Amazon Signs Woody Allen to Write and Direct TV Series
伍迪·艾倫要給亞馬遜拍電視了
After more than four decades of making films, Woody Allen is coming to television — streaming television.
伍迪·艾倫(Woody Allen)在拍了四十多年電影之后,開(kāi)始進(jìn)軍電視界——具體來(lái)說(shuō)是流媒體電視界。
Amazon announced on Tuesday that it had signed Mr. Allen to write and direct his first television series. The company said it had ordered a full season of half-hour shows, as yet untitled, which will make their debut on the service next year. It provided few other details.
周二,亞馬遜公司宣布已與伍迪·艾倫簽約,艾倫將為亞馬遜編導(dǎo)自己的第一部電視劇。亞馬遜稱,它預(yù)訂了一整季每集半小時(shí)長(zhǎng)的電視劇,該劇尚未命名,但計(jì)劃明年亮相。公司幾乎沒(méi)有提供其他任何細(xì)節(jié)。
“I don’t know how I got into this,” Mr. Allen, 79, said in a statement. “I have no ideas, and I’m not sure where to begin.”
“我不知道是怎么走到這一步的,”79歲的艾倫在一項(xiàng)聲明中說(shuō),“目前我沒(méi)有任何想法,也不確定從哪兒著手。”
The series, like other Amazon original TV productions, will be available exclusively on the company’s Prime Instant Video service in the United States, Britain and Germany. The service costs $99 for an annual membership and includes free two-day shipping of certain Amazon products, and is a way for the company to tie its entertainment offerings to its huge retail operation.
這部電視劇和亞馬遜的其他原創(chuàng)電視節(jié)目一樣,僅通過(guò)該公司在美國(guó)、英國(guó)和德國(guó)提供的Prime即時(shí)視頻服務(wù)播出。每年交納99美元的會(huì)費(fèi),即可享受該服務(wù),其中包括亞馬遜某些產(chǎn)品的兩日免費(fèi)運(yùn)送——它是該公司將娛樂(lè)產(chǎn)品與龐大的零售運(yùn)營(yíng)相結(jié)合的一種方式。
Recruiting Mr. Allen signals Amazon’s goal to continue to push the envelope as it expands its creative ambitions. Just this Sunday, Amazon’s original series “Transparent,” a dark comedy about a family in which the father comes out as transgender, won a Golden Globe for best television comedy. (It was the first time a streaming service had won a best-series in the TV category at the Globes.)
聘請(qǐng)伍迪·艾倫標(biāo)志著亞馬遜在擴(kuò)張創(chuàng)意野心時(shí),還將繼續(xù)拓展邊界。本周日,亞馬遜的原創(chuàng)電視劇《透明家庭》(Transparent)獲得了金球獎(jiǎng)喜劇類最佳電視劇獎(jiǎng)。這部黑色喜劇講述的是一個(gè)變性父親的家庭故事(這是流媒體電視劇首次獲得金球獎(jiǎng)最佳電視劇類獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng))。
The deal with Mr. Allen also raises the stakes in the heated competition among digital companies and traditional networks. Amazon, Netflix and Hulu are pouring resources into creating original streaming series. HBO, the premium pay channel, also has joined the fray, saying it would offer a stand-alone streaming service this year.
與艾倫的合作加劇了數(shù)字公司和傳統(tǒng)電視網(wǎng)之間的激烈競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。亞馬遜、Netflix和Hulu都在投入巨資創(chuàng)作原創(chuàng)流媒體電視劇。付費(fèi)頻道HBO也加入混戰(zhàn),稱將在今年推出單獨(dú)的流媒體服務(wù)。
Roy Price, vice president for Amazon Studios, said that the company was thrilled to work with Mr. Allen, whom he described in a statement as having created some of the best movies ever. He said that the project came together after a couple of meetings with Mr. Allen in New York.
亞馬遜工作室的副總裁羅伊·普賴斯(Roy Price)稱,該公司為能與艾倫合作感到興奮。他在一項(xiàng)聲明中說(shuō),艾倫創(chuàng)作了史上最好的一些電影。他說(shuō),這個(gè)項(xiàng)目是在紐約和艾倫會(huì)談了若干次之后達(dá)成的。
“I had always thought Woody Allen’s characters and comedy would translate beautifully to TV, particularly now with more serialized story lines and openness to nuanced characterization,” Mr. Price said in an email.
“我一直認(rèn)為伍迪·艾倫影片中的人物和喜劇能轉(zhuǎn)化為很棒的電視劇,特別是現(xiàn)在,他影片的故事線索更具連續(xù)性,更能塑造微妙的人物,”普賴斯在電子郵件中說(shuō)。
In his statement, Mr. Allen said, “My guess is that Roy Price will regret this.”
