Netflix簽約的一個(gè)新項(xiàng)目卷入了一樁丑聞——說(shuō)不定在將來(lái)某一天,,這樁離奇的丑聞也值得該公司專(zhuān)門(mén)為之拍攝一部犯罪劇,。
2020年9月,,美國(guó)流媒體巨頭Netflix宣布與中國(guó)的游族影業(yè)合作,,籌備將大熱的中國(guó)科幻小說(shuō)《三體》搬上大屏幕,。游族影業(yè)之前就持有《三體》的影視改編權(quán)——這是《地球往事》(《三體》原名)三部曲中的第一本,,但是該公司在中國(guó)一直遭到抨擊,,因?yàn)樗疚茨艹晒Φ貙⑦@本暢銷(xiāo)的小說(shuō)改編成電影或電視劇,。
去年9月,,Netflix表示,,《三體》將由HBO出品的《權(quán)力的游戲》的編劇大衛(wèi)?貝尼奧夫和D?B?威斯共同操刀,而游族的董事長(zhǎng)林奇和副總裁趙驥龍將作為該項(xiàng)目的執(zhí)行制片人,。
林奇在一份聲明中說(shuō):“我們很高興與Netflix一起踏上這段新的冒險(xiǎn)之旅,?!?/p>
但是在12月下旬,,林奇中毒身亡,。據(jù)中國(guó)媒體報(bào)道,林奇于12月15日在上海被送往醫(yī)院,,并于10天后的圣誕節(jié)那天死亡,。上海當(dāng)局在林奇的血液中發(fā)現(xiàn)了至少五種不同類(lèi)型的毒物,包括來(lái)自河豚體內(nèi)的一種劇毒,,以及過(guò)量可致人死亡的重金屬汞?!敦?cái)新國(guó)際》也報(bào)道稱(chēng),,游族的副總裁趙驥龍和至少另一名員工也中了非致命劑量的汞。
12月下旬,,上海警方向中國(guó)媒體證實(shí),他們拘留了一名在游族工作的許姓嫌疑人,。今年1月,,《財(cái)新國(guó)際》的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),犯罪嫌疑人很可能是林奇的同事許垚,,他于2017年加入游族,,并擔(dān)任公司的首席執(zhí)行官。許垚是一名訓(xùn)練有素的律師,,其工作是負(fù)責(zé)《三體》項(xiàng)目中涉及的知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)問(wèn)題,。
警方尚未就林奇之死起訴許垚或其他任何人,林奇被懷疑是他殺的潛在動(dòng)機(jī)也仍然不清楚,。但《財(cái)新》還報(bào)道說(shuō),,許垚和林奇的關(guān)系很差,而這起碼有一部分是由于林奇與Netflix達(dá)成交易有關(guān),。
與林奇和游族有過(guò)來(lái)往的消息人士告訴《財(cái)新》,,許垚可能是從《絕命毒師》這部電視劇中汲取靈感的。據(jù)報(bào)道,,他建立了自己的實(shí)驗(yàn)室來(lái)制造毒藥,,并在貓狗等寵物身上進(jìn)行了測(cè)試。
游族在給《財(cái)富》雜志的回復(fù)中沒(méi)有評(píng)論許垚在林奇中毒一案中可能扮演什么樣的角色,,而是稱(chēng)林奇的過(guò)世“對(duì)我們所有人來(lái)說(shuō)都是無(wú)法形容的損失”,。該公司還表示,,它將努力讓該項(xiàng)目順利進(jìn)行下去,。
游族的發(fā)言人在一份聲明中說(shuō):“我們與Netflix在《三體》系列的合作將繼續(xù)按計(jì)劃進(jìn)行?!?/p>
Neflix在去年9月宣布了其《三體》計(jì)劃,引起了極大的關(guān)注,,特別是由于其爭(zhēng)取到了《權(quán)力的游戲》編劇威斯和貝尼奧夫的參與。
貝尼奧夫和威斯在一份聲明中寫(xiě)道:“劉慈欣的三部曲是我們讀過(guò)的最雄心勃勃的科幻小說(shuō)系列。我們期待在未來(lái)的幾年內(nèi)將它搬上大銀幕,為世界各地的觀眾帶來(lái)一場(chǎng)視聽(tīng)盛宴,?!?/p>
2020年9月,,美國(guó)的一名議員呼吁這家流媒體巨頭取消對(duì)該劇的制作,而林奇之死已經(jīng)成為Netflix《三體》系列的第二起丑聞,。
Netflix拒絕評(píng)論林奇的過(guò)世或《三體》的未來(lái)制作。但現(xiàn)在,,一系列丑聞?wù)谕{著這部備受期待的大片,,使之可能尚未開(kāi)啟,,就麻煩不斷,。
但Netflix表示將繼續(xù)拍攝這部劇。
劇版《三體》,,何去何從?
