聽王健林教好萊塢如何拍電影

LOS ANGELES — The entire Hollywood press corps turned up. So did dozens of Chinese executives from the Beijing-based Dalian Wanda Group, some of whom were introduced as “special dignitaries.” Studio executives? Check. Leaders from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences? Grinning from the front row.

洛杉磯——整個(gè)好萊塢的記者團(tuán)都到場(chǎng)了?？偛课挥诒本┑拇筮B萬達(dá)集團(tuán)也派來了數(shù)十名中國(guó)高層人員，其中一些被介紹為“特邀嘉賓”。電影公司高層?來了。美國(guó)電影藝術(shù)與科學(xué)學(xué)院(The Academy of MotionPicture Arts and Sciences)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)層?正在前排咧著嘴笑。

But why were there also four women in gold evening gowns serving as ushers and M.C.’s? And why was the “Star Wars” score used as part of the Monday affair, which was held to promote Wanda’s $5 billion studio complex in Qingdao as a home away from home for Hollywood?

但為什么還有四名穿著金色晚禮服的女子充當(dāng)迎賓和司儀?為什么在本周一這個(gè)為了宣傳萬達(dá)在青島投資50億美元興建的影城——好萊塢可以把它當(dāng)作海外基地——的活動(dòng)中采用《星球大戰(zhàn)》(Star Wars)的配樂呢?

The answer seemed to be: because Wanda wanted it that way.

答案似乎是：因?yàn)槿f達(dá)就想要這樣。

And, at least for eager Hollywood executives hoping to tap into the fast-growing Chinese box office, that was answer enough. As the Motion Picture Association of America’s chief executive, Christopher J. Dodd, said in a video infomercial for the Qingdao complex that played as part of the event, “Any time an audience grows, everyone benefits.”

好萊塢的一些高管熱切盼望著分享正在快速增長(zhǎng)的中國(guó)票房，至少對(duì)他們來說，這個(gè)答案已經(jīng)足夠。正如美國(guó)電影協(xié)會(huì)(Motion Picture Association of America)首席執(zhí)行官克里斯托弗·J·多德(Christopher J. Dodd)在為青島影都錄制的視頻中所說，“每當(dāng)觀眾人數(shù)出現(xiàn)增長(zhǎng)，所有人都會(huì)受益。”

The 5 p.m. presentation, held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, began with remarks by Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the academy, an institution dedicated in part to celebrating artistic freedom.

這個(gè)活動(dòng)于下午5點(diǎn)在洛杉磯縣藝術(shù)博物館(Los Angeles County Museum of Art)舉行，學(xué)院主席謝麗爾·布恩·艾薩克斯(Cheryl Boone Isaacs)發(fā)表了講話。鼓勵(lì)藝術(shù)自由是該機(jī)構(gòu)的工作之一。

“We have so much in common,” Ms. Boone Isaacs said of the Chinese and American film industries. “Art. Creativity. Conscience. Conviction. Just telling your story.”

“我們有很多的共同點(diǎn)，”布恩·艾薩克斯談到中國(guó)和美國(guó)的電影業(yè)時(shí)說。“藝術(shù)。創(chuàng)造力。良知。信念。只用去講你的故事就好。”

Hollywood, of course, has been frustrated that Chinese censors restrict the flow of American films into China; only a few dozen foreign films are allowed to be exhibited annually. But Ms. Boone Isaacs kept it gauzy. “This art form, like an old-fashioned carousel, is at its best when it takes us around the world,” she said of cinema.

當(dāng)然，中國(guó)的審查者限制美國(guó)電影進(jìn)入中國(guó)，這令好萊塢感到失望;中國(guó)每年能夠引進(jìn)的外國(guó)電影只有幾十部。但是布恩·艾薩克斯對(duì)此一語帶過。她說電影“這種藝術(shù)形式就像老式的旋轉(zhuǎn)木馬，當(dāng)它帶我們環(huán)顧世界時(shí)，才是最佳狀態(tài)”。

Next up: Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, who has made bolstering the movie industry a priority of his administration. Specifically, he has criticized the practice of studios moving production to other states and countries to take advantage of tax incentives and rebates. That, of course, is exactly the kind of runaway production funding that Wanda announced at Monday’s event.

