A Studio for Hong Kong Action Theatre, by the Duckmaster
The Studio set-up and changes to rules PCs start as members of the Golden Youth, a new publicity-and-training idea just inaugurated by the Studio. The idea is that the Studio will introduce a new crop of potential stars each year or so.
These hand-picked newcomers (drawn from talent quests, fan magazine competitions, and training institutions) will have the advantage of working with the Studio's Public Relations branch to give them a higher profile than would normally be the case. In game terms, this alters the way Star Power is acquired. SP now can be accumulated (and lost) as the result of public relations AND the ways in which the films in which the stars appear are received. SP is no longer awarded by GMs for whatever their ideas are about "good play", but is obtained or lost through rolling dice - at the box office, at the hands of critics, in the public arena of pure chance.
Stars in the Golden Youth program begin their careers with 5 SP plus CL+CHI / 10, 0.5 and over rounds up. That is, 6-9 SP. Obviously, this is a one-time only bonus (no more CL+CHI / 10 after the first film). However, they will also have some opportunity to add (and to loose) SP before their first film in PR., and this opportunity will recur between each film. After each film is completed, a number of rolls chart its success in terms of SP for the film and for the star's appearance in it. Here too SP can be gained or forfeited. The Studio set up can also be utilised as the backdrop for further role-playing. The Studio might function like the administrative background to the game of Dream Park, for example, and what goes on in the Studio might impact on the films in production. The Studio may have its own ties to Triads, to the mainland, to England, to anywhere, even to nineteenth century occult groups. It may be the target of unscrupulous sabotage by other studios. In this way, in time the 'real life'; situation of the Studio may turn into its own Hong Kong Action scenario.
There follows a list of Studio personnel, new rules for public relations activities for stars, and new rules for the success of movies.
Studio Personnel: Studio Head: Edgar Sun (Sun Ching Wan)
Studio Manager: Li Feng
Head of Studio Security: Chang Kar Lee
Head of Production: Henry Chan (Chan Li)Stars:
Simon Wong (Wong Tak Wah)
Cynthia Chung (Chung Su Jun)
Mok Lung (Lenny Mok)
Lai Yeung (Quentin Lai)
Jin Li Chiang (Gloria Jin)Screenwriters:
Aaron Yip (Yip Fu Shing)
Suzuki KikoCamera:
Lin Chin WeiProps:
Lo See YuenSFX:
Peter Tung (Tung Chin Bong)Music:
Gordon Wong (Wong Siu Chung)
Emma Lai (Lai Choi Fung)Head of Publicity: Sally Yu (Yu Tze Man)
Publicity Assistant: Dexter Chow (Chow Kin Sang)
Dexter Chow's job is to act as chaperone and advisor and outside liaison to the first crop of Golden Youth - that is, to prepare them for stardom. He will have done a good job if his proteges are successful - if they make money and reputation for the Studio. Dexter has a range of activities he would like his young charges to undertake, and many, many things he will do or can do if asked.
Public RelationsBetween each film, there is a PR session for each star with 10 opportunities for Public Relations activities. Stars are not obliged to do any PR. However for every two opportunities with no PR activity, the star must roll a d20 to see if there has been a Mishap (1-3). For each session of public relations, roll d10 to determine activity.
Roll d20 to determine neutral, positive or Mishap outcome.
Only rolls of 19 or 20 are positive: add 0.5 to Star Power.
Rolls of 1-3 signal a Mishap (something went wrong).In the event of a Mishap, roll d20 and consult Mishap table.
