當(dāng)前位置: Language Tips> 雙語(yǔ)新聞
Getting the big pictures
分享到
Although the cameo appearance of a Chinese star in the Hollywood franchise Iron Man 3 caused controversy in China, the movie has still been considered a good example of the collaborations of Chinese and American filmmakers. |
Chinese filmmakers are walking a tightrope between localization and globalization. Finding a happy medium is surprisingly like cooking fish, Raymond Zhou learns. As China's film industry rockets into the stratosphere of amazing box-office returns, the international market becomes increasingly enticing. Yet, only a fraction of its revenues come from outside China, and even that is often the result of counting in the foreign receipts of co-productions, which technically do not go to the Chinese pocket. Chinese film companies, however, are moving up the learning curve. At a Beijing International Film Festival forum, CEO of Bona Film Group Ltd Yu Dong maps out three stages that Chinese films have to take to launch a global entry. "None of the steps can be skipped," he emphasizes. The first stage, according to Yu, is what he jokingly calls "dumping". Movies are bundled together and sold to foreign television stations, video websites and, in the old days, video distributors. The Chinese companies receive a pittance, e.g. $20,000 for 10 movies, or a mere $100,000 for the whole year's inventory. "There is little room for price negotiation. If you don't use the low-price strategy, they'll go buy Korean or Japanese movies instead," he says. "You have to remember there are some 5,000 movies produced annually throughout the world. China accounts for roughly 10 percent, the US 10 percent, India more than 20 percent. And I'm not counting the 100-some pornography films from Japan." Whoever buys the Chinese stock will have to find ways to make money out of it. So, whatever platforms they can find they will use to release some of these movies, which means exposure for Chinese stories and Chinese actors, says Yu. "This will help cover 80 to 150 markets across the world." For phase two, Chinese companies will participate in the investment of some projects with global reach and, in return, will place Chinese situations and Chinese actors inside the stories. The cameo appearances of several A-list Chinese stars in these big Hollywood franchises have caused controversy in China, with some members of the Chinese public complaining about the short shrift given to these big names, but Yu holds a different view. "No matter how small the role, it is worth it," he says, citing the example of Wang Xueqi in Iron Man 3. "This is 2013's biggest movie in the whole world, and the global audience got to know this Chinese actor," Yu says. The third stage will involve Chinese productions with international participation. Yu says Wolf Totem, which has just wrapped production, is a perfect example. It is based on a Chinese best-seller, but is directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, a French director with a track record for incorporating wild animals in his stories. It has reportedly pre-sold $8 million in the European market. This project is spearheaded by Zhang Qiang, an executive of China Film Group. "It tells a Chinese story with Chinese characters and Chinese emotions, backed up by Chinese investment, but it has potential global appeal," says Yu. Yu's Bona is mulling similar projects, to be co-produced with Fox Film Corporation, which has a financial stake in his company. "We may even produce movies with dual language soundtracks, a Chinese one for the domestic market and English for the international market," Yu says. Yu is aware he can do