Netflix似乎愿意繼續(xù)推進(jìn)這個(gè)項(xiàng)目,。但是,該公司沒(méi)有表明林奇的死亡是否會(huì)改變其制作《三體》劇集的計(jì)劃,。
南加州大學(xué)研究中國(guó)政治,、社會(huì)和電影的教授斯坦利?羅森說(shuō):“林奇是項(xiàng)目的助推者,(與Netflix的合作)幾乎是他最大的心血?!?/p>
Netflix幾乎沒(méi)有提供關(guān)于游族和林奇參與項(xiàng)目開(kāi)發(fā)的細(xì)節(jié),。目前尚不清楚游族是否有權(quán)在中國(guó)發(fā)行這部劇。在宣布該項(xiàng)目的新聞稿中,,Netflix表示,,游族“獲得了”制作《三體》的“授權(quán)”,并將游族列為該項(xiàng)目五位執(zhí)行制片者之一,。但是,,和好萊塢的許多執(zhí)行制片者一樣,尚不清楚游族在劇集制作中扮演了什么角色,。林奇的工作將被誰(shuí)替代,、如何替代,目前也不得而知,。
羅森稱(chēng),,像林奇這樣對(duì)《三體》充滿熱情的人,對(duì)確保作品能夠準(zhǔn)確反映原著的文化背景和原始素材而言至關(guān)重要,。
他還表示:“可以找到代替林奇的人,,但肯定找不到像林奇那樣有著忠誠(chéng)信念的人?!绷制嬖?jīng)的一位教授在網(wǎng)上悼念林奇時(shí)寫(xiě)道,林奇曾經(jīng)拿出1.5億美元的個(gè)人財(cái)產(chǎn)買(mǎi)下《三體》的版權(quán),,在林奇看來(lái),,將劉慈欣的小說(shuō)帶向更廣泛的受眾人群是他畢生之所求。
《財(cái)富》雜志從游族獲悉,,林奇的同事將繼續(xù)擔(dān)任Netflix《三體》劇集的執(zhí)行制片人,,并將確保“制作順利進(jìn)行”,。游族的發(fā)言人表示,,將繼續(xù)從事與《三體》相關(guān)的其他項(xiàng)目,以“延續(xù)林奇未果的愿景”,。
游族及其負(fù)責(zé)《三體》IP的附屬公司“三體宇宙”也表示,,他們正在進(jìn)行“管理層調(diào)整,以確保一切順利運(yùn)行”,。
此外,,財(cái)務(wù)因素也是《三體》項(xiàng)目未來(lái)發(fā)展的一大要點(diǎn)。
目前尚不清楚在《三體》項(xiàng)目中Netflix向游族支付了多少費(fèi)用,,但據(jù)報(bào)道,,亞馬遜在2019年曾經(jīng)與游族進(jìn)行談判,意圖以10億美元的價(jià)格購(gòu)買(mǎi)版權(quán),。同年,,Netflix還與《權(quán)力的游戲》主創(chuàng)大衛(wèi)?貝尼奧夫和D?B?威斯簽下了價(jià)值2億美元的合同,。
“畢竟已經(jīng)投入了這么多資金,(Netflix和游族)似乎非常希望推進(jìn)這個(gè)項(xiàng)目繼續(xù),?!绷_森說(shuō),“《三體》是一個(gè)大IP,?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
編譯:陳聰聰、楊二一
Netflix簽約的一個(gè)新項(xiàng)目卷入了一樁丑聞——說(shuō)不定在將來(lái)某一天,,這樁離奇的丑聞也值得該公司專(zhuān)門(mén)為之拍攝一部犯罪劇,。
2020年9月,美國(guó)流媒體巨頭Netflix宣布與中國(guó)的游族影業(yè)合作,,籌備將大熱的中國(guó)科幻小說(shuō)《三體》搬上大屏幕,。游族影業(yè)之前就持有《三體》的影視改編權(quán)——這是《地球往事》(《三體》原名)三部曲中的第一本,但是該公司在中國(guó)一直遭到抨擊,,因?yàn)樗疚茨艹晒Φ貙⑦@本暢銷(xiāo)的小說(shuō)改編成電影或電視劇,。
