- How do you think “Real Boys” attract viewers for such a long period of time?
- The series is so dear to our viewers that everyone in it sees a piece of themselves or their environment, their yard, family. Everyone feels involved. Because the stories shown in “Real Boys” were written by our authors based on personal experience.
- Do you think such stories are close to all viewers?
- Let the channel ratings say this. Over such a long time, there have been many doubts both for me and for all of us whether we are moving in the right direction. At least we take our business very seriously and try to jump over our heads every season. We are not lazy, every workshop, every department of our large team is very diligently trying to make the product as good as possible.
- Do you think the audience has changed during this time? In the first and eighth seasons will the same people watch you or not?
- I think there are people who look from beginning to end. There is a percentage of people who have already grown up and graduated from college, left prison, left for another country and returned. I heard a lot of different stories from our fans who said they grew up with our series. I think that there is a percentage of people who watch us from beginning to end. There are people who have left, and those who have recently come.
- How is the project interesting for you personally? Why do you want to return to Real Boys from year to year, and not do something else?
- We switched to other things throughout this long period. Each of us led some kind of our own projects and continues to lead, develop new series. Here, under the direction of Lyosha Bazanov, the series “Patriot” was released. Each of us is engaged in something. But there is a basic matter that needs to be paid tribute to.
In fact, I already two or three times participated in the last season for myself. And he knew for sure that we were going to finish now - that’s all.
But our series showed very interesting figures on the channel, and this cannot but inspire, if you are watched, you are interesting. Of course, each time it’s getting harder and harder to get out of the water dry.
- Why?
- Because, as you said, the project has been going on for ten years. We focused on the duration of the first on the series "Friends", beloved by many of our team. Now, in jest, we began to focus on "Santa Barbara."
“Do you think you can get closer to Santa Barbara by the number of episodes?”
- I don’t know how many episodes we have now, but if there is still a desire, creativity and it will be interesting for people, why cut the branch on which you sit?
- Tell us, do you often have the opportunity to improvise on the set of the series?
- Constantly. We have the whole team, the whole backbone - people who have left the Club of the Cheerful and Resourceful. Therefore, we already on a professional level relate to humor and to understanding humor in and around us. If something very funny is born, but after two or three repetitions it remains the same fun and we understand that it not only makes us laugh ...
There are such things that are called “inside”, when it’s funny for you to be hysterical, and then you go out into the hall and only you giggle. Therefore, if improvisation is successful and it has passed “censorship”, internal editing, it may remain. A lot of such things that were born directly on the set already during the layout of the scene. Or someone successfully made a mistake.
- This year a full-length film “Real Boys. Zombies are just around the corner. ” At what stage is the work on this project?
- I think it is 70–80% complete. For us it was a breakdown of the pen, with this format we worked for the first time in our company. And there are certain features in the shooting, in the approach to the process. In the coming months, if there is an opportunity, we will finish the main business, then we will return and we will finish some of the “Zombies”.
- RIA News
- © Kirill Kallinikov
- The film was also shot exclusively in Perm?
- The main array - yes, in Perm. There were very difficult shootings and heavy shifts. We are talking about the apocalypse and apocalyptic society, and we had to get up very early to take off the deserted streets. And in Perm, my favorite city, the weather is often quite difficult: the sky is low, it rains and the wind blows. Therefore, the group experienced difficulties. But the main types, plans showing the real Perm, we shot there, and then some interior scenes, internal, shot in Moscow.
- Your filmography mainly consists of comedy projects. Is this a conscious choice or is it the case?
- Here both that and another. We started our activities as kaveenshchiki, and all our work was related to humor, writing humor and its execution. In the future, the colleagues who met on my way, also engaged in humorous projects, made comedy films.
Playing drama and comedy are two completely different things. Perhaps I have not yet reached the point of dramatic things.
Although in our series “Real Boys” you can often watch laughter through tears, and quite dramatic, battle, dynamic, detective stories. Only at first glance it seems that all this is a comedy. But our life with you consists of some kind of sad things that we reflect in the series.
- Would you like to play a serious, deep role in a drama project?
- Here, perhaps, answering this question, I will also answer the previous one. I honestly have no such desire. Searching for some deep feelings, tragic feelings ... In fact, it is probably much harder than thinking about fun and funny things. Especially since we, in my opinion, do it a little.
- You first planned to follow in the footsteps of your father, who was a military man, and then you went to a pedagogical university, to the faculty of foreign languages, and as a result you became a comedian. Have you regretted anything? And how, by the way, did your parents react to your choice?
“You know, somehow there was no choice.” Life has poured and continues to pour, thank God. In addition, I followed in my father's footsteps a bit and graduated from military school. And then how it happened, it happened. At the university, the guys introduced me to a game like KVN. And everything clung one after another, and quite logically somehow moved itself, flowed, poured ...
There were, of course, difficult moments when you needed to stand at the crossroads of life to be aware of and choose: to graduate from high school and find yourself a “normal” job, or to step on rather unstable ground and stay in KVN.
