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Cast | Articles | Interviews
| Notes | Pictures | Review
| Summary - Official | Together Before
| Character | Actor |
| Dick Murdoch | Malcolm McDowell |
| Boris Korin | Valery Nikolayev |
| Alexei Kedrov | Alexander Yefimov |
| Boss | Rutger Hauer |
| York | Armand Assante |
| Grom | Anatoly Zhuravlev |
| Katherine | Ksenia Alferova |
| Manfred | Mikhail Gorevoy |
| Anton Kedrov | Ivars Kalnins |
| Sobol | Oleg Kapanets |
| Col. Svirsky | Valeri Afanasyev |
| Agent Orange | Amaliya Mordvinova |
| Aziza | Olga Yakovtseva |
| Vladimir Vinogradov | |
| Ksenia Rappoport | |
| Amalia Goldanskaya | |
| Sergey Chonishvili | |
| Anatoli Zhuravlyov |
Directed by Vasily Chiginsky
Written by Oleg Kapanets & Alex Kustanovich
Malcolm McDowell and Rutger Hauer at Mosfilm
Lada Akimova 8/19/04
Malcolm McDowell and Rutger Hauer have come to Moscow for
several days to take part in the film directed by Vasily Chiginsky called
"Mirror Wars: SU - XX" which they are shooting now in stage 10 of
Mosfilm Cinema Concern.
Unlike Rutger Hauer who is working in Russia for the first
time, this is Malcolm McDowell's second Russian film. In 1990 he played the
leading role in the "Assassin" directed by Karen Shakhnazarov.
"This is one of my favorite films", - McDowell admitted. The actors
who had won world recognition unanimously assert that they like very much how
the set is equipped. It is not inferior to that of Hollywood. McDowell
recollected with nostalgia shooting of the film "Assassin" - he
enjoyed very much the ingenuity of the whole film crew, and he added there and
then: "I do not know how it could be possible to make "Assassin"
even more professionally".
During a shooting break Malcolm McDowell and Rutger Hauer met
Karen Shakhnazarov, general director of Mosfilm Cinema Concern. Karen
Shakhnazarov and Malcolm McDowell have been on friendly terms since shooting of
"Assassin", and the actor wondered quite sincerely, how it was
possible to combine administrative work with shootings films. In response Karen
Georgievich invited him to see his latest picture "The Rider Named
Death".
The actors with great pleasure took the advantage of an
invitation to see "Old Moscow" scenery on Mosfilm location shooting
ground and retro-automobiles fleet.
During the extempore excursion international celebrities who
had shooting experience in a lot of different sceneries and interiors, looked
like children: their admiration of what they saw was so sincere. "In
Hollywood everything is much simpler", Malcolm McDowell said.
Malcolm McDowell to Star in a Film Promoting Su Fighter Jets
Oleg Liakhovich MosNews 8/18/04
Even though the new Russian-U.S action movie currently
shooting on Mosfilm studios and on location at the Zhukovsky Airfield outside
Moscow and in Crimea will feature some well-known Hollywood names, its true star
is none other than the new prototype stealth fighter jet by Sukhoi, the Russian
military aircraft company largely responsible for financing the movie, aimed at
promoting its deadly produce abroad while delivering some good old trashy
entertainment.
The movie's $10 million budget is unusually high for Russian
cinema, allowing producer Oleg Kapanets to hope for it becoming the leader of
Russian box-office when Mirror Wars (also referred to under the alternate
working title Su-XX) come out the next year. Although he declined to name a
precise figure of Sukhoi's financial involvement, Mr. Kapanets admitted that it
is indeed "substantial" and that hopefully Mirror Wars will assist in
selling Sukhoi aircraft abroad, notably to China and India where the movie is
intended for wide distribution. According to Mr. Kapanets, it's about promoting
a certain image while telling about the people who fly these jets and the people
who build them. The film is described as "military-patriotic", its
plot built around a new Sukhoi fighter jet and involving competing agents from
CIA, FSB, and the Chinese intelligence.
