横店影视城 中国好莱坞？

        随着我国电影事业的大发展，每年都会有大量的影片放映。在浙江横店每年也都会有很多的剧组在此拍摄，成为了名副其实的影视城，横店成为了中国的好莱坞。

横店影视城 中国好莱坞？
If You Build It, They Will Come: Chinese Town Gets Hollywood Makeover

A five-hour drive southwest of Shanghai, in the hills near a manufacturing hub, something like a mirage appears among the smokestacks: a full-scale replica of Beijing's Forbidden City.

Welcome to 'Chinawood,' the world's largest outdoor film studio in the fastest-growing film market.

At more than 2,500 acres, Hengdian World Studios, as it is officially known, is larger than Universal and Paramount Studios combined. Its sets have appeared in more than 800 Chinese television shows and films.

Hengdian has plenty to offer beyond the Forbidden City. There is the Qin dynasty imperial palace that was the backdrop for the movie 'Hero.' There are 100 authentic Ming dynasty riverside houses shipped in from southern China, and the largest indoor Buddha in China.

'We've already surpassed Hollywood in volume,' says 76-year-old Xu Wenrong, a one-time farmer who owns the studios. 'Here, we offer everything.'

Even dreams of stardom.

The remote town has seen its population grow to about 70,000, from 19,000, in 10 years. New residents lured by the glamour of show business have earned a nickname: hengpiao, or 'Hengdian drifters.'

Many become extras. Mao Mao, 25, came to Hengdian three years ago from the southern province of Fujian with dreams of becoming an actor. Playing a pedestrian or a guard earns him 60 yuan ($9) a day -- enough to send some money back home. And shaving his head for a Qing period show earns him another 40 yuan. (For women, he says, a shaved head commands much more.)

'I've seen myself on TV. If I look realistic, I'm happy,' he says, standing in front of a makeshift hospital on a fake Hong Kong street.

Since Mr. Xu constructed his first set in 1996, extras have poured into town. Some 3,000 extras are under the studio's control.

Productions must use the studio extras, says Nansun Shi, a Hong Kong film producer. 'They stick out like a sore thumb,' she says.

Initially, many were nearby farmers and factory workers who happily traded their jobs for a gig on set, without any acting training. One extra on a kung fu movie, who called himself Mr. Ge, said he's been working in Hengdian for 10 years. Every day, he says, he is told where to go by the studio's extra association. Days when he isn't acting, he goes back to work at a nearby factory.

'There's no other choice. It is what it is,' he said, in his Qing dynasty costume, head shaven so he can don a queue -- a man's long braid typical of the period.

The more than 10,000 yuan ($1,540) he makes a year far exceeds what he earned at the factory -- though the money doesn't always come easily. The bespectacled Mr. Ge has to take off his glasses on set for historical accuracy. He can't afford contacts, so he acts half-blind. That hasn't stopped him from being deemed a 'special' extra, he says, which gets him close-up shots, the highest honor short of a speaking role.

Some younger hopefuls come armed with skills that command higher salaries, such as martial arts for men and dancing for women.

Mr. Xu sells Hengdian studios as a one-stop production shop. While the outdoor lots are free to use, he makes money through equipment and costume rentals, restaurant and hotel fees.

To create more studios, Mr. Xu, chairman of Hengdian Group, a multibillion-dollar private manufacturing concern, invests his own money and explodes nearby mountains to create space to build. 'If they're missing something, I'll build it,' he says.

'He's a visionary,' says Bill Kong, the Hong Kong-based producer of world-wide blockbusters 'Hero' and 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' which were both shot in Hengdian. 'He's managed to turn a place in the middle of nowhere into the best studio in China.'

Hengdian's success has come on the back of China's booming film market, expected to become the world's second-biggest market, after the U.S., by 2012. Domestic box-office revenue surged 64% to $1.5 billion in 2010, while the number of theaters has doubled in the last four years to around 6,300.

Increasingly, Hengdian is featured in Hollywood co-productions hoping to cash in on both U.S. and Chinese markets, such as 'Mummy 3' and 'Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.'

The studios also draw seven million tourists a year as a government-sanctioned 5A tourist destination. Extra entertainment comes in the form of aerial acrobatics, horse jousting and water stunts involving pirates.

