“Stories About Us” - the debut of the History TV channel in creating content for the Russian audience - consists of five short films about Russia and people who, in the shadow of the big and noisy world, are engaged in important and interesting things. The heroes were representatives of rare professions - an expert on petroglyphs, restorers, a chef and a craftsman. The shooting took place in different parts of Russia - from St. Petersburg to the Kola Peninsula. The videos can already be viewed on the History YouTube channel. Yuri Kolokolnikov became the face of the channel and the representative of the joint project in our country. The actor, known for his vivid roles in both domestic and foreign cinema, admitted that the project was included in the list of the most important in his career and life.
- You look like Mayakovsky: wide trousers, a "free" jacket. True, he probably didn't wear a T-shirt.
- He wore a yellow vest.
- You played a poet in the film by Alexander Shein "VMayakovsky". When is the premiere expected?
- It has already taken place! The film was released in limited distribution, a special place was allocated for screenings: the Tretyakov Gallery provided an area for the Anna Golubkina museum-workshop. An exposition dedicated to Vladimir Mayakovsky, the avant-garde and all related topics was placed there. The show takes place there - three or four times a week.
© Stas Martynov
- How did you prepare for the role? Have you performed any special manipulations with your voice, intonation or image?
- We have been working on the film for several years. The tape is experimental - it has both an artistic part and a documentary part. As for working with voice, there was the very minimum. First of all, it was necessary to seriously immerse himself in the topic itself and study the phenomenon, make out poetry. We talked with historians and experts. In general, "VMayakovsky" is a story about Vladimir Mayakovsky, and about how artists are trying not only to reach out, but to penetrate into these worlds, energies in which the poet himself, and Lilya Brik existed, and all, so to speak, a get-together that influenced our culture.
- That is, this is such a "metaphysical" project.
- Yes. It is also an attempt to explore the avant-garde. As for Mayakovsky himself, it is clear that he is the “first rapper” in the country. Many people are now making this comparison. And this is so.
- Did you learn something for yourself personally from the role?
- Of course, when you come across such a person and try to try it on yourself, it enriches. Mayakovsky is a hydroelectric power plant that shone powerfully with its energy and still shines. He also wrote: "My verse will reach through the ranges of centuries and through the heads of poets and governments." This turned out to be absolutely true. He understood a lot about himself, I think. Not that he understood - he just lived in other categories, with a connection to space. We had a joke with the director that there are only two options to play Mayakovsky. The first is to try to pull him into your territory. The second is to drag yourself into the territory of Mayakovsky. But this is dangerous because you can be torn apart. Therefore, we tried to maneuver to avoid such an outcome. In general, the story itself is very interesting. She is about our acting profession, and about cinema,and about the story as a whole. In her, many styles converged.
© Stas Martynov
- The result of cooperation with the History TV channel, as you admitted, is one of the most important in your life. What do you remember the most during the filming of these films? For example, in one of the episodes, you enthusiastically turn the steering wheel of a vintage car and your emotions from the process are easily read.
- It was all pure adventure, boyish. As in childhood - here we go somewhere to start up boats. And also a test. We went to completely different places, which is reflected in the videos. We got to the Kola Peninsula for a day by transfer, by swamp-going vehicles, boats, through rapids on the rivers. In addition to the fact that there is such an adventurous enthusiasm in this, of course, you find yourself involved in the personal history of the hero himself, in the business he is engaged in. And the matter is significant - so many different interesting things are revealed that I never knew about, and many do not know, because they are hidden from view. After all, the professions are not public. That was our idea - we wanted to tell about people with unknown professions. Few people know about them, but they are an integral part of our life.
- One of the heroes, the chef, said that he does not believe in haute cuisine. It sounded cocky.
- He noticed a linguistic point of view, spoke about arrogance in the very phrase. After all, he has some kind of disregard for other cuisines. You saw how Artem Losev (the hero of the film) made a croissant from potatoes. It's nowhere higher! Is a croissant in itself a gourmet cuisine? Hard to tell. But a croissant made from potatoes - definitely applies.
- How do you feel about this haute cuisine?
- From food I prefer … delicious. In general, I love fruits. The "menu" depends on the daily routine. If I fly a lot, then I try to eat less.
- You said you hadn't eaten for two days.
- I flew overnight to St. Petersburg from Abu Dhabi. Then he went to the set, filmed all day, and then flew to Moscow to be here by morning. That's two days. On airplanes I don't eat at all, I just drink water. All kinds of chemical changes occur with food at altitude. But this is not even the point, but the fact that all food on board is frozen and it is reheated before serving. This is not very good, you can even feel it physically.
