2006年VOA标准英语-Farrell, Hayek Team Up to Bring Novel,

By Alan Silverman
Hollywood
10 March 2006
 
  
  
Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek co-star in a romantic drama set in Los Angeles during the Great Economic Depression, adapted from a landmark¹ novel by John Fante, Alan Silverman has a look at Ask The Dust.

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Aspiring² author Arturo Bandini has arrived in the desert-dusty, sun-drenched boom town that was Los Angeles in the 1930s. The palm tree outside his rooming house window lets him know he's not in his Rocky Mountain home state of Colorado any more. Unpacking³ his portable typewriter, Bandini sets out to write the next great American novel; or, at least, he would write it if he didn't get so distracted.

Salma Hayek and Colin Farrell in scene from Ask The Dust  
  
But the woman who turns out to be his great inspiration doesn't quite fit that description. Waitress Camilla is a raven-haired Mexican-American beauty whose fierce determination and adventurous⁴ spirit seem the exact opposite of Bandini, who, it seems, would rather write about life than experience it.

Camilla knows, but Arturo doesn't yet realize that they have met the great love of their lives.

"It's an incredible love story. It's about a time in American history - and the history, particularly, of Los Angeles as a city - that is fascinating," Farrell says. 

Colin Farrell in scene from Ask The Dust  
  
Colin Farrell stars as Bandini; and the Irish-born actor studied 1930s movies to find the character.

"I watched a lot of old movies and some actors in particular. There was a different physicality and different energy on the streets ... different sense of purpose ... whether it was as a result of or in spite of the Depression economics," he says. "The clothes changed the way people moved. The way I envisioned Arturo Bandini was quite different from anything in Dublin that I'm used to. So I watched John Garfield a lot and listened to William Holden, who had such a beautiful, rich voice."

Salma Hayek plays Camilla and the Mexican-born actress says the character really got to her.

Salma Hayek as Camilla in scene from Ask The Dust  
  
"When I was doing the movie I really loved this character because of her spirit and the naivety⁵ in her; but when it really got to me was when the movie was over and she became sort of alive ... as if she was a friend," she says. "I know this is weird⁶ stuff. You never get to be that person again and spend time with her or get into her head. It became like a relative of mine.

Scene from Ask The Dust
  
"The movie is very different than the book," she explains. "It has a lot more of my character than the book itself, so I couldn't have gotten a lot of things from the book in that respect; but I got so involved with this character and I was so sad when the movie was over, that when I got home and tried to read the book, I got really emotional and started crying. It was like I was living it all over again and missing it. It was almost painful because it was too recent. I really enjoyed playing this character."

Ask The Dust is adapted for the screen by Robert Towne, who also directs the film.

  
  
Towne says he first read the novel while researching his Oscar-winning script for the thriller⁷ Chinatown, a 1974 film also set in Depression-era Los Angeles. Towne befriended author John Fante and began a three-decade effort to bring his book to the screen. Ironically, when he finally got to make the film, Towne wound up shooting it, not in his native Los Angeles, but in and around Cape⁸ Town, South Africa.

"What was wonderful about South Africa was I was quite unprepared for the climate, which is so much like Los Angeles: the quality of the light, the ancillary⁹ locations like the Laguna Beach location," he says. "There was nothing in Laguna that looked like it did then, but that did ... and it even had ice plant on the sand, which is like Laguna. The desert was absolutely perfect for the Mojave. All you had to do was keep a few baboons¹⁰ out of the shot and we could afford to build downtown LA. We found two empty football fields in the middle of Cape Town and then built, from the ground up, Bunker Hill."

Ask The Dust also features Donald Sutherland and Idina Menzel. The look of vintage L.A. is captured by veteran cinematographer Caleb Deschanel.

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

2 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

3 unpacking   

n.取出货物，拆包[箱]v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等）

参考例句：

• Joe sat on the bed while Martin was unpacking. 马丁打开箱子取东西的时候，乔坐在床上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They are unpacking a trunk. 他们正在打开衣箱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

5 naivety   

n.天真，纯朴，幼稚

参考例句：

• Mozart's music is characterized by its naivety and clarity.莫扎特的音乐特色是纯朴兴清澈。
• She has lost none of her naivety.她丝毫没有失去那份天真烂漫。

6 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

7 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

8 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

9 ancillary   

adj.附属的，从属的

参考例句：

• The transport corps is ancillary to the infantry.运输队是步兵的辅助部队。
• This is just an ancillary business.这仅仅是一项辅助业务。

10 baboons   

n.狒狒( baboon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Baboons could break branches and leaders. 狒狒会折断侧枝和顶梢。 来自辞典例句
• And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类，就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命