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History for Hire 历史出租

详细资料: 创建于 2010年8月18日; 最后更新于 2024年5月25日; 发布于 2012年4月30日; 作者：Mike Lee; 点击数：257

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A Hollywood prop shop helps re-create the past 好莱坞道具店有助重现过往历史

The movie: an adaptation of a novel about a veterinary student who quits his studies to join a traveling circus.

电影：改编自小说的作品，内容讲述一名兽医学生放弃学业而加入巡回马戏团的故事。

The scene: a group of students, circa 1931, on the campus of Cornell University.

场景：一群学生，时间是一九三一年左右，而地点则在康乃尔大学的校园里。

Jim Elyea’s task: to make sure the briefcases the students are carrying look authentic when the film begins shooting.

吉姆．伊利亚的任务：确认电影开拍期间，学生都提着看来确实属于那个年代的手提包。

All in a day’s work 一天的工作

The co-owner of the History for Hire prop house in North Hollywood combs through a 1931 Sears catalog in his 5,000-book library, finds the correct design and selects the appropriate model among his collection of 400 vintage briefcases. It’s just another day at the office for Elyea.

「租借历史」道具公司位于北好莱坞，这家公司的合伙老板吉姆．伊利亚在他藏书五千本的图书室里仔细翻阅希尔斯百货公司一九三一年的商品型录，从中找出了正确的手提包样式，然后在他收藏的四百件各种年代的手提箱中挑出适当的一款。对伊利亚而言，这就是他平日的工作内容。

He and his wife and business partner, Pam, established their company 25 years ago and have managed to survive in a Hollywood sector that has suffered several casualties over the last decade. Their secret weapon: avoiding debt and specializing in hard-to-find historical props, including Revolutionary War muskets, vintage Rickenbacker electric guitars and film cameras from the dawn of Hollywood.

他的太太潘身兼他的生意伙伴，夫妻两人在二十五年前成立这家公司。在好莱坞道具行业里，过去十年来有不少公司阵亡，伊利亚夫妇却生存了下来。他们的秘密武器是：避免借贷，并且专精稀有难得的历史道具，包括美国独立战争（译注：独立战争又名War of Independence）的毛瑟枪、李肯贝克电吉他的经典款式，以及好莱坞电影工业崛起初期的电影摄影机。

The company’s props, which fill a 30,000-square-foot warehouse, have been used in films such as Good Night, and Good Luck and The Aviator and numerous TV shows, including The Pacific, the HBO miniseries produced by Steven Spielberg.

这家公司的道具堆满了占地三万平方呎的仓库。不论在《晚安，祝你好运》与《神鬼玩家》等电影，或是包括史蒂芬．史匹柏监制的HBO迷你影集《太平洋战争》等许多电视节目，都使用过他们的道具。

“You don’t just rent a physical item; you rent the research that goes with it,” said Jim Elyea, a 59-year-old Texan. “We know our history.”

「顾客租用的不只是一件实际的物品，而是包括了找寻这件物品所投入的研究工夫，」五十九岁的德州人吉姆．伊利亚说：「我们对历史了如指掌。」

A love of antiques 热爱古董

The business is a second career for the couple. Pam had worked as a manager for a media buying company and Jim was a courtroom artist before indulging his passion for antiques, which he developed hanging around his mother’s antique shop in Texas.

这家公司是这对夫妇的事业第二春。潘曾在一家媒体营销公司担任经理，吉姆原本是法院素描师，后来纵情投入古董的天地。他以前常在母亲开设于德州的古董店里流连忘返，因而对古董培养出浓厚的兴趣。

The Elyeas were still living in their Hollywood apartment when Jim landed his first major job, supplying military gear to Oliver Stone’s film Platoon. He shipped 85 boxes of flak vests, helmets, machetes and other gear to the Philippines.

