从中国看好莱坞，是什么样子？

有人做了个梦，在梦里得知，在一个遥远的地方，有数不清的财富。醒来后，他便立即动身去寻找这个地方。经过了充满荆棘坎坷的漫长路途，他来到了梦中的地点。一个当地人听闻他此行的目的，大笑不止，说，自己也曾三次梦见在一栋房子的喷泉下面埋藏着一大笔宝藏。这个人如梦初醒：这位当地人所说的，正是他自家的院子。于是他回到了家，找到了宝藏。

和故事中的人一样，中国电影行业为了在世界上找到一席之地，也经过了漫长旅程。在1994年，《亡命天涯》（The Fugitive） 成为了中国数十年来第一部公映的好莱坞大片。观众们被影片的快节奏和音效吸引，而这部电影结果也取得了巨大的成功。从这时起，中国电影行业便一直在平衡着与好莱坞的复杂关系。

尽管中国的票房数字出现了大幅下滑——相较于2011年至2015年间票房收入的年均增长可达35%，到了2016年，仅有3.7%——但其电影市场仍然巨大。影院不断向更偏远的农村地区扩张，观众也对好莱坞动作片表现出了强烈的需求。以至于近来，好莱坞甚至在拍片时就记挂着中国，他们在选角时会使用能带来巨大票房影响力的中国电影明星，也不惜调整剧情，改变电影美学，以赢得中国影迷的心。

不论是年轻编剧还是资深影评人，中国电影行业的许多人都对好莱坞的戏剧结构了然于心，提倡好莱坞的表现手法和技巧。而中国市场引进的许多美国影片，不论品质好坏，在中国观众中——尤其是在品味和观影习惯都由好莱坞电影和美剧一手养成的年轻人中——继续受到欢迎。和其他发展中国家的观众一样，中国观众也往往持有一种加了美国滤镜、以美国为焦点的世界观——即使美国并不意味着全世界，而好莱坞也不是世界上唯一的电影产业。

海纳百川，有容乃大。中国的电影行业影响着国际同行，也愿受其影响。中国需要美国，美国也需要中国。但当下存在着一个巨大的差异，那便是中国只有极少数电影可以进入美国市场，可以吸引到大量观众。中国观众为好莱坞提供了巨额利润，但反过来，中国的电影行业又得到了什么呢？

还有，在好莱坞大片的阴影下，中国的国产电影常常要面对巨大挑战。我们理应考虑对中国电影传统的传承，也要考虑失去独特价值观和美学的潜在风险。

虽然有担心，但我们也将顺水推舟，在继续努力保存自身独特性的同时，承认这样的文化交流所带来的益处。想想外来的玉米、西红柿、红薯，他们在中国遍地结果，但也一样为人们提供了营养。

我之前和好莱坞合作过，我的经历让我对两个世界都能有更深的理解。鉴于中美电影行业之间在技术和管理上的差异，在一处的所学往往不能轻易地应用到另一个环境中。想要做出改进的努力往往最后带来更大的麻烦。但无论如何，自我反省和修正都是很重要的。因为害怕出错而犹豫，艺术的创造就无法获得所需要的成长和改变。

我们认识到，就算宝藏近在眼前，这段旅途也是不可或缺的。重要的是，要开放渠道——以及我们的思想——以达到文化、政策和经济的互相了解。为了更好地了解对方，为了探索美好未来的可能，双方都需要在这条路上走得比预想中更远。

英文原文：

What Hollywood Looks Like From China

  A man had a dream in which he was told where he could find fantastic wealth in a remote place. When he awoke, he instantly set off to find it. After a long journey full of danger and hardship, he arrived at the place in his dream. A local man who had heard about the dreamer’s purpose laughed loud and long, saying that he had dreamed three times about a house where great treasure was buried under a fountain. It dawned on the dreamer that the place the local was describing was his very own yard. He returned home and found the treasure.

  Like the man in this tale, the Chinese movie industry has been on a long journey to find its place in the world. In 1994, “The Fugitive” became the first major Hollywood film to be released in the country in decades. Audiences were enthralled with the movie’s fast pace and sound effects, and it proved to be a runaway success. Since then, the Chinese film industry has balanced a complex relationship with Hollywood.

  Although there has been a dramatic slowdown in China’s box-office numbers — movie-ticket revenue rose just 3.7 percent in 2016 after growing by an average of 35 percent per year from 2011 to 2015 — the country still has a huge movie market, with theaters continuing to expand into more rural areas and audiences proving that they have a voracious appetite for Hollywood action films. So much so that recently, Hollywood has even started to make movies with China in mind, casting Chinese movie stars with tremendous box-office power and tweaking the plots and aesthetics of films to win over Chinese moviegoers.

  Many in China’s film industry, from young scriptwriters to senior critics, know Hollywood’s dramatic structure all too well and advocate its tropes and tactics. And many American offerings introduced in the Chinese market, regardless of quality, continue to do well among Chinese audiences, especially with young people, whose tastes and viewing habits have been shaped by Hollywood movies and TV shows. Like audiences in other developing countries, those in China tend to have a worldview filtered by and focused on the United States, even though the United States doesn’t mean the whole world and Hollywood isn’t the world’s only movie industry.

  Like an ocean that refuses no rivers, China’s movie industry will continue to influence and allow itself to be influenced by its international counterparts. China needs the United States, and the United States needs China. But at the moment, a large discrepancy exists in that very few Chinese movies are able to enter the American market and attract a significant audience. Chinese audiences provide Hollywood with huge profits, but what does China’s film industry gain in return?

  What’s more, homegrown movies in China sometimes face steep challenges in the shadow of Hollywood blockbusters. We are right to be concerned about the succession and inheritance of China’s film traditions as well as the potential loss of our unique values and aesthetics.

  Despite these worries, like a boat that sails with the flow, we will continue to work on maintaining our distinctiveness while acknowledging the benefits of this cultural exchange. Just think how corn, tomatoes and sweet potatoes came from other lands but are able to thrive in China and provide nourishment all the same.

  I have worked with Hollywood before, and my experience has enriched my appreciation of both worlds. Due to the technological and regulatory differences between the American and Chinese film industries, it is not always easy to apply what one has learned in one environment to the other. Sometimes the effort to make improvements ends up causing bigger headaches. But self-reflection and correction is nevertheless vital. Hesitation out offear of making a mistake will never allow for the growth and change that is necessary for the creation of art.

  Even though the treasure is hidden in plain sight, we realize that it is the journey that is indispensable. It’s important to keep channels — and our minds — open to achieve a mutual understanding of our cultures, policies and economies. Both sides must travel farther than they imagined in order to know each other better and explore the possibilities for a fantastic future.