In on the shoot

Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily

Yao says that online contents circulated by celebrities, especially those relating to charity, can raise public awareness.

"If you can be influential on the Internet, you should make good use of it."

Her Weibo following was 10 million in July 2011－even more than the fans of United States President Barack Obama on Twitter then－but there is no hint of boasting from her.

"Many foreigners say they are surprised to see I have so many fans. I just explain to them that China has a huge population. A big base provides that possibility."

Yao shot to fame through the 2006 Chinese TV series My Swordsman, and she regards this year as the busiest in her career as she plays different roles in four big-budget films, which are the live-action animation Monster Hunt, fantasy thriller Ghost Blows Out: The Nine-Story Demon Tower, A Chinese Odyssey Part 3 and All Good Things.

Zhang Wenbo, CEO of Brave Entertainment in Beijing, the company marketing Monster and Ghost, says Yao has a "huge marketing value", which will help the films at the box office.

Monster, released on July 16, has reaped 2.05 billion yuan, making it the country's highest-grossing homemade blockbuster. According to some trade analysts, the film may even break the 2.4 billion yuan record set by Fast and Furious 7, which has made the most money by a film on the Chinese market.

But Monster had its share of problems before its debut. One of its actors, Kai Ko, was arrested on drug charges last year.

The Taiwan star's scenes from the film had to be deleted and reshot with another actor following orders from the sector's regulator to bar such "tainted celebrities" from appearing on film or TV screens and advertisements.

In the film, Yao plays a cook who makes "dishes out of monsters", from Japanese-style sashimi to China's steamed food. Many moviegoers have found her exaggerated performance with a dialect from Northeast China hilarious.

But comic roles no longer seem to be keeping up with Yao's ambitions.

Most of her previous screen roles were not well fleshed out, Yao says.

"I really expect some studios to tailor a stronger, more complex character for me."