重沐聚光灯下

Hollywood is noted for many things, but kindness isn't one of them. A fickle, uncaring place for all too many aspiring actors; even those who have managed to climb its heights are not guaranteed safety and have been brought low, lost to obscurity. For a rare few however, the extraordinary drive, luck and talent that took them to the top in the first place, is more than enough to return them to the summit. Here we've compiled a few of the greats, those whose stars had waned and seemed to have almost died out, only to rise triumphantly from the ashes. We salute you heroes and heroines of the screen who refused to quit and accept mediocrity.

好莱坞以众多事物闻名,但是这其中不包括“仁慈”。对于想要出人头地的演员们来说,好莱坞是一个变幻无常且冷漠的地方。哪怕那些成功到达过巅峰的演员们,也不敢打包票说自己的地位是安全的。他们也曾经历过低谷,有过迷茫和被人淡忘的时候。不过,他们中的一小部分人却拥有非凡的动力、运气和才华,这些因素在一开始就把他们送上顶点,也足以再次把他们送回顶峰。他们曾经一度星途暗淡,演艺生涯看似要到尽头,却成功在灰烬中重生,这次我们就介绍一些这样的演员。向荧幕上那些不言退缩,不甘于平庸的演员们致敬!

John Travolta

约翰•特拉沃塔

Travolta has been credited with many things, kicking off the 70's disco scene thanks to his cult performance in Saturday Night Fever being just one. Whilst first getting a taste of real stardom in the late 70's TV show Welcome Back Kotter. It was his performances in Saturday Night Fever and the smash hit Grease that made him the most desirable actor of the 1970's. Sparking a revival in 50's Rock thanks to his performance in Grease proved not to be a one off either, as with Urban Cowboy in 1980 he again had a dramatic affect on America, resulting in a surge in popularity of Country and Western music. To give you a good idea of how iconic some of his roles have been, a white suit his character danced in at the end of Saturday Night Fever sold at auction in 2000 for $145,500 dollars. With his meteoric rise and the massive impacts generated from his films, the pressures on Travolta to deliver Box Office smash hits were huge. Almost inevitable his following films proved to be terrible and for the next fourteen years he would only have the three Look Who's Talking hits to his name and even these were dismissed by the critics as rubbish despite their monetary success. If the famous director Quentin Tarantino hadn't gone to him in 1994 and asked him to play the part of Vincent Vega, we might never have heard from him again. Agreeing to do the part for a measly $140,000 dollars, far beneath his multi million dollar pay checks from before, it soon proved to be one of the best career choices he ever made. Suddenly everyone wanted to work with him again, with his bank-ability having returned with a vengeance, his films swiftly met with the public's approval. Here is a real Hollywood legend, who never says die.

特拉沃塔头上顶着很多光环,电影《周末夜狂热》正是其中的一个,由于他在该片中大胆的演出,他的职业生涯也随着戏中那些20世纪70年代的迪斯科表演拉开了序幕。虽然特拉沃塔在20世纪70年代的电视节目《欢迎回来,科特》中已初尝主角的滋味,但使他成为当时最炙手可热的男演员的是其在《周末夜狂热》中的表演以及《火爆浪子》引起的轰动。他在《火爆浪子》中的表演引发50年代的摇滚乐再度流行起来,除此以外,随着1980年《都市牛郎》的播映,再次表现出特拉沃塔在美国的巨大影响力——西部乡村乐迅速风靡大街小巷。在电影《周末夜狂热》的结尾处,特拉沃特跳舞时穿着的那套白色套装,在2000年以145,500美元的价格拍卖出去,这样你应该能深刻体会到特拉沃塔塑造的一些角色有多么深入人心。随着迅速蹿红和电影带来的巨大反响,特拉沃塔承受了巨大的票房压力。几乎是无可避免的,特拉沃塔后来的电影显得十分糟糕,在接下来的14年里,只有在《飞越童真》三部曲中特拉沃塔的名声才小热了一把,但是尽管这样,评论家们还是认为这几部电影尽管卖得很好,却完全就是垃圾。如果1994年的时候,导演昆廷•塔兰堤诺没有找他出演文森特•维加一角,我们可能再也不会听到有关特拉沃塔的消息。特拉沃塔同意以远远低于以前百万片酬的区区14万美元出演这一个角色。不久这就被证明是他在职业生涯中所作出的最好的决定之一。由于特拉沃塔出演的电影能赚大钱,几乎每一个人都想再次和特拉沃塔合作,他的电影也立刻受到了观众的认可。特拉沃塔就是好莱坞永不言败的神话。