吉姆接到的第一件大案子是帮奥利佛．史东执导的电影《前进高棉》提供军事装备，当时他们夫妻还住在好莱坞的公寓里。后来他将八十五箱的防弹背心、钢盔、军刀及其他装备运到了菲律宾。

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More Information

prop [prɑp] n.【口】道具（= property）

veterinary [ˋvɛtərə͵nɛrɪ] adj. 兽医的

circa [ˋsɝkɚ] prep.【拉】大约于，大概是在……（用于日期、数字前） approximately, especially in reference to years

authentic [ɔˋθɛntɪk] adj. 真正的，非假冒的

vintage [ˋvɪntɪdʒ] adj. 古老的；最典型的 referring to something old, of high quality and lasting value

sector [ˋsɛktɚ] n. 行业

casualty [ˋkæʒjʊəltɪ] n. 伤亡

musket [ˋmʌskɪt] n. 毛瑟枪，滑膛枪

miniseries [ˋmɪnɪˋsɪrɪz] n. 电视连续短剧

texan [ˋtɛksən] n. & adj. 德州人（的）

hang around 闲混, 厮混

platoon [pləˋtun] n.【军】排

flak vest 防弹背心 a special piece of clothing worn by soldiers and police to protect them from bullets and weapon

flak [flæk] n.【军】高射炮；高射炮火

machete [mɑˋtʃete] n.（中南美印第安人的）大砍刀

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The importance of getting it right 如实重现

Opening in a small storefront in North Hollywood, the company rapidly expanded after it acquired a warehouse full of props from Paramount Studios in 1989. A big break came a year later when director Richard Attenborough wanted to rent film cameras, dollies, eyeglasses and beach equipment for his movie Chaplin.

这家公司原本在北好莱坞开设一间小店面，后来在一九八九年从派拉蒙电影公司手中买下了一座满是道具的仓库，而开始迅速扩张。在一年后，公司就有了事业上的重大突破，当时导演李察．艾登保罗为了拍摄《卓别麟与他的情人》，而找上门来租借电影摄影机、摄影推车、眼镜及海滩用具。

“Richard Attenborough told us that people learn their history from the movies, so it’s important to get it right,” Pam Elyea said. “That has been our philosophy.”

「李察．艾登保罗对我们说，观众会从电影里学习历史知识，所以必须如实重现当时的情景，」潘．伊利亚说：「这个观点也成了我们的经营理念。」

Scores of other projects followed, and by 2007 the company’s annual revenue had climbed to about $2 million. History for Hire’s inventory includes about 1 million props, from a 1920s can of peaches that rents for $5 a week to a camera dolly from Hollywood’s silent-film era that goes for $3,500 a week.

大量案子随之而来。到了二００七年，公司年营收已攀升至两百万美元左右。「租借历史」收藏的道具约有一百万件，从租金每周五美元的一九二０年代水蜜桃罐头，乃至于租金每周三千五百美元的好莱坞默片时期摄影推车都有。

Painstaking historical research is a key part of the business. Hope Parrish, a veteran property master who worked with the couple on The Aviator, recalls how Jim drew a diagram on butcher paper showing precisely where microphones and cameras should be placed to re-create the actual Senate hearings depicted in the film.

不厌其烦地钻研历史是这一行的关键要素。霍普．派里胥是资深道具师，曾在《神鬼玩家》这部影片的拍摄过程中与伊利亚夫妇合作过。他还记得当时吉姆在包肉纸上画出图表，说明片中出现的参议院听证会场景应该把麦克风和摄影机摆在哪些地方，才合乎当时的真实状况。

“Their attention to detail makes my job 120 percent easier,” Parrish said.

「他们考究细节的工夫让我省事不少，」派里胥说。

History for Hire also diversified, renting out props not only for films and TV shows but also for commercials, music videos and magazines including Rolling Stone.

「租借历史」也多角化经营，租借道具的对象不再限于电影和电视节目，而是包括了广告、音乐影带以及杂志，例如《滚石》杂志。

Keeping their fingers crossed 祈求老天保佑

As the economy recovers and studios ramp up production again, business has begun to rebound for companies like History for Hire. Sales are projected to climb up to 25 percent this year over last year, says Pam Elyea.

随着经济局势复苏，制片厂再次扩增拍片数量，「租借历史」这类公司的业务状况也出现了反弹。据潘．伊利亚表示，预期今年的销售额应会比去年高出百分之二十五。

“Things are looking much better as far as production goes, although there is a huge concern about 2011, when the labor contracts expire. Another strike would be devastating.”

「就影片制作方面而言，目前局势已经好转很多。不过，二０一一年仍有一大隐忧，因为劳动契约（译注：即美国演员工会、美国广播电视艺人协会等工会团体，定期与电影电视制片人协会等资方团体经过谈判后所订定的劳动契约，在磋商过程中，若劳资双方意见分歧，则往往会引发工会罢工）届时将到期，如果到时又有罢工，恐怕会引发严重的后果。」

−by Richard Verrier

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