In another world, The Master and Margarita director Michael Lockshin would be spending evenings in a tuxedo strolling the red carpet along with the actors from his new film. He’d spend his days smiling for photographers, giving Champagne toasts, and taking limo rides to media appearances. But in our world, the 43-year-old filmmaker is unable to promote his blockbuster, a triumphant success in the only country where it is currently being shown: Russia. “My name wasn’t even on the poster or any of the marketing materials for the release in Russia,” the director with a salt-and-pepper mustache tells me from his Los Angeles home. That would have been too dangerous.
Lockshin’s adaptation of the acclaimed Russian novel by Mikhail Bulgakov was an enormous feat—with a reported cost of $17 million, a plethora of special effects, a storyline that’s a full-throated critique of authoritarianism, and a message the filmmaker sums up as: “How do you remain free as a writer in the face of censorship?” It’s a subject that was difficult to tackle in Russia even before the “special military operation” in Ukraine, to borrow the language of Vladimir Putin’s regime, began in 2022. It is an even more daring movie now as dissident artists, authors, and journalists are being thrown in jail, banned, and in some cases murdered.
Lockshin’s film was released on January 25. To date, more than five million Russians have seen The Master and Margarita in theaters, making it one of the best-performing films of the year. Audience reactions have been ecstatic: Finally, they’re able to see a film critical of the regime. They have discovered the story of a writer on trial for the plays he has created, ostracized by his peers. They have laughed at scenes that parody propaganda and others in which bureaucrats outdo each other in their stupidity.
For the last two years in Russia, culture has been under wraps, with cinemas showing only benignly innocuous films approved by official authorities. Moscow’s cinemas are now breathing a sigh of relief. Some screenings of the film even ended with rounds of enthusiastic applause. Is the Kremlin listening?
A scene from Michael Lockshin’s film adaptation of The Master and Margarita.
Putin’s propaganda machine went into overdrive the day after the film’s theatrical release. First, star television presenter Tigran Keosayan blasted Lockshin’s “anti-Russian” stance and urged authorities to launch an investigation into the film’s production. Vladimir Solovyov, considered one of Russia’s main propogandists, then asked on his program—one of Russian’s most viewed television shows, “How could this unpatriotic film have been authorized? Is this a special operation?”
Readovka, a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel with over two million viewers, took aim at the filmmaker, describing him as a “notorious Russophobe” guilty of having expressed his opposition to the Ukraine war on TV networks. Finally, Sputnik radio host Trofim Tatarenkov compared Lockshin to the “enemies of the people” who would have been assassinated in Stalin’s time.
From Los Angeles, the filmmaker describes navigating his work’s reception as if he’s a sailor watching a tempest through a telescope. But the sun is shining in California, far from the storm raging in Moscow. Nevertheless, he avoids some of the questions I ask about the actors who remain in Russia. “Everyone’s scared over there,” he says.
Listening to him talk about his childhood divided between the United States and Russia, the modest beginnings of his career, and his Hollywood ambitions, I wonder whether he’s living a filmmaker’s dream, a nightmare, or both at the same time. “I’m very proud of this film, of course,” he says, as if there were any doubt about that. As the interview progresses, he asks me to reread some of his quotes. (In light of death threats and Lockshin’s concern with protecting colleagues who are still in Russia, Vanity Fair chose to comply with this request). How could I refuse when he tells me that he’s threatened anew every time an article is published?
In another world, The Master and Margarita director Michael Lockshin would be spending evenings in a tuxedo strolling the red carpet along with the actors from his new film. He’d spend his days smiling for photographers, giving Champagne toasts, and taking limo rides to media appearances. But in our world, the 43-year-old filmmaker is unable to promote...
By Yaroslav TrofimovUpdated April 14, 2024 6:16 pm ETListen to article(2 minutes)Saturday’s Iranian strike on Israel was huge by any standard. Tehran launched more than 170 explosive-laden drones, around 120 ballistic missiles and about 30 cruise missiles, according to Israel. The damage could have been catastrophic. As it turned out, almost all were...
This article was taken from The Moscow Times archive and was first published on Nov. 11, 2015. For a man who once shaped Russia's media sector, remarkably little is known about the last months of Mikhail Lesin's life. A macho, "hell-for-leather guy," who as press minister from 1999-2004 broke the hold of oligarchs on Russia's media and asserted state...
