New movie project to involve world-famous film stars
While the Ukrainian film industry remains in a miserable state – pretty much nonexistent, actually – there are still some adventurous souls coming up with bold promises to make the first Ukrainian big hit. Quite a few attempts to release a so-called “Ukrainian blockbuster” have been made by now, however, all have failed. Now, according to the latest news an attempt will be made to create not only a blockbuster but the first Ukrainian fantasy film. The novel “Knights of 40 Islands,” by bestselling Russian author Sergey Lukyanenko, will be screened in Ukraine and produced by none other than the former general producer of the Comedy Club Ukraine TV show, Maksim “Ledokol” Bakhmatov.
The project in question looks like an extremely daring one so far, for several reasons. Its estimated budget is said to be $17 million and the screenplay was written by famed Ukrainian writers’ couple Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko. The movie is to be produced not only by Ukrainians – the aforementioned Bakhmatov and Yevhen Kucha – but also by American Ruby Zach (Run Entertainment). The special effects are to be created by Hollywood masters, who have worked on “300,” “Garfield” and “Blood Diamond,” and the directing will also be given to an American moviemaker. However, the most impressive piece of news in my opinion is that several movie stars, including Gary Oldman, Willem Defoe and Tim Roth, are said to be in the talks to appear in the upcoming film.
Well, if that was to happen and they would really enroll one of these outstanding actors in “Knights of 40 Islands” – though I find it hard to believe – than it explains the high hopes laid on the film. After all, it’s the most natural thing to do to make a movie work in a country where every attempt to make a really successful film fails – bring in people who are very good at it, and wait for the outcome. So far it sounds like the intrigue of the year to me.
