In a first deal of its kind, Netflix and the Weinstein Company said Monday that they planned to release next year’s sequel to the movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” simultaneously across the globe on Netflix and a select number of Imax theaters.
Netflix公司和温斯坦公司(Weinstein Company)宣布，计划明年在Netflix网站和全球精选的一些Imax影院同时发行《卧虎藏龙》续集，这是史无前例的。

The film, a follow-up to Ang Lee’s Academy Award-winning martial arts drama, is the first major motion picture to make its debut on the streaming service and in movie theaters at the same time. It will be available on Aug. 28 at no additional fee to Netflix subscribers and is the first of several films that Netflix is backing that will follow this new model for release. Only Imax is involved; other theater chains will not screen the film.
《卧虎藏龙》是李安导演的一部武打片，曾获得奥斯卡奖。这部续集将是第一部在流媒体和影院同时发布的大片。明年8月28日它在Netflix网站上发布时，该网站的付费用户无需额外付费即可观看。Netflix还资助了其他几部电影，届时都将采用这种新的发行模式。该片将只在Imax影院上映；其他连锁影院不会放映。
Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix, said he hoped this deal would show Hollywood that the time had come to respond to what movie fans wanted, and to change the traditional method for releasing films — first in theaters then, typically several months later, for streaming.
Netflix公司的首席内容官特德·萨兰德斯(Ted Sarandos)说，这样做是为了向好莱坞表明，是时候对影迷们的需求作出反应，改变传统发行方式了——传统方式是影片先在影院上映，通常几个月之后才可以在流媒体上观看。
“What I am hoping is that it will be a proof point that the sky doesn’t fall,” Mr. Sarandos said. “These are two different experiences, like going to a football game and watching a football game on TV.”
“我希望它能证明天不会塌下来，”萨兰德斯说，“这是两种不同的体验，就像看橄榄球比赛可以去现场，也可以在电视上看一样。”
The move underscores an eagerness at Netflix to shatter the traditional so-called windowing system for movies in the same way that it has rattled the structure of the television business, with TV shows now made available for streaming soon after they are broadcast on traditional networks. Netflix has also introduced entirely new models, releasing original series like “House of Cards” and “Orange Is the New Black” all at once.
这一举措突显出Netflix公司渴望动摇传统的所谓电影窗口制度(windowing system)，就像它动摇电视业的结构那样——如今电视节目在传统电视台播放后很快就能在流媒体上观看。Netflix公司还推出了全新模式，同时发布原创电视剧，比如《纸牌屋》(House of Cards)和《女子监狱》(Orange Is the New Black)。
“We fundamentally believe that the only way to attack the windowing system — that is the centerpiece of the business model of the movie industry versus what consumers want — requires an outsider,” said Rich Greenfield, a media analyst with BTIG Research. “Netflix already changed the TV business in a very, very significant way. The movie business is teed up next.”
“窗口制度是电影业商业模式与消费者需求冲突的关键部分，我们从根本上认为，只有局外人才能打破它，”宏桥信托投资集团研究所(BTIG Research)的媒体分析师里奇·格林菲尔德(Rich Greenfield)说，“Netflix公司已经极大改变了电视业。它下一步要改变的就是电影业。”
Yet the deal also reflects the challenges that persist in breaking the system, particularly in film. The film, called “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Destiny,” is a production of the independent Weinstein Company, not a major movie studio, and has a relatively modest budget. The partnership with Imax avoids one big problem: that the major theater chains refuse to break the system.
不过，这次的做法也显示出打破这一制度面临的挑战，特别是反映在影片之中。该片名为《卧虎藏龙2：青冥宝剑》(Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Destiny)，它出自独立制片公司温斯坦公司，而非大型电影公司，成本相对较低。与Imax公司合作也避开了一个重大问题：主要连锁影院拒绝打破这一制度。
For Imax, the deal to some degree reflects the manner in which it struggles to find marquee programming during lulls in Hollywood’s release calendar. Late August is sort of a cinematic black hole, a time when big studios hold back new releases to avoid competing with back-to-school activities and end-of-summer vacations.
对Imax公司来说，这一举措从某种程度上反映出它在好莱坞上映日程的间隙努力寻找放映节目。8月底几乎是电影黑洞，大型电影公司都尽量不发布新片，以免跟返校活动和夏末度假冲突。
Three theater chains — Regal Entertainment, AMC Entertainment and Cinemark — control the majority of movie screens in the United States, and they have aggressively opposed any encroachment on their release window, maintaining that any shortening would encourage consumers to stay home. Under current contracts, theaters get to play movies for three months without competition.
帝王娱乐集团(Regal Entertainment)、AMC娱乐集团(AMC Entertainment)和喜满客影城(Cinemark)这三大连锁影院控制着美国的大部分银幕，他们强烈反对对自己放映窗口的任何侵犯，坚持认为，影院放映和在线发布时间差的缩短无异于鼓励观众待在家里。根据目前的合同，影院可以在没有竞争的情况下放映三个月。
Even so, major movie studios, eager to tap into the increasing popularity of video-on-demand systems at a time when domestic box office sales are declining, have experimented with making new releases more readily available in the home. In February, for instance, Warner Bros. simultaneously released “Veronica Mars” in only 270 theaters on the same day the film was made available to buy or rent online.
