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摄影师/导演卡洛斯·冈萨雷斯正在耶路撒冷实地拍摄一部影片。他说，好莱坞的事业需要才智、毅力和良好的心态：“如果你难以相处的话，没有人会聘用你。”

几乎自电影诞生以来，世界各地有抱负的电影人都希望到好莱坞（Hollywood）寻求机会，很多人取得了成功。美国电影业将各类大片送进其他国家的电影院，但这些电影本身体现了来自全球每一个角落的专业人员的智慧和情感。

早在20世纪20年代，英国的查理·卓别林(Charlie Chaplin)、意大利的鲁道夫·瓦伦蒂诺(Rudolph Valentino)和瑞典的葛丽泰·嘉宝(Greta Garbo)等明星都已在好莱坞卓有建树。随后纷至沓来的是更多的国际化人才，不论他们在镜头前还是镜头后工作。

在加州州立大学长滩分校(California State University, Long Beach)工作的作家/制片人/导演汤姆·布朗姆基斯特(Tom Blomquist)说，英国的阿尔弗雷德·希区柯克(Alfred Hitchcock)、奥地利的比利·怀尔德(Billy Wilder)和弗雷德·兹恩曼(Fred Zinnemann)及德国的弗里茨·朗(Fritz Lang)等欧洲电影制作人于20世纪30年代和40年代来到好莱坞，一度引发了黑色电影狂潮。所谓的黑色电影指将美国低俗小说的冷峻情节与欧洲的电影美学融合在一起的警匪片。

布朗姆基斯特说，美国讲故事的风格很受欢迎，叙事过程中的动作戏目不暇给，但这些电影本身却常常都是国际制作。

例如，奥斯卡（Oscar）获奖影片《为奴十二年》（12 Years a Slave）（2013年）由英国的史蒂夫•麦奎因(Steve McQueen)导演，主演有墨西哥-肯尼亚女演员露皮塔·尼永奥(Lupita Nyong’o)、德国-爱尔兰演员迈克尔·法斯宾德(Michael Fassbender)和尼日利亚-英国演员切瓦特·埃加福(Chiwetel Ejiofor)。

当然还有《鸟人》（Birdman）。这是一部2014年的奥斯卡获奖影片，由墨西哥的亚历杭德罗·冈萨雷斯·伊纳里多(Alejandro González Iñárritu)导演。伊纳里多与尼古拉斯·佳客邦(Nicolás Giacobone)、阿曼多·伯(Armando Bó)（两人都来自阿根廷）和亚历山大·丹尼莱如斯（Alexander Dinelaris）一起负责编剧团队的工作。墨西哥的伊曼纽尔·卢贝兹基(Emmanuel Lubezki)是该片摄影师。

目前，好莱坞票房收入的近70％来自国际市场。洛杉矶的外国演员和导演发挥的作用越来越重要。电影公司都知道，为全球观众制作影片必须在选择演员、编剧甚至影片的拍摄地点等方面采用全球视角。

布朗姆基斯特说，娱乐业值得庆幸的是，“洛杉矶的艺术和电影院校聚集了大批外国学生，我还没有遇到一个不想留在这里的学生。”

突破：一个人的故事

为了在好莱坞建立职业生涯，就读美国的顶级电影学院是一个良好开端，摄影师/导演卡洛斯·冈萨雷斯的经历可以证明这一点。

委内瑞拉土生土长的冈萨雷斯曾在迈阿密大学(University of Miami)学习建筑，大四时选修电影制作课程。他说，“我对电影着了迷，当时就决定这是我想做的事”。

冈萨雷斯回忆道，他作为本科学生制作的一个短片引起电影剪辑师拉尔夫·布鲁姆(Ralph Rosenblum)的注意。“我受聘在[电影] 片场工作，搞布景设计”。

从建筑学校毕业后，他参加了几个电影的拍摄，后来在洛杉矶的美国电影学院(American Film Institute) 获得摄影专业的硕士学位。作为硕士的毕业论文，他制作了影片《夏日最后的微风》（The Last Breeze of Summer），讲述20世纪50年代得克萨斯州（Texas）废除学校种族隔离的故事，获得1992年奥斯卡奖最佳短片的提名。

