Michael Lockshin’s film adaption of Bulgakov’s anti-censorship masterpiece has become a box office hit in Russia against all odds
In an ironic twist, Russia’s wartime box office is being dominated by a blockbuster adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita, a film that denounces censorship and was filmed by an American director who is “vocally anti-war”.
One leading film critic, Anton Dolin, told the Guardian it was the “best commercial film ever shot in [Vladimir] Putin’s Russia”. A movie’s runaway success can work against it in Russia now: the film has had to run the gauntlet of pro-Kremlin propagandists and censors, and in true Hollywood fashion it has triumphed against the odds.
In an ironic twist, Russia’s wartime box office is being dominated by a blockbuster adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita, a film that denounces censorship and was filmed by an American director who is “vocally anti-war”.
One leading film critic, Anton Dolin, told the Guardian it was the “best commercial film ever shot in [Vladimir] Putin’s Russia”. A movie’s runaway success can work against it in Russia now: the film has had to run the gauntlet of pro-Kremlin propagandists and censors, and in true Hollywood fashion it has triumphed against the odds.
- 2/23/2024
- by Andrew Roth
- The Guardian - Film News
Just days after the Russian blockbuster “The Master and Margarita” surged to the top of the domestic box office, Kremlin cronies, pro-war propagandists and an army of online trolls have waged a campaign to discredit the film and its director, Michael Lockshin, a U.S. citizen who was raised in the Soviet Union and has been outspoken in his opposition to the war in Ukraine.
A source close to the film, who asked not to be named out of fear of potential repercussions, tells Variety that the movie’s staggering success and pointed critique of authoritarian rule has struck a nerve in right-wing circles at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has cracked down on any form of dissent.
“The propagandists are both envious and also hateful that a movie with an anti-censorship, anti-totalitarian, anti-war message is getting so much popularity, that they have doubled down,” the source said.
A source close to the film, who asked not to be named out of fear of potential repercussions, tells Variety that the movie’s staggering success and pointed critique of authoritarian rule has struck a nerve in right-wing circles at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has cracked down on any form of dissent.
“The propagandists are both envious and also hateful that a movie with an anti-censorship, anti-totalitarian, anti-war message is getting so much popularity, that they have doubled down,” the source said.
- 2/2/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The year 2021 marked 10 years in the business for Mars Media, the leading Russian content company founded by Ruben Dishdishyan, who previously set up and ran fellow major player Central Partnership.
At Mars, Dishdishyan and his team initially focused on producing TV, but have since moved more into the film business, at a time when most of the industry seems to be going in the other direction. The pivot to large-screen production has paid dividends, however, with its family movie Palma proving a local hit, and spawning a sequel, while its war pic T-34 was both a local box office success and also made waves in China. On the horizon, Mars’ projects include Woland, the $15M drama starring Inglorious Basterds actor August Diehl in a loose adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic novel The Master and Margarita.
Deadline sat down with Dishdishyan to cast our eyes back over a decade of operating in the Russian market.
At Mars, Dishdishyan and his team initially focused on producing TV, but have since moved more into the film business, at a time when most of the industry seems to be going in the other direction. The pivot to large-screen production has paid dividends, however, with its family movie Palma proving a local hit, and spawning a sequel, while its war pic T-34 was both a local box office success and also made waves in China. On the horizon, Mars’ projects include Woland, the $15M drama starring Inglorious Basterds actor August Diehl in a loose adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic novel The Master and Margarita.
Deadline sat down with Dishdishyan to cast our eyes back over a decade of operating in the Russian market.
- 12/31/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Roman Kantor has signed with CAA for representation in all areas.
The Moscow-based screenwriter recently penned an adaptation of Anna Karenina for Netflix. The contemporary reimagining of the Leo Tolstoy classic is the streamer’s first-ever Russian original drama series.
Kantor previously scripted contemporary thriller To The Lake, which debuted on the Russian platform Premier, and was subsequently acquired by Netflix.
He also wrote The Silver Skates, which was the first Russian film to be released as a Netflix Original. The sweeping period romance, which Michael Lockshin directed in his feature debut, opened the 42nd Moscow Film Festival, going on to chart on Netflix’s Top 10 list in 51 countries.
Kantor is also writing Woland, an adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita, which is tentatively set for release in 2022.
He continues to be represented by Aleksey Ageyev at PlusSeven Management.
The Moscow-based screenwriter recently penned an adaptation of Anna Karenina for Netflix. The contemporary reimagining of the Leo Tolstoy classic is the streamer’s first-ever Russian original drama series.
Kantor previously scripted contemporary thriller To The Lake, which debuted on the Russian platform Premier, and was subsequently acquired by Netflix.
He also wrote The Silver Skates, which was the first Russian film to be released as a Netflix Original. The sweeping period romance, which Michael Lockshin directed in his feature debut, opened the 42nd Moscow Film Festival, going on to chart on Netflix’s Top 10 list in 51 countries.
Kantor is also writing Woland, an adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita, which is tentatively set for release in 2022.
He continues to be represented by Aleksey Ageyev at PlusSeven Management.
- 8/12/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: German actor August Diehl, whose credits include The Young Karl Marx, Inglourious Basterds and A Hidden Life, has signed on to play the lead role in big-budget Russian drama Woland.
The $15M project is a loose adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic novel The Master and Margarita, one of the most read books in Russia’s history. Michael Lockshin (Silver Skates) is directing from a screenplay by Roman Kantor and Michael Lockshinbased.
Starring alongside Diehl are Yulia Snigir and Evgeniy Tsyganov. Set in Moscow in the 1930s, the film will weave together the novel’s narrative with Bulgakov’s own history in Russia. It will follow a promising young writer who at the height of his career finds himself in the middle of a scandal of both literary and political nature – his new novel is being crushed by harsh idealistic critics, who say that his vivid depiction of Christ...
The $15M project is a loose adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic novel The Master and Margarita, one of the most read books in Russia’s history. Michael Lockshin (Silver Skates) is directing from a screenplay by Roman Kantor and Michael Lockshinbased.
Starring alongside Diehl are Yulia Snigir and Evgeniy Tsyganov. Set in Moscow in the 1930s, the film will weave together the novel’s narrative with Bulgakov’s own history in Russia. It will follow a promising young writer who at the height of his career finds himself in the middle of a scandal of both literary and political nature – his new novel is being crushed by harsh idealistic critics, who say that his vivid depiction of Christ...
- 7/22/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
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