U.S.WorldBusinessArtsLifestyleOpinionAudioGamesCookingWirecutterThe AthleticSKIP ADVERTISEMENTSpeaker Mike Johnson scaled back the measure to two years from five after Donald J. Trump had urged Republicans to “kill” it. An effort to require warrants to search for Americans’ messages failed on a tie.Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to scale down the bill...
The House on Friday passed a modified surveillance bill, just two days after an earlier version failed to advance in a public rebuke to GOP leadership. The bill, which reauthorizes the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, also needs to pass the Senate ahead of an April 19 deadline. ...
Iran took its best shot (or a very significant one) at Israel with over 100 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and over 100 drones, totaling over 300 forms of aerial attack from many different sides and vectors.What if Israel finally decides to strike back? What if it decides to take this opportunity to finally bomb Iran’s prized nuclear weapons...
DW asks various experts what we can expect from Iran – and what Iran is actually capable of – after the country launched drones and missiles at Israel overnight. Israel said its military and allies intercepted the majority of the projectiles. Tehran said it was responding to an Israeli airstrike on its Damascus consulate earlier this month, adding that...
JERUSALEM, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, which combined gunmen breaching security barriers with a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza, was launched at dawn on Saturday during the Jewish high holiday of Simchat Torah.The attack came 50 years and a day after Egyptian and Syrian forces launched an assault during the Jewish holiday...
В ночь на 14 апреля Иран атаковал Израиль несколькими сотнями ударных беспилотников и ракет. Иранская сторона заявила, что это ответ на израильский удар 1 апреля по посольству Ирана в Бейруте, в результате которого погибли семь офицеров Корпуса стражей исламской революции (КСИР). Иран выпустил по Израилю в общей сложности более 300 снарядов, в том...
SKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe weapons Iran used on Saturday travel farther and are more precise than those Hamas and other allies have used against Israel in the past six months.Drones or missiles being fired at Israel from Iran on early Sunday.Credit...Ronen Zvulun/ReutersApril 14, 2024, 2:41 a.m. ETLate Saturday, Iran began firing hundreds of drones and missiles...
Israel praised the success of its defenses in the face of an unprecedented attack by Iran involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.An Israeli military spokesman said Sunday the launches numbered more than 300, but 99% of them were intercepted. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles...
Loud booms were heard in Jerusalem after Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel. Videos Booms heard in Jerusalem after Iran launches missiles and drones at Israel Loud booms were heard in Jerusalem after Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel. Sirens and explosions in Jerusalem after Iran fires drones and missiles...
By TIA GOLDENBERG , Associated PressTEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel on Sunday hailed its successful air defenses in the face of an unprecedented attack by Iran, saying it and its allies thwarted 99% of the more than 300 drones and missiles launched toward its territory. But regional tensions remain high, amid fears of further escalation in the event...
Donald Trump’s continuing lavish praise and support for Vladimir Putin are fueling alarm among former intelligence officials and other experts who fear another Trump presidency would benefit Moscow and harm American democracy and interests overseas.Trump praised the Russian president as a “genius” and “pretty savvy” when Russia invaded Ukraine in early...
Published on Apr 13, 2024 06:29 PM IST Putin's military expansion marks Russia's largest since Soviet times. US intel reveals secrets behind this surge. With sanctions faltering, is Kyiv at risk? US report unveils China's role in Russia's armament, including missiles and tanks. US has urged Europe to pressure Beijing to stop support....
Michael Novakhov (Mike Nova) 3/05/2024 08:30:00 AM
The Empire State Building is lit in pastel colors to mark Easter as it stands between the towers of Hudson Yards in New York City on March 31. Gary Hershorn/Getty Images ...
Calls for the United Kingdom, a key NATO ally, to test its new laser weapon on the battlefields of Ukraine are growing, as Kyiv struggles to contend with the demands placed on its existing air-defense systems and doubts continue over future Western aid.The U.K. published de-classified footage of its new laser-directed energy weapon, known as the...
В Москве полиция ворвалась в квартиру советника посольства Кыргызстана Манаса Жолдошбекова. Как сообщили коллеги дипломата, сотрудники полиции вели себя агрессивно. Телеграм-канал "ВЧК-ОГПУ" уточнял, что полицейские взломали дверь. Они назвали целью своего визита проверку документов и требовали предъявить свидетельства о постановке на миграционный...
Comments
Post a Comment