艾倫在聲明中說(shuō),“我猜羅伊·普賴斯會(huì)后悔的。”
Some Hollywood executives said that Mr. Allen was not known to be widely pitching a series. He did not pitch one to Netflix or Hulu, said people with knowledge of the situation.
好萊塢的一些公司高管們稱,沒(méi)有聽(tīng)說(shuō)艾倫在廣泛游說(shuō)拍攝某部電視劇。知情人說(shuō),他未曾向Netflix或Hulu游說(shuō)拍攝電視劇。
Mr. Allen is a polarizing figure, and the association could carry risks for Amazon. He came under heavy scrutiny in February when his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, wrote an open letter accusing him of sexually molesting her as a child. Mr. Allen has denied the abuse claims, first raised in the 1990s during a custody battle with Dylan’s mother, Mia Farrow. He was never charged with criminal wrongdoing.
艾倫是個(gè)極有爭(zhēng)議的人物,這次合作可能會(huì)給亞馬遜帶來(lái)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。去年2月,艾倫的養(yǎng)女迪蘭·法羅(Dylan Farrow)在一封公開(kāi)信中指責(zé)他在她年幼時(shí)對(duì)她進(jìn)行性侵犯,艾倫因此遭到嚴(yán)格審查。艾倫否認(rèn)了性侵指控。法羅第一次指控艾倫性侵犯她是在20世紀(jì)90 年代,艾倫與她的養(yǎng)母米婭·法羅(Mia Farrow)爭(zhēng)奪撫養(yǎng)權(quán)期間。艾倫從未因刑事犯罪行為遭到指控。
Though Dylan Farrow, in her letter, challenged actors to examine their willingness to work with Mr. Allen, he has remained a fixture in the film industry. Over his career he has turned out movies at a rate of about one a year, and his next work — untitled and starring Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix as lovers — will probably be released this summer.
雖然迪倫·法羅在信中質(zhì)疑有哪位演員真正愿意和艾倫合作,但他仍是電影界的泰斗。在他的事業(yè)生涯中,幾乎每年都會(huì)拍一部電影,他的下一部作品很可能會(huì)在今年夏天上映。這部電影尚未命名,艾瑪·斯通(Emma Stone)和杰昆·菲尼克斯(Joaquin Phoenix)在片中飾演一對(duì)情侶。
In contrast, several other media groups dropped projects with Bill Cosby after a wave of accusations by women who said that he drugged and raped them decades ago. NBC and Netflix canceled Cosby projects and TV Land stopped reruns of “The Cosby Show.” Mr. Cosby has denied the accusations.
相比之下,在多名女性指控比爾·科斯比(Bill Cosby)幾十年前迷奸她們之后,其他幾個(gè)媒體集團(tuán)取消了他的多個(gè)項(xiàng)目。NBC頻道和Netflix公司取消了科斯比的多個(gè)節(jié)目,TV Land頻道停止了《科斯比秀》(The Cosby Show)的重播??扑贡确裾J(rèn)了這些指控。
“Amazon has a formula; they know what sells,” said Brian Wieser, a media analyst with Pivotal Research. “Presumably they are making a calculation in terms of not offending some of their customers while concurrently appealing to others.”
“亞馬遜有自己的套路;他們知道哪些節(jié)目受歡迎,”Pivotal Research的媒體分析師布賴恩·維澤爾(Brian Wieser)說(shuō),“他們可能估算過(guò),如何在吸引一部分觀眾的同時(shí),不冒犯另外一些觀眾。”
The news also represents a substantial shift in Amazon’s strategy. When the company created its studio group about five years ago, it tried a tech-driven online submission process rather than recruiting well-known directors, writers and actors. TV pilots were posted online and the company decided whether to go forward with projects based on viewer feedback. Mr. Allen’s project is Amazon’s first straight-to-series deal, meaning that it has ordered a full series and the project will not go through its pilot process.
這個(gè)新聞還標(biāo)志著亞馬遜戰(zhàn)略的一個(gè)重大轉(zhuǎn)變。五年前,該公司設(shè)立制片工作室時(shí),沒(méi)有聘請(qǐng)知名導(dǎo)演、編劇和演員,而是嘗試了一個(gè)以技術(shù)為主導(dǎo)的在線提交系統(tǒng)。試播節(jié)目發(fā)布在網(wǎng)上,公司根據(jù)觀眾反饋決定是否繼續(xù)拍攝。艾倫的項(xiàng)目是亞馬遜第一個(gè)直接播放的節(jié)目,意思是它預(yù)訂了整部電視劇,不會(huì)進(jìn)行試播。