「看電影」可以說
to
see 或 to watch a film / movie；「去電影院看電影」的英美說法有點不同，英式英語會說 to
go to the cinema，美式英語則會說 to
go to the (movie) theater 或
to
go to the movies；「租借錄像或影碟」可以說 to
rent a film / movie / DVD / Blu-ray disc（藍光光碟），當然最好不要非法下載（to download）或刻錄（to burn，港人稱「燒製」）影碟了。若要問「電影院有甚麼電影上映？」，英式英語會說 What’s on at the cinema?，而美式英語會說 What’s playing / showing at the theater?，又或者簡單一句 What’s at the movies?；想表示「有部新電影將於下星期放映」可以說 A new film / movie will be shown / screened next week；若要表示「這部電影下個月會有數碼光碟出售」則可以說 This
film / movie will come out / will be released on DVD next month。
以下再介紹一些有關電影製作的動詞用法：
to
star：star
作為名詞是指「明星」，若作為動詞則指「主演」或「由…主演」，主語可以是人或電影，例如
Hugh Grant starred in Notting Hill.（曉．格蘭特在《摘星奇緣》中擔任主角）、a movie
starring Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz（一部由賓．史迪拿和金美倫．戴雅絲主演的電影）。
to
play / act / appear：在電影中飾演某個角色，可以說
to play a character / part / role，在電影中有份演出，可以說 to act / appear in，例如 Meryl Streep has acted / appeared in
over 50 movies.（梅麗．史翠普出演過
50 多部電影），但若只是臨時性、出鏡一兩 幕的友情演出（俗稱「客串」），可以說 to appear as a guest、或
to make a guest performance，例如 Robert De Niro made a guest
performance on the comedy.（羅拔．迪尼路在該喜劇電影中客串演出）。
to
cast … as / in：電影的角色分配叫做 casting，如果說挑選某演員或分配某角色可以說 to cast
someone as / in，例如 Tom Hanks was cast as a college professor in the movie.（湯．漢斯在影片中被安排扮演一名大學教授）、The producer
finally cast Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role.（製作人最後挑選里安納度．狄卡比奧當男主角）。
to
have an audition：在挑選演員的時候會安排試演或試鏡，英語可以說
to have / hold an audition (for …)，例如 Auditions will be held for the latest
James Bond series.（將會為最新的占士．邦系列舉行試鏡）；而參與試演或試鏡可以說 to audition for，例如 She was auditioning for the role of Coco Chanel.（她正在試演可可．香奈兒的角色）。
to
be filmed / shot：說拍攝電影可以用動詞
to film 或
to shoot，例如說 His next movie will be filmed / shot in Sri Lanka.（他下一部電影將於斯里蘭卡拍攝），若要強調在外景的拍攝場地，可以加上
on location，例如
This movie was filmed / shot on location in Poland.（這部影片的外景是在波蘭拍攝的）。
to
be based on / be adapted from：若電影是根據某真實故事而拍成，可以說 to be based on a true story，例如 Captain Phillips is based on a true
story about Richard Phillips.（《盜海狙擊》是根據理查德．菲利普斯的真實故事所拍的）；若是改編自某本小說或戲劇，可以說 to be
adapted from a novel / play，例如 Slumdog Millionaire is adapted from the novel Q
& A.（《一百萬零一夜》是改編自小說《Q
& A》）。
to
be set in：若要說電影的故事以某個年代或地點為背景，可以說
to be set in 或
to take place in，例如 Les Misérables is set in
Paris during the French Revolution.（《孤星淚》以法國大革命時期的巴黎為故事背景）。
It looks like you really like movies. Bryan and I rarely watch movies. We are not a fan of movie theaters (maybe we liked it back in the days), because the floor is always sticky and the kids are always screaming. We prefer staying at home, which is peaceful and comfortable. When we are at home, we usually pick tv shows over movies. Movies can be too long sometimes. You know what I mean? I am guessing that you enjoy your quiet and alone time in the theater, right? :)
回覆刪除I'm a little surprised to hear that you and Bryan prefer TV shows to movies. But after a second thought, actually it's not surprising at all because you are living in the US!
回覆刪除I was not a big fan of movies before graduation. Tickets were expensive to me in those days and watching a movie was a luxury. Later what attracted me to the cinema is, honestly, a lack of entertainment when I had to take annual leave. I didn't want to stay at home or just hang out in malls, so basically I watched a morning movie (because of a discount) to start a good day! And usually I take annual leave on weekdays, you can imagine the cinema is quieter and less crowded than at weekends, without the yelling of kids and whispers of couples. So you're right that I enjoy such a quiet and peaceful moment very much.
Movies are not necessarily better in quality than TV shows. I do feel disappointed if a movie doesn't entertain or inspire me for anything. But you know, the TV shows in HK are absolutely boring, dry and monotonous. Youngsters now prefer watching Korean or Taiwanese dramas and variety shows. These are entertaining and lively indeed, but I am not very keen on those young idols and I only watch a few of them.
You now understand why I 'have to' watch movies, haha.
