美国国家公共电台 NPR The 'Wrinkle In Time' Movie Began As A Fifth-Grader's Dream

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

I have this distant memory of one of the places where I read "A Wrinkle In Time." It was an elementary school desk toward the left side of the classroom, I think near the window. Of course, the action in the novel happened in no particular place. The characters travel across time and space, an adventure entirely¹ in the mind.

So how do you choose real-world places to shoot the scenes of "A Wrinkle In Time" for a movie? The cast and crew of the upcoming film traveled to the mountains of New Zealand and a sequoia² forest in Northern California and made elaborate sets on a sound stage in Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, which is where NPR's Mandalit del Barco went to see the filming.

MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE³: Director Ava DuVernay stands behind the camera for an action sequence leading up to the climax⁴ of the sci-fi fantasy movie.

AVA DUVERNAY: Ready. And action.

DEL BARCO: The actors run through a complicated production set meant to be a passageway to a dark place in the universe. They use something called a tesseract, which allows for travel through time and space. When DuVernay became the first African-American woman to direct a movie with a budget more than $100 million, it was her job to help create new worlds. That included hiring a diverse cast and crew.

DUVERNAY: We're standing⁵ here on the set of "A Wrinkle In Time." And as I look out talking to you, I'm proud of what this crew looks like. It looks like the real world, different kinds of people - colors, creeds⁶, cultures of people. I cast with what came to my imagination, what came to my heart.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A WRINKLE IN TIME (2018)")

OPRAH WINFREY: (As Mrs. Whatsit) Close your eyes. See with mine.

DEL BARCO: DuVernay imagined the hero of the story, Meg Murry, as a biracial teen with curly hair and glasses. Meg leaves her home, which was filmed in DuVernay's hometown, Compton, to travel across dimensions and planets in search of her scientist father who has mysteriously disappeared.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A WRINKLE IN TIME (2018)")

STORM REID: (As Meg Murry) He believes that we can travel the universe instantaneously.

LEVI MILLER⁷: (As Calvin O'Keefe) So you fold space?

REID: (As Meg Murry) More like you wrinkle it.

DEL BARCO: Meg is played by 14-year-old Storm Reid, who made her debut⁸ in the Oscar-winning film "12 Years A Slave." On set, she explains her character in this story.

REID: Meg is a lost teenager trying to find herself. And she's just getting in a lot of trouble. She is worried about her dad, not knowing if her dad really did get lost in the universe or left her.

DEL BARCO: Meg's father is portrayed⁹ by Chris Pine, the blue-eyed, blonde actor who played "Star Trek's" Captain Kirk and Wonder Woman's boyfriend. In her search, Meg goes on an interplanetary adventure with her precocious¹⁰ little brother and her friend. They're guided by three mysterious celestial¹¹ beings - Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, played by Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling and Oprah Winfrey.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A WRINKLE IN TIME (2018)")

WINFREY: (As Mrs. Which) Be a warrior¹².

DEL BARCO: To get to the origin of this film, you have to wrinkle time back to the 1960s. It was a dark and stormy night, Madeleine L'Engle wrote in the first line to her novel "A Wrinkle in Time." She was rejected by dozens of publishers who said the themes were too complicated for kids. But Farrar, Straus and Giroux took a chance publishing the sci-fi book with a rare young female hero.

The book won a prestigious¹³ Newbery Award for children's literature. And it caught the imagination of a Los Angeles fifth-grader named Catherine Hand. She says she'd been sent to her school library for talking too much in class.

CATHERINE HAND: And this librarian comes over to me and says, I have a book I think that you would like. It's about a little girl just like you.

DEL BARCO: Hand says that night, she sat down with the book. The Santa Ana winds were blowing through the open window of her bedroom.

HAND: It was a dark and stormy night.

And I read the book. I loved it. And I started a letter to Walt Disney to tell him about this book and have me star as Meg. And I was a little shy in sending him the letter. So I kind of put it to the side. And then about a year later, he died. And I knew of nobody who made movies for children other than Walt Disney. So I made a promise to myself that I would grow up and make the movie.

