"We're always trying to do without Sasha Petrov, but he's brilliant"
In recent years, Andrey Zolotarev has become one of the main architects of Russian mass cinema. His films and TV series set the tone for the industry and invariably turn out to be among the most anticipated premieres. The screenwriter's track record includes "The Word of a Kid", "Pinocchio", the franchise "Ice", "13 clinical", the fantastic blockbuster "One hundred years ahead". Now Zolotarev found himself in a territory where words almost disappear, and meaning is born in movement. He wrote the libretto for the new ballet Anna Karenina, which will premiere on June 25 at MAMT. Who helped him return to the theater after an unsuccessful experience with the Moscow Art Theater, why cinema cannot be without Alexander Petrov, why screenwriters need trade unions and why to wrap morality "like a pill in a cutlet," Andrei Zolotarev told Izvestia in an exclusive interview.
"I cannot claim that I am a 'real welder'
— You made your debut as the librettist of the ballet "Anna Karenina" at MAMT. It's a kind of creative language change. If you are used to managing attention through text and dialogues when working on scripts, then you have lost this tool when working on ballet. Have you mastered the language of plastic arts and dance?
— To be honest, before I started writing the libretto for Anna Karenina, I had no idea what it should look like. But I had an artistic director, director Maxim Sevagin. He became a guide to the wonderful world of ballet. Maxim brought Ilya Demutsky's music, we listened to the fragments and thought about how to visualize them. It was a magical new experience for me.
It turned out that writing a libretto is very similar to creating a script, but only at the stage where the structure and the mise-en-scene are thought up. The difference is that ballet dancers cannot come to the forefront and deliver a monologue. They need to convey meaning, but with the help of plastic and mise-en-scene. The more interesting the task is for the author.
-- Leo Tolstoy's novel is huge and layered. Did you have to sacrifice any characters?
— Absolutely. In the process, it suddenly turned out that the Levin–Kitty line is no less than the Karenina–Vronsky or Karenina–Karenin line. And this is one of the differences of our ballet. The viewer who comes to it guesses that he is not waiting for a literally retold novel. There is no way to completely transfer Tolstoy to the stage. And it's pointless to do it.
— Three years ago, Vladimir Mashkov, starting the season at the Oleg Tabakov Theater, announced that Andrei Zolotarev was working on the play "The Real One". It was supposed to be a play about false airfields during the Great Patriotic War. Why hasn't it happened yet?
— Andrey Zolotarev conducted this work, is conducting it and will continue to do so. (He smiles.) The play is still being written. Vladimir Lvovich reminds me at every meeting that there is a job that I have not done. And every time I stand in front of him, I look downcast. Sooner or later we'll finish the play. It's not easy, but it's very cool.
— This is not the first time you have started writing a play. You have already had experience working with the theater. What kind of play did you write?
— I did the Shining Path for the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater. 1917». However, this is a completely unfortunate story for me. The original agreements were not respected. And it's unpleasant. And now Maxim Sevagin unexpectedly offered me "Anna Karenina", for which I am very grateful to him.
For me, theater is a hobby. I cannot claim that I am a "real welder". I'm more of an amateur in this field. I need a powerful guide in the theater who would drag me there and explain how everything works. In the current circumstances, Maxim has become one.
"Any successful TV series leaves its mark"
— Which TV series of recent years, to which you have nothing to do, did you like?
— I like a lot of things. For example, a rather pleasant story came out with Victoria Isakova — the TV series "Radar". She plays a woman who is possessed by aliens and the heroine acts under their influence. Also, "The Highway" is an incredibly cool series.
— Now Medialogia regularly compiles the Russian rating of TV series. In the very first top for 2025, the "Squid Game" is leading by a wide margin. Have you studied the cuisine of this series to apply it to your scripts?
"Not on purpose. But any successful TV series leaves its mark. "The Squid Game" is a very powerful story. On the one hand, it is local, on the other, it is what is called local for global. The project works great because it is told in an international language that is understandable not only in Korea. And the principle of presenting parochial stories to a large audience is something that is definitely worth learning.
