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Netflix首席内容官:制作大热电视剧没有“规则书”Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer: ‘If you try to make a show for everyone, you make a show for no one’
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Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief hitmaker, rolls s her eye s when I suggest that she should have ordered the cheeseburger for the sake of our conversation. A cheeseburger — or at least a gourmet version — was a colleague’s description she once endorsed as the ideal Netflix output: tasty to most, not cheap but not too exclusive. And she sticks to the description, despite a slight grimace.
当我建议Netflix的首席热门制作人贝拉•巴贾利亚(Bela Bajaria)为了我们的谈话应该点芝士汉堡时,她翻了个白眼。芝士汉堡——或者至少是美食家版本——是她曾经认可的一位同事曾经对Netflix理想产品的描述:对大多数人来说都很美味,不会太便宜也不会太奢侈。尽管稍微皱了皱眉,但她仍然坚持这个观点。
“That’s a great goal, to make something both premium and very commercial,” she tells the FT over some equally pricey fries in London. “We’ve done it over and over again. They’re not mutually exclusive.”
“这是一个伟大的目标,既要做高端产品,又要做非常商业化的产品。”她在伦敦吃着同样昂贵的薯条对英国《金融时报》说,“我们一次又一次地做到了这一点。它们并不相互排斥。”
As chief content officer since 2023 for the streamer, which has almost 270mn subscribers, Bajaria can claim to have more of a say in what people watch every day than most in Hollywood, working with Netflix’s creative teams around the world on commissioning the next blockbuster movies or binge-worthy series.
自2023年以来,巴贾利亚一直担任这家拥有近2.7亿订户的流媒体的首席内容官。可以说,在人们每天看什么节目方面,她比好莱坞的大多数人都更有发言权。她与Netflix在全球各地的创意团队合作,委托制作下一部大片或值得一看的电视剧。
Bajaria has her own origin story worthy of a Netflix pilot (the sort labelled Heartfelt — Witty — Inspiring). Born in the UK to Indian parents in 1970, and living for a time above a corner shop run by her family in Highgate, north London, she moved to the US as a child. Family TV-time watching glossy soaps Dallas and Dynasty helped instil her love of the commercially successful, moreish shows that have become her calling card.
巴贾利亚有自己的故事,值得Netflix制作一部试播片(那种被称为“真诚、机智、励志”标签的故事)。巴贾利亚1970年出生于英国,父母是印度人,曾在家人在伦敦北部海格特经营的一家街角小店的楼上住过一段时间,小时候搬到了美国。全家人一起看的肥皂剧《达拉斯》(Dallas)和《王朝》(Dynasty)让她对这些商业上成功、内容丰富的节目产生了浓厚的兴趣,这些节目也成了她的名片。
TV also offered a chance to fit in. “I would go home every day and watch films and TV because I wanted to quickly get rid of my accent. I wanted to learn American culture.”
电视也为她提供了融入社会的机会。“我每天回家都会看电影和电视,因为我想尽快摆脱我的口音。我想学习美国文化”。
‘Squid Game’ demonstrated how local programmes, in this case from South Korea, could become global hits for Netflix
《鱿鱼游戏》(Squid Game)展示了韩国本土剧集如何能够成为Netflix的全球热门节目
She worked in her parents’ car washes, learning the strong work ethic that helped her push through the ranks as an outsider in Hollywood, where older, whiter and male voices held court. She picked up a Miss India Universe title after college, got her break at the lowest rungs of the TV world as an assistant in the movies and mini-series department at CBS in 1996, but quickly was picked as an executive and became a fixture in Hollywood’s “most influential” lists. Including stints at network broadcasters CBS and NBCUniversal, she has marshalled shows such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Master of None. And her LA accent has long lost any vestige of her north London start.
她曾在父母的洗车店工作,学到了强烈的职业道德,这帮助她作为一个外来者在由年长、白人和男性话语权占主导地位的好莱坞崭露头角。大学毕业后,她获得了印度环球小姐(Miss India Universe)的称号。1996年,她在哥伦比亚广播公司(CBS)的电影和迷你剧部门担任助理,但很快就被提拔为主管,并成为好莱坞“最具影响力”榜单上的一员。在哥伦比亚广播公司和国家广播环球公司(NBCUniversal)任职期间,她负责制作了《神烦警探》(Brooklyn Nine-Nine)、《我本坚强》(Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt)和《无为大师》(Master of None)等剧集。她的洛杉矶口音早已没有了伦敦北部出身的痕迹。
Bajaria’s background has served her well given the globetrotting nature of her role: more than two-thirds of Netflix’s audience is outside the US, meaning that local-language content is more important now than a “one size fits all” approach. Bajaria points to recent successes such as Squid Game from Korea, Heeramandi from India and The Gentlemen from the UK — programmes made with a domestic audience in mind that became worldwide hits.