only one or two such co-productions each year. For regular movies, those in the mid-budget or small budget with no possibility of hiring international talent, he wants to have his teams engage in international cooperation and use that experience to serve the domestic market. "By 2020, China will surpass North America and become the world's largest film exhibition market, and our output will reach 1,000 feature films a year. Only then will we be prepared to set Stage Three as our target," says Yu. "Only then will we be able to make international films with Chinese emotions and become part of world cinema." Zhou Tiedong, until recently president of China Film Promotion International, a company that is heavily involved in what Yu Dong calls "phase one" of Chinese films' global ambition, offers a different take: "If you do not have a good story, international buyers would not touch it even if it is free. The film industry is built on collecting pocket money from each individual moviegoer. In the US, the average price for a ticket is still around $8 apiece. That means selling your story to millions of such individuals." According to Zhou, Wolf Totem is no longer a narrowly defined Chinese story. It is about wolves and man's relations with wild animals and nature. So, it is global in its core. "The crux is in the positioning of your story. You can position it for the domestic market or beyond it. Of all the movies made in the US, most are for domestic consumption. There are only 50-some global movies that reach the international market and they represent Hollywood as we know it." Zhou insists that, to reach a global audience, we should not only tell stories about China, but more about Chinese people. "We have not learned how to penetrate the cultural surface into the depth of humanity. Our products are often made with what I call 'strong cultural discount', and that will hamper the acceptance of foreign audiences. Stories about human nature but with Chinese cultural characteristics, such as Wolf Totem, have the potential to succeed on the wider market." Zhou uses the analogy of fish to explain his point. If a fish has too many bones, only people who are ardent lovers of fish as food will eat it. But if you remove the bones and make it into fish balls or fish fillets, even those mildly interested may choose it. A Chinese film has to go through a similar process to find a wider audience. "When we make a global film, we must preserve the flavor of fish, so to speak, i.e. the Chinese elements that culturally identify us. But if you examine any film that sells across the world, you'll find it does not contain things that will be stuck in your throat. It can always go down smoothly. Any race, culture, age, language group will be able to relate to it. In that sense, you have to tell a global story or even a story of the whole cosmos." However, there can be endless gradations between total localization and total globalization in terms of a film's positioning. When it comes to the treatment of a film story and its details, there are thousands of decisions and each one will require a careful balance. Very often there is no right or wrong, but collectively a film may come across as heavy on one end or the other. Occasionally, a film may capture both the domestic and the outside market, but it may also be caught in the middle, failing to appeal to either side. Debates like the one described in this story, which I moderated, happen every year as we move along - and up - the learning curve. |
