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Timeless Entertainment 穿越时间的娱乐

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（译注：timeless指永恒的，不受时间影响的，但由于本文主题为埃布尔伦斯擅长跳脱时空、自由在时光中穿梭的操作手法，因此译为穿越时间的）

Lost director J.J. Abrams keeps his viewers on their toes  《Lost档案》导演J.J.埃布尔伦斯，令观众目不转睛（译注：keep one on one’s toes是使某人保持忙碌、专注或警醒，此指剧情扑朔迷离、过去未来交错，因此观众必须极为专注才能看懂）

J.J Abrams warps time at will. Past, present, and future coexist as a kind of fluid that cannot be contained. The camera jumps back and forth in time. Characters age and grow younger again. Time itself accelerates, then slows.

J.J.埃布尔伦斯能把时间玩弄于股掌（译注：at will指任意、随心所欲地），使过去、现在和未来同时并存，宛如液体一样，没有固定形状，变幻莫测。摄影来机来回穿梭在时光中，剧中角色时而变老，时而又恢复年轻样貌。时间有时迅速飞逝，有时却又放慢速度。

“It’s intriguing to play with exactly when you learn elements in a story,” says the Emmy-winning writer-director-producer, referring to Lost, his biggest hit on the small screen. “It engages audience members in a puzzle where they begin to question everything. It makes them look for clues in what they’re watching in a way traditional narrative doesn’t.”

艾美奖得主、身兼作家、导演及制作人多种才华于一身的埃布尔伦斯，以《Lost档案》勇闯电视屏幕而爆红，他提到该影集时表示，「从剧情中出现的各种元素来抽丝剥茧一番，真的非常引人入胜」，「剧情促使观众急于解开谜团，他们开始觉得一切事物都疑点重重，所以迫切想从看到的情节中来找线索，而这是传统叙事所办不到的。」

This temporal relativity allows Abrams to create forms of entertainment more time-bound directors cannot. And it is increasingly not only a stylistic signature, but also an added bit of leverage in the marketplace.

这种时间上相对的关连性，使埃布尔伦斯得以创造出一种新形式的娱乐，而这是那些受到时间束缚、无法跳脱时间的导演所不能及的，而且这种特色愈来愈不只是个人特有的风格而已，而是已经在影剧圈内形成一股影响力。

Background check  个人背景

The son of two Hollywood producers, the 42-year-old Abrams got his first movie job at 16, when he composed music for director Don Dohler’s Nighbeast in 1982. During his senior year at Sarah Lawrence College, he wrote his first feature treatment, which became 1990’s Taking Care of Business. By 1998, Abrams had co-created the Gen-Y hit Felicity, which ran four seasons on the now-defunct WB. Then he hit it big with Alias, starring Jennifer Garner, and Lost, which he created with Damon Lindelof.

四十二岁的埃布尔伦斯出身好莱坞世家，父母都是制作人，在十六岁时获得了第一份电影工作，替导演唐．杜勒的一九八二年《夜兽》（译注：杜勒擅长以低成本拍摄科幻片和恐怖片）一片作曲。他在「色拉劳伦斯学院」念大四时，写下生平第一部电影脚本，后来拍成了一九九０年的《做生意》（暂译）一片。一九九八年，埃布尔伦斯与人连手打出Ｙ世代叫座电视影集《幸福》（暂译），在目前已歇业的「华纳兄弟」公司WB电视台热播四季；之后又以女星珍妮弗．嘉纳主演的《双面女间谍》以及和制作人戴蒙．林德洛夫合作的《Lost档案》再创佳绩。

Abrams’ bent for time-bending goes back to his early screenwriting work: In Mike Nichols’ Regarding Henry (1991), the central character, played by Harrison Ford, recovers from amnesia and tries to amend his past. In Forever Young, the following year, the lead (Mel Gibson) awakes after a long cryogenic slumber and begins aging rapidly.