巴贾利亚的背景在她的工作中发挥了很大作用:Netflix超过三分之二的受众在美国以外,这意味着本地语言内容比“一刀切”的方法更为重要。巴贾利亚提到了最近的成功案例,如韩国的《鱿鱼游戏》(Squid Game)、印度的《情迷希拉曼地:璀璨名姝》(Heeramandi)和英国的《绅士们》(The Gentlemen )——这些以国内观众为中心制作的剧集在全球范围内大受欢迎。
‘Heeramandi’ is an Indian period drama set during the independence movement against Britain
《情迷希拉曼地:璀璨名姝》是一部以反抗英国的独立运动为背景的印度历史剧
But there is “no rule book” about what works globally and she believes that shows first need to work well locally: “Television, film starts with being very culturally specific and very authentic. If you try to make a show for everyone, you make a show for no one.” The semi-autobiographical dark UK production Baby Reindeer was an especially unexpected success, for example. Low-budget and with an unusual tone and topic, the controversial TV show about a man and his stalker briefly made it into Netflix’s top 10 most watched shows in English ever.
但关于什么在全球范围内行得通,“没有规则书”,她认为,剧集首先需要在当地取得良好的效果:“电视和电影首先要有文化特色,非常真实。如果你想制作一部适合所有人的电视剧,那么结果就会制作出一部谁都不适合的电视剧。”例如,半自传体的英国黑色电视剧《驯鹿宝贝》(Baby Reindeer)取得了意想不到的成功。这部讲述一个男人和他的跟踪者之间故事的电视剧成本很低,基调和题材也不寻常,且备受争议,曾短暂跻身Netflix有史以来点击率最高的10部英语电视剧之列。
Bajaria joined Netflix to oversee unscripted programming (such as makeover show Queer Eye) in 2016 and took over as global head of television in 2020. Netflix quickly faced one of its largest crises after an unexpected drop in subscribers in 2022 blamed on password-sharing, sparking an almost $60bn plunge in its stock market value and analyst talk about the end of streaming. Suddenly, executives had a new mantra of profitability and a focus on programmes that could attract advertisers to new, lower-priced tiers.
巴贾利亚于2016年加入Netflix,负责监督无剧本节目(如改造节目《粉雄救兵》(Queer Eye)),并于2020年接任全球电视主管。2022年,由于密码共享,Netflix的用户数量意外下降,导致其股票市值暴跌近600亿美元,分析师也开始谈论流媒体的终结,Netflix迅速面临其最大的危机之一。突然之间,高管们有了盈利的新口号,并专注于吸引广告商进入新的低价层次的节目。
Richard Gadd as Donny and Jessica Gunning as Martha in ‘Baby Reindeer’
《驯鹿宝贝》中,理查德•盖德(Richard Gadd)饰演唐尼(Donny),杰西卡•冈宁(Jessica Gunning)饰演玛莎(Martha)
Netflix has a content budget of $17bn this year (the same as 2023), making it one of the largest producers of TV and film in the world. This budget has never shrunk, although even the lack of growth is a marked contrast to the years of expansion. She says that expensive does not necessarily mean good, though, with smaller or cheaper shows able to resonate with audiences.
Netflix今年的内容预算为170亿美元(与2023年持平),使其成为全球最大的电视和电影生产商之一。即便是缺乏增长与多年的扩张形成了鲜明对比,但这一预算也没有缩水。她说,昂贵并不一定意味着好,但更小或更便宜的节目也能引起观众的共鸣。
Bajaria says “people have different tastes” and Netflix needs to meet them all — from unscripted dating and reality TV shows to big-budget films and more esoteric series. Repetitive content would mean a lack of authenticity and ultimately fewer viewers, she says: “We’re not going to get scared and not do something because it didn’t work before.” She points to one recent live-action anime adaptation — Cowboy Bebop — that did not prove a success. But this did not stop her commissioning the similar One Piece, which went on to find greater audiences.
巴贾利亚说,“人们的品味各不相同”,Netflix需要满足所有人的品味——从无剧本的约会和真人秀节目,到大制作电影和更深奥的电视剧。重复的内容将意味着缺乏真实性,最终会减少观众,她说:“我们不会因为之前的失败而害怕并放弃做一些事情。”她指出,最近的漫改电视剧《星际牛仔》(Cowboy Bebop)并不成功。但这并没有阻止她委托制作类似的《海贼王》(One Piece),这部剧集后来获得了更多的观众。
Mason Alexander Park as Gren in ‘Cowboy Bebop’, which was not a success for Netflix . . .
