VOA慢速英语--好莱坞电影公司推中国元素疯狂捞金

Hollywood Studios Chase Chinese Audiences 好莱坞电影公司推中国元素疯狂捞金

American filmmakers are actively¹ luring² Chinese movie fans to the cinema with more Chinese plots and characters.

The motion picture, Kung Fu Panda 3, is a prime example of Hollywood trying to attract more Chinese movie ticket buyers.

Hollywood understands that China is the second-largest movie market in the world. The country will become the biggest movie market within a year when it overtakes the United States. Last year, cinema ticket sales in China added up to $6.6 billion.

The American motion picture community has developed strategies to play a larger role in film-making and distribution in China.

Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst³ said, “A lot of [movie] studios … in the entertainment business are trying to align⁴ themselves with China. Everyone’s trying to scramble⁵ and trying to figure out how best to partner with China because it’s so important as a movie market.”

The premiere date for Kung Fu Panda 3 was carefully selected to get more people to the cinemas. The opening date coincided with the Chinese New Year. So the animated⁶ American movie earned more than $100 million in ticket sales that day in China.

Familiar plot lines and characters are another reason for Kung Fu Panda 3’s success in China. The cast includes the voices of internationally known movie stars, like Dustin Hoffman and Jackie Chan.

“As a Chinese, it feels more familiar,” said 18-year-old Yifan Li. “I feel I can see a lot of elements that are very close to me.”

American film companies are making movie viewing more convenient for the Chinese public. Dreamworks is the film company that produced Kung Fu Panda 3. Dreamworks produced two versions of the film for domestic Chinese audiences. In America, theaters showed the film in both Mandarin⁷ and English.

Kung Fu Panda 3 went around a bit of Chinese tradition during the new year. The film was allowed to show during the holiday. Most foreign films are not allowed to show in China during the new year celebration.

The film received screen time because it was co-produced in China by Dreamwork’s Chinese partner, Shanghai’s Oriental Dreamworks.

Another Chinese-themed film will get much attention in 2016. Later this year, The Great Wall will feature American Matt Damon and Hong Kong’s Andy Lau as the main actors. It will also have a Chinese director overseeing his first English-language film.

Words in This Story

lure⁸ – v. to cause or persuade a person to go somewhere or to do something by offering some pleasure or gain

cinema – n. a movie theater

overtake – v. to move up to and past someone or something

distribution – n. the act of giving or delivering something to people

strategies – n. careful plans or methods for achieving a particular goal usually over a long period of time

scramble – v. to move or act quickly to do, find, or get something often before someone else does

premiere – n. the first time a film is shown

coincide – v. to happen at the same time as something else

1 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

2 luring   

吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Cheese is very good for luring a mouse into a trap. 奶酪是引诱老鼠上钩的极好的东西。
• Her training warned her of peril and of the wrong, subtle, mysterious, luring. 她的教养警告她：有危险，要出错儿，这是微妙、神秘而又诱人的。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

5 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

6 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

7 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

8 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。