VOA标准英语2008年-Real Life Inspires Offbeat Comedy 'Kabluey'

The new comedy film Kabluey was inspired by the real-life experiences of writer-director Scott Prendergast. Mike O'Sullivan reports that the filmmaker, who also stars in "Kabluey," has graduated from low-budget short films to a full-length feature, with help from some major stars who agreed to perform in the movie.

Kabluey is an offbeat¹ story about a character loosely modeled on Prendergast, whom he plays in the film opposite established Hollywood stars, including Lisa Kudrow.

The writer-director says the story is partly true, inspired by a time in his life when his brother, who lives in Portland, Oregon, was deployed² to Iraq with the Oregon National Guard.

"And while he was gone, I went to stay with his wife, Jennifer, my sister-in-law, for two months," said Prendergast. "It was supposed to be a few weeks, and ended up being two months. And it was horrible. It was horrible. My nephews were horrible. My sister-in-law was very depressed³. I was a horrible baby sitter, and pretty much had the worst time of my entire life."

The movie is a fictionalized account of that time, and Prendergast, anxious to maintain good relations with his family, points out that some of it was completely fabricated.

The protagonist⁴ of the film, a hapless character named Salman, is an exaggerated version of Prendergast. He has trouble holding a job and finds one wearing a big blue costume as an advertising⁵ mascot⁶ for a failed high-tech⁷ company.

(Woman Supervisor): "Get your feet in here. The head's really heavy, so we will start with the body."

(Prendergast character): "Wait, I am going to wear this?"

(Woman Supervisor): "Well, I am sure as hell not going to wear it."

In writing the part, Prendergast drew on his own work experiences, wearing a superhero costume and explaining exhibits in a science museum to children. He says that like the character in the film, he has been fired from many jobs himself.

For the writer-director, the release of the film marks the home stretch of a long journey. He had performed improvisational⁸ comedy and made successful short films. But he wanted to make a movie. His mother, among others, was skeptical⁹.

"She had said to me," he said. "'You are crazy.' 'You are never going to get a deal. You are never going to get this movie made with you as the writer, director and actor. That is crazy. Stop being a fool. Stop getting fired from temp jobs and get some work and get some health insurance.'"

But he persisted, making the rounds in Hollywood, and he finally found financial backers.

"I had my whole pitch worked out, which was, it is a true story," said Scott Prendergast. "Here is the story of my brother. Here are the short films I have made. I have had a lot of success with them. Here is my first feature. We are going to make it for very little money, and we will get big stars in all these parts. And that is the package."

He sent the script to Lisa Kudrow, the Emmy award-winning actress best known for role on the television series Friends. She liked it and agreed to star in the film. From there, other established actors and actresses, including Teri Garr, Christine Taylor and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, came on board with the project. The film was shot two years ago in Austin, Texas.

The first-time feature director had a steep learning curve, as he moved from videos made with a small digital camera to a full-scale film production.

That realization¹⁰ hit him as he appeared in his first scene as both director and actor, playing opposite Kudrow.

"The last movie I made, [it was] me and my friends in my apartment for $5,000," he said. "And then, suddenly, Lisa Kudrow opens the door and I am making a movie for millions of dollars acting¹¹ with Lisa Kudrow. So in that scene, my character is really nervous. And that nervousness is all real. There is no acting going on there."

"Hi. Hi, come in…."

Kudrow was far more experienced than Prendergast with motion-picture production, and shared what she knew. He was pleasantly surprised that filming went relatively¹² smoothly¹³.

"Because I had heard about independent films being taken over by crazy stars and them rewriting the movie. And we did not have that at all," he said. "Everyone on the film was so friendly. And Lisa specifically. I think she know that I was nervous to work with her and to meet, her, and she put me at ease right away."

Many critics have praised the film, one calling it "bittersweet and funny" and another "lighthearted and utterly¹⁴ charming."

Prendergast calls the movie a melancholy¹⁵ comedy, and admits it is not for everyone.

But he is living his dream in Hollywood. He has written a television pilot and is working on his next film, which is also based on a real-life family story. He will not give the plot away, but says it involves a mystery that he helped his mother solve when he was working on Kabluey.

 

1 offbeat   

adj.不平常的，离奇的

参考例句：

• She adores old,offbeat antiques.她非常喜欢那些稀奇古怪的老古董。
• His style is offbeat but highly creative.他的风格很不寻常但非常有创造力。

2 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

3 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

4 protagonist   

n.(思想观念的)倡导者；主角，主人公

参考例句：

• The protagonist reforms in the end and avoids his proper punishment.戏剧主角最后改过自新并避免了他应受的惩罚。
• He is the model for the protagonist in the play.剧本中的主人公就是以他为模特儿创作的！

5 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

6 mascot   

n.福神，吉祥的东西

参考例句：

• The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。
• We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。

7 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

8 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。

9 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

10 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

11 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

13 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

14 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

15 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。