美国国家公共电台 NPR As John DeLorean, Alec Baldwin Revisits The Past Of A Car Made For The Future

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The signature car made by John DeLorean did not last as a consumer product, but it survives as the time machine from the 1980s movie "Back To The Future."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "BACK TO THE FUTURE")

MICHAEL J FOX: (As Marty McFly) Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Doc, are you telling me that you built a time machine out of a DeLorean?

CHRISTOPHER LLOYD: (As Dr. Emmett Brown) The way I see it, if you're going to build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style? Besides, the stainless-steel construction made the flux¹ dispersal - look out.

(SOUNDBITE OF CRASH)

INSKEEP: Even when it wasn't made into a time machine, the DeLorean was an unmistakable sports car with doors that flapped upward to open like wings. It was named for the man who tried to start his own auto² company, John DeLorean, who had been a creative rule-breaking executive at General Motors. He'd been credited with creating a popular sports car, the Pontiac GTO. And it was when he was forced out of GM that he founded the DeLorean Motor Company.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FRAMING JOHN DELOREAN")

ALEC BALDWIN: (As John DeLorean) Allow me to introduce the first incarnation in the evolution of my dream - our first vehicle, code-named the DMC-12, the DeLorean motor car.

(APPLAUSE)

INSKEEP: OK, we're hearing an actor playing John DeLorean - Alec Baldwin, who stars in "Framing John DeLorean." This movie is essentially³ a documentary but with key, private scenes reenacted about DeLorean's rise and fall. And there was a fall - DeLorean based his company in war-torn Northern Ireland because he could be paid a subsidy⁴, and when the subsidy dried up, he went looking for other sources of cash. Federal agents arrested DeLorean for a scheme to sell drugs; he said he was entrapped⁵ and beat the charge. Alec Baldwin says DeLorean's complicated history is what drew him to this role.

BALDWIN: You can play someone who was a completely just negative value in a script, some villain⁶ or something, and you think, well, I want to do that in the service of a great story. And then, there's times you do something like this and the issue becomes, what are all the layers of John? I didn't want to just play John if he was somebody who defrauded⁷ the British government or someone who tried to, you know, sell cocaine⁸ to cover his tracks, financially. I really felt that John was somebody who is a tragic⁹ figure.

He really was an immensely talented guy. He had an enormously successful career at GM. He could have stayed that course and probably run the company. But John just had a contrarian streak¹⁰ in him. And his ego¹¹, as well - he just found it very difficult to work for other people. And so when I look at a part like that, I think there's got to be something good there; there's got to be something constructive¹² or positive there, or I don't really think I want to put myself through that.

INSKEEP: Sure, you find him to be what, then - a great salesman, a great visionary? What was he that was positive?

BALDWIN: You know, words like visionary, he was part that. He was very smart. He was very shrewd. He was very manipulative. His wife - I spoke¹³ to Cristina very briefly¹⁴. And she had not wanted to speak to people, really, that much involved with the film, but she was very kind and got on the phone with me. And she said John literally¹⁵ could walk into a room and talk anybody into anything.

INSKEEP: There is a scene where you're playing John DeLorean, and your character is selling his wife on a move to another country, where he wants to set up an auto factory. Let's listen to a little bit of that.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FRAMING JOHN DELOREAN")

BALDWIN: (As John DeLorean) Eventually, the car will get built, but right now I'm trying to build a brand.

MORENA BACCARIN: (As Cristina) Well, it concerns me where we're going to raise the children.

BALDWIN: (As John DeLorean) Wherever we set up shop, we won't have to spend much time there. All that matters is which government gives us the most money.

BACCARIN: (As Cristina) Well, it matters to me, and it matters to the kids.

BALDWIN: (As John DeLorean) Don't worry; it's going to be great for all of us. Trust me.

