End of filming in sight for Olivier Assayas’ The Wizard of the Kremlin
- Paul Dano, Jude Law and Alicia Vikander lead the cast of new film by the French director, produced by Curiosa Films and sold by Gaumont
Filming on The Wizard of the Kremlin, Olivier Assayas’s 19th feature film, has now entered the home straight. For the record, the French filmmaker has been selected five times to compete in Cannes (Les destinées sentimentales in 2000, Demonlover [+see also:
trailer
film profile] in 2002, Clean [+see also:
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film profile] in 2004, which scooped the Best Actress trophy, Clouds of Sils Maria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Charles Gillibert
interview: Olivier Assayas
film profile] in 2014 and Personal Shopper [+see also:
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interview: Artemio Benki
interview: Olivier Assayas
film profile] in 2016, which earned the Best Director prize), three times in Venice (in 2012 via Something in the Air [+see also:
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interview: Olivier Assayas
film profile], winning the Best Screenplay award, in 2018 via Non Fiction [+see also:
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interview: Olivier Assayas
film profile], and in 2019 via Cuban Network [+see also:
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interview: Olivier Assayas
film profile]) and once in Berlin (with his most recent movie Suspended Time [+see also:
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film profile], in 2024).
The cast is led by American Paul Dano (recently seen in The Fabelmans and The Batman), English actor Jude Law (nominated twice at the Oscars and once for a Golden Globe, and recently seen in Firebrand [+see also:
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film profile] and The Order) who plays Vladimir Putin, and Sweden’s Alicia Vikander (awarded 2016’s Best Supporting Role Oscar for The Danish Girl [+see also:
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interview: Paco Delgado
film profile], having previously worked with Assayas on the series Irma Vep [+see also:
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interview: Olivier Assayas
series profile], and also recently seen in Firebrand and Rumours [+see also:
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film profile]). The duo are joined by American Zach Galifianakis (currently starring in the series Only Murders in the Building), his compatriot Jeffrey Wright (nominated for 2024’s Best Actor Oscar thanks to American Fiction, hitting screens this year in Wes Anderson’s new work The Phoenician Scheme as well as in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest), English actor Tom Sturridge (of the series Sandman and also Irma Vep) and Latvia’s Andris Keišs (Touched by Eternity, Loveless [+see also:
film review
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interview: Andrey Zvyagintsev
film profile]).
Adapted by Olivier Assayas and Emmanuel Carrère from Giuliano da Empoli’s novel of the same name, the story takes us to Russia in the early 1990s, the day after the collapse of the USSR. In a new world promising freedom and flirting with chaos, a young artist turned TV producer, Vadim Baranov, unexpectedly becomes a "spin doctor" for a prominent member of the Federal Security Service: Vladimir Putin…
Having kicked off on 20 January, filming is due to wrap on 20 March with Yorick Le Saux (nominated for the 2015 César in his speciality for Clouds of Sils Maria) heading up photography.
The Wizard of the Kremlin is being produced by Olivier Delbosc on behalf of Curiosa Films with Pierce Capital Entertainment and Gaumont featuring among the film’s partners and with the latter steering both international sales and distribution in France.
(Translated from French)
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