紐時賞析／奧斯卡入圍午宴 變群星拱日大會

At the Oscar Nominees Luncheon, a Crowd in Cruise Control

奧斯卡入圍午宴 變群星拱日大會

For the privileged few embarking on an Oscar campaign, the path to a nomination asks you to hobnob with so many of the same people that over the course of many months, your competitors can begin to feel like classmates.

對於有幸出席奧斯卡活動的佼佼者來說，入圍之路得先與數不清的同行打交道，數個月下來，原本的競爭者可能開始感覺像同學了。

But on Monday afternoon, at a luncheon held in Beverly Hills, California, for this year’s Oscar nominees, the arrival of a new student caused quite a stir.

但周一下午在加州比佛利希爾頓酒店為今年奧斯卡入圍者舉行的午宴上，一名前來報到的新生引發轟動。

That would be Tom Cruise, nominated this year as a producer of the megahit best picture contender “Top Gun: Maverick.” He was among the first notable names to walk into the ballroom of the Beverly Hilton. The 60-year-old star had sat out both the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards this season, so many of his fellow nominees were encountering him for the first time. Before long, the ballroom had turned into a massive meet-and-greet.

他是湯姆克魯斯，入圍今年最佳影片的熱門大片「捍衛戰士：獨行俠」製片人之一。他是最先踏入比佛利希爾頓會場的幾位名人之一。這名60歲巨星缺席了本季的金球獎及美國影評人獎，很多一起入圍的人是首次見到他。午宴不久後就變成一場大型見面會。

“I love you, I love you, oh, my God!” said “Everything Everywhere All at Once” star Ke Huy Quan, who hopped in place, exclaiming, “I want a picture with this man!” before seizing a selfie with Cruise. Director Guillermo del Toro went over for an embrace, as did nominated actors Brendan Fraser, Angela Bassett and Michelle Williams. Cruise even posed for pictures with Steven Spielberg, a once-frequent collaborator whom the star has not been publicly photographed with in over a decade.

「我愛你，我愛你，喔我的天！」「媽的多重宇宙」演員關繼威興奮得跳不停，大喊「我要跟這男人合照」然後與湯姆克魯斯自拍。導演吉勒摩戴托羅跑去跟湯姆克魯斯擁抱，入圍演員獎項的布蘭登費雪、安琪拉貝瑟、蜜雪兒威廉絲也一樣。湯姆克魯斯甚至與過去常合作、但已逾十年未公開同框的導演史蒂芬史匹柏合影。

The nominees luncheon is supposed to be an egalitarian affair where big stars and behind-the-scenes technicians are on equal footing, but there was no mistaking Cruise as the ballroom’s top dog: He had the gravitational pull of the sun and its burnt-orange countenance, too.

奧斯卡入圍午宴本該是一場幕前明星與幕後技術人員以平等身分相見的聚會，但湯姆克魯斯無疑是宴會廳裡的頭號人物：他自帶太陽般的引力，也擁有如烈日煥發的焦橙臉龐。

Still, simply making it to Cruise took some time: In the schmoozy hour before lunch was served, he was so mobbed by his fellow nominees that he was hardly able to move more than a few feet. I watched for a while as “Elvis” star Austin Butler drifted with slow, inexorable determination toward Cruise, who finally pulled the younger man toward him by clamping a hand on his shoulder like a stapler. For several minutes, they were locked in such a tight bro-embrace that it was impossible to discern what they were talking about.

單單要接近湯姆克魯斯就得花上不少時間：在用餐前的交流時間，入圍者們將他團團圍住，他幾乎無法移動幾步。我看著飾演「貓王」的明星奧斯汀巴特勒緩慢卻堅定地朝他一步步走去，而湯姆克魯斯最終伸出手，像支釘書機一樣一把按在這年輕人的臂膀上，將他拉向自己。有好幾分鐘時間，他們像兄弟一般緊緊擁抱，兩人到底說了些什麼，其他人根本不可能得知。

So instead, I made my way to “Top Gun: Maverick” producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who observed the scene serenely just a few feet away. “It’s my first time at the luncheon,” said the newly nominated producer, who’s better known for making explosive action movies than Oscar fare. “After 50 years in the business, I finally get here.”

我見狀後移動到「捍衛戰士：獨行俠」另一製片傑瑞布洛克海默身邊，他在幾英尺外平靜的看著這一幕。「這是我第一次參加奧斯卡午宴」，這位剛入圍的製片主要以激烈的動作片聞名，而非奧斯卡電影，「在這一行打滾五十年後，我終於來到這兒了」。

文／Kyle Buchanan　譯／陳曉慈

說文解字看新聞

【陳曉慈】

奧斯卡金像獎頒獎典禮12日登場，所謂「入圍即得獎」，每年的「入圍者午宴」是盛事之一。作者以旁觀者角度書寫，透過選字呈現出對浮華盛宴的立場。

Privileged和few點出奧斯卡是眾星仰之彌高、僅少數人能沾上邊的場所，想入圍得在事前進行無數hobnob（社交），這個字有時指蹭熱度，介詞用with。

形容詞schmoozy原指閒聊，但也指別有所圖、想博取好感的閒磕牙。Mob是烏合之眾，當動詞指激情簇擁，形容阿湯哥被一擁而上的人潮團團包圍至淹沒，生動還原當時眾人瘋狂的現場。

鏡頭拉遠，作者用egalitarian/equal表示入圍者午宴理應是眾生平等，接著以top dog和gravitational pull of the sun說明現實並非如此。Top dog指團體中最重要有權勢者尤其是競賽贏家，與太陽的萬有引力、強化眾星拱日的意象。標題的in cruise control一語雙關，以巡航定速模式比喻輕易掌控局勢，都臣服在Tom Cruise的魅力下。