美国国家公共电台 NPR The British At 'Their Finest': How A Nation Kept Calm And Carried On

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The aging British matinee idol¹ thinks he's been given too small a role as the uncle of twin sisters. The American who's supposed to play a hero is as dull as a stick. But a young woman in the script department has an idea that might make the formula work for a wartime British drama that's supposed to lift spirits at home and warm hearts across the ocean.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THEIR FINEST")

GEMMA ARTERTON: (As Catrin Cole) If we gave you an Uncle Frank really worth your time and your talent, I wonder if you would consider putting that same time and talent towards helping² Mr. Lundbeck and the picture.

BILL NIGHY: (As Ambrose Hilliard) I don't think we've been properly introduced.

ARTERTON: (As Catrin Cole) I'm Catrin Cole. I'm one of the writers.

NIGHY: (As Ambrose Hilliard) Catrin, between us, we'll have them weeping in the aisles³.

SIMON: Yeah, reach for your handkerchiefs. Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy in the new film, "Their Finest," based on the novel by Lissa Evans and directed by Lone⁴ Scherfig.

Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy join us now from New York. Thanks so much for being with us.

ARTERTON: Thank you.

NIGHY: My pleasure.

SIMON: The kind of films they make in this film were actually produced by the British film industry during World War II, weren't they?

NIGHY: Yes, that's correct. They made a lot of films during that period under very, very, as you can imagine, difficult circumstances in order to deliver certain information but, broadly speaking, to keep the country's spirits up during a savage⁵, brutal⁶ time when they were bombarded daily by the German air force.

SIMON: Yeah. And Ms. Arterton, technically⁷ they were propaganda, but, I mean - I want it understood - not propaganda in the sense that German propaganda films were trying to conceal⁸ genocide but propaganda in the sense that they had a political purpose.

ARTERTON: A lot of the films that we were looking at and the film that we are concentrating on in our film - there's a film within the film - that they were all kind of geared towards women. And propaganda filmmaking at that time was quite interesting and pushing boundaries. People wanted to see things that made them feel like they were being understood and spoken to. And so films became actually quite naturalistic and kitchen-sink drama-y (ph).

SIMON: And what appealed to you about playing Catrin Cole, the young woman who becomes essentially⁹ recruited to be a screenwriter?

ARTERTON: My character is based on a real person called Diana Morgan who was a writer that was hired during the war to write the nausea¹⁰ or the women's dialogue for Ealing Studios. And she went on to write a lot of films for them.

Anyway, so I found the character to be original. I hadn't read anything like that before. I didn't know anything about that period of filmmaking for women. And it's actually quite rare to read something about a female writer, especially a screenwriter.

SIMON: Bill Nighy, tell us about your character, Ambrose.

NIGHY: He's a chronically¹¹ self-absorbed, pompous¹² actor in his declining years who's in almost perfect denial about how old he is. Everyone else in the world, apart from Ambrose Hilliard, is completely aware that he can no longer play romantic roles. The only person who has any doubt about that is Ambrose. And it has to be gently and not so gently explained to him that he can't play the leading man anymore. He's too old. And he has to play drunken Uncle Frank. He warms up during the film.

SIMON: Yeah. He winds up having a lot of dignity and sharing it with others.

NIGHY: And he's, in a good way, manipulated into that by Gemma's character, who's very smart, and she knows how to maneuver¹³ him into those positions. She, very cleverly, gives him the job of teaching the young American actor who isn't an actor - he's a war hero - teaching him how to act, which is a brilliant stroke because it - Ambrose is very flattered by that initially¹⁴, and also - and turns out he enjoys doing it. One of the redeeming¹⁵ factors about Ambrose is that he is actually quite serious about acting¹⁶ and not just in a diva-ish (ph) status context but acting as a thing. He is - he has a genuine enthusiasm for it.

SIMON: I have to tell you, Mr. Nighy, you can make me laugh just by lifting your eyebrow¹⁷.

NIGHY: (Laughter) Well, thank you very much. I wish there were more people like you. I'd like...

SIMON: Oh, I think they're quite a...

NIGHY: ...We should see more of each other.

SIMON: ...There are quite a few people like me.

NIGHY: I didn't get comic calls for jobs until I was in middle age really. And I did a movie that required me to be funny.

SIMON: Which movie was that, I wonder?

NIGHY: That was a movie called "Still Crazy" in which I played another rock 'n' roll idiot and I...

SIMON: Well, that's your - that's your role (unintelligible).

NIGHY: Well, I am a rock 'n' roll idiot, yeah, it's true. Billy Connolly once said I had rock 'n' roll legs, which - he's also said, the last time I saw legs that thin they had a message tied to them.

SIMON: (Laughter).

NIGHY: Which I think - I think is a pigeon reference.

SIMON: Yes, oh my, Gemma Arterton...

ARTERTON: Yes.

SIMON: ...Without tipping any plot points in "Their Finest," people die in this film. And it's not always the ones you expect to die. And I guess that's the story not only of war but of life. Was that ever jarring when you were making the film?

ARTERTON: It is set during the war and the Blitz, and people were dying all the time. And it was a - it was a reality. And, you know, this saying, keep calm and carry on, which is sort of very associated with British people - I guess that's what they had to do back then. I think it's a British trait (laughter).

SIMON: Bill Nighy.

NIGHY: Somebody told me something quite interesting just before I came in to do this interview - in this building, by the watercooler - which is that the keep calm and carry on slogan, which has been revived in recent times in England - and there are tea towels and coffee mugs and whatever. When it was originally introduced in poster form during the Blitz, it was very quickly withdrawn¹⁸ because people were offended by it because they felt patronized by it because they were already doing that.

SIMON: In conclusion, let me just try one more thing. Bill Nighy, could you raise an eyebrow?

NIGHY: I just did.

SIMON: (Laughter) You see...

(LAUGHTER)

SIMON: ...Totally reflexive.

NIGHY: I'm going to raise that eyebrow more often, I'll tell you.

ARTERTON: (Laughter).

SIMON: Bill Nighy and Gemma Arterton - their new film, "Their Finest." Thanks so much for being with us.

ARTERTON: Thank you.

NIGHY: Pleasure.

1 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 aisles   

n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊

参考例句：

• Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
• They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。

4 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

5 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

6 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

7 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

8 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

9 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

10 nausea   

n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶)

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕期常有恶心的现象。
• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。

11 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

12 pompous   

adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities.他有点自大，自视甚高。
• He is a good man underneath his pompous appearance. 他的外表虽傲慢，其实是个好人。

13 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

14 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

15 redeeming   

补偿的，弥补的

参考例句：

• I found him thoroughly unpleasant, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. 我觉得他一点也不讨人喜欢，没有任何可取之处。
• The sole redeeming feature of this job is the salary. 这份工作唯其薪水尚可弥补一切之不足。

16 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

17 eyebrow   

n.眉毛，眉

参考例句：

• Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
• With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬，似乎既感到吃惊，又觉有趣。

18 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。