Leonid Yarmolnik played the king of a fairy-tale state in the film
Photo: courtesy of the press service.
“The Flying Ship” is a very cheerful, bright and colorful film version of the wonderful Soviet cartoon filmed by Harry Bardin in 1979. As we remember, the heroine there was Princess Zabava, who fell in love with a simple chimney sweep Vanya. To win the hand and heart, Vanya had to build a flying ship, and before that, meet the inhabitants of the forest – the hedgehog grandmothers and Vodyanoy. In the new film everything will be somewhat different (for example, the hero has become a sailor). A separate story was added with the mysterious Lady Jane (Polina Gagarina) and the son of the boyar Polkan (Andrei Burkovsky). But everything went extremely well.
A few days before the premiere of “The Flying Ship”, production director Ilya Uchitel and Leonid Yarmolnik, who played Zabava’s father, the king of a fairy-tale state, went to Komsomolskaya Pravda radio.
“I AM PROUD THAT SCHIRVINDT CALLED ME FAVORITE STUDENT”
– Leonid Isaakovich, we have to start with the sad. A few hours before our meeting, the People’s Artist, President of the Satire Theater Alexander Shirvindt, passed away…
– He was one of my most beloved and loved teachers. And he was the last of my teachers to leave. This is so out of character for him! To all those who studied with him, who loved him as an artist, it seemed that he was eternal. At any age, he was the happiest, smartest and funniest of all. He was the best at formulating thoughts on a wide variety of topics, both in life and profession. For many years I have been proud that when he talked about his favorite students, he always named me first. I am an illegitimate son of Alexander Anatolyevich.
– Nowadays, Soviet films and cartoons are very often remade in Russian cinema. “Foundling”, “Cheburashka”, “Bremen Musicians”, a new version of the film adaptation of the story of Kir Bulychev, on which “Guest from the Future” was filmed, “One Hundred Years Ahead”, will be released in April …Is this not proof of a crisis of ideas in Russian cinema?
Iliá Uchitel:
– The crisis of ideas is not only a Russian trend. It’s global… It seems to me that in our country for a long time there were no truly great family films with the visual quality required to attract people to cinemas. Now we have learned how to create these types of movies. And it is probably necessary to accustom people to the fact that Russian cinema can be colorful, large-scale and cool, including those plots that are already familiar to them.
Leonid Yarmolnik:
– We have to try to unite people, give them a reason to communicate within the family… After all, after the departure of Rolan Bykov, we do not have children’s cinema as such. There are no fairy tales that Ilyusha and I grew up with. There is no Morozko, there is no Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors. Time has probably dictated its new laws: it is necessary to create family films. I think there is nothing wrong with this. On the contrary, it is an attempt to ensure that grandmothers, children, children and grandchildren find a common language. It’s very important.
Still from the movie “The Flying Boat”
– As the director of “The Bremen Musicians” Alexey Nuzhny said, now is the time to convey warmer stories…
Yarmolnik:
– We live in difficult times. There are so many negative moments, fears and worries that you want to at least see the light at the end of the tunnel in the cinema, something for which it makes sense to raise children. Has the world gone mad. What is happening, of course, depresses any normal person. You need to have incredible stamina and strength to not feel empathy or worry. Let two-hour movie sessions be the outlet that will allow you to continue smiling, communicating, and enjoying each other.
– Did you immediately accept the role of king?
– Certainly. On call. Ilyusha Uchitel called me and told me that he was working on “The Flying Boat”… And even, in my opinion, I blurted out that it was not necessary to send me the script: I already agreed! Because I love Ilyusha very much, I have known him for many years, I love his film “Streltsov”. I’m so glad I used it for this photo! Working with him is an incredible pleasure for any artist. And for an artist as good as me, this is an especially important holiday (laughs). I’m already tormenting Ilyusha, telling him that under no circumstances should he choose a script for his next movie in which I don’t have a role!
– How did you meet Ilya?
– I suppose I have known him since he was born, since I have been friends with his father, Alexei Efimovich Uchitel, all my life. But his father did not manage to invite me to the cinema, but Ilyusha did! … In general, he was waiting for the role of the king, he had been rehearsing for it all my life. I am the king of my home, or so it seems to me. I am an indisputable authority, who, however, can always be moved. Starting with my wife, my daughter, my son-in-law, my grandchildren and ending with the dog, everyone whispers something to me… In The Flying Boat, the king has the same worries as any normal person: there must be money in the family, the daughter must be provided with a home, all this needs to be tracked. And I’ve been doing this in my family my whole life. Therefore, he probably played almost himself, only with a crown.
Still from the movie “The Flying Boat”
Photo: courtesy of the press service.
– Ilya, Leonid Isaakovich said in an interview that he was glad that his wonderful daughter pleased him and did not become an actress, he did not even give her such ideas. How did it turn out for you?
Teacher:
– To be honest, I never had a choice. The only question was which faculty to enter at VGIK. I wanted to be a cameraman, which my father graduated from at some point. But he was very lucky, this was the only group of the so-called “author-cameramen” at VGIK, who later filmed, including as directors. But in my time this was no longer the case. In addition, the photography department had to pass a physics exam, but it was impossible: I am an absolute humanist. And therefore, the management department was identified as the vector of movement…
– Can we say about you that you grew up on the set?
Teacher:
– This would be a very loud statement. But when my father was filming “The Edge” and I was fourteen, I worked seriously on set for the first time. I went through all the stages, I was a worker, I helped the costume designers, I chopped firewood, then I helped set up the extras… Of course, this later helped me a lot.
-How was your relationship with Harry Bardin, the author of the original cartoon “The Flying Ship”? They wrote that he did not accept your film from the beginning and that he does not want to see it…
Yarmolnik:
“I just didn’t know it would work so well!”
Teacher:
“Unfortunately, our relationship with Harry Bardin did not work out. Yes, he doesn’t really want to see our film and, as a director, I understand that. I don’t think I would be very happy if they told me that the film I shot many years ago and which became a cult film was going to be remade in his own way by an incomprehensible young director… But I humbly hope that he, our “Flying boat”, still take a look and maybe your opinion will change.
