Recently, while looking for video materials for the site and group, I quite accidentally came across several videos where actors from the Moscow State Institute of Culture depict on stage moments from famous action films (Mortal Kombat, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Undisputed-3) - and portray them well . Surprised by this choice for what turned out to be a stage combat exam, I turned to one of the actors in the video and found out about the director of these scenes. He turned out to be an experienced stuntman, theater and film actor, fight and stunt director, as well as a teacher of the Department of Directing and Acting at the Moscow State Institute of Cinematography in the subjects "Stage Combat" Alexander Gerasimov. We'll talk to him today.
Alexander, good afternoon!
Good afternoon In fact, it is not entirely fair to call me the director of those student works. This was just one of the tasks in the subject “Stage combat without weapons”, the essence of the task was for students to “remove” the combat plasticity of the characters and translate the stunt scene from film language to theatrical language. The best student works were included in the examination screening.
Your track record is enormous - you have participated in many films, from “The Barber of Siberia” to “Flint” with Vladimir Epifantsev. However, such a huge journey began somewhere - how did you get into the world of martial arts and which of them did you practice?
As a child, I was closely involved in hockey, but due to my eyesight I did not get into a sports school. Then there was a little boxing and karate (the 90s, after all). But the acting school opened the way to the film industry for me. So my main martial art is “Stage Combat”.
Let's say a young guy or girl has chosen the profession of a stuntman. What dangers and pitfalls might await them along this path?
Underwater rocks? You can’t just show up on set declaring yourself a stuntman. First you need to get into one or another stunt group, under the guidance of an experienced stunt coordinator. Otherwise, a novice stuntman, on the one hand, acting “at his own peril and risk”, due to inexperience, not knowing many of the realities of film production (for example, that when filming stunts there must be an ambulance on set) - exposes himself and other participants in the filming to unnecessary danger, and with on the other hand, it can leave the wrong impression about stuntmen in general... And with payment - often beginners charge 2-3 times less for a trick than it costs, thus devaluing the market.
It is customary to ask workers in your profession about the most dangerous incident in their career. I can’t get around this issue either - remember the most severe case in film work.
It’s always unpleasant if “something went wrong”, the calculations were not confirmed... In my memory, such a case was an unplanned coup in a car (not prepared for this, and even damaged) at a speed of 100-120 km/h. Fortunately, both I and the stuntman driving were not wearing seat belts, and managed to dive under the torpedo when the car fell on the roof. Since half of the pillars in the car were destroyed in the previous stunt, the roof collapsed into the interior. After making 2,5 revolutions, the car stopped and my colleague and I got out safely. I escaped with bruises, and my friend broke his arm on the steering wheel.
I would like to talk about the crisis in Russian combat cinema. We produce quite a lot of action films and similar genre films and TV series (both on NTV, TV-3 and the defunct Russia-2, and in big cinema), but only a few are favorably received: the same “Flint”, “Squad" and "Call Sign: The Pack" in general and "Chronicle of Hell" with "Satisfaction" in particular were received well in a narrow circle, while the rest of the masses (such as the recent "Night Guardians") are received very negatively and comparisons are made with " Raid", "Undeniable", etc. Some believe that action films are not a Russian genre, others - that resources fall into the wrong hands, others - we have a lot of mediocrity and even non-action films of normal quality are rarely released now. What do you think? What is the problem with Russian combat cinema now? Why is it so difficult for us now to reach the level of the same "Raid"?
I think, first of all, no matter how trite, but the question of money invested in the project is the main issue. Producers are often willing to pay media actors, but prefer to save on everything else, especially in TV series. There are also positive examples - “Hardcore”, “Defenders”, and “Viking” will be released soon...
But basically there is a tendency to film a trick cheaper and faster. But you need to rehearse. And to the cameraman too... There in "Batman" the scene where Batman tied up the special forces and hung them on a skyscraper - it takes 20-30 seconds, but it was rehearsed for more than a month, moreover, with several cameras, and a helicopter was flying... And with us it often happens , that you see the object only on the day of shooting... In addition, in order to make a “combat” movie, the director himself must love this specificity, and be able to shoot it in an interesting way, and there are few of them.
Let's return to the theater. You set the task for the guys in the video to reproduce scenes from mainstream action films. Such scenes, even such “simple” ones as Sonya Blade versus Kano, are filmed in several takes - but the actors, as I saw in the production, did it in “one take.” In this regard, the question for which the interview was started is - where is it more difficult to stage a battle - in the theater or in the cinema?