奥斯卡提名为他打开了大门，近25年以来冈萨雷斯始终在电影和电视行业工作。

冈萨雷斯说，“我在26岁时作为摄影师拍摄了我的第一部故事片《南海滩》（South Beach），是由彼得·方达(Peter Fonda)和加里·布塞(Gary Busey)主演的动作片。在过去的几年里，我主要是做电视节目，这已成为业界的金饭碗。”

他担任摄影和导演的作品包括一些电视连续剧，如《新常态》（The New Normal ）和《错位青春》（Switched at Birth）。他目前在西班牙拍摄一部关于跨越时空回到西部时代（Old West）的迷你电视系列剧。

冈萨雷斯说，“很多成功的摄影师都是国外来的。有一种看法认为：你可以带来不同的、有意思的视角。”

他说，有口音可能会对演员造成局限。但在制作和导演方面有更多的工作机会。

“如果有才气的话，你一定会成功。你还需要毅力和正确的态度。”

但是他也强调，“这没有什么光鲜亮丽可言，我们通常每周工作60到70个小时，有时在艰苦的件下工作，顶着按时完工和不超预算的压力。因为这里牵扯到大量的资金。”

布朗姆基斯特表示同意：“你必须知道如何做你的工作，并有良好的职业道德，你应该具备极高的才能和专业知识。”

入门

布朗姆基斯特说，在加州州立大学长滩分校 ―― 校友包括导演史蒂芬·斯皮尔伯格(Steven Spielberg)和演员/喜剧演员史蒂夫·马丁(Steve Martin) ―― 学生们兢兢业业地为自己未来的娱乐业生涯作准备，无论是去好莱坞还是其他地方的电影/电视行业。

像其他美国的顶级电影院校一样，加州州立大学长滩分校每年通过交流项目欢迎外国学生就读。该校国际教育中心（Center for International Education）的海外教育办公室（Education Abroad office）主任莎朗·奥尔森(Sharon Olson)说，交流项目还允许美国学生花一两个学期去德国、英国、意大利、西班牙和中国的合作学校上课。

布朗姆基斯特表示，在洛杉矶或附近的电影学院就读有着明显的优势。学生的老师都是影视界的专业人士。“你可能会跟拍摄[大片] 《盗梦空间》（Inception ）的人学习音响设计。”

与业界保持联系是至关重要的，而对于非美国公民人士来说，追求好莱坞的职业生涯也意味着需要获得美国的工作签证。加入工会也是必要的，因为工会在娱乐业是普遍现象。

布朗姆基斯特提到了以前的两个学生 ―― 一位是担任助理电影剪辑师的日本女士和一位为制片公司工作的挪威女士 ―― 她们在加州的事业很兴旺。以前他曾为她们打电话说服业界朋友给她们一个机会；她们以自己的才干赢得了机会。

布基斯特说，需要准备好接受批评并采取主动。“你必须敲很多的门，你得自己出去闯荡。”

至于冈萨雷斯，他强调的是锲而不舍、才智和团队精神：“如果你坚持不懈的话，好莱坞最终会垂青于你。”

For nearly as long as there have been movies, the world’s aspiring aspiring filmmakers have sought and achieved success in Hollywood. Even as the U.S. film industry sends blockbusters to theaters in other countries, the movies themselves reflect the talents and sensibilities of skilled professionals from every corner of the globe.

In the 1920s, stars like England’s Charlie Chaplin, Italy’s Rudolph Valentino and Sweden’s Greta Garbo made their mark, and more international talent — both in front of and behind the camera — soon followed.

European filmmakers such as England’s Alfred Hitchcock, Austria’s Billy Wilder and Fred Zinnemann, and Germany’s Fritz Lang arrived in Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s, giving rise to film noir, crime dramas that combined gritty American pulp-novel plots with European film aesthetics, says Tom Blomquist, a writer/producer/director affiliated with California State University, Long Beach.