At night, for $23 , visitors can catch the 'The Largest Volcano Performance in the World' -- a dance extravaganza with fireworks, glow-in-the-dark figurines, fire breathers and simulated lava.

Hengdian has its detractors. Some cast and crew members who have spent months in the remote town secretly call it 'Helldian,' for its lack of luxuries.

Top stars, such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li, stay at the best hotel in town, The Grand Hotel of International Conference Center, simply called the VIP Hotel, owned by Mr. Xu. Its rooms with views of an amusement park fetch about $49 a night -- pricey for the area, says Chao Chao, art director for 'Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.'

Food options are limited. 'We've eaten at all the restaurants to the point where our mouths are sore,' he says.

Mr. Xu's most ambitious project has become a national controversy. In 2008, he announced a $3 billion plan to construct a full-scale copy of the Old Summer Palace, the Qing dynasty imperial gardens sacked by British and French troops during the Opium War.

Building a replica of the palace, which has become a symbol of foreign oppression in China, crossed a line with many people. Representatives of the real ruins site in Beijing denounced the Hengdian reconstruction as 'neither possible nor tolerable.'

Local authorities stopped construction of the 1,000-acre site, citing illegal use of farmland. The ban was lifted last year.

Mr. Xu says he has every intention of finishing his 'New Old Summer Palace.' He's encapsulated that dream in a two-story building devoted to a miniature model of the would-be grounds.

For now, he's looking ahead. New projects include an antiques trading center and a Chinese wine production business that will carve cellars into nearby hillsides.

The man behind China's most epic films has little to say about his favorites. 'I don't watch movies,' he says. 'I don't have the time.'
从上海出发往西南方向驾车行驶五个小时后，在毗邻一处制造业中心的群山中，进入人们眼 的除了有一座座烟囱，还有一幅彷佛海市蜃楼的画面：实物大小的北京紫禁城复制品。

Cathy Yan/The Wall Street Journal游客参观横店影视城内与实物同等大小的北京紫禁城复制品。欢迎来到“中国的好莱坞”——这座世界上最大的室外影视城正位于全球增速最快的电影市场。

它的正式名称叫横店影视城(Hengdian World Studios)，占地超过2,500英亩，比环球影城(Universal Studios)和派拉蒙影城(Paramount Studios)二者加起来的面积还要大。曾在横店影视城取景的中国电视节目和电影数量超过800部。

横店所能提供的影视场景远不止紫禁城。那里的秦朝皇宫曾为电影《英雄》(Hero)提供了拍摄场景。在横店，不仅有100座从南方各地搬迁过来的明朝水乡民居，还有中国最大的室内佛像。

横店影视城的老板是76岁的农民出身的徐文荣，他说，我们从规模上已经超过了好莱坞。只要对方需要，这里什么都能完成。

甚至包括明星梦。

Cathy Yan/The Wall Street Journal图片：走进横店影视城十年间，这座偏远小镇的人口数量从1.9万增长至七万左右。被演艺圈的光鲜魅力所吸引、进而常驻于此的人群有了一个称号：横漂。

许多人都成了群众演员。25岁的毛毛（音）三年前怀着明星梦从福建来到横店。扮演一名路人或是一名警卫的话，他一天可以挣到60块钱（约9美元）——够他寄些钱回家了。要是为了拍清朝戏需要剃头，他可以再多拿40块。（他说如果女演员需要剃头，她们可以拿到更多报酬。）

他说，我在电视上看到过自己。只要还认得出那是我自己，我就满足了。说这番话时他正站在一条仿造的香港街道上，身后是一家仿造的医院。

自从徐文荣1996年兴建首批影视场景之后，大量群众演员涌入这座小镇。目前由横店影视城负责调配的群众演员人数大概在3,000人左右。

香港电影制片人施南生说，在这里拍电影必须用影视城的群众演员。她说，他们的表现不是那么自然。

起初，有许多群众演员都是附近的农民和工厂里的工人，他们没有受过任何表演训练，他们愿意放弃工作来换取出演影视剧的机会。一名自称姓葛的功夫片群众演员说，他在横店已经干了十年了。他说，横店影视城的群众演员管理机构每天都会告诉他要去哪个地方拍戏。而当他无戏可拍的时候，他就回到附近的一家工厂干活。

