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LOS ANGELES — The entire Hollywood press corps turned up. So did dozens of Chinese executives from the Beijing-based Dalian Wanda Group, some of whom were introduced as “special dignitaries.” Studio executives? Check. Leaders from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences? Grinning from the front row.
洛杉矶——整个好莱坞的记者团都到场了。总部位于北京的大连万达集团也派来了数十名中国高层人员，其中一些被介绍为“特邀嘉宾”。电影公司高层？来了。美国电影艺术与科学学院(The Academy of MotionPicture Arts and Sciences)的领导层？正在前排咧着嘴笑。
But why were there also four women in gold evening gowns serving as ushers and M.C.’s? And why was the “Star Wars” score used as part of the Monday affair, which was held to promote Wanda’s $5 billion studio complex in Qingdao as a home away from home for Hollywood?
但为什么还有四名穿着金色晚礼服的女子充当迎宾和司仪？为什么在本周一这个为了宣传万达在青岛投资50亿美元兴建的影城——好莱坞可以把它当作海外基地——的活动中采用《星球大战》(Star Wars)的配乐呢？
The answer seemed to be: because Wanda wanted it that way.
答案似乎是：因为万达就想要这样。
And, at least for eager Hollywood executives hoping to tap into the fast-growing Chinese box office, that was answer enough. As the Motion Picture Association of America’s chief executive, Christopher J. Dodd, said in a video infomercial for the Qingdao complex that played as part of the event, “Any time an audience grows, everyone benefits.”
好莱坞的一些高管热切盼望着分享正在快速增长的中国票房，至少对他们来说，这个答案已经足够。正如美国电影协会(Motion Picture Association of America)首席执行官克里斯托弗•J•多德(Christopher J. Dodd)在为青岛影都录制的视频中所说，“每当观众人数出现增长，所有人都会受益。”
The 5 p.m. presentation, held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, began with remarks by Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the academy, an institution dedicated in part to celebrating artistic freedom.
这个活动于下午5点在洛杉矶县艺术博物馆(Los Angeles County Museum of Art)举行，学院主席谢丽尔•布恩•艾萨克斯(Cheryl Boone Isaacs)发表了讲话。鼓励艺术自由是该机构的工作之一。
“We have so much in common,” Ms. Boone Isaacs said of the Chinese and American film industries. “Art. Creativity. Conscience. Conviction. Just telling your story.”
“我们有很多的共同点，”布恩•艾萨克斯谈到中国和美国的电影业时说。“艺术。创造力。良知。信念。只用去讲你的故事就好。”
Hollywood, of course, has been frustrated that Chinese censors restrict the flow of American films into China; only a few dozen foreign films are allowed to be exhibited annually. But Ms. Boone Isaacs kept it gauzy. “This art form, like an old-fashioned carousel, is at its best when it takes us around the world,” she said of cinema.
当然，中国的审查者限制美国电影进入中国，这令好莱坞感到失望；中国每年能够引进的外国电影只有几十部。但是布恩•艾萨克斯对此一语带过。她说电影“这种艺术形式就像老式的旋转木马，当它带我们环顾世界时，才是最佳状态”。
Next up: Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, who has made bolstering the movie industry a priority of his administration. Specifically, he has criticized the practice of studios moving production to other states and countries to take advantage of tax incentives and rebates. That, of course, is exactly the kind of runaway production funding that Wanda announced at Monday’s event.
接下来上台的是洛杉矶市长埃里克•加希提(Eric Garcetti)，他把振兴电影行业作为这届政府的优先要务。具体来说，他曾批评过电影公司享受税收优惠和补贴，把制作环节转移到其他州和其他国家的做法。当然，在周一的活动中，万达宣布的正是这种用资金把制作吸引到别处的举措。
Mr. Garcetti tried to have it both ways. After noting that efforts to bring back production have borne fruit, he said, “We also are not a place that closes in.” He added, “We will be strong about promoting Los Angeles as a place to film, but we will also be proud to make those international links that are core to our businesses growing.” With that, Mr. Garcetti introduced Wang Jianlin, Wanda’s chairman.
加希提试图两面讨好。在谈到恢复电影制作的努力已经取得成果之后，他说，“我们也不是一个自我封闭的地方。”他表示，“我们将坚定地提倡在洛杉矶拍摄电影，但是开展一些对我们的业务增长很重要的国际合作，这也让我们感到自豪。”加希提以此为万达董事长王健林登台做介绍。
For his part, Mr. Wang spent most of his speech (delivered in Mandarin, with translation provided to the audience via headphones) highlighting the spectacular growth of the Chinese box office. Within a decade, he noted, China will not only far surpass the United States as a movie marketplace, it will control more than 40 percent of global ticket sales.
王健林的演讲（用普通话发言，听众带着耳机听翻译）大部分时间都在强调中国票房的巨大增长。他指出，在十年内，中国电影市场不仅将远远超过美国，而且将占据全球票房的40%以上。
He got a round of applause when he said that American studios needed to “improve the quality” of their movies. “In the recent few years, perhaps because Hollywood movies are trying to minimize their risk, there are less original movies,” he said. After criticizing Hollywood’s over-reliance on special effects, he added, “Now that Chinese audiences are smarter, they do not so easily become happy.”
当他说到美国制片厂需要“提高电影的质量”时，台下响起了连串的掌声。“最近几年，也许是因为好莱坞想要尽量减少风险，制作的原创电影比较少，”他说。在批评了好莱坞对特效的过分依赖之后，他又补充，“中国观众现在变得更聪明了，要让他们满意不是那么容易。”
It was almost a wrap. But first came more details about the 40 percent rebate Wanda will offer studios for filming at its still-under-construction “movie metropolis” in Qingdao. Invited to the stage were executives from studios that had already signed up, including Lionsgate, Wanda-owned Legendary Entertainment, Arclight Films and Kylin Pictures.
差不多就这些了。但在结束之前，活动还谈到了更多的细节，关于万达将为前往仍在建设中的青岛影都拍摄电影的国际公司提供40%补贴。已经签约的电影公司包括Lionsgate、万达旗下的传奇娱乐、Arclight Films和Kylin Pictures，这些公司的高管被邀请到了台上。
As one of the women in gold gowns said in closing, “It’s very exciting!”
正如其中一名穿着金色长袍的女子在活动结束时所说，“这真是令人兴奋！”
