当电影人开始筑梦：一个梦想成真的故事

by Seth Fisher

翻译：法比仔

当电影人开始筑梦：一个梦想成真的故事

by Seth Fisher

翻译：法比仔

Track 6

我们很多人都知道，和其他许多的人生道路一样，艺术和创作这条路并不好走。当一个人开始有了拍电影的梦想，他便已经选择了一条艰难的道路。世上电影那么多，想要自己制作的影片脱颖而出，哪有这么容易？你若真的坚定了自己的梦想，那么在累了倦了快要放弃的时候，不妨静下心来，好好回想一下自己的初心，问问自己当初为什么想要成为一名电影人。相信那会给你带来新的力量。

When1）filmmakers dream， we dream big. And why not？ Shoot for the stars， you might just get one to act in your next movie. While not every filmmaker has designs for2）commercial success， one would be3）hardpressed to fnd the opportunity to create more flms and get paid to do so.

When I4）set out to make my frst feature，Blumenthal， I5）obsessively read up on every first-time feature filmmaking experience I could find. Naturally， most of the recorded accounts I could fnd were from6）the likes of Edward Burns注1and Robert Rodriguez注2. But here's the thing…there is a difference between7）mediocrity and middle ground.

Two weeks ago， Blumenthal reached its closing chapter of the filmmaking process: distribution. Now， the answers you really want to know is: Did Blumenthal make a million dollars in the box office？ No. Am I famous？No. Did it8）bankrupt anyone？ No. Did it9）see the light of day？ YES！ Well， let's just say I would happily accept that middle ground.

When Blumenthal didn't premiere at Sundance注3or SXSW注4， I'd be lying if I said I didn't already feel like a failure. Many independent flms never see the light of day，because the10）industry tends not to support flms that premiere outside of these festivals. Knowing that reality， it can be tough to rebound from11）rejection of these “gate keepers”to success.

After the first round of festival rejections，though， I took a moment to12）regroup. I actually spent that “moment” writing another movie. After that， I continued to edit Blumenthal，13）submit it to festivals， and began to share it with friends and friends-of-friends with industry contacts. And most importantly， I realized that I needed to redefine success for the flm and for myself. At my14）core，what I really wanted was to make a good flm.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival was the first festival that received Blumenthal—and the frst to accept it. From there， a15）programmer for the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival programmed Blumenthal. Blumenthal was16）subsequently invited to dozens of Jewish film festivals all over the world.

An audience of strangers can watch the film， like it， hate it， or forget about it. That's all that really ever mattered to me， I suppose. Why make a movie？ Because I love telling stories just as much as I love seeing and hearing them. Everything else has been17）icing on the cake. Blumenthal will not make me rich. It may not make me anything at all. But people can see it. It directly led to my next directing projects. And it all happened without Sundance， without Fox Searchlight注5， without money， and without a single award.

参考译文

1） flmmaker ［΄fIlmˌmeIkə］ n. 电影制作人

2） commercial ［kə΄mзːʃəl］ adj. 商业的

3） hard-pressed 被紧紧催逼的

4） set out to 着手于

5） obsessively ［əb΄sesIvlI］ adv. 着迷地

6） the likes of <口>像……这样的人或事

7） mediocrity ［ˌmiːdI΄ɒkrətI］ n. 平庸

8） bankrupt ［΄bæŋkrʌpt］ v. 使破产，使穷困

9） see the light of day 诞生，问世

10） industry ［΄IndəstrI］ n. 行业

11） rejection ［rI΄dʒekʃən］ n. 拒绝

12） regroup ［riː΄gruːp］ v. 重新编组

13） submit ［səb΄mIt］ v. 提交

14） core ［kɔː］ n. 核心，本质

15） programmer ［΄prəʊgræmə］ n. 节目编排者

16） subsequently ［΄sʌbsIkwəntlI］ adv. 后来，随后

17） icing on the cake 锦上添花

每当我们电影人筑梦时，梦想都很远大。为什么不可以呢？心怀远大目标，你可能会得到某位明星来出演你的下一部电影。虽然不是每一个电影人都有构想过自己在商业上的成功，但每个电影人都会被迫去寻找拍摄更多电影的机会并且得到回报。

当我着手制作我的第一部作品《布鲁门塔尔》的时候，我痴迷地读完了所有我能找到的、关于别人第一次制作电影的经验故事。自然而然地，我所能找到的多是如爱德华·伯恩斯与罗伯特·罗德里格兹之流的经历记录。但是，有一点很重要……平庸和中庸之间是有区别的。

两周前，《布鲁门塔尔》到了电影制作的尾声：发行。现在，你真正想知道的是：《布鲁门塔尔》有没有达到一百万的票房？