美国国家公共电台 NPR--A 2nd 'Downton Abbey' movie is out and there may be more to come

A 2nd 'Downton Abbey' movie is out and there may be more to come

Transcript¹

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to film critic Kenneth Turan, who reviews the new film: Downton Abbey: A New Era.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The last time we saw the Crawley family of "Downton Abbey," there was a visit from the king and queen of England, an attempted assassination³, scandal and romance. Now Downton's doors are open once again.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA")

HUGH BONNEVILLE: (As Robert Grantham) Mr. Barber is a producer and director.

MICHELLE DOCKERY: (As Lady Mary) He wants to make a film at Downton.

JIM CARTER: (As Mr. Carson) A moving picture at Downton?

HUGH DANCY: (As Jack⁴ Barber) Action.

MARTIN: "Downton Abbey: A New Era" takes place in the final years of the Roaring '20s. MORNING EDITION film critic Kenneth Turan is here to talk about it. Hey, Kenny.

KENNETH TURAN, BYLINE⁵: Hey, Rachel. How are you doing?

MARTIN: Oh, I'm well. I'm pretty excited about this. I got to say, though, I don't think a two-hour feature film is going to satisfy my desire for more "Downton Abbey." But OK, if that's all I'm getting, then I'll work with it.

TURAN: (Laughter) Actually, there are rumors⁶ that there's going to be a third one. Julian Fellowes, who's the creator, he said, you know, a trilogy sounds nice to me. So there's a possibility, if this does well at the box office, that there'll be more to come.

MARTIN: OK. I like where you're going with that. So let's get into it. This is a new era at Downton. What's happening in this new chapter?

TURAN: Well, there are two separate stories that happen. No. 1, at Downton itself, a film crew wants to shoot there. And at first, you know, they're very upset. It's very common type of occupation to make its way into Downton. But they need money. The roof is leaking. So the film crew gets the go-ahead. At the same time, the Dowager Countess, played by Maggie Smith - who's, I think, mine and everyone's favorite character...

MARTIN: Totally.

TURAN: ...She has, for some reason, inherited a villa⁷ in the south of France.

MARTIN: Of course she has.

TURAN: Yeah, it's wild. And no one is quite sure why this happened. And so half of the inhabitants of Downton have to go to the south of France to kind of check things out. So it's two parallel stories, and the film cuts back and forth⁸ between both of them.

MARTIN: So you have mentioned that the storyline reminds you of a Hollywood classic.

TURAN: Yes. The storyline - the making of the film is really - I hate to put it this way - but it's lifted from "Singin' In The Rain," in which one of the subplots is that one of the silent actresses - her sound voice is terrible. Right in the middle of shooting, they have to switch from silent to sound. And that's what happened in "Singin' In The Rain," and that's what happens in the movie that is shot at Downton.

MARTIN: I'm very excited about some additions to the cast. Dominic West is going to be in this, who I adored from "The Wire." Very exciting. But as you note, it is always about Maggie Smith. She plays the matriarch, Violet Grantham. What were some of your favorite one-liners from her? Because this is what she does. She just brings the fire.

TURAN: (Laughter) No, it's true. I mean, as much as you look forward to them, they always surprise you. They always get to you. She's so good, that even though you know she's going to do it, she puts you away.

MARTIN: Yeah.

TURAN: And they make a lot of jokes about acting⁹, which is kind of amusing. And she doesn't think acting is a great profession. She says, I'd rather earn my living down the mines.

MARTIN: (Laughter) Wow.

TURAN: You know, no one says these lines like Maggie Smith.

MARTIN: Yeah.

TURAN: No one.

MARTIN: So, I mean, I laid my cards out on the table at the beginning of the conversation. I can never get enough "Downton." But we should acknowledge, there have been six seasons of the show that aired on PBS, now two films. You said there might be more of the Downton story to kind of squeeze out into more.

TURAN: Well, they say there is. I mean, this one - you know, it's really charming to have these people come back. And I counted - there's something like 20 people back from the original cast. It's almost got of "Brigadoon" feeling. You know, it just - all of a sudden, this whole world pops back to life...

MARTIN: Yeah.

TURAN: ...And we get to take part in it. There are great cars. There are great clothes. If you've never heard of "Downton Abbey," this is not the place to start because you won't know what's going on. But if you're a fan, it's a pleasure to see these people again.

MARTIN: MORNING EDITION film critic Kenneth Turan reviewing "Downton Abbey: A New Era." Ken², thank you so much.

TURAN: Oh, thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

3 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

4 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。