[新闻]天佑鲍比:同志维权者是怎样炼成的【洛杉矶时报】




Prayers for Bobby' profiles the making of a gay activist
天佑鲍比:同志维权者是怎样炼成的


Gary Goldstein  2009年1月24日  洛杉矶时报   (翻译:RudeTeddy)

Good things come to those who wait . . . and wait . . . and wait.

好事,多磨.


Just ask David Permut, Daniel Sladek and Chris Taaffe, who have jointly struggled for nearly 12 years to bring the emotionally charged family drama "Prayers for Bobby" to television. The result, on which the trio shares executive producer credit (along with Stanley M. Brooks), premieres at 9 tonight on Lifetime.

问问David Permut, Daniel Sladek和Chis Taaffe, 是谁努力了将近12年才把”天佑鲍比”搬上银幕的? 在今晚九点Lifetime频道的首映上, 他们三个将与Stanley  M. Brooks一起出现在影片监制的名单上.


The project's long journey began in 1996 when Taaffe, then an actor also working in TV production, happened upon the Leroy Aarons' book on which the TV movie is based at a West Hollywood bookstore. He was immediately drawn into the chronicle of a suburban California mother's transformation from religious zealot and homophobe to prominent gay activist after the suicide of her 20-year-old gay son, Bobby.

这个漫长的计划始于1996年, 当时身为演员和电视制片人的Taaffe在西好莱坞的一家书店偶然翻到Leroy Aaron的书(电影原著). 他立刻被这个真是故事吸引. 故事讲述了居住在加州郊区的一位母亲在20岁同性恋儿子自杀后,由宗教狂热和恐同分子转变为坚定同性恋维权者.


Taaffe recommended the book to Sladek, a movie producer and former production executive, who read it and was equally enthusiastic. Envisioning a feature film, Sladek brought the book to Permut, a higher-profile producer with studio credits ("Dragnet," "Face/Off").

Taffe立刻将这本书推荐给电影制片人及前执行制片Sladek,  Sladek读后与Taaffe同样激动. 为了拍成电影, Sladek把书带给经验丰富的制片人Permut(曾制作"法网", "变脸").

"I thought it was a magnificent book. It just resonated on so many levels," said Permut during a group interview in his Century City office along with Sladek and Taaffe. "Being a blind optimist, I thought we'd be in production within a year."

“我认为这是一本棒的书, 它可以引起许多方面的共鸣,” Permut在他的世纪城办公室里与Sladek和 Taaffe一起接受集体采访时说: “开始的时候我们有些盲目的乐观, 曾经认为用不了一年就可以把它拍成电影.”

It certainly didn't work out that way. After more than a decade of near misses, during which time Aarons died, the movie finally found a permanent home at Lifetime. At the same time, another deal was wrapping up to finance an under-$2-million "Bobby" feature film.

结果事与愿违, 十多年后(期间Aaron去世了), 直到去年这部电影终于获得了彩虹频道Lifetime赞助,结束了制作经费不足两百万美金的窘困日子.


But Lifetime's guaranteed wide audience, including those "middle-American" mothers the producers always felt might most benefit from experiencing Mary Griffith's cautionary tale, ultimately trumped going the riskier independent movie route.

但是Lifetime的广泛收视群来自美国的中产母亲, 制片人希望她们对Mary Griffith的故事产生更多触动, 最后决定冒险采用独立电影的方式.


Finally, with a green light, the production found itself butting up against the end of last year's writers strike. Speed became the order of the day and first up was casting for the pivotal role of Mary. During its previous stages of development, the part was to be played at one time or another by Susan Sarandon (not long after her Oscar win for "Dead Man Walking"), Sela Ward and Christine Lahti.

2008年制片人发现他们正面对年底编剧大罢工. 时间紧迫, 首要任务是找到合适的人选来扮演女主角Mary Griffith. 根据先前安排, 这个角色将在Susan Saradon(在她凭借 “死囚上路”获得奥斯卡奖之后不久),Sela Ward和Christine Lahti中敲定.


But luckily the producers were able to attract another major actress: three-time Oscar nominee and two-time Golden Globe award winner Sigourney Weaver. "I felt it was a very universal story, and, especially as a mother, I really wanted to be a part of it," said the actress by phone from Manhattan.