Sylvester Stallone

西尔维斯特•史泰龙

Born in 1946 in New York City he paid his dues with various bit parts, but it wasn't until 1976 that fame beckoned. With Rocky, 'Sly' Stallone, as he's more commonly known, finally hit the big time. Grossing over $117 million at the box office, it was nominated for 10 academy awards, eventually winning three. With nominations for Best Actor and Best Screenplay under his belt, his status of A-list actor with his pick of scripts was assured. It wasn't all smooth sailing though. His powerful physique and speech impediment, caused by a severed nerve in his face when he was born, meant he was constantly typecast. Films no matter how well received would be compared to Rocky and be found wanting. It would become a pattern in Stallone's career, that whenever he had a string of flops, he would return to his 'Rocky' and 'Rambo' franchises to reinvigorate his career. From 1986 his career started to dive as his films made little money and were panned by the critics. Even the return of his biggest characters in Rambo III and a Rocky V couldn't halt the decline and by the early 90's his career as a major star was considered by many to be over. His momentary saviour proved to be the film Cliff-hanger in 1993 pulling him back from the edge of complete oblivion. A flurry of films later, none gaining huge success, raised the question if it wasn't time to concentrate on something else. It wasn't until Spy Kids 3-D came out in 2005 that he again savoured the feeling of success on screen. More importantly it would prove to be the start of his fight back against the years of negative articles, ridiculing his age and acting abilities. In 2006 he was back! Rocky Balboa that is! The film road on a wave of fantastic reviews making a number of critics admit that he did indeed have something to contribute and with the return of Rambo in 2008, Stallone succeeded in proving the disbelievers wrong, he was once again standing at the top.

史泰龙1946年出生在纽约市,他曾经靠出演各种各样的小角色来维持生计,一直到1976年,才崭露头角。在《洛奇》里,“斯莱”(狡猾的)•史泰龙——他的这一称呼更为人所熟知——最终名声大噪。《洛奇》的总票房超过1.17亿美元,获得10项奥斯卡金像奖提名,并最终赢得3个奖项。史泰龙因为被提名为“最佳男演员”和“最佳电影剧本”两项大奖,这奠定了他可以挑选剧本的一线演员的地位。不过并不是所有事情都一帆风顺的。史泰龙健壮的体格和含糊的发音(由于出生的时候脸部的一根神经被损坏),使得他戏路单一。无论是多么受人欢迎的电影,总会被拿去和《洛奇》作比较,因此而显得不尽如人意。不管史泰龙遇到怎样的失败,最后总是依靠“洛奇”和“蓝波”的影响力来重振自己的演艺生涯,这仿佛成为了史泰龙演员生涯的模式。1986年开始,史泰龙的事业开始急剧下滑,因为他的电影既赚不了钱,还被影评家们批得体无完肤。哪怕他重返荧屏,在《第一滴血3》以及《洛奇5》中出演经典角色,也不能阻止他走下坡路。到20世纪90年代初,大多数人都认为史泰龙作为大明星的时代已经一去不复返了。1993年的电影《绝岭雄风》成为史泰龙的救命稻草,把他从被人遗忘的边缘拉了回来。随后的电影都平淡无奇,人们开始怀疑他是不是该隐退了。2005年,《特工小子3》问世,史泰龙再次尝试到在大荧幕上取得成功的滋味。更为重要的是,以前的影评文章总是嘲讽他的年龄和演技,而现在他可以结结实实地杀个回马枪了。2006年,史泰龙再次回归!他带着《洛奇6:永远的拳王》重战银屏。这部电影获得了一片赞誉,众多的影评都承认史泰龙确实是个有所建树的人。伴随着2008年《第一滴血》的重装上阵,史泰龙成功地证明了那些不相信他的人是错的,自己再一次站上了巅峰。

