英语专业晨读美文-文化篇 10 Hollywood Is Flush with
时间:2018-11-30 作者:英语课 分类:英语专业晨读美文
[00:00.86]Hollywood Is Flush With Movies
[00:09.96]When Meg Ryan and Antonio Banderas signed up to star
[00:15.36]in an independently produced comedy-action movie
[00:18.41]called My Mom's New Boyfriend, the film's backers
[00:22.14]figured they had a slam dunk-a modestly priced film
[00:26.04]with bankable stars that would surge at the box office.
[00:29.14]The producers say the $17 million movie scored well
[00:33.52]in test screenings in the U.S. this spring
[00:36.09]and did decent business in Spain, Israel and Russia.
[00:39.14]But the U.S. distributor, Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures,
[00:43.48]quietly sent the movie straight to DVD on June 17.
[00:47.39]“I believe that three years ago this movie absolutely
[00:50.71]would have been on screens, if for no other reason
[00:53.61]than the actors involved.” says George Gallo,
[00:56.73]who wrote and directed the film.
[00:58.47]These days, scores of films such as “Boyfriend”
[01:01.65]are finding there's no room at the multiplex.
[01:04.11]The reason: Hollywood is flush with roughly
[01:07.67]$13 billion to $18 billion in financing for movies
[01:11.34]that poured in over the past few years,
[01:13.43]according to bankers and producers,
[01:15.60]vastly expanding the number of pictures getting made.
[01:18.53]The flood of money is paying for films
[01:21.02]made by both relative newcomers
[01:22.84]and veteran film investors 1 and producers.
[01:25.51]Another factor in the pullback is a rise in marketing 2 costs.
[01:29.22]A decade ago, campaigns for independent movies
[01:32.53]were driven by free publicity 3 and word of mouth.
[01:35.59]The crowded market is prompting distributors
[01:38.52]to spend big to distinguish themselves.
[01:40.76]According to the MPAA, the amount of money
[01:44.11]the indie labels at the major studios
[01:46.52]were spending on marketing shot up 44% to $25.7 million
[01:51.29]in 2007 from $17.8 million in 2006. Since 2002,
[01:58.98]that marketing spending has doubled,
[02:01.40]driving up competition for all films trying to
[02:04.33]gain traction 4 in the marketplace.
[02:06.41]Yet it is increasingly common to see
[02:08.54]critical darlings of the festival circuit get trampled 5.
[02:11.40]Son of Rambow, a coming-of-age comedy
[02:15.00]about two boys in England who dream of filmmaking,
[02:17.35]was a darling at Sundance in 2007,
[02:20.11]where it was reportedly sold for distribution
[02:22.80]for about $7.5 million-one of the largest buys
[02:26.94]at the festival that year.
[02:28.76]Vantage released the film in May 2008
[02:30.45]to top-notch reviews. But it flopped 6,
[02:33.67]grossing just $1.78 million.
[02:36.64]The film was put out via a platform release on the same day
[02:40.48]that Paramount's Iron Man hit theaters in early May.
[02:43.47]While Rambow added screens through May,
[02:46.48]it never gained traction in a month
[02:48.98]that was chock-full of blockbusters,
[02:51.33]from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of
[02:53.54]the Crystal Skull 7 to Sex and the City.
[02:55.83]“Son of Rambow is the poster child for a movie
[02:58.90]that would have worked five years ago
[03:00.73]but fails in today's marketplace.”
[03:03.15]says Mark Gill, a veteran film executive
[03:05.99]who isn't affiliated 8 with the movie.
[03:07.82]“It got great reviews, audiences really liked it,
[03:11.11]it was well-marketed. It had everything going for it,
[03:14.05]and yet it didn't work, because there is such a glut 9
[03:16.95]of movies and a mass of clutter 10 right now that
[03:19.65]nothing can break out in this climate.”
- a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
- a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会
- They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
- He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。
- The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
- He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事,只当它是一种宣传手法。
- I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
- She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤,正在作一个月的牵引治疗。
- He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊,怕他让暴民踩着。
- People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。
- Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽,一屁股坐到椅子上。
- It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地,出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
- He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去,跌裂了颅骨。
- The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
- All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。