即便如此，由于美国国内票房销售在下降，大型电影公司也渴望进入越来越受欢迎的视频点播系统。它们试着让新发布的电影更易于在家中看到。比如，今年2月，华纳兄弟公司(Warner Bros.)仅在270家影院发行《美眉校探》(Veronica Mars)，同一天在网上发布该片，供观众在线购买或租看。
Warner had very limited theatrical options because Regal and Cinemark refused to play the film, and AMC forced Warner to buy out entire auditoriums in advance rather than splitting actual ticket sales after the fact, which is the typical practice.
当时华纳公司在影院方面选择非常有限，因为帝王娱乐集团和喜满客影城拒绝上映该片，AMC娱乐集团迫使华纳公司提前买下整个观众席，而不是按常规做法，在放映后分割实际票房收入。
With Imax, Netflix and the Weinstein Company have found a similar workaround. Although a lot of Imax theaters are now housed in multiplexes owned by one of the big three chains, Imax controls what goes on its screens. Netflix has been interested in breaking into the original film business for some time, and has worked with the Weinstein Company on several projects, including the forthcoming “Marco Polo” historical adventure series, which will be shown exclusively on Netflix.
Netflix公司、温斯坦公司通过Imax公司找到了类似的变通方法。虽然现在很多Imax影厅都位于三大连锁影院下属的多影厅影院里，但是放映哪些影片可以由Imax公司决定。Netflix公司有意进入原创电影业务已有一段时间了，它与温斯坦公司合作过几个项目，包括即将上映的历史冒险系列影片《马可·波罗》(Marco Polo)，这一系列将只在Netflix网站上发布。
The idea to kick off this new project came out of a conversation between Mr. Sarandos and Mr. Weinstein.
这个新项目的想法源于萨兰德斯和温斯坦的一次谈话。
“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” was very much an art house film. Made for about $23.5 million in 2000, after adjusting for inflation, it took audiences — in Mandarin, with English subtitles — on a martial arts romp. It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won four, including best foreign film. The film catapulted its Taiwan-born director, Mr. Lee, to the forefront of Hollywood.
2000年上映的《卧虎藏龙》在很大程度上是艺术片。根据通货膨胀率重新计算后，其成本大约是2350万美元。它讲了一个顽皮的武侠女子的故事，中文对白，英文字幕。它获得了十项奥斯卡提名，赢得了四项大奖，包括最佳外语片奖。该片使台湾出生的导演李安跻身好莱坞一流导演之列。
Despite its art house imprimatur, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” played more like a blockbuster, which helps explain Imax’s interest in the sequel. Mr. Lee’s film took in $176.8 million in North America, after adjusting for inflation, for Sony Pictures Classics in 2000. It ranks as the best-selling Chinese language film in domestic box office history.
尽管《卧虎藏龙》带有艺术片的气息，但它更像一部轰动大片，所以Imax公司对续集产生了兴趣。2000年，该片为索尼经典电影公司(Sony Pictures Classics)在北美赚了1.768亿美元（根据通货膨胀率重新计算）。它是美国国内票房史上最赚钱的中文电影。
The budget for the sequel, “The Green Destiny,” is a multiple of that for the 2000 film, according to one person familiar with the financing.
据熟悉该片财务的一个人说，《卧虎藏龙2》的成本是2000年的第一部影片的几倍。
In the sequel, Michelle Yeoh reprises her role as the warrior Yu Shu Lien but Mr. Lee does not return. The Weinstein Company has instead given the directing reins to Woo-ping Yuen, a well-known director in China. “The Green Destiny,” set 20 years after the events of the first movie, follows four martial arts heroes trying to protect the Green Destiny sword.
在续集中，杨紫琼继续扮演侠女俞秀莲，但该片不是李安执导的。温斯坦公司将执导权交给了中国知名导演袁和平。《卧虎藏龙2》设定在第一部的故事发生后20年，讲述的是四位武侠英雄努力保护青冥宝剑的故事。
Just because the first “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” was a smash does not guarantee similarly huge ticket sales for the sequel. The independent film surge that helped wash it into the mainstream has since receded and sequels made more than a couple years after the original tend to struggle.
《卧虎藏龙》第一部的轰动不能保证续集同样能取得票房成功。曾推动它进入主流的独立电影浪潮后来退却了。而且在第一部上映数年之后拍摄的续集往往处境艰难。
But the more the Weinstein Company can make “The Green Destiny” feel like a must-see event the more the sequel is likely to overcome that challenge.
但是，温斯坦公司若是能把《卧虎藏龙2》搞得像是必看电影，那么这部续集就有可能克服困难。
In an interview, Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of the Weinstein Company, said that the industry needed to explore new ways to distribute his movies.
温斯坦公司的联合主席哈维·温斯坦(Harvey Weinstein)在一次采访中说，这个行业需要探索新的方式来发行他的电影。
“There is a big world out there, and there are many ways to exhibit things,” Mr. Weinstein said. “This is the wave of the future.”
“外面的世界很大，有很多种展示方式，”温斯坦说，“这是未来的趋势。”