Not so long ago, “Zone horror” has been actively updated with news about the contest of scripts for horror movies and all kinds of events that happen around him. Almost all of them related to the activities of one man – Vladislav Severtsev, producer and founder of the Studio “10 9”. We agreed with him about the great detailed conversation, where he decided to find out what kind of person, and ask him the burning questions about the current state of the domestic film market. That is why it’s bad, and is that really so?
Let’s start by talking about yourself. Here I sit and look at the person, who has made two horror movie in Russia, and at least one of them represents the local interest is traveling to film festivals and stuff. Question – how do you come to this why horror?
Well, to begin with, that’s the topic of mysticism and horror it always interested me personally, including in television production. By and large, and there was never a choice, it is a conscious decision. Everything about sci-Fi, mystery and horror is my thing. I loved in childhood to read the stories of Nikolai Gogol, Alexei Tolstoy, all this Russian classics, vampires there, and so, in Gothic novels, English… to me it all wildly like. Well, of course Stephen king, of course, this started at all. The first video that I saw in 85-m to year, when there was only VCR, VM-12 , was the movie “the Hunger” with Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie. And I remember that I made a very powerful impression. And during the videos only appeared in the Soviet Union, went to all the “Nightmare on elm street”, “Something”, “Other”… all the classics, by and large. It was a real breakthrough, and here got the movies already are, which have been tested by time: “the exorcist” “the omen” – that this first wave. Then “the evil dead” and so on.
And whether in life some kick that threw you in that direction, where you now get a move on?
No, probably, it gradually developed. And the music at the same time: Gothic rock, early industrial, EBM, heavy metal – there was everything, basically, tied between them and… well, let’s just say, with satanic all sorts of bells and whistles (laughs). I remember at school in the sixth grade we gave each other a black and white photo albums of Metallica, “Master of puppets” and so on… it was the 80s years, and I think it was worldwide the burst has a certain horror, and this music… Well, that is, there was nothing specific – I was not bitten by the dog, and then I suddenly started loving horror (laughs). All developed gradually.
Why it’s the production? Why not a Director, not a writer…
In school time I wrote… Umm… horror stories, so to say (laughs). About ghosts and stuff. But I’m not a very good writer, so at some point just realized that I’m better to gather people and to create a project than… unfortunately or fortunately, it is not clear to… than to do something. Producing for me is the creation of a final product which is assembled from the mass of absolutely different things: from visual to music, script, directing, etc. That is, such a complicated scheme, which, I don’t know… like a music album to release… all from the same series.
Turn to the domestic market. Producing. As I understand it, you’ve even managed to work with foreign colleagues horror films. We recently made a selection of trailers of the 35th Brussels international film festival, and I saw among them “the Bride” too. By the way, you know that she will be there? (laughs)
Yes, I’m on Saturday I’m going down there. “Bride” was in the official program, Sunday is the show. “The bride” were some festivals… in Iran even for the first time in the history of horror cinema.
Now, if you compare – what is the fundamental feature, or can be, problems, the inconvenience of producing such things in our country?
Well, it’s not just horror, but all of our film and television. In America it is an industry. This is also goes into some new positions, but is still something in the spirit of “piling on, let’s uhnem, ahnem, as boatmen on the Volga, pull the barge”. Each project is something to take… (laughs) don’t know what… Narva any. While abroad it is a machine. It has its pluses and minuses, but the pluses undoubtedly to the fact that it is not kolenosky product – there are people who are willing and able to work at a certain level, which can already have something to expect. Here, each time confronted with the fact that people who work in our film, the majority of them never ever this style is not working. No makeup, no costume designers, no svitavice this new story. On the one hand this is a fresh look, but on the other hand, engage in an educational program at the site, when you need to take, and you have dropped money – a dubious pleasure.
If we are talking about the same Directors, operators… this is a problem or not a problem, or there are those who know how to shoot and work? I wonder who was filming “Bride”?
