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Growing up, what were some of the action movies that you loved the most?
When I was growing up in the USSR, it was perestroika, and Hollywood movies were not shown in the country. They only showed us the classic Soviet movies, stuff like Eisenstein, which I actually liked. When things changed, I started boxing because of the ROCKY franchise, and I started bodybuilding because of Arnold Schwarzenegger. I fell in love with classic action genre movies from the 70s to the 90s.
The film is my tribute
to directors like Walter Hill and stars like Arnold, whose films made
me what I am. With BLACK ROSE, I wanted to mix genres, which can be a
dangerous thing to do. I wanted it to have action, to be a mystery
thriller, to have horror elements, and some fish out of water humor.
It was my first film as a director, and I am proud of what we
achieved. I think one of the reasons the film works is that I
surrounded myself with some great people on the movie – Adrian Paul
from the Highlander TV series, and two actors who worked with Arnold,
Robert Davi (RAW DEAL) and Kristanna Loken (TERMINATOR 3 – RISE OF
THE MACHINES). One of the executive producers was Sheldon Lettich,
who has made many films with Van Damme. The film already opened in
Russia and Europe a few years ago and did very well. I directed it,
produced it, and acted in it, and it was a tough film to make. But it
was a dream come true and an absolute joy.
Like Arnold you also
began your career as a bodybuilder, before making the move into
films. Have you modelled your career on Arnold's?
In 1993, we had the
first TV documentaries in Russia on bodybuilding, and I was featured
in one of them. I was a skinny kid who got big through bodybuilding.
I also boxed, and I had gotten an education, so I could talk well. I
woke up the next morning and I had become a big star. I absolutely
studied the way Arnold had done things. He used his fame to make
further steps in his career, and also to inspire other people. I
created my own TV show in Russia about bodybuilding and martial arts.
It played on the State Channel 1, and over 30 million people watched
it every week. My message was ''If I can do it, you can do it too. ''
How did you make the
transition to starring in Hollywood films?
I wanted to start
making movies, but there was a big problem. After the Soviet Union
collapsed, the government stopped supporting movies. Before then,
there was a huge film industry. When I moved to Los Angeles in 1999,
the total box office for Russia was 2 million dollars. Last year it
was 2 billion dollars! I joined the Hollywood Press Association and
started to represent Russia. I produced my first film in 2003, which
was called MOSCOW HEAT and we shot it in Russia. Michael York
co-starred. After that I produced a film called TREASURE RAIDERS, which had David Carradine in the cast.
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You actually worked
with Walter Hill on his film UNDISPUTED. How was the experience?
That was my first film.
I was really there to do stunts, but Walter put me in the film and
you can see me. It was a great experience. I didn't speak much
English at that time. I remember I wanted to take my shirt off in a
fight scene with Michael Rooker so I could show off my muscles, but a
stunt guy came up to me and said ''Nobody will be able to see your
muscles onscreen, but if you keep your shirt on, they'll have to
shoot you for a whole week to make sure the scene has continuity. ''
I met Walter again later at the Producer's Guild when I started
producing films, and he remembered me, and was happy for my success.
I'm also happy for him. I thought BULLET TO THE HEAD (2012) and THE
ASSIGNMENT (2016) were terrific. It was a dream come true to work
with him.
I worked on the movie
for several days and shot a few scenes, but only one scene ended up
in the movie. I asked Sofia for more scenes but she said ''Don't
worry. Benicio Del Toro is only in the movie for ten seconds!''
Sofia's father, Francis Ford Coppola, produced the picture and was on
set all the time, and I had the chance to talk to him. Sofia is a
genius as a director, but I also thought she did a great job acting
in THE GODFATHER, PART III (1990). I asked her if she would ever act
again and she said ''No, I just want to direct now. ''
You also have some
other films coming out – SHOWDOWN IN MANILA, MAXIMUM IMPACT and
HERCULES. Can you talk about those?
SHOWDOWN IN MANILA is
being released in October. It's kind of like an EXPENDABLES with
actors who haven't been in an EXPENDABLES movie yet! It's directed by
Mark Dacascos, who's also in it, and it's really fun. Cary
Hiroyuki-Tagawa makes a perfect bad guy. MAXIMUM IMPACT is an action
comedy directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak and written by Ross LaManna,
who wrote the first RUSH HOUR movie. It's about the FSB and the CIA
working together to face international terrorists. It's my first
comedy, and we have a great cast – Tom Arnold, Kelly Hu, Danny
Trejo, Mark Dacascos and William Baldwin. We are hoping to start
shooting HERCULES very soon.
BLACK ROSE is showing in US theaters from April 28th, and on VOD and DVD from May 2nd.
The trailer.
Interview by Paul Rowlands. Copyright © Paul Rowlands, 2017. All rights reserved.
BLACK ROSE is showing in US theaters from April 28th, and on VOD and DVD from May 2nd.
The trailer.
Interview by Paul Rowlands. Copyright © Paul Rowlands, 2017. All rights reserved.
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