatics: Discussion About Artistes and Managers
*Credits to Serena from Asian-gossip.blogspot.com
(Please click on links above to read whole article. I have only reposted some parts.)

Other Interesting Articles to Check out:

-Asianfanatics: TVB executive Virginia Lok: Must not be softhearted towards artistes

-Wikipedia: Gold Label