不过制片方意外的吸引到了另一位重量级女演员: 曾获三次奥斯卡提名和两度问鼎金球奖的Sigourney Weaver. “我觉得这是一个普遍的故事,特别是同样身为一个母亲,我非常想加入其中,” 她在曼哈顿那头的电话说到.


Weaver traveled to the Griffiths' Walnut Creek, Calif., home -- the same house Bobby grew up in -- to meet Mary and get the family's "blessing."

Weaver去了Griffith位于加州核桃溪的家(Bobby长大的地方). 她见到了Mary并得到了全家人的“祝福”.


"I had a lot of questions," said Weaver. "I wanted to be sure that I could tell Mary's story, that I understood it. I needed to sit down with her myself and ask, 'Who were you that you could so close your eyes and ears to what Bobby was suffering?' She was very generous with me, very forthcoming."

“我有很多疑问,” Weaver说. “我想确定我能否根据我的理解来讲述Mary的故事. 我需要和她坐下来并问她 ‘你为什么会在那个时候对Bobby的痛苦视而不见?’ 她对我非常友善, 坦诚以待.


Nonetheless, Weaver faced the daunting task of humanizing someone many might consider reprehensible, given Mary's rejection of her son's homosexuality and its tragic consequences.

尽管如此, Weaver依然得说服一些人, 他们认为Mary应当为拒绝接受儿子性向而酿成惨剧负责.


"It wasn't my goal to judge Mary, to make her sympathetic or unsympathetic. I was there to tell the story as accurately as I could," said Weaver. "It was about a mother trying to find her way, who loved her son so much but was a victim of misinformation -- from books and from the church."

“我的目的不是评价Mary是否值得同情. 我只是尽可能地讲述一个真实的故事,” Weaver说. “这是关于一位母亲寻找自我的故事, 一位舐犊情深的母亲最终却成为了受书籍和教会误导的受害者.”


Negative viewer perception has been a concern for the real Mary Griffith, now 74. "I didn't realize until I saw the [completed] movie just how far over the top I really was," said Griffith. "My saving grace is the fact that, back then, I didn't know what I was doing."

消极观众的看法让现实中已经71岁的Mary Griffith感到忧虑. “直到我看完[整部]电影, 我才发现我以前从未意识到过去的自己是多么极端,” Griffith说. “我现在的可取之处就是接受现实, 而那个时候我不知道自己在做什么.”


The telefilm, which was shot in tax-friendly Michigan over 20 swift days, costars Ryan Kelley ("Mean Creek") as Bobby, "The Tudors' " Henry Czerny as Bobby's father and Dan Butler (TV's "Frasier") as a helpful gay minister. Versatile filmmaker Russell Mulcahy ("Highlander," "Swimming Upstream") directed.

这部电视电影, 在税负较轻的密歇根州飞快的拍摄了20多天, 剧组包括了Ryan Kelley (“湖党狗群”)饰演Bobby, Henry Czerny(“都铎王朝”)饰演Bobby的父亲, 还有Dan Butler (电视剧 “欢乐一家亲”)饰演乐于助人的同志主教.  影片由多才多艺的电影导演Russell Mulcahy (“挑战者” “泳往直前”)执导.


Weaver hopes in particular that gay youth who watch the film will be "reassured that homosexuality is natural, that this is part of life, that they may have to fight to be who they are, but they're also fighting to educate us."

Weaver特别希望那些看过这部电影的年轻同志们能够了解 “同性恋是正常的, 是生命的一部分. 也许你们不得不为自己去争取, 但你们争取的同时也是在启迪我们.”


Griffith thinks the movie will offer validation for parents of gays and lesbians as well. "They have to know it's OK to challenge their religious beliefs and church doctrine, especially when the health and welfare of their child is on the line," she said.

Griffith 认为电影同样表达对同性恋亲友组织(PFlag)的认可. 她说:“父母必须知道质疑他们的信仰和教义是可以的,特别是在孩子的健康和幸福岌岌可危的时候."


Sladek took it one step further: "I would hope in my heart that if this movie had existed -- and was on television -- and Bobby Griffith, at his most trapped and isolated, could have seen it, that he would be alive today."

Sladek更明确的说: “我真心希望很早前这部电影就有了而且可以在电视上播出. 假如Bobby Griffith在最孤立无援的时候看到它, 也许今天他会还活着.”

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