RUSSIA: Russian action director develops a taste for Hollywood animation

Record ID: 755660

  • Title: RUSSIA: Russian action director develops a taste for Hollywood animation
  • Date: 15th September 2009
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (SEPTEMBER 12, 2009) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) TIMUR BEKMAMBETOV SAYING "I would like to make movies here and show them there (the west), that would suit me because I know how things work here, I've got my friends here. I hope we'll make animation films, live action films, which will be produced by Russian filmmakers and shown all over the world - like "Wanted", "9". "Night watch" was a good example of a film shot in Russia and it was watched by audiences all over the world."
  • Embargoed: 30th September 2009 13:00
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  • Reuters ID: LVA1FX9IFSYATS0S16WN4PWX7VP
  • Story Text: Russian action director Timur Bekmambetov said he would like to make more animated movies, after co-producing "9" with US filmmaker Tim Burton.
    "9", the feature debut of US animator Shane Acker, opened in Russian cinemas this week.
    Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov saw Acker's student Academy Award-winning short and agreed to produce a feature version, '9'.
    The sensibilities of Burton and Bekmambetov are well represented in the movie, said Bekmambetov, talking to Reuters TV at the Moscow cinema premiere.
    "We all have our plus and minuses, this mixture produced the film which you can see on the screen today. It's the combination of the romantic, gothic world of Tim Burton with what I like, action - dynamic, intense cinematographic movies," said Bekmambetov.
    Bekmambetov is best known for the Russian-made global hits "Night Watch" and "Day Watch". Co-producing "9" with a budget of 75 million U.S. dollars was his first experience of animated movies.
    "I haven't done any animation movies but I think I will, after this film, I won't be able to stop myself - I'll be doing new animation movies," said Bekmambetov.
    "9" follows a group of tiny creatures, seemingly constructed from machine parts and bits of burlap fabric, who discover they may be destined to help rescue the human race from extinction.
    Bekmambetov is a veteran of Hollywood, with the action feature "Wanted" starring Angelina Jolie his most recent credit, but he says he still prefers to work in Russia.
    "I would like to make movies here and show them there (the west), that would suit me because I know how things work here, I've got my friends here," he said.
    His ambition is to direct both live action and animated films in Russia.
    "I hope we'll make animation films, live action films, which will be produced by Russian filmmakers and shown all over the world - like "Wanted", "9". "Night watch" was a good example of a film shot in Russia and it was watched by audiences all over the world," said Bekmambetov.
    The future world of "9" lies in ruins after a war between mankind and machines.
    Acker 's heroes are called "stitchpunks" -- 8-inch puppets sewn together by a divine creator -- in this case, the human inventor of the evil Great Machine. They carry possessions within zippered bodies and have been endowed with a "soul" by their now-dead creator.
    These creatures, with only numbers for names, must battle mechanical monsters in the wreckage of a vaguely European city, a vast junkyard from which they scavenge useful debris.
    A third film in the Bekmambetov trilogy "Twilight Watch" is expected to go into production in 2010, though it is not confirmed he will direct the film himself.
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