He was in charge of the MTV Channel, helped found the “Star Factory” project, shaped the generic “90s” sound, and ran the Department of Music Broadcasting at Public Russian Television, as well as his own radio station. Then, several years ago, he started focusing on becoming a grand film project producer. Ilya Bachurin, the Director General of “Glavkino”, talked to WEj reporters Anastasia Yakoleva and Yulia Petrova, about cool bikes and his aesthetic view of the world.

Yulia Petrova (Y.P.): Ilya, do you consider “Glavkino” a commercial project, or is it more of an opportunity to implement new movie ideas?
Unfortunately, it is rather difficult to regard Russian film production as a business – it’s more like a sponsorship. The predictability of earning money in this kind of project is very low. But we were very aware of this, when I first started working on this project with Fyodor Bondarchuk, and Konstantin Ernst did as well, when he joined “Glavkino” later on. Each of us joined the project for our own reasons, but not money. Personally, I wanted to participate in a grand project that would change the face of the domestic film industry. For all of us, the project is a whole new level of high-quality work. Everyone’s life has milestones, where people either move forward and develop, or slow down and lag behind in life, and I consider “Glavkino” a step forward. And it’s important to keep in mind that we started the project to create a complex infrastructure movie system that will stand for ages and be judged for years to come, not to earn money.

Anastasia Yakoleva (A.Y.): But you took out a bank loan of $84 million for this project – if “Glavkino” is not profitable, how are you planning to pay it off?
Well, unprofitable projects do not get loans! The payback is simply not as quick as we would like. We will need about 12 years to pay off the loan, but the bank, and all of us, have arranged the whole thing. To just make a lot of money in a short amount of time, you need to do other things: trade, construction, anything really, as long as it’s not just cinematography, which still takes time and is a very complicated process. In any case, we have to make bank payments every quarter now, so the studio is working very hard.

A.Y.: What projects are you working on now?
Now, “Glavkino” is divided into two companies – there is a management company, which is involved with building the second phase of our complex, and the production center, which is making films. And we recently presented our /p382Unfortunately, it is rather difficult to regard Russian film production as a business first film, “August 8th”. You know, athletes usually want to work out using different training equipment. In essence, we want to do the same thing by making different types of movies; we want to produce large commercial movies and small festival films at the same time. We have set ourselves to one task – to make movies which will interest our audience. In order for this to be true, each film has to have something important in it, and it should touch the very souls of its viewers. We have already worked out a lot of interesting arrangements, including the production of a global blockbuster, which is a joint project with Hollywood in Russia, where “Glavkino” will be the main production base.

Y.P.: What do you think about Hollywood and American in general? Can you relate to the American culture and film industry?
Well, in my opinion, many values and strong concepts, which are sometimes unacceptable, are oversimplified in America. The United States set behavioral standards for many other countries, not just for its citizens, and I cannot really relate to those standards of light simplification. But I have great respect for the country for many reasons; for example, Americans have united national values, which is something Russia do not have enough of now. But American cinema is a different world. The movie industry in America is ruled by global men, and I genuinely respect these people. I believe that everyone can learn many good things from them. Hollywood is a great American achievement and a pillar of global culture as well. I personally feel inspired, revitalized, and motivated to move forward in my own movie career after watching Western movies.

A.Y.: Which film genre do you prefer?
Personally, I enjoy movies that make me feel new and unexpected emotions, which penetrate and temporarily become part of who you are. The most powerful films build me as a person and make it fun at the same time.

Y.P.: But professionally, your interests are different, is that correct?
On a professional level, it is certainly interesting for me to understand how to make a big commercial movie, one that attracts millions of viewers and becomes a classic. I believe that there is a real art involved in making a blockbuster where some of the lines, or even the whole psychological structure of the story sometimes, become “catch phrases” that are used in everyday life for years to come. For example, anyone can quote Arnold Schwarzenegger’s lines from “Terminator” in almost any situation.

A.Y.: “I’ll be back!”
Yes, exactly! That is a movie that really interests me from a professional point of view.

A.Y.: Do you go to the cinema?
Of course! I go to the cinema when I’m in a festive mood. I even go see films that are not really my taste. In my opinion, though, national cinema should strive to create a clear understanding that every movie needs to meet certain Russian standards. And in order to do this, there needs to be some sort of honor code for Russian filmmakers. When going to movie theaters, people should know they are going to see movies only of the highest quality. “Glavkino” aims to make movies that will develop our standards of national cinema, and make the audience respect and trust it. It is important to us that our viewers will not regret watching one of our movies.

Y.P.: What else do you do in your spare time apart from watching movies? Do you like to travel?
I do, but I don’t usually have much time to travel. I try not to complicate my life by trying to do everything at once. For example, if I have no chance to travel extensively in my lifetime, because I am involved in some interesting project, I will not regret it. But right now, I know that there will be time to start traveling later, and things will be different. Unfortunately, though, I haven’t been able to travel much recently.

Y.P.: Do you buy clothes abroad?
Not necessarily abroad – I buy clothes in Moscow too. You can find some interesting clothes here, if you know where they are.

A.Y.: What style of clothes do you prefer?
I trust my taste. There is no regularity in my style, but I do not like dullness or straightforward, everyday clothing, so I keep that in mind when I select my clothes. For example, I will never wear banal, classic-cut jackets and ties. I believe that clothing should be an aesthetic message about its wearer.

Y.P.: Do you spend a lot of money on clothes?
Yes, good clothes are expensive – not just clothes of impeccable quality, but clothes that also have a spark of creativity, a complex and vivid perception of the designer’s world. This unique touch makes individual and personalized clothes different from mass-produced clothing. I do not like being average in anything, whether it is taste in art of clothes. And my favorite designers are probably the Japanese.

A.Y.: What about your tattoo? Is it also some kind of message?
I believe that a tattoo should be in harmony with the inner world of a person. He or she should be comfortable with it. I see that you (Yulia) also have a tattoo. I do not know what it means, but it looks very harmonious with the image you present!

Y.P.: Thank you! These characters mean “power, music, success!”
I really like Japanese style tattoos – they are both aesthetically pleasing and have multi-layer meanings.

A.Y.: What does your tattoo mean?
I have carps and dragons, which has a specific mean. For me, it is a set of qualities that I would like to fix. It is a message for myself, more so than the outside world. I have had this tattoo for 12 years now, and I have never regretted getting it.

A.Y.: Do you do sports?
Sports are an important part of my life, which enables me to switch off from work and relax. People deal with pressure differently to compensate for the workload they receive every day. I play sports to get rid of that pressure. I am the master of athletic sports, and I previously did “triple-jumping”. Now, whenever I have the chance, I ski and motorcross.

A.Y.: So you are a biker? What kind of bike do you have?
I have a lot of bikes. The coolest bike in my collection is a Ducati StreetFighter 848. It is an incredibly beautiful bike, and every time I look at it, my soul rejoices! I love to ride it at night in Moscow, and drive it really hard!

Y.P.: Your professional work also relates to sports – you are in charge of the Olympic Ceremonies in 2014.
For me, this project began with the raising of the flag in Vancouver, which I produced. Everything was perfect, and as the host country for the next Olympic Games, it was a good way of presenting Russia with pride and nostalgia to the rest of the world When we introduce the new Russia, we want to show that we are part of the world, that we do not oppose anyone, that we have contributed greatly to the fields of world science and sports, and that we have a great cultural heritage. And of course, much of our technology will be shown for the first time.

Foto: Dedenev Ivan