Of course, my parents were very worried about this, and I understand them perfectly. I, like my father, believe that a man should have a profession in his hands, he must always stand firmly on his feet. Fortunately, I managed to prove to my baht that with KVN and with cinema one can connect life, earn money, support a family.
- And at first your parents told you something like: “Having fun - and that's enough, do serious business now”?
- Well, what do you think! Of course they did. But they did not have to prove anything. Somehow it all happened. You see, this is what happens in our lives. I was lucky, thank God.
There are a lot of actors and cave players, who did not succeed, almost failed. Of course, this still partly depends on luck, divine providence. I was lucky, I am very grateful to God and my parents for this - for their patience.
- Have you remained interested in foreign languages? By the way, how many languages did you learn and how many did you learn?
- I studied English and I remember some of it. Of course, when we come to some other country, the family uses my translation skills.
As soon as I stay a few hours with native speakers, the language returns. Because language is like a piano, as one of my favorite teachers said. You need to play every day, otherwise the instrument will leave you. I completely agree with her.
- Do you have plans for receiving an acting education?
- I thought about it. But, as soon as I began to think a little more seriously, I came across the following thoughts: I need to find teachers or a university, come there, and I am already over 35. And I already have the opportunity to play thanks to the tools that I have. How not to lose what is, gaining something else. Once, in a conversation with our director Zhanna Kadnikova, I asked this question, she said: "It can hurt you to some extent."
At that time, we were engaged in "Real boys", and this immediacy was necessary. It’s probably not a secret for you that a huge number (95-99%) of people playing in our series are unprofessional actors. One of the actors is the camera operator himself. She also plays and lives the story. So we achieved pseudo-reality. And the names of some actors are exactly the same as in life.
The format that we managed to create was new, outlandish, interesting, unbroken.
One of the success formulas for the series is just the game of non-professional actors, multiplied by the deep directorial talent of Zhanna Kadnikova. It’s not easy to explain to the person who faces the camera, trying to play something “professionally”, that you need to let it through you and do it the way you feel.
- Why did you still think about acting education? Did you miss something?
- No, I wanted to be cooler and more powerful. But sometimes it happens that the best is the enemy of the good. And then, time is money. Perhaps it is time in the world today that matters most. He is simply not there. You need to go to work, return home to the children, go to work again, think about what the children will eat and where they will go to train and study. And it turns into a vicious circle.
- RIA News
- © Ekaterina Chesnokova
- It turns out that it’s a little before?
“Not at all before.” But we all go to training in the gym, are engaged in self-development, we read some books on personal growth. The aforementioned my close friend Zhanna Kadnikova presented me, for example, several books of Stanislavsky that I can read and understand, accept something for myself. In addition, now there are a lot of different courses and everything in a row. So if you are not lazy and engaged, then you can acquire some new skills, new elements of acting and independently.
- Do you devote a lot of time to self-development?
- Unfortunately no. I think that very often some useful things come to me themselves. I am a very lucky person. I am grateful to God that he loves and helps me so much, leads me through life.
- You relatively recently moved from Perm to Moscow. How much, in your opinion, is life in the capital different from life in Perm? And what did you miss the first time in Moscow, what did you miss?
- I miss Perm very much even now. Perm is my favorite city. And I always strive to get home and stay there as long as possible. Moscow is a completely different place. Moscow is an ocean, cultural and financial. All aspects of human life are abundant. And I do not have enough people, soulfulness.
- Specific people or in general?
- Both. Although, perhaps, people are the same everywhere, but the mood of these people for life varies. Perhaps in Moscow they are more ferocious ... fierce, or something. And sharpened for success.
I can’t say that in Perm there are no people striving to improve their lives. They are. I just noticed this pattern: the more difficult it is to physically live, in the Urals, in Siberia, in the North, the more responsive people are.
This, of course, is commonplace, but nonetheless true (in my opinion). The attitude of people is important. Well, then, Moscow is so big and so different that everyone can find something for himself.
- This is rather a plus ...
- Of course. But also a minus. Because if you do not know what you need, then most likely you will lose your way. And very few people know what they need.
- You once said that you are interested in such serious things as, for example, the construction of a brick factory ...
- Yes, I once said in an interview about a brick factory, and now you reminded me of this, and for me, this memory has somehow become warm and expensive. I have long forgotten about this brick factory. I just thought it would be cool to do something with my own hands. Why not? But in the future, after this maxim of my plant, I found out what is needed for this dream to come true. And somehow my fervor went out a bit. The plant should be near the place where there is a lot of raw materials, and there are not many such places in the country, and there are already factories there. ( Laughs )
But this is what I really would like to have - some kind of production, on which people would work and create real things that can be touched.
- You were fond of sports, involved in football, snowboarding, martial arts, yoga ... What place does sport occupy in your life now?
- Very important, because we are shooting a sports season, a fighting one. And our Nikolai should spend a lot of time in the gym. At the moment I am doing kickboxing and go to the gym in order to build muscle. In my case, it is very difficult, because I am asthenic physique - tall, thin. But I started doing this about a year and a half ago and have already achieved some success.