隨著中國(guó)電影行業(yè)的飛速發(fā)展以及相應(yīng)的高票房回報(bào),國(guó)際市場(chǎng)愈發(fā)誘人。然而,中國(guó)電影在海外市場(chǎng)獲利甚微,甚至這些少得可憐的收益也常常都是進(jìn)入了外國(guó)合資方的口袋,而不是進(jìn)入中國(guó)制片方的囊中。但中國(guó)的電影公司正在努力學(xué)習(xí)著如何在國(guó)際市場(chǎng)上運(yùn)作。在今年的北京國(guó)際電影節(jié)論壇上,博納影業(yè)集團(tuán)有限公司總裁于冬表示,中國(guó)電影的海外推廣無(wú)外乎三個(gè)階段。 他強(qiáng)調(diào):“沒(méi)有一個(gè)是可以跳過(guò)的”。 于冬將第一階段打趣地稱之為“低價(jià)傾銷”。中國(guó)將電影捆綁銷售給海外電視臺(tái)、視頻網(wǎng)站以及過(guò)去的視頻分銷商。在這個(gè)階段,中國(guó)企業(yè)獲利甚微,舉例來(lái)說(shuō),10部電影僅獲利兩萬(wàn)美元,或全年僅有10萬(wàn)美元入賬。他說(shuō):“在海外推廣中,價(jià)格談判的余地很小,如果你不依靠低價(jià)傾銷,國(guó)際買家就會(huì)引進(jìn)韓國(guó)或日本電影。要知道全世界每年制作約5000部電影。中國(guó)大約只占其中的10%,美國(guó)占了10%,印度占20%以上。當(dāng)然,這里沒(méi)有把每年日本制作的約100部色情電影算在內(nèi)。” 中國(guó)投資方將不得不探索新的盈利模式。因此,他們將利用任何一切可利用的平臺(tái)來(lái)宣傳中國(guó)電影,這意味著中國(guó)電影和演員的曝光率將大大增加。于冬說(shuō):“這將幫助中國(guó)電影覆蓋至全球80至150個(gè)市場(chǎng)。” 第二階段,中國(guó)的電影公司應(yīng)參與有世界范圍影響力的電影投資,以此將中國(guó)電影和演員推向世界。一些中國(guó)一線影星在好萊塢系列電影中客串出演,此現(xiàn)象在國(guó)內(nèi)引起了爭(zhēng)議,一些國(guó)人抱怨這些影星遭到了忽視,但于冬對(duì)此持不同看法。他以王學(xué)圻在《鋼鐵俠3》中的出演為例,說(shuō):“無(wú)論是多么小的角色,這都是值得的。這是2013年全世界最火爆的電影,全球觀眾都由此認(rèn)識(shí)了這位中國(guó)演員”。 第三階段,中國(guó)電影將參與國(guó)際競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。于冬認(rèn)為近期殺青的《狼圖騰》就是一個(gè)完美的例子。首先它的劇本是改編自中國(guó)暢銷書(shū),但卻是由法國(guó)導(dǎo)演讓·雅克·阿諾(Jean-Jacques Annaud)執(zhí)導(dǎo)的,他曾經(jīng)拍攝過(guò)記錄野生動(dòng)物的故事。有消息稱,《狼圖騰》在歐洲市場(chǎng)已預(yù)售了800萬(wàn)美元。 《狼圖騰》是由中國(guó)電影集團(tuán)公司副總裁張強(qiáng)牽頭的。于冬說(shuō):“這是一個(gè)有中國(guó)角色和中國(guó)人情感的故事。它由中方投資,但它具備全球吸引力。”博納集團(tuán)也正在考慮投資類似的電影,他們讓福克斯電影制作公司入股,合拍電影。他說(shuō):“我們甚至?xí)槍?duì)國(guó)內(nèi)市場(chǎng)和主打英語(yǔ)的國(guó)際市場(chǎng),來(lái)拍雙語(yǔ)電影。” 對(duì)于定期拍攝來(lái)說(shuō),中等成本電影或小成本電影無(wú)法吸引到國(guó)際人才。于冬意識(shí)到每年他能接手到的國(guó)際合拍機(jī)會(huì)只有一到兩個(gè)。而他想要其團(tuán)隊(duì)能參與到國(guó)際合作中從而獲得寶貴經(jīng)驗(yàn),并將這種經(jīng)驗(yàn)運(yùn)用到國(guó)內(nèi)電影的制作之中。他說(shuō):“到2020年時(shí),中國(guó)將超過(guò)北美,成為世界上最大的電影展覽市場(chǎng),屆時(shí)我們的電影產(chǎn)量將達(dá)到每年1000部。只有到那時(shí),我們方能進(jìn)入第三階段,也只有到那時(shí),我們才能制作出帶有中國(guó)情懷的國(guó)際化電影,并且真正意義上立足于世界影壇。” 對(duì)于于冬所描述的低價(jià)傾銷,作為充分參與了此階段的親歷者——中國(guó)電影海外推廣公司,其總經(jīng)理周鐵東對(duì)于于冬的觀點(diǎn)提出不同看法:“如果你沒(méi)有一個(gè)好劇本,國(guó)際買家不會(huì)碰它,即使它是免費(fèi)的。電影產(chǎn)業(yè)的收入來(lái)源于每位長(zhǎng)期電影觀眾手中的零花錢。在美國(guó),電影的平均票價(jià)維持在每張8美元左右。這意味著你的電影能夠賣給數(shù)以百萬(wàn)計(jì)的人們。” 周鐵東認(rèn)為,《狼圖騰》不再是僅限于一個(gè)中國(guó)故事的定位。它是關(guān)于狼與人,野生動(dòng)物與自然的關(guān)系。可見(jiàn),其主旨是全球性的。“關(guān)鍵在于故事的定位。你可以將其定位在國(guó)內(nèi)市場(chǎng),亦或是超越國(guó)內(nèi)市場(chǎng)。美國(guó)幾乎所有的電影都是定位在國(guó)內(nèi)市場(chǎng)。目前為止他們只有約50部是主打海外市場(chǎng)的國(guó)際化電影,而我們所知道的好萊塢正是由這些電影所代表。” 周堅(jiān)稱,我們的電影不僅要向全世界講述中國(guó)的故事,更要講述中國(guó)人的故事。“我們還在學(xué)習(xí)如何將所要傳達(dá)的信息從文化的表層滲透到人性的深度。在我們的電影中存在一種現(xiàn)象,我通常將其稱之為“巨大的文化折扣”,這種現(xiàn)象將阻礙外國(guó)觀眾對(duì)我國(guó)電影的認(rèn)可。諸如《狼圖騰》這樣的帶著中國(guó)文化特色的講述人與自然的電影,具備在更大的市場(chǎng)上取得成功的潛質(zhì)。” “為了進(jìn)一步解釋他的觀點(diǎn),周鐵東使用魚(yú)來(lái)作比方。如果一條魚(yú)的魚(yú)刺太多了,那么只有食魚(yú)愛(ài)好者才會(huì)去吃它。但如果你把刺剔除,并把魚(yú)制成魚(yú)丸或魚(yú)排,這樣即使是那些對(duì)于魚(yú)興趣一般的人也有可能去吃它。為了進(jìn)入更廣闊的市場(chǎng),中國(guó)電影不得不經(jīng)歷這么一個(gè)類似的階段。“當(dāng)我們?cè)谥谱鲊?guó)際化電影時(shí),我們必須保持住魚(yú)的味道,也就是說(shuō),必須在電影中保有中國(guó)文化元素。但如果你去觀察任何國(guó)際化的電影,幾乎每部電影都剔除了會(huì)卡住觀眾喉嚨的文化魚(yú)刺。這樣一來(lái),任何種族、文化、年齡、語(yǔ)言的觀眾將都能欣賞,電影方能獲得國(guó)際化的成功。從這個(gè)意義上說(shuō),你必須能講述一個(gè)面向全球的故事,甚至是一個(gè)面向整個(gè)宇宙的故事。” 然而,就電影定位而言,在本地化與國(guó)際化之間似乎有無(wú)數(shù)個(gè)可分層次。在人們談到電影故事的制作及其細(xì)節(jié)時(shí),會(huì)產(chǎn)生成千上萬(wàn)的決定,而且每一項(xiàng)決定都需要同時(shí)兼顧好本地化與國(guó)際化。通常,不存在對(duì)或錯(cuò),但存在電影制作在某一端上用力過(guò)猛的情況。有時(shí),電影可能同時(shí)占據(jù)國(guó)內(nèi)和海外兩塊市場(chǎng),但它也可能陷在中間,未能討好到任何一方。 正如我在文中所探討的,隨著我們學(xué)習(xí)國(guó)際運(yùn)作,制作水平持續(xù)上升,那么這種成功每年都能夠上演。 (英文:周黎明 譯者 HATA 編輯 Julie) 掃一掃,關(guān)注微博微信
|
上一篇 : Facebook用戶可能更討厭自己的高中同學(xué)
下一篇 : 世界最長(zhǎng)壽男人秘訣分享:不要孩子
分享到
關(guān)注和訂閱
口語(yǔ)
關(guān)于我們 | 聯(lián)系方式 | 招聘信息
電話:8610-84883645
傳真:8610-84883500
Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn