張藝謀 大起大落的年

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多名身着鮮紅服裝的鼓手填滿了水立方和鳥巢之間的廣場。這是上週在北京舉行的亞太經合組織(Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)峯會歡迎各國領導人的儀式。壯觀的場面令人回想起2008年北京奧運會開幕式的盛況。這並不奇怪，因爲二者均由中國著名導演張藝謀策劃。

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.

在這場華麗的表演中，張藝謀這起起伏伏的一年也接近了尾聲。上世紀90年代初，他憑藉着《大紅燈籠高高掛》和《紅高粱》等藝術影片在國際上嶄露頭角。今年早些時候，他因爲違反計劃生育政策，遭遇了政府部門開出的鉅額罰單。到了上個月，他的最新劇情片《歸來》未被中國官員選中代表大陸角逐奧斯卡獎。《歸來》把背景設置在文化大革命時期，獲得了輿論好評，但選中的是一部沒什麼名氣的中法合拍片。

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.

儘管表面看來經歷了種種挫折，但張藝謀似乎按部就班，不爲所動。最近，關於他首次涉足中外合拍片的一些細節浮出了水面。這部名爲《長城》的動作鉅製備受期待，已籌備了數年。

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.

在本月於洛杉磯舉辦的中美電影峯會(U.S.-China Film Summit)上，傳出了關於這部新片的確鑿消息。影片預算爲1.35億美元（約合8.27億元人民幣），英語對白爲主——對於不會講英語的張藝謀來說，這又是一次新的嘗試。

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.

《長城》將由樂視影業和傳奇東方聯合制作。前一家公司由張藝謀擔任藝術總監，後一家公司總部設在香港，是美國傳奇影業(Legendary Pictures)旗下的製作公司。該片定於明年2月開拍，計劃於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.

影片背景設定在15世紀，據報道會探索長城的謎團，並且帶有科幻元素。有報道表示，該片原定由《最後的武士》(The Last Samurai)的導演愛德華·茲威克(Edward Zwick)於2012年拍攝，但由於日程和創意方面的原因，他退出了這個項目。今年3月，片方宣佈由張藝謀接手。

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.

本報未能聯絡到張藝謀爲這篇文章置評。不過，《好萊塢報道》(Hollywood Reporter)稱，他今年6月在北京電影學院的講座上表示，《長城》的片方這幾年找了他好幾次，但出於對該片預算和情節方面的顧慮，他一直沒有答應。

“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.”

“現在製作規模夠了，故事也很吸引人，”他說。而且，對他來說更爲重要的是，“中國元素是片中的主要元素。”

“It’s good for the promotion of Chinese culture,” he added.

“有利於弘揚中華文化，”他接着說。

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.

不過，樂視影業的母公司樂視集團正面臨着財務問題。經過幾年的爆炸性增長，樂視今年急轉直下。7月，政府監管部門對其作出了公開譴責，後來公司又被迫四次停牌，市值蒸發了100億元人民幣。根據中國著名商業雜誌《財經》本月的報道，樂視的問題似乎與高層政治鬥爭有關。

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.

張藝謀自2013年5月開始擔任樂視影業的藝術總監。尚不清楚，樂視遭遇的麻煩是否會波及張藝謀。他執導的《歸來》也由樂視影業製作，曾被廣泛認爲是今年中國參評奧斯卡的不二之選。

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月答案揭曉時，被選中代表中國大陸角逐學院獎的影片，卻是費利普·彌勒(Philippe Muyl)執導的小成本電影《夜鶯》。就連該片的製片方也頗爲震驚。

“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.

“沒辦法，不可能確切地知道他們爲什麼選中了我們的片子，但我可以肯定地說，我們非常驚喜，”《夜鶯》的法國製片人之一斯提反·雷諾(Steven René)說。

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 d 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.

中國的奧斯卡參評影片由娛樂行業的最高監管機構國家新聞出版廣電總局負責遴選，過程並不透明。外界無從知曉評委由哪些人組成，也不知道評判標準是什麼。不過從過去的選擇來看，評委顯示出了對幾位中國著名導演組成的小圈子的強烈偏好。在1979年以來選送角逐學院獎的28部作品中，有12部出自張藝謀、馮小剛或陳凱歌之手。單是張藝謀一人，就有七次被選中代表中國大陸參評，其中兩部獲得了最後的提名（《英雄》代表的是香港——譯註）。考慮到這樣的歷史記錄，多數影評人估計，官方的選擇或者是《歸來》，或者是刁亦男導演的基調灰暗的懸疑片《白日焰火》，或者是陳可辛(Peter Chan)執導的以拐賣兒童爲主題的劇情片《親愛的》。《夜鶯》講述的是一位老人與孫女結伴遠行的故事，在10月1日的提名截止日期前，僅在一座城市放映了一週，勉強符合學院獎的參評資格。

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.”

不過，在中國影評人週黎明看來，意外選中《夜鶯》或許反映出中國負責選送的官員，觀念發生了轉變。他指出，大陸影片從未贏得奧斯卡最佳外語片獎，而且已經連續11年沒有獲得提名，“有點丟臉”。

“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.”

“跳出大導演的小圈子，把目光投向國際合拍片，實際上是件好事，”他說。“這顯示了一種新的開放性。”