While in isolation, are you able to continue working on the film?
No! You can certainly watch the material, to think about the scenario. We were preparing for the filming of the next big facility, where work has already begun, but had to stop abruptly, in fact at full speed.
you Have planned the shooting in the Czech Republic. Why there?
– Yes, because in Russia there is no “Jacob” or “Messersmith combat aircraft of the Second World war. Flying something at all. We had to go not only in the Czech Republic, but also to remove under Peter. Both got cancelled for obvious reasons. And then we all flew. Seasonality, graphics, actors, understandings covered with a copper basin.
Just talked about this the producers at the online conference: summer shooting will move to winter, and after quarantine, all will have to redraw.
– All have radically changed. It would be a disaster associated with the fact that all the filmmakers will start at the same time. Our meager for professionals of the industry will just break the people who at least know how to. Someone start problems with financing. If the crisis will last, the investors ‘ money to attract will be much more difficult. It all depends on the size of the project. What it is, the more serious the damage. Freezing or stopping of a large plant is more difficult than stopping the garage.
Models of combat aircraft, made for filming. Photos from the personal archives of Alexei German
– you Have an international project?
– we Have mostly taken place in Russia and the entire Russian team. Was only supposed to be shooting related to the air battles. In Economics, this project is easier to remove in Russia and then let him out.
Judging by the photos from the set and theadram posted in social networks, “Air” – a certain substance. What is he to you?
– it seemed to Us that the name “Air” most aptly reflects what our film is. And he on the one hand, if we talk about the subject, about young girls who become pilots, begin to fight, grow up, fall in love, die. On the other hand, our film about the Genesis of the Victory, its air. How it became possible? How did you manage to stop the German machine? Through some misfortune, misery, suffering, heroism, happiness or unhappiness had to go through? It is also somehow correlated with the word “air”. Our film about airplanes. In it, there is also the sense of movement of air masses in the poetic sense.
the Picture is black and white, all based on the same photo with the Network?
– It will be colored. In social networks I post black and white photos because there is no color correction.
your fictional Regiment. But the basis is real events?
– As we know, we had pilots-Slayer of the girl-pilots, and not only in fighter aircraft. Many of them heroically fought and died. We do not film one of those “based on real events” is not always the best way of storytelling. We are trying to create a truthful environment, situation and characters. But all this is generalization. People also others, all different: different view of history and events, a different fate. Reality and cinema – all the different things. I’m not sure they should be connected. So we have a fictional story that probably could hypothetically be.
did you invite as writer Elena Kiselyov, who formerly worked with Konchalovsky, or the producers made that choice?
– I was invited to the project Andrei Saveliev. He – the pilot, fascinated by the sky people. He really wanted me to shot this picture. I hesitated for a long time, knowing that a movie of this kind must be done no worse than American or British filwe are on the subject. This requires a new approach and ways of filming, the production equipment, which we do not. Relatively speaking, it is necessary to make not worse than the “Dunkerque” Nolan, but with a budget 15 times less. Long time I was not sure that this is possible. But we agreed on everything, and when it became clear in which direction to move, began to write the script with Elena Kiseleva. We’re on the same page.
On the set. From the personal archives of Alexei German
– it was Assumed that one of the main roles will play your Dovlatov is a Serbian actor Milan Maric?
– still it will not be because he does not speak perfect Russian. In a situation of a huge number of people at the site, permanent squally wind hard to work with foreign artists. Here our barely withstand the wind, floods and freezing rain in the face.
In search of new and young people you went to other cities?
– Yes, my assistants traveled to the Urals, Siberia, South Russia, looking for in theatre schools and theatres. This is a video of the conversation where people tell about themselves, their lives, thoughts, and feelings, answer the question – happy or not. And then be sure to read Chekhov.
something specific?
– Yes. “We, uncle Vanya, we shall live…”
why is it needed? What were you looking for?
Eyes. So the actress did not lie, and inside it something was born. When a person reads a monologue, one can see how much he can open is happening inside him something or not, whether he looks into the camera to check reads. Technically crying or somewhere carry emotions, so I lost self control and narcissism. It was important to understand how the actor can be documented by accurate, not to intone. Very much to be seen.
– Found talented people? Sometimes in theatrical schools – great releases, and sometimes catastrophic.
– we Have a limited number of young and talented people. Not a little, but not much. But the feeling of disaster I have. Just not very many people can play the man from 1941, or a soldier. Not always it turns out.
you Have the blockade will be?
– We want to restore the fragment of the siege of the play, which ran at the theatre, but it raises many problems, starting with where to shoot and whom to shoot. We need 300 skinny people, and find them hard. The idea is that we could shoot in St. Petersburg Theatre of Musical Comedy (this is the only theatre who worked all 900 days of blockade – sh) and Alexandrinsky. But in Alexandrinsky does not work, because the theater is too beautiful and restored with gold. To the Hermitage, unfortunately, was not allowed. Will have to be removed in some other Museum. The enormous complexity of the picture, which from the beginning confronted at every stage with incredible problems. In addition to the coronavirus this monstrous weather. The action takes place in the spring of ‘ 42, Leningrad, and have yet to be snow. And it was not at all. We decided to move the time of the action, but it’s still not summer. I hope that all our efforts to something will lead.
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