In cinema, it’s probably easier... Still, there are takes, editing, the ability to use special equipment, rigging, and then again - somewhere the actor will be replaced by an understudy. It is difficult to use all this in the theater. You need to carefully consider the moments of replacing props. For example, in one children's play, a child played a robot. He was attacked by a bully with a metal pipe. The robot took the pipe and bent it. Before this, the hooligan would drop the trumpet (so that it would roll across the stage to the ramp with a roar and ringing) and there would be exactly the same fake one lying there. In addition, when constructing a fight scene in the theater, you need to take into account that even the most trained actor-fighter cannot withstand a long fight at the maximum pace, and then he needs to continue to act. So a change of rhythms is used, accents are placed so that at the right moment the audience’s attention is drawn to something else and the hero has a break. In short, in a movie a stunt is a sprint, but in a theater it’s a marathon. No room for error. Once, at the beginning of a fencing scene, my sword broke, the blade became 15 centimeters shorter - I had to finish the performance with the broken piece)
Recently I visited the theater several times - the halls are always 98% full, regardless of the performance and its genre, as well as the problems constantly mentioned in the press. What do you think about the future of theater in our country?
Theater is such a strange thing that often finds its audience “in spite of everything”; I don’t like the trend of high-budget commercial productions with media actors, and productions of dubious quality... I won’t go to see “Singing in the Rain” or “Chicago” of domestic production simply because there’s no need! In general, I don’t like remakes in the theater. A remake is possible in cinema, in the theater - only the original production. "Hamlet" has been staged thousands of times, but each time it is a new reading, a fresh connection with modernity... And in terms of prospects... As long as there is an audience, there will be theater!
What do you expect from the next film year? What's your prediction for The Defenders?
Defenders and Viking, as large projects, will most likely be supported by a powerful advertising campaign. But they are unlikely to recoup the investment. In our country (by an absurd accident))) cinema is considered profitable if private investments have paid off (and it doesn’t matter that 70% was non-refundable state money). So, according to media reports, these will be excellent and super-successful films (like “Night Watch” and “Inhabited Island”, or “The Twelve”). And it will be possible to talk about artistic merits only after viewing.
You mentioned that you played hockey. Due to the increased popularity of MMA (in the wake of the victories of Fedor Emelianenko) and hockey (due to the return of victories at the world championships by Vyacheslav Bykov and his followers), these two sports are often compared in terms of the load on the athlete, and hockey is sometimes equated to a combat sport (conducted competitions among tough guys). Is it fair, in your opinion, to call hockey a hand-to-hand combat sport and where is it harder (in terms of preparation, training and performances in general) - in martial arts or on ice?
Big sport means big loads... It's pointless to argue about which is harder... Hockey, in its best manifestations, is chess, not a fight... But at the same time, a duel between two pros in the ring is also chess! Still, in my opinion, Psyche surpasses physiology, and often the one who is more psychologically prepared wins. And as for difficult workouts... So, if they are not difficult, then why are they?)
Name the action actor/director you've been most inspired by - and why?
Andrey Stanislavovich Rostotsky! An excellent example of a stunt actor, on the one hand, who popularized stunt cinema, and on the other, maintaining its high-quality content. I recommend that everyone who is not familiar with his works watch the films “Invincible” (about the formation of SAMBO) and “Company of Men” (about stuntmen).
Finally, according to the tradition of interviews on our website, name 7-10 things point by point for creating a good action movie (or production).
For a good movie...
- I think Al Pacino said that the main thing is the script... I completely agree).
- Leader. A producer or director who is eager to tell “that story” and captivate people with it.
- Team. A group of people united by a common goal.
- Sufficient financial security.
- Professionalism at every stage of production.
- Modernity of sound, be it the text, the problems of the work or editing techniques.
- A little luck).
Our interview has come to an end. Thank you very much for your interesting answers, I wish you good film and theater productions and see you again!
Thank you for attention. Prosperity and development of your site, and health and good luck to people! All the best!
Best Uranus interview ever. Competent, interesting, addictive, not too long. I read it with great pleasure.
The topic is also close to me, since they have also been involved in theatrical combat performances for quite a long time, albeit in a very “small-town” way.
Thanks for the stuff!
DIV,
Thank you) Glad to try)
I will move further in this direction)