雙語閱讀｜Netflix在戛納仍舊遇冷

THE rise of Netflix has been greeted frostily by some of the old guard at the Cannes film festival, where the American streaming giant』s disregard for releasing films in cinemas wins it few friends. It looked a bit more at home on May 21st, as the lights went up at the Louis Lumière theatre. The stars of its own film, 「The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)」, a comedy drama, accepted a standing ovation from the audience. Ted Sarandos, Netflix』s head of content, stood alongside Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller and other cast members. Festival-goers jostled for a word with him at a swanky after-party.

美國在線視頻巨擘Netflix向來不重視院線電影，這讓它在行業的支持者寥寥。這種情況在戛納電影節上也是如此，一些傳統電影人對Netflix的興起漠然處之。5月21日，路易斯▪盧米埃爾影院的燈光亮起時，場面十分溫馨。 Netflix新近拍攝的喜劇電影「 邁耶羅維茨的故事」的演員出場時，受到了觀眾的熱烈歡迎。Netflix的內容負責人泰德·薩蘭多斯與達斯丁•霍夫曼、本·斯蒂勒等劇組人員一起出現。在電影節結束后的奢華舞會上，與會者爭相上前與他說話。

This is the first year that Netflix has been admitted into the festival』s competition, with two films, 「The Meyerowitz Stories」 and 「Okja」, directed by Bong Joon-ho of South Korea. Still, cries of protest from French film-industry executives prompted Thierry Frémaux, the festival director, to declare that, in future, only films guaranteed a theatrical release in France can qualify for the top Palme d』Or prize. Pedro Almodóvar, a film director and president of the jury, groused that he could not imagine a winner that could be seen only on small screens. During a press screening of 「Okja」, Netflix』s logo was met by a smattering of boos.

今年是Netflix獲准參與電影節競賽的第一年，它帶來了兩部作品：《 邁耶羅維茨的故事》和韓國奉俊昊導演的《玉子》。然而，在法國電影從業者的抗議聲中，電影節負責人蒂埃里·弗雷莫不得不宣布：未來，只有在法國影院上映的電影才有角逐金棕櫚大獎的資格。評委主席，同時也是電影導演的佩德羅·阿莫多瓦抱怨稱，他無法想象只能在小屏幕上觀看一部獲獎電影。在《玉子》的放映發布會上，對Netflix的標識奚落淅淅瀝瀝。

The controversy turns, appropriately enough for the French, on an existential question: if a film is never shown in cinemas, is it still a film? Netflix』s run at Cannes this year suggests that the majority of film types, at least, answer with a resounding 「yes」. Independent film financiers, producers, directors and actors, including local ones, regard Mr Sarandos as, in effect, a Hollywood studio chief—but one who stakes big money on independent film.

對於法國人來說，這個爭議其實是一個關乎存在性的問題：如果一部電影從未在影院上映，那它還是一部電影嗎？今年Netflix在戛納參賽表明這個問題的答案，各種類型的電影都應該被視作一部「電影」。不論在國際還是在戛納當地，電影投資方、製作方、導演眼中的薩蘭多斯不僅僅是好萊塢的一個工作室主管，更是一個捨得投入大量資金製作獨立電影的人。

Therein lies the rub. In this age of Marvel superhero sequels and Harry Potter spin-offs, indie films struggle for customers. The median return on a low-budget film at the American box office is 45 cents on the dollar. With 100m subscribers globally, Netflix uses different maths to justify investments, including whether a film works for a specific segment of customers. And it has a lot of cash. Netflix will spend more than $7bn on content this year.

這就是問題所在了。這個時代充斥著超級英雄的系列電影和哈利波特衍生品，獨立電影很難吸引觀眾。在美國票房中，一部低成本電影平均能收回45%的投入。Netflix有1億的全球用戶，他們運用各種演算法來賺回電影投資，例如算出哪種類型的觀眾會想看這部電影。此外Netflix資金雄厚，每年會在內容製作上花70多億美元。

Critics lament that no one will see Netflix』s films in a cinema. (Amazon, its big rival in streaming video, has decided to support cinema-first distribution; and Netflix itself does occasionally put films in cinemas in a few countries.) The criticism is especially political in France, the birthplace of film. Whereas Netflix has a business model that can finance less commercial, arty films, France』s government heavily subsidises such production. It imposes a 「culture tax」 on cinemas and broadcasters and also obliges TV networks to invest in film-making. Another part of the system is a three-year delay between a film』s release in theatres and its availability over internet services, which protects cinemas and physical-media formats.

評論人士紛紛嘆息，沒有人會在電影院裡面看Netflx的電影。（Netflix的頭號競爭者亞馬遜決定支持在院線優先上映電影；而Netflix偶爾在幾個國家的電影院里放映）作為電影的發源地，法國的這場爭論充滿了政治意味。相比於Netflix的商業模式會降低商業和藝術電影的成本，法國政府對院線電影提供了大量的補助，同時向電影院和廣播公司徵收了「文化稅」，要求電視台加大電影製作的投入。另一方面，在電影院上映的電影要在三年後才能在網路上觀看，這是為了保護電影院和其他實體媒介。

That delay was the sticking-point between Netflix and Cannes. Mr Sarandos says Netflix tried and failed to obtain a waiver so that its festival entries could appear in cinemas briefly. No matter. Despite Mr Frémaux』s ruling, Mr Sarandos expects to be back competing at Cannes. It will be hard for the festival』s film buffs to keep resisting Mr Stiller』s argument: that while he wants to see movies in cinemas, 「studios aren』t making the movies Ted』s making.」

這條在網路上延期播放的規定成了Netflix和戛納矛盾的關鍵點。薩蘭多斯表示，Netflix試圖想獲豁免，但沒能實現，因此，Netflix的參選電影將在電影院里短暫放映一段時間。這沒有什麼問題。儘管電影節負責人弗雷莫對此表態，薩蘭多斯仍期望未來再戰戛納。電影節的影迷們將很難否認斯蒂勒的觀點：雖然他想在電影院看電影，但是「電影公司的電影遠遠比不上泰德製作的電影」。

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