每日英語 #078: Men in (the) Black

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Men in (the) Black

“To be in the black” means to make a profit, when a company receives more money than it spends. (The opposite is “to be in the red,” when you are losing money.) “Movie studios” (companies that make movies) sometimes make millions of dollars in profit on their films, and sometimes lose millions.

“盈利”（To be in the black）意味着赚钱，当一个公司的收入超过支出。（相反，“亏损”（to be in the red）意味着你在亏钱。）电影公司有时会从他们的电影中赚取数百万美元的利润，有时则会亏损数百万美元。

In 2012, the movie The Avengers was “released” (started to be shown in theaters) around the world, making more than $1,000,000,000. The cost of the movie was “only” $220 million, so the movie studio is so far about $800 million in the black.

2012年，電影《復仇者聯盟》在全球上映，賺取了超過10億美元。這部電影的成本“僅”為2.2億美元，因此電影公司到目前為止大約賺了8億美元。

What’s interesting about movies like The Avengers is that most of the money is made outside of the United States. Men in Black, the 1997 “blockbuster” (movie that makes a lot of money), made more than $500 million, with about 60% of that coming from outside the U.S. In fact, the international success of movies is so important to studios that one writer recently wrote an article called “How to Make a Hollywood ‘Hit’” (successful movie), in which she pointed out the “elements” (characteristics) of an internationally successful movie. Here are some of those elements:

像《復仇者聯盟》這樣的電影有趣之處在於，大部分的收入來自美國以外的地區。1997年的大片《黑衣人》賺取了超過5億美元，其中大約60%來自美國以外的地區。事實上，電影的國際成功對電影公司來說是如此重要，以至於一位作家最近寫了一篇名為《如何製作好萊塢“熱賣片”》的文章，其中指出了國際成功電影的“要素”。以下是其中的一些要素：

1. “Set the movie” (have the movie take place) in an “emerging market” (where new customers can be found) – or “nowhere.” Many internationally successful movies take place in a fantasy world, such as Harry Potter, Avatar, and Lord of the Rings.

1. 將電影設置在“新興市場”（可以找到新顧客的地方）或“無處可尋”。許多國際成功的電影發生在一個幻想世界，例如《哈利波特》、《阿凡達》和《魔戒》。

2. Use an “established” (already known) “brand” (idea, product, or service). The Avengers, for example, is based upon well-known comic books and characters many people are already familiar with.

2. 使用“已建立”（已知的）品牌。比如，《復仇者聯盟》基於許多人已經熟悉的知名漫畫書和角色。

3. Get “bilingual” (speaking two languages) stars. Adding Antonio Banderas’s Puss in Boots character to the second Shrek movie helped “triple” (multiply by three) ticket sales in Spain and doubled them in Mexico.

3. 選擇“雙語”（會說兩種語言）的明星。將安東尼奧·班德拉斯的鞋貓劍客角色加入到《怪物史瑞克2》中，幫助票房在西班牙翻了三倍，在墨西哥翻了一倍。

4. Make the movie in 3-D and IMAX. In 2011, 40% of the movie ticket sales in China, Brazil, and Russia were from 3-D movies. The Avengers was, of course, released in 3-D and IMAX, in addition to the “normal” way.

4. 將電影製作成3D和IMAX格式。2011年，中國、巴西和俄羅斯的電影票銷售額有40%來自3D電影。《復仇者聯盟》當然是以3D和IMAX格式上映，此外還有“正常”的方式。

重點單字

• To be in the black 盈利 /tə bi ɪn ðə blæk/
• To be in the red 虧損 /tə bi ɪn ðə rɛd/
• Movie studios 電影公司 /ˈmuːvi ˈstuːdioʊz/
• Released 上映 /rɪˈliːst/
• Blockbuster 大片 /ˈblɑːkˌbʌstər/
• Elements 要素 /ˈɛləmənts/
• Set the movie 設置電影 /sɛt ðə ˈmuːvi/
• Emerging market 新興市場 /ɪˈmɜːrdʒɪŋ ˈmɑːrkɪt/
• Established 已建立的 /ɪˈstæblɪʃt/
• Brand 品牌 /brænd/
• Bilingual 雙語的 /ˌbaɪˈlɪŋɡwəl/
• Triple 三倍 /ˈtrɪpəl/
• 3-D and IMAX 3D和IMAX /θriː diː ənd ˈaɪmæks/
• Normal 正常 /ˈnɔːrməl/