接下來上臺(tái)的是洛杉磯市長(zhǎng)埃里克·加希提(Eric Garcetti)，他把振興電影行業(yè)作為這屆政府的優(yōu)先要?jiǎng)?wù)。具體來說，他曾批評(píng)過電影公司享受稅收優(yōu)惠和補(bǔ)貼，把制作環(huán)節(jié)轉(zhuǎn)移到其他州和其他國(guó)家的做法。當(dāng)然，在周一的活動(dòng)中，萬達(dá)宣布的正是這種用資金把制作吸引到別處的舉措。

Mr. Garcetti tried to have it both ways. After noting that efforts to bring back production have borne fruit, he said, “We also are not a place that closes in.” He added, “We will be strong about promoting Los Angeles as a place to film, but we will also be proud to make those international links that are core to our businesses growing.” With that, Mr. Garcetti introduced Wang Jianlin, Wanda’s chairman.

加希提試圖兩面討好。在談到恢復(fù)電影制作的努力已經(jīng)取得成果之后，他說，“我們也不是一個(gè)自我封閉的地方。”他表示，“我們將堅(jiān)定地提倡在洛杉磯拍攝電影，但是開展一些對(duì)我們的業(yè)務(wù)增長(zhǎng)很重要的國(guó)際合作，這也讓我們感到自豪。”加希提以此為萬達(dá)董事長(zhǎng)王健林登臺(tái)做介紹。

For his part, Mr. Wang spent most of his speech (delivered in Mandarin, with translation provided to the audience via headphones) highlighting the spectacular growth of the Chinese box office. Within a decade, he noted, China will not only far surpass the United States as a movie marketplace, it will control more than 40 percent of global ticket sales.

王健林的演講(用普通話發(fā)言，聽眾帶著耳機(jī)聽翻譯)大部分時(shí)間都在強(qiáng)調(diào)中國(guó)票房的巨大增長(zhǎng)。他指出，在十年內(nèi)，中國(guó)電影市場(chǎng)不僅將遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過美國(guó)，而且將占據(jù)全球票房的40%以上。

He got a round of applause when he said that American studios needed to “improve the quality” of their movies. “In the recent few years, perhaps because Hollywood movies are trying to minimize their risk, there are less original movies,” he said. After criticizing Hollywood’s over-reliance on special effects, he added, “Now that Chinese audiences are smarter, they do not so easily become happy.”

當(dāng)他說到美國(guó)制片廠需要“提高電影的質(zhì)量”時(shí)，臺(tái)下響起了連串的掌聲。“最近幾年，也許是因?yàn)楹萌R塢想要盡量減少風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，制作的原創(chuàng)電影比較少，”他說。在批評(píng)了好萊塢對(duì)特效的過分依賴之后，他又補(bǔ)充，“中國(guó)觀眾現(xiàn)在變得更聰明了，要讓他們滿意不是那么容易。”

It was almost a wrap. But first came more details about the 40 percent rebate Wanda will offer studios for filming at its still-under-construction “movie metropolis” in Qingdao. Invited to the stage were executives from studios that had already signed up, including Lionsgate, Wanda-owned Legendary Entertainment, Arclight Films and Kylin Pictures.

差不多就這些了。但在結(jié)束之前，活動(dòng)還談到了更多的細(xì)節(jié)，關(guān)于萬達(dá)將為前往仍在建設(shè)中的青島影都拍攝電影的國(guó)際公司提供40%補(bǔ)貼。已經(jīng)簽約的電影公司包括Lionsgate、萬達(dá)旗下的傳奇娛樂、Arclight Films和Kylin Pictures，這些公司的高管被邀請(qǐng)到了臺(tái)上。

As one of the women in gold gowns said in closing, “It’s very exciting!”

正如其中一名穿著金色長(zhǎng)袍的女子在活動(dòng)結(jié)束時(shí)所說，“這真是令人興奮!”