With Russian first-time director Vasily Chiginsky at the
helm, the movie features actors Rutger Hauer and Armand Assante. The main
character, a Russian fighter pilot is played by Valery Nikolaev, who's no
stranger to working in an international cast, having appeared in such Hollywood
films as Steven Spielberg's The Terminal (2004), Oliver Stone's U-Turn (1997)
and Phillip Noyce's The Saint (1997).
The chief bad guy is portrayed by Malcolm McDowell (who
describes his character as "an ex-CIA guy who turned a little bad"),
prominent, in the last twenty years or so, as the token villain of numerous
B-movies - but also the star of Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971), the
controversial adult drama Caligula (1979) and of Lindsay Anderson's memorable
trilogy venomously lashing out at British social institutions, started in If…
(1968) and continued in O Lucky Man! (1973) and Britannia Hospital (1982). In
1991 McDowell starred in a Russian movie Tsareubijtsa (The Assassin of the Tsar)
in a double role of Yakov Yurovsky, who commanded the execution of Russia's last
Tsar Nicholas II and his family in 1918 and a psychiatric patient in early 1990s
Russia believing himself to be that man. He also earned notoriety - and even
some death threats - among Star Trek fans as the man who killed Captain Kirk in
Star Trek: Generations (1994).
Some of Mr. McDowell's recent works include roles in Robert
Altman's latest film The Company (2003) and in Evilenko (2004), inspired by the
story of Russia's real-life serial killer Andrei Chicatillo ("Not a good
man, admittedly", McDowell says, "In fact he's as bad as you can
get."). Next month he will be appearing at the Edinburgh International
Festival where he will present his one-man-show in a tribute to his late friend
and mentor Lindsay Anderson, based on his notebooks and diaries.
McDowell to star as bad guy in Russian film 8/17/04
Moscow, (Interfax) - The prominent British-born Hollywood
actor Malcolm McDowell will star as the villain in a Russian action movie with
the working title Su-XX, he said at a press conference in Moscow on Tuesday.
McDowell, who will play the part of an ex-CIA agent in the
film, said he wasn't surprised to be playing a rogue part a film again. He said
he takes pleasure in it.
McDowell also said he is not against playing the parts of
people on the verge of insanity, noting that insanity in a way lives in each
person. He, however, assured the audience that he is a healthy and reasonable
man, although it is a great pleasure for him to play insane people, not to
mention that he is paid for that.
Hollywood actor impressed at pace of development of Russia cinema 8/16/04
Moscow, (Itar-Tass) -- British actor Malcolm McDowell is
greatly impressed with the pace of the development of Russian cinema. He got
convinced of this from experience, having played the main part in the
Russo-American film Mirror Wars Su-XX.
The British actor who rose to fame after appearing in such
films as Caligula and Clockwork Orange is in a position to judge as he first
arrived in Moscow in 1990 to perform in Karen Shakhnazarov's film Czar's
Assassin. McDowell believes he was the first Western actor to play a Russian. He
said in 14 years since then the Russian capital changed greatly, turning into a
contemporary city comparable to Paris, London and New York.
McDowell did not hesitate to accept a part in a
Russo-American film. He plays the part of a veritable villain, an ex-CIA agent
and is co-starred by Arman Assante, Rutger Hauer and Valery Nikolayev. The
shooting was made at the Mosfllm studios, near the Cathedral of Christ the
Saviour, at the Domodedovo airport and in the central streets of Moscow. The
film directed by Vassily Chiginsky will have its Russian and world premiers in
the spring of 2005.
Mosfilm 8/22/04
with Malcolm McDowell
Mosfilm 8/19/04 with Rutger Hauer
Mirror Wars Press
Conference 8/17/04 with Malcolm McDowell
Moscow Times 8/12/04
with Malcolm McDowell
Mirror Wars: Su-XX is the working title. It was changed in early 2005, probably because it could be pronounced like "sucks".
