Marius Weisberg. Marius Weisberg: “I will make a good Jewish dad - Natasha does not give the impression of a home girl

I congratulate you on the premiere of the film "Grandmothers of Easy Virtue". In whose head was born the enchanting scenario about a swindler hiding in the form of a grandmother from bandits in a nursing home?

Marius: The idea was proposed by Sasha Revva, who loves to transform. He told me all the time: "Marius, let's do something together, I have an idea - I'm a grandmother, I end up in a nursing home." To be honest, for a long time I did not know how to approach this story. At some point, I realized that if you make him not quite an old grandmother, but one like Barbara Streisand, and take Sasha’s mother as a prototype, then you can get a very funny, fashionable and fresh story. I began to work on the script, and for a long time we brought it to the standard. It is clear that there is nothing new in the concept itself, because the artists have been dressing up as women since the days of “Only Girls in Jazz”. The hardest part was making a really fresh film on an old theme.

- What do you remember about the shooting?

Marius: For me it was an extremely difficult film from a technical and production point of view. There are a lot of tricks in it, plastic make-up, which took two and a half hours of a shooting day, a lot of objects, elderly artists. Moreover, we started shooting in the fall, and it instantly, almost two weeks after the start of filming, turned into a fierce winter.

Natasha: With rain, hail, blizzard and frost ...

Marius: In the scene where Natasha leaves the entrance with a suitcase, we literally had to break, melt the ice, remove snow from under our feet and cover the ground with golden leaves.

Natasha: A piece of autumn was recreated in the courtyard, and it was winter around, and I was standing in a summer coat, waiting for Sasha Revva. Or there was a scene after which I came down with a sore throat - where I get out into the hatch of a car flying into the cold at breakneck speed. I asked Sasha not to accelerate, but he was driving 70 km/h. I have a bottle of champagne that almost freezes, sticks to my hand, wild cold, and I shout: “We are happy, we are rich!” There are two blankets wound on the back - it’s not easy to stick out of the hatch of a car at such a speed when you are simply nailed to the hatch by the wind. They did several takes, and as a result, a big bruise formed on my back, no blankets could save me.

- Did you work together for the first time as a director and an actress?

Natasha: Yes. By the way, when Marius and I met, it turned out that I watched his films, but did not know that he was their director. He saw me somewhere, but did not understand that I was an actress. It so happened that we first began a personal relationship. And only then, after a while, Marius began to try me on his projects.

Marius: Natasha turned out to be a wonderful comedic actress. Honestly, unexpectedly, in my opinion, even for herself.

Natasha: In "Grandmother of easy virtue" I have a small role, but bright enough. I play the accomplice of a swindler - the hero of Sasha Revva, I try to throw him for money. And Marius only later, after the completion of filming, realized that comedy was mine, and I understood this too. And in January, another film by Marius is released - "Night Shift", where I have the main role. I play stripper there. For the sake of this project, I learned to dance on the pole.

- Marius, I remember you said not so long ago that you were going to make a thriller. Ready to change your favorite genre - comedy?

Marius: The story is completely unique. I ran after this Hollywood script for four years, tried to buy the Russian-language rights to it. And finally, the writer gave me the rights to a Russian-language remake. Shooting will start next spring. Sasha Petrov will play the main role, I also want to invite Evgeny Mironov. I haven’t decided on the heroine yet: the producers are talking about Sasha Bortich, in principle I don’t mind - I like the actress Bortich.

- What is the story about? Already have a name?

Marius: The movie is called Down. A story about two young happy newlyweds who are waiting for their honeymoon. The guys run into the registry office, sign, then run for money to dad - a girl from a wealthy family, happy, kissing, filming each other on an iPhone - in general, complete happiness. They run into the elevator of a skyscraper, and a third man enters with them. They go down in an elevator and get stuck on some floor, the three of them in this elevator, they are late for the plane. At first, all the chuckles are chuckles, they try to get through to the dispatcher, but at some point they realize that they got stuck for a reason and that this man was with them for a reason ... I liked this story first of all because I somehow managed to bring it out during adaptation her into a dramatic plane. That is, I hope that I can create a sense of drama, with a philosophical background about what a family is, what true love is, how it differs from the first happy family year when butterflies in the stomach.

Two halves of one whole

- Probably, it is difficult to be together all the time, both at work and at home?

Natasha: We are two Aries, in many ways very similar, and lately we often understand each other without words. Marius can say: “You know, it seems to me that this is where you need it, you can hang it here ...”. I say, “Okay,” without asking too many questions, because I understand what he is talking about. That is, we think in unison, live, work, love. For me, the family is a priority, despite the fact that the work is in full swing and the character is not easy, but Marius treats this with understanding. I am hyperactive, and, unfortunately, I don’t cook at all, for me the kitchen is something very alien ... A year ago, I still promised myself to learn, but everything got even worse - I cook scrambled eggs, they burn me. I have completely forgotten how, although I do some attempts, I try. Marius says to me: "Well, I poured oatmeal, poured it with boiling water, here's your breakfast." So I will definitely burn myself, or fill it with cold water, because I forgot to press the button on the kettle to make it boil. I mean, not mine at all. I am grateful to Marius that he treats this with understanding. Otherwise, I can do anything: I organize life in full, the garbage is thrown out on time, cleaning the house, everything is clean, ironed, washed.