“The bride” almost all filmed Ivan Burlakov. If you look at “IMDb”, he has a filmography, and he really did a lot of things… so as for operators, quality operators we have. With Directors in this genre, a little worse, but worst of all to the writers because the writers we have are very poor. And it is absolutely clear, there is nothing to blame but the fact that there was such a market until recently. My God, you’re going to engage in sports… in order to transform from a novice to the rank sportsman, you need several years of daily training. To compete, etc. etc. You must be on the coach in a group of other people, to watch as are the other athletes – it’s the same thing. If you are not for whom to write, if you wrote a script of horror in my life, and the rest is just uncalled for… well, where will it appear? Only now, I think, people began to understand that this is, at least, can someone remove.
If you think that to create a series of “the worst book” was a similar situation, only on the literary market. For five years the movement has grown, and like a snowball spun in a lot of people. First, this was one book, and no one knew whether to buy it, and now the series comes out 3-4 books a year, and they sell well. That’s interesting – our movies is that possible? For example, to people who watch the bachelorette, people who all the time went and sniffed the genre now dipped there with the head… it could happen.
I’m sure – Yes. And moreover, I think what is happening now with the “Bride”, should be the first step. For example, tonight from Los Angeles came the offer from “Lionsgate” about the remake. And in August-September of last year I was in Tushino, in the rain, in the mud, in rubber boots knee-deep were dug on the site… it’s been seven months… and they go. So I’m not concerned with what anyone out there is looking to all this job offer they find themselves. That’s what struck me. Not only that, this movie in itself is a niche, low-budget, especially on the part of the West, and in Russian, with incomprehensible realities… But find it and make suggestions. This suggests that the horror has no nationality, it has little of the national limitation in commercial terms, than anything else. There can be different cultural experiences, but when you read some studies about the same about vampires, by and large, it appears that the entire European area – it is approximately the same. The concept of blood-sucking dead – it is clear from Ireland to Russia. Perhaps that is why such things are easier to sell.
Here you had two projects: “the Bride” and “the Queen of spades: Black rite”… now there’s something in development?
Yes. Well, first, we have a screenplay competition goes, it is about 350 applications were received, I randomly browsing, there is already some more or less interesting stories. Well right now we by Timur Bekmambetov and Zaur Molotovym working on bringing to mind one scenario, and I hope in June we will begin casting in the summer and start production.
Interesting. So, you projects are on the rise, and one another better… and if we talk about the third job… how would you like to see the result? Of course, Napoleon’s plans to conquer the world… the normal stable result that you would like to obtain from the following project.
Actually, I would like to reach the level of three to five films a year… and, most likely, three out of five from English, will be sold abroad. The problem with the American market in one – he does not accept dubbing and will not accept subtitles. So it makes sense to make movies in the USA with American actors. But, of course, any such production is much more difficult and longer than when you do it all himself, from beginning to end. If your entire project from start to advance, you can do it in a relatively short time. When you’re dealing with someone with a foreign company and even more… for example, in the case of “Lionsgate” because it’s been one chain of command – it’s a business, it is a Corporation, there is no green light from the lawyers, nothing will pass. Marketing needs to give the go-ahead… all of which is delaying the process.
Since I have dealt with Western themes. What do you think about modern foreign horror, what works, in your opinion, over the last few years have set the style of the whole area?
For example, as for the movie, many do not like James WAN, and from my point of view, he has done much to popularize the horror. He began to take it off as a great movie, but for little money, with the classical techniques, and adding to the action. The problem is very many movies recently… Yes, not even last that long stretches… to build everything just for the jump scare and BU!-the moments – this, of course, works when you’re sitting in the dark, and someone was hit over the head with a hammer… of course frightened. But to exploit this to infinity is impossible. Must be some things that work from the point of view of drama. People should first empathize with what is happening on the screen and not just jump from the fact that, in the cave of fears hand in some of the corner up. The last remakes: “Poltergeist”, “Something”… I think it was not a very good idea. “Calls” I actually was very surprised, they were quite weak.
What do you think about multi genre works, such as “Witch”, “Human Swiss army knife”? As you approach the mixing of styles and techniques?
I can honestly say that, unfortunately, at the time he committed an unforgivable mistake. I was able to participate in the creation of “Witches”. There was a situation, when the people wanted money, they had a problem, not enough money for post-production and they sent the screener, which was still just black pieces. But, unfortunately, there were some people who advised against entering into the story. And I happily missed.
