VOA标准英语2010年-New Urban Film - 'A Gangland Love Stor

While big Hollywood movies tend to dominate the entertainment scene, there are hundreds of smaller films done each year that are targeted to specific audiences, in specific categories.  One of those is the so-called "Urban Film" category, popular with African Americans.

One of the more successful low-budget filmmakers in that category is Greg Carter, who has produced 18 films in recent years and directed half of them.  Many of Carter's films are set in his home base of Houston, Texas.  His new film features plenty of action, but there also is romance and some humor.

It is called "A Gangland Love Story" and is now available in much of the world on DVD or in on-demand streaming video. The plot involves three sets of families involved in the illegal drug trade, with blacks and Mexicans at the center of it all.

"This ain't about blacks and Mexicans anymore; this is about family," said Carter.

The story is inspired by William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," but this time one lover is black and the other Latino, a twist Greg Carter thinks the bard¹ would have liked.

"Had Shakespeare been in our day," said Carter, "he probably would have really mixed up his stories. I think that "Romeo and Juliet" would have been a story of two people of different races."

Carter shot the film in Houston, using a variety of locations, including an alley² downtown near a popular night club.

"This is the alley where two young lovers meet. They basically run away from the fight scene at the club where they meet and this is where they embrace and kiss in this alley," said Carter.

Carter says Houston's sprawling³ urban area, offered him a variety of places for shooting.  "I have some locations that look like they are in old Mexico, I have some locations that look right out of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, big mansions⁴ next to very small neighborhoods.  In fact, the city of Houston actually doubles for two or three cities in the movie."

Carter attributes his success as an independent filmmaker to his disciplined approach to the business of making a film and his careful consideration of what his target audience wants.

"I know that my audience has a particular lean towards liking⁵ action and also romance, movies that offer escapism," said Carter. "So when I look at different projects for an endeavor I want to make sure that it has those elements in it because I know what my audience likes."

Carter says "A Gangland Love Story" moves beyond his basic target audience of African-Americans and includes Latinos, Russians and others in the list of characters.

"I have always found myself balancing between what kind of story I want to tell, but one that tells really urban stories, really involving black people. But this story is different because it does have, I mean, only about one third of the cast is actually black, the other two thirds are white-Anglo and Latino."

Carter now works in both Houston and Los Angeles, home of the U.S. movie industry, but he says Houston is still his favorite filmmaking location.

"In L.A. you are fighting to be one of the few that is selected. In Houston everyone is trying to support you to see you do well."

Carter recently completed a distribution deal for global marketing⁶ of his film on DVD worldwide with MCN.TV and a separate deal with Asia Gulf⁷ International to make his film available on cable TV pay-for-view channels, as well as DVD in India and most other nations in Asia.  He also is doing pre-production planning for a new film "Open All Night," which will start shooting in India in January of next year.

 

1 bard   

n.吟游诗人

参考例句：

• I'll use my bard song to help you concentrate!我会用我的吟游诗人歌曲帮你集中精神！
• I find him,the wandering grey bard.我发现了正在徘徊的衰老游唱诗人。

2 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

3 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

4 mansions   

n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑，空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗，钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊，那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌！ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

6 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。