《馬克波羅》能否複製《紙牌屋》的成功

In the first episode of “Marco Polo,” Netflix’s coming original series, the Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan sits on a throne in his gilded palace and plots the future conquests of his growing empire.

在Netflix即將上映的原創新劇《馬可·波羅》(Marco Polo)第一集中，蒙古大汗忽必烈坐在鍍金宮殿的王座之上，爲不斷擴張的帝國制定未來的征服計劃。

One adviser questions whether the ruler desires to be emperor of Mongolia or emperor of China. Khan rises from his throne, draws his sword and roars: “Emperor of China? Emperor of Mongolia? I want to be emperor of the world!”

一個軍師問這位君主，他是想做蒙古的大汗，還是想做中國的大汗。忽必烈從王座上起身，拔劍長嘯：“中國的大汗？蒙古的大汗？我要做世界的大汗！”

Such an audacious declaration could very well have been written for Netflix itself as it pursues global expansion at breakneck speed. This streaming company has pushed aggressively into just over 50 countries and counts more than 50 million total global subscribers. Conquering foreign lands is now crucial as its growth slows in the United States.

這大膽的宣言堪稱Netflix自身的絕好寫照，目前，它正以驚人的速度在全球擴張。這家流媒體公司已經積極地進入了50多個國家，在全球擁有5000萬以上用戶。由於它在美國本土的發展已經放緩，在異國開疆拓土就顯得尤爲關鍵。

“It is no secret that we want Netflix to be a global product,” said Ted Sarandos, its chief content officer. “That is the mission.”

“我們希望Netflix成爲全球性公司，這不是什麼祕密，”公司內容總監泰德·薩倫德斯(Ted Sarandos)說，“這就是我們的任務。”

As was the case with Kublai Khan’s 13th-century empire building, Netflix’s 21st-century mission will involve a series of battles as the company encounters vast cultural differences, fierce rivals and high costs, among other challenges.

正如忽必烈汗在13世紀建立帝國時的情形，Netflix要想在21世紀完成征服世界的任務，也需要進行一系列苦戰，同樣也面臨着巨大的文化差異、強大的競爭對手與高昂的花費，當然還有其他種種挑戰。

Already, Netflix has stumbled. Infrastructure issues like establishing payment systems for customers proved difficult in Latin America. And about a fifth of the company’s market value has evaporated since mid-October, after it disappointed investors with slower-than-expected subscriber growth that followed its September debut in France, Germany and other European markets. Some analysts have raised concerns that rapidly rising obligations tied to paying for content (totaling $8.9 billion as of September) could leave it in a precarious financial position in the long term.

Netflix已經犯過錯。在拉丁美洲，建立用戶付費體系等基礎設施被證明十分困難。公司於9月登陸法國、德國與其他歐洲市場，但訂閱用戶的增長速度比預期緩慢，令投資者極其失望，因此10月中旬以來，公司的市場價值隨之縮水了五分之一。有些分析者擔心，公司因購買內容而承諾的版權費用迅速增長（9月份已達到89億美元）會令公司的長期財務狀況處於危險之中。

Media executives and analysts predict that as Netflix pushes ahead with its global mission, it will face threats from local insurgents, as a growing number start streaming services of their own. It must also outmaneuver competitors like Time Warner’s HBO, which already has a robust international business and announced a streaming deal last week in China.

媒體人士與分析師們預測，隨着Netflix不斷推行全球擴展計劃，它也將面臨本土“起義者”們的威脅——許多國家的公司都開始提供流媒體服務。此外它還要想方設法勝過時代華納的HBO等競爭對手，HBO已是一個強大的國際企業，上週剛剛在中國宣佈一樁流媒體合作。

“Netflix is the one that everybody speaks about, but there are lots and lots and lots and lots of others,” said Keith LeGoy, president of international distribution at Sony Pictures Television. “New streaming services are launching every week.”

“所有人都在談論Netflix，但還有很多很多很多很多別的公司，”索尼影視公司國際分銷部門總裁基思·勒格伊(Keith LeGoy)說，“每週都會出現新的流媒體服務商。”

Netflix’s global ambitions mirror a quest across the media industry to offset slowing domestic growth by expanding abroad. “Some people have said that it is checkmate before it started,” said David Bank, a media analyst at RBC Capital Markets. “But it is really, really early days.”

