The scandalous film "8 Best Dates" nevertheless appeared on the screens of cinemas in the country, but failed at the box office and was met with protests across the country. The picture is shown in almost empty halls, and many cinemas remove it from their rolling schedule due to lack of spectators.
Wallet hit
In the largest cities of Russia, cinemas suffered huge losses by including the comedy "8 Best Dates" in the holiday weekend schedule. In St. Petersburg, the halls are filled from strength to 1/3, while for the first two parts of the picture, all tickets were sold out session after session during the first weeks of the show. In Saratov, 10-40 people come to the premiere. City cinema "Pioneer" in general was forced to delete it from the schedule due to lack of spectators.
Aimed primarily at female audiences and young couples, the romantic comedy was set to be one of the highest-grossing premieres on the holiday weekend leading up to March 8, a light-hearted, hilarious love story with teen movie stars. Actually, this is exactly what happened with the first and second parts of this franchise.
They planned to earn 120 million rubles on this tape in the very first days. And already today, distributors admit that box office receipts will not even come close to such a value.On the first of the four days of the weekend, the picture earned only 8.9 million rubles, and by the end of the weekend it will probably collect within 50 million, which is 2.5 times less than the expectations of the creators and distributors. The film distribution director of Kvadro-Film, Alexander Vigel, comments with strange bewilderment:
“And the complete failure of“ Dates ”is the expected effect here, given the mood of the public in recent days, we were bombarded with angry letters about Zelensky. Of course, we say that the film has been given a distribution certificate, and the public says: “We won’t go anyway,” this is becoming widespread. Probably should have thought about it. Maybe the adult audience will go, which does not use social networks ... "
Alexander Vigel
“Probably should have thought about it” is, one might say, the thought of the day. Before people who do not care about anything but money in this life, apparently, only by hitting the wallet, and you can get through. That perhaps in the future they will "think about it."
And the hat is not mine, and in general I am out of politics
Civil activists prevented the filmmakers from “making it beautiful”: at the entrance to the Oktyabr cinema, where a triumphant red carpet was prepared for the stars of the film, instead of applause and delight, protest pickets and condemning posters were waiting for them.“Went to see a movie and paid for the murder of Russians” , one of them said. Therefore, instead of solemnly posing in front of the cameras, as they undoubtedly imagined it, the disappointed stars were forced to sneak in short dashes from their luxury cars to the cinema building. Instead of formulaic interviews about “how happy they were to take part” and “how grateful they are to a welcoming audience,” there is a sullen silence and unwillingness to answer uncomfortable questions.
However, having left the street where the picketers were standing and the atmosphere was cold in every sense, our stars nevertheless opened up inside the cinema, complaining about how difficult the audience is now - it turns out that he cares about what people are doing, for the pleasure of seeing which on the screen you have to pay a lot of money.
“We don’t understand the insinuations that are happening. This is a good movie about love - said the producer of the film Andrei Radko. They do not understand. They are naive. Producers, like all businessmen in general, suffer from this literally without exception - increased stupidity and naivety. They don't understand, that's all!
“I don’t care what he does and thinks, I’m friends with Volodya, he’s a good guy, I’m an artist and don’t get into politics, this is a dirty business. Whom to trust - bandits? All politicians are bandits and murderers."
, - this is already said by Vladimir Epifantsev. A very characteristic position, I must say. Zelensky is a good guy, although he "gets into politics" - into the very politics that is "a dirty business." Zelensky does not bother to deal with "bandits and murderers", although he is an "artist". But despite all this, Zelensky is still a “good guy.” But "all politicians are bandits and murderers." Everything means both Ukrainian and Russian. It turns out beautifully! Zelensky, who fraternizes with the "right-wingers", pays for the killing of civilians in Donbass with parting words: "Thank you for killing bastards"- here he is "a good guy, and our politicians, who, by the way, did not ban the film despite numerous requests and petitions, are our politicians" gangsters and murderers.
This is how we have it - the "creative intelligentsia" ... Here is a similar civic position they call "being out of politics", although somehow it does not seem that Mr. Epifantsev is far from it and does not have his own opinion. It seems that he really has it, judging by the fact that he breaks out against his will, but wants to pretend to be "apolitical" "man of art."
