Just days after the Russian blockbuster “The Master and Margarita” surged to the top of the domestic box office, Kremlin cronies, pro-war propagandists and an army of online trolls have waged a campaign to discredit the film and its director, Michael Lockshin, a U.S. citizen who was raised in the Soviet Union and has been outspoken in his opposition to the war in Ukraine.
A source close to the film, who asked not to be named out of fear of potential repercussions, tells Variety that the movie’s staggering success and pointed critique of authoritarian rule has struck a nerve in right-wing circles at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has cracked down on any form of dissent.
“The propagandists are both envious and also hateful that a movie with an anti-censorship, anti-totalitarian, anti-war message is getting so much popularity, that they have doubled down,” the source said.
A source close to the film, who asked not to be named out of fear of potential repercussions, tells Variety that the movie’s staggering success and pointed critique of authoritarian rule has struck a nerve in right-wing circles at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has cracked down on any form of dissent.
“The propagandists are both envious and also hateful that a movie with an anti-censorship, anti-totalitarian, anti-war message is getting so much popularity, that they have doubled down,” the source said.
- 2/2/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Actors Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper and Ben Kingsley, producer/director Roger Corman, and cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak will all receive the 2006 Tower Award during the course of the fourth annual Russian Nights Festival, running from April 2-8 at the Pacific Design Center. Presented by Moscow's Stas Namin Center, the fest, which celebrates Russian culture, will kick off its film program April 2 with a screening of Tigran Keosayan's Rabbit Over the Void.
- 3/31/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Actors Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper and Ben Kingsley, producer/director Roger Corman, and cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak will all receive the 2006 Tower Award during the course of the fourth annual Russian Nights Festival, running from April 2-8 at the Pacific Design Center. Presented by Moscow's Stas Namin Center, the fest, which celebrates Russian culture, will kick off its film program April 2 with a screening of Tigran Keosayan's Rabbit Over the Void.
- 3/31/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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