Netflix在全球的野心反映出傳媒行業通過海外擴張抵銷緩慢的國內增長的一種努力。“有些人說這從一開始就是一場死局，”RBC資本市場的分析師大衛·班克(David Bank)說，“但現在這樣說真的爲時過早。”

Netflix is doubling down on its international bet, preparing to enter markets like Australia and New Zealand next March, and snapping up the global rights for original film and television programs. But perhaps its biggest content wager is “Marco Polo,” its series about the 13th-century traveler’s adventures in the court of Kublai Khan. Netflix owns the international rights for the show, which is produced by the Weinstein Company, an independent studio, and will be available for streaming on all of Netflix’s global outposts on Dec. 12.

Netflix在國際市場投下了雙倍賭注，打算在明年三月進軍澳大利亞和新西蘭等市場，並搶購若干原創電影與電視節目的國際版權。但它在內容方面最大的賭注或許還要算是《馬克·波羅》，該劇講述13世紀一位旅行家在忽必烈汗宮廷中的冒險經歷，由獨立製片公司韋恩斯坦公司(Weinstein Company)攝製，Netflix擁有國際版權，12月12日起將可以在Netflix全球所有流媒體站點上觀看。

At about $90 million for the first season’s 10 episodes, according to industry executives, the East-meets-West epic is not only Netflix’s most expensive original production to date, but also one of the most expensive series today. Only “Game of Thrones,” on HBO, is said to surpass that steep budget.

公司人士透露，這部史詩片是關於東西方的碰撞，第一季有10集，耗資9000萬美元，不僅是Netflix迄今斥資最多的原創劇，也是目前最昂貴的劇集之一。據說只有HBO臺的《權力的遊戲》(Game of Thrones)超過這一高昂預算。

While Netflix has a number of original programs in the pipeline, the success of “Marco Polo” will serve as a referendum on how well its original programming strategy performs on a global stage.

Netflix醞釀原創節目期間，《馬克·波羅》的成績將成爲它在全球原創劇戰略執行狀況的參考資料。

Some rivals and analysts said that replicating Netflix’s early success with the drama “House of Cards” and the dark comedy “Orange Is the New Black” for international audiences could prove challenging. The programs generated buzz, won awards and are credited with attracting subscribers. While Netflix did not own global rights to those productions — meaning “House of Cards” appeared on rival TV networks in France and Germany, for instance — executives say the shows helped bolster awareness and perception of Netflix abroad.

Netflix早期憑藉劇集《紙牌屋》(House of Cards)和黑色喜劇《女子監獄》(Orange Is the New Black)贏得了海外觀衆，一些競爭者和分析師認爲，要複製這一成功將會很難。那幾部劇集產生了轟動效應，贏得了衆多獎項，爲公司吸引了訂閱用戶。但Netflix並不擁有這些劇集的國際版權——舉例來說，在法國與德國，《紙牌屋》都是由Netflix的競爭對手電視臺播放的——公司人士說，這些劇集爲Netflix在海外贏得了關注。

Executives and producers said they hoped that “Marco Polo” — filmed in Italy, Kazakhstan and Malaysia with an international cast of hundreds and filled with gory battles, sexual allure, adventure, martial arts and political intrigue — would resonate with viewers around the world.

《馬可·波羅》在意大利、哈薩克斯坦與馬來西亞拍攝，動用了幾百名來自世界各國的演員，劇中充滿血腥戰爭、性感誘惑、冒險、武打和政治陰謀。公司人士和節目製作人說，他們希望該劇能在全球觀衆當中引起共鳴。

“At the heart of it is a universal story,” said John Fusco, the creator and an executive producer of the series. “The journey of Marco Polo is the hero’s journey, one that all cultures across the globe can relate to.”

“它在本質上是一個普遍性的故事，”劇集創作者和執行製片人約翰·福斯克(John Fusco)說，“馬可·波羅的旅行是一次英雄的旅行，能爲世界上所有文化所理解。”

Mr. Fusco is intimate with that journey. Known for his work on “The Forbidden Kingdom,” the martial-arts film, and on the thriller “Young Guns,” he said he was captivated as a child by Chinese culture and has been fascinated with Marco Polo’s story ever since. “You cannot read about that stuff without coming across the name Marco Polo,” Mr. Fusco said.