Well, I mean, I love how - I mean, for him to look at his wife and say trust me at the end of the scene is everything because John did a lot of that. John got people to do things they never do. But I think at the same time, he loved his wife, and he loved his kids, and he really was a great father. But his ambition drove him to a point, and he was backed into a corner, and then he started to do really, really terrible things. And he should have stopped, but he didn't, and then all the wheels fell off - no pun intended.

INSKEEP: Did you ever drive a DeLorean yourself?

BALDWIN: (Laughter) I did to prepare for the film, and it was, like, a kooky car. Your body is almost like you're laying down, like on a chaise or something. You know, you're really reclined, and your feet are out in front of you. And it's - that's not my favorite position to drive. I don't like to drive lying down, shall we say. I like to drive sitting up (laughter). But listen - stylistically, the car's a beautiful car; it was ahead of its time. To me, the important thing is what might have been. Whether DMC worked or not, I think John could have played an important part in American automobile¹⁶ manufacturing, until all this went wrong.

And it's kind of a warning to Elon Musk¹⁷, a cautionary tale, in terms of, just do one thing well, you know, just make the car. Musk apparently¹⁸ wants to open up dry cleaners on the moon. I don't know what he wants to do.

INSKEEP: We're talking, of course, about the founder¹⁹ of Tesla and also of SpaceX and various other...

BALDWIN: Yeah. Right. I'm of the school where you should just try to do one thing well.

INSKEEP: Did you ever meet John DeLorean?

BALDWIN: In the early '90s, DeLorean himself called me. He said, Alec, it's John DeLorean here, and I was wondering if you'd consider playing me in a part in a movie they're going to make about my life. And the film - there were a couple of them at the time. They all unraveled, and none of them were made.

INSKEEP: Did you come away with any particular impression of him? Did he sell you well, for example? Was he a good salesman?

BALDWIN: (Laughter) Well, I can honestly say, I think if that phone call was at all an indication of how John operated, then part of John's success was he asked people to do something that they were predisposed to do. He said to me, you want to play me in a movie, don't you? And I'm like, well, yes, I do, actually. So John kind of knew people very, very well.

INSKEEP: Very early in the film, you note that from John DeLorean's perspective, he wasn't a criminal; he was a hero. In what way did he believe he was a hero?

BALDWIN: It's like a Robin²⁰ Hood²¹ complex - by the letter of the law, what I'm doing is wrong, but by the spirit, what I'm doing is benevolent²². I admired some things about him, and I was, you know, obviously turned off by some things about him. What I do for a living, like other people in my businesses, is were expected to look at people very closely and understand why they do what they do. And sometimes people do horrible things, or they do criminal things. They hurt other people, and they create a lot of wreckage²³ in their path. But their intention is a good one, initially²⁴, and then things just become perverted²⁵, and I think that's the case with John.

INSKEEP: Alec Baldwin, it's a pleasure talking with you.

BALDWIN: Thank you, Steve.

(SOUNDBITE OF MASERATI'S "THIEVES")

1 flux   

n.流动；不断的改变

参考例句：

• The market is in a constant state of flux.市场行情在不断变化。
• In most reactors,there is a significant flux of fast neutrons.在大部分反应堆中都有一定强度的快中子流。

2 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

4 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

5 entrapped   

v.使陷入圈套，使入陷阱( entrap的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was entrapped into undertaking the work. 他受骗而担任那工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt he had been entrapped into marrying her. 他觉得和她结婚是上了当。 来自辞典例句

6 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

7 defrauded   

v.诈取，骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He defrauded his employers of thousands of dollars. 他诈取了他的雇主一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He defrauded them of their money. 他骗走了他们的钱。 来自辞典例句

8 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

9 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

10 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

11 ego   

n.自我，自己，自尊

参考例句：

• He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
• She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。

12 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

15 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

16 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

17 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

18 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

19 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

20 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

21 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

22 benevolent   

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
• He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

23 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

24 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

25 perverted   

adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落

参考例句：

• Some scientific discoveries have been perverted to create weapons of destruction. 某些科学发明被滥用来生产毁灭性武器。
• sexual acts, normal and perverted 正常的和变态的性行为