Geoffrey Short/Netflix
. . . but the streamer still commissioned the similar ‘One Piece’, with Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D Luffy
Casey Crafford/Netflix
梅森•亚历山大•帕克(Mason Alexander Park)在《星际牛仔》中饰演格林(Gren),这部电影对Netflix来说并不成功……
杰弗里•肖特(Geoffrey Short)/ Netflix
……但该公司仍委托制作了另一部漫改剧《海贼王》,由伊纳基•戈多伊(Iñaki Godoy)饰 蒙奇•D•路飞(Monkey D Luffy)
凯西•克拉福德(Casey Crafford) / Netflix
“We have to make film and TV that members love, and if they love it, the more they watch, the more they stick with Netflix, the more they recommend to their friends. I don’t want to be reactive . . . ‘If this thing works let’s do that again’ . . . you can’t do that.”
“我们必须制作会员喜欢的电影和电视节目,如果他们喜欢,他们看得越多,就会越坚持使用Netflix,就会越多向朋友推荐。我不想被动……‘如果这个东西有效,那就再来一次’……你不能这么做。”
Even so, she admits that one of the metrics on which she will be judged — and in turn will be judging shows — is the cost of production against size of audience. “Ultimately, streaming is about engagement.”
即便如此,她也承认,评判她以及评判节目的标准之一是制作成本与观众规模之比。“归根结底,流媒体是关于参与度的”。
Part of her budget is now being spent on streaming live sports and events. Netflix has struck a deal to broadcast two NFL American football games at Christmas, has shown boxing matches and will show WWE wrestling next year. Bajaria is also excited about “bringing these to life”: Drive to Survive, a programme that follows the Formula One teams, played a major part in boosting the races’ popularity in the US.
她的部分预算现在花在了体育和赛事直播上。Netflix已达成协议,将在圣诞节期间播放两场美国橄榄球联盟(NFL)比赛,还将播放拳击比赛,明年还将播放WWE摔跤比赛。巴贾利亚也对“将这些赛事带到生活中”感到兴奋:跟随报道一级方程式车的节目《极速求生》(Drive to Survive)在提高这项赛事在美国的受欢迎程度方面发挥了重要作用。
Despite these “appointment to view” live events on Netflix and shows with weekly episodes on rival streamers such as Disney, Bajaria says Netflix will continue to be an on-demand service that allows people to watch as much as they want when they want. “We don’t have only five shows that we need to spread out throughout the year.”
巴贾利亚表示,尽管Netflix上可以“预约观看”这些直播活动,以及迪士尼等竞争对手也会每周播出节目,但Netflix仍将继续提供按需服务,让人们在想看的时候想看多少就看多少。“我们不只有五部节目,我们需要在一年中分散播放。”
Gabriel Leone as Ayrton Senna in ‘Senna’
加布里埃尔•莱昂内(Gabriel Leone)在《塞纳传》中饰演艾尔顿•赛纳(Ayrton Senna)
The next year has a number of binge-worthy series, she says. Netflix has a deal with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that has scripted and nonfiction programmes in development. The Leopard, a series based on the novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, is being produced in Italy. Another literary adaptation, One Hundred Years of Solitude from Colombia based on Gabriel Garciá Márquez’s novel, she describes as “stunning”. Senna — a drama based on the racing driver’s life — is coming from Brazil, while Frankenstein is being produced by Guillermo del Toro and a TV version of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club feels like a guaranteed hit.
她说,明年会有很多值得一看的剧集。Netflix与萨塞克斯公爵夫妇(Duke and Duchess of Sussex)达成了一项协议,正在开发剧本和非虚构类节目。根据意大利作家朱塞佩•托马西•迪•兰佩杜萨(Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa)的小说改编的电视剧《豹纹》(The Leopard)正在意大利拍摄。根据加夫列尔•加西亚•马尔克斯(Gabriel Garciá Márquez)的《百年孤独》改编的同名电视剧正在哥伦比亚拍摄,她形容这部作品“令人惊叹”。《塞纳传》(Senna)——一部以赛车手生活为主题的电视剧——正在巴西拍摄,而吉尔莫•德尔•托罗(Guillermo del Toro)正在制作《弗兰肯斯坦》(Frankenstein),理查德•奥斯曼(Richard Osman)的电视剧版《周四推理俱乐部》(Thursday Murder Club)似乎肯定会大受欢迎。
She is excited about shows being developed by directors Kathryn Bigelow, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. But Bajaria says that Netflix should be equally proud of its unscripted output such as reality TV and dating shows. “We want to super-serve all of that. It’s a creative industry. It takes 150 people and some alchemy and a little fairy dust and lots of things to make something great.”
她对凯瑟琳•毕格罗(Kathryn Bigelow)、格蕾塔•葛韦格(Greta Gerwig)和诺亚•鲍姆巴赫(Noah Baumbach)执导的作品感兴趣。但是贝拉•巴贾利亚表示,Netflix同样应该为真人秀和约会节目等无剧本作品感到自豪。“我们希望能够全力以赴地服务于这些。这是一个创意产业。需要150人、一些炼金术、一点仙女粉末和许多其他因素来创造出伟大的作品。”