DEL BARCO: Fast-forward through time and space to 1979. Catherine Hand is now in her 20s and is an executive assistant to writer-producer Norman Lear, creator of hit TV shows such as "All In The Family" and "The Jeffersons." Hand says she convinced him to ask for the movie rights to her favorite book. So she meets up with Madeleine L'Engle at the restaurant on top of the World Trade Center.

HAND: I was so nervous. She had been the goddess in my life. She had, like, painted the picture of the universe that was so real to me. And we're sitting at lunch. And she leans over and she says, you know, there really is such a thing as a tesseract.

DEL BARCO: L'Engle gave her blessing¹⁴ and the movie rights to Lear's company, whose first choice as director, Stanley Kubrick, passed on the project.

HAND: And I went through many, many different writers, many different screenplays. I worked on it for about 10 years with Norman. And then his option was up. By that time, I had become extremely close to Madeleine. So basically, she said - OK, well, you go set it up someplace else. And, you know, I won't sign anything unless you're the producer.

DEL BARCO: Hand went on to become vice¹⁵ president of Embassy Pictures and development director for Francis Ford¹⁶ Coppola's American Zoetrope. She also worked in politics, helping¹⁷ launch the liberal advocacy group People For the American Way. And for decades, she continued to pursue "A Wrinkle In Time" as a movie. Finally, in 2003, Hand executive produced a made-for-TV version by Miramax and ABC Films. It featured Alfre Woodard as Mrs. Whatsit.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A WRINKLE IN TIME (2003)")

ALFRE WOODARD: (As Mrs. Whatsit) The last step of any journey may be the first step of an even greater adventure.

DEL BARCO: But Hand says she and L'Engle, who died in 2007, felt that movie fell flat.

HAND: She was disappointed with that, and so was I. We had so many constraints¹⁸, and the No. 1 was budget.

DEL BARCO: Fifty-four years after she first read the book, Hand is now one of the producers for Disney's new $100 million film.

HAND: It's a very emotional story. It's about what is good, what is evil, what is family, what is love - amidst a cosmic backdrop of a grand adventure. You know, I used to say it was a cross between "The Wizard Of Oz" and "Star Wars."

DEL BARCO: Back on set, director Ava DuVernay agrees that L'Engle had a lot to say about society.

DUVERNAY: You know, the battle of light and dark. The moral battles that are happening with the characters in the film certainly figure into what folks might be thinking about right now politically, culturally, economically. It existed for the author at the time that she wrote it. And certainly, we haven't combated those issues now. So this material still resonates today.

DEL BARCO: Over the years, some people have objected to the book's themes. "A Wrinkle In Time" remains¹⁹ one of the most frequently banned American books.

DUVERNAY: This book is awesome²⁰. It was a banned book. That's my favorite thing. It's like on the top 10 banned book list. And that just makes me say, yes - let's do it.

DEL BARCO: DuVernay says this is the right moment to tell a story about fighting darkness with light. Mandalit del Barco, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FLOWER OF THE UNIVERSE")

SADE: (Singing) They come to see the fire burning...

1 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

2 sequoia   

n.红杉

参考例句：

• The sequoia national forest is at the southern end of the sierra nevada range.红杉国家公园位于内华达山脉南端尽头处。
• The photo shows the enormous general Sherman tree in California's sequoia national park.照片显示的是加利福尼亚州红杉国家公园内巨大的谢尔曼将军树。

3 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。

4 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

5 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。

6 creeds   

（尤指宗教）信条，教条( creed的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• people of all races, colours and creeds 各种种族、肤色和宗教信仰的人
• Catholics are agnostic to the Protestant creeds. 天主教徒对于新教教义来说，是不可知论者。

7 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

8 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

9 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 precocious   

adj.早熟的；较早显出的

参考例句：

• They become precocious experts in tragedy.他们成了一批思想早熟、善写悲剧的能手。
• Margaret was always a precocious child.玛格丽特一直是个早熟的孩子。

11 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

12 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

13 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

14 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

15 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

16 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

19 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

20 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.