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——整個好萊塢的記者團都到場了。總部位於北京的大連萬達集團也派來了數十名中國高層人員，其中一些被介紹爲“特邀嘉賓”。電影公司高層？來了。美國電影藝術與科學學院(The Academy of MotionPicture Arts and Sciences)的領導層？正在前排咧着嘴笑。

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?

但爲什麼還有四名穿着金色晚禮服的女子充當迎賓和司儀？爲什麼在本週一這個爲了宣傳萬達在青島投資50億美元興建的影城——好萊塢可以把它當作海外基地——的活動中採用《星球大戰》(Star Wars)的配樂呢？

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

答案似乎是：因爲萬達就想要這樣。

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着分享正在快速增長的中國票房，至少對他們來說，這個答案已經足夠。正如美國電影協會(Motion Picture Association of America)首席執行官克里斯托弗•J•多德(Christopher J. Dodd)在爲青島影都錄製的視頻中所說，“每當觀衆人數出現增長，所有人都會受益。”

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.

這個活動於下午5點在洛杉磯縣藝術博物館(Los Angeles County Museum of Art)舉行，學院主席謝麗爾•布恩•艾薩克斯(Cheryl Boone Isaacs)發表了講話。鼓勵藝術自由是該機構的工作之一。

“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，”布恩•艾薩克斯談到中國和美國的電影業時說。“藝術。創造力。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.

當然，中國的審查者限制美國電影進入中國，這令好萊塢感到失望；中國每年能夠引進的外國電影只有幾十部。但是布恩•艾薩克斯對此一語帶過。她說電影“這種藝術形式就像老式的旋轉木馬，當它帶我們環顧世界時，纔是最佳狀態”。

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.

接下來上臺的是洛杉磯市長埃裏克•加希提(Eric Garcetti)，他把振興電影行業作爲這屆政府的優先要務。具體來說，他曾批評過電影公司享受稅收優惠和補貼，把製作環節轉移到其他州和其他國家的做法。當然，在週一的活動中，萬達宣佈的正是這種用資金把製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。在談到恢復電影製作的努力已經取得成果之後，他說，“我們也不是一個自我封閉的地方。”他表示，“我們將堅定地提倡在洛杉磯拍攝電影，但是開展一些對我們的業務增長很重要的國際合作，這也讓我們感到自豪。”加希提以此爲萬達董事長王健林登臺做介紹。

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（用普通話發言，聽衆帶着耳機聽翻譯）大部分時間都在強調中國票房的巨大增長。他指出，在十年內，中國電影市場不僅將遠遠超過美國，而且將佔據全球票房的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.”

當他說到美國製片廠需要“提高電影的質量”時，臺下響起了連串的掌聲。“最近幾年，也許是因爲好萊塢想要儘量減少風險，製作的原創電影比較少，”他說。在批評了好萊塢對特效的過分依賴之後，他又補充，“中國觀衆現在變得更聰明瞭，要讓他們滿意不是那麼容易。”

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。但在結束之前，活動還談到了更多的細節，關於萬達將爲前往仍在建設中的青島影都拍攝電影的國際公司提供40%補貼。已經簽約的電影公司包括Lionsgate、萬達旗下的傳奇娛樂、Arclight Films和Kylin Pictures，這些公司的高管被邀請到了臺上。

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

正如其中一名穿着金色長袍的女子在活動結束時所說，“這真是令人興奮！”