Public Relations Activities 1. Public appearances (shopping centres, premieres, clubs, major events)
2. Interviews (radio, newspaper, fan magazine, television)
3. Television appearances (infotainment, news, current affairs, variety)
4. Publicity stunts (minor, medium, major)
5. Cantopop recording (single, album, video, multi-album contract)
6. Movie magazines (mention, column story, full story, cover)
7. Fan mail (signing letters, signing pictures, responding to letters)
8. Fan clubs (personal contact with: local, national, international)
9. Performance (club, concert, stadium)
10.Charity activity (one-off, regular fund-raising, board or lifetime of dedication)
Public Relations Mishaps
(some of these could be dirty tricks by rival studios)1. Traffic accident
2. Sex scandal
3. Drug scandal
4. Family tragedy
5. Marriage
6. Divorce
7. Public collapse
8. Drunk
9. Love goes wrong
10. Cruelty
11. Hoax
12. Negative to fans
13. Suspended by studio
14. Drunk driving arrest
15. Brawling arrest
16. Drug arrest
17. Murder arrest
18. Triad connections
19. Bankruptcy
20. Bad Feng Shui
SPIN ROLLS
Mishaps can be countered with a successful Spin Roll based on either CL or CHI or a nominated proportion of SP against Difficulty of 25. However, these rolls "use up" attribute in question for that PR session. Players get only one roll for CL, one for CHI and one for each proportion of SP up to the player's current total. Successfully spun mishaps count as positive results (add 0.5 Star Power)
Measuring a movie's success The currency of success is Star Power. Both box office success and critical success are converted to Star Power. The Studio acquires most of this, but the stars get some too.
1. Box office. This is a very important factor in determining the continuing employment of a star. Too many financial failures will result in the Studio cancelling the star's contract.1.1. All movies have a base 40% chance of box office success.
1.1.1 Each 10 Star Power used in the film, rounded down, results in a 5% increase in the base chance of success.
1.1.1.1 Star Power is used in the film to bid for roles (not to pay for roles, as in rules). It is used to influence what is seen on the screen. It can also be used in the film as a donation made by stars to the film before shooting only.
1.1.1.2 All negative Star Power results from public relations activities prior to the shooting must be converted to percentages and subtracted from the base chance for success (-5 SP = -5%, etc.).
1.2. Roll d100 to determine the movie's success after making SP adjustments as above.
1.3. In the case of success, roll d20 to determine the amount of SP gained by the film. Rolls of 20, take 20 SP and roll again. Luckily box offices failures are not taken out of anyone's SP (yet) but absorbed by the studio.
2. Critical success. Each film and each star's performance in that film is evaluated separately in reviews, etc. Although the benefits and harmful effects from good critical reception are sometimes not visible at the box office, it too has an effect on the movie's and the star's success in the eyes of the Studio.1.3.1 The Studio takes half (rounded up) of the SP profit from the movie. The rest is distributed to stars, with the highest bidder for the roles on this movie receiving the largest share in cases of inequitable distribution. Please note: this means that the one highest bidder receives all the SP remainder after the stars' SP total has been divided by the number of stars working on the picture.
2.1. To simulate the critical response to a movie or a star's performance in a movie, roll a d20 10 times, then modify the roll with another (a D3 or D2).
1-10. No result (no coverage).
11. Popular press - positive - neutral - negative
12. Trade press - positive - neutral - negative
13. Elite press - positive - neutral - negative
14. Foreign market - positive - neutral - negative
15. Popular awards - yes - no
16. Trade awards - yes - no
17. Elite awards - yes - no
18. HK studio interest - yes - no
19. Hollywood interest - yes - no
20. Film festivals - screening - award (2 SP) -nothing2.1.1. Each positive, yes or screening result adds 1 SP to the movie or the star (film festival awards add 2 SP).
2.1.1. Each negative subtracts 1 SP. 'No' and 'nothing' results do not subtract or add SP.
Some Terms for GMs: Totalflops: movies or stars with both negative b.o. and critical rep. Dexter Chow contemplates suicide.
Cult: movies or stars with negative b.o. and positive critical rep. Dexter Chow is visibly anxious.
Ho-hummers: movies or stars with positive b.o. and negative critical rep. Dexter Chow is unmoved.
Hits: movies or stars with positive b.o. and positive critical rep. Dexter Chow is quietly pleased.
Megahits: Very high positive b.o. and very good critical rep. Dexter Chow goes on a three-day binge.
Thanks to the Duckmaster for permission to reprint the Golden Dawn Studio. An earlier version of this article was published on the Hong Kong Action Theatre mailing list.
The photos are from Apple Daily and Oriental, sourced via Wolverine's wonderful Top Ten Box Office News, an indispensable source of Hong Kong Movie Gossip.
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http://www.heroic-cinema.com
Maintained by Mark Morrison.