埃布尔伦斯善于扭曲时间的天分，其实可以追溯到早年撰写剧本的经历：例如在导演麦可．尼可拉斯的《意外的人生》（一九九一年）片中，由哈里逊．福特饰演的主角从失忆症中逐渐复原，并试图扭转过去，改过自新重新做人；而次年《今生有约》片中，（梅尔．吉勃逊饰演的）主人翁从长期冷冻睡眠状态中苏醒过来，开始迅速老化。

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keep one on one’s toes 使某人保持忙碌、专注或警醒 to keep one attentive, active, busy or alert

at will 随意地, 任意地 just as or when one wishes

contain [kənˋten] v. 控制，遏制

intriguing [ɪnˋtrigɪŋ] adj. 吸引人的, 有趣的

engage [ɪnˋgedʒ] v. 吸引；占用（时间，精力等）

narrative [ˋnærətɪv] n. 叙述，讲述; 故事

temporal [ˋtɛmpərəl] adj. 时间的 of, relating to, or limited by time

relativity [͵rɛləˋtɪvətɪ] n. 相关性；相互依存; 相对性

signature [ˋsɪgnətʃɚ] n.（人或物的）识别标志，特征

senior [ˋsinjɚ] n.【美】四年级生的；【英】高年级生的

treatment [ˋtritmənt] n.（电影）剧本大纲 Films an expansion of a script into sequence form, indicating camera angles, dialogue, etc

felicity [fəˋlɪsətɪ] n. 幸福

hit it big 获得了成功; {俚语} 成功 to be successful

bent [bɛnt] n. 爱好，倾向，天分 a natural skill or tendency

amnesia [æmˋniʒɪə] n.【医】记忆缺失；健忘（症）

cryogenic [͵kraɪəˋdʒɛnɪk] adj. 低温的；致冷的 using extremely low temperatures

slumber [ˋslʌmbɚ] n.【书】睡眠；微睡

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課文講解

In Lost, Abrams, who directed the pilot uses a plane crash to draw a line between past and present, but his characters shuttle between their earlier and marooned selves, allowing him to trace multiple narratives for each of them. And in directing spring’s Star Trek, a prequel featuring Spock and Kirk as post-adolescents, Abrams used time travel to reinvigorate a tired franchise.

在《Lost档案》中，执导试播节目的埃布尔伦斯，用坠机事件来区隔过去和现在，而剧中人物则来回穿梭在坠机前和困在荒岛之后的不同自我身分之间，这使他能藉此为每个人物编织穿插交错、多管齐下的故事情节。此外，他在执导春季推出的《星际争霸战》时，则运用时空穿梭来为这套已经失去新鲜感的系列电影注入新活力，这部前传电影剧情主要描述史巴克和寇克船长早年在后青春期的故事。

His latest project  新片计划

Abrams uses his time-shifting device to allow for more narrative complexity, which became a way of not only holding on to more viewers but also fueling an elaborate online existence for his shows. With his latest Fox series, Fringe, Abrams has pushed the concept further, breaking down the idea of a “series” altogether. “Lost has a reputation for being a very complicated show where you have to watch every episode,” Abrams says. “Fringe is an experiment for us – you don’t have to watch episodes one, two, and three to tune into episode four.” Each episode can be viewed and understood consecutively or on its own; by breaking down the linear narrative, Abrams opens his series up to new viewers each week.

埃布尔伦斯善于运用时空转换的手法，让剧情变得更加错综复杂，这样不但能吸引更多观众持续观赏，还能增加节目在网络上的能见度。他为「福斯电视」所拍的新作《危机边缘》（译注：剧情以代号为Fringe的秘密部门铺陈），又令他的创作理念更上一层楼，把整个所谓「系列」影集的观念全部打破。「《Lost档案》以剧情错综复杂着称，所以观众必须看完所有集数才能看懂，」埃布尔伦斯表示，「但对我们来说，《危机边缘》却是个实验──比方说，观众在看第四集之前，不一定非得看完第一、二、三集不可。」每集无论是连贯着看、或是单独来看，都能看得懂，就这样，埃布尔伦斯打断了剧情的线性发展，但这反而能让影集每周吸引更多新的观众。

Abrams’s expert maneuvering within the space-time continuum seems to have sharpened his ability to see into his own future. In March, an associate directed him to a soon-to-be-published article about the world’s biggest diamond heist in Antwerp, Belgium, in 2003. Abrams immediately arranged to buy the rights through his deal with Paramount. In his mind, he could see the film taking shape – the duplicitous diamond dealer, the genius safecracker, the security-systems expert, and a muscleman with savant-like logistical skills. “The story struck a chord and I just reacted to that gut feeling,” Abrams says. Safe to say it came along at the perfect time.

