【卫报】借势《权力的游戏》，取景地变成金矿

借势《权力的游戏》

“黑暗树篱”成金矿

译者：徐嘉茵 & 赵萌萌

校对：邵海灵

策划：邹世昌

Hedge funds: Game of Thrones location spurs rise of business empire

商业帝国崛起于《权力的游戏》取景地

本文选自 The Guardian | 取经号原创翻译

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Entrepreneur buys Dark Hedges hotel, golf resort and trademark as Northern Ireland cashes in on TV show’s legacy.

随着《权力的游戏》声名大噪，北爱尔兰也趁热打铁，把这部电视剧的影响力兑换成了真金白银 —— 如今， 黑暗树篱 的酒店、高尔夫度假村和商标都已被企业家购入囊中。

When Stephen Gray noticed a dozen Game of Thrones fans, wearing helmets with torches, making their way in the darkness of a winter’s night along the road known as the Dark Hedges, the Northern Irish entrepreneur knew he had to buy the hotel and golf resort at its end.

一个漆黑的冬夜里， 史蒂芬·格雷 看到十几个 《权力的游戏》 的粉丝们身穿盔甲，手持火把，行进在黑暗树篱大道上。这位北爱尔兰的企业家当即意识到，买下大道尽头的酒店和高尔夫度假村，已经势在必行了。

Gray was driving along the Dark Hedges, so-called because of the tangle of branches formed by the avenue of beech trees near Ballymoney, County Antrim , in late 2014 when he had the lightbulb moment.

萌生这个念头是在2014年底，当时格雷正开车行驶在 安特里姆郡巴利莫尼小镇 附近的黑暗树篱大道上。这条大道之所以叫黑暗树篱，是因为它两侧的山毛榉树枝桠交错，遮天蔽日，在大道上方连成了一座拱形的隧道。

After standing in for the Kingsroad on the hit HBO show, the public road, originally planted with 150 beech trees as the entrance to the Gracehill House country estate in the 18th century, has become a global tourist magnet.

在这部大热的HBO美剧中，这条公路叫做国王大道，其两侧150棵山毛榉树，原本是十八世纪作为 Gracehill House 的田庄入口而种下的，如今这条林荫道已经成为了全球知名的旅游胜地。

“That was the moment when I knew this hotel and the ground around had the potential to be part of this globalised product,” Gray said. “If people were prepared to come on to this road at 11.30pm on a cold, dark winter night just to say they were on the Kingsroad, then they would come any time, throughout the year, any season. It was a no-brainer.”

“就是那一刻，我知道，这个酒店跟周围一带也有这个潜力火遍全球。”格雷说，“大冬天的，又黑又冷，如果晚上十一点半还有人愿意来这里，只是为了跟人讲他们在国王大道上，那他们肯定任何时候、任何季节、一年里的任何一天都会来。这你不动脑子也能看出来。”

Gray and his Belfast-based business partner Jonathan Gwynn bought the Gracehill House estate in early 2015 and have invested £5m revamping the house itself, the nearby hotel – named The Hedges – and golf course and surrounding grounds, set in 270 acres of Ulster countryside.

2015年初，格雷和他在贝尔法斯特的商业伙伴乔纳森·格温买下了Gracehill的田庄，又花了500万英镑翻修这座别墅和旁边的酒店 —— 名为树篱酒店 —— 以及高尔夫球场和周围的地方，占地270英亩。

He has also bought the Dark Hedges trademark to cash in on Game of Thrones tourism. It is stamped on everything in the Gracehill House complex from Dark Hedges coffee to cider, vodka and gin.

为了在《权力的游戏》掀起的这场旅游热潮中捞到一桶金，他也买下了黑暗树篱这个商标。从黑暗树篱咖啡，到苹果酒、伏特加和琴酒，在Gracehill的别墅里，这个商标无处不在。

The investment has increased the workforce, from 15 when Gray bought the hotel to 46 today. He is one of a number of Northern Ireland investors and business people hoping to exploit some of the most famous sites where Game of Thrones has been shot since its production located in the region seven years ago.

这项投资还使酒店人手从格雷刚买下时的15人增至了现在的46人。除了格雷以外，还有其他很多北爱尔兰的投资者与商业人士希望开发这些著名景点。七年前，《权力的游戏》就是在这里拍摄制作的。

As Game of Thrones tourists from Spain, the US, France and the Irish Republic grouped around the beech trees for photographs on a rainswept summer morning, Gray said he had further plans to exploit the popularity of the show.

来自西班牙、美国、法国和爱尔兰共和国的《权力的游戏》剧迷们纷至沓来，只为拍摄一张黑暗树篱在雨后清晨的照片。格雷表示，对于利用该剧知名度来开发景点，他还有更进一步的计划。

“We are in negotiations with a local helicopter firm to build a helipad out the back in order to fly ... tourists anywhere in Northern Ireland where the series was filmed,” he said.

“我们正在与当地一家直升机公司协商，在后面的空地建造机场，搭载游客去《权力的游戏》在北爱的所有取景地观光，”他说道。

However, as Gray dodged the lines of cars, coaches and minibuses barrelling down the Dark Hedges, he admitted the tourism rush has brought new headaches.

然而，格雷承认这股旅游热已经带来了新的难题，他得不时躲过黑暗树篱大道上呼啸而过的汽车、公车和面包车。

“As you can see the traffic is a problem and we need to make the Dark Hedges a vehicle-free route in order to preserve it for the future,” he said. “That means creating a new road that will divert vehicles away to our car park where we will have plenty of room. It’s absolutely vital we get that new road and take the traffic away from the Dark Hedges.”

“你们也看到了，交通是一个问题，我们得禁止车辆在黑暗树篱通行，这样才能把大道保护好， 留着以后继续开发。 ”格雷说，“就是说，我们得再开一条路，把车辆分流到停车场，那里的地方足够大。修一条新路，什么车都不要在黑暗树篱的道上开，这是最最重要的。”

Northern Ireland Screen , which helps fund the filming of Game of Thrones at Titanic Studios in Belfast’s docklands and at various locations around the region, has estimated that the fantasy drama pumped £150m into the local economy up to 2016.

北爱尔兰影视局 资助了《权力的游戏》在贝尔法斯特港区泰坦尼克工作室和周围多个取景地的拍摄。该局估计，到2016年为止，这部奇幻史诗巨作已经为当地经济带来了高达1.5亿英镑的收益。

But a Northern Ireland economist who has studied the economic impact of Game of Thrones on Northern Ireland and various cultural projects across the world has warned that the series’ legacy “has to be managed properly” to maintain the benefits for the local economy.

然而，一位北爱尔兰的经济学家警告说，该剧的后续效应“必须受到合理的管制”，以维护当地的经济利益。这位经济学家曾研究过《权力的游戏》对北爱尔兰乃至全世界各类文化项目所产生的经济影响。