Fan Bingbing’s disappearance puts perils of China showbiz in spotlight

(Sept 12): Up until a few months ago, the future looked bright for Fan Bingbing. As one of China’s biggest movie stars, she had featured in a couple of Hollywood superhero blockbusters and scores of local films, with many other projects in the pipeline.

Then in June, she became embroiled in a scandal about movie stars under-reporting their earnings, resulting in Chinese tax authorities investigating the industry -- including Fan -- for possible evasion. The 36-year-old actress, who has 63 million followers on the Twitter-like Weibo, has since vanished from public view-- no more social media updates, no more paparazzi photos and no more public appearances. Fan has denied wrongdoing and a representative for her studio could not be reached for comment.

For film executives, Fan’s disappearance is a reminder of the perils of show business in the most-regulated major entertainment market in the world, where the Communist Party weighs in on everything from the appropriateness of costumes to the salaries of movie stars. The episode is also prompting Chinese studios to wean off a reliance on A-list stars to drive big hits, a shift Hollywood made years ago.

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