去年9月,Netflix表示,,《三體》將由HBO出品的《權(quán)力的游戲》的編劇大衛(wèi)?貝尼奧夫和D?B?威斯共同操刀,,而游族的董事長(zhǎng)林奇和副總裁趙驥龍將作為該項(xiàng)目的執(zhí)行制片人。
林奇在一份聲明中說(shuō):“我們很高興與Netflix一起踏上這段新的冒險(xiǎn)之旅,?!?/p>
但是在12月下旬,林奇中毒身亡,。據(jù)中國(guó)媒體報(bào)道,,林奇于12月15日在上海被送往醫(yī)院,并于10天后的圣誕節(jié)那天死亡,。上海當(dāng)局在林奇的血液中發(fā)現(xiàn)了至少五種不同類(lèi)型的毒物,,包括來(lái)自河豚體內(nèi)的一種劇毒,以及過(guò)量可致人死亡的重金屬汞,?!敦?cái)新國(guó)際》也報(bào)道稱(chēng),游族的副總裁趙驥龍和至少另一名員工也中了非致命劑量的汞,。
12月下旬,,上海警方向中國(guó)媒體證實(shí),他們拘留了一名在游族工作的許姓嫌疑人,。今年1月,,《財(cái)新國(guó)際》的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),犯罪嫌疑人很可能是林奇的同事許垚,他于2017年加入游族,,并擔(dān)任公司的首席執(zhí)行官,。許垚是一名訓(xùn)練有素的律師,其工作是負(fù)責(zé)《三體》項(xiàng)目中涉及的知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)問(wèn)題,。
警方尚未就林奇之死起訴許垚或其他任何人,,林奇被懷疑是他殺的潛在動(dòng)機(jī)也仍然不清楚。但《財(cái)新》還報(bào)道說(shuō),,許垚和林奇的關(guān)系很差,,而這起碼有一部分是由于林奇與Netflix達(dá)成交易有關(guān)。
與林奇和游族有過(guò)來(lái)往的消息人士告訴《財(cái)新》,,許垚可能是從《絕命毒師》這部電視劇中汲取靈感的,。據(jù)報(bào)道,他建立了自己的實(shí)驗(yàn)室來(lái)制造毒藥,,并在貓狗等寵物身上進(jìn)行了測(cè)試,。
游族在給《財(cái)富》雜志的回復(fù)中沒(méi)有評(píng)論許垚在林奇中毒一案中可能扮演什么樣的角色,而是稱(chēng)林奇的過(guò)世“對(duì)我們所有人來(lái)說(shuō)都是無(wú)法形容的損失”,。該公司還表示,,它將努力讓該項(xiàng)目順利進(jìn)行下去。
游族的發(fā)言人在一份聲明中說(shuō):“我們與Netflix在《三體》系列的合作將繼續(xù)按計(jì)劃進(jìn)行,?!?/p>
Neflix在去年9月宣布了其《三體》計(jì)劃,引起了極大的關(guān)注,,特別是由于其爭(zhēng)取到了《權(quán)力的游戲》編劇威斯和貝尼奧夫的參與,。
貝尼奧夫和威斯在一份聲明中寫(xiě)道:“劉慈欣的三部曲是我們讀過(guò)的最雄心勃勃的科幻小說(shuō)系列。我們期待在未來(lái)的幾年內(nèi)將它搬上大銀幕,,為世界各地的觀眾帶來(lái)一場(chǎng)視聽(tīng)盛宴,?!?/p>
2020年9月,,美國(guó)的一名議員呼吁這家流媒體巨頭取消對(duì)該劇的制作,而林奇之死已經(jīng)成為Netflix《三體》系列的第二起丑聞,。
Netflix拒絕評(píng)論林奇的過(guò)世或《三體》的未來(lái)制作,。但現(xiàn)在,一系列丑聞?wù)谕{著這部備受期待的大片,,使之可能尚未開(kāi)啟,,就麻煩不斷。
但Netflix表示將繼續(xù)拍攝這部劇,。
劇版《三體》,,何去何從?
