好莱坞2017年票房最高的十部电影都是续集或翻拍，原创乏力？为何乏力？中国国内有剧作新版老版之争，好莱坞也一样。不过，山姆大叔，不能光吃老本，得拿出点新东西出来。
好莱坞遭遇“剧本荒”，或将继续走翻拍路线
译者：武守晗
校对：刘 蕊
策划：刘 璠
Film remakes that should stay on the storyboard
电影翻拍，应当立足于情节
本文选自 The Economist
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When modernity mucks things up
当现代性把事情搞砸了
ORIGINALITY is hardly the
hallmark
of today’s film industry. The biggest film of 2017 at the American box office is a remake of “Beauty and the Beast”; it will be surpassed by “The Last Jedi”, which opens this week and is the squillionth episode of the Star Wars saga. The ten highest-grossing films in Hollywood this year are all sequels or remakes.
“原创”不再是当今电影业的
标志
。截至目前2017年美国票房最高的电影是翻拍的电影《美女与野兽》，但这周上映的《最后的绝地武士》的票房预计将超过《美女与野兽》（译者注：《最后的绝地武士》中国大陆上映时间为2018年1月5日），该电影属于漫长的传奇系列《星球大战》。今年好莱坞票房最高的十部电影都是续集或翻拍。
hallmark
/ ˈhɔːlmɑːk; ˋhɔlˏmɑrk/ distinctive feature, esp ofexcellence 特点, 特徵（尤指优良事物所具有者）
As the film industry struggles to reverse a decline in box-office receipts, it will keep returning to the comfort of the familiar.
Franchises
like Star Wars will steamroller on. Remakes are trickier. Well over 100 are thought to be in the works, from “Private Benjamin” to “Fantastic Voyage”. Some will get a 2018 twist: the mark in “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”, a 1980s comedy about two con artists, is a tech billionaire. But not all. The following projects are rumoured to be under way in Hollywood. They suggest that remakes have their limits.
由于电影行业正在努力扭转票房收入的下滑趋势，电影行业将不断回归到熟悉的“舒适域”。 像《星球大战》这样形成
“品牌效应”
的系列电影将会卷土重来。翻拍将更加棘手。从《傻妹从军》到《神奇旅程》，100多项电影作品正在拍摄制作中。一些明年上映的电影还将有较大的改动，但不是所有的都是如此：《骗徒臭事多》是20世纪80年代有关两名骗子的喜剧电影，其翻拍电影中的标志则是一位科技亿万富翁。但不是所有的都是如此，据传好莱坞正在翻拍下列电影，这些电影说明翻拍还是有一定局限性。
franchise
s
/ ˈfræntʃaɪz; ˋfræntʃaɪz/ formal permission to sell a company's goods or services in a particular area （正式授予在某地区销售某某公司的货物或经营某业务的）特权, 特许
Taxi Driver.
A disturbed man called Travis is forced to become an Uber driver after losing his job. As he becomes increasingly embittered about the world, his thoughts turn to violence. But passengers notice his surly attitude and when his driver ratings fall below 4.6, he is deactivated from Uber.
《出租车司机》
心神不安的特拉维斯在失业后被迫成为优步司机。随着他对世界越来越怨恨，他的思想也转向暴力。但乘客注意到他的恶劣态度，当他的评分降到4.6以下时，他被优步解雇。
Sleepless in Seatt
l
e
.
Annie is drawn to the voice of Sam, a widower, as he talks movingly on a podcast about whether he can ever love another woman. On an impulse, she decides to write him a letter asking him to meet at the top of the Empire State Building in New York. By the time the letter arrives, Sam has downloaded Tinder and is much happier with his lot.
《西雅图未眠夜》
丧妻的山姆在播客中动情地谈到他能否再爱上别人，安妮被他的声音所吸引，一时冲动下她决定给他写信并要求在纽约帝国大厦顶层见面。当信到达山姆手中的时候，山姆已经下载了软件Tinder（译者注：一款手机社交软件，双方只有互相表示感兴趣才能开始聊天。），并且和他的好友聊得很欢乐。
Footloose.
Ren, a new arrival in a sleepy rural town, is appalled to find that dancing and rock music have both been banned by the local preacher. But the reactionary cleric has not reckoned on the invention of wireless headphones, which enable Ren to put on the best darned silent disco in the Midwest.
《浑身是劲》
沉寂的乡村小镇新来了一位陌生人Ren，他发现舞蹈和摇滚音乐都被当地传教士禁止，这让他感到震惊。但是反动神职人员并没有料到无线耳机的发明，这使得Ren上演了中西部最好的震惊整个小镇的“沉默”迪斯科。
Executive Decision.
A group of terrorists hatch a plot to hijack an airliner. But the flight is overbooked. When they refuse to leave their carefully chosen seats, two of their number are beaten to a pulp by United flight attendants. The other terrorists stay on board but are too cowed to do anything.
《最高危机》
一群恐怖分子策划阴谋准备劫持一架客机。但航班超员预定。恐怖分子拒绝离开他们精心挑选的座位，结果其中两人被美联航职员一顿暴打。其他恐怖分子坐在自己的位置上战战兢兢不敢动弹。
Wall Street: Regulators Never Sleep.
The hard-charging boss of a big American bank has plans to shovel credit at people who are barely able to scrape together a living. But when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau comes calling, he quickly backs down. Chastened, he focuses instead on getting through the Federal Reserve’s annual stress tests.
《华尔街：金钱永不眠》
一家美国大银行的高管老板正计划面向勉强果腹的人征收信贷。 但是当消费者金融保护局来的时候，他很快就退缩了。经过反省，他转而专注于如何通过美联储的年度压力测试。
Psycho.
Marion Crane is searching for somewhere to stay and spots a place called the Bates Motel. Before going in, Marion decides to look up the motel on TripAdvisor and sees that several guests have warned about the state of the showers. She opts for a Marriott Courtyard instead.
《惊魂记》
马里昂·克雷恩正在寻找住宿地点，最终找到一家贝茨汽车旅馆。进入这家旅馆前，马里昂决定在猫途鹰网站上查找这家汽车旅馆，他看到几位旅客已经在评论中警告了淋浴的状态。她最后选择了万豪酒店。
Taken.
A retired CIA agent’s daughter is kidnapped by sex traffickers while sightseeing in Europe. He uses the “Find My iPhone” app to track them down and then calls in the cops.
《飓风营救》
一名已退休的中央情报局特工的女儿在欧洲旅游时被性贩子绑架。这名前特工使用“查找我的iPhone”程序追踪到他们，随后报警。
Brewster’s Millions.
Monty Brewster has to spend $30m in 30 days, without accruing any assets, to inherit a fortune of $300m. He puts all of it into bitcoin. With one day left, his stake has spiralled to over $30bn. Fortunately, his bitcoin wallet is hacked just before the deadline and his inheritance is secured.
《酿酒师的百万横财》
