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A Serious Look at Will Smith 威尔．史密斯认真谈

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The international superstar reveals a new intensity in his latest film, Seven Pounds 这位国际超级巨星在上部片《七生有幸》中，展露出前所未有的深度

Will Smith takes long strides across the room. His smile is wide. His laugh is booming. He shakes my hand like he’s a corporate CEO, and we’ve just closed on a million-dollar deal.

威尔．史密斯跨着大步穿过房间，脸上挂着灿烂的笑容，笑声洪亮。他和我握手的方式，就彷佛他是位企业执行长，而我们才刚敲定一宗百万美元的交易。

He was here just two years ago, promoting his Oscar-nominated The Pursuit of Happiness, and little seems to have changed: This is a guy very conscious of his power to instantly win over whoever is in his midst.

他两年前来过这里，当时是为了奥斯卡奖提名电影《当幸福来敲门》做宣传，时隔两年，他似乎没多大改变：这位仁兄非常清楚，无论任何人接近他，他都能立刻掳获对方的心。（译注：win over指嬴得对方的支持或同意）

Except once the interview begins, a different side of the actor is revealed. For the first time in recent memory, the world’s biggest movie star seems to be a little worried about his latest project.

只不过，访谈一开始，这位男星的另一面就逐渐显露出来了。就我记忆所及，这应该是这位全球影坛最闪亮的巨星首次对自己所拍的片子感到有点担心。

“It’s definitely patience-trying,” Smith acknowledge of Seven Pounds, an unexpectedly somber drama. “This is a movie that totally banks on the fact that you trust the filmmakers. It tries my patience, …. but I would say that I was fairly certain that people will be able to get through [it].”

史密斯坦承，拍《七生有幸》这部意外沈郁的电影时，「的确考验了我的耐性，」「拍这部片时，我简直完全仰赖我对制片的信任才能撑得下去，对我的耐性是一大考验…不过，我很确信大家一定最后能顺利完成。」

Directed by Gabriele Muccino, with whom Smith also made The Pursuit of Happiness, Seven Pounds unfolds in extremely elliptical fashion; it takes more than an hour before we have even the vaguest inkling of what is actually happening.

《七生有幸》由盖布瑞．穆契诺执导，这是史密斯继《当幸福来敲门》之后再度和他携手合作。剧情的铺陈极度简略难懂，观众可能一直看到超过一个小时之后，才会稍稍对剧情真相略知一二。

Smith plays Ben Thomas, an IRS agent – or at least that’s what he appears to do for a living – who takes a special interest in the cases of a seemingly unrelated group of people, including Rosario Dawson as a woman with a deadly heart condition and Woody Harrelson as a blind telemarketer.

史密斯饰演班．托马斯是美国「国税局」干员，至少表面上看起来他好像是做这行的──托马斯对似乎毫无关连的一群人的案子特别感兴趣，其中包括由萝莎莉．道森饰演的罹患致命性心脏疾病的女子，以及伍狄．哈瑞森饰演的盲人电话营销员。

Clearly Ben is harboring some sort of secret. Whether audiences would still be paying attention by the time the grand revelation takes place, however, remained open to debate.

很显然，班的心中藏有某种秘密，至于观众在大谜团揭晓时，还在不在乎那个秘密是什么，就有待公评了。

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stride [straɪd] n.（一）大步，阔步

booming [ˋbumɪŋ] adj. 隆隆作响的

conscious of (尤指由于不满或自觉重要而)注意的，关注的; 知道的 having an awareness of one's environment and one's own existence, sensations, and thoughts

win over 争取, 说服 make (someone) agree, understand, or realize the truth or validity of something

in one’s midst 在…当中 in the middle of a group; among a group

patience-trying 考验耐性的 extremely annoyed

somber [ˋsɑmbɚ] adj. 忧郁的；闷闷不乐的

get through 干完工作, 完成 to arrive at the end of; finish or complete

fashion [ˋfæʃən] n. 样子，方式

inkling [ˋɪŋklɪŋ] n. 略知

IRS（美国）国内税务局 = Internal Revenue Service

telemarketer [ˌteləˈmɑrkɪtɚ] n. 电话推销员 someone who sells goods or services by telephone

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Artistic turning point  演艺事业的转折点

It’s a very strange choice for an actor who talks often about “studying patterns” and who says that he’s forever looking “for the No. 1 answer” – those rare commercial projects that bridge race, gender and nationality in their appeal.

