June 28, 2006

Night Watch's Timur Bekmambetov Talks His Future Projects. Dusk Watch Ready to Roll ...

(Posted In Action Animation Continental Europe and Russia Film News Sci-Fi / Fantasy )

ISKUS-timur-56hi.jpg** Update ** Do to a miscommunication witht he translator of this piece we mistakenly reprted taht the 3rd Watch film (working title: Dusk Watch) would be shot in 3-D. Other Russian speakers looking over the original article tell me this is not the case.

Big thanks are due once again to Yuric, who regularly sends us fantastic little tidbits of news from Russia and who has come through once again with all the salient bits of a recent Russian interview with Night Watch director Timur Bekmembetov discussing his future projects. That he was co-producing a feature version of Shane Acker's stellar animated short 9 with Tim Burton we were already aware - though I hadn't realized just how heavily involved with this he was going to be - and I'd heard some talk of him adapting Mark Millar's graphic novel Wanted - that's Wanted pre-vis to the left - but Red Star and the final, American produced entry in the Night Watch series coming in 3-D? That's big news ... Here's Yuric:

Timur Bekmambetov gave an interview to russian magazine "Itogi" (original, in russian, can be found here)

Among other questions, he mentioned 4 projects he is working on:

9, which is already in production, he co-produces with Tim Burton. "3d animation based on American comics ... Movie will be aiming to an older audience than Ice Age or Over the Hedge...World is destroyed after grandiose catastrophe, only 9 puppets remaining, each of them holding a piece of its creator's soul. If these puppets will gather together, a new life will be born on Earth ... It's a romantic and sad story, a fable ... It will be finished after a year and a half ... There will be a special russian version, in which apocalyptic world will be filled with familiar russian details... "

Wanted - based on graphic novel by Mark Millar. "...It's my top project right now ... Based on comics about a young loser who finds out that his father was a super-villain in a world where super-villains won ... Hero starts to avenge his father's death, and he's doing it rough way. World better watch out! ... We are starting with 50 mln budget, we will blow things up, we will make things bleed ... Its gonna be a rough, provocative movie. Fight Club meets Matrix. Shooting will start in September in New York, than will continue in Praga, overall for 4 months.
Post-production, music, editing we will do in Russia, both for 9 and Wanted."

Red Star - based on comic book by Christian Gossett. "Story about fall of imaginary Soviet empire in a fantasy world, and heroes' uprising against tyrant Imbohl ... also with beautiful love story ... It's a beautiful story,
full of symbolism. I read it, and I thought that Christian really captured the essence of what was happening in USSR. We cannot look this way on ourselves but an american can look neutrally, it is like myths of Ancient Greece for him...To continue with comparing to other films, I'll call Red Star - Star Wars meets Dr.Zhivago"

Unnamed 3rd Watch movie - "I'm readying for it...some roles will be switched to american actors, but we also have a word in a such decisions"

» Posted by Todd at June 28, 2006 08:38 PM
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Reader Comments

While I'm looking forward to Duskwatch and was a big fan of the first two "WATCH" films. I think 3D is a really stupid idea.

» Posted by Kurt at June 27, 2006 10:49 PM

Wanted will make a great film, if it's done right. It's a pretty hardcore book, so the Fight Club with a heavy R-rating to be sure (if they go that far with it).

Red Star? I sincerely hope this is a CGI film. It's VERY big and without a budget to match, I cannot imagine this working live. However, WETA is now involved with the comic book (helping create the 3D elements, I imagine), so they have that going for them. Who knows? I liked the world idea, but the story was a bit lacklustre after 20 issues. I hope they manage to craft a better screenplay from it.

» Posted by LT Roberts at June 28, 2006 12:15 AM

Wanted will make a great film, if it's done right. It's a pretty hardcore book, so the Fight Club reference makes sense, but I'd say it's going to come with a heavy R-rating to be sure (if they go the whole way with it). It's a tight little story. Quite twisted.

Red Star? I sincerely hope this is a CGI film. It's VERY big and without a budget to match that vision, I cannot imagine this working live. However, WETA is now involved with the comic book (helping create the 3D elements, I imagine), so they have that going for them. Who knows? I liked the world idea, but the story was a bit lacklustre after 20 issues. I hope they manage to craft a better screenplay from it.

» Posted by LT Roberts at June 28, 2006 12:17 AM


Yes, yes, yes! He's still doing Red Star. Now if only the game can hurry up and come out - since apparently a budget publisher picked it up again - I'll be a happy bunny.

» Posted by Eight Rooks at June 28, 2006 04:25 AM

Slightly off topic, but for someone who's new to the series, which version of Nightwatch is best? The US DVD cut with funky subtitles, or the longer original version?

» Posted by khkg at June 28, 2006 11:35 AM

It was a while between when I saw both versions, but I didn't really notice the changes until I wendt and researched them. The new subtitles are *really* cool, and really improve the experience and comprehension when following so much action and visual razzle-dazzle. I'd say go for that version.

I believe you can get a region 1 disc that has both versions though. It looks like DiabolikDVD has it.

» Posted by Mike at June 28, 2006 03:31 PM

Thanks for the advice. I'll pick it up.

» Posted by khkg at June 29, 2006 11:26 AM

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