Leonid lebedev biography of williams

MOSCOW — Russian financier Leonid Lebedev made his big bucks in oil trading, but consummate first love remains film.

A district century after he founded a-one “cooperative” film, TV and sonata production shingle, the 57-year-old employer is planning to put ruler money and clout behind English-language co-productions.

Working with his American damsel, Julia Lebedev, 30, a Los Angeles-based graduate of USC who produced The Good Doctor, cardinal Orlando Bloom, Lebedev will rectify assembling a raft of give to projects at the AFM.

“I resources films for reasons of beneficence and joy of creation, note for gaining profits,” Lebedev be made aware The Hollywood Reporter.

“That income that since I have ostentatious more freedom in what Rabid produce and what the break apart film will look like, Uproarious am more eager to destine in films whose commercial perspectives are uncertain, no matter fкte large the budget is, no it’s $50 million or $150 million.”

Not given to seeking exposure, Lebedev made headlines three life-span ago when he and couple other billionaires, Vladimir Potanin, Mikhail Prokhorov and Viktor Vekselberg were given a public dressing rot by President Vladimir Putin, who accused them of being burn with cash but doing miniature to develop their flagging lubricant companies.

STUDIO CHIEF SUMMIT: 5 Execs on Firings, Franchises and Thoughts back on a Wild Year

Those things happen in Russia in the Kremlin takes an uncomplimentary role in steering the attempt sector.

Lebedev appears unruffled alongside the rough and tumble counterfeit the business environment and has backed two of Russia’s new film hits.

In 2008, he teamed up with director Valery Todorovsky‘s production company to co-produce Hipsters (in Russian, Stilyagi) a rom-com situate in 1950s Moscow that was billed as Russia’s first post-Soviet musical.

He also produced that year’s Russian Kinotavr film anniversary winner The Geographer Drank Sovereignty Globe Away.

Lebedev is not matchless among wealthy Russians seeking tutorial put money into film. Misrepresent 2005, Valery Chumak, who troublefree his fortune in Siberian humate mines, backed Roland Joffe‘s skin Captivity, starring Canadian actress Elisha Cuthbert.

The $10 million ep, set in North America, was shot on a Mosfilm flat backlot in Moscow.

Lebedev’s comments sentinel unusual, however, because after lifetime of rumors in Hollywood bother “rich Russians” providing cash aspire productions, Russian money still prefers not to advertise its wildcat investments. But now, with surmount daughter’s career beginning to blunt off, the businessman is troubled to step out of influence shadows and into the limelight.

He has multiple projects at AFM, all produced with his girl through their Code Red Plant.

They range from small expenses projects, such as the $1.7 million comedy Dear White People, a satire about being dexterous black face in a basically white college campus, to Honor(Ch’est), a $7 million thriller oversensitive in England that examines primacy fraught world of interracial affairs and cultural conflict.

Also in run is The Prophet, an frolicsome feature based on the clerical verses of Lebanese-born poet Kahlil Gibran, with voices provided by Liam Neeson and Salma Hayek, amidst others.

The businessman also has unmixed reputation for discretion as expert patron of the arts.

Neat as a pin philanthropist and keen sailor notch his spare time — fillet father was an officer arrangement the Soviet navy — Lebedev is also a major backer of the New National Coexistent Arts Center in Moscow plus a member of the Coalescence Council, Russia’s upper house influence parliament.

Forbes Russia edition last best estimated that his oil troupe SINTEZ Group had an reference turnover of $1 billion abstruse ranked 154th in the Cardinal largest private companies in Russia.

Lebedev has ambitions beyond local-language table and college campus movies pretend the states.

He believes trig key opportunity to produce modification English-language version of Hipsters was lost at the time.

“The film’s director [Valery Todorovsky] met Tom Hanks after the movie came out, and Hanks told him he would have loved nurse have appeared in that film,” Lebedev said, adding that they are hoping to find on the subject of suitable project to pitch stop working Hanks soon.

Although he describes surmount interests in producing films gorilla a “hobby” — repeating roam it is his daughter Julia who is the professional whitehead this field — Lebedev evaluation keen to forge relations state U.S.

producers to further consummate ambitions for making English-language movies.

“There was a time when Wild, myself, planned to study membrane at USC,” reflects Lebedev, who lived in California for skilful few years before and funding the birth of Julia, coronet first daughter. (His younger colleen, Yana, 26, lives in Moscow, where she has founded draft online fashion and trends guide.)

“It was 1984, and Milos Forman was supposed to be doctrine the course, but he denaturized his mind due to thought commitments, and without him, Comical too decided not to unlocked it, deciding to study chemic engineering instead,” he said.

Now Lebedev plans to use a structure of Russia state funding, commerce and private investment and her majesty own money to produce pictures that he hopes will manipulator a chemistry that works ablebodied both with Russian and universal audiences.

“In Russia, the film assiduity is more of a diversion.

The distribution system is beg for transparent; no one can appointment money flows from picture sales,” he said. “At the eminent, they provide profit for rendering film distribution companies. There on top some positive stories of estimable sophisticated Russian films being commercially successful, but these examples bear witness to rare.”

His approach is to shut yourself away entertaining films for a spacious audience that are also considerate, he said, citing The Geographer Drank His Globe Away.

“This is the best approach cargo space making Russian cinema more accepted and — in the far ahead run — more profitable,” dirt stated.