文、译/孙晔

美剧里的“中国风”Asian Stardom

文、译/孙晔

中国影星吴彦祖在美剧《荒原》中担任主演兼执行制片人

从许多方面看，AMC电视台新剧《荒原》借用了不少美剧的经典套路。情节设定为末日后的一个荒凉世界，男主角曾劣迹斑斑，现在却寻求新生。当然，它还是一部激烈的动作戏。

但从某种程度上说，《荒原》打破了好莱坞模式，启用亚裔演员担当主角。

41岁的主演兼执行制片人吴彦祖告诉《纽约时报》：“这确实很疯狂。我从没见过任何美国电视剧以亚洲人为招牌。”

《荒原》的故事发生在几个世纪之后，一个叫荒原的封建社会诞生了。吴彦祖扮演的桑尼是这里最出色的杀手。他救出了一个叫M.K.（阿拉米斯·奈特饰）的男孩，这让他想起了曾经的自己。于是，混乱世界里的两人一同踏上了寻找极乐世界的旅程。

以前，吴彦祖的这个角色可能就给了白人演员。但在本剧中，白人演员主要担任配角，这些角色通常由“少数族裔”扮演。

In many ways, AMC’s latest drama Into the Badlands borrows some of American TV’s greatest clichés. It’s set against a bleak, post-apocalyptic setting, and its main character is a bad guy searching for redemption. And of course, it features high-octane action sequences.

But in one respect, Into the Badlands breaks the Hollywood mold. It casts an Asian-American as its romantic lead.

“This is crazy – I can’t remember seeing a billboard of an Asian dude on an American show, like, ever.” Daniel Wu, the show’s 41-year-old lead actor and executive producer, told The New York Times.

Into the Badlands envisions a world centuries from now. A feudal society known as The Badlands emerges, and Sunny, played by Wu, is the most lethal assassin in the land. When he rescues a teenage boy named M.K. (Aramis Knight), Sunny is reminded of the man he once was. M.K. and Sunny go together on a journey in search of enlightenment in their chaotic world.

In the past, Wu’s role might have gone to a Caucasian actor. But in this series, white actors play mostly supporting characters, roles

《荒原》剧照

美剧中不常见的中国武术也是《荒原》的一大特色。这是40多年来屈指可数的功夫剧。上一部以探索功夫为主线的美剧，还是20世纪70年代的《功夫》，美国演员戴维·卡拉丹在剧中扮演一位少林和尚。

《纽约时报》报道说：“传奇武打明星李小龙的传记作者表示，李小龙之所以没能出演那部剧（《功夫》）是因为电视台认为美国观众不会对华裔武术家出演的电视剧感兴趣，即便这部剧本身讲的就是华裔武术家的故事。”

吴彦祖告诉电影、电视剧新闻网Collider：“演这部戏简直棒极了，特别是了解到有关《功夫》这部剧的选角历史……更正错误的事儿感觉很好。”

在武打戏中，《荒原》向著名功夫明星李小龙的电影《精武门》致敬，它还采用了香港武打片拍摄的技法。

《纽约时报》说：“在好莱坞动作片中，导演用摄像机移位和特写镜头掩饰演员拙劣的武术技巧。但在《荒原》中，导演采用长镜头拍摄，观众能在一个镜头里看到10个人（甚至20、30人）打斗。”

吴彦祖在香港影坛摸爬滚打了18年，他对这种拍摄方式早已驾轻就熟。

“吴彦祖魅力非凡，身手敏捷。他为桑尼注入了丰富的情感和审慎的能量。“《综艺》杂志评价道。

usually relegated to the “token minority”.

Badlands also features Chinese martial arts, a rarity on American TV. It is one of the few series in four decades to do so. The last major show to explore Chinese martial arts was the 1970s series Kung Fu, starring American actor David Carradine as a Shaolin monk.

“Biographers of the martial arts legend Bruce Lee claim that he lost out on the lead role in that earlier series because network execs didn’t think American audiences would watch a TV show starring a Chinese-American martial artist, even a show ostensibly about a Chinese-American martial artist.” The New York Times reported.

“It was a great feeling to be able to do this show, knowing the history of Kung Fu... It felt really great to be able to right that wrong.” Wu said to Collider, a movie and TV news website.

In its martial arts scenes, Badlands pays tribute to well-known Hong Kong action movies such as Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury. Its fighting skills are also shot in a Hong Kong way.

“In Hollywood action movies, directors mask their actors’subpar fighting skills with shaky camera moves and extreme close-ups. In Badlands, the camera pulls way back, so that viewers can see 10 combatants (or 20, or 30) in a single shot.”said The New York Times.

Wu, having starred in Hong Kong films for 18 years, is a veteran of this style.

“Wu has the charisma and the action chops... Wu brings soulful presence and watchful energy to Sunny.” Variety commented.