Founder of the film company that made Crown of Thorns, for which he produced, wrote, directed, acted and composed the soundtrack, as well as Unknown Land and Love Follies, nowadays Vladimir Uglichin has come over to Hollywood and shot a new film with a novel concept under the title "Rats". The movie was initially called "Higher Mission", but the author decided to rename it after shooting. Vladimir discussed the ins and outs of shooting in Hollywood and the film itself in a recent interview.

"You have to set goals clearly and go for them, putting all your strength into the realization of your idea."

- What inspired you to make this film?

I had a sudden desire to go to Zvenigorod [a town in the Moscow region] and to hatch an idea for a new screenplay surrounded by nature, and as soon as I got settled there and sat down in an armchair, it came to me in a flash. I had three ideas at once. I was afraid I would forget them, so I jotted them down immediately. It was as if someone was whispering to me. Only one has come to life so far, the other two are still waiting, but they will be fulfilled. Now I understand that, for inspiration, you have to go to Zvenigorod, it is a city with amazing energy, maybe because it is the most elevated region, maybe it is closer to the higher powers. And, of course, I couldn't help but be touched by the problem of corruption in this world, it stands in the way of life. My films aren't empty entertainment. In my opinion, a movie must make its viewer think, change. There is such a thing as the power of art, it exists.

- What main idea do you want your movie to bring across to the audience?

Satire and humor are our greatest champions when nothing else can help. I think that we have to laugh at people who have no conscience. I hope that officials will look at themselves from the outside and maybe, finally, think about their actions. Corruption is like a cancerous tumor, it keeps on growing, and it has to be rooted out. Most of all, it is a film for ordinary people, who will laugh, but I believe it will have a real impact and make the world a better place.

- How long did it take to shoot the film?

Just 23 days, and I'm proud of that. We had an argument: The Americans didn't believe it was possible to shoot a film in 25 days, for them it was inconceivable. The film crew thought it was a joke. But I told them the whole time, "You know, friends, you have to set your goals clearly and go for them, you have to put all your strength into the realization of your idea". And success is guaranteed, it's the law of the universe. They all laughed, as if I were telling fairytales, but I finished 2 days early and got it done in 23 days instead of 25. Of course, the speed and rhythm were unrelenting, we worked under a lot of stress. During the day you work flat out and in the evening you go back and immediately start preparing for the next day, you figure out how best to shoot, which camera angles to use, which shots, you sleep maybe 5 hours, or even 4, but it was worth it! We pulled it off.

- This is the first time you have shot a film in Hollywood. How did you decide to go beyond Russia? It's an entirely new level, I imagine?

It all happened by chance, it was fate, so to speak. I started shooting a Russian version and had filmed about half of it. I want to Cannes. Evgeny Zykov, owner of the magazine Prokat, introduced me to Jacques Jabot, who was chairman of a committee at Cannes. He was complaining that three and a half thousand films had come in, but there was nothing to watch — they were all the same, boring and without a central idea. My screenplay had been translated into English. Evgeny recommended that he read my work. He took it unwillingly, since he had really been tortured by the offspring of all sorts of, as a rule, monotonous screenplays. He gave it to his wife, she liked it, and they themselves called me the next day. It was a new idea. Right away I was off to Hollywood to bring the idea to life, since only there could its full potential be realized. I had to plow through an American film academy in half a year to learn all the intricacies, and I succeeded, that was the Americans' opinion. Of course it is a new level, and a very high level at that.

- How did you choose the actors?

In Hollywood we connected with a first-rate casting director, Fern Champion, who even Spielberg had worked with. She brought up databases of Hollywood actors. The Russian speakers we found ourselves, although there aren't many of them in the film, they're mostly Hollywood actors. She sent us huge lists of actor profiles and we ran tryouts for each part. After casting, two actors had been selected for each role, and we chose the best in the process of filming. I evaluated each actor personally, I had the final word, although there were five people in the casting committee.

- What about your crew?

We hired one of the best cinematographers in Hollywood - Andrea Rossotto, who shot in 3D. And we started working, he hired his own team, from the lighting technicians to the assistant cameramen. Everyone worked as a team, in unison, and I enjoyed the work a huge amount.

- Did you get advice from anyone? Were there any disagreements during shooting?

No one gave me advice, I made the decisions. Everyone relied on my experience. Of course, we had to invent some special techniques. Even Andrea Rossotto was pleased and said that he learned a lot with me. He went around, approved all the scenes and advised me on how to position the actors. At first I was a bit afraid that the Americans would look down their noses, especially Casper Van Dien and Catherine Oxenberg, but they turned out to be very accommodating and performed excellently. They are real professionals. Casper came to me with advice and recommendations, he also cared deeply about the film. Two of his suggestions were very helpful.

- Which is your favorite scene, and which was the most difficult to film?

We never did more than three takes. We had an experienced team, and the actors pulled out all the stops, so there weren't any particular difficulties, shooting went smoothly. The only issue was that Ilya Slovesnik, who is also a theater actor and singer on the side, spoke with a certain heightened level of emotion. This acting style suits the stage, but it doesn't work on camera. While we were getting rid of that extra emotion, we did three takes. And it's difficult to choose one particular episode, I love all of my film.

- I hear you filmed the movie in January. How were you able to arrange shooting in such weather?

The weather was very good to us, even though it was January and the weather in Hollywood in that season is really extremely erratic. It snowed two days before shooting and then, as if intentionally, it melted before filming itself, which gave us perfect conditions. Exactly two days after shooting it snowed again, as if the snow had been waiting until we were done. As soon as we left, two weeks later, a tornado hit the city. [Film producer] Gray Frederickson jokingly asked us, "What God were you praying to?"

- Were there any funny mishaps on set?

There was one really funny incident. While speaking in Russian with my assistant Pyotr Zhmutsky, I noticed that the cameraman, Andrea, was walking towards us and said: "Oh, Andrea is coming [in Russian, 'Andrea idyot']." His assistants misunderstood the word and told Andrea that I thought he was an idiot. Andrea was extremely offended and refused to work, you know, he tries so hard, does everything, and it turns out that we think he's an idiot! I had to explain long and hard that idiot sounds the same as the harmless verb "to go." After that, everyone smiled whenever they heard that word.

- You are a very versatile person, could you talk about your different creative outlets?

Along with making films, I write the screenplays myself and I adore writing music. My musical compositions can be heard in the film, although, as [actress] Victoria Summer gave us a song, I gave it the main place instead of my own. And, in general, I truly love working on and composing music. I am a humble man, but I think that a talented person must be talented in all ways, and that your main occupation should bring you join and pleasure. Then you will be successful.

- What was particularly memorable for you about working on a film in Hollywood?

Even just the fact that something is happening for the first time makes it last forever in my memory. It's like first love, which is impossible to forget. I will remember the special teamwork in Hollywood, the organization, the clear execution of defined tasks. Even the supporting actors, even the extras acted no less seriously than the main characters. In Russia, you don't see such dedication and commitment on the part of supporting actors and extras.

- Are you ready for the premieres? Where will they be held?

Preparations are now full steam ahead. Premieres are planned for Los Angeles and Oklahoma City, and then we'll see, but of course we won't pass over the Moscow audience. How is it possible not to have a premiere in Moscow! It's true that the humor is mostly intended for the American public, after all it was filmed in America and everything was adapted for an American audience, but the meaning and appeal of the film are not lost because of this. Moscow moviegoers will soon see my film, of course, and they are the only ones who can judge it.

This interview was conducted by Stanislava Filatova.