以色列成爲美劇的創意中心

Israeli Television’s global success story began about a decade ago with the psychotherapy drama “BeTipul,” which was adapted by HBO as “In Treatment” and has since been turned into local spinoffs in more than 20 countries including, most recently, Argentina (“En Terepia”).

以色列電視劇在全球的成功大約始於十年前的心理治療電視劇《治療》(BeTipul)，它後來被HBO頻道改編成《捫心問診》(In Treatment)，在20多個國家被演繹成各種地方版本，包括最近的阿根廷電視劇《治療》(En Terepia)。

“In Treatment” was followed by thrillers like “Hatufim,” which Showtime made into “Homeland,” and innovative game shows like “HaKokhav HaBa” (“Rising Star”), which has been adapted in 25 territories including China (CCTV), the United States (ABC) and Turkey (TV8).

《捫心問診》之後出現了《戰俘》(Hatufim)這樣的驚悚劇，映時頻道把它改編成了《國土安全》(Homeland)；還有《明日之星》(Rising Star)這種創新的競賽真人秀，它在25個國家和地區被改編，包括中國（中央電視臺）、美國（ABC頻道）和土耳其（8臺）。

The international demand for more shows has given rise to a cottage industry in Israel dedicated to creating television concepts for export. While many of these series are based on Israeli programs, others are dreamed up as so-called “paper formats” to be sold abroad. Three Israeli companies dominate the business — Keshet, Dori Media and Armoza Formats — and together they have sold over 100 shows to markets as diverse as Indonesia, Japan, Finland and Brazil.

國際上對更多節目的需求促使以色列出現了一個致力於創作出口電視節目的行業。雖然其中很多電視劇是以色列電視節目爲基礎的，但也有一些被設計成所謂的“紙質形式”，向國外出售。三個以色列公司主導了這個行業，分別是科舍公司(Keshet)、多裏媒體公司(Dori Media)和阿瑪扎形式公司(Armoza Formats)。它們一共向各國賣出了100多個節目，包括印度尼西亞、日本、芬蘭和巴西等。

Business continues to boom. This season, Keshet — the company that developed the format for “Homeland” — has six new series coming to American channels. They run the gamut from “Dig,” an archeological mystery set in Jerusalem and created for USA Network, to the TBS sitcom “Your Family or Mine,” starring Richard Dreyfuss. That show is based loosely on an Israeli series, “Savri Maranan,” which takes place during Shabbat dinners in the home of a “mixed” Jewish family — the wife’s side is Sephardic (of Middle Eastern extractions) and the husband’s is Ashkenazi (of European). The series also inspired a popular show on Alpha TV in Greece, “To Sy sou” (“Your Kin”), where the Shabbat dinner becomes a typical Greek Sunday lunch.

這個行業繼續蓬勃發展。這一季，曾改編《國土安全》的科舍公司將有六部新電視劇登陸美國電視臺。這些節目多姿多彩，既有爲美國電視網創作的以耶路撒冷爲背景的考古懸疑劇《千古挖掘》(Dig)，也有爲TBS頻道創作的情景喜劇《你家還是我家》(Your Family or Mine)，主演是理查德·德雷福斯(Richard Dreyfuss)。該劇大體上是根據以色列電視劇《Savri Maranan》改編的，故事發生在一個“混合”猶太家庭的安息日晚宴上。妻子是西班牙系猶太人（有中東血統），丈夫是德系猶太人（有歐洲血統）。希臘阿爾法電視臺(Alpha TV)的熱門電視劇《你的家族》(Your Kin)就是以這部電視劇爲靈感的。只不過，安息日晚宴改成了典型的希臘週日午宴。

Much of the challenge with this type of television production is adapting a format so that it remains relevant across diverse markets and cultures. Take the case of “Hatufim” (Prisoners of War), about the homecoming of three Israeli soldiers captured years before in Lebanon. In “Homeland,” the American version now on Showtime, the series gets a glossier treatment and a female lead (Claire Danes, who plays a bipolar C.I.A. agent). In the still-untitled Spanish language version — now in production by Televisa in Mexico — this prime-time drama becomes a daytime telenovela. “It’s the same arc, the same narrative DNA, but developed differently based on the market needs and geopolitical connotations,” said Alon Shtruzman, the chief executive of Keshet International.

這種電視製作的主要挑戰在於改編後的版本需要在不同的市場和文化中都有意義。以《戰俘》爲例，該劇講述的是多年前被囚禁在黎巴嫩的三個以色列士兵歸國的故事。該劇的美國版本是映時頻道的《國土安全》，它更有趣，以一個女性角色爲主要人物（一名患有躁鬱症的中央情報局探員）。尚未命名的西班牙語版本正由墨西哥的Televisa公司製作，它不再是黃金時段電視劇，而是日間劇。“同樣的故事線索，同樣的敘述方法，但是根據市場需求和地緣政治內涵進行了不同的改編，”科舍公司的首席執行官阿隆·舒茲曼(Alon Shtruzman)說。

The companies’ success in making Israel a kind of global entrepôt for creative TV has prompted producers in other countries to look for Israeli partners to package their shows for international markets.

這些公司成功地把以色列變成了全球電視劇的創意源頭，促使其他國家的製作人們在以色列尋找合作伙伴，幫他們把自己的電視劇進行改編，推向國際市場。

Dori Media — which was founded by Yair Dori, an Argentine-Israeli executive and which got its start packaging Spanish telenovelas like “Lalola” for the international market — specializes in exactly this kind of business, recently adapting a long-running Japanese game show, Nippon Television Network’s “Aha Experience!,” into a global hit. The company recently announced a major deal with Sony Pictures Television to invest in its channels in Israel.

多裏媒體公司是阿根廷-以色列製作人亞伊爾·多裏(Yair Dori)創立的，他通過向國際市場提供改編的西班牙肥皂劇起家，比如《拉勞拉》(Lalola)。他擅長的正是這種生意，最近正在改編日本的一個長盛不衰的競賽真人秀——日本電視網的《啊哈，體驗!》(Aha Experience!)，旨在把它變成一個全球熱門節目。該公司最近宣佈了與索尼影業電視劇分部的一項重要協議，後者將投資於該公司在以色列的幾家電視臺。