史密斯会看上《七生有幸》似乎是很奇怪的选择，因为他过去一直强调他努力去「研究各种模式」（译注：史密斯表示，卖座片似乎有模式可循，例如有特效，或是有奇怪的生物，因此如果想拍卖座片，只要挑有这类元素的电影提案就不难办到，本文指《七生有幸》似乎跳脱了史密斯过去拍卖座片的公式），老是说他永远都在寻找「最佳答案」──也就是那些极罕见的商业片，它们能在种族、性别和不同国别间，搭起沟通的桥梁，吸引观众青睐。

“There’s a picture in my mind of who I want to be,” Smith says, “and Seven Pounds – no matter how difficult it is to sell – is in line with the aggressive left turn that I feel like I need to make artistically.”

「对于自己究竟想做什么样的人，我心中自有定见，」史密斯表示，「我感觉自己必须在演艺上做出激进的大改变，而无论《七生有幸》这部片表面上看起来有多么难卖座，但这部片的确仍符合这个方向。」

“I just turned 40,” Smith explains. “I don’t want people to feel like they know what I’m going to do. That’s not fun; that’s not exciting. If you know what something is, there’s no reason to look [at it].”

「我已过四十岁大关了，」史密斯解释说（译注：史密斯生于一九六八年），「我可不希望，到了这把年纪，其他人还自认能预期我未来的走向，那就不好玩了，也让人兴奋不起来。如果你已经事先知道某个东西会是个什么模样，那就没必要再费事去实际看它的模样了。」

As is fairly evident, Smith loves to talk about the entertainment industry and how he works to sustain his lofty place within it. He believes that the key to his success is that he personally travels to other countries to promote his films there. But, of late, the pattern that interests him the most is one he noticed about the top 10 highest-grossing movies of all time.

显而易见，史密斯很喜欢谈演艺圈的事情，以及他如何努力维持自己在圈子里的崇高地位。他认为，他成功的关键就在于，他会配合进行海外随片宣传。不过，近来他最感兴趣的，则是他从史上十大卖座片中窥出的一个模式。

“One of the patterns in the top 10 is that there’s no comedy. I don’t know exactly why, but when people really love something, it’s dramatic. When you look at the Academy Awards, it’s historical figures and mental illness. The patterns are undeniable.”

「十大卖座片的模式之一，就是其中没有喜剧，我也不清楚原因何在，但似乎最令大家感兴趣的就是充满戏剧性的片子。再看看奥斯卡奖，历史人物和心理疾病患者往往备受青睐，其中的模式是毋庸置疑的。」

The chances that Seven Pounds would emerge as the stuff of legend, however, looked slim. Nevertheless, Smith was comfortable with the potentially negative responses, and in fact though that they were essential for keeping his career in high gear.

虽然《七生有幸》成为传奇大片的机率微乎其微，他甚至还认为负面评价反而是确保他演艺生涯维持在高峰的要素呢。

“If everybody loves it, you’re not in the right spot, but if everybody hates it, you’re not in the right [either].”

「如果大家都喜欢那部片，那么你就偏离正轨了，但如果所有人都痛恨那部片，那你同样也没抓对方向。」

－by Christopher Kelly

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in line with 符合 similar to

left turn 意外的大改变 an unexpected change in events

lofty [ˋlɔftɪ] adj. 高耸的; 崇高的

of late 最近, 近来 recently; lately

highest-grossing (扣除税和成本前)总收入最高的；毛收入最高的 earning the largest amount of money before tax is paid or costs are subtracted

slim [slɪm] adj. 渺茫的

high gear 高速运转; 高峰 a state of maximum activity, energy, or force

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Vocabulary Focus

bank on 依赖, 信赖, 指望 to depend on something happening

elliptical [ɪˈlɪptɪkl] adj. (指语言)难懂的, 晦涩的 lacking sections or explanation, and therefore sometimes difficult to understand

vague [veg] adj.（想法等）不明确的，含糊的 not clearly expressed, known, described or decided

harbor [ˋhɑrbɚ] v. 心怀，怀有 to have in mind a though or feeling, usually over a long period of time

revelation [rɛv!ˋeʃən] n. 被揭露的真相; 出乎意料的事 something made known that was secret, or a fact that is made known

appeal [əˋpil] n. 吸引力，感染力 the quality in someone or something that makes them attractive or interesting

aggressive [əˋgrɛsɪv] adj. 有进取精神的；有干劲的 determined to succeed and using forceful action to achieve success

sustain [səˋsten] v. 维持; 使…持续 to cause something to continue for a period of time

The Pursuit of Happiness Trailer

Seven Pounds Official Movie Trailer