Under a sky ablaze with fireworks, more than 600 drummers decked out in brilliant red filled the square between the Water Cube and Bird’s Nest stadiums in Beijing last week to welcome leaders to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting. The spectacle recalled the dazzling opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and no wonder — both were choreographed by the renowned Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou.
焰火照亮的夜空之下，600多名身着鲜红服装的鼓手填满了水立方和鸟巢之间的广场。这是上周在北京举行的亚太经合组织(Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)峰会欢迎各国领导人的仪式。壮观的场面令人回想起2008年北京奥运会开幕式的盛况。这并不奇怪，因为二者均由中国著名导演张艺谋策划。

The extravaganza came near the end of what has been a year of ups but also downs for Mr. Zhang, who first rose to global fame in the early 1990s with art house favorites such as “Raise the Red Lantern” and “Red Sorghum.” Earlier this year, he was dealt a hefty fine by the authorities for violating family planning policies. Then, last month, his most recent film, the critically acclaimed Cultural Revolution-era drama “Coming Home,” was passed over by Chinese officials for submission to the Oscars in favor of a relatively obscure French-Chinese co-production.
在这场华丽的表演中，张艺谋这起起伏伏的一年也接近了尾声。上世纪90年代初，他凭借着《大红灯笼高高挂》和《红高粱》等艺术影片在国际上崭露头角。今年早些时候，他因为违反计划生育政策，遭遇了政府部门开出的巨额罚单。到了上个月，他的最新剧情片《归来》未被中国官员选中代表大陆角逐奥斯卡奖。《归来》把背景设置在文化大革命时期，获得了舆论好评，但选中的是一部没什么名气的中法合拍片。
Despite the apparent setbacks, Mr. Zhang appears to be moving forward with his work unfazed. Most recently, details were released about his first co-production, a highly anticipated action blockbuster called “The Great Wall” that has been several years in the making.
尽管表面看来经历了种种挫折，但张艺谋似乎按部就班，不为所动。最近，关于他首次涉足中外合拍片的一些细节浮出了水面。这部名为《长城》的动作巨制备受期待，已筹备了数年。
At the U.S.-China Film Summit in Los Angeles this month, it was confirmed that the new movie will have a budget of $135 million as well as feature English as its primary language — another first for Mr. Zhang, who doesn’t speak the language.
在本月于洛杉矶举办的中美电影峰会(U.S.-China Film Summit)上，传出了关于这部新片的确凿消息。影片预算为1.35亿美元（约合8.27亿元人民币），英语对白为主——对于不会讲英语的张艺谋来说，这又是一次新的尝试。
The film will be produced by Le Vision Pictures, where Mr. Zhang is artistic director, and Legendary East, a Hong Kong-based production outfit set up by the American company Legendary Pictures. Production is scheduled to begin in February and the movie is expected to be released in theaters in 2016.
《长城》将由乐视影业和传奇东方联合制作。前一家公司由张艺谋担任艺术总监，后一家公司总部设在香港，是美国传奇影业(Legendary Pictures)旗下的制作公司。该片定于明年2月开拍，计划于2016年上映。
Set in the 15th century, the film reportedly will explore the mysteries of the Great Wall with science fiction elements. Edward Zwick, who directed “The Last Samurai,” was reportedly set to direct the film in 2012, but later dropped out, because of scheduling and creative issues. It was announced in March that Mr. Zhang would take over the project instead.
影片背景设定在15世纪，据报道会探索长城的谜团，并且带有科幻元素。有报道表示，该片原定由《最后的武士》(The Last Samurai)的导演爱德华·兹威克(Edward Zwick)于2012年拍摄，但由于日程和创意方面的原因，他退出了这个项目。今年3月，片方宣布由张艺谋接手。
Speaking at the Beijing Film Academy in June, Mr. Zhang, who could not be reached for comment for this article, said that he had been approached several times about the project over the years, but had been reluctant to commit himself out of concerns about the film’s budget and storyline, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
本报未能联络到张艺谋为这篇文章置评。不过，《好莱坞报道》(Hollywood Reporter)称，他今年6月在北京电影学院的讲座上表示，《长城》的片方这几年找了他好几次，但出于对该片预算和情节方面的顾虑，他一直没有答应。
“Now the production is big enough and really appealing,” he said. And, importantly for him, he said, “the Chinese elements are leading elements in the film.”
“现在制作规模够了，故事也很吸引人，”他说。而且，对他来说更为重要的是，“中国元素是片中的主要元素。”
“It’s good for the promotion of Chinese culture,” he added.