Netflix似乎愿意繼續(xù)推進(jìn)這個(gè)項(xiàng)目。但是,,該公司沒(méi)有表明林奇的死亡是否會(huì)改變其制作《三體》劇集的計(jì)劃,。
南加州大學(xué)研究中國(guó)政治、社會(huì)和電影的教授斯坦利?羅森說(shuō):“林奇是項(xiàng)目的助推者,,(與Netflix的合作)幾乎是他最大的心血,。”
Netflix幾乎沒(méi)有提供關(guān)于游族和林奇參與項(xiàng)目開(kāi)發(fā)的細(xì)節(jié),。目前尚不清楚游族是否有權(quán)在中國(guó)發(fā)行這部劇,。在宣布該項(xiàng)目的新聞稿中,Netflix表示,,游族“獲得了”制作《三體》的“授權(quán)”,,并將游族列為該項(xiàng)目五位執(zhí)行制片者之一。但是,,和好萊塢的許多執(zhí)行制片者一樣,,尚不清楚游族在劇集制作中扮演了什么角色。林奇的工作將被誰(shuí)替代,、如何替代,,目前也不得而知。
羅森稱(chēng),,像林奇這樣對(duì)《三體》充滿熱情的人,,對(duì)確保作品能夠準(zhǔn)確反映原著的文化背景和原始素材而言至關(guān)重要。
他還表示:“可以找到代替林奇的人,,但肯定找不到像林奇那樣有著忠誠(chéng)信念的人,。”林奇曾經(jīng)的一位教授在網(wǎng)上悼念林奇時(shí)寫(xiě)道,,林奇曾經(jīng)拿出1.5億美元的個(gè)人財(cái)產(chǎn)買(mǎi)下《三體》的版權(quán),,在林奇看來(lái),將劉慈欣的小說(shuō)帶向更廣泛的受眾人群是他畢生之所求,。
《財(cái)富》雜志從游族獲悉,,林奇的同事將繼續(xù)擔(dān)任Netflix《三體》劇集的執(zhí)行制片人,并將確?!爸谱黜樌M(jìn)行”,。游族的發(fā)言人表示,將繼續(xù)從事與《三體》相關(guān)的其他項(xiàng)目,,以“延續(xù)林奇未果的愿景”,。
游族及其負(fù)責(zé)《三體》IP的附屬公司“三體宇宙”也表示,他們正在進(jìn)行“管理層調(diào)整,,以確保一切順利運(yùn)行”,。
此外,,財(cái)務(wù)因素也是《三體》項(xiàng)目未來(lái)發(fā)展的一大要點(diǎn)。
目前尚不清楚在《三體》項(xiàng)目中Netflix向游族支付了多少費(fèi)用,,但據(jù)報(bào)道,,亞馬遜在2019年曾經(jīng)與游族進(jìn)行談判,意圖以10億美元的價(jià)格購(gòu)買(mǎi)版權(quán),。同年,,Netflix還與《權(quán)力的游戲》主創(chuàng)大衛(wèi)?貝尼奧夫和D?B?威斯簽下了價(jià)值2億美元的合同。
“畢竟已經(jīng)投入了這么多資金,,(Netflix和游族)似乎非常希望推進(jìn)這個(gè)項(xiàng)目繼續(xù),。”羅森說(shuō),,“《三體》是一個(gè)大IP,。”(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
編譯:陳聰聰,、楊二一
One of Netflix’s new signature projects has become embroiled in a scandal that may one day be worthy of its own Netflix true crime series.
In September 2020, streaming giant Netflix announced that it was partnering with China’s Yoozoo Pictures to adapt the hit Chinese science fiction novel The Three-Body Problem into a television show. Yoozoo Pictures previously owned the filming rights to The Three-Body Problem, the first book in the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy, but was frequently criticized in China for its unsuccessful attempts to bring the popular novels to film and television screens.
At the time, Netflix said that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, creators of HBO's Game of Thrones, would write the show, while Yoozoo’s chairman Lin Qi and vice president Zhao Jilong were included as executive producers on the project.
“We are thrilled to embark on this new adventure with Netflix,” Lin said in a statement.