Meryl Streep

梅丽尔•斯特里普

When people talk about great actresses, Meryl Streep will be the name on most lips. She presently holds the most Golden Globe's wins and holds the highest Oscar nominations amongst the women, with 15 nominations and two wins. Yet even this powerhouse of the screen had a small blip in her career. Though to be fair, this blip had more to do with the lack of quality scripts for her to do, that poor acting on her part. Hollywood has after all, always been biased towards the leading men. She was nominated for an Oscar for her second film The Deer Hunter in 1978, quickly confirming her credentials as an up and coming actress. A series of quality films later saw her confirmed as the successor of Bette Davis; she had been awarded by her contemporaries, the title of most gifted female actress of her generation. After the acclaimed Evil Angel in 1988 though, she seemed to be cast adrift as quality scripts for a strong female lead just didn't seem to exist. With what little work she did do over the next few years being hampered by mediocre scripts, success seemed to be slipping away. It looked like Hollywood no longer wanted real actresses with the ability to act, sing and morph into any role. This travesty was ended thanks to another Hollywood movie legend Clint Eastwood, returning her to our screens in 1995 in Bridges over Madison County to rave reviews and once again an Oscar nomination. The audience's desire to watch intelligent movies meant quality scripts were once again on offer and we all had the pleasure of seeing her in One True Thing, followed by a host of films garnering her Golden globes and Oscar nominations. With the smash hits of The Devil Wears Prada and Mamma Mia under her belt and further acclaim for Doubt, there is no doubt that Meryl Streep is once again Queen of Hollywood.

每当人们谈论起杰出的女演员,大多数人都会提到梅丽尔•斯特里普这个名字。到目前为止,她是获得金球奖数目最多,也是获得奥斯卡提名次数最多的女性——15次提名两次获奖。不过,强大若斯特里普,也在电影事业上有过小小的波折。然而平心而论,这要归咎于优秀剧本的缺乏束缚了斯特里普演技的发挥。好莱坞向来比较偏袒领军人物。1978年,斯特里普由于出演的第二部电影《猎鹿人》获得奥斯卡提名,这快速肯定了她作为一名后起之秀的地位。之后一连串的优秀作品使她被冠以“贝蒂•戴维斯的继承人”的称号,同一个时代的人称她为那一代人中最有天赋的女演员。1988年,在出演了广受好评的《黑暗中的呼唤》后,由于似乎没有一个剧本能写出有张力的女主角,斯特里普经历了一段飘忽不定的时期。在这过去的几年里,受平庸的剧本所累,成功仿佛逐渐远去。既能演又能唱,能够扮演各种角色的女演员,仿佛已经不是好莱坞所需要的了。好在另一位好莱坞传奇——克林特•伊斯特伍德让糟糕的作品走到了尽头,他在1995年的《廊桥遗梦》中再次把斯特里普送回荧屏,为她赢得阵阵好评,并再次让她获得奥斯卡的提名。观众渴望看到能给人启迪的电影,也就意味着好的剧本再次有市场了,同时我们也能够在《亲情无价》和一系列为斯特里普赢得金球奖和奥斯卡提名的电影中一睹她的风采。随着由她主演的大热影片《穿普达拉的女王》、《妈妈咪呀》以及后来《虐童疑云》的上映,斯特里普毫无疑问地再次成为了好莱坞的天后。

Angelina Jolie

安吉丽娜•朱莉

With a famous actor Jon Voight as a father and an actress as a mother, it wasn't too surprising for Angelina Jolie to move into acting as a career. With some early work mostly in mediocre 'made for tv' films, she finally received recognition thanks to her acting in both George Wallace and Gia gaining a Golden Globe for the former and an Emmy for the latter. Whilst her next few films were not great successes at the box office, the fact that their casts where filled with talented actors, and with her notoriety off screen, meant she was still becoming more and more famous. With her role in Girl Interrupted, she finally and decisively earned the fame she had already achieved and won the Oscar for 'Best Supporting Actress'. Following up with a number of big blockbuster performances such as Gone in 60 seconds and most notable the Tomb Raider series, she swiftly conquered Hollywood in her own right. Her winning combination with Brad Pitt in Mr and Mrs Smith proved a huge money earner, but also brought her off-screen problems, as many in the industry saw her as a marriage wrecker, stealing away Jennifer Aniston's husband. This resulted in fewer scripts and perhaps stopped her being nominated for various awards. Whilst not disappearing from the papers, her onscreen performances were not great and there was talk of her taking up her humanitarian role with the UN on a more permanent basis, leaving Hollywood behind.