“有利于弘扬中华文化，”他接着说。
But Le Vision’s parent company, LeTV, is grappling with financial problems. After several years of explosive growth, LeTV spiraled downward this year after it was publicly admonished by government regulators in July and then forced to suspend trading of its stock four times, resulting in losses of 10 billion renminbi, or $1.6 billion. Caijing, a respected Chinese business magazine, reported this month that LeTV’s problems appeared to be tied to high-level political struggles.
不过，乐视影业的母公司乐视集团正面临着财务问题。经过几年的爆炸性增长，乐视今年急转直下。7月，政府监管部门对其作出了公开谴责，后来公司又被迫四次停牌，市值蒸发了100亿元人民币。根据中国著名商业杂志《财经》本月的报道，乐视的问题似乎与高层政治斗争有关。
It is unclear whether LeTV’s troubles will affect Mr. Zhang, who has served as artistic director for Le Vision Pictures since May 2013. Le Vision was the production company behind Mr. Zhang’s “Coming Home,” which was widely expected to be a shoo-in as China’s submission to the Oscars this year.
张艺谋自2013年5月开始担任乐视影业的艺术总监。尚不清楚，乐视遭遇的麻烦是否会波及张艺谋。他执导的《归来》也由乐视影业制作，曾被广泛认为是今年中国参评奥斯卡的不二之选。
Instead, it emerged in October that “The Nightingale,” a small-budget film directed by Philippe Muyl, had been chosen to represent the country at the Academy Awards. Even the film’s makers were stunned.
然而，10月答案揭晓时，被选中代表中国大陆角逐学院奖的影片，却是费利普·弥勒(Philippe Muyl)执导的小成本电影《夜莺》。就连该片的制片方也颇为震惊。
“Unfortunately, it’s impossible to know exactly why they chose our film, but I can certainly say that we were very surprised,” said Steven René, one of the film’s French producers.
“没办法，不可能确切地知道他们为什么选中了我们的片子，但我可以肯定地说，我们非常惊喜，”《夜莺》的法国制片人之一斯提反·雷诺(Steven René)说。
China’s Oscar nominees are chosen in an opaque process led by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, China’s top entertainment regulator. It’s not publicly known who sits on the selection committee or what their criteria are. But in the past, the committee has shown a strong preference for a small circle of big-name Chinese directors. Of the 28 films submitted to the Academy for consideration since 1979, 12 were directed either by Mr. Zhang, Feng Xiaogang or Chen Kaige. Works by Mr. Zhang alone have been submitted seven times. Two of his films made the short-list of nominees.Based on that record, most critics had expected officials to choose either “Coming Home,” Diao Yinan’s bleak thriller “Black Coal, Thin Ice” or Peter Chan’s “Dearest,” a child abduction drama. “Nightingale,” about the road trip of an old man and his granddaughter, was screened for just a week in one city before the Oct. 1 nomination deadline and so only barely eligible for consideration by Academy rules.
中国的奥斯卡参评影片由娱乐行业的最高监管机构国家新闻出版广电总局负责遴选，过程并不透明。外界无从知晓评委由哪些人组成，也不知道评判标准是什么。不过从过去的选择来看，评委显示出了对几位中国著名导演组成的小圈子的强烈偏好。在1979年以来选送角逐学院奖的28部作品中，有12部出自张艺谋、冯小刚或陈凯歌之手。单是张艺谋一人，就有七次被选中代表中国大陆参评，其中两部获得了最后的提名（《英雄》代表的是香港——译注）。考虑到这样的历史记录，多数影评人估计，官方的选择或者是《归来》，或者是刁亦男导演的基调灰暗的悬疑片《白日焰火》，或者是陈可辛(Peter Chan)执导的以拐卖儿童为主题的剧情片《亲爱的》。《夜莺》讲述的是一位老人与孙女结伴远行的故事，在10月1日的提名截止日期前，仅在一座城市放映了一周，勉强符合学院奖的参评资格。
But in the eyes of the Chinese film critic Raymond Zhou, the surprise selection of “The Nightingale” may be a reflection of a shift in the mindset of the Chinese nominating officials. China has never won in the category, Mr. Zhou pointed out, and in failing to make the nomination list for 11 years in a row, China “kind of lost face.”
不过，在中国影评人周黎明看来，意外选中《夜莺》或许反映出中国负责选送的官员，观念发生了转变。他指出，大陆影片从未赢得奥斯卡最佳外语片奖，而且已经连续11年没有获得提名，“有点丢脸”。
“To jump outside the limited coterie of big-name directors and look toward international co-productions is a good thing,” he added. “It indicates a new kind of openness.”
“跳出大导演的小圈子，把目光投向国际合拍片，实际上是件好事，”他说。“这显示了一种新的开放性。”