Behind the scenes of Russian cinema, which we often criticize than praise (albeit for good reason), are film producers. It is they who first of all decide whether to give a green light to a particular project, although, in case of failure, there are much fewer complaints about them than to the director or the cast.
Let's get a little closer acquainted with the top ten largest Russian producers, whose films almost everyone knows.
10. Sergey Livnev
If you look at the family of Sergei Livnev, it becomes clear that he had no choice but to cinema. His mother was a cameraman and director, his father was a director, screenwriter and teacher of GITIS, and his grandfather was the inventor of film technology. From a young age, Sergey knew that he would follow in the footsteps of his parents, which, in the end, led him to the post of director of the Gorky film studio, which he held in 1995-1998.
After that, he left the country, as he was sure that cinema had died in Russia. Until 2006, he lived in the United States, but then he still returned, starting active work. The most famous films, the creation of which he had a hand in, were Assa, Hammer and Sickle, June 41st, and PiraMMMida.
9. George Malkov
Sometimes it happens that a person’s name is completely unknown to the majority, but everyone knows the name of the company he created. Georgy Malkov is a typical example of such a situation. He does not even have his own page on Wikipedia, but the film company Enjoy Movies, of which he is one of the founders, knows every domestic viewer.
“Pregnant”, “That Still Carloson”, “Elusive”, “Defenders” - these “masterpieces” are difficult to erase from memory if you look at least once.
8. Vladimir Polyakov
Another figure who works closely with Enjoy Movies, although not related to its creation. Among the works of Vladimir it is worth highlighting a sports drama with a touch of crime “Elastiko”, as well as the recent picture “Temporary difficulties” with Ivan Okhlobystin.
She was met by the audience ambiguously, but the film can not be called frankly bad either. Polyakov also participated in the production of Defenders, The Route Built, Santa Claus: The Battle of the Mages, and other less worthy projects.
7. Konstantin Ernst
If the names of the previous participants in our collection are not known to everyone, then the name of the Director General of Channel One is familiar to everyone. Konstantin Lvovich was born in the family of a biologist (father) and financier (mother), and he himself initially built a completely different career.
He was only 25 when he defended his candidate and received an invitation to Cambridge for a two-year practice, but the dream of the world of cinema forced him to give up all this and refuse. Ernst has produced films such as The Turkish Gambit, Night Watch, the series The Deadly Force, and Vysotsky. Thank you for being alive ”and dozens of others.
6. Alexander Tsekalo
Alexander did not immediately come to production and in his youth was better known as a screenwriter and especially a showman (marriage with Lolita also added to his popularity). In 2008, he founded the Sreda company, giving us such series as Method and Major, recently purchased by Netflix, as well as the films Radio Day, Trotsky and others.
In addition, he is actively engaged in the production of television programs: "The Big Difference", "Searchlight Parishilton" - all this was created with his direct participation.
5. Alexander Boyarsky
The name of this person may also not be familiar to you, but you probably heard or even watched “Three Heroes and the Shamakhan Queen”, “Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf”, “Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin Zmey” and other cult cartoons for us.
Boyarsky, who had loved animation since childhood, worked on each of them: somewhere exclusively as a producer, and somewhere else he was also engaged in voice acting. In “Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf”, for example, he is the performer of all songs.
4. Anatoly Maximov
In addition to producing, Maximov is actively engaged in dubbing, especially dubbing. So, in the film "Especially Dangerous" Morgan Freeman speaks in his voice, and in 2014 he was one of the commentators on the opening of the Olympic Games in Sochi.
As for the production activities, in collaboration with the already mentioned Konstantin Ernst, he worked on the films “Border. Taiga novel ”,“ Special Forces ”,“ Night Watch ”,“ Viking ”and many others.
3. Iva Stromilova
The only woman in our selection who came here absolutely deservedly. Working in film and advertising since she was 18, in 2006 she was able to take the post of general producer of Bazelevs and release several hundred films in this position.
Some of them were awarded with such awards as the Epica Awards, Advertising festival, Young Director Awards 2011 in Cannes and others. The most famous paintings to which she relates are the first 3 parts of the Fir-tree, Black Lightning, and Phantom franchises.
2. Timur Bekmambetov
One of the most successful figures in contemporary Russian cinema, who loudly declared himself at the beginning of the 2000s with the release of Night Watch and its continuation. He worked on this dileogy as a director and screenwriter, but after less and less he sat down at the pen or in the director's chair, focusing mainly on producing.
He managed to work not only with us, but also in Hollywood: it was he who shot the especially dangerous action movie with James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, and in 2018 he produced the thriller Search with starring John Cho.
1. Sergey Svetlakov
They say that a talented person is talented in everything, and Sergei Svetlakov can be cited as evidence of the veracity of this statement. A talented KVN-schik, producer, screenwriter and actor, he was able to become successful in every role.
In addition to cinema, he does business “on the side”: he has his own chain of stores in Yekaterinburg, a pizzeria, as well as a chain of restaurants in Russia and Ukraine. The only thing that saddens him a little is his immersion in the pretty boring franchise of The Christmas Tree: over the past 5 years he has starred in 5 films (not counting episodic appearances or cameos), 4 of which relate to her.