Cathy Yan/The Wall Street Journal电影摄制组成员正在横店影视城的紫禁城复制品前。身穿清朝戏服的他说，没有别的选择，只能这样。为了能戴上拍清朝戏需要的假辫子，他把头发给剃了。

他一年能挣一万多元（约1,540美元），这远远超过了他在工厂里的工资——但有时候，这些钱挣得并不容易。为了真实地再现历史，戴眼镜的他在片场必须摘掉眼镜。由于买不起隐形眼镜，他只能在一种“半盲”的状态下演戏。他说，但这并没有妨碍自己成为人们眼中一名“特殊的”群众演员，他也因此得到了上特写镜头的机头，这是除了有台词的角色之外，群众演员所能获得的最高荣誉。

一些怀有希望的年轻人带着一身才艺来到这里，由于具备了某种技能，他们可以拿到更高的报酬，比如有武术功底的男演员，或是会跳舞的女演员。

徐文荣为横店影视城制定的行销策略是让它成为一站式“生产车间”。一方面，室外场景可供免费使用，另一方面他却通过提供设备与服装租赁以及经营餐厅和酒店来获取利润。

为了建造更多的摄影场景，拥有数十亿美元资产的民营制造业企业横店集团(Hengdian Group)的董事长徐文荣自己进行了投资，他在附近开山凿地，为即将兴建的工程创造空间。他说，如果他们缺什么东西，我就去建。

香港电影人江志强是电影《英雄》和《卧虎藏龙》(Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)的制片人，他说，徐文荣是一个有远见的人，他成功地将一个默默无名的地方打造成了中国最好的影视城。《英雄》和《卧虎藏龙》这两部享誉世界的大片就都是在横店拍摄的。

横店的成功与中国电影市场的繁荣发展是分不开的。中国有望在2012年之前成为仅次于美国的全球第二大电影市场。2010年中国国内票房收入激增64%，达到15亿美元。在过去四年间，国内影院数量也增长了一倍，达到约6,300家。

如今，横店越来越多地出现在那些希望从中国和美国两大市场上获利的好莱坞跨国合拍片中，例如《木乃伊3》(Mummy 3)和《雪花与秘扇》(Snow Flower and the Secret Fan)。

作为国家5A级旅游景区，横店影视城每年还吸引着七百万游客。其它娱乐项目包括特技飞行表演、马上比武以及有“海盗”现身的水上特技展示。

到了晚上，游客可以观看“全球最大的火山实景演出”，票价23美元。这是一场盛大的舞蹈演出，其间融入了焰火、夜光塑像、火龙和模拟熔岩等元素。

不过也有对横店感到厌恶的人。由于缺乏舒适奢华的生活条件，有些在这个偏远小镇待过几个月的剧组人员私下里把它叫做“Helldian”（意即地狱之店）。

诸如成龙、李连杰这样的一线明星会住在横店最高档的酒店——横店国际会议中心大酒店(The Grand Hotel of International Conference Center)，简称横店贵宾楼，老板也是徐文荣。要是住在能看见游乐场的房间，房价是每晚49美元左右——《雪花与秘扇》的美术指导Chao Chao说，在这个地方这是很贵的。

吃的选择也很有限。他说，我们已经吃遍了这里所有的饭馆，嘴巴都吃腻了。

徐文荣最具雄心的一个开发项目引发了一场全国性的争论。2008年，他宣布计划斥资30亿美元建造实物大小的圆明园复制品。这座清朝时期的皇家园林在鸦片战争期间遭受了英法联军的劫掠。

圆明园已经成为中国遭受外国压迫的一种象征，因而建造这样一座宫殿的复制物超越了许多人的心理底线。北京圆明园遗址公园的代表谴责横店的重建计划既不现实，也令人无法接受。

当地有关部门以非法占用农田为由，下令停止了这项占地1,000英亩的工程建设。去年，该禁令被取消。

徐文荣说，他真心希望能完成“新圆明园”工程。他将这个梦“微缩”到了一栋两层楼的建筑中，这里建造了圆明园的微缩模型。

而今，他正举目向前。新的项目已在运作，包括一个古玩交易中心和一家酿酒企业，这家酒厂将在附近的大山中开凿酒窖。

当被问到哪些影片是他的最爱时，这位多数国产大片的幕后之人几乎说不出什么。他说，我不看电影，我没有时间。