经济学人220:独立电影的复兴

 　　The revival¹ of independent film

　　独立电影的复兴

　　Scripts, not effects

　　剧本才是王道，资金不是问题

　　Independent films are at last recovering from the slump²

　　独立电影终于起死回生了

　　I’m bored with the radio. Let’s go to the cinema

　　听广播太无聊了，我们去看看电影吧

　　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.

　　本周谢幕的多伦多电影节标志着严肃电影的活跃期已到来。看来要到感恩节，也就是11月末这场群雄逐鹿的盛大比拼才会散场。紧接着外国电影和爱情文艺片就要闪亮登场。今年秋季档的影片失败的风险比暑期档的还大，不过这次文艺片获胜的希望还大一些。

　　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.

　　过去几年里，独立电影的票房就像低成本的恐怖电影一样惨淡。因为不能再从银行贷款，外界融资渠道也在2008年中断了。六大制片公司中有三个都砍掉了专门收购独立电影的子公司。而观众对影碟从买到租的转变对于独立电影又是一大打击。

　　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 “Twilight” films, closed a large financing deal in March.

　　不过今年独立电影在电影节上的销路还不赖。 像哥伦比亚营业公司和大路电影公司这样的新买家取代了过去的制片公司，那些小有规模的独立影片制作组算是有着落了。两年前几近破产的温斯坦电影公司也跟着电影《国王的演讲》沾了沾光。狮门影业摆脱了他们行事激进的大股东，卡尔伊坎，因为他曾主张狮门放弃生产电影。顶峰娱乐公司是如今风靡全球的电影《暮光之城》的制作商，该公司在今年三月关闭了一大宗资助独立电影的交易。

　　It helps that films have become cheaper to make. Actors’ salaries remain depressed¹², and indies have become expert at exploiting competition between states and countries, which lavish¹³ subsidies¹⁴ on them. Most important, says Morris Ruskin, the head of Shoreline Entertainment, a glut¹⁵ of films commissioned in the era of loose credit has at last worked its way through the pipeline¹⁶. “We’ve gone from a market that was saturated¹⁷ with films to a market that is hungry for them,” he says.

　　制片成本下降是件好事。而且演员的片酬仍然不景气，再加上独立电影十分擅长利用州与州，国与国之间的竞争，这就为他们争取到了充足的资金。在这个贷不到款的时代，海岸线娱乐影业公司手上还有许多电影委托他们制片，该公司就是通过上面的渠道运作下去的。公司老板莫里斯拉基斯说：“我们经历了这样一个转变，原来的市场电影饱和，而现在的市场对电影趋之若鹜”

　　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, Paramount¹⁸ 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 racing¹⁹ film “Senna” in America, says the spread of Blu-ray cinema projectors²⁰ has cut costs dramatically.

　　经历了金融危机后的独立电影业比以前更为独立，也更关注影片本身。不再为独立电影制片的迪士尼，派拉蒙和华纳兄弟三大制片公司并没有回心转意，而是准备签约几部分耗资巨大的大片。DVD市场十分萧条，因此吸引观众到影院观影就变得尤为重要。发行赛车电影的《车神塞纳》的理查德?阿布拉莫威茨说，“蓝光电影映放映机的普及大大地削减了成本”。

　　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 flicks²¹, which is partly why the major studios now concentrate on such things. But independent horror films sometimes travel well.

　　独立电影也越来越国际化。罗曼波兰斯基的最新电影《大屠杀》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。去年美国的总体电影票房有轻微的下跌。但欧洲的却在上升，而俄罗斯的票房简直可以说飙升了。比起卡通片和动作片来说，以谈话为主的出口影片并没有那么卖座，部分原因可能是现在的几大制片公司都把注意力放在前者。不过独立制作的恐怖片的海外票房还不错

　　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.

　　但是独立电影这一行也不好混。在2011年圣得西电影节中一共有3812部未删节版的电影参选。但每年只有550部电影能在美国电影院上映。独立电影前景不错。但是最终总要有足够的资金让这些放映机一直运作下去。

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 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。

13 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。

14 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》

15 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。

16 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。

17 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

18 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。

19 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。

20 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。

21 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