以武俠片《功夫之王》(The Forbidden Kingdom)和《少壯屠龍陣》(Young Guns)聞名的福斯克對這種旅行並不陌生。他說自己從小就迷戀中國文化，一直都喜愛馬可·波羅的故事。“閱讀和中國有關的東西，就無法迴避馬可·波羅的名字，”他說。

While shooting “Forbidden Kingdom” in 2007, he and his son, Giovanni, then 13, crossed Central Mongolia on horseback, following the Silk Road and tracing the Genghis Khan trail. Along the way, Mr. Fusco said they encountered story after story about Kublai Khan and Marco Polo and the missions the adventurer took to various Mongolian villages.

2007年拍攝《功夫之王》期間，他與當時只有13歲的兒子喬萬尼(Giovanni)騎馬橫穿蒙古中部，沿着絲綢之路追溯成吉思汗的足跡。福克斯說，一路上，他們聽說了很多關於忽必烈汗與馬可·波羅的故事，還有這位冒險家到蒙古村莊執行任務的事蹟。

“It always circled back around to Marco Polo and Kublai Khan,” Mr. Fusco said. “That always fascinated me because so few people make the connection between the two. Marco Polo has been kind of buried under this cloud of rather banal historical dust when the true story is so much more exciting.”

“故事總是圍繞着馬可·波羅和忽必烈汗，”福斯克說，“這令我着迷，因爲很少有人把這兩個人聯繫在一起。馬可·波羅早已被平庸的歷史塵埃所湮沒，而真正的故事則要精彩得多。”

After pitching the idea around Hollywood, Mr. Fusco eventually heard from Harvey Weinstein, whose company has been expanding its television business.

福斯克在好萊塢到處推銷這個故事，最終從哈維·韋恩斯坦(Harvey Weinstein)那裏得到了迴音，他的公司正在擴展電視業務。

Ben Silverman, chairman of the multimedia studio Electus, recalled having lunch with Mr. Weinstein about five years ago at the rooftop garden of the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, talking about great stories in the public domain that would intrigue viewers across cultures. The two brainstormed about how to create an East-meets-West drama that would include the appeal of a foreign land, but also a Western character who could connect it.

多媒體制片公司伊萊克圖斯(Electus)的總裁本·席爾瓦曼(Ben Silverman)回憶五年前曾與韋恩斯坦在貝弗利山莊的半島酒店屋頂花園共進午餐，兩人聊起公共版權領域內一些能吸引跨文化觀衆興趣的精彩故事。兩人做了一番頭腦風暴，想拍出一部以東西方相遇爲題材，涉及異國風情，但用一個西方人角色作爲串聯。

“Immediately, it was Marco Polo,” Mr. Silverman said. “There was genuine excitement about bringing the Asian storytelling style to the global audience.”

“我們馬上就想起了馬可·波羅，”席爾瓦曼說，“把亞洲的敘事方式帶給全球觀衆，這真讓人興奮。”

The Weinstein Company and Electus announced in 2012 that they had found a home for the series on Starz, the premium cable network, with Mr. Fusco as the writer. At the time, Mr. Weinstein boasted to the Hollywood publication Variety that the program would be “one of the most expensive shows ever done for pay TV.”

2012年，韋恩斯坦公司與伊萊克圖斯宣佈，這部關於馬可·波羅的劇集將在Starz收費有線臺播出，福斯克擔任編劇。當時韋恩斯坦對好萊塢雜誌《綜藝》(Variety)誇口說，這部劇將成爲“付費電視史上斥資最高的劇集之一。”

Production soon hit roadblocks. Executives wanted to shoot the series in China, but censors raised issues about the violence and sexual aspects of the story. Projected costs started escalating.

但該劇的製作很快遇到了障礙。公司希望在中國拍攝，但審查者們提出片中的暴力和牀戲是個問題。預計成本開始上升。

Seeking a bigger budget, producers took the idea to Netflix, which had recently started pouring resources into its own original series. Mr. Sarandos said Netflix was not looking specifically for a show that would appeal to international audiences, but rather human stories that were rich and relatable. He picked up Mr. Fusco’s scripts, which had been inspired by Marco Polo’s own accounts, couldn’t put them down and signed on to the project.

爲了獲取更高預算，製作人們打起了Netflix的主意，當時它剛剛開始投入資金，打造自己的原創劇集。薩倫德斯說，Netflix並沒有刻意尋找能夠吸引全球觀衆的劇集，而是在尋找內容豐富、能讓人產生認同感的人性化故事。他讀了福斯克受馬可·波羅原著啓發的劇本，一下被深深吸引住，簽下了這個劇。

“The characters that were created and the relationships that were created, you can lift them up from the time and the place and put them somewhere else, they would work just as well,” Mr. Sarandos said. “They were that well written.”