I now understand why you like watching movies in theater. I agree that a good movie can be a good start of a day. I actually watch a lot of TVB drama shows, but I agree that sometimes they are a bit sloppy and boring. I also watch many K dramas nowadays. I enjoy watching something light and funny. Do you watch US dramas? I have some good suggestion if you are interested.
回覆刪除It's interesting you keep watching TVB dramas even though you've moved to the US for years! Maybe that kind of helps solve your homesickness. I'm happy you're still living close to us in some ways!
回覆刪除Yes, I think I may be interested in watching some US dramas, but I need the help of subtitles. I can't understand much American slang. Please send me the link if you have any good suggestion through FB email. Thank you so much!
Hahaha, yea. Familiar language, familiar scenes, and HK culture can be heard and seen in TVB dramas. TVB dramas may not mean much to many people in HK, but they are always special to those of us who are aboard.
回覆刪除I will fb you the list of US dramas.
Thanks for your list, Lok!
回覆刪除Sometimes I'm worried about the youngsters in HK. We have a lot of childhood memories about HK culture so we can reminisce about the past when we grow older. But the youngsters nowadays just watch foreign things and neglect or even despise what they see in HK. They can't deny the fact that those things from abroad won't live much longer in their mind. I don't know what they can look back on when they grow up. The future here really looks gloomy ...
It is very interesting you said that. But think about it, this may not only be the problem in HK. We are moving into a new era of globalization. Not only tv shows, movies and music, even it is happening in food. There are fusion food everywhere. It is harder and harder to find local and specialty food. All cultures are blending and mixing together. That is especially easy to see in the US. After all, US is a melting pot of all different kinds of immigrants.
回覆刪除No matter where you live, there are the good and the bad. No place is perfect. We just have to adapt and live on. And for the next generation, I am sure thing will work out on its own. That sure will be a different world. :)
Thanks for sharing with me your thoughts! I agree the world is moving into a new era of globalization, especially under the driving force of the Internet. However, I would still wish to see more local features of a place, if possible. For example, people would like to watch more movies produced in Hong Kong rather than co-produced with the mainland; they would also like more and more "tea restaurants" to survive under the high rent. US is undoubtedly a melting pot for different kinds of immigrants, but it is quite different here as Hong Kong is a crowded city with over 90% of Chinese residents. It is good to see a blend of various cultures, but if people, especially the youngsters, only worship things coming from outside and give up the local things, I'm afraid the city might finally lose its characteristics. This is particularly true about the popular culture here in recent years as more and more youngsters do not like those local actors, singers or other performers. It is said that there are only a few stars in Hong Kong now and it seems very difficult to have more in the future if the young people do not give enough support to them.
回覆刪除I understand your concerns. I think the good of globalization is opening up the world to people. It gives people more choices. People pick the good music, movies & tv shows, no matter where it is from (except ones from china, but the reason is different). That could create more competitions and could potentially help to improve the quality of entertainment in HK. On the other side, the bad is what you said. Hong Kongers are not rooting for their own local stars and production. City loses its unique characteristics. It is truly unfortunate, but sadly it can't be avoid. 弱肉強食.
回覆刪除To the topic of mainlanders, no doubt it is a huge problem. I totally understand the frustration from hong kongers. The lives of many mainlanders are very different from the lives of hong kongers. Different cultures, different manners, different live styles. Then, there are some mainlanders who are rude, selfish and mean; some hong kongers who are overly sensitive and narrow-minded. The whole situation is getting worse and worse. There doesn't seem to be any easy solution. As you said before, many years of education may do something. Ahhhh... It is really a mess.
Yes, we can't avoid the wave of being globalized. I just hope that any culture in a city should be diversified, accepting new styles and maintaining some good traditional ones. I don't want to see Hong Kong becoming too similar to any mainland city in China. Hong Kong is unique because of its mix of Chinese and western ways of living.
回覆刪除You may have heard that recently the government declined to offer a licence to a new TV station (HKTV), which has gained a lot of support from the citizens. Many people think that the government is just doing something against the public's wishes. No matter the reason is a political concern or a personal attack, people have already lost faith in such a government that could even stop the opening of a TV station. Then how can we defend our popular culture by ourselves?
The cause of conflict between the Mainlanders and Hong Kongers is very complicated. I feel very sympathetic to Hong Kongers as our livelihood is being threatened and the freedom is under more control. But I keep a belief in mind that anyone is born to be innocent and has no right to choose which country/city to belong to. What makes people hate each other is from those who have power. I can only wish there would be a brilliant leader and the tension could be softened some day ...
Sorry for the late reply. But yea, I also hope HK will always be different from mainland cities. I have to say Japan always do the best job of keeping the old and accepting the new. It is amazing how well they do it.
回覆刪除The HKTV thing is really weird. It is hard to understand why the outcome is like this. Hopefully, it will be up and running some times soon.
I agree that a good leader is needed to solve the problem between mainlanders and hong kongers. One day, right?
Yes, I believe so. Let's hope for the best in the future!
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