Han Sanping: A Bold and Innovative Film Producer

Han Sanping， president of China Film Group， is a creative film producer. His latest film “The Founding of a Republic”， screened nationwide on September 16， 2009， created 420 million in ticket office revenues on November 20， 2009. Industrial insiders say that only the charismatic Han Sanping could make such a miraculous blockbuster.

Han was worried when he was first commissioned in December， 2008 to produce the film. October， 2009 was only 10 months away. The budget for the film was 37 million yuan. He needed a lot of special performers to act historical figures in this unprecedented film that would relate what happened around the founding of the New China on October 1st， 1949.

At his mother’s 87th birthday party on December 21， 2008， Han Sanping heard a suggestion from his mother after he told her what had been worrying him. His mother advised him to make the film without paying a cent to the actors. The rationale behind the suggestion was clever enough: these star actors wouldn’t mind appearing in such a historical movie without earning a cent. After he returned to Beijing， Han telephoned 20 star actors， inviting them to appear in the film without payment. The stars responded enthusiastically. Those who hadn’t been invited acted fast after hearing the opportunities. In the end， 172 star actors appeared in the film. Most of them just appeared for a few moments. Those who failed to make an appearance in the film were hugely disappointed.

Han was born on February 11， 1952 in Sichuan Province into a family of revolutionaries. He joined the army in 1971 and served four years in the ground service of the air force. In the autumn of 1975， he learned that Sichuan-based Emei Film Studio was recruiting. The most attractive offer in the employment for Han Sanping was that the studio would assign a dormitory for each new recruit. He was hired to work as a lighting technician.

Though he at first saw no future in the job， he followed his mother’s advice to work hard. Gradually he became the head of the electrical department for the design and execution of lighting plans for films. He went further. He became a script editor and the director of the art center at the studio. In 1983， he entered Beijing Film Academy to study direction. It was during his college days that he directed his first film in partnership with another director. He directed two more films. In 1989， the 36-year-old Han was appointed deputy director of Emei Film Studio.

In 1991， he made “The Story of Mao Zedong”， which won a government award and won the best actor in Golden Rooster Film Award.

In March， 1994， he was appointed deputy director of Beijing Film Studio. The new job meant new opportunities and challenges. For a moment， challenges looked overwhelming. The domestic filmmaking industry was experiencing a hard time: about 85% of the domestic films were money losers. What was more， the studio’s payroll had nearly 2，000 names. Han Sanping worried about money to pay for monthly salaries. Another heavy blow was his father’s death in October， 1994.

But Han Sanping survived. The milestone of Beijing Film Studio’s renaissance under his guidance was The Dream Factory in 1997. The unprecedented sensational success created two firsts: it created a genre known as New Year Film. The 3-million film grossed 33 million. And the film was made under a partnership between the Studio and Director Feng Xiaogang. When he first introduced the new system， many in the studio objected strongly. Under the new box revenue sharing option， Feng finally received more than 6 million. The dissention in the studio abated after the huge success of the film. Under Han’s bold system restructuring， Beijing Film Studio began to make money. Data showed that the films he made even accounted for a third of the national total per year during that time.

The Beijing Film Studio finally bottomed out and survived the most difficult time. In May， 1999， China Film Group was founded on the basis of the merge of China Film Corporation， Beijing Film Studio and six other film-related organizations. Now Han Sanping is its director.

The Red Cliff was another film Han Sanping produced. It was regarded as a risky project by many industrial insiders. The budget was $60 million. After the shooting started， an additional $15 million was added. Some people said that only Han Sanping was bold enough to make such a decision. Han thought his decision was very reasonable. “The Red Cliff” is a story popular in China， Korea and Japan. Han believed a successfully made film could attract large audiences in the three countries. He was right. The Red Cliff I grossed 300 million in early July， 2008. In March， 2009， the two parts of the sensational film topped 600 million， which was the revenue from ten plus major cities in the country. The revenue from 300-plus secondary cities across the nation and the revenue of the overseas markets could make the total much higher.

Han Sanping’s mother always appreciates her son’s daring business practices. But after Han Sanping’s huge successes， his mother cautioned him for possible setbacks and asked him to guard against rash decisions. He reassured his mother: “I am a daring filmmaker， but I am a man of modesty in everyday life.” □