Not long ago most Chinese figures appearing in Hollywood films were peripheral characters, villains and bad guys – with the notable exception of Jackie Chan. But Chinese characters – and China as a setting – are becoming increasingly prominent, judging by Iron Man 3, the latest blockbuster from Walt Disney’s Marvel division.
不久以前，几乎所有好莱坞电影中的华人面孔都是次要角色，例如恶棍或坏人——功夫明星成龙(Jackie Chan)是个值得一提的例外。但从迪士尼(Walt Disney)旗下漫威娱乐公司(Marvel Entertainment)出品的最新大片《钢铁侠3》(Iron Man 3)中可见，华人角色以及中国作为故事背景的地位正变得愈发重要。
The film, which premieres this week in Hollywood, will be released in the US and China simultaneously on May 3. It is the latest in a string of high-profile movies to be filmed in China and has Chinese characters central to the plot, with Wang Xueqi, a renowned actor, starring alongside Robert Downey Jr. The booming Chinese box-office suggests why: Chinese film attendance is soaring, a multiplex boom is adding 10 new screens a day and the market eclipsed Japan in 2012 to become the second largest in the world.
《钢铁侠3》本周在好莱坞举行了首映仪式，并将于5月1日在中国上映。目前已有多部大片在中国拍摄，并拥有对剧情发展至关重要的华人角色，本片是其中的最新一部，片中中国著名演员王学圻与好莱坞明星小罗伯特•唐尼(Robert Downey Jr)联袂出镜。中国蒸蒸日上的电影票房或能解释其中原因：中国的观影人次正在快速增长，修建多厅型电影院的热潮使得中国的银幕数量以每天10块的速度增长，2012年中国超越日本成为了全球第二大电影市场。
China has about 12,000 screens but is growing so fast that it may within a few years overtake the US in box- office revenue. “If it maintains its current rate of growth you could see a box office in five to seven years that is the same size as the US or that has surpassed the US market,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, the chief executive of DreamWorks Animation.
中国目前拥有约12000块银幕，但其增长速度是如此之快，在短短几年之内中国的票房收入就可能超越美国。梦工厂动画电影公司(Dreamworks Animation)首席执行官杰弗里•卡岑伯格(Jeffrey Katzenberg)表示：“如果中国电影产业保持目前的增长速度，那么在五到七年之内，中国的票房规模将与美国不相上下、甚至可能超越美国市场。”
The big question for the international film industry – led by studios from Hollywood – is whether it can capitalise on a box office market that increased by 36 per cent to $2.7bn in 2012 – the second consecutive year that China has grown by more than 30 per cent, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.
对于由好莱坞片厂主导的全球电影产业而言，当前最关键的问题在于，能否利用好这块2012年增长36%、票房达到27亿美元的市场——美国电影协会(Motion Picture Association of America)提供的数据显示，这是中国的票房规模连续第二年增幅超过30%。
That growth has been fuelled by Hollywood blockbusters such as last year’s The Avengers and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. But competition from Chinese-made films is increasing: Finding Mr Right, a romantic comedy, stormed the Chinese box office last month, while last year’s highest-grossing film was Lost in Thailand, a Chinese-made film that became one of the most commercially successful releases in the country.
去年上映的《复仇者联盟》(The Avengers)、《谍中谍4：幽灵协议》(Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol)等好莱坞大片对中国的票房增长起到了推动作用。但中国国产电影的市场竞争力也有所增强，上月一部名为《北京遇上西雅图》(Finding Mr Right)的国产浪漫喜剧在中国票房排行榜上叱咤风云，而去年中国票房收入最高的影片是《泰囧》(Lost in Thailand)，这部国产电影是有史以来在中国上映的最成功商业片之一。
In the first three months of this year, domestic films claimed about 70 per cent of the $830.6m in box-office revenue. Hollywood studio chiefs are relaxed about this homegrown competition, saying it points to a maturing market that caters to a range of different tastes. China remains a rich opportunity for Hollywood and its movie-goers continue to embrace American fare: the two films that topped the box office this week were GI Joe: Retaliation and The Croods.
今年前三个月里，中国的总票房收入为8.306亿美元，其中约70%来自国产影片。好莱坞制片厂的首席执行官们对来自中国本土的竞争姿态放松，称这仅仅表明中国市场正在趋于成熟，开始迎合多元化观众群体的不同审美品味。对于好莱坞而言，中国仍然充满机遇，中国电影观众也依然喜爱美式风格：本周中国票房榜上前两名的影片均为好莱坞出品，分别是《特种部队：全面反击》(GI Joe: Retaliation)和《疯狂原始人》(The Croods)。
Last year China increased the number of foreign-made films it will clear for release each year, following intensive lobbying from the MPAA and private overtures from the Obama administration. After the increase was announced by Xi Jinping, China’s new premiere, the country agreed to allow an additional 14 “premium format” films to be screened in its cinemas, along with the 20 it was already showing every year.
去年在美国电影协会以及奥巴马政府私下主动示好的强大游说攻势之下，中国提高了每年允许公映的海外制作影片配额。在中国新任国家主席习近平宣布配额上调以后，中国同意在原本每年引进20部美国电影的基础上，增加14部IMAX或3D制式的电影。
Exempt from the quota restrictions are “co-productions” – films made by international companies with local, Chinese partners. Marvel last year said its “intention” was to co-produce Iron Man 3 in China. Qualifying for co-production status in China can have a significant impact on a film’s bottom line because it doubles the cut assigned to the studio from ticket sales: qualifying studios will take about 50 per cent of ticket sales, compared with 25 per cent for a normal release.
