Japanese film-makers have created a robot movie star - by casting an android 'actress' in a lead role.
日本電影制片商選用機器人作為領銜女主演，塑造了一位機器人電影明星。

The robot co-stars alongside a human in the film 'Sayonara' set in the aftermath of a deadly nuclear power plant meltdown in Japan.
影片《再見》（Sayonara）中，機器人與人類演員同臺演出。影片故事發生于日本核電站事故的余波中。

The android, called Geminoid F, was designed to look and act like a human with rubber 'skin' and a woman's face - but it is unable to walk and is wheeled around in the film.
機器人名叫Geminoid F，有著橡膠“皮膚”和女性外貌，設計初衷是為了能有人類的行為舉止。但影片中，Geminoid F飾演的角色無法行走，只能坐在輪椅上。

Geminoid F - or Leona in the film - is referred to by director Koji Fukada as an 'actress,' and the android is even listed as a member of the cast in the end credits.
影片中，Geminoid F名叫Leona，導演深田晃司（Koji Fukada）叫她“女演員”。電影的片尾滾幕中也將這個機器人列為劇組成員。

While robots have featured prominently in many films, most are played by real actors or created using visual effects.
雖然很多電影都有大量機器人的戲份，但絕大多數“機器人”都是由真人來扮演的，或是運用視覺特效進行塑造。

Geminoid F was produced by Hiroshi Ishiguro, a renowned robot designer at Osaka University in western Japan, whose androids come with a ￡776,000 price tag.
Geminoid F出自大阪大學的著名機器人設計師石黑浩（Hiroshi Ishiguro）之手。他設計的機器人標價曾高達77.6萬英鎊。

Geminoid F was cheaper - just ￡72,000, which Ishiguro hopes may take the technology closer to the mainstream.
但這個機器人的價格稍低，只要7.2萬英鎊。而石黑浩也希望這個價格能讓機器人技術向主流更進一步。

She can smile, furrow her brows and move her mouth. It can also talk and sing - playing recordings, or 'mouthing' other people's voices.
Geminoid F可以微笑、皺眉、張嘴，還能說話、唱歌，當然指的是放音樂或別人說過的話。

The robot is equipped with motorised actuators, powered by air pressure, which allow her to 'copy' human facial expressions. In the film, it is controlled remotely from a laptop.
Geminoid F配有機械制動器，以氣壓驅動，用來模仿人類的面部表情。電影中，機器人的表情是用筆記本電腦遠距離遙控的。

Prof Ishiguro has designed several robots made to look like humans in the past - even building one in his own image. The professor has said that one day robots could fool us into believing they are human.
石黑浩教授制造了好幾個有著已故名人外貌的機器人，他還制出了一個與自己長相一樣的機器人。他認為，總有一天機器人的外貌逼真程度會讓人們真假難辨。

In the film, shown in the competition section of the Tokyo International Film Festival, the robot stays loyal to its owner - played by Bryerly Long - as the nation evacuates following a nuclear disaster.
這部影片現身于東京國際電影節的競賽單元。影片中，核事故導致全國居民疏散，期間機器人卻一直對主人（Bryerly Long飾）不離不棄。

Fukada said working with the android was easier than directing people, although he said laugh he had to watch to not break the robot as its repairs would come with a 10 million yen bill.
導演深田晃司稱，與機器人合作比指導演員簡單。他還戲稱必須要好好保管機器人，因為修理費高達1000萬日元（約52.7萬人民幣）。

'The android doesn't complain, never gets hungry and doesn't need to sleep at all,' he said at the film festival office.
深田晃司在電影節會場說道：“機器人從不抱怨，不用吃東西，還完全不用睡覺”。

Sayonara opens in Japan on November 21. Overseas screenings are undecided.
電影《再見》將于11月21日在日本上映。海外上映時間待定。

Vocabulary

android: 機器人
aftermath: 后果；余波
end credits: 影片末尾的演員表

英文來源：每日郵報
譯者：許楠楠
審校&編輯：丹妮