2023年经济学人 好莱坞作家集体罢工（2）（在线收听）

    The second problem lies with “residuals”—what a writer gets paid each time an episode or film they worked on is rebroadcast.

    第二个问题是“追加酬金”——作家制作的一集电视剧或一部电影每被重播一次就会得到报酬。

    In the Netflix era, films and TV shows can be rebroadcast on demand.

    在网飞时代，电影和电视节目可以按需重播。

    Writers argue that the industry has not yet found a way to equitably adjust their payment system to account for this huge change.

    作家们认为，该行业尚未找到一种公平的方法来调整他们的支付系统，以适应这种巨大的变化。

    A writers’ strike is felt across Hollywood.

    整个好莱坞都感受到了作家的罢工。

    When shows stop production, camera people, costume designers and others are also out of work.

    当节目停止制作时，摄像师、服装设计师和其他人也会停工。

    Late-night talk shows are the first to go dark.

    深夜脱口秀是第一个被取消的节目。

    The Milken Institute, a think-tank in Santa Monica, reckons the previous strike in 2007 and 2008 cost California’s economy $2.1bn.

    位于圣莫尼卡的智库米尔肯研究所估计，2007年和2008年的罢工给加州经济造成了21亿美元的损失。

    Striking screenwriters may inspire less sympathy than factory workers who down tools, or even the cash-strapped graduate students who went on strike across California last year.

    编剧罢工得到的同情可能比罢工的工厂工人，甚至是去年加州各地因缺钱而罢工的研究生更少。

    “There’s a notion out there of the spoiled, entitled, glitz-and-glam lifestyle of Hollywood writers,” admits Mr Collins-Smith.

    柯林斯-史密斯承认:“有一种观念认为，好莱坞作家的生活方式是娇生惯养的、自命不凡的、浮华的。”

    But “I know people who, when they got out of their last room, immediately started driving for Uber.”

    但“我认识一些人，他们一走出最后一个房间，就立刻开始做优步司机。”

    Los Angeles is the fourth-most-expensive city in the world, according to an annual cost-of-living survey from EIU, The Economist’s sister company.

    根据经济学人的姊妹公司经济学人智库的年度生活成本调查，洛杉矶是世界上第四昂贵的城市。

    “You come to LA for the land of opportunity,” says Jake Lawler, a 24-year-old writer who moonlights as a stuntman to make ends meet.

    24岁的作家杰克·劳勒说:“你来到洛杉矶是为了寻找机会的。”为了维持生计，他兼职做特技演员。

    “But the peace-of-mind tax is way higher than anywhere else in the country.”

    “但安心税比美国其他任何地方都要高得多。”

    For studios, the question is whether the film industry can make money.

    对于电影公司来说，问题在于电影行业能否赚钱。

    Before covid-19 shuttered cinemas, theatrical releases accounted for about 45% of a studio’s revenues for a big-budget film, according to FTI Consulting.

    根据富事高商务咨询公司的数据，在新冠疫情导致影院关闭之前，院线发行约占电影公司大预算电影收入的45%。

    Americans are again going to the movies, but not in pre-pandemic numbers.

    美国人又开始去看电影了，但人数没有疫情前那么多。

    The streamers are also hunting for profits.

    主播们也在追逐利润。

    Netflix laid off hundreds of workers in 2022 after it lost subscribers for the first time since 2011, and the firm recently said it would restructure its film department to focus on fewer, better flicks.

    自2011年以来网飞首次开始流失订阅用户，并于2022年解雇了数百名员工。该公司最近表示，将重组其电影部门，专注于制作更少、更好的电影。

    “There’s going to be a precipitous drop in investments in movies in general, because it’s just hard to make a profit,” warns Howard Suber, who taught film at the University of California, Los Angeles for 45 years.

    在加州大学洛杉矶分校教授电影长达45年的霍华德·苏伯警告说:“总的来说，电影投资将急剧下降，因为很难盈利。”

    In some ways, the writers’ strike and the business-model woes are what Hollywood is accustomed to.

    在某种程度上，编剧罢工和商业模式困境是好莱坞习以为常的事情。

    “Every five to ten years there’s some kind of crisis, going back to the introduction of sound,” says Mr Suber with a chuckle.

    “每隔5到10年就会出现某种危机，这要追溯到影音的引入，”苏伯笑着说。

    Hollywood is celebrating its century the only way it knows how: chaotically.

    好莱坞正在用它唯一知道的方式庆祝它的百年诞辰：混乱。