《疯狂的亚洲富人》作者：我还想写疯狂的亚洲穷人

With its lavish banquets, helicopter escapes and sweeping descriptions of Singapore’s lush coast, Kevin Kwan’s novel “Crazy Rich Asians” practically begs to be turned into a film. But when Mr. Kwan wrote the book, which was published in 2013, he never thought his set pieces would spring to life. “I told a story that I think was very cinematic. Did I ever dare to dream it would ever happen? Absolutely not,” he said in a phone interview with The New York Times on Friday. “I didn’t think I would even get it published to begin with.”

凯文·关(Kevin Kwan)的小说《疯狂的亚洲富人》描述了豪华的宴会、乘直升飞机度假，以及新加坡郁郁葱葱的海岸，简直太适合改编成电影了。这本书于2013年出版，但是，在创作期间，凯文·关从没想过它能搬上银幕。“我讲了一个非常有电影感的故事，我曾经梦想它会拍成电影吗?绝对没有，”他在周五接受《纽约时报》电话采访时表示。“我甚至没想过它能出版。”

Not only did the book get published and top best-seller lists, but the ensuing film has stormed to No. 1 at the box office, buoyed by warm reviews and aggressive theater-renting campaigns. The film has carried the weight of being the first Hollywood film with an all-Asian cast and a contemporary story since “The Joy Luck Club” in 1993. And even though the movie has been out for less than a week, Mr. Kwan says it has already increased the appetite for different kinds of stories in Hollywood. These are edited excerpts from Friday’s conversation.

这本书不仅得到出版，登上畅销书排行榜第一位，而且，受益于热烈的影评和积极的包场活动，根据它改编的电影还成了票房冠军。自1993年的《喜福会》以来，这是第一部以全亚洲阵容讲述当代故事的好莱坞电影。该片上映不到一周，凯文·关说它已经增加了好莱坞对不同类型故事的兴趣。以下是周五的采访内容，经过编辑和节选。

What was the best reaction from someone who has seen the movie so far?

到目前为止，观影者最好的反应是什么?

I was in Philadelphia, and there were two white dudes in their 50s who went to a screening. One of the guys admitted: “I haven’t cried in a movie in the longest time — but I cried.” And his friend was like, “Yeah, I cried too.”

我在费城，有两个50多岁的白人来看这部片子。其中一个人承认：“我很久没有看电影哭过了——但是我哭了。”他的朋友说，“是的，我也哭了。”

This was not the target demographic. But it’s funny to see them admitting to this and being so surprised by their own reaction. It’s great to hear that, because that’s what we believed from the beginning: that this story transcends race.

他们不是目标人群。但看到他们承认这一点，并对自己的反应感到惊讶，这很有意思。我很高兴听到这个，因为我们从一开始就相信：这个故事超越了种族。

The story explores the world of the uber-rich in Singapore, where you grew up. What was the most obscene show of wealth you saw as a child?

你在新加坡长大，这个故事探讨了那里的超级富豪的世界。关于财富，你小时见过的最令人震惊的一幕是怎样的?

This made it into “Crazy Rich Asians”: There was this family that had recently suffered a personal tragedy. A Christian counselor had come over and was destroying everything that was Chinese or had any dragons or idols. I was 10 years old, and remember watching from the sidelines in this enormous mansion as they were tipping vases to the floor. The maids are weeping: They see fortunes they can’t even make in their whole lifetime being destroyed right in front of them — and they have to literally sweep it up. I can’t make this stuff up.

这一幕也写进了《疯狂的亚洲富人》：有个家庭不久前遭受了个人悲剧。一位基督徒咨询师来了，摧毁了所有中国化的东西，或者带有龙和偶像的东西。记得我那年10岁，在那栋巨大的豪宅边上看着他们把花瓶扔在地上。女佣们哭了起来：她们看到自己一辈子都赚不到的财富在自己面前被摧毁——而且她们还得把它们清扫干净。这种事我可编不出来。

The book is a satire of this culture of excess, but Hollywood loves to glorify wealth. Were you worried that critique would be lost in translation?

这本书是对放纵文化的讽刺，但好莱坞喜欢美化财富。你是否担心这种批判会迷失在翻译之中?

Jon [Chu, the film’s director] and I had many many long talks over this. I knew and understood his vision: that even though there are decadent scenes, you look beyond that. The story at the heart of it is about a family, a couple, a mother and a son. And there’s where the true crazy richness lies in the story.

浩伟(朱浩伟，电影导演)和我就此长谈了很多次。我知道并理解他的愿景：即使有放纵的场景，但也要看得更远。故事的核心是关于一个家庭、一对情侣、一个母亲和一个儿子。真正疯狂的丰富性在于故事。

While other authors option their books for thousands of dollars, you optioned the book to the production companies Color Force and Ivanhoe for $1. What did you do with that dollar?

其他作家卖出作品的改编权要价都是成千上万美元，你给Color Force和Ivanhoe这些制作公司报出的改编费只有1美元，你是怎么花那1美元的呢?