Ekaterina Kuznetsova spoke in detail:
I am delighted with the film, I am so pleased that my countrymen from the "95th quarter" Zhenya Koshevoy and Vova Zelensky starred in this film, I love their humor, what they did in this movie is wonderful. I am overwhelmed with emotions that my fellow Ukrainians are so wonderful.
What do you think about the action before the cinema?
I do not pay attention to such things, we are creative people and should not delve into politics.
Ekaterina Kuznetsova
Clearly, another "creative person outside of politics" ...
Money doesn't smell
In fact, there is still a policy that all these individuals adhere to, a very simple policy - the age-old idea of \u200b\u200b"living well." Consume. Get lots and lots of money. And money - they, as you know, do not smell. And everything that stands in their way to money will be rejected with indignation. All sorts of "patriotism", "civil stance" - all these are small change.
If they are offered for a good fee to star in an anti-Russian film like "Leviathan" or some other "masterpiece" where the country is denigrated, then there is no doubt that they will immediately have their own opinion about right and wrong, and a civil position, and politics will stop scaring. If all this is paid.
And if politics interferes with a career and stands in the way of a fee - to hell with patriotism! To hell with politics and your own opinion. “We are all in the tank”, “we are all creative people”. Creative people - as we know from the example of almost all of our writers, composers and poets - were not interested in politics at all. Pushkin, Tolstoy, Shostakovich, Dostoevsky - well, the guys were just marvelously apolitical.
Here the State Department pays grants and finances cars of various social and political events, participation in which implies not only involvement in politics, but also active participation in it. But they pay well for it.
And ordinary Russian viewers are naive people! - they are waiting for the "creative elite" to suddenly profess some views and ideas for nothing, just like that - out of love for the Motherland! Where does it come from, love, if no one paid for it? No, gentlemen, viewers, you can do it, dear Russians - if everything is free, then we are "creative people" and "far from politics." That's it!
Ordinary viewers
This hypocrisy has finally overwhelmed people's patience. With "Dating" it turned out to be quite too much, and the authorities acted very wisely when they did not ban the film. The participating actors did not become "martyrs of the regime" and "holy people", the cinema did not receive the official status of "forbidden". They just told people in response to all the petitions: if this is really important for you, then prove it with deeds. Stand your ground, don't go to this movie. And people finally realized that they can't wait for filmmakers, who don't care about anything but money, to become patriots. He made an anti-Russian movie - get a loss, invited him to the role of a Russophobe - get a loss: that's the only way with them. They understand this language, it reaches them. Now, having received a click on the nose, they are already talking differently! Now filmmakers are no longer chanting: “There is nothing to interfere with creativity with politics” - no, now they are saying: “Probably we should have thought about it.” It turns out that it reaches them through the wallet.
So, in Moscow, the film was met with pickets and posters. In St. Petersburg - half-empty halls. In Samara, it came to the removal of the film from the distribution network.
Two days ago, the premiere of the film "8 Best Dates" took place in Russia. The picture, contrary to the expectations of the creators and actors, has already failed miserably at the Russian box office. Even Yandex, when asked for a movie title, gives more news about the film's failures than links to sites with its description.
Most viewers avoid this movie. The main reason for this is the actor Vladimir Zelensky, not so long ago thanking the Ukrainian military for "protection from these scum" (according to the actor, "scum" are residents of Donbass). People do not want to watch a film with his participation, because they understand that part of the income from the film distribution of the film will go to finance the military operation of the Ukrainian security forces against the inhabitants of Donbass. I wonder what the actor was thinking, hoping to make money in Russia?
Many people have previously advocated a ban on the release of the film "8 Best Dates", but in Russia they do not go for an official "ban", because we are not Ukraine, which equalizes politics and creativity. People make their own choice. As it turned out, the majority now takes a sharply negative position in relation to Zelensky, and therefore people are boycotting and ignoring the film.
Despite the fact that the director of the picture was confident of success, today "8 First Dates" is shown in half-empty halls. If in the past all tickets were sold out for the premiere of the first part of the film, this year the situation is different: in most cinemas there was not a single spectator. In many cities, the screening was completely canceled by the decision of cinemas, since it makes no sense to play it just like that, because a hall that is idle without spectators can be filled by showing something else.
In some cities, there was still a small amount of reservation for tickets, but no one bought them.