“劇中的人物與人物關係可以超越時代與地域，放到任何地方都同樣適用，” 薩倫德斯說，“他們刻畫得非常好。”

The resulting production is on a scale much larger than the series planned at Starz. The construction crew included 400 people, with an additional 160 in the art department. The team built 51 sets in Malaysia, including Kublai Khan’s opulent throne room. For battle scenes, hundreds of extras appeared costumed and on horseback.

最後的成果比原計劃在Starz播放的劇集規模更加宏大。光是佈景建造就僱傭了400人，還不算藝術部門的160人。這個團隊在馬來西亞建造了51處佈景，包括忽必烈汗豪華的王庭。戰爭戲中使用了數百名騎馬、穿戲服的臨時演員。

A global search to cast the role of Marco Polo came down to the wire. Producers had looked at more than 100 actors, holding auditions in London, Australia and Los Angeles, but still hadn’t found their star. Mr. Fusco’s wife, an acting coach and a teacher of Shakespearean drama, stayed up one night, went through the audition tapes and found a little-known Italian actor named Lorenzo Richelmy.

直到開拍前一刻，劇組還在全球尋找飾演馬可· 波羅的演員。製作人們面試了100多名演員，在倫敦、澳大利亞和洛杉磯都舉行了試鏡會，但是仍然沒能找到適合的演員。福斯克的妻子是演員指導，也教授莎士比亞戲劇，一天晚上，她熬夜觀看試鏡錄像，發現了名不見經傳的意大利演員洛倫佐·裏奇爾米(Lorenzo Richelmy)。

Mr. Richelmy, 24, flew to Malaysia and landed the role. He started an intensive training program that included four hours in the gym, martial arts and horseback-riding lessons each day.

24歲的裏奇爾米飛往馬來西亞，接受了這個角色。他接受了一系列高強度訓練，包括每天四小時的健身、武術與騎馬課程。

Producers brought on a team of cultural advisers and historians to ensure that the narrative would be authentic enough to hold up to viewers worldwide. They noted details, such as how men would bow before the emperor and how to hold shields when riding horses. Filming wrapped up in Malaysia in August after a five-month shoot that started in the canals of Venice.

製作人們還聘請了一組文化顧問與歷史學家，保證故事真實可信，能令全球觀衆接受。他們關注細節，諸如人們怎樣在大汗面前鞠躬、騎馬時怎樣執盾等。劇集開拍始於威尼斯的運河河畔，五個月後的八月份，又來到馬來西亞全力進行。

“We just tried to make the most exciting, entertaining show we could about this very special world and hope that it would be accessible in a lot of different markets, in a lot of different regions,” said Dan Minahan, an executive producer of the series.

“我們只想試着拍出最刺激、最有趣的劇集，反映出這個非常特別的世界，希望它能打入許多不同的市場和地域，”劇集的執行製作人丹·米納罕(Dan Minahan)說。

Netflix, which has said it would spend more than $600 million in 2014 to woo people to try the service, has an extensive marketing campaign for “Marco Polo.” It will take cast members to the Comic Con conference in Brazil, for example, and display costumes and props from the series at a mall in Mexico. Other promotions include television, print and digital ads. The tagline is “Worlds will collide.”

Netflix聲稱將在2014年斥資6億美元爭取觀衆使用該臺的服務，它爲《馬可·波羅》也展開了盛大的市場宣傳攻勢。比如說，劇組成員將參加巴西的動漫展、劇中的戲服與道具將在墨西哥一處場地展出。還有其他電視、紙媒與數碼媒體廣告。宣傳語是“兩個世界即將碰撞”。

The buzz around the show will also serve as a promotional tool for Netflix as it enters new markets, Mr. Sarandos said. Although it doesn’t currently operate in Asia, it hasn’t ruled out the possibility.

薩倫德斯說，Netflix正在打入新市場，因此對於這部劇集的宣傳也是對Netflix的宣傳。儘管公司目前在亞洲沒有業務，但公司並不排除這種可能性。

Mr. Sarandos likened Netflix’s global expansion to Marco Polo himself. “At some point or another we have all been a stranger in a strange land,” he said. “Netflix is that stranger in a strange land.”

薩倫多斯把Netflix的全球擴張比作馬可·波羅的冒險。“在某些方面，我們都是奇異國土上的陌生人，”他說，“Netflix現在就是奇異國土上的那個陌生人。”