“拍电影并不难”
2008-06-20
|
|
“拍电影并不难”
作者：英国《金融时报》马修·加拉汉(Matthew Garrahan)
2008年6月20日 星期五
丹尼尔•巴特塞克(Daniel Battsek)在曼哈顿的办公室很雅致，符合他作为米拉麦克斯(Miramax)首席执行官的身份——包括昆汀•塔伦蒂诺(Quentin Tarantino)在内的很多著名导演都是从这家公司起步成长起来的。但在桌子和惹眼的大屏幕电视机旁边，却有一件摆设显得不太协调，像是从新潮酒店收集来的家具。那是一只矮小的木头椅子，原本是切尔西(Chelsea)足球俱乐部的主场斯坦福桥球场(Stamford Bridge)西看台的一张座椅。
这张椅子是巴特塞克出生地的一个纪念品。他生长于伦敦西部，从孩提起就是切尔西的铁杆球迷。上月，他在莫斯科观看了欧洲冠军联赛的决赛，在那场球赛上，切尔西输给了曼联(Manchester United)。
电影是他的另一个爱好，也是他告别伦敦的生活、举家迁来纽约的原因。他的这一决定在今年获得了丰厚的回报。在电影行业，不管从哪种标准看，今年对于巴特塞克和米拉麦克斯都是辉煌的一年：与派拉蒙优势(Paramount Vantage)联合出品的《老无所依》(No Country for Old Men)获奥斯卡最佳影片奖，同样与派拉蒙合作的《血色将至》(There Will be Blood)的主演丹尼尔•戴－刘易斯(Daniel Day-Lewis)荣膺最佳男主角。《潜水钟与蝴蝶》(The Diving Belland the Butterfly)是米拉麦克斯今年的另一部成功之作，获得多个奖项，且好评如潮。
巴特塞克表示，米拉麦克斯的影片面向更为有鉴别力的人，而非普通的好莱坞影迷，但它们也必须赢利。他穿着一身笔挺的西服，仰坐在他的椅子上，显得轻松自在。“我为优秀的导演提供一个大本营，他们能拍出具有真知灼见的电影。”
他的时运极好。他投身Palace Pictures时，独立电影开始在英国大行其道。该公司以《蒙娜丽莎》(Mona Lisa)和《哭泣的游戏》(The Crying Game)等片领先于同道。“那是一个十分激动人心、精力十足的时候，我们全都凭着感觉做事，”他说。
那也是他首次接触哈维和鲍勃•温斯坦(Harvey and Bob Weinstein)。当时，米拉麦克斯开始在美国发行Palace的影片，因此，他们“几乎就像姊妹公司”。在Palace工作6年后，他于1991年跳槽到沃尔特-迪斯尼(Walt Disney)，负责英国发行事务。在此期间，他与史蒂芬•弗莱尔斯(Stephen Frears)、克里斯托弗•诺兰(Christopher Nolan)和安东尼•明格拉(Anthony Minghella)等导演结下深交。
“他们必须赢利，而这并不容易，因为预算比较低（与好莱坞大片相比），实际拍片费用也比较低。”
自2005年被任命为首席执行官后，他一直在努力掌握这种微妙的平衡术，以拍出既叫好又叫座的影片。他接手这项工作时，是踏着前任的成功足迹。哈维和鲍勃•温斯坦创立了米拉麦克斯，带领公司进入1990年代的鼎盛期，并撼动了好莱坞的权势等级。米拉麦克斯获得了巨大的商业成功，并树立了口碑。它出品了《低俗小说》(Pulp Fiction)和《莎翁情史》(Shakespeare in Love)等部影片，并将国际短片带给主流观众。它的成功在好莱坞引发了一场小型革命，各大制片公司纷纷成立专业的“独立”部门，以更好地与米拉麦克斯竞争。
温斯坦兄弟于1993年将米拉麦克斯卖给沃尔特-迪斯尼，但又在公司呆了12年。由于与迪斯尼的关系变得不睦，他们最终离开了公司。促使他们下决心离开的是，双方在《华氏9.11》(Fahrenheit 9/11)的发行上争执不下。该片意在批判布什政府。当时在迪斯尼从事发行业务的巴特塞克接到任命，接替米拉麦克斯创始人之位。“我不想假装这不具挑战性、没有风险、没有惊慌。我与哈维和鲍勃共事了20年，其中14年是在迪斯尼。我了解题材和迪斯尼是怎么运作的，我知道米拉麦克斯的DNA。但我此前从未有过这样的决策权。”
在管理风格上，他与哈维•温斯坦截然相反。哈维是温斯坦兄弟中比较有名的那位，直到2005年，他还是米拉麦克斯的代表人物。哈维以脾气火爆、个性鲜明著称，而巴特塞克温和，内敛，虑事周到。
“我的性格就是这样。我（与哈维和鲍勃）一样满怀激情，我肯定他们会说我……和他们一样对公司充满雄心壮志。 ”
“我总是以一定的方式工作，试图尽可能地与人合作。我的做事方式与温斯坦不同……这不是更好或更差的问题，而是我的做事方式就是这样。”
他接手时，米拉麦克斯在影评家和观众当中已失去了一些光芒，因此当务之急是再度推出有创意的作品。他还必须争取让公司在迪斯尼麾下保持独立。“我列出的头两件事是: 我如何确保米拉麦克斯继续作为一个独立的公司，能够自行决定用什么导演和题材；同时使之在沃尔特-迪斯尼公司的内部运转。”
关键是要确保米拉麦克斯能够保留纽约总部和标志，而不要搬到加利福尼亚，从而并入迪斯尼。“这自然而然地传递出一个信息: 我将可以自由地进行必要的决策。”
然后他将重点转向公司的经营。米拉麦克斯在温斯坦兄弟在位时发展迅速，但花费过巨。
在巴特塞克执掌之下，米拉麦克斯将每年发行电影的片数从20部减少到8至10部。“这是一个机会，将米拉麦克斯转变成它需要和想要的样子，成为一个专业子公司……一个有声望的公司，制作让人叫好的电影。”
他很快就取得了成功：《黑帮暴徒》(Tsotsi)获得奥斯卡最佳外语片奖。“这意义十分重大，因为（外语片）被认为是我们可能无法染指的领域之一。”
次年，米拉麦克斯的《女王》(The Queen)为海伦•米伦(Dame Helen Mirren)夺得奥斯卡最佳女主角奖。在今年摘取的奖项中，《老无所依》是“最高的荣誉”。
“我们很幸运，所有这一切发生得比人们预想的更快，”他坦言到。
拍出既叫好又叫座的电影“不是火箭科学……不像一些人想象的那么复杂”，但也不容易。“你取材时必须非常自信，与导演一起工作必须非常尽责、细致，你还必须设法让片子尽快开拍。”
他说，他个人对实际拍片子的过程不太感兴趣。“我从未对拍片产生过狂热，坐在现场观看一个场景是怎么拍的，一点都不吸引我。但我喜欢在影院看电影，我喜欢有创造性的一面，和导演、剧作者、演员一起工作……我喜欢制作的过程。”
