英语沙龙：电影云集好莱坞

Hollywood Is Flush With Movies

When Meg Ryan and Antonio Banderas signed up to star in an independently produced comedy-action movie called My Mom's New Boyfriend, the film's backers figured they had a slam dunk-a modestly priced film with bankable stars that would surge at the box office. The producers say the $17 million movie scored well in test screenings in the U.S. this spring and did decent business in Spain, Israel and Russia.

But the U.S. distributor, Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures, quietly sent the movie straight to DVD on June 17. “I believe that three years ago this movie absolutely would have been on screens, if for no other reason than the actors involved.” says George Gallo, who wrote and directed the film.

These days, scores of films such as “Boyfriend” are finding there's no room at the multiplex. The reason: Hollywood is flush with roughly $13 billion to $18 billion in financing for movies that poured in over the past few years, according to bankers and producers, vastly expanding the number of pictures getting made.

The flood of money is paying for films made by both relative newcomers and veteran film investors¹ and producers. Another factor in the pullback is a rise in marketing² costs. A decade ago, campaigns for independent movies were driven by free publicity³ and word of mouth.

The crowded market is prompting distributors to spend big to distinguish themselves. According to the MPAA, the amount of money the indie labels at the major studios were spending on marketing shot up 44% to $25.7 million in 2007 from $17.8 million in 2006. Since 2002, that marketing spending has doubled, driving up competition for all films trying to gain traction⁴ in the marketplace.

Yet it is increasingly common to see critical darlings of the festival circuit get trampled⁵. Son of Rambow, a coming-of-age comedy about two boys in England who dream of filmmaking, was a darling at Sundance in 2007, where it was reportedly sold for distribution for about $7.5 million-one of the largest buys at the festival that year.

Vantage released the film in May 2008 to top-notch reviews. But it flopped⁶, grossing just $1.78 million. The film was put out via a platform release on the same day that Paramount's Iron Man hit theaters in early May. While Rambow added screens through May, it never gained traction in a month that was chock-full of blockbusters, from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull⁷ to Sex and the City.

“Son of Rambow is the poster child for a movie that would have worked five years ago but fails in today's marketplace.” says Mark Gill, a veteran film executive who isn't affiliated⁸ with the movie. “It got great reviews, audiences really liked it, it was well-marketed. It had everything going for it, and yet it didn't work, because there is such a glut⁹ of movies and a mass of clutter¹⁰ right now that nothing can break out in this climate.”

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 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。

3 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

4 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

5 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。

6 flopped   

v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽，一屁股坐到椅子上。
• It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地，出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

8 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

9 glut   

n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• The glut of coffee led to a sharp drop in prices.咖啡供过于求道致价格急剧下跌。
• There's a glut of agricultural products in Western Europe.西欧的农产品供过于求。

10 clutter   

n.零乱，杂乱；vt.弄乱，把…弄得杂乱

参考例句：

• The garage is in such a clutter that we can't find anything.车库如此凌乱，我们什么也找不到。
• We'll have to clear up all this clutter.我们得把这一切凌乱的东西整理清楚。