In Hollywood, the romantic comedy is well into humdrum middle age. But in China, the genre is still in its honeymoon phase. 

　　在好莱坞，浪漫喜剧早已进入波澜不惊的中年时期。但是在中国，这类影片仍旧处于蜜月期。

　　Rom-coms have been growing in popularity in China in recent years as audiences' tastes change and the mainland movie industry develops. Those tapping the trend include co-directors Tony Chan (陈国辉) and Wing Shya (夏永康), who scored a hit last year with “Hot Summer Days” (全城热恋热辣辣). The movie wove multiple stories and blended big-name stars with a snappy script and playful visual effects. It earned 128.3 million yuan (US$20 million) at the box office ─ on a budget of US$2 million ─ according to media-research firm EntGroup Inc.

　　近年来，随着观众欣赏品味的改变和大陆电影行业的发展，浪漫喜剧在中国越来越受欢迎。趁着这一趋势，去年由陈国辉和夏永康二人联合执导的《全城热恋》去年获得了极大的成功。这部电影讲述了多个故事，融大牌明星和时兴的剧本、幽默的视觉效果于一炉。据媒体据媒体调研公司艺恩咨询（EntGroup Inc.）透露，这部电影以200万美元的预算创造了12,830万元（相当于2,000万美元）的票房。

　　“At that time it was pretty new in China. A modern love story, creative ideas, a lot of movie stars,” Mr. Chan says.

　　陈国辉说：“当时，那种片子在中国很新潮──现代爱情故事、新颍的创意、明星云集。”

　　The duo's latest film follows the winning formula. “Love in Space” (全球热恋) is a star-studded comedy about the romantic adventures of three sisters. (One storyline is set in a space station, hence the film's title.) The movie had a budget of US$6-7 million ─ triple the budget of their previous film and high by Chinese standards for a romantic comedy. It stars A-listers from across east Asia: Aaron Kwok, René Liu (刘若英), Eason Chan (陈奕迅), Kwai Lun Mei (桂纶镁), Angelababy (杨颍), Jing Boran (井柏然) and Xu Fan (徐帆).

　　二人联合推出的最新作品延续了这一成功思路。汇集明星、大腕的影片《全球热恋》）演绎了姐妹三人的浪漫经历。（其中的一个故事情节拍摄于太空站，影片也因此得名。）影片的预算是600万到700万美元，是他们之前那部电影的3倍。按照中国对于浪漫喜剧的标准，这个预算就算是很高了。东亚的众多一线明星如郭富城、刘若英、陈奕迅、桂纶镁、杨颍、景柏然、徐帆等在影片中出演了角色。

　　The film is a co-production between Fox International Productions and Huayi Brothers, together with Sundream Motion Pictures (Hong Kong). Fox is owned by News Corp., which publishes The Wall Street Journal. It's currently playing in China and other parts of Asia. Messrs. Chan and Shya met several years ago on the set of 'Blood Brothers' ─ a movie produced in their native Hong Kong. Both studied film in North America before returning to Asia. They are now collaborating on two new projects: a contemporary action movie and period martial-arts film. They spoke with the Journal.

　　这部影片由福克斯国际制作公司（Fox International Productions）、华谊兄弟（Huayi Brothers）、骄阳电影有限公司（香港）联合制作。福克斯的东家是新闻集团（News Corp.），而新闻集团是《华尔街日报》（Wall Street Journal）的出版方。这部电影目前正在中国和亚洲其他国家放映。几年前，陈国辉和夏永康在《天堂口》（一部在香港本土拍摄的电影）的拍摄现场初次相见。两人在回亚洲发展之前都曾在北美学习电影。目前，二人正在合作推出两部新电影──一部当代动作片和一部古装武打电影。他们接受了《华尔街日报》记者的采访。

　　The Wall Street Journal: Are big-name stars essential for comedies?

　　《华尔街日报》：对喜剧来说，大牌明星很重要吗？

　　Mr. Chan: In Asia, it's really important. It's a very movie-star driven [environment]. To get people into the theater you almost need a superstar, unless you're a big Hollywood, special-effects movie. If you don't have a movie star to draw them in the first weekend, then how do you open a film?