“The American storytelling style is popular because it keeps the action moving,” Blomquist explains, but the films themselves frequently are international productions.

For example, the Academy Award-winning 12 Years a Slave (2013) was directed by England’s Steve McQueen and stars Mexican-Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o, German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender and Nigerian-English actor Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Then there’s Birdman, a 2014 Oscar winner directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu of Mexico. Iñárritu anchored the screenwriting team, along with Nicolás Giacobone and Armando Bó (both from Argentina) and Alexander Dinelaris Jr. (the lone American). Mexico’s Emmanuel Lubezki was cinematographer.

Today, with nearly 70 percent of Hollywood box-office revenue coming from international markets, the prominence of international actors and directors in Los Angeles is on the rise. Studios understand that making movies for global audiences means adopting a global perspective when choosing cast members, screenwriters or even a film’s location.

Fortunately for the entertainment industry, “art and film schools in L.A. are filled with international students, and I’ve yet to meet one who didn’t want to stay here,” Blomquist says.

Breaking through: One man’s story

Attending a top U.S. film school is a good first step to a Hollywood career, as cinematographer/director Carlos González can attest.

A native of Venezuela, González studied architecture at the University of Miami, taking elective filmmaking classes during his senior year. “I got the film bug, and decided that was what I wanted to do,” he says.

A short film that González made as an undergraduate caught the eye of film editor Ralph Rosenblum. “I got hired to work on [film] sets, drafting set designs,” González recalls.

After graduating from architecture school, he worked on a few more films before earning a master’s degree in cinematography at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. The film that became his master’s thesis (The Last Breeze of Summer, about school desegregation in Texas during the 1950s) was nominated for an Academy Award for best short film in 1992.

The nomination opened doors, and for nearly 25 years now, González has been working steadily in film and television.

“I did my first feature film at 26, as a cinematographer on South Beach, an action film starring Peter Fonda and Gary Busey,” he says. “In the last few years, I’ve been mostly doing television, which has become the bread and butter of the industry.”

His cinematography and director credits include such TV series as The New Normal and Switched at Birth. He’s currently in Spain, shooting a miniseries about time travel to the Old West.

“A lot of successful cinematographers are foreign,” says González. “There’s a perception that you bring a different, interesting point of view.”

Speaking with an accent can be limiting for actors, he adds. There are more opportunities in jobs like producing and directing.

“If the talent is there, you’ll make it. You also need perseverance and the right attitude.”

But “it’s not glamorous at all,” he warns. “We typically work 60 to 70 hours per week, sometimes under grueling conditions. There’s pressure to get things done on time, to not go over budget. There’s a lot of money involved.”

Blomquist agrees: “You have to know how to do the job and have a strong work ethic,” he says. “You’d better bring a very high level of craft and expertise.”

Getting started

At Cal State Long Beach — whose alumni include director Steven Spielberg and actor/comedian Steve Martin — students prepare rigorously for entertainment careers, “whether it’s in Hollywood or a film/TV industry based elsewhere,” says Blomquist.

Like other top U.S. film schools, Cal State Long Beach welcomes international students each year through an exchange program. The program also allows U.S. students to spend a semester or two at partner schools in Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and China, says Sharon Olson, director of the Education Abroad office at the school’s Center for International Education.

Attending film school in or near Los Angeles has clear advantages, Blomquist says. Students learn from faculty who are career professionals in film and television: “You can be studying sound design with someone who worked on [the blockbuster film] Inception.”

Making industry contacts is vital, and for non-U.S. citizens, pursuing a Hollywood career also means getting a U.S. work visa. Joining a union is necessary, too, as the entertainment industry is heavily unionized.

Blomquist cites two former students — a Japanese woman working as an assistant film editor, and a Norwegian woman working for a production company — who are thriving in California. He made phone calls on their behalf, persuading friends in the industry to give them a chance; their skills sealed the deal.

Be ready to absorb criticism and take initiative, says Blomquist: “You have to knock on a lot of doors and put yourself out there.”

For his part, González reiterates the need for persistence, talent and a team-player mindset: “Hollywood ends up taking care of you if you stick around.”