时代周刊:疫情之下 汽车影院迎来新的生机(1)（在线收听）

Now playing at the drive-in: bands, weddings, anything

汽车电影院演出类型：乐队表演、婚礼、无所不有

By Andrew R. Chow

文/安德鲁·R·周

Bri and Lindsey Leaverton had their dream wedding all planned out.

布里和林赛·利弗顿原本已经计划好一切，准备举办一场梦幻的婚礼。

In April, they were going to get married at a century-old mansion in downtown Austin,

婚礼时间定在了今年4月，他们准备在奥斯汀市中心的一座百年豪宅举办婚礼，

with their guests sipping cocktails on a veranda by the pool.

宾客们就在泳池边的阳台上啜饮着鸡尾酒。

Instead, they found themselves 20 miles south of town,

结果，二人却在市郊以南20英里处的

tying the knot at a drive-in on a dirt road surrounded by cows.

一条被牛群包围的土路上的一家汽车电影院里喜结了连理。

A formation of cars blasted their horns in delight.

一排汽车为二人鸣响了欢快的喇叭。

"When our wedding planner asked us about getting married at a drive-in,

“我们的婚礼策划问我们要不要在汽车电影院办婚礼的时候，

we looked at each other and said, 'That sounds insane,'" Lindsey says.

我们两个人直接你看着我我看着你，说了句，‘那也太夸张了吧，’”林赛说道。

The corona virus has upended countless minor and major life events over the past few months.

过去几个月，新冠病毒掀翻了我们无数个大大小小的计划。

While many of these plans were canceled,

尽管很多计划最后都取消了，

a surprising share migrated to the drive-in movie theater,

但依然有相当一部分将自己的安排调整到了汽车影院，

where social distancing, via cars and pickup trucks, is the norm.

而通过汽车、皮卡车保持社交距离早已成为这类影院的常态。

These theaters have scrambled to pivot their entire business model in the face of disappearing film releases—

电影发行逐渐消失之际，这些影院却开始了竞相打开自己的生意门路——

and have unwittingly become catchall communal hubs across the country.

不知不觉就已成为各地包罗万象的公共活动中心。

"Drive-ins are being contacted like they used to be, for everything in the community,"

“汽车影院正在重拾昔日熙熙攘攘的景象，社区的任何活动都搬到了这里，”

says filmmaker April Wright, who directed the documentary Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace.

纪录片《景点游：权威电影殿堂故事》导演、电影制作人阿普丽尔·赖特说。

"They're hosting church services, weddings, graduations, dance recitals, concerts, stand-up comedy."

“教堂礼拜、婚礼、毕业典礼、舞蹈演出、音乐会、单口喜剧表演一应俱全。”

Shifts to events like outdoor weddings and smaller-scale concerts

转向接待户外婚礼和小型演唱会这类活动

serve as creative ways to stay afloat in an industry that was unforgiving before the pandemic:

反倒成了汽车影院这一行业创造性的生存之道，因为大流行之前，该行业的形势就已变得十分不利：

the number of drive-ins in the U.S. has continuously dwindled,

整个美国的汽车影院数量都在持续减少，

especially as home and handheld entertainment command more and more attention.

尤其是家庭娱乐和手持娱乐博取了人们越来越多的关注。

Now, increased costs, a delayed film slate and potential competition from pop-ups —

如今，成本上涨，排片滞后，加之来自 的潜在竞争——

the Tribeca Film Festival, for example, is programming drive-in experiences at beaches, sports stadiums and even Walmart parking lots—

翠贝卡电影节就已在海滩、体育场，甚至是沃尔玛停车场推出免下车体验——

are making some theaters skeptical they can last through the crisis.

一些影院已经开始怀疑自己是否能扛住此次危机。

"A lot of us are really struggling," says Nathan McDonald, the owner of the 66 Drive-In in southwestern Missouri.

“我们很多影院现在都过得很苦，”密苏里州西南部66号汽车影院的老板内森·麦克唐纳说。

"If (movies) continue to be pushed, I'll probably close in late August."

“如果(电影)继续被推迟上映，8月下旬我可能就要关门了。”