約翰尼·德普：可能會來中國生活

約翰尼·德普：可能會來中國生活

In his first trip to China, actor Johnny Depp said Monday he'd be willing to consider a move to the Middle Kingdom, citing the overwhelmingly warm reception from his fans.

Dozens of them swarmed a Beijing hotel Monday for a glimpse of the star armed with 'We love you Johnny Depp' signs as Mr. Depp arrived to drum up hype for his upcoming sci-fi thriller 'Transcendence . '

Among them were fans like Cai Kexin, 21, who traveled 16 hours by train from eastern coastal Zhejiang province just to be in the same room with the star. 'I cried when I found out he was getting engaged; I had to be here,' said Ms. Cai, adding that she skipped class to be in Beijing with Mr. Depp. She and many others were delighted when Mr. Depp showed off a tattoo on his arm inspired by the I Ching, a Chinese classical text.

Mr. Depp said that while Hollywood has much to share with China, including its special effects and sci-fi expertise, American films can take lessons from China as well. 'The level of art, the eons of culture...I most assuredly believe that we can learn a lot from China,' Mr. Depp said in reply to a question from China Real Time about Hollywood's attempts to appeal to the Chinese market.

'I could live here easily,' he said, adding, 'It's a warm experience.'

Mr. Depp's China arrival comes as Hollywood is attempting to regain ground in the world's second-largest film market, where it's been losing market share. Up until 2012, Hollywood had the stronghold on the market, with 51% of total box office receipts. But last year that changed, with China's domestic films surging ahead to take in 12.7 billion yuan, or about 59% of total box-office receipts, according to consulting firm Artisan Gateway.

The star of movies including the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' trilogy, Mr. Depp--who plays a terminally ill scientist in 'Transcendence'--is just the latest of Hollywood stars to fly to China to promote their films in person. Chris Evans, the lead actor in the upcoming film 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier,' and Andrew Garfield, the star of 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2,' both stopped in Beijing last week on promotional tours.

Like Mr. Depp, other Hollywood stars who've lately made appearances in Beijing have also been keen to stress their affection for China. When Robert Downey Jr. visited last year for the opening of 'Iron Man 3,' he attempted to bond with Chinese audiences by noting that he practices Chinese traditional medicine and has his own Chinese doctor.

During the press briefing, the 51 year-old Mr. Depp entertained a gamut of questions from the Chinese media, ranging from 'How do you maintain your acting skills?' to 'Would you consider designing underwear?' (Mr. Depp said he hadn't previously considered underwear design, but that he thought he 'could do a good job.' He said he thought he'd be particularly skilled at designing women's shoes.)

Producers of 'Transcendence' are hoping the film's futuristic storyline, in which a scientist tries to create a machine with human emotions and intelligence, will resonate with Chinese audiences. 'It's totally conceivable that the next breakthroughs in artificial intelligence will come from China, so the story has a strong appeal and pull for Chinese audiences,' said Dan Mintz, chief executive of Beijing-based DMG Entertainment, which financed and produced the film with Alcon Entertainment in Los Angeles.

The company is hoping to surpass their previous success with 'Iron Man 3,' a co-production with Walt Disney Co. that became China's second highest-grossing film last year, with 755.2 million yuan ($121.6 million) in box-office sales. To target the Chinese market, they're planning a 3-D version of 'Transcendence' to be exclusively released in China, as well as a synced debut with the U.S. on April 18--a rare move , given high levels of concern about piracy among studios. DVDs made from in-theater videos frequently circulate the Chinese market and result in ticket losses.

A spokesman for DMG said the company was well aware of Mr. Depp's popularity in China, where 'Pirates of the Caribbean' was an audience favorite and where Disney Co. plans to open a 'Pirates of the Caribbean' ride at its new Disneyland in Shanghai. Mr. Depp said he'd be more than willing to return for the opening of the 'Pirates' attraction.

While Chinese fans like Ms. Cai have seen all of Mr. Depp's works, Mr. Depp said he avoids watching any of his movies and reading anything about himself. 'I stopped that a long time ago,' he said, noting that he also steers clear of other most cinema. 'I prefer to remain ignorant,' he said.

