Vladimir Vdovichenkov, in the role of Colonel Kostenko, previously brilliantly played by Oleg Basilashvili. Photo by: Canal Uno
Summer is not the best time for film and television producers. Many go on holiday, and the rest of the filmmakers try to get as far away from the melting city and as close to the sea as possible in order to combine business with pleasure. And yet, there are still heroes behind the camera: “KP” presents four new series and one film, which are still being filmed or in the editing stage and will soon be presented to the public.
New “confrontation”
Every adult viewer remembers Semyon Aranovich’s brilliant series “Confrontation” based on the novel of the same name by Yulian Semenov. The whole country watched with bated breath the seemingly leisurely, but at the same time surprisingly intense investigation of Colonel Kostenko (Oleg Basilashvili), who is on the trail of the cunning and cruel murderer and saboteur Krotov (Andrei Boltnev), recruited by the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War.
It seemed that this typical detective story was one of the untouchable pieces of the Soviet cinematic treasure trove. But Channel One decided to present its own version of the series.
In the modern version of “Confrontation” directed by Timur Alpatov, the main role of Detective Kostenko, head of the department for especially important cases of the Main Criminal Investigation Department of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, was played by Vladimir Vdovichenkov. And the traitor to the Motherland and war criminal Krotov is played by Alexey Guskov, who with his mustache resembles Boltnev to the point of making one’s heart ache.
The filming of the serial detective story took place in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Abkhazia.
The project will air on Channel One in the new television season (not before autumn).
Stoyanov became General Secretary again
This series was initially called “Olympiad” and was directed by Evgeny Stychkin, not only an actor, but also the director of “Patient Zero” (18+) and “Contact” (18+). Then the project was renamed and has now become “Games” – either after our athletes were barely allowed to participate in the 2024 Olympics in Paris in a neutral state (i.e. we must compete without national symbols), or for other legal reasons.
Once again, an artistic interpretation of the past: this time the 1980 Olympic Games. Photo by: Kinopoisk
The series tells the story of how preparations for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow were held. The main character, Igor (Grigory Vernik), tries to atone for his guilt by working, for which he is sent as a volunteer. The leader of the guys, of course, is a beautiful girl and a thief, Irina (Maria Karpova). Through the relationships of the characters, the creators of the project want to show how the USSR prepared for the Olympics at a time of improving relations with the capitalist West. In the project about “socialism with a human face”, Yuri Stoyanov, in his favorite image of Leonid Brezhnev, dances to the broken song Venus from Shocking Blue, popularly known as “Shizgara”, and the director himself appears with luxurious hair in the image of foreign journalist Anthony.
The series will be released on the Kinopoisk platform on August 3.
Battle for “war and peace”
Who would have thought that nowadays directors would compete for the right to film Leo Tolstoy’s four-volume work War and Peace? They also say that with the advent of artificial intelligence we have lost our love for books. Sergey Ursulyak and Sarik Andreasyan entered the battle for the work.
It seems that the fight is uneven: there are representatives of different weight categories in the ring, but it only seems so. Yes, Ursulyak directed the epic “Liquidation” (18+), “Quiet Don” (12+), “Life and Fate” (18+). But Andreasyan managed to catch up with the master in volume: behind him are works about the Angarsk maniac, Chikatilo, Rita Gracheva, a miracle in a cornfield near Zhukovsky, Vitaly Kaloev, Evgeny Onegin. It is not surprising that as soon as Sergei Vladimirovich announced the preparation of a series based on “War and Peace”, Sarik responded a couple of hours later.
“The book that changed the world! – Sarik wrote on social networks. – What should a director film after the success of Onegin (12+)? Of course “War and Peace”! A great film to match a great book! Let’s start next year! Wish us luck!”
The names of the artists who might perform on both projects are being kept secret for now.
On the asphalt anyway.
Of course, almost all producers and directors want to repeat the success of the series “The Boy’s Word”. Blood on the Asphalt” (18+). How many projects do we produce per year? But there are only a few of them. Therefore, without hesitation, the creators of the series sometimes simply repackage what was already selling well and put it on display.
Will the stepbrothers survive the turbulent 90s? Photo by: HOME
This is exactly what the project “Children of Change” looks like at first glance: also about difficult teenagers, also about the hungry and criminals of the 90s, also about Zhora Kryzhovnikov (this time as a creative producer) and even the actors themselves – Vyacheslav Kopeikin, Lev Zulkarnaev, Andrey Maksimov. And the producers are familiar, “youthful”.
The plot will immerse the viewer in 1995, where an unhappy mother named Flora (Victoria Isakova), who drives a trolleybus, and her three children from different husbands live. Underground clubs, clashes, shooters, fights and the collapse of the country – all according to patterns, with humor and under the direction of experienced producers led by Fyodor Bondarchuk.
The series is scheduled to be launched on the online platforms WINK and START in the new television season.
The monumental “Birth of an Empire”
The scriptwriter for the series “The Boy’s Word” Andrei Zolotarev was called by Nikita Mikhalkov to finally create a brazen, large-scale project dedicated to the origin and formation of the Russian Empire. No blueberries, sauerkraut in the mustache and pathos – what could sound more solid?
The best of the best were chosen for the series “Rise of an Empire”: Alexander Gorbatov will play Peter I, Yulia Peresild will play his wife Anna Mons, Milos Bikovich will play Count Alexander Menshikov, Alexey Guskov will play military leader Boris Sheremetev, and so on. The director of the project was Alexey Kravchuk, who directed “The Admiral” (18+), “The Italian” (18+), “Viking” (18+).
Yulia Peresild has already played Elizabeth I and will now play the role of Anna Mons. Photo by: Russia 1
The Grand Embassy, battles with the Swedes, a window to Europe, reforms, betrayals and love – all this will be filmed in the historical interiors of palaces and high-rise buildings in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region.
“It is very important for us to create the image of this incredible, controversial and great person,” the project director emphasizes. – We will try to immerse the viewer in the world of old Moscow Russia. And little by little, together with our hero, we will create a new world. Overcome obstacles that arise not only from hardships and threats of war, but also from the internal resistance of the supporters of the old world.
The film “Rise of an Empire” will be released on big screens and on the air of Russia 1 channel no earlier than 2026.
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