父亲是著名的演员强•沃特,母亲也是一名演员,安吉丽娜•朱莉以表演作为自己的事业一点也不让人觉得有什么好惊奇的。朱莉刚开始的时候出演的都是一些平庸的电视电影。直到后来由于在《风云传奇》以及《吉亚》中的表现才让她为大众所认识,前者为她获得了金球奖,后者则给她带来了艾美奖。不过在当时,尽管朱莉接下来的几部电影票房都不是很成功,但由于演员阵容强大,而且电影之外她的八卦满天飞,朱莉还是随之变得名气聚升。凭借《移魂女郎》中的角色,朱莉赢得了奥斯卡的“最佳女配角”奖,最终一举肯定了朱莉的名望。在接下来的一系列大制作中,比如《急速60秒》和《古墓丽影》系列,朱莉迅速以其魅力征服好莱坞。她和布拉德•皮特主演的《史密斯夫妇》赚了个盆满钵满,但是也给她带来电影之外的麻烦事,因为很多业界人士都把朱莉看作抢走了詹妮弗•安妮斯顿丈夫的第三者。这件事情导致找她的剧本减少,也妨碍朱莉获得各类奖项的提名。虽然朱莉没有从报纸上消失,但也没有什么佳作问世,人们越发对她有偏见,议论她是如何不务正业,去联合国实施人道主义的事情。

It was no great surprise however to those who knew her that Jolie chose not to run and hide. With renewed dedication she threw herself into her work and sought to regain the public's admiration and trust. Her performance in A Mighty Heart returned the spotlight to her onscreen performances, away from her personal life, though she was still not forgiven yet by the establishment. Clint Eastwood, again proved that he can resuscitate any dying career and with The Changeling, Jolie was again recognised by the establishment and was nominated for an Oscar. These days her popularity continues to rise and she is now considered one of the most 'must have' actresses by directors. This is one lady, whose career is unlikely to be going back down ever again.

朱莉选择从容面对——对于熟悉她的人来说,这是意料之中的事。朱莉在工作中重新奋发努力,尝试再次获得公众的尊重和信任。《坚强的心》把焦点从朱莉的私生活转移到了她的表演上来,尽管朱莉并没有因此而受到电影公司上层的原谅。克林特•伊斯特伍德再次证明,他能够让濒死的职业生涯重生——《换子疑云》让朱莉重获上层的认可,并且获得奥斯卡的提名。现在,她风头正劲,并且是导演们眼中“不可或缺”的女演员。这位女士的演艺生涯,怕是不会再滑落了。

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Bette Davis 贝蒂•戴维斯

贝蒂•戴维斯(1908年4月5日-1989年10月6日),原名露丝•伊丽莎白•戴维斯(Ruth Elizabeth Davis),美国电影、电视和戏剧演员,曾两次获得奥斯卡最佳女主角奖。她饰演的角色形象多变,演出作品类型包括侦探剧、历史剧和喜剧等等,其中以爱情剧最为观众肯定。戴维斯生于马萨诸塞的洛厄尔,尽管很小时贝蒂就梦想成为一名演员,但她早期努力的结果却不尽人意。她因被认为“不真诚”而被曼哈顿市剧团拒之门外。后来贝蒂被约翰•默里•安德森的戏剧学校录取,从此走上星途。她参演了1929年的《破碎的盘子》和后来的《坚固的南方》,从而在百老汇亮相。1930年,她被环球电影工作室聘用,但后者觉得贝蒂缺少明星天分,因而在1932年推荐贝蒂转签了华纳兄弟公司。其成名作是《人性枷锁》。她多年稳坐华纳兄弟公司的第一把交椅,并有着“华纳影后”的美誉。1978年贝蒂曾出演了《尼罗河上的惨案》。贝蒂一生结过4次婚,其中最长的一次婚姻维持了10年,总共养育了3个孩子。1989年10月6日,贝蒂因病在法国辞世。

Clint Eastwood 克林特•伊斯特伍德

美国演员、电影导演与电影制片人,1930年出生于加州旧金山。克林特•伊斯特伍德是传奇性演员,他入行超过四十年,是电影史上作品最丰富的演员兼导演。他在1955年成为演员,主演电影超过40部,除了以演员身份参与影片的拍摄外,自1970年代起伊斯特伍德就开始尝试执导电影,并陆续导演超过25部电影,其中不乏由自己担任主角演出的影片,并逐渐淡出屏幕前的演出成为专业的电影导演。伊斯特伍德曾以《杀无赦》一片,在1992年时获得生平第一个奥斯卡金像奖最佳导演奖。在半个世纪的电影生涯中,克林特•伊斯特伍德不仅塑造了一系列令人难忘的银幕硬汉形象,而且成为了全球公认的男性阳刚气质的代表。他的一生充满了传奇色彩,无论作为演员、导演、制片人、政客,还是作为丈夫、父亲、情人,他都以独断专行、标新立异的风格留下了许许多多的故事。