The film is made to show off the new Russian fighter called the Sukhoi. Two are in the film - Su-27UB and Su-35.
Budgeted at $10 million.
Produced at Mosfilm by the “Kovsag” Company.
Filmed at the Zhukovsky Airfield, Moscow August 8, 2004.
Interiors filmed at Mosfilm in Moscow.
Shot on location in Kruym (a region in Southern Russia) in November 2004, on a former secret military airbase with MM attending.
Malcolm also played a character named Murdoch in 2103: The Deadly Wake.
This makes back to back films for Malcolm and Rutger Hauer.
Has been given two premiere dates in Russia - 6/2 & 7/14. The latter has announced that MM is going to be "the star of the premiere". I checked on this and as he will be in India at the time it is possible he will attend since he will be "close by".
Originally was to be released Spring of 2005, then May, then June, then July. Finally premiered in August with Armand Assante as guest.
Premiere date was September 1, 2005 in Russia. World was 10/1/05.
Behind the Scenes
MM
at a Russian Press Conference
MM
on set in street clothes
Collage
photos of MM at Mosfilm Studios
Malcolm
on the set with the plane behind him
Malcolm with the director
Memorabilia
Russian Promo Card - Front
Russian Promo Card - Back
Movie
Murdoch sitting at his desk
Murdoch pointing with Katherine and jet behind him
Murdoch having a discussion
In two words: big ambition. They are very
proud of their real life special effects as there is almost no CGI, the flights,
the explosions, all real. The script has more holes than Swiss cheese. It's not
really, really bad, but would benefit from rewriting. MM is sort of a James Bond
gone bad, too cool for words. The character is underwritten, but he brings a
sort of a cynical charm to his part and is very believable. The script also
lacks a clearly defined hero, there are too many characters and little time to
root for them. Murdock turns out to have quite a lot of screen time and some of
the best lines in the film. Armand Assante is pretty good, but he has very
little to do beside pace back and forth, look worried, and say lines like
"We've got to catch him", "I will get him", "The secret
service will get him." Rutger Hauer is there for five minutes tops. He's
cool but his part is smaller than MM's part was in Mr. Magoo.
The other characters: four young pilots (with very little
differences in character and most killed off in the first quarter), the avia
constructor who is a total bore, two special agents from the Russian analog of
FBI who try too hard to be tough and witty a-la Die Hard (one of them is played
by the producer, who also co-wrote the script.) A young American romantic
heroine, played skillessly by a local starlette. The characters are lifeless,
consumed by the plot, which is about the airplane, and MM, villain or not, has
perhaps the most interesting part. He gets to do a little action, a little of
the spy thing, a dramatic talk of his backstory - his trademark bad guy thing.
He changes costumes, locations and even has a bit of aggressive sexual tension
with his unwilling partner in crime, who is what they call a 'sexy bitch'
(played by the studio owner's/producer/writer/actor's wife, no less. No other
movie credits to her name.)
I've read an interview in one of the film magazines, taken on
the set last year, where MM said he hated weapons and I wondered if he also
hates it when he has to do it on the set. I mean, running around with a gun,
shooting people left and right, all that. It's not for real, of course, but if
he hates the weapons themselves...anyways, the real life airplane shots left me
with an ambient feeling. On one hand, in the CGI era, it's sort of cool to know
the thing was really flying up there, doing the air tricks and so on. On the
other hand, I can't help thinking it would have looked more impressive if it
were CGI - prettier, more powerful.
Russian Air Force pilot Boris Korin, acting under orders from rogue former agent Murdoch, hijacks a Sukhoi fighter at a Moscow air show in 2005. He is sidelined before the strike on Air Force One is supposed to begin, and his crewmate, Alexei Kedrov, takes matters into his own hands. Needless to say, the U.S. president lives and the Sukhoi ends back in Russia without a scratch.
2005 - Malcolm and Rutger Hauer were both in Tempesta.
This page © 2004-08 Alex D. Thrawn for www.MalcolmMcDowell.net