Hmm, well, if you think about it, God knows what could happen from “Witches”. It’s not just a horror movie, it’s an eclectic work, it is based on folklore, mythology, religion, replica, and the prayers that were there, they were taken from the original documents of those times. Initially, the film could just fail as a horror, it could turn out as a kind of historical pastiche nuts.
In fact, in the States many are outraged at the topic of why “the Witch” is generally attributed to the genre of horror is not horror at all, it was marketinguli as a horror and introduced viewers astray. By and large, I agree, because this time I am at the time and confused – here is the whole story of immigrants and stuff, she’s very close to the American audience, but outside of America not very clear… in a word, controversial perspectives. Unfortunately, a similar situation happened later with the film “I’m not a serial killer” – there I was advised against an American rental company. I loved it when they showed the materials… they have a teaser trailer was ready, the script. But the agent began to hum something like: “No, it is not necessary to climb” and then he turned out to be pretty good and made. After these two cases I don’t rely on these moments… that is, if I make a mistake, but myself I then will have no one to blame.
Here Cameron had “Avatar” – a project that he always wanted to do, and even in the same “Foreign” some felt motives there. Luc Besson is now making the screen adaptation of the classic French comic “Valerian and the city of a thousand planets.” Do you have something you would like to do. Ambitious kind of thing, but not now, not tomorrow, but in the long term, for example, in seven years.
Yes, I want to make a dark sci-fi film. Not necessarily about space, but such that it was well, just a good Thriller.
Competition for audience. That they, unhappy, have to get them in theater and they would watch our film? Why Russian movies are dumb?
Here you only need time, only time to release a normal movie. And there is no other way. First and foremost it should be a very good ideas and well written scripts. Because I have experienced all the delights of entering into production with an unfinished script. In General, to be a producer – a rather strange thing, because you on one side, sort of like Sweden, and the Reaper, and on dude igrets… responsible for money, logistics, and content. And when it’s bad – all x…sosat producer. When well, it seems as if he’s out there somewhere passing by: the Director well done, music well done, everyone… I really do not care at all, I know what I did for this story. Here you have to maneuver: here you have location, is not made up scenario, you need to remove nature, and then from the rental company comes to that, so here full, here full, here stands against us conditional of some kind of king Kong, which fills up all… well, it is clear that emerging Hollywood blockbuster from a major Studio blows three quarters of the market. Just the default. People go to him, and to fight it is impossible, he is a quality, there is invested a lot of money. And here the distributor tells you, “you Know what, dear, and you have only this date.” And you realize that you need to remove for the remaining time to do post-production, advertising campaign, and to get in the car. And in the good we ought to sit and finished the script a couple of months, but you don’t have this a couple of months. Go as it is.
What do you think, what you want more audience? If you add up all of your experience. Imagine the situation: yeah, I want to make a film that will take place as well in theaters, and it will be a good film in the genre… the way it should be?
In the movie there is a very clear indicator – the first and second weekend box office. If the first weekend you can still pull on is not very high quality product due to powerful marketing, the second you will die. When I have “Bride” on the second weekend fell, but fell not even as “Calls”… that is, I’m not some kind of ghoul, sit and, you know, just think, how would an extra ruble stuck, I perfectly understand how it all works… we had a pretty well-built advertising campaign, but the second weekend is not dead, he passed in the standard drop in industry… then I realized that everything is fine. When the second weekend you have serious seams, it is clear that the film is not formed. But how to predict? Statistics no no, no one can really tell… when we did the “Bride”, I tried to find out from distributors, other people – are there any sociological data for the viewer of the horror. It turns out, no, they were never measured! But, for a moment, that just happened is totally unprecedented history: the “Split” in our country, has collected more than half a billion, and it’s a very niche story, a film with multiple actors, taking place in one or two scenery… and he did great box office. And nobody knows what kind of people go to these films… well, this is nonsense really.
That is, we still have everything ahead?
Yes, it is absolutely accurate. The main thing now is absolutely clear – we can… of course, not to be trendsetters in the genre… but quietly to reach the level when a Russian horror will speak as well as about Japanese horror or Spanish horror. We, too, will find your place.
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