But in late December, Chinese media reported that Lin had been poisoned to death. Lin was hospitalized in Shanghai on Dec. 15 and died ten days later on Christmas, according to Chinese media. Authorities in Shanghai reportedly found at least five different types of poison in Lin’s blood, including tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin found in pufferfish, and mercury, a heavy metal that is lethal when consumed in certain quantities. Chinese media outlet Caixin Global also reported that Yoozoo’s vice president Zhao and at least one other employee had been poisoned with mercury in non-lethal doses.
In late December, Shanghai police confirmed to Chinese media that they had detained a suspect who worked at Yoozoo with the surname Xu. In January, an investigation by Caixin Global found that the suspect is likely Lin's colleague Xu Yao, the CEO of Yoozoo Pictures who joined the company in 2017. Xu, a lawyer by training, was tasked with developing portions of the intellectual property related to The Three-Body Problem.
Police have not yet charged Xu or anyone else in Lin’s death, and the potential motive in Lin’s suspected killing remains unclear. But Caixin also reported that Xu and Lin had a poor relationship, which stemmed, at least in part, over competition relating to Lin’s deal with Netflix.
Xu may have drawn inspiration from the Breaking Bad television series, sources close to Lin and Yoozoo told Caixin. He reportedly built his own lab to make poisons and tested them on pets like cats and dogs.
In a note to Fortune, Yoozoo did not comment on Xu's alleged role in Lin's poisoning but called Lin's passing a "loss beyond description to all of us." Yoozoo also said it is committed to seeing the project through.
"Our collaboration with Netflix on The Three-Body Problem series will continue as planned," a spokesperson for Yoozoo said in a statement.
Neflix announced its Three-Body Problem plans in September to great fanfare, especially due to the involvement of Game of Thrones creators Weiff and Benioff.
“Liu Cixin’s trilogy is the most ambitious science-fiction series we’ve read,” wrote Benioff and Weiss in a statement. “We look forward to spending the next years of our lives bringing this to life for audiences around the world.”
Lin’s death is now the second high-profile scandal for Netflix’s Three-Body Problem series after U.S. lawmakers in September 2020 called on the streaming giant to cancel production.
Netflix declined to comment on Lin’s death or future production of the Three-Body Problem for this story, but the series of scandals now threatens to tarnish the blockbuster project before it even gets off the ground.
Netflix said it intended to carry on with the show.
Where to go from here?
Netflix appeared willing to press ahead with the project, but it has not indicated whether Lin's death will change its plans for the Three-Body Problem production.
"[Lin Qi] was the one pushing the project forward and [the Netflix deal] seemed like the culmination of all his efforts," says Stanley Rosen, a Chinese politics, society, and film professor at the University of Southern California.
Netflix has provided few details about Yoozoo and Lin's involvement in the project's development.It is unclear whether Yoozoo has the rights to release the series in China. In its press release announcing the project, Netflix said Yoozoo "granted rights" to produce the Three-Body Problem, and it listed Yoozoo as one of five executive producers on the project. Yet, as with many executive producer credits in Hollywood, it is unclear what role Yoozoo played in the production and how Lin's contributions can be replaced.
Rosen says that someone like Lin, who was passionate about the Three-Body Problem, would be critical to ensuring that the production accurately represents the book's cultural context and source material.
"Replacing [Lin] can be done, but you won’t get anyone as committed as he was," says Rosen. One of Lin's former professors wrote a note on an online memorial for Lin that said Lin personally spent $150 million on securing rights to the Three-Body Problem and felt it was his life's work to bring Liu's novels to a larger audience.
Yoozoo told Fortune that Lin's colleague will continue serving as an executive producer on Netflix's show and will make sure "the production runs smoothly." The Yoozoo spokesperson said will work on other projects related to The Three-Body Problem as a means to "carry on [Lin's] unaccomplished vision."
Yoozoo and the Three-Body Universe, an affiliate company in charge of The Three-Body Problem's intellectual property, also say they are making "management level adjustments to ensure all things operate smoothly".
Financial incentives also factor into the project's future.
How much Netflix paid for in its The Three-Body Problem deal with Yoozoo is not publicly known, but in 2019, Amazon was reportedly in talks with Yoozoo to purchase the rights for $1 billion. That year, Netflix also signed Benioff and Weiss to a deal worth a reported $200 million.
"[Netflix and Yoozoo] seem quite eager to push forward on it because so much money has been invested," says Rosen. "[The Three-Body Problem] is very strong intellectual property."