— The series "Sled" is a regular participant in the rating. Why does he keep getting ahead among the many detective projects?
— "Sled" is an absolute producer's victory. The project is not a standard of artistry in series production. This is a unique combination of cheap production — and in the good sense of the word — and the right layout of capacities, producer flair and audience interest.
"We initially aimed specifically at Bondarchuk"
— The New Year's rental will be decorated with the film "Hottabych", shot according to your script. What have you preserved from the Soviet story-tale by Lazar Lagin?
— In the Soviet film, the characters traveled on a magic carpet, played football, went to the circus, and all sorts of things happened there. We tried to keep this sense of adventure alive. The outline of "Hottabych" has remained the same, but the action has been transferred to our days. It's going to be a great adventure story.
— When you were writing the script, was Hassan Abdurrahman ibn Khottab portrayed by Fyodor Bondarchuk?
—Oh, yeah. I would have had great doubts about the feasibility of the project if Fyodor Sergeyevich had not agreed. The main producer's question before the start of this story was, who will play Hottabych? What kind of artist can embody such a character? In this sense, we initially aimed specifically at Bondarchuk, and I am very grateful to him for agreeing.
— He's a very brave actor. After turning into Karabas-Barabas in Pinocchio, Fyodor Bondarchuk became open to the fairy-tale genre.
— Yes, these two roles are my favorites. But exactly until the moment when the picture "It's hard to be a God" was released. What he does on the screen is incredible. It's just going to be a blowout!
— You're not going to shoot your film "It's Hard to be a God" for 14 years, like Alexey German?
— No, of course not. Although it's really a long job that started a long time ago. Now we are close to the finals and even managed to show the first nine minutes at the Pilot festival. According to them, the project is at a high stage of readiness. However, I'm afraid to get ahead of myself in the description of the film due to certain legal restrictions. In my opinion, this is the largest project in our history, there are simply no analogues to it. We are waiting for 10 episodes with gigantic buildings, the most complex scenery and incredible costumes.
"The composers get a percentage of the rental, but the script makers don't"
— "Pinocchio" went on a trip abroad: the film was sold in more than fifty countries. How did this affect the author of the script?
— No way (laughs). The success of the film does not affect the income of the screenwriter. The paradox is that the composers receive a percentage of the rental, but the script creators do not. For several years now, the initiative group has been trying to achieve recognition of the authors' rights, but according to the law we do not take them into account. Legislating at least half a percent of producers' earnings for screenwriters would support the industry. There is uncertainty and an eternal "howl in the swamps" in the environment now. Everyone asks, "Where are the screenwriters?" But where would they come from if young authors are faced with the attitude: "Dig a hole, and I'll think about whether to pay or not." Due to low motivation, many ambitious people do not enter the profession — they become producers, directors, and actors.
— And what steps are you taking? Did you come to the State Duma with an initiative?
— We are taking sluggish steps, but it is difficult to organize ourselves. You know, I realized that unions work where there are smoking rooms. But the creative workers of the film industry are doing well with the association, because they have time to discuss problems during the break. Screenwriters need a leader who brings the community together.
— Andrey Kravchuk's next historical saga "The Birth of an Empire" about Peter the Great will be released in autumn. This is Nikita Mikhalkov's production project. Did you want to work with him?
— I had no feeling that I would ever get a chance to work with Nikita Sergeevich. I am very glad that this happened. But I communicated much more actively with Leonid Emilievich Vereshchagin. They make decisions together with Mikhalkov at their Olympic level.
— The genre of the film is historical drama. Is this material close to you?
— It's bad to say that, but I'm pretty omnivorous. It doesn't really matter to me what genre to write in. It's a convention. Basically, everything is written as a drama. And the laws of drama are the same for everything — comedy, melodrama, whatever. I am equally happy to take up historical material and fiction.
"Morality needs to be wrapped like a pill in a cutlet"
— Who had the idea to expand the universe of Kira Bulychev about Alice Selezneva and make a spin-off for the film "One Hundred years ahead"? Why did Veselchak U become the first?