Natalia: I don't cook at all, for me the kitchen is something alien. But Marius is sympathetic to this. Photo: Andrey Salov

- That is, you are an ideal hostess in everything except cooking.

Marius: She is the perfect top manager of the household (laughs). But for me it is not so important. That is, of course, it is important, but I understand that there are no ideal people.

- Maybe Marius cooks wonderfully?

Natasha: He doesn’t cook either, well, this is not our story. Nobody cooks with us, but we are so beautiful and slender, we don’t bother with the topic of food at all.
Marius: In general, I think one should do what brings pleasure, truly inspires. A person who loves to cook, he comes to the store and thinks: "But this will go well with this, and now I'll add this." Cooking is an absolutely creative process. Natasha cannot be forcibly realized in the kitchen, she is realized in another. For me, family is not necessarily cooking. If this aspect did not work out for my beloved woman, for me it is not a tragedy at all. There are other things in which she is beautiful, as a wife.

- What Natasha's talents will you note?

Marius: Firstly, she is an absolutely brilliant repair engineer, she has golden hands. For example, Natasha can easily assemble a closet, design a kitchen, her hands are shaking, she likes it so much. And I can’t even come close to this, I don’t understand where and what to twist. He does not know where our tools are at home - a screwdriver, a drill. Natasha has engineering thinking, she could be a very cool architect.

Natasha: Just yesterday I collected three bookcases. Although there are masters, but I take away their work, I say, “You twist it crookedly, slowly, I’d rather do it myself.”
Marius: And then, she is a devoted person, whom I completely trust, with whom we have absolutely the same worldview. And this is much more important to me than cooking. She and I really, as they say, live soul to soul, we understand what anyone likes, without intruding into each other's space when it is not necessary. We have found a certain harmony and symbiosis, and at the same time we live a really happy, healthy and friendly family. This is the first time in my life.

- I wonder what was the longest parting of yours?

Natasha: Marius recently went to Vyborg for a festival for two whole days, I missed him so much.

Marius: Well, we parted for a long time when Natasha was pregnant and lived in our house in Los Angeles, and I worked here in Russia

- Some couples say that it is necessary to part, it is very useful for relationships.

Natasha: I used to think so too, but now I can’t understand why it is necessary to leave? But all the same, we part during the day - he goes to sports, I go to sports, he goes somewhere and I go about my business. But we don’t have such that we get tired of each other, we feel good together. We have the feeling that we, like puzzles, in a sense, complement each other, like two halves.

Marius: I have never had such a good time with a person… What can you rest from when you are not tired? Moreover, I know what it is to get tired of a person. When he has a different energy, a slightly different worldview, and so on, then either she or you have to adjust all the time, and this happens very often.

Natasha: We do not load each other, we can be close and silent, hugging, but at the same time everyone works, is busy with something of his own, I read, he does something. I can mess around in the kitchen, assemble another cupboard, for example, Marius is editing his movie, but, nevertheless, the feeling that we are nearby is there, and this makes it good and comfortable. We do not hammer each other, that if we met, we must definitely solve some problems. Because I also have such a trait and Marius has it, but somehow we don’t have any problems.

Marius: Natasha and I have the same worldview, and this is much more important to me than cooking. Photo: Andrey Salov

- So, in past relationships, these problems arose?

There were. That is, we met: “So, we need to decide this, do something about it.” Constantly such conversations among people, and about jealousy, and about life, and about something else. We do not have this at all and, thank God, because we have neither the time nor the desire for this. Everyone has such a crazy life now, would find time, just hugging silently.

director's wife

Natasha, as the director's wife, do you have the right, as they say, on the first night - to read the script first, to choose a role for yourself?
Natasha: No, I don't want to choose my role just because I'm a wife. And I also tell Marius this. I read the script and go to the audition, like everyone else. Although everyone says to me, "What's wrong with that, all directors film their wives." I will not be offended if he gives the role to another actress, and even more than that, I even offer him actresses.

Marius: Yes, she helps me a lot with casting.

Natasha: I help with the casting, I already know all the actors, and many of his acquaintances are in the lead roles. Because it is important for me that Marius has a successful project. There are roles that do not suit me, or I don’t want to, or I can’t play them, or even I’m afraid. There may be different situations. And then, I would not want him to have some kind of restriction - a wife ...

