Actor Dmitri Nazarov.
Photo: Boris KUDRYAVOV
A new adaptation of the famous novel by Ilf and Petrov was presented at Mosfilm in the summer of 2019. Then about a tenth of the total footage was shot, but there were problems with the investor, the money ran out. The project was put on hold for several years. But… there would be no happiness, but misfortune helped. For criticizing the SVO on social media and the anti-Russian position of actor Dmitry Nazarov, he was fired from the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater, his tour was canceled and he was removed from the role of Kisa Vorobyaninov in 12 Chairs. The hype played in favor of the filmmakers – the frozen project was brought to mind again.
Director and screenwriter Pyotr Zelenov believes that the money for his film will now be found and shooting will resume soon.
– This is not a remake of a comedy by Leonid Gaidai or a four-episode film by Mark Zakharov. I want to make a film adaptation as close as possible to the author’s text. In the script, I tried to keep the original text of one of my favorite novels, – Peter Zelenov told KP. – Unlike Bender, Kisa Vorobyaninov was originally present in the author’s plans as the main treasure hunter. Ilf and Petrov even devoted two separate chapters to him, telling about his pre-revolutionary past (these chapters were later removed). Our film begins with the story of Ippolit Matveyevich, who before the revolution was an oligarch, a billionaire…
– Now you are left without the main treasure hunter – without Kisa Vorobyaninov. Do you already know who will star in this role instead of Dmitry Nazarov?
While I’m looking. Ten years ago, she would have offered this role to Nikita Mikhalkov. But time is gone. I have two candidates for this position. For now, I will not name them.
As for Dmitry Nazarov… I never followed his YouTube channel. I don’t really follow social media. And when they showed me the video (where Nazarov sings anti-Russian ditties of his own composition-Ed.), I was stunned. Not expected. I have completely different political views. I am a patriot. Any sane person from him, in my opinion, is clear who is behind the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. What Dmitry Nazarov is doing, from my point of view, is unacceptable, it is beyond the limit. So I took it off the paper. After that, curses and threats rained down on me.
But I imagined what would happen if we managed to shoot the film: because of Nazarov, the fate of the film would be sad. And if earlier he was worried that the shots had stopped halfway, now he was even delighted. Indeed, the ways of the Lord are past finding out. Now you understand what this stop was for.
– Is Dmitry Nagiev still in the role of Bender?
– Dima Nagiyev is a wonderful artist, he is eager to work, he really wants to play Bender. He invited Svetlana Nemolyaeva to play the role of the mother-in-law, who hid the diamonds in one of the chairs in the Gambs game. At first she refused: Svetlana Vladimirovna does not want to die in the frame. But we convinced her: she is not really dying … Madame Gritsatsueva-Irina Pegova. Janitor Tikhon – Mikhail Gorevoy. The president of Odessa bagel artel Kislyarsky is Ivan Agapov. Mounter Mechnikov, a man tormented by Narzan – Alexander Bashirov. Ellochka-cannibal – Lyudmila Kolesnikova … The cast is wonderful. The film has many comedic scenes in the style of a stunt movie, which is very expensive in terms of production. Therefore, financial difficulties arose. Now we are actively looking for money. And it all comes down to shooting about to start.