　　陈国辉：在亚洲的话，确实很重要。这是个明星驱动的[市场]。要想让观众进影院看你的电影，超级明星几乎必不可少，除非你是好莱坞的特效大片。如果没有明星在第一个周末把观众吸引到影院里，那么你怎么进行首映？

　　WSJ: Does the setting for the new film have anything to do with China's growing presence in space exploration?

　　《华尔街日报》：这部新影片的拍摄背景是不是和中国在太空探索方面的发展有关系？

　　Mr. Chan: No. Seven or eight years ago, this idea just popped into my head: a zero-gravity love story and an image of a female character crying and the tears floating across the air to a man's face. It just stuck in my head.

　　陈国辉：没有。七八年前，我的脑海里就闪现出了这个想法──在失重情况下的爱情故事，以及这样的场景：女主人公悲痛欲绝，眼泪漂浮在空中，沾湿了男主人公的脸庞。这个想法一直留在我脑海中挥之不去。

　　WSJ: Does your background in commercials and photography give you a unique perspective in films?

　　《华尔街日报》：是不是广告和摄影师的从业背景为你拍电影提供了一个独特的角度？

　　Mr. Shya: It helps. I worked as a photographer for 20 years, so I am really into these kind of visuals. And it's a benefit working in commercials for so many years. I know how to do the lighting, the styling, the art direction, setting ─ everything. I worked with Wong Kar-wai and his art director, William Cheung. I learned from these masters ─ how they put the visuals together.

　　夏永康：确实有帮助。我做了20年的摄影师，非常喜欢这样的视觉画面。这么多年的商业广告经历确实是一个优势。我知道怎样进行照明调整、风格设计、艺术指导和背景设计，所有这一切吧。我和王家卫、他的艺术总监张卓庆有过合作，跟着这些大师学了不少东西，学习他们怎样组合视觉画面。

　　WSJ: What are the challenges?

　　《华尔街日报》：在这方面，你们遇到了哪些挑战？

　　Mr. Shya: Sometimes I see photographers turn to movie directing, and there are always too many visuals that don't fit the story. You don't understand what is going on in the film, even if the visuals are amazing. I don't want to do that. I want people to focus on the movie ─ it's from the story that we create the visual world.

　　夏永康：有时候，可以看到摄影师转行去做导演。他们拍出的电影中有太多的视觉画面不符合故事情节的需要。你搞不清楚他们的电影到底在表现什么，就算这些画面很生动也是不行。我不想那样。我想让人们专注于电影情节──情节是我们设计视觉世界的基础。

　　WSJ: How do you divide directing duties?

　　《华尔街日报》：你们是怎样分配导演职责的？

　　Mr. Chan: We talk about a lot before shooting. We find the tone for the story, and we talk about what kind of film we want to make. During the shooting it's more like execution: I talk with the actors lot, and Wing will do a lot with the director of photography, lighting, art direction, costumes, makeup, camera movement.

　　陈国辉：开机前我们会做充分讨论。我们会设定故事的基调，探讨要拍一个什么样的片子。拍摄过程更像一个执行过程：我和演员们交流，夏永康和负责摄影、灯光、艺术指导、服装、化妆、摄像机移动的导演进行交流。

　　Mr. Shya: When we have a problem, we share everything.

　　夏永康：遇到问题的时候，我们都开诚布公地一起探讨。

　　WSJ: How crucial is the opening weekend?

　　《华尔街日报》：影片上映的第一周到底有多重要？

　　Mr. Chan: It's unlike the U.S., where a film with really good word of mouth can gradually open up. In China, they look at the first three days' ─ the first weekend's ─ box office. If the box office is average, they will drop the number of screenings immediately.

　　陈国辉：这里和美国不一样。在美国，如果一部电影口碑很好的话，它慢慢就可以打开市场。但是在中国，影院只看前三天，也就是第一个周末的票房情况。如果前三天的票房一般，影院马上就会减少放映的次数。