导读:近日，电影制作人方励在直播视频中为导演吴天明的电影遗作《百鸟朝凤》下跪，希望各大影院的院线经理能为这位已故优秀导演的最后一部作品增加排片量。
A producer and promoter for Wu Tianming’s posthumous film "Song of the Phoenix" has kneeled down in an online video, begging theater owners for more showtime for the critically-applauded film.
近日，电影制作人方励在直播视频中为导演吴天明的电影遗作《百鸟朝凤》下跪，希望各大影院的院线经理能为这位已故优秀导演的最后一部作品增加排片量。
The incident reflects the harsh reality for Chinese art-house films.
这次的下跪事件反映出当今中国艺术电影的严酷现实。
Fang Li, a producer of the film, kneeled down in an online broadcast, crying and begging, "I hope everyone can help promote ’Song of the Phoenix’ on your social networking accounts. And if you (theater managers) can arrange a primetime screening this weekend, I’m willing to kneel down for you. To all the friends who help us, I love you, I can do anything."
在这次直播中，电影制作人方励在镜头前下跪，并哭诉道：“我希望大家能够在自己的微博朋友圈等社交媒体上多多转发宣传《百鸟朝凤》这部电影。如果哪位能够在这个周末给我们安排一次黄金场，我老方就给你下跪。只要各位能够为这部电影出一份力，我可以为你们做任何事情。”
Wu Tianming, a leading man in the Chinese film industry’s fourth generation of filmmakers, had finished his last film entitled "Song of the Phoenix" before his death but never had a chance to see it released. He died on March 4, 2014 from a heart attack at the age of 74, just one month after he finished the editing for "Song of the Phoenix," which tells the story of the friendship between two suona horn (a Chinese woodwind musical instrument) artists from two separate generations.
该部电影的导演吴天明是中国电影行业的第四代电影制作人。《百鸟朝凤》是他去世之前的最后一部作品，如今他没有机会亲自看到这部电影的发行。吴天明导演因心脏病突发于2014年3月4日去世，享年74岁。在他去世前一个月，他刚刚完成了对《百鸟朝凤》这部电影的编辑工作。《百鸟朝凤》讲述的是新老两代唢呐（中国的一种传统木管乐器）艺人为了信念的坚守所产生的真挚的情谊。
According to Wu Yanyan, daughter of Wu Tianming, the lack of promotion funds led to the shelving of the film after her father died. In the past two years, "Song of the Phoenix" eventually secured financial support from various "selfless" filmmakers, she said in a meet-and-greet event after an advance screening.
吴天明的女儿吴妍妍谈到，在父亲死后，《百鸟朝凤》这部电影因为缺乏宣传基金而导致一再被搁置上映。在电影预演之后的一次见面会上，吴妍妍表示，在一些电影制作人慷慨无私的帮助之下，《百鸟朝凤》终于得到了资金上的支持与保障。
"Song of the Phoenix" has not been a commercial blockbuster since its debut on May 6, securing only one percent of all films’ screening arrangements throughout the country. It received great reviews from moviegoers and critics, and its score on China’s movie rating site Douban.com is 8.4/10. However, the rival Hollywood superhero flick "Captain America: Civil War" now dominates the market and "Song of the Phoenix" just grossed around 4 million yuan in a week.
自《百鸟朝凤》于5月6日上映以来，该片叫座率一直不高，首映当天各大影院的排片率仅在1%左右，根本无法与那些商业大片相提并论。尽管该影片得到了一些电影常客以及评论家的一致好评，在豆瓣的评分也达到了8.4分的高分，然而与该电影同步上映的好莱坞大片《美国队长3：内战》却已在该时段占领了电影市场，导致《百鸟朝凤》一星期的票房累计仅在四百万左右。
"I don’t expect big box office earnings for this film. I just hope more people can see Wu Tianming’s last masterpiece," Fang said in his webcast last night. "You (theater managers) can earn big money fifty weekends out of the year -- so just for this weekend, please increase our screening time. For director Wu, for audience. This is our last chance. This is a Chinese film, this is Chinese culture. People don’t just live for money."
方励在直播中说道：“我不求能产生多么丰厚的票房回报，我只希望能有更多的人能够真正去电影院观看吴天明导演的这部遗作。各位电影院的经理们，一年将近五十个星期，你们每个星期都可以赚很多钱，我就恳求你们就在这一周的周末给我们增加排片量吧。为吴导演也好，为观众也好，这是我们最后的机会了。这部电影是我们中国出品的电影，代表的是我们中国的文化。要知道，人不应该只为钱活着。”
Wu was respected for his successful films, which included the award-winning "Old Well" and "The King of Masks," as well as his teaching and nurturing of the fifth generation of Chinese filmmakers, such as Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Huang Jianxin and more. Even Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese sent his heartfelt tribute to the master. "Wu Tianming was a true giant of cinema," said Scorsese in a promotional video.
吴天明导演曾经执导过许多非常成功的电影，其中包括获得金鸡奖最佳故事片奖的《老井》，华表奖最佳对外合拍片奖《变脸》等。此外，吴天明还培养了一批中国的第五代电影制作人，比如张艺谋，陈凯歌，黄建新等当今颇有名气的导演。甚至连奥斯卡最佳导演奖的获得者马丁·斯科塞斯也对这位制作人给予了高度的评价。他曾在一个宣传视频中评价吴天明是电影行业真正的大师。
