经济学人129:独立电影的复兴

 　　Business The revival¹ of independent film Scripts, not effects

　　商业 独立电影的复兴 剧本是关键,资金不成问题

　　Independent films are at last recovering from the slump²

　　最终,独立电影在走出低谷

　　THE Toronto film festival, which ends this week, marks the start of the serious-film season. Out—at least until Thanksgiving, in late November—go the superhero spectaculars. In come the foreign films and the dining-room dramas. The autumn crop is far more prone³ to failure than the summer one. But highbrow films now come with higher hopes.

　　本周结束的多伦多电影节,标志着严肃题材电影季节拉开了帷幕。依靠超级英雄来博取票房的电影至少要持续播映到十一月末的感恩节。外国电影和文艺影片将走向舞台。可以预计的是秋季票房收入比夏季还要惨淡。但高格调电影迎来了更高的期许。

　　For the past few years the independent film business has resembled a low-budget horror movie. Outside financing was brutally⁴ killed in 2008, as banks stopped lending. Three of the six major studios axed subsidiaries that had specialised in buying independent films. Consumers struck another blow by switching from buying DVDs to renting them.

　　过去几年间，独立电影产业的遭遇堪于一部低成本恐怖电影并论。随着银行停止给提供贷款，在2008年，外界融资渠道也中断了。六大电影工作室中的三个停止了之前专门购买独立电影的子公司。消费者接着又补上一记重拳，他们开始租赁光碟而不再购买DVD了。

　　Yet sales at film festivals this year have been brisk. New buyers such as CBS Films and Open Road Films have emerged to replace the departed studios. The larger independent outfits⁵ have steadied. The Weinstein Company, which almost collapsed⁷ two years ago, is basking⁸ in the success of "The King's Speech" (pictured). Lionsgate has shaken off an activist⁹ investor¹⁰, Carl Icahn, who had argued it should get out of film production. Summit Entertainment, maker¹¹ of the popular "Twilight¹²" films, closed a large financing deal in March.

　　然而，今年各个电影节的影片销售却一路高歌猛进。新的买家如CBS和Open Road Films公司开始取代离开此领域的工作室。更大规模的独立摄制组运作也趋于平稳。两年前处于破产边缘的韦恩斯坦公司，依靠着《国王的演讲》，咸鱼翻身。狮门公司摆脱了它那位激进的投资商卡尔?伊坎,他曾主张狮门公司应该关闭其电影业务。《暮色》系列电影的制造商，顶峰娱乐公司在三月拒绝了一笔数额巨大的收购提议，决定不出售公司。

　　It helps that films have become cheaper to make. Actors' salaries remain depressed¹³, and indies have become expert at exploiting competition between states and countries, which lavish¹⁴ subsidies¹⁵ on them. Most important, says Morris Ruskin, the head of Shoreline Entertainment, a glut¹⁶ of films commissioned in the era of loose credit has at last worked its way through the pipeline¹⁷. "We've gone from a market that was saturated¹⁸ with films to a market that is hungry for them," he says.

　　电影制作成本的下降对独立电影业的发展有着推波助澜的效果。演员们的薪水依然不高，各独立电影制作公司精于利用州与州，国与国之间的竞争关系，从中获取慷慨的补助。海岸娱乐的老板 莫里斯.若斯金表示，最重要的是，信贷宽松时期充斥着被委托制作的电影，如今终于熬出头了。他谈到："那个供应饱和的市场已经远去，现在市场对电影变得趋之若鹜。"

　　The post-financial-crisis independent film business is both more independent and more focused on film than before. The three major studios that got out of indie films—Disney, Paramount¹⁹ and Warner Bros—have not returned and are concentrating on a few expensive blockbusters. And the collapse⁶ of DVD sales means it is more important to drive people to cinemas. Richard Abramowitz, who is distributing the racing²⁰ film "Senna" in America, says the spread of Blu-ray cinema projectors²¹ has cut costs dramatically.

　　后金融危机的独立电影业较之以往,即更为独立，也更注重电影本身。退出独立电影行列的三大电影工作室——迪斯尼、派拉蒙和华纳兄弟——并没有重返独立电影业，而是将重心放在了花费高昂的大成本影片当中。光盘销售业的凋零使得把观众请到电影院变得尤为重要。正在负责赛车题材电影《塞纳》营销工作的理查德?阿布拉莫威茨谈到,蓝光播放器的普及使得其制造成本大大降低了。

　　The business is more international, too. Roman Polanski's latest film, "Carnage", was financed by Europeans, with American distribution added almost as an after-thought. Total sales of cinema tickets fell slightly in America last year. But they were up in Europe, and soared in Russia. Talky dramas are harder to export than cartoons or action flicks²², which is partly why the major studios now concentrate on such things. But independent horror films sometimes travel well.

　　独立电影业也更趋于国际化。罗曼波兰斯基的最新力作《杀戮》由欧洲电影公司投资。美国的发行商随后也加入进来，虽然有马后炮的嫌疑。去年，美国电影的总票房收入略有下降。但在欧洲电影票房喜人，在俄罗斯则称的上是一路飙升。对话比重多的电影比卡通片和动作片出口要困难,这部分说明了为何现在大的电影巨头把后两者视为重心。但独立电影业出品的恐怖电影有时在海外票房堪佳。

　　It is still a harsh business. No fewer than 3,812 full-length movies were submitted to the 2011 Sundance film festival. Yet only 550 films open in American cinemas each year, and most lose money. The business runs on hope. But there is, finally, enough money to keep the projectors running.

　　电影业的竞争依旧激励。多达3812部长篇电影提交参审2011年的圣丹斯电影节。然而美国影院每年放映影片的数量却只有550部，大部分电影的投资打了水漂。独立电影业前景看好,发展显著。但说到底，是足够的资金支持着拍摄项目的运作。

1 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

2 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

3 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

4 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

5 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

8 basking   

v.晒太阳，取暖( bask的现在分词 )；对…感到乐趣；因他人的功绩而出名；仰仗…的余泽

参考例句：

• We sat basking in the warm sunshine. 我们坐着享受温暖的阳光。
• A colony of seals lay basking in the sun. 一群海豹躺着晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

10 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

11 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

12 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

13 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

14 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

15 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 glut   

n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• The glut of coffee led to a sharp drop in prices.咖啡供过于求道致价格急剧下跌。
• There's a glut of agricultural products in Western Europe.西欧的农产品供过于求。

17 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

18 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

19 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

20 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

21 projectors   

电影放映机，幻灯机( projector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Energy projectors fired and peeled off the ships' armor in a flash. 能量投射器开火然后在一阵闪光后剥离了飞船的装甲。
• All classrooms equipped with computers, projectors, video and audio booth, broadcasting equipment. 全部教室配备电脑、投影仪、视频展台和音响、广播设备。

22 flicks   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的第三人称单数 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• 'I shall see it on the flicks, I suppose.' “电影上总归看得见。” 来自英汉文学
• Last night to the flicks. 昨晚看了场电影。 来自英汉文学