© Stas Martynov
- The microwave in the house, as I understand it, you do not keep.
- No, I don't have a microwave.
- What about healthy lifestyle practices? Sports, for example.
- Now these practices are concentrated in flights. There is no time for sports. Flights and shooting schedule keep me on my toes so far. But in general, I like to play sports when I go on vacation. Soon I will definitely do yoga, for example.
- At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum at the party in honor of the 25th anniversary of Megafon, everyone was impressed by your image.
- It, of course, was a complete failure, I fined heavily. (Laughs.) I was just filming near Peter. My friend Dima Ashman, who organized this event, called me and said that Robbie Williams would be performing there. I asked for a concert. Either Dima didn't warn me, or I forgot to ask about the dress code. In the end, I arrived as is, from the site, in some kind of shorts and slippers. I didn't have time to go home to change.
- And it happened that you deliberately hooligans?
- No, it wasn't. What is hooliganism? In our country, an act of hooliganism can be regarded in different ways. I prefer to bully within the law.
- You are in demand in foreign projects. We all remember your entry into Game of Thrones. The Russian-Chinese blockbuster "The Secret of the Dragon's Seal" is about to be released. It is difficult for an ordinary viewer to comprehend the full scale of such a gigantic project, from the cast to the details of the shooting process. Try to reveal some details.
- The cast as in Olivier. But Olivier is delicious! "The Secret of the Dragon's Seal" is planned as the first major Russian-Chinese film project to be released internationally. There will be a bright entertaining film, a fairy tale for children and adults. The project is very complex, and the fact that the producers and director brought it to the end is fantastic. After all, one had to have not only patience, but also faith in success. The work lasted four years, there were breaks in filming, work with graphics, flights to China, filming in Prague. It took a lot of work to come to an agreement with a Chinese state-owned company, which, as I understand it, will co-finance the project, there is an unimaginably huge mechanism there. In fact, the world demands such collaborations, they happen more and more often. It is good that people from different cultures began to communicate more and exchange ideas.
There are only two options to play Mayakovsky: try to pull him into your own territory, or pull yourself into Mayakovsky’s territory. But then you can be torn apart.
- What about Michael Bay's project? I have been looking for you for a long time in the 6 Underground caste and found you in the position of a backup.
- Yes Yes. (Laughs) It's on IMDb, right? It lists my stunt double under my name. I should tell them that they have a mistake. The film was finished filming just recently. It was amazing. Michael Bay is cool. I've seen a lot in this life, but Bay made an indelible impression on me. He is a genius in his genre, which he himself, in a sense, created. I am very glad to have worked with him. And this is the second time we work with Ryan Reynolds.
- Have you heard familiar jokes about evil Russians in American cinema?
- In Hollywood, there is no such theme at all, that "you were killed again, you are an evil Russian again." What's the difference? You film with so many cool people that it enriches you anyway. Careers there are built in a completely different way, gradually. By the standards of Hollywood, I'm a student - only four years ago I started acting there. And I have a pretty good list of well-known projects, where I played a role, first a small, small, then a little bigger. Thus, the so-called credit is formed, you create your biography gradually. And they start to recognize you, invite you. I think it's like everywhere else, just a different scale.
- Probably, speculation about the evil and killed Russians will never run out.
- This is part of our mentality. We love to reflect too much. Personally, I don't care for a long time what they say in the end. Because I know everything about myself - what I like and what I enjoy. And I am proud to have worked on different projects.
- Actor Alexander Petrov admitted that he dreams of an Oscar. What are you dreaming about?
- I dream of a vacation. (Laughs.) In the last six months I have very much "landed" and dream only of vacations and nothing else.
© Stas Martynov
- Where do you prefer to hold them?
- It so happened that I have been celebrating the New Year in Los Angeles for a couple of years. We have formed a community there - many friends, acquaintances, including those from the cinema.
- You mentioned that you recently spoke with a taxi driver. How often do these conversations take place?
- Often, by the way. I have no one to talk to! (Laughs.) Usually I see what: my trailer at the site, colleagues, hotel, car, airport, next site. Then a meeting, an interview. Of course, I would like to talk to someone new.
- Hard work drives many people into apathy. Does this happen to you?
- I don’t think so. Raised the sails and rush. You distribute your forces for a certain amount of time, according to the schedule. I haven't had days off since July. So, basically, I'm under severe stress all the time. But on the other hand, I realized that I was still a grasshopper, a man of movement. At some point, realizing this, he stopped being shy. Probably, that is why I do not exist in this profession for nothing. Of course, sometimes I get tired of everything and go somewhere to be alone. In this regard, I am no different from everyone.>