善于玩弄时空连续性于股掌的埃布尔伦斯，似乎也同时练就了预知自己未来的好工夫。三月间，一位同事告诉他，有个即将出版的文章，主题描写二００三年在比利时安特卫普所发生的全球最大钻石窃案（译注：二００三年二月，神秘窃贼闪避了重重安全防备，潜入该市钻石中心，洗劫绝大部份保险箱内的钻石）。埃布尔伦斯立刻和「派拉蒙」公司洽商买下此文的版权。在埃布尔伦斯心中，已经描绘出这部片子该如何成形──双面人的钻石商、天才型的保险柜窃贼、安全系统专家，和后勤技巧具有专业水平的壮汉。「这个故事非常扣人心弦，而我只是针对内心深处的感觉来响应，」埃布尔伦斯表示，而他响应的时机可说是恰到好处。

－by Mark Borden

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pilot [ˋpaɪlət] n.（广播或电视的）试播节目 a television program produced as a prototype of a series being considered for adoption by a network; a trial television program made as a test for a proposed series

draw a line between 划界限, 区分 to think of or treat one thing as different from another

shuttle [ˋʃʌt!] v. 使穿梭般来回移动

prequel [ˋprikw!] n.（电影的）先行篇，前篇，前传

post-adolescent [post͵æd!ˋɛsnt] adj. & n. 青春期后

reinvigorate [͵riɪnˋvɪgə͵ret] v. 给…注入新的活力; 使…精神焕发

franchise [ˋfræn͵tʃaɪz] n. 系列电影 Films a film that is or has the potential to be part of a series and lends itself to merchandising

device [dɪˋvaɪs] n. 手段；谋略；诡计

narrative [ˋnærətɪv] adj. 叙事的；叙事体的；故事形式的

elaborate [ɪˋlæbə͵ret] adj. 精心制作的；精巧的；详尽的

linear narrative 线性发展 a story following from start, to middle to end

open something up to someone 使...可利用, 提供机会, 提供; 开放 to make something available to someone; to permit someone to join something or participate in something

maneuver [məˋnuvɚ] n. 策略，谋略，花招

space-time continuum【物】时空

continuum [kənˋtɪnjʊəm] n.【哲】连续

associate [əˋsoʃɪɪt] n. 伙伴；同事；朋友；合伙人

direct [dəˋrɛkt] v. 给……指路；指点[（+to）]

heist [haɪst] n.【美】【口】强夺；抢劫

take shape 形成, 初具雏形

duplicitous [djuˈplɪsətəs] adj. 骗人的 dishonest, especially by saying different things to two people

safecracker [ˋsef͵krækɚ] n. 保险箱窃贼

muscleman [ˋmʌslmən] n.【俚】打手; 肌肉发达者

savant [səˋvɑnt] n. 学者；专家 someone with exceptional abilities, especially in one specific area

gut feeling 直觉

gut [gʌt] adj. 本能的，直觉的

safe to say 可以这么说; 可以肯定地 used for saying that something is likely to be correct

单词发音

Vocabulary Focus

warp [wɔrp] v.（时间或空间的）扭曲 to change the measurement of time in such a way that people and events from one part of history are imagined as existing in another part

accelerate [ækˋsɛlə͵ret] v.【物】使加速 to go faster

leverage [ˋlɛvərɪdʒ] n. 手段；力量；影响力 power to influence people and get the results you want

defunct [dɪˋfʌŋkt] adj. 不复存在的; 已废除的; 已停业的; 已解散的 no longer existing

amend [əˋmɛnd] v. 改良，修改; 修订 to change something, especially to make it better

marooned [məˋrund] adj. 陷于孤立无援困境的 left in a place from which you cannot escape

strike a chord 引起(某人)内心共鸣; 打动(某人) to be interested in something, usually because it is connected with your own life or opinions

Lost 档案-破茧

NightBeast Trailer 1983

Taking Care Of Business

Felicity Season 1 Episode 01 Part 1 of 5

Alias - 1x01 - Truth Be Told - Part One

more vidoes

Regarding Henry (trailer)

Forever Young theatrical trailer

Star Trek 2 in 3D? J.J. Abrams Explains

Fringe Promotional Trailer