Marius: And I can’t really imagine that I will shoot her in explicit scenes ... I have serious love lines where I need two people to have fire, romance. With Natasha, I will be uncomfortable, I won’t be able to invest in it myself, I won’t be able to really direct it.
- Does everything have to be real for you?

Marius: Yes. And here, firstly, for the actor - this is my wife, that is, he already plays in a completely different way. It turns out that there is a complete conflict of interest inside.

Natasha: Of course, I don't want to be a part of it either. That it was to the detriment of the film or to the detriment of the relationship. Who needs these unnecessary emotions.

Marius: But I understand, of course, that she is an actress, this cannot be avoided, but I myself am not going to take part in this. Natasha consults with me in any case, but we have no taboos or prohibitions.

Natasha: We have, as it were, by default in the family such an agreement: you are wise. Everyone is responsible for himself, but everyone understands in his head how clean he is internally. In comedy, everything is easy, there are basically no such passions, after all, the genre is different. But now I would not want to play some kind of difficult relationship, love, passion. I’m not ready to act in this, because I don’t know how to act and not feel, I completely immerse myself in the role. But I do not want to experience all this, because it will be contrary to my family values. There is quite a lot of other work, a different genre, where you don’t have to break yourself in something and hurt a loved one.

Achieved two years

- Readers, of course, want to know the history of your acquaintance. Who has his eyes on whom?

Marius: I've had my eye on Natasha for a long time. Although, we did not know each other, I just saw her in photographs, maybe on TV once. Been texting her for a while, trying to ask her out, set up a work meeting, whatever, just wanted to get to know her. I came up with various reasons, but for a couple of years there was complete silence. I thought - in a relationship, probably living with someone, and I didn't want to get involved. But unobtrusively, once every six months, he wrote something, you never know, suddenly the situation will change ... Then we finally met.

Natasha: We met in person at a party two years ago. I remember we were sitting with girlfriends, and someone dragged Marius to our women's table. He sat, looked at me carefully and said goodbye, "I'll write to you again."

Marius: Yes, she didn't answer me.

Natalya: we are two Aries, we are similar in many ways, and lately we often understand each other without words. Photo: Andrey Salov

Why were they ignored?

Natasha: Firstly, I had a relationship, and secondly, I never met on the Internet at all. I have never been attracted by prospects, neither directing, nor money, none, it doesn’t matter to me. I have only this: I saw, I was hooked, that's all. But still, fate brought us together.

- Marius wrote again, and you still answered?

Natasha: Wrote. I already realized that it wouldn’t work out directly, I started sending me scripts, and I told him: “This is a small role, I won’t play it.” But he behaved so gallantly, wrote so kindly, and called for his birthday, and already called everywhere. And most importantly, unobtrusively, but regularly. And I decided that I still need to pay attention to this. She wrote: “Well, okay, we can drink tea, just talk about work.” We met and sat on our first date for six hours, the restaurant was closed, we were expelled from there, and we could not talk enough. Everything is in a heap: about work, and about prospects, and about hopes, and about dreams, and in general about everything. And there were five such dates, we sat for five or six hours, we could not close our mouths for a second, and then we no longer parted.

Marius: I went to Kyiv to shoot a movie, we talked on the phone, I flew in as soon as I could, for one day. It was such a beautiful story.

Natasha: He generally flew in in the morning, flew away in the evening, walked with me during the day and left. I was in Kyiv, and constantly sent flowers with postcards. I was regularly called by an unfamiliar number, I picked up the phone and heard: “Hello, where do you deliver the flowers?”. And all the time there were such romantic cards if I got sick or something. All of them I have kept.

- For you, the most valuable quality in Marius, his main character trait that won you over?

Natasha: He is warm and he is responsible. This is something that I very rarely see in people. That is, if Marius said, he will do it. In addition, he is well-mannered, very kind, sympathetic, he will always regret. If there is any problem, he will help. If I get sick, he will run all over Moscow to buy medicines. In general, for me, he is the perfect man.

- All these qualities were influenced by the fact that Marius has been living in America for more than 20 years?

Natasha: Yes, there is merit in that. Because many Russian men are constantly looking for, it seems to me, some kind of trick: “Where is the poop?”. We all live like this: “Now something will happen.” But this is not the case in Marius, he always believes in everyone, looks at the world with open eyes. And he has no figs in his pocket. I also began to learn this from him, and I’m already scared, because I, too, become the same, kindness absorbs, and everyone already seems good to you.

Natalia: Marius took me to Hawaii and proposed there. It was so cool, just magical! Photo: Andrey Salov

- Where do you spend most of your time, where is your home now?

Marius: We used to live in Los Angeles for a long time, but now there is a lot of work here. Since we settled in Moscow for half a year, we have been equipping an apartment, finishing building a dacha.

wedding is not far off

- A year ago there was information that Marius proposed, and you are preparing for the