From Russia to Hollywood [Podcast] – Deadline

There is a big axiom when it comes to Hollywood success; a saying that remains true in good and bad times, even in a moment when streaming is stepping on the foot of the theater, and that is “Rules of talent”.

Such a talent is Russian filmmaker Ilya Naishuller, whose Universal action movie Nobody literally turns the genre upside down.

Of course, there was a John Wick sensitivity in its script and is even written by the creator of this franchise, Derek Kolstad, but in terms of shooting, angle and protagonist, Nobody it balances the space of action in an invigorating way. The film is the headline of 58 years SNL alum-Mister show The architect who became the protagonist of the sage Bob Odenkirk, who shows here in a sublime way that he is never, never too old to be an action star.

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At a time when theaters in Los Angeles and New York are looking to get back on their feet with a new feature, Nobody. According to the midday BO numbers Nobody is reaching $ 2.4 million today, with the top position at the weekend of $ 6.5 million. It’s a debut that is already ahead of Liam Neeson’s domestic openings pandemic for The honest thief ($ 4.1 million) and The shooter (US $ 3.1 million) (remember that Regal’s # 2 network is still closed until April 1). Already, Nobody earned US $ 3.5 million with the Middle East and Russia, Naishuller’s birthplace.

Naishuller tells us everything about Crew Call today, from his precocious love of cinema, from watching pirated tapes in the 1980s, to his days working on the set with two Oscar nominations. The mission and Execution Fields filmmaker Roland Joffé, to make his first-person action film Henry Hardcore with the support and emotional support of Timur Bekmambetov.

Listen to our intriguing discussion below with Naishuller on how to get Nobody from the ground and turning Bob Odenkirk into an action hero:

Henry Hardcore absorbed 3 1/2 years of Naishuller’s life, filmed for 123 days, surpassing the production days even of the Russo Brothers Captain America civil war. The film, starring Tim Roth and Haley Bennett, was intended to replicate that of a first-person shooter video game, but on the big screen and in a live-action format. STX, as Deadline told you, bought the movie for $ 10 million on TIFF. Naishuller was always told he would John Wick box office numbers, but even he knew the novelty of his own film, and that it would divide the audience. The film debuted at $ 5.1 million, fell 72% on its second weekend and ended its run in the United States with $ 9.2 million.

“I did it for the 15-year-old version of myself,” he says, “We took something that hadn’t been done before and made it visible.”

“It didn’t go well in theaters, but I know from Twitter how well (it came out)”, continues the director, “I have people who tell me that they saw him seven times in theaters. If this is not a hate or love film, a definition of a cult classic, then what is it? “

Naishuller gives a shout out to his WME agent Mike Simpson for keeping his faith in him afterwards Hardcore he died. Naishuller told his agent that he wanted his next project to feature a comedian with a shotgun playing against people who didn’t have a very high budget, giving him room to be creative. Naishuller received a script with Bob Odenkirk attached, 87North producing, and written by Kolstad with a note that said “Ask and you will receive.”

Naishuller flew to LA with a 20-page presentation, to perform for work when the project was stationed at STX. His sensitivity was a South Korean thriller by a Russian director with a protagonist in internal conflict. STX stopped making the film and Naishuller flew back to Russia quite upset.

As Nobody producer Kelly McCormick told Mike Fleming in his recent interview about Nobody, “They (STX) allowed us to withdraw it. We were closing our deal at Universal and I sent it to Peter Cramer, who read it in a week and said: is there something here, when can we go? In fact, he wanted us to go into production sooner than we were able to. “

That’s when Naishuller got a call from McCormick with the good news. He ended up delivering the film below cost and before its scheduled release in 34 days.

Regarding seeing the film released at a crucial moment during the pandemic, while cinemas are coming to life, Naishuller says he is “very happy” every time he hears this Nobody it was set for a theatrical release and was not sold to a streamer.

“I learned some time ago that my job is to make the best film with what I have, and the people who are in marketing, this is their specialty,” says the director.

The fact that Universal gave Nobody a theatrical release, and paid for a trailer during the Super Bowl, tells Naishuller a lot about his faith in the film. The photo is currently 80% certified by Rotten Tomatoes – and critics are not always fans of action movies.

Naishuller is often asked how he is resisting the pandemic.

“I’m going to keep my mouth shut because I have nothing to complain about,” says the filmmaker, “I feel bad for feeling good”.