Jon Voight 强•沃特

强•沃特出生于美国纽约州,是一位捷克裔美国高尔夫球迷的儿子。1969年,沃特主演了奥斯卡金牌导演约翰•施莱辛格(John Schlesinger)的剧情片《午夜牛郎》,在剧中饰演了一个梦想到纽约挣大钱的大眼睛皮条客,一夜成名。此片的成功使他被授予纽约影评协会和全美影评协会的最佳男演员奖,并首次获得了第42届奥斯卡奖最佳男主角提名。1978年,沃特在哈尔•阿什比(Hal Ashby)执导的战争剧情片《荣归》中塑造了一个越南战场上归来的伤兵路克•马丁(Luke Martin),从而使他获得了1978年第31届戛纳电影节和1979年第36届金球奖、第51届奥斯卡三项最佳男主角的桂冠。1985年,他又在苏联导演安德里•康查罗夫斯基(Andrei Konchalovsky)执导的冒险动作巨片《暴走列车》中饰演罪犯,再次获得第58届奥斯卡最佳男主角提名。2001年,沃特最精彩的表演是在传记片《拳王阿里》中,他与威尔•史密斯一起共同演绎了传奇拳王穆罕默德•阿里在60、70年代拳坛上的拼搏历程,他因在此片的精彩表现获得了奥斯卡奖最佳男配角提名。强•沃特与大多数好莱坞明星一样,演艺事业起步于舞台和电视,不同的是他很快就受到了学院的认可,四次获奥斯卡奖提名,一次封王。

Notes

1.Travolta has been credited with many things, kicking off the 70's disco scene thanks to his cult performance in Saturday Night Fever being just one.

“be credited with”有多重意思:被公认为(有某种优点或成就等);“被认为取得某种成就”;具有……的功勞(某事是某人做的)。在文章中,为了把下文中约翰•特拉沃塔经历的低谷和他所具有的巨星地位作出鲜明的比较,作者一开始就向读者摆明约翰•特拉沃塔在电影界中的地位。用be credited with这个短语,是为了列举出这位明星取得的成就的丰富,所以文章中的译文采用了“被认为取得某种成就”这一意思,直接译为“头上顶着很多光环”。

“kick off”在文中的意思是“开始”,如果变成“kick-off”的话,则是一个组合名词,通常情况下是表示“开球”,有时候也顺延指球赛、比赛。“kick off”在日常生活中的用法很广泛,用法通常也比较随意,比如“The family are ready to kick off”的意思就是指“这一家人准备好出发了”,这个词组还有一个比较特别的意思是指“死去”,可以形象地译成“蹬腿了”。

2. With Rocky, 'Sly' Stallone, as he's more commonly known, finally hit the big time.

“hit the big time”意指“出名”,在文章中史泰龙在经历过艰苦的跑龙套生涯后,终于凭借洛奇这一角色一举成名。除此以外,此处的“Sly”一词是来源于Sylvester,由于史泰龙受到观众们的喜爱,所以观众也根据他的名字稍加“修饰”把“Syl”演变为“Sly”,“Sly”一词有“狡猾的,灵活的,俏皮的”等意思,表现出大家对史泰龙的喜爱之情。

3. With the smash hits of The Devil Wears Prada and Mamma Mia under her belt and further acclaim for Doubt, there is no doubt that Meryl Streep is once again Queen of Hollywood.

“under one's belt”字面表达的意思是“在胃里面”,但亦可引申为“囊括旗下”或者“成功做过某事”,还可以表示“放在心上”,比如: Please keep my advice under your belt. 请牢记我的忠告;James already has two novels under his belt. 詹姆斯已有两本小说问世。文中表达的正是与第二条例句相似的意思。

4. Following up with a number of big blockbuster performances such as Gone in 60 seconds and most notable the Tomb Raider series, she swiftly conquered Hollywood in her own right.

安吉丽娜•朱莉虽然有个声名雀跃的老爸,但是能够取得今天这样的地位并不是完全依靠父亲这个后台来达到的。如今,对于更多的国际影迷来说,女儿的人气明显要高于父亲很多,人们在介绍强•沃特的时候,通常会以“安吉丽娜•朱莉的父亲”作为开头。所以,“in her own right”强调了朱莉自身的努力和奋斗,表示她是“凭借自身的实力”获得成功的。除了后天的实力我们能够用这个表达方式以外,有些与生俱来的特权,我们也可以用这个短语来表示:She's a peeress in her own right, no need to marry a peer.她出身贵族,不用靠婚姻晋身名门望族。