自从温斯坦离去后，米拉麦克斯与迪斯尼的关系大为改善。最近，迪斯尼首席执行官鲍勃•伊格尔(Bob Iger)特意表扬了米拉麦克斯。与此同时，该公司再度获得了影评界的交口称赞。
然而，巴特塞克并不想满足于现有的荣誉。他说，成功“很快就会过去……我们必须确保在这些基础上继续前进”。
译者/岱嵩
阅读本文章英文,请点击 ‘MAKING FILMS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE'
‘MAKING FILMS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE'
By Matthew Garrahan
Friday, June 20, 2008
The chic Manhattan office of Daniel Battsek is a fitting environment for the chief executive of Miramax, the company that helped launch the careers of cutting-edge directors such as Quentin Tarantino. But there is one item that looks out of place next to the table and the impressively large flat-screen television – furniture that could have been plucked from a hip boutique hotel. It is a small wooden chair; an original seat from the former West Stand of Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea football soccer club.
The chair is a reminder of Mr Battsek's origins. Raised in west London, he has been an ardent Chelsea fan since childhood and was in the stands in Moscow two weeks ago when the club suffered a crushing Champions League final defeat to Manchester United.
Film, his other passion, has led him to uproot his life in London and move his family to New York – a decision which this year was richly rewarded. By any standards in the film industry, Mr Battsek and Miramax have had a stellar year. No Country for Old Men, a co-production with Paramount Vantage, won best picture at the Oscars while There Will be Blood, which Miramax also made with Paramount, won Daniel Day-Lewis the statuette for best actor. The Diving Belland the Butterfly was another big Miramax success this year, winning awards and acclaim.
Miramax films are aimed at more discerning audiences than the usual Hollywood fare but they still have to make money, says Mr Battsek, sitting back in his chair and looking relaxed in a dapper suit. “I provide a home for quality film-makers making films that have a real point of view.
His timing was perfect. He joined Palace Pictures just as independent film was taking off in the UK. The company was leading the way with films such as Mona Lisa and The Crying Game. “It was a very exciting and vibrant time. We were all living by the seat of our pants,” he says.
It was also the first time he came into contact with Harvey and Bob Weinstein as Miramax began to distribute Palace films in the US so they “were almost like sister companies”. After six years at Palace he left in 1991 to join Walt Disney, to run its UK distribution business, building strong relationships with the filmmakers Stephen Frears, Christopher Nolan and Anthony Minghella.