中外联合制作影片不受进口配额限制——这类影片是由国际制片公司与中国本土合作方共同摄制的。漫威去年表达了希望在中国联合制作《钢铁侠3》的意愿。满足中国有关合拍片的条件能够显著影响一部影片的盈利前景，因为在这种模式之下制片方的票房分成比例能够提高一倍：符合合拍片条件的制作方能够分得约50%的票房收入，而普通的外国影片则仅能得到25%的票房收入。
Marvel struck a deal with DMG Entertainment, a Chinese media group, for an undisclosed investment in the production, with DMG lined up to market and distribute the film. It also made a different version of Iron Man 3 for the Chinese market, which features an appearance from Fan Bingbing, a popular Chinese star.
漫威与中国传媒公司DMG娱乐传媒集团(DMG Entertainment Group)达成了一项协议，DMG向《钢铁侠3》投入了一笔未披露金额的资金，还将参与组织该片的市场营销和发行放映。漫威还专门针对中国市场制作了一个不同版本的《钢铁侠3》，中国明星范冰冰在该版本中出镜。
Marvel ultimately decided not to apply for co-production status. It is unclear why – the company declined to comment – but to qualify specific “Chinese elements” must be included in a film. “[China] has to be central to everything the film is about,” said one Hollywood executive familiar with the process. In the case of Iron Man 3 this may have blunted its appeal in other markets.
漫威最终决定不再申请合拍资格。目前尚不清楚是何原因，该公司也拒绝了记者的置评请求。但一部影片要想满足合拍条件，片中必须包含某些特定的“中国元素”。一名熟悉合拍流程的好莱坞管理层人士表示：“中国必须是影片的中心，片中的所有情节都要围绕中国展开。”对于《钢铁侠3》而言，这种模式或将减弱其在其他市场的吸引力。
No US films have yet been released as Chinese co-productions. Among the first to qualify for co-production status will be Kung Fu Panda 3, which will be released in 2015 by Oriental DreamWorks, a joint venture between DreamWorks Animation, China Media Capital, Shanghai Media Group and Shanghai Alliance Investment Ltd.
目前尚无美国影片作为中外合拍片上映。首批有望满足联合制作条件的影片包括计划于2015年公映的《功夫熊猫3》(Kung Fu Panda 3)。该片的制作方是东方梦工厂(Oriental DreamWorks)，这是一家由梦工厂动画、华人文化产业投资基金（China Media Capital，简称CMC）、上海东方传媒集团(Shanghai Media Group)与上海联和投资有限公司(Shanghai Alliance Investment Ltd)共同成立的合资企业。
Together with the Chinese government, DWA is constructing a research and development centre in Shanghai, as well as a $350m film studio facility. It has made the most aggressive moves in China of any film company but others are trying to get in on the act. Relativity Media, an independent studio, invested in Skyland, a China-based media company with the aim of making local films; Pinewood Shepperton, home of the James Bond films, recently struck a deal with Seven Stars Media, a private company controlled by entrepreneur Bruno Wu.
通过与中国政府进行合作，梦工厂目前正在上海建立一个研发中心，以及一个造价3.5亿美元的影视制作工作室。在所有的电影公司中，梦工厂在中国市场上的举措最为积极，不过其他制片厂也在努力采取行动。独立制片公司Relativity Media投资了一家名为Skyland的传媒企业，这家总部设在中国的公司致力于本土电影制作。而制作了詹姆斯•邦德(James Bond)系列影片的Pinewood Shepperton近期则与企业家吴征(Bruno Wu)掌管的七星媒体(Seven Stars Media)达成了合资协议。
Such tie-ups are good for China, says Li Ruigang, chief executive of China Media Capital, a state-owned media fund, which recently formed a partnership with Raine, a US merchant backed by some of the biggest names in Hollywood and Silicon Valley. “Even though China is growing very fast it’s still way behind [the US]. “The financing process, production, marketing, distribution . . . all this expertise and knowhow is very important to China’s movie market.”
CMC董事长黎瑞刚表示，此类合作有利于中国电影产业的发展。CMC是一家国有传媒产业基金，不久前刚与精品投资银行Raine集团结成了合作关系，这家美国银行拥有数位好莱坞以及硅谷大佬的支持。黎瑞刚指出：“即使中国目前正在飞速发展，相对于美国仍有很大差距。对于中国电影市场的发展而言，美国在融资流程、影片制作、市场营销以及发行放映等各方面的专长和技巧非常重要。”
He anticipates more openness in China, with more films allowed into the country and a domestic sector that exports more films than it does currently. “One day there will be an open market . . . if [China] is going to be a big player it will let others come in to [the] market. But it takes time.”
黎瑞刚预计中国将进一步开放电影市场，更多的外国电影将被允许进入中国放映，中国本土电影产业也将向海外输出比目前更多的国产电影。他表示：“未来中国电影市场将对外开放……如果中国希望在国际市场中具有较大的影响力，就必须允许其他国家电影加入国内市场竞争。但这需要时间。”