Can viewers suffering from 'Mad Men' withdrawal seek solace in a 16th-century Chinese fable? U.S. television network AMC hopes so.
沉浸在《广告狂人》(Mad Men)被下线的落寞中的观众们能否从16世纪的中国传说中找到慰藉呢？美国电视公司AMC正是这样期待的。
The cable network announced Friday that it plans to produce six, one-hour episodes loosely based on the Journey to the West, a famed Chinese tale in which a ragtag group of adventurers including a monkey with supernatural powers and a creature who's half human, half pig travel west to procure a set of holy scriptures. The martial arts drama will be titled 'Badlands' and is slated for a late 2015 or early 2016 premiere.
AMC上周五宣布，计划制作一部改编自中国著名神话故事《西游记》的新剧《Badlands》，首季共六集，每集一小时。《西游记》讲述的是唐僧师徒风餐露宿、跋山涉水求取真经的故事，其中包括神通广大的美猴王孙悟空以及长着猪脸的猪八戒。《Badlands》定于2015年底或2016年初与观众见面。
The series' title may conjure up images of Martin Sheen in Terrence Malik's 1973 film of the same name, but this version of 'Badlands' will tell 'the story of a warrior and a young boy who travel across a dangerous land controlled by feudal barons to find enlightenment,' said AMC. The cable network said the show will be created by Al Gough and Miles Millar in partnership with Stacy Sher of Pulp Fiction, Michael Shamberg of Contagion and master martial arts filmmakers Stephen Fung and Daniel Wu.
《Badlands》这个名字可能让人联想起特伦斯•马利克(Terrence Malik) 1973年导演的、由马丁•希恩(Martin Sheen)主演的电影。不过，AMC说，《Badlands》系列美剧讲述的是一位战士和一个小男孩，穿越贵族老爷们把持的危难重重的领地，寻找极乐世界的故事。该公司还说，这部剧的剧本将由编剧艾尔弗雷德•高夫(Al Gough)携迈尔斯•米勒(Miles Millar)共同操刀，《低俗小说》(Pulp Fiction)制片人斯泰西•谢尔(Stacy Sher)、《传染病》(Contagion)制片人迈克尔•沙姆伯格(Michael Shamberg)担当制片，并请来了中国的功夫片电影人冯德伦(Stephen Fung)和吴彦祖(Daniel Wu)联合制作打造。
AMC, fresh off its smash hit 'Mad Men,' a drama chronicling the lives of employees at a 1950s ad agency, said it hopes 'Badlands' can replicate that show's success. 'This creative team has so much expertise in bringing a fresh take to classic genres from their film and television experience, and their take on martial arts will be no exception,' said Joel Stillerman, AMC's executive vice president of original programming, production and digital content.
AMC推出的热门电视剧《广告狂人》(Mad Men)刚刚结束。这部剧情类电视剧描写了发生在上世纪五十年代一家广告公司雇员身上的各种故事。AMC表示，希望《Badlands》能够复制《广告狂人》的成功。AMC原创编制、制作及数字内容执行副总裁斯蒂尔曼(Joel Stillerman)称，这支富有创造性的团队拥有众多技能将将一个新的电影电视项目变成经典，他们在武术上的尝试也不会例外。
While executives don't say they're trying to tap into the Chinese market with the new series, there's a chance they might. The fact that Journey of the West is coming to U.S. television screens has been widely circulated on Chinese social media, where thousands of people have left comments, many lauding the news.
虽然高管们没有透露是否会把新剧集引入中国市场，但他们可能会这样做。《西游记》即将登上美国电视屏幕的消息一直在中国的社交媒体上广泛流传，成千上万的人留下了自己的评论，其中不少人为这个消息点赞。
Some Chinese commentators on Monday were skeptical, saying that the series would surely to fail in attempting to capture the magic of Journey to the West, a tale that's standard childhood fare in China.
周一，一些中国网民表达了怀疑的观点。他们称，这部剧肯定无法扑捉《西游记》的精髓。《西游记》在中国是孩子们的经典故事。
Chinese viewers have been burned before. The original TV series 'Journey to the West' was broadcast on China's Central Television network in 1986 and has been remade countless times since. Many versions of the tale have sputtered amid poor special effects, bad costuming and cheesy dialogue. One version that aired on the Hong Kong station TVB earlier this year received a record 1,100 complaints, with viewers scoffing at the production quality and saying the choice of the show was too dated.
中国观众以前就被雷倒过。最初的电视剧《西游记》是1986年中国中央电视台播放的，之后又被无数次重新摄制。很多版本因特效差、服装简陋以及对白粗俗而备受诟病。今年早些时候香港TVB播放的一个《西游记》版本就收到创纪录的1,100宗投诉，观众对其制作质量嗤之以鼻，并称其选材过于陈旧。
The 'Badlands' storyline isn't expected to exactly mirror the plot of the old fable. But some Chinese viewers don't seem to mind new takes on the old story. A 3D movie version, Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, pulled in $196.7 million in China last year.
预计《Badlands》的情节不会与《西游记》一模一样。但很多中国观众似乎并不介意改编这些古代传说。去年中国上映的3D电影版《西游•降魔篇》(Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons)就获得了1.967亿美元的票房。