美国国家公共电台 NPR--Whatever she touches 'turns to gold' — can Dede Gardner do it again at the Oscars?

Whatever she touches 'turns to gold' — can Dede Gardner do it again at the Oscars?

Transcript¹

Dede Gardner is the only woman to have won two Best Picture Oscars, for Moonlight and 12 Years a Slave. At the Academy Awards next month, she could break that record.

This year, she and her partners at Plan B Entertainment produced three big films this year: She Said, a drama about the New York Times investigation² into former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein; Blonde, which stars Best Actress nominee³ Ana de Armas as Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe; and Best Picture nominee Women Talking, which dramatizes a group of abused women in a conservative religious colony.

Gardner says these films have something in common: "They all, in their own and respective ways, deal with sexual assault... violence against women is a real thing all over the world. In very different ways all three movies are insisting on this truth."

She's made a career of producing audacious movies, many of them critically acclaimed⁴. "I've kind of always had a gut⁵ instinct about it. I don't see any point in telling stories that have already been told. I'm really interested in what other people have to say."

She sees 'storytelling as sacred'

Gardner was born in Chicago in 1967 and studied English at Columbia University. She worked in theater and at the William Morris agency in New York before coming to L.A, where she worked her way from location scout⁶ to Paramount⁷ Pictures' director of development. Seventeen years ago, she was hired as President of Plan B Entertainment, a production company founded by Brad Grey, Brad Pitt and his then-wife Jennifer Aniston.

"I knew I wanted to produce and I knew I wanted to be very hands on," she says. "They were clearly very smart and they had optioned some really interesting books. I didn't think any of those three principles would be on the ground, on the set for months at a time producing the movies. So I thought oh maybe this is a real opportunity to do that."

At Plan B, Gardner finds stories to make into films, then works on financing, casting, production logistics, editing, promotion⁸.

Jeremy Kleiner, who is now co-president of Plan B, says Gardner was his mentor⁹ before he joined her as a producing partner. "I've had the privilege of working with her for almost 20 years," he says. "She's just a one-of-a-kind person in so many ways. Incredibly brave and views storytelling as sacred."

Together with Kleiner and Pitt, Gardner has steered¹⁰ seven films to Best Picture nominations¹¹, including Selma in 2015, The Big Short in 2016 and Minari in 2021.

"Basically, whatever Dee Dee does, it turns to gold," says Jessie Buckley, one of the stars of Women Talking.

She's changing the culture on-set

Buckley says Gardner has also changed the culture of making movies. "The age of bullying¹² and kind of creating a kind of power dynamic on set is gone," Buckley says. "You have women like Dede who are actually paving the way for a much healthier and humane¹³ way to create. She's a producer who consciously thinks about creating a set where there is care."

That includes ensuring there are therapists on set for the cast and crew in case they are triggered, according to She Said actress Carey Mulligan. "She was always there to make the set feel comfortable because obviously we were touching¹⁴ on difficult things. They were real survivors¹⁵ who were participating in the film."

Mulligan says Gardner also makes sure her productions have decent working hours. "It just makes a huge difference ... that we'd be done in time that I could get back and put the kids to bed," she says.

These kinds of considerations are not minor¹⁶, says actor Frances McDormand, who quotes Gardner. "She says, 'How do you make a change? You bake it into the budget. If you want to have a family-friendly set, if you want to give respect to your cast and your crew, you bake it into the budget.' "

She's unafraid to take risks

McDormand says she always admired Gardner's film choices and sought her out to co-produce Women Talking. She says after giving Gardner the book the story is based on, the producer quickly mapped out how to make it cinematic.

"Her personal politics when it comes to storytelling is really ... there's an edge to it that is always exciting," McDormand says about Gardner. "I think that she could, in fact, direct a film. Her intellect is so crisp and so expansive. She understands that film, a really good film, is not made by committee, that it has a vision and that vision comes from one person."

Gardner says she cherishes her relationships with visionaries like filmmaker Barry Jenkins. They worked on several projects, including Moonlight and The Underground Railroad miniseries.

"Dede, is this combination of an extremely hyper intelligent person, but also a hyper empathetic person," says Jenkins. "As a producer myself now, she's a great example to follow. She's very adamant¹⁷ about protecting the artist's voice."

Gardner says protecting those voices is important as the film industry has become more risk averse¹⁸. "It feels to me like a moment where people are sort of battening down the hatches and are picking the safe lane," she says. "The theatrical¹⁹ landscape feels much less reliable than it used to. So I get it. But also I want daring, risky²⁰ stuff to be made."

With a new investor²¹, Plan B is expanding, and Dede Gardner says she's excited about making even more daring and risky movies.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

4 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

5 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

6 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

7 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。

8 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

9 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

10 steered   

v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导

参考例句：

• He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
• The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

12 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

14 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

15 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

16 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

17 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

18 averse   

adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的

参考例句：

• I don't smoke cigarettes,but I'm not averse to the occasional cigar.我不吸烟，但我不反对偶尔抽一支雪茄。
• We are averse to such noisy surroundings.我们不喜欢这么吵闹的环境。

19 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

20 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

21 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。