I don’t think I actually got that dollar, quite frankly. Basically, I was trying to make myself as amenable to the deal as possible. I didn’t want things to be held up by money. I wanted the money to be spent hiring a great screenwriter — to really adapt my book rather than to pay me some stupid option fee. And it gave me a partnership stake in the whole process. So it was worth every dollar — it was worth that dollar. [laughs]

说实话，我应该并没有真的拿到那1美元。基本上我是在让自己尽可能地顺从这笔交易。我不想让事情被钱给拖住。我想用那笔钱来请一个优秀的编剧——去认真改编我的书，而不是给我一笔愚蠢的版权费。而且，它让我在整个过程中获得了合作股份。所以很划算——那1美元值了(笑)。

There was controversy over the casting of Henry Golding, who is half white, to play Nick, the male romantic lead. Did that debate come up during the casting process?

让有一半白人血统的亨利·戈尔丁(Henry Golding)来扮演男主角尼克，是存在争议的。在选角过程中有没有这样的争论?

It definitely came up in the room and was something we deliberated about for a very long time. We were hyper-conscious of what would happen and how people would respond. But at the end of the day we really felt that he really was the perfect Nick. We had to put aside our own issues to see that.

确实有过，这也是我们考虑了很久的一个问题。我们很明白选了他之后会发生什么，人们会作何反应。但我们最后还是觉得他确实是个完美的尼克。我们得把自己的问题搁置一边才能看到这一点。

I understand the issue, and I’m glad it came up. But being from Singapore, which is such a multicultural society, and having so many cousins who are mixed race — and seeing their struggle as mixed-race Asians who aren’t fully accepted on either side — I really have a lot of empathy for that. How are they not Asian? How is Henry Golding, who has spent most of his life living in Asia, considered not Asian? Fifty years ago he wouldn’t be let into a lot of private clubs just based on the way he looks.

我理解这个问题，也很高兴人们把它提了出来。但我自己就来自于新加坡，那是一个多元文化的社会，我有许多混血表亲，我看到他们作为混血亚裔，两边都得不到完全接受的挣扎，我能理解他们的感受。他们怎么就不是亚洲人呢?人生中的大多数时间都是生活在亚洲的亨利·戈尔丁怎么就不是亚洲人?50年前，因为他那样的外表，很多私人俱乐部都不会放他进去的。

Over the past few months, have you seen a change in potential opportunities for Asian and Asian-American stories in Hollywood?

在过去几个月里，你有在好莱坞看到亚裔和亚裔美国人故事的可能性发生了变化吗?

Absolutely. There’s tremendous interest now in projects that I’m developing going forward. I see it also with the cast: All of them have different pots that are boiling. They’re being offered different roles and possibilities. We’re seeing how all these actors are in demand in a whole new way, and in projects that aren’t just Asian based. The climate’s already changing.

绝对有。如今好莱坞对我正在向前推进的项目兴趣浓厚。我在演员中也能看到这一点：他们所有人都有很多事要忙，都获得了许多不同的角色邀约和机会。我们看到好莱坞对这些演员的需求呈现出全新的方式，而且需要他们参与的项目不仅仅是基于亚洲的。外部大环境已经在发生改变了。

Now that you’ve broken the bamboo ceiling, what kinds of stories are you interested in telling?

现在你已经突破了竹子天花板，你还有兴趣讲哪些故事?

Crazy poor Asians. Or just crazy average Asians. I’ve written three books about the 1 percent. Now, it’s all about exploring this wide spectrum and showing other facets of Asians around the world. I want to show how they can be as cool as the crazy rich Asians, if not more.

疯狂的亚洲穷人。或者只是疯狂的普通亚洲人。我已经写了三本关于1%人群的书。如今，我想写的全是关于这个宽泛范围的探索，展现世界各地的亚洲人其他的方面。至少我想展示出他们能与疯狂的亚洲富人一样酷。

I’m also developing a TV series with Amazon. It’s going to be set in Hong Kong, and it’s about the most powerful and ruthless family there. It’s going to be very different in tone and subject matter.

我还在与亚马逊合作开发一部电视剧。这部剧将以香港为背景，讲述的是香港最有权势、最无情的家庭。它的基调和主题会非常不同。

[Spoilers ahead:] The post-credits scene of the film sets up a new potential love interest for the spurned Astrid (Gemma Chan). Is the scene a harbinger of a sequel?

(下文有剧透)影片字幕放完之后的一幕为遭到拒绝的阿斯特丽德(Astrid，嘉玛·陈[Gemma Chan]饰)设定了可能的恋爱剧情。这一幕是续集的预告吗?

I really hope so. A few of the actors and me, we snuck into one of the screenings in Union Square and were watching as the credits rolled. The minute that scene played, people were screaming. It was hilarious to watch.

我真的希望如此。几个演员和我之前偷偷溜进了联合广场的放映活动，看到了字幕滚动。那一幕播出来时，人们都在尖叫。看到这一幕真的很好笑。

We are definitely trying to set things up for a sequel. But it all depends on this movie performing well and having legs. This is not up to us.

我们绝对会试着弄一部续集。但这都要取决于这部影片的表现，是否有生命力。决定权不在我们。