“They have to turn a profit and it isn't necessarily easier to do that, just because the budget is lower [than that of a Hollywood blockbuster] and the actual cost of making the film is lower.”
He has been grappling with this delicate balancing act of making profitable quality films since being appointed chief executive in 2005. He had some big shoes to fill when he took the job. Harvey and Bob Weinstein founded Miramax and led the company into its 1990s heyday, when it shook up the Hollywood pecking order. It enjoyed huge commercial and critical success with films such as Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love, and brought smaller, international films to mainstream audiences. This success sparked a minirevolution in Hollywood as larger studio rivals launched speciality “independent” divisions to compete better with Miramax.
The Weinsteins sold Miramax to Walt Disney in 1993 but remained at the company for 12 years. They eventually left after relations with Disney soured: a final catalyst was a dispute about the release of Fahrenheit 9/11, which excoriated the Bush administration. Mr Battsek, who was working for Disney's distribution business, was appointed to replace the Miramax founders. “I'm not going to pretend that it was anything other than challenging and risky and scary,” he says of taking the role. “I'd worked with Harvey and Bob for 20 years – 14 of which were at Disney. I knew the material and how Disney works, and I knew the DNA of Miramax. But I had never had the decision-making capacity that I was given at that point.”
In terms of managerial style, he is the opposite of Harvey Weinstein, the best-known Weinstein brother and, until 2005, the public face of Miramax. Mr Weinstein is known as a colourful character with an explosive temper; Mr Battsek, though, is quiet, reserved and thoughtful.
“It's just my personality. I'm as passionate [as Harvey and Bob] and I'm sure they would say I am . . . I'm as ambitious for the company as they were.
“I have always worked in a certain way and have tried to be as collaborative as possible. The way I do that is different from the Weinsteins . . . it's not better or worse, it's just the way I am.”
The company he inherited had lost some of its sheen with critics and audiences, so reinvigorating creative output became a priority. He also had to find a way of reasserting the company's independence while being part of the Disney firmament. “The first two things on my list were: how do I ensure that Miramax remains an independent company that could make its own decisions regarding film-makers and material, and at the same time make it function within the Walt Disney company.”
Key was ensuring Miramax retained its New York headquarters and identity, rather than moving the company to California so it could be absorbed into Disney. “That automatically sent out a message that I would have the freedom to make the decisions that needed to be taken.”
Then he refocused Miramax's operations. The company had grown quickly under the Weinsteins but was spending too much money.
Under Mr Battsek, Miramax cut the number of films it released from as many as 20 to 8-10. “It was an opportunity to turn Miramax into what it needed and wanted to be, which is a speciality unit . . . a prestige company, making critically acclaimed movies.”
He scored an early success when Tsotsi won best foreign language film at the Oscars. “It was very significant because [foreign language films] were considered one of the areas where we might not have been able to keep the magic going.”
The following year Miramax's The Queen won the best actress Oscar for Dame Helen Mirren, while winning at this year's awards with No Country for Old Men was “the crowning glory”.
“We are fortunate that all of these things happened more quickly than people thought they would,” he admits.
Making films that achieve critical and commercial success “is not rocket science . . . and it's not as complicated as some people make out”. Still, it is not easy. “You have to be very sure of yourself when you acquire the material. You have to be very conscientious and detailed when you're working with your filmmakers. And you have to find ways of being able to make [the film] as quickly as possible.”
The physical process involved in making a film is not of great personal interest, he says. “I've never had the movie-making bug. Sitting on a set watching a scene being filmed doesn't turn me on at all. But I love being in a cinema watching a film. I love the creative side, working with filmmakers, writers, actors . . . and I love the production process.”
Relations with Disney have improved markedly since the bitterness that characterised the end of the Weinstein reign. Bob Iger, Disney's chief executive, recently singled Miramax out for praise while the company has returned to its former critical glories.
However, Mr Battsek is not tempted to rest on his laurels. Success, he says, “quickly passes . . . we have to make sure we build on these foundations”.戛纳的悲伤情调
推荐24部心理学经典电影
第11届上海国际电影节
麻省理工要求本科生三年看完的电影
各国电影分级制度
看英文片然必了解的不文明的語言
“深入敌后”的电影人
电影也做广告
江苏卫视开播《生死十日》
|
| |
本栏目主要介绍最新电影,在线电影,手机电影方面，包括最新的电影,最新免费电影,电影奖项,电影节,电影公司,电影精彩片段,“拍电影并不难”等。特别关注有关人与文化的价值方面的研究。
时尚文化频道首页 电影世界,最新电影页首
|