美国国家公共电台 NPR TV Series 'Trust' Revisits 1973 Kidnapping Of Oil Tycoon J. Paul Getty's Grandson

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The 1973 kidnapping of oil tycoon¹ J. Paul Getty's grandson in Italy was the subject of the recent movie "All The Money In The World." Now it's the center of a new TV series called "Trust." It debuted² yesterday on FX. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans explores why Hollywood is so interested in the Gettys.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE³: To understand how exacting⁴ and cruel oil tycoon J. Paul Getty could be, consider this scene from "Trust" where Getty has breakfast with his four mistresses and his biographer. Donald Sutherland, who plays Getty, quotes a bit of Shakespeare to set them all against each other.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "TRUST")

DONALD SUTHERLAND: (As J. Paul Getty) So which of you loves me best (laughter)?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As biographer) "King Lear." Very good, Paul, very good.

SUTHERLAND: (As J. Paul Getty) What?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As biographer) William Shakespeare wrote a tragedy called "King Lear" about an old king who divides up his kingdom between his daughters according to their love.

SUTHERLAND: (As J. Paul Getty) An old king? Old?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As biographer) I'm not suggesting you - I'm not - so - strange play. Not his best.

DANNY BOYLE: They're the emperors - aren't they? - of our world, really.

DEGGANS: That's Danny Boyle, Oscar-winning director of "Trainspotting" and "Slumdog Millionaire" who also directed the first three episodes of "Trust" and serves as an executive producer. Boyle says we're fascinated by the lives of rich clans⁵ because we see ourselves in them.

BOYLE: We know most of our lives we'll never be in that category. But in terms of interpersonal relationships, they're mirrors of our own. The circumstances, the wealth, the power are fantasy to most people. But there's enough connective tissue that you see your relatives or yourself in those people as well.

DEGGANS: With one wealthy family controlling the White House and another controlling a huge chunk⁶ of the world's media, interest in the dysfunction of rich relatives is in the zeitgeist, which may help explain why as Boyle was preparing his TV show Ridley Scott was working on his movie version. But Boyle says TV offered an advantage - enough time to burrow⁷ into the story's details in a way no movie could.

BOYLE: When you do a movie, you're really looking at two or three characters, really, because that's the way movies work. But on this long form it's amazing the number of characters you can develop.

DEGGANS: No character here is more imposing⁸ than Getty, the world's richest private citizen who was also so cheap he put a pay phone in his mansion⁹. Sutherland used kinder words to describe him.

SUTHERLAND: He's a very rigorous man, John Paul Getty, disciplined, passionate¹⁰, with a great intellect but most particularly of numbers. He knows numbers.

DEGGANS: In FX's series, Getty's grandson known as Paul initially¹¹ arranges the kidnapping himself in 1973 to extort¹² money from his grandfather. But he soon becomes prisoner of more serious criminals. Hilary Swank plays Paul's mother and Getty's ex-daughter-in-law. Brendan Fraser has a magnificent turn as James Fletcher Chase, Getty's Stetson-wearing head of security who figures out Paul's involvement.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "TRUST")

BRENDAN FRASER: (As James Fletcher Chase) You see this movie?

HILARY SWANK: (As Gail Getty) No.

FRASER: (As James Fletcher Chase) Paul did. I did. It did have a fake kidnapping scene in it just like the one that Paul was writing in his movie.

SWANK: (As Gail Getty) Chase, no.

FRASER: (As James Fletcher Chase) I talked to our friends at the police station. Ransom¹³ notes go to the newspaper or TV station, or they go to the police direct. They're never, ever just left on a bed.

DEGGANS: In the first three episodes, "Trust" doesn't quite match the power of Sutherland and Fraser's performances. But Boyle takes risks in the storytelling, which he says would be tougher to do in film.

BOYLE: Everything's at risk on the one project whereas I think in this form, because they know people will have time to find it as well if it doesn't work at first, there's a boldness that's in there.

DEGGANS: Still, that boldness may not be enough to make TV audiences care about the tribulations¹⁴ of a wealthy family that doesn't care much for each other. I'm Eric Deggans.

(SOUNDBITE OF JESSE COOK'S "TOMMY AND ME")

1 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

2 debuted   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末，全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队，推出。
• The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名，很快就取得了白金销量。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 exacting   

adj.苛求的，要求严格的

参考例句：

• He must remember the letters and symbols with exacting precision.他必须以严格的精度记住每个字母和符号。
• The public has been more exacting in its demands as time has passed.随着时间的推移，公众的要求更趋严格。

5 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

6 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

7 burrow   

vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞

参考例句：

• Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
• The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

8 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

9 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

10 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

11 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。

12 extort   

v.勒索，敲诈，强要

参考例句：

• The blackmailer tried to extort a large sum of money from him.勒索者企图向他勒索一大笔钱。
• They absolutely must not harm the people or extort money from them.严格禁止坑害勒索群众。

13 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

14 tribulations   

n.苦难( tribulation的名词复数 )；艰难；苦难的缘由；痛苦

参考例句：

• the tribulations of modern life 现代生活的苦恼
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence. 这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。 来自《简明英汉词典》