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The revival of independent film
獨立電影的復興
Scripts, not effects
劇本是關鍵,資金不成問題
Independent films are at last recovering from the slump
最終,獨立電影走出低谷
THE Toronto film festival, which ends this week, marks the start of the serious-film season.
本周結束的多倫多電影節,標志著嚴肅題材電影季節拉開了帷幕。
Out—at least until Thanksgiving, in late November—go the superhero spectaculars.
依靠超級英雄來博取票房的電影至少要持續播映到十一月末的感恩節。
In come the foreign films and the dining-room dramas.
外國電影和文藝影片將走向舞臺。
The autumn crop is far more prone to failure than the summer one.
可以預計的是秋季票房收入比夏季還要慘淡。
But highbrow films now come with higher hopes.
但高格調電影迎來了更高的期許。
For the past few years the independent film business has resembled a low-budget horror movie.
過去幾年間，獨立電影產業的遭遇堪于一部低成本恐怖電影并論。
Outside financing was brutally killed in 2008, as banks stopped lending.
隨著銀行停止給提供貸款，在2008年，外界融資渠道也中斷了。
Three of the six major studios axed subsidiaries that had specialised in buying independent films.
六大電影工作室中的三個停止了之前專門購買獨立電影的子公司。
Consumers struck another blow by switching from buying DVDs to renting them.
消費者接著又補上一記重拳，他們開始租賃光碟而不再購買DVD了。
Yet sales at film festivals this year have been brisk.
然而，今年各個電影節的影片銷售卻一路高歌猛進。
New buyers such as CBS Films and Open Road Films have emerged to replace the departed studios.
新的買家如CBS和Open Road Films公司開始取代離開此領域的工作室。
The larger independent outfits have steadied.
更大規模的獨立攝制組運作也趨于平穩。
The Weinstein Company, which almost collapsed two years ago, is basking in the success of “The King's Speech.
兩年前處于破產邊緣的韋恩斯坦公司，依靠著國王的演講，咸魚翻身。
Lionsgate has shaken off an activist investor, Carl Icahn, who had argued it should get out of film production.
獅門公司擺脫了它那位激進的投資商卡爾?伊坎,他曾主張獅門公司應該關閉其電影業務。
Summit Entertainment, maker of the popular “Twilight films, closed a large financing deal in March.
暮色系列電影的制造商，頂峰娛樂公司在三月拒絕了一筆數額巨大的收購提議，決定不出售公司。
It helps that films have become cheaper to make.
電影制作成本的下降對獨立電影業的發展有著推波助瀾的效果。
Actors' salaries remain depressed,
演員們的薪水依然不高，
and indies have become expert at exploiting competition between states and countries, which lavish subsidies on them.
各獨立電影制作公司精于利用州與州，國與國之間的競爭關系，從中獲取慷慨的補助。
Most important, says Morris Ruskin, the head of Shoreline Entertainment,
海岸娛樂的老板 莫里斯.若斯金表示，
a glut of films commissioned in the era of loose credit has at last worked its way through the pipeline.
最重要的是，信貸寬松時期充斥著被委托制作的電影，如今終于熬出頭了。
“We've gone from a market that was saturated with films to a market that is hungry for them, he says.
他談到：“那個供應飽和的市場已經遠去，現在市場對電影變得趨之若鶩。
The post-financial-crisis independent film business is both more independent and more focused on film than before.
后金融危機的獨立電影業較之以往,即更為獨立，也更注重電影本身。
The three major studios that got out of indie films—Disney,
退出獨立電影行列的三大電影工作室—迪斯尼、派
Paramount and Warner Bros—have not returned and are concentrating on a few expensive blockbusters.
拉蒙和華納兄弟——并沒有重返獨立電影業，而是將重心放在了花費高昂的大成本影片當中。
And the collapse of DVD sales means it is more important to drive people to cinemas. Richard Abramowitz,
光盤銷售業的凋零使得把觀眾請到電影院變得尤為重要。
who is distributing the racing film “Senna in America, says the spread of Blu-ray cinema projectors has cut costs dramatically.
正在負責賽車題材電影塞納營銷工作的理查德?阿布拉莫威茨談到,藍光播放器的普及使得其制造成本大大降低了。
The business is more international, too.
獨立電影業也更趨于國際化。
Roman Polanski's latest film, “Carnage,
羅曼波蘭斯基的最新力作殺戮
was financed by Europeans,
由歐洲電影公司投資。
with American distribution added almost as an after-thought.
美國的發行商隨后也加入進來，雖然有馬后炮的嫌疑。
Total sales of cinema tickets fell slightly in America last year.
去年，美國電影的總票房收入略有下降。
But they were up in Europe, and soared in Russia.
但在歐洲電影票房喜人，在俄羅斯則稱的上是一路飆升。
Talky dramas are harder to export than cartoons or action flicks, which is partly why the major studios now concentrate on such things.
對話比重多的電影比卡通片和動作片出口要困難,這部分說明了為何現在大的電影巨頭把后兩者視為重心。
But independent horror films sometimes travel well.
但獨立電影業出品的恐怖電影有時在海外票房堪佳。
It is still a harsh business.
電影業的競爭依舊激勵。
No fewer than 3,812 full-length movies were submitted to the 2011 Sundance film festival.
多達3812部長篇電影提交參審2011年的圣丹斯電影節。
Yet only 550 films open in American cinemas each year, and most lose money.
然而美國影院每年放映影片的數量卻只有550部，大部分電影的投資打了水漂。
The business runs on hope.
獨立電影業前景看好,發展顯著。
But there is, finally, enough money to keep the projectors running.
但說到底，是足夠的資金支持著拍攝項目的運作。
