把李小龙打造成“猫王”

电影《猛龙过江》李小龙的一个镜头

　　功夫巨星李小龙的女儿李香凝目前正努力为这位已故电影明星的影响增光添彩。
　　Shannon Lee, the daughter and heir of martial-arts expert Bruce Lee, is trying to add some pow to the late movie star's legacy.

　　为了应对中国对李小龙日益浓厚的兴趣，将父亲的名字发展成为一个强劲的全球性品牌，李香凝去年从通用电气(General Electric)旗下环球影城(Universal Studios)那里购回了李小龙的肖像权。环球影城从上世纪八十年代末起就一直持有这些权益。李香凝说，我认为他们没有尽力发扬壮大李小龙的品牌。环球影城拒绝对此置评。
　　In a bid to tap into growing interest in Mr. Lee in China and to develop her father into a powerhouse global brand, Ms. Lee last year bought back the rights to his image from General Electric Co.'s Universal Studios, which had held them since the late 1980s. 'They didn't put the effort behind it I felt should be put behind it,' she says. Universal declined to comment.

　　为了提高李小龙的知名度，李香凝随后组建了授权公司Bruce Lee Enterprises和制片公司LeeWay Media Group。李香凝还向“猫王”艾尔维斯•普莱斯利(Elvis Presley)及史蒂夫•麦奎因(Steve McQueen)等其他名人的后人咨询，以进一步了解如何成功重振一位已故偶像的形像。
　　Then she formed Bruce Lee Enterprises, a licensing company, and LeeWay Media Group, a production company, to raise his profile. Ms. Lee also consulted with the estates of other famous people, including Elvis Presley and Steve McQueen, to learn more about how to successfully revive a deceased icon's image.

　　李香凝说，近年来李小龙品牌每年带来将近100万美元的收入。她希望通过新举措每年从这一品牌获得500万─1,000万美元的收入。李香凝已经与从服装厂商Lucky Brand Dungarees到有线电视运营商Charter Communications的诸多公司签订了协议。Charter一位发言人说，公司在一则广告中使用了李小龙的形像；在这则广告中，一名女士在电视上看到李小龙踢腿和掌劈的功夫后，随后就开始模仿。Lucky Brand的营销经理说，他们将李小龙的形像印在T恤衫上。
　　In recent years, the Bruce Lee brand has brought in around $1 million a year, the estate says. With the new push, Ms. Lee hopes she can squeeze $5 million to $10 million from it annually. She has already signed deals with companies ranging from Lucky Brand Dungarees Inc. to Charter Communications Inc. Charter is using her father's image in an ad featuring a woman who watched Bruce Lee's kicks and chops on a TV screen and then imitated them, a Charter spokeswoman says. Lucky is using his image on T-shirts, Lucky's marketing manager says.

李小龙的女儿李香凝

　　李香凝从她父亲的一位徒弟那里学习了功夫。她还和Corbis Corp.公司旗下的Greenlight签署了合约，由这家公司代言李小龙。Greenlight代言的名人包括了科学家爱因斯坦(Albert Einstein)、好莱坞女演员梅•卫丝(Mae West)以及其他名人。本月晚些时候，李香凝将开设一个网站，作为李小龙崇拜者的社交论坛，该网站还将设立一个博客，向关注者发布相关新项目和活动。
　　Ms. Lee, who studied martial arts under one of her father's former students, has also signed a deal with Corbis Corp.'s Greenlight, the company that represents scientist Albert Einstein, actress Mae West and others, to represent Mr. Lee. Later this month, she will kick off a Web site to serve as a social-networking community for his fans and a home for an expanded blog, which will alert followers to new projects and events.

　　今年40岁的李香凝说，很多人都只是通过电影认识了李小龙。她说，我感到担负着很大的责任，要让李小龙保持一定的关注度。通过将李小龙带回公众视野，李香凝希望更多人了解到李小龙的价值，例如坚持信念和打破种族、性别和辈分壁垒的重要性。她的家族基金会李小龙基金(Bruce Lee Foundation)努力通过研讨会和奖学金传播这些信息，但李香凝认为提高李小龙在流行文化中的知名度也能带来帮助。
　　Too many people know her father just from his movies, the 40-year-old Ms. Lee says. 'I feel very responsible about having a certain level of care.' By bringing him back into the public eye, she hopes more people will learn about his values, such as the importance of sticking up for what you believe and breaking down racial, gender and generational barriers. Her family foundation, the Bruce Lee Foundation, tries to get those messages out through seminars and scholarships, but she thinks raising her father's profile in pop culture will help as well.

　　授权使用已故名人的形像可以带来非常丰厚的收入。据《福布斯》(Forbes)杂志估算，猫王去年仍能带来5,200万美元的收入，这包括了他宅邸Graceland的参观收入以及猫王形像使用权的授权收入。《福布斯》杂志说，已故电影明星詹姆斯•恩(James Dean)的形像被授权使用在从运动鞋到汽车的各种商品上，去年收入500万美元。
　　Licensing a dead celebrity can be very lucrative. Last year, Forbes figured that Elvis Presley brought in $52 million, including revenue from the singer's Graceland estate and from licensing his image. Actor James Dean, whose image was licensed to peddle everything from sneakers to cars, took in $5 million, the magazine said.

