萬達青島影都重金吸引國際眼球
China’s richest man is courting Hollywood studios with a new movie metropolis in the city of Qingdao that will subsidise their production costs to the tune of $150m a year.
中國首富正在利用青島新建的一家影都來吸引好萊塢製片企業，在這裏，他們可以享受每年1.5億美元的製作成本補貼。
The studio complex adds to a sprawling entertainment empire assembled by Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group. It includes a $3.5bn stake in Legendary Entertainment; the largest cinema chain in mainland China; and AMC Theatres, set to be the biggest chain in the US once it completes the acquisition of Carmike Cinemas.
這座影都是大連萬達集團(Dalian Wanda Group)董事長王健林不斷擴大的娛樂帝國的一部分。萬達集團擁有傳奇娛樂(Legendary Entertainment) 35億美元的股份，旗下擁有中國內地最大的連鎖影院以及AMC影院公司(AMC Theatres)。一旦完成對Carmike Cinemas的收購，AMC將成爲美國最大的連鎖影院。
The free-spending Mr Wang has become the toast of Hollywood for his deep pockets, and is seen as a bridge linking the US film industry to the lucrative Chinese film market.
憑藉自己雄厚的財力，出手闊綽的王健林已成爲好萊塢的香餑餑，他被視爲連通美國電影業與利潤豐厚的中國電影市場的一座橋樑。
Wanda started work on the 200-hectare Qingdao complex in 2013, and will begin operations in 2018, the company said. The grounds will include an underwater studio, animation facility and film lots set in Europe and Chinese capitals of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
萬達集團表示，公司2013年開始打造這座佔地200公頃的青島影都，並將於2018年開始運營。影都內將包括一個水下攝影棚、動漫設施以及歐陸風情、明清古都等外景區。
In an effort to lure more global movie industry players to China, Wanda will subsidise up to 40 per cent of production costs via rebates for foreign studios that use the Qingdao complex.
爲了吸引更多全球電影企業來中國，萬達將通過返利的方式爲使用青島影都的外國電影公司提供高達製作成本40%的補貼。
China is set to overtake the US as the world’s largest film market by next year, and already Hollywood is courting Chinese finance and locations in an effort to appeal to the country’s audiences — not to mention state film censors.
明年，中國將超越美國成爲世界上最大電影市場，好萊塢早已在尋求中國融資和中國元素，以吸引中國觀衆——更別提政府的電影審查機構了。
Last year China’s box office revenues rose 48 per cent from a year earlier to $7.1bn, outpacing growth in North America of just 7 per cent, to $11.1bn.
去年，中國的票房收入同比增長48%，至71億美元，遠超北美僅7%的增速（至111億美元）。
“China will be half of the global market,” Mr Wangsaid in Los Angeles this week. “If you want to make money in this market, you will have to understand and please Chinese audiences.”
中國將佔到全球電影票房市場40%到50%的份額，王健林本週在洛杉磯表示，“那麼你想在中國市場上分一杯羹，去賺到錢，你就一定要了解中國觀衆，你就要想辦法討好中國觀衆。”
The links between Hollywood and China are growing as Chinese companies increasingly make inroads into the US entertainment industry.
隨着中國企業不斷進軍美國娛樂產業，好萊塢與中國之間的聯繫正變得日益緊密。
Earlier this month, Alibaba’s Jack Ma took a minority stake in Steven Spielberg’s film group Amblin, while last month Wanda and Sony Pictures Entertainment agreed to co-invest and market films in China.
本月早些時候，阿里巴巴(Alibaba)的馬雲(Jack Ma)收購了史蒂芬.斯皮爾伯格(Steven Spielberg)旗下影業集團Amblin的少數股份，而上月，萬達與索尼影視娛樂(Sony Pictures Entertainment)達成了共同在中國投資、製作電影的協議。
James Li, a partner at Fanick Technology, a Beijing-based data consulting company for the film industry, said cross-pollination would be good for mainland film-making. “China’s moviemaking is way behind in the industry, and will benefit from more access to Hollywood productions,” he said.
位於北京的電影業數據諮詢公司Fanick Technology的合夥人James Li表示，相互借鑑將有利於內地的電影製作。“中國的電影製作在業內遠遠落後，但將受益於更多地接近好萊塢電影製作，”他說。
He added that another motivation for Dalian Wanda, which is primarily a developer of shopping malls across China, was to boost the value of its adjacent real estate holdings. Plans include a series of resorts and residences near the film complex in Qingdao.
他還表示，作爲一個主要在全國建設購物中心的開發商，大連萬達的另一個動機是要提升周邊房地產的價值。萬達的計劃在青島影都附近建設一片度假村和住宅。
Wanda said studios including Lions Gate Entertainment, ArcLight and Wanda’s own Legendary Entertainment have signed on to use the facility. Pacific Rim: Maelstrom, a sequel to Legendary’s 2013 action science-fiction film, will be the first US feature to shoot at the Qingdao studio, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
萬達表示，獅門娛樂(Lions Gate Entertainment)、ArcLight及萬達旗下傳奇娛樂等電影公司已經簽約利用該影都拍攝電影。《好萊塢報道》(Hollywood Reporter)稱，傳奇影業2013年動作科幻電影《環太平洋》(Pacific Rim)的續集《漩渦》(Maelstrom)將成爲首部在青島影都拍攝的美國故事片。