美國演員約翰尼·德普(Johhny Depp)首次訪問中國。他周一說，他愿意考慮移居這里，原因是粉絲極其熱情。

周一幾十名粉絲涌入北京一家酒店，舉著“約翰尼·德普我們愛你”的標牌，只為一瞥德普的風采。德普來到北京是為了宣傳他即將上映的科幻驚悚片《超驗黑客》(Transcendence)。

其中不乏21歲的蔡可欣(音)這樣的粉絲。蔡可欣從華東的浙江省坐了16個小時的火車來到北京，只為了能與偶像共處一室。她說，我得知他要訂婚時都哭了，我一定得來。她還說，她逃了課，只為了來北京看德普。德普展示了胳膊上根據(jù)中國經(jīng)典《易經(jīng)》繪制的紋身，這讓蔡可欣和其他許多粉絲開心不已。

德普說，好萊塢有很多東西可以與中國分享，包括特效和科幻技術，但美國電影也可以向中國學習。針對《中國實時報》提出的有關好萊塢試圖吸引中國市場的問題，德普回答說，從藝術水平、文化傳承上……我深信我們可以從中國學到很多東西。

他說，我可能會來這兒生活，并補充說，這是非常熱情的體驗。

德普來到中國正值好萊塢試圖奪回在這個世界第二大電影市場流失的份額。直到2012年，好萊塢影片一直牢牢占據(jù)著中國市場，在總票房收入中占到 51%。但去年這種情況發(fā)生了變化，據(jù)咨詢公司Artisan Gateway的數(shù)據(jù)，2013年中國本土影片遙遙領先，獲得了人民幣127億元的票房收入，占總票房的59%。

曾主演《加勒比海盜》(Pirates of the Caribbean)三部曲等大片的德普此次在《超驗黑客》中扮演一位病入膏肓的科學家。他也是最新一位親身上陣前往中國宣傳影片的好萊塢明星。《美國隊長2：冬日戰(zhàn)士》(Captain America: The Winter Soldier)的主演克里斯·埃文斯(Chris Evans)和《超凡蜘蛛俠2》(The Amazing Spider-Man 2)的主演安德魯·加菲爾德(Andrew Garfield)上周都在北京進行了宣傳活動。

與德普一樣，最近在北京露面的其他好萊塢明星也熱情地展示了他們對中國的喜愛之情。小羅伯特·唐尼(Robert Downey Jr.)去年來到中國出席《鋼鐵俠3》(Iron Man 3)的首映式時，他說自己吃中藥，還有自己的中國醫(yī)生，以此與中國觀眾拉近關系。

在媒體見面會上，51歲的德普熱情回答了中國媒體提出的各種問題，從“你是如何保持演技的?”到“你是否會考慮設計內衣?”(德普說他以前沒考慮過設計內衣，但是他覺得自己“能行”。他覺得自己尤其擅長設計女鞋。)

《超驗黑客》講述了一位科學家試圖制造一部擁有人類情感和智慧的機器，制片方希望故事中的未來元素能夠引起中國觀眾共鳴。中國DMG印記娛樂傳媒集團(DMG Entertainment)的首席執(zhí)行長明茨(Dan Mintz)說，完全可以想像在人工智能研究方面取得下一步突破的將是中國，因此《超驗黑客》將強烈吸引并博得中國觀眾的喜愛。DMG與美國艾肯娛樂 (Alcon Entertainment)共同出資制作了這部影片。

DMG希望《超驗黑客》能夠超越此前它與華特-迪士尼公司(Walt Disney Co., DIS)聯(lián)合出品的《鋼鐵俠3》。《鋼鐵俠3》大獲成功，以人民幣7.552億元(合1.216億美元)的票房收入成為去年中國票房第二高的影片。為了吸引中國觀眾，DMG準備在中國市場特別推出3D版《超驗黑客》，而且4月18日影片會在美國和中國院線同步首映，這是罕見之舉，因為電影制片商對盜版問題通常存在很深憂慮。往往新片一上映，中國市場就會出現(xiàn)在影院偷拍后翻錄的槍版DVD，給影片票房造成損失。

DMG的一位發(fā)言人說，公司很清楚德普在中國的受歡迎度，他主演的《加勒比海盜》深受中國觀眾喜愛，華特-迪士尼已計劃在上海新建的迪士尼樂園開設一個專門以加勒比海盜為主題的園區(qū)。德普說，他十分樂意到時候再來中國，出席該主題園區(qū)的開園儀式。

蔡可欣這樣的中國影迷看過德普的所有作品，但德普卻說他不看自己出演的任何電影或與自己有關的任何新聞。他說，我很早以前就不看這些了，而且遠離影院，我更愿意什么都不知道。