　　据Greenlight副总裁里德(David Reeder)估计，李小龙的形像每年可能价值七位数。他说，李小龙是一名真正的全球偶像，这样级别的明星并不多。他补充说，在美国真正具有影响力的明星可能有三四十位，可是考虑到国际影响力，那么这个名单就只剩下了迈克尔•杰克逊(Michael Jackson)、拳王阿里(Muhammad Ali)和李小龙等为数不多的巨星了。
　　Mr. Lee's image is potentially worth seven figures annually, according to David Reeder, vice president of Greenlight. 'He's truly a global icon, and there aren't many of those around.' While there are 'probably 30, 40 of those people that really resonate' in the U.S., he adds, internationally the list shrinks to just a handful, including Michael Jackson, Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee.

　　李香凝说，假如她不努力对父亲进行推广的话，那么其他人就会这么做，他们也已经这么做了。李香凝说，李小龙的形像已经在没有她的同意的情况下，出现在从T恤衫到钥匙链等各种物品上。她说，让完完全全的陌生人从我家人的工作中获利，这看起来很不公平。
　　If she didn't try to market her dad, Ms. Lee says, others would -- and have. His face has already shown up on everything from T-shirts to key chains without the estate's permission, she says. 'It seems very unfair for perfect strangers to benefit from my family's work,' Ms. Lee says.

　　李小龙1973年死于脑水肿，年仅32岁。由于中国封闭的政治和文化制度，李小龙生前在中国并不出名。去年在李香凝授权中央电视台(CCTV)使用她父亲的形像后，中央电视台播放了一部讲述李小龙生平的50集电视剧。
　　Mr. Lee, who died of a brain edema in 1973 when he was 32 years old, wasn't well known in China during his lifetime because of the country's closed political and cultural systems. Last year, state television company CCTV showed a 50-part series on his life after Ms. Lee licensed her father's image to the company.

　　李香凝说，当她在中国听说全球最受喜爱的中国人物是孔子和李小龙之后，她迫切希望推出这部电视剧。
　　Ms. Lee says she was eager to get the series off the ground after being told in China that 'the two most beloved Chinese figures throughout the world are Confucius and Bruce Lee.'

　　她还授权诺基亚(Nokia Corp)使用李小龙的形像。诺基亚用李小龙的形像在中国推广一款新的诺基亚N96李小龙限定版手机。广告视频中表现的是李小龙用双节棍打乒乓球。
　　She also licensed Mr. Lee's image to Nokia Corp., which used it to promote a new Bruce Lee mobile phone in China. The advertising campaign featured a video of the star playing ping-pong with an Asian weapon known as a nunchuck.

　　在李小龙曾经生活过的香港，他的故居将被改造成一个博物馆。他的故居目前是一个按时收费的酒店Romance Hotel。李香凝现居洛杉矶，她下个月将飞往香港，担任博物馆设计大赛的评委。
　　In Hong Kong, where Mr. Lee lived for part of his life, efforts are under way to turn his former home into a museum. It's currently a rooms-by-the-hour establishment called the Romance Hotel. Ms. Lee, who lives in Los Angeles, will fly to Hong Kong next month to help judge a design contest for the house.

　　在美国，人们往往欣赏李小龙在搭建文化桥梁中取得的成就和他的后来居上的小人物角色；无论在影片中还是真实生活中，李小龙都是如此。当时，一个亚洲人成为明星是种非凡的成就。从动作影星成龙到获得奥斯卡金像奖的导演昆汀•塔伦蒂诺(Quentin Tarantino)都名人都表示是受了李小龙的影响。
　　In the U.S., people tend to admire Bruce Lee's success at bridging cultures and his role as the underdog, both in his movies and in real life. At the time, achieving stardom as an Asian was a breakthrough. Luminaries ranging from action star Jackie Chan to Academy Award-winning director Quentin Tarantino cite Mr. Lee as an influence.

　　李香凝已经同意推出一部有关她父亲的百老汇音乐剧，预计该剧在2010-2011年的演出季中将耗资1,000万-1,500万美元。制片人为奥肯(Stuart Oken)。他是华特-迪士尼公司(Walt Disney Co.)剧场业务的前执行副总裁，曾参与把《狮子王》(The Lion King)搬上了百老汇舞台。他说，音乐和剧本已经基本完成。制作班底中还包括导演谢尔(Bartlett Sher)。他执导的《南太平洋》(South Pacific)曾在2008年荣获7项托尼奖──托尼奖为美国最高戏剧奖项。制作团队中还包括托尼奖得主、《蝴蝶君》(M Butterfly)的剧作者黄哲伦(David Henry Hwang)，以及为《一脱到底》(The Full Monty)作曲的音乐家亚兹别克(David Yazbek)。
　　Ms. Lee has signed off on a Broadway musical about her dad, expected to cost $10 million to $15 million, for the 2010-11 season. The producer is Stuart Oken, former executive vice president of Walt Disney Co.'s theatrical division, who helped bring 'The Lion King' to Broadway. A score and script are almost done, he says. Director Bartlett Sher, whose 'South Pacific' won seven 2008 Tony awards, is on board. So are Tony-winning writer David Henry Hwang of 'M Butterfly' and musician David Yazbek of 'The Full Monty.'