— I received this offer from Alexander Andryushchenko, the director of the original film. I believe that he, along with Fyodor Bondarchuk and Mikhail Vrubel, began evaluating the material coming from the set during the filming of One Hundred Years Ahead. It turned out that a terrific — at the same time comedic, dramatic and very fierce — hero was born there. By a wonderful coincidence, he was played by Sasha Petrov. We're always trying to do without him, but he's a brilliant artist.
And each time the actors go through an honest casting. Then we look at the samples and say, "No, okay, we tried honestly. Excuse me. Let's confirm Sasha again. He outplayed everyone." His image turned out to be unique, and it would be a sin not to dedicate a separate picture to him. "Funny Guy U" is incredibly cool.
— Does this mean that the universe of Kir Bulachev's heroes will appear, by analogy with the Marvel heroes?
— Well, it's hardly like Marvel. Still, our scale is not the same yet. But structurally it's close. Producers are very afraid to go into the fantasy zone because it's expensive and it's not obvious what people will come to watch. There are a lot of haters in this genre. Initially, a very aggressive audience, negatively inclined. They have read Bulychev and know what to do and how to do it better than anyone else. They begin to disassemble the cinema to the rivets. This is not an audience for melodramas that doesn't pay attention to the details. Fans of fiction are hard to satisfy. The only way to go is to try to do things for yourself and for your children. And don't pay attention to the shouting.
— You are the creative producer of NMG Studio. Are there any good screenwriters?
— There is a decent shift. And it's especially nice that this growing shift is about our age (smiles). And this "younger" generation will sooner or later displace us. I am sincerely glad that the industry is evolving, despite all the obstacles. If the prodigies used to stand out, now there are well-trained guys among the young screenwriters. The feeling has already gone — you're either a genius or you're nobody. Mastery is a product of work. Screenwriting is a craft.
— Among the abundance of scenarios, are there many dedicated to their own?
— They are there. In general, people write about things that touch them emotionally. It is impossible to do this with a cold nose. A special military operation is a burning topic. The series "Lilies of the Valley" was recently released, and it affected a huge number of women who are waiting for their men. And for them, this is a very valid topic that appeared in an absolute vacuum. In many ways, this determined the success of the series.
— Movies are perceived as entertainment. Is his educational role a vestige? When will such a movie be released?
— This is a difficult question. The main danger is edification: if the author initially just wants to tell you "how to live properly," a good movie will not work. The viewer rejects direct teaching — he does not come to the cinema for a lesson.
Morality should be wrapped like a pill in a patty: served through conflicts and hero choices, not through moralizing. Dostoevsky does not teach directly, but shows collisions in which the reader, along with the characters, draws their own conclusions.
The Soviet film industry produced many strong films, largely due to long-term systematic work. After the second half of the 1980s, it began to collapse, followed by 15 years of cinematic oblivion. The new industry is still young, and it's too early to expect the level of Soviet prosperity from it.
In addition, there is not enough audience for the development of the industry. It would be useful to have an audience base of 250 million people again, as in the USSR, instead of 140. This would seriously support the industry. But for now, these are just dreams.
— Do you think that an increase in the birth rate would solve this problem?
- yes. Cinema needs more viewers, and the country needs more people. However, the effect will not appear immediately. The task of the industry is not to lower the bar and not to mess up.
— Do you feel like the arbiter of fate?
— No, of course not. There is great danger in such a position. People who imagine themselves to be the arbiters of fate really pose a threat. If I suddenly start feeling like this, I hope they will stop me in time — they will take me to the basement and not give me the keyboard in my hands anymore (laughs).
To some extent, the work of writers is crucial: they are fully responsible for their work — from the first letter to the final cover. But the work of a screenwriter is teamwork. It would be strange if the right midfielder shouted that he was the only one who won the cup. The rest of the team seemed to be just "running around the backgrounds" on the field. Football and cinema are team games.
— Is the screenwriter an irresponsible person?
— No, there is a responsibility. But it's more pleasant to be responsible for winning than for losing.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
