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  3. Lately DreamWorks SKG has been a wandering tribe. The would-be studio, which

Lately DreamWorks SKG has been a wandering tribe. The would-be studio, which

游客2023-12-03  55
问题     Lately DreamWorks SKG has been a wandering tribe. The would-be studio, which made films such as American Beauty and War of the Worlds, sold itself to Paramount in 2005. When that arrangement fell apart it found new partners in Reliance Big Entertainment, a Hollywood outfit, and Universal Studios. Then it fell out with Universal. So it was rather a surprise when, on February 9th, DreamWorks abruptly found itself in the promised land. Disney, the world’s foremost purveyor of wholesome entertainment, lent it money and agreed to market and distribute its films.
    It is a good illustration of how the economic downturn is affecting Hollywood. Until recently executives were boasting that the film business was resistant, perhaps even immune, to recession. The number of cinema tickets sold actually increased during three out of the past four recessions. Box-office receipts so far this year are higher than last year. Admittedly, the share prices of media companies have tumbled—but that is because of the collapse in television and print advertising, and has little to do with Tinseltown.
    Yet the downturn has profoundly affected the art of deal-making. Although the breakdown of negotiations between DreamWorks and Universal has been followed by a storm of recriminations, the heart of the problem was that DreamWorks was finding it unexpectedly hard to raise debt. It is hardly alone in that. Two years ago investors were lubricating all sorts of strange alliances and start-ups—Tom Cruise wants to resurrect United Artists? Why not? But now the outside money has all but disappeared. The big studios, the primacy of which was never exactly threatened during the boom years, are now almost the only game in town.
    The alliance with DreamWorks is something of an about-turn for Disney. Under Bob Iger, who took over as chief executive in 2005, Disney has culled films that are a less than perfect fit for its family-friendly brand and has concentrated on turning those that are into amusement-park rides, lunch boxes and other spinoffs. This week’s deal will add as many as six films a year to Disney’s pipeline, swelling it by about half. The surge will not happen at once, however: DreamWorks will have to raise more money before it is capable of producing that many.
    These days DreamWorks is largely Steven Spielberg’s outfit. Jeffrey Katzenberg(the "K" in SKG)runs DreamWorks Animation, a separate, publicly owned company. David Geffen(the "G")has retired from the studio. The remaining founder spoke warmly of Disney this week, calling it the "birthplace of imagination". He is said to be looking forward to making more family films. Perhaps, but he still looks a little out of place in the magic kingdom.
    Mr. Spielberg became America’s best-known, and perhaps best, film director by fusing blockbuster spectacle with an unflinching take on family life. The households even in his PG-rated films are almost uniformly dysfunctional. Think of Richard Dreyfuss flinging plants through the window in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Frances O’Connor abandoning her adopted robot son by the roadside in A. I. or the defeated, self-deluding Christopher Walken in Catch Me If You Can. It is hard to imagine any of them donning Mickey Mouse ears. [br] Which of the following statements is CORRECT according to the second and third paragraphs?
选项 A、Film industry was affected by economic recession just as executives claimed.
B、The collapse in print advertising is unrelated to the share prices of media companies.
C、Two years ago DreamWorks was once threatened by the strange alliances and start-ups.
D、The problem faced by DreamWorks during the economic downturn is more about money seeking than ticket selling.
答案 D
解析 事实细节题。由第二段第三、四句The number of cinema tickets sold actually increased duringthree out of the past four recessions．Box—office receipts so far this year are higher than last year．(实际上电影票售出数量和票房进款数额是增长了的)和第三段第二句中的…the heart of theproblem was that DreamWorks was finding it unexpectedly hard to raise debt．(梦工厂的难题是融资借贷)可知，[D]“梦工厂在经济衰退中面临的问题更大程度上是融资而不是票房”与文意相符，故为答案。第二段第一句说梦工厂的例子证明了经济衰退对好莱坞(电影业)的影响，而第二句讲的是电影公司的管理人员鼓吹电影业对经济衰退有抵抗力，甚至是免疫的，[A]“正如管理人员所说的那样，电影业受到了经济衰退的影响”与此不符，故排除；第二段最后一句提到Admittedly，the share prices of media companies have tumbled—but that is because ofthe collapse in television and print advertising…由此可知，媒体公司市值下降是由于电视和平面媒体广告业务的崩溃，而[B]却说与二者无关，与原文不符，故排除；第三段末句提到Thebig studios，the primacy of which was never exactly threatened during the boom years…即大的工作室(梦工厂等)从未真正受到过威胁，而[C]却将never(从未)换成了once(曾经一度)，与原文不符，故排除。
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