Even Vera Brezhneva, who has a huge army of fans in Russia, did not save the picture. It was interesting to see the instagram of the main character of the film. In the comments on the photo from the premiere of the film, opinions were divided. Many people love Vera, and therefore, despite the abundance of negative comments about the film and Zelensky, there are many apologies. Approximately half of the messages are written in the spirit: “Sorry, Vera, we love your work very much, but we can’t go to the film with Zelensky in the title role. We think it's wrong."
Lots of negatives:
“Because of this Zelensky, few people will go there. I hope no one goes at all!”
“I am disappointed in Zelensky and also do not want to watch the film and performances with his participation”
“Let him go and show his movie to the heroes of the ATO, the killers of the civilian population of Donbass, whom he fucking supports!”
It got to the point that in some cities there are real demonstrations. People are demanding that the film be banned.
Moral values in our people are strong, and therefore such a reaction is not even surprising. This film, perhaps, will go only to those who do not watch TV and do not read the news, i.е. one who is not aware of the personal life and harsh statements of Vladimir Zelensky. And this does not make them those who support and share the views of the actor, they simply do not know the reasons for the boycott. Also, the film will not be missed by ardent fans of Vera Brezhneva, who turn a blind eye to everything for the sake of their idol.
And how do you feel about this film? Are you going to watch it?
The scandalous film "8 Best Dates" nevertheless appeared on the screens of cinemas in the country, but failed at the box office and was met with protests across the country. The picture is shown in almost empty halls, and many cinemas remove it from their rolling schedule due to lack of spectators.
Wallet hit
In the largest cities of Russia, cinemas suffered huge losses by including the comedy "8 Best Dates" in the holiday weekend schedule. In St. Petersburg, the halls are filled from strength to 1/3, while for the first two parts of the picture, all tickets were sold out session after session during the first weeks of the show. In Saratov, 10-40 people come to the premiere. City cinema "Pioneer" in general was forced to delete it from the schedule due to lack of spectators.
Aimed primarily at a female audience and young couples, the romantic comedy was supposed to be one of the highest-grossing premieres on the festive weekend before March 8 - a light, fun film about love with teen movie stars. Actually, this is exactly what happened with the first and second parts of this franchise.
They planned to earn 120 million rubles on this tape in the very first days. And already today, distributors admit that box office receipts will not even come close to such a value.On the first of the four days of the weekend, the picture earned only 8.9 million rubles, and by the end of the weekend it will probably collect within 50 million, which is 2.5 times less than the expectations of the creators and distributors. The film distribution director of Kvadro-Film, Alexander Vigel, comments with strange bewilderment:
“And the complete failure of“ Dates ”is the expected effect here, given the mood of the public in recent days, we were bombarded with angry letters about Zelensky. Of course, we say that the film has been given a distribution certificate, and the public says: “We won’t go anyway,” this is becoming widespread. Probably should have thought about it. Maybe the adult audience will go, which does not use social networks ... "
Alexander Vigel
“Probably should have thought about it” is, one might say, the thought of the day. Before people who do not care about anything but money in this life, apparently, only by hitting the wallet, and you can get through. That perhaps in the future they will "think about it."
And the hat is not mine, and in general I am out of politics
Civil activists prevented the filmmakers from “making it beautiful”: at the entrance to the Oktyabr cinema, where a triumphal red carpet was prepared for the stars of the film, instead of applause and delight, protest pickets and condemning posters were waiting for them.“Went to see a movie and paid for the murder of Russians” , one of them said. Therefore, instead of solemnly posing in front of the cameras, as they undoubtedly imagined it, the disappointed stars were forced to sneak in short dashes from their luxury cars to the cinema building. Instead of formulaic interviews about “how happy they were to take part” and “how grateful they are to a welcoming audience,” there is a sullen silence and unwillingness to answer uncomfortable questions.
However, having left the street where the picketers were standing and the atmosphere was cold in every sense, our stars nevertheless opened up inside the cinema, complaining about how difficult the audience is now - it turns out that he cares about what people are doing, for the pleasure of seeing which on the screen you have to pay a lot of money.
“We don’t understand the insinuations that are happening. This is a good movie about love - said the producer of the film Andrei Radko. They do not understand. They are naive. Producers, like all businessmen in general, suffer from this literally without exception - increased stupidity and naivety. They don't understand, that's all!
“I don’t care what he does and thinks, I’m friends with Volodya, he’s a good guy, I’m an artist and don’t get into politics, this is a dirty business. Whom to trust - bandits? All politicians are bandits and murderers." , - this is already said by Vladimir Epifantsev. A very characteristic position, I must say. Zelensky is a good guy, although he "gets into politics" - into the very politics that is "a dirty business." Zelensky does not bother to deal with "bandits and murderers", although he is an "artist". But despite all this, Zelensky is still a “good guy.” But "all politicians are bandits and murderers." Everything means both Ukrainian and Russian. It turns out beautifully! Zelensky, who fraternizes with the "right-wingers", pays for the killing of civilians in Donbass with parting words: "Thank you for killing bastards"- here he is "a good guy, and our politicians, who, by the way, did not ban the film despite numerous requests and petitions, are our politicians" gangsters and murderers.
This is how we have it - the "creative intelligentsia" ... Here is a similar civic position they call "being out of politics", although somehow it does not seem that Mr. Epifantsev is far from it and does not have his own opinion. It seems that he really has it, judging by the fact that he breaks out against his will, but wants to pretend to be "apolitical" "man of art."
Ekaterina Kuznetsova spoke in detail:
I am delighted with the film, I am so pleased that my countrymen from the "95th quarter" Zhenya Koshevoy and Vova Zelensky starred in this film, I love their humor, what they did in this movie is wonderful. I am overwhelmed with emotions that my fellow Ukrainians are so wonderful.
What do you think about the action before the cinema?
I do not pay attention to such things, we are creative people and should not delve into politics.
Ekaterina Kuznetsova
Clearly, another "creative person outside of politics" ...
Money doesn't smell
In fact, there is still a policy that all these individuals adhere to, a very simple policy - the age-old idea of \u200b\u200b"living well." Consume. Get lots and lots of money. And money - they, as you know, do not smell. And everything that stands in their way to money will be rejected with indignation. All sorts of "patriotism", "civil stance" - all these are small change.
If they are offered for a good fee to star in an anti-Russian film like "Leviathan" or some other "masterpiece" where the country is denigrated, then there is no doubt that they will immediately have their own opinion about right and wrong, and a civil position, and politics will stop scaring. If all this is paid.
And if politics interferes with a career and stands in the way of a fee - to hell with patriotism! To hell with politics and your own opinion. “We are all in the tank”, “we are all creative people”. Creative people - as we know from the example of almost all of our writers, composers and poets - were not interested in politics at all. Pushkin, Tolstoy, Shostakovich, Dostoevsky - well, the guys were just marvelously apolitical.
Here the State Department pays grants and finances cars of various social and political events, participation in which implies not only involvement in politics, but also active participation in it. But they pay well for it.
And ordinary Russian viewers are naive people! - they are waiting for the "creative elite" to suddenly profess some views and ideas for nothing, just like that - out of love for the Motherland! Where does it come from, love, if no one paid for it? No, gentlemen, viewers, you can do it, dear Russians - if everything is free, then we are "creative people" and "far from politics." That's it!
Ordinary viewers
This hypocrisy has finally overwhelmed people's patience. With "Dating" it turned out to be quite too much, and the authorities acted very wisely when they did not ban the film. The participating actors did not become "martyrs of the regime" and "holy people", the cinema did not receive the official status of "forbidden". They just told people in response to all the petitions: if this is really important for you, then prove it with deeds. Stand your ground, don't go to this movie. And people finally realized that they can't wait for filmmakers, who don't care about anything but money, to become patriots. He made an anti-Russian movie - get a loss, invited him to the role of a Russophobe - get a loss: that's the only way with them. They understand this language, it reaches them. Now, having received a click on the nose, they are already talking differently! Now filmmakers are no longer chanting: “There is nothing to interfere with creativity with politics” - no, now they are saying: “Probably we should have thought about it.” It turns out that it reaches them through the wallet.
So, in Moscow, the film was met with pickets and posters. In St. Petersburg - half-empty halls. In Samara, it came to the removal of the film from the distribution grid.
In Chelyabinsk, a single picket at the main entrance to the Megapolis recreation center was staged by the Young Guard
Damir Utarbekov, federal coordinator of the All-Union Organization "Young Guard of United Russia" for the Ural Territorial Group, comments:
“Money from the film can be used to support terrorist battalions that are shelling peaceful cities and killing innocent people. I believe that it is necessary to ban the film from showing, and I will personally send letters urging the directors of cinemas to remove it from distribution.”
Damir Utarbekov
In Tyumen, there are protest rallies near cinemas.Single pickets from the LDPR party were seen in Kaliningrad.
In Bashkiria, Marat, a militia from Neftekamsk, decided to support the all-Russian flash mob and went to a solo picket near the Arsenal cinema complex.
In Crimea, there are numerous protests near local cinemas.
In Simferopol, after a confrontation with the administration of the cinema, activists came to a compromise:
“I propose this option: we will apply to the court, as well as to the Ministry of Culture, with a request to stop the film's distribution. But for now, we'll be posting our flyers in theaters right at the box office so ticket buyers can see where their money can go."
The film "Eight Best Dates", starring Ukrainian satirist Vladimir Zelensky, failed at the box office. Spectators in the South of Russia, who traditionally love spring comedies, also voted with their feet against the picture, the distribution of which in Russia was demanded to be banned by many patriotic movements and politicians. And although the authors of the film expected that due to the scandal, the film would be a success and earn at least 130 million rubles in Russia, they were greatly mistaken in this.
"They stop being stars"
A week ago, the comedy film Eight Best Dates was released in Russian cinemas - the last film in a trilogy dedicated to the unsuccessful veterinarian Nikita, who has no luck in love. Four years ago, the first picture "Eight First Dates" was released, in 2014 - "Eight New Dates".
All three films were directed by Marius Weisberg, and played the main role Vladimir Zelensky, a former member of the Ukrainian KVN team "95th Quarter", who then created a creative association under the same name. Zelensky was a member of the board and general producer of the largest Ukrainian TV channel Inter (its controlling shareholder is a billionaire Dmitry Firtash), on which the show "Evening Quarter" was broadcast for many years. Then the TV show moved to the competing TV channel "1 + 1", which is controlled by another oligarch no less well-known to the Russian audience. Igor Kolomoisky.
It is important to name the owners of TV channels with whom Zelensky's creative team collaborated, since the main genre of his jokes is political satire. "Evening Quarter" equally bitingly castigates the entire Ukrainian and Russian elite, ranging from Nikita Dzhigurdy and ending Oleg Lyashko. However, for the mass Russian audience, "Evening Quarter" (coming out, by the way, in Russian) is practically unknown.
But it is widely known that Vladimir Zelensky actively supports official Kyiv in the civil war in Donbass, spoke out against the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, and at the same time against Moscow and Russia as a whole. The participants of the “95th Quarter” have been constantly speaking to the soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine for the past two years, and it is also known that at least once (in August 2014) they transferred funds to the soldiers of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO). Speech, according to Ukrainian publications, was about the amount of one million hryvnia (approximately), which went to buy personal hygiene products and medicines for soldiers.
“If Russian performers express anti-Ukrainian views, for me they simply cease to be stars,” Zelensky said in an interview. And before the start of the film "Eight Best Dates" in Russia, Vladimir Zelensky was reminded of this ambivalent position. After all, he criticizes our country, but he earns money in it.
Ministry of Culture against bans. Bye
There was a wave of protest on the Internet against the screening of the film "The Best Eight Dates". Activists of the National Liberation Movement, which is headed by a State Duma deputy from United Russia Nikolai Fedorov held a series of pickets in many cities across the country. The picketers in front of the cinemas held posters with the following content: “Vladimir Zelensky is a bloody buffoon” or “Zelensky is a sponsor of the murders of Donbas residents.”
It is strange, however, that Zelensky presented his previous film Eight New Dates in Russia without any problems in December 2014. Although by that time the Ukrainian showman clearly expressed his position in relation to our country. Nevertheless, the Russian audience actively “voted” for Zelensky with the ruble: 1.6 million Russians watched the film, it collected 335 million rubles at the box office. Let's say, Krasnodar residents put almost 20 million rubles into the "95th quarter" basket, Rostovites - 7 million, Volgograd - 5 million ...
This time, the civil protest against the film by Vladimir Zelensky worked much more powerfully: during the premiere week (which, we recall, fell on the holidays), the film barely recouped the production budget of 75 million rubles. Moreover, for example, all the republics of the North Caucasus added less than 250 thousand rubles to the comedy box. That is, in fact, the picture in the wide box office completely failed. Of course, the Internet action has affected. In addition, many politicians actively campaigned against Zelensky’s painting, starting from the deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Culture Vladimir Bortko and ending with the head of the North Caucasian Association of Orthodox Rehabilitation Centers, a deputy of the Stavropol Regional Duma Nikolai Novopashin.
Ministry of Culture of Russia headed by Vladimir Medinsky spoke out against the ban on the release of the film "The Best Eight Dates". Cinemas (at least those included in large federal networks) also did not begin to rent the film. Meanwhile, in the recent history of the South of Russia, there are many examples when, under pressure from the public, films did not reach the viewer. For different reasons.
"This is propaganda of ruthlessness"
The most recent example is the ban on the erotic melodrama Fifty Shades of Grey, based on the novel by an American writer Erica James, which tells about the sadomasochistic orgies of a student and a billionaire playboy who fell in love with her. The picture received a rental certificate "18+", that is, the audience was asked for passports at the entrance to the cinema halls.
In four republics of the North Caucasus (Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan and North Ossetia), at the request of the local Muslim spiritual administrations, the picture was refused to be shown. “It is necessary to delimit the limits of what is permitted. In the pursuit of profit, concert halls and film venues should not recklessly and blindly follow the lead of unprincipled promoters,” commented the Minister of Culture of North Ossetia Fatima Khabalova.
They were not afraid to show it only in Karachay-Cherkessia, but in the end the distributors went bankrupt - the picture in this region collected only 45 thousand rubles. In Kabardino-Balkaria, the film earned 2.5 million, and in Stavropol - as much as 13 million (that's about 65 thousand viewers): such a huge box office success is due to the fact that freedom-loving youth from neighboring Muslim republics came to the film screenings in the cities of Kavminvod .
The Islamic community was particularly indignant that the priests in the North Caucasus did not demand a ban on the distribution of the film "50 Shades of Black" - a vulgar and base parody of an erotic melodrama (although what could be even more base if "50 Shades of Grey" was recognized as the worst film of 2015 ). However, only two regions with the strongest religious traditions, Chechnya and Ingushetia, refused to show the vulgar comedy.
Involuntarily, the story of 2006 is also recalled, when many cinemas in Russia (including those in the North Caucasus) refused to rent the film The Da Vinci Code, where the New Testament story is interpreted in a special way. One of the initiators of this ban was the then Archbishop of Stavropol Feofan and Chechen mufti Sultan Mirzaev(the latter demanded not only to refuse to show the film in cinemas, but also to refuse to sell cassettes and discs with it). However, the protest excitement around the mediocre film, in general, only fueled the audience's interest.
It is also worth recalling that currently the State Duma deputy from Chechnya Shamsail Saraliev proposes to limit the distribution of Hollywood films in Russia. “Many American horror and thrillers are real propaganda of ruthlessness, violence and immorality. How much do we need this Western ideology? Is it useful to us? It is worth thinking about this seriously, ”the deputy says. But as experience has shown, you should not even think about it. The viewer, as practice has shown, can decide for himself what to watch and what not. Just don't date...
According to the forecasts of the box office, from March 3 to March 6, the apolitical comedy "Eight Best Dates" was supposed to collect 120-130 million rubles at the domestic box office. “There is a scandal around the film, but it will not hurt the box office,” specialized sites reported.
As stated in the analytical report of the Cinema Fund, the picture collected only 52.8 million rubles. If you're wondering why this makes such a huge difference, let's talk about it.
Silent boycott
For those who accidentally do not know, this is what the so-called. scandal. Lead actor, actor Zelensky(Rep. Ukraine), last year actively promoted as a supporter of punishers fighting in the Donbass. He reported that he was transferring money to them for the so-called. ATO. He bowed low for the "killing of scum" on cameras.
At the beginning of this year, a public initiative arose in Russia to boycott the film. We note, by the way, that the state had nothing to do with it and does not have it. On the contrary, the state behaved emphatically formally. The Ministry of Culture issued a rental certificate to the film and there was no way to rent it did not interfere.
As for the near-state structures, they generally supported the film. The cinema distributor, just in case, was Central Partnership, which is part of to the state holding Gazprom Media.“Channel One” delicately promoted the picture, “leading media” not only did not support the boycott of “Dating”, but did not even report on it.
And no "activists in balaclavas" blocked the cinemas, did not break into the directors' offices and beat them on the head with their feet. Just near some cinemas there were single pickets with posters, which reported what exactly the viewer is now willing to donate his money to. Yes, calls for a boycott have spread on social networks. Yes, some resources - certainly not included in the list of what is considered "influential media" within the Russian media class - supported the boycott.
The fact that all these rogues together managed to drop a practically wealthy (triquel of a successful comedy, Vera Brezhneva, TV in the wings, March 8 on the calendar) profits for filmmakers, - at the moment, while you are reading this, these same filmmakers are trying to somehow comprehend.
Why did everything that happened come as a surprise to the creative community and what did they even think?
Above children's corpses
I have a version of why and what, dear readers. And now I will present it.
In an interview with the Sobesednik publication, the producer of the movie about dates explained why he was not afraid to shoot the sponsor of the punishers: “We don’t understand the insinuations that are happening. This is a good movie about love. No politics. We are Russians and, it seems to me, we should be above all this.”
... If it seemed to someone that it was the viewer who was asked to be above politics, then no, a mistake. This is about himself and his estate, the producer said that they are above politics. In this case - above the war. Above the children's corpses, above the Gorlovsky Madonna.
And that's the whole point. The origins of such intricate loftiness should not be sought at all in the “all-humanity” of Russian culture, to which the creators themselves like to refer. The reasons are closer and simpler. In short, our creative estate is the last untouched reserve of the late Soviet intelligent world outlook. Not broken even by the nineties.
It is from ordinary citizens that the feeling that there are friends around and that one can be above politics, flew off very quickly. Especially quickly it flew off from 25-50 million (depending on how you count) "foreign Russians" who ended up in the post-Soviet national republics.
It was quickly explained to ordinary citizens that they were now nobody and there was no way to call them.
It was to them that confused relatives began to come, squeezed out of their Transcaucasia, Central Asia, the Baltics and Moldovans.
It was their relatives who served in the 14th Guards, which defended Transnistria. At the 201st base, which preserved Tajikistan. In the 58th army that saved Ossetia.
It was their language that was forbidden in state institutions and schools.
It is Crimea that fled to them, it is Donetsk and Luhansk that hurt in their heads, it is Odessa that bleeds in their memory.
... And the creators have not changed anything. The creators have been surrounded by friends all these years.
They calmly arrived in the most hardened Russophobic mini-reichs - and independent ministers and deputies who had not forgotten their Komsomol youth sat complacently at their concerts. And they, who just yesterday adopted some new resolution to eradicate the consequences of the centuries-old Russian occupation, came to Russian creative guests backstage and invited them to cozy restaurants in the old city, and sang soulful songs together. And it seemed to the Moscow guests that the friendship of peoples had not gone anywhere, that everything was just like in the 1970s. The creative class was reliably isolated from the political reality of the post-USSR.
That is why the Russian creative class never developed it, reality, understanding. And if some echoes of reality with murdered children and other “squabbles” reached it through isolation, then it was inclined to blame the only state for which it had grievances: its own.
Because everything is clear to the creative class with their native state. The state did not give enough for the theater (a film, an anniversary, just some drank). The state, especially in recent years, has been meddling with its opinion in a fragile creative process. It even removes operas from the repertoire - and look, it will begin to repress, as in the thirty-seventh. And this despite the fact that it is the creators by definition should.
And those non-native states - they should not, but they themselves are very friendly. They come backstage, invite to restaurants, sing songs.
That, in fact, is the whole secret “above politics”.
Who will leave without a penny
And now - the most important thing. What happened with the release of "The Best 8 Dates" is far from the first evidence that there is a civil society in the country. But this is the first time that civil society has worked directly with the creative community. Without resorting to the help of the state, "Kiselyov's propaganda", "Channel One" and the Minister of Culture. That is, everything that the creators used to write off all the cases when citizens suddenly refused to watch / listen / read them.
And if the creators have enough ingenuity, then they will realize that in addition to the state, there is another, much more powerful and merciless, repressive political apparatus in the country. Which, almost for him, will simply undress them and leave them without a penny.
And these are citizens.
And if you're lucky, then, perhaps, the creators will even have the ingenuity to finally do something that no one has seen from them for twenty years. They will begin to take an interest in their own public and find out what kind of reality they live in and what is important to them.
