NPR 08-24:Martial-Arts Masters Meet in 'Forbidden Kingdom' 两

Jackie Chan and Jet Li meet on-screen for the first time in a movie being shot in the Chinese film enclave dubbed¹ "Chinawood."

From NPR news, this is All Things Considered. And I’m Michele Norris. And I’m Robert Siegel.

We learned about Hengdian or Chinawood on the program yesterday. It's the largest film studios in the world. Today, NPR’s Louisa Lim reports on what it’s like to work there, from the perspective of two of china’s top film stars. And she assures us Kong fu fans will not be disappointed.

This is a really surreal feeling. I’m standing³ inside a life size replica⁴ of a Tsing dynasty palace---Supposedly home to China's emperors two thousand years ago. I can hear the drums of war in the background. I’m surrounded by perspiring⁵ extras dressed as Tsing Dynasty soldiers and heavy armor. And to my left is a group of nobles wearing grey flowing robes with their hair in topknots.

And I’m just standing by the set of the long-awaited martial⁶ arts film starring those two giants of Kung fu Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

We are making a movie that is a celebration of Chinese history, Chinese popular culture, Chinese cinema and Chinese mythology⁷.

American producer Casey Silver at a rain-soaked press conference introducing The Forbidden Kingdom--an 80 million dollar movie. Director Rob Minkoff who's most famous for The Lion King weights up the pros⁸ and cons² of working in Hengdian studios.

There is a tremendous experience and talent available to do many of the things necessary to create a film obviously, hundreds and hundreds people are required to do everything you know from building the sets. So many many skills, many craftsmen⁹ are used and so all of that was available to us here. The only disadvantage I can think of about Hengdian is that there's no Starbucks.

Despite the lack of coffee and the ever-present fans and photographers, the film star Jackie Chan is clear about the attractions of shooting in China. His thoughts can be pretty much summed up by it's the economy stupid.

This's why American production they have to move the whole production in china, for right now for the future they will do the same thing. Why? Because you spend 80 million in China, compared to US, you have to spend like 200 million. So that’s the difference.

And in the high-octane world of Kung fu , China has other attractions. There’s no security captain on-site monitoring the safety of the fight scenes. That makes things easier. Says Jackie Chan who does most of his own stunts¹⁰ no matter how risky¹¹. His fighting technique and temperament¹² differ famously from his co-star Jet Li. And this movie marks their first on-screen encounter. We've wanted to work together for more than 15 years. if we don’t work together soon, our combined age will hit a hundred years old. The clock's certainly ticking for these grand old masters of Kung fu , their combined total is already 97 years old.

Jet Li is a former national martial arts champion, famous for his classical technique, his speed, his reserved character and his killer¹³ instinct. He is universally known on set as The Boss. While Jackie Chan’s nickname is Big Brother. So how is the chemistry between the Boss and the Big Brother?

Very interesting, all day long Jackie talks about fighting, fighting, fighting. I talk about everything but fighting. Jackie Chan’s trademark¹⁴ is his ingenious improvisational¹⁵ use of props¹⁶, his acrobatics¹⁷, his sense of humor and his open nature. He says it’s been decades since he's fought like he does on-screen with Jet Li.

Fighting with Jet Li is incredible fast, it’s so fast that everybody on set complains, that was too fast, can you do it again a bit more slowly.

With its martial arts magic and Chinese stars, this film's aim is to bring Chinese culture to Hollywood. Yet the bosses of this Chinese Tinseltown are actually hoping for the opposite. That this movie will bring Hollywood all the way to the studios at Hengdian.

Louisa Lim, NPR news.npr.org.

1 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

5 perspiring   

v.出汗，流汗( perspire的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He had been working hard and was perspiring profusely. 他一直在努力干活，身上大汗淋漓的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• So they "went it lively," panting and perspiring with the work. 于是他们就“痛痛快快地比一比”了，结果比得两个人气喘吁吁、汗流浃背。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

6 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

7 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

8 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

10 stunts   

n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He did all his own stunts. 所有特技都是他自己演的。
• The plane did a few stunts before landing. 飞机着陆前做了一些特技。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

12 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

13 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

14 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

15 improvisational   

adj. 即兴的

参考例句：

• I have never been at games like charades or improvisational acting. 您从来都唔擅长玩“有口难言”或者“即席表演”之类既游戏。
• I'm practicing self-control, those random and improvisational acts aren't allowed. 我在练习控制自己，那些随意的、即兴的举动是不允许的。

16 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

17 acrobatics   

n.杂技

参考例句：

• Acrobatics is hard to learn but beautiful to watch.杂技不好学，但很好看。
• We watched a performance which included a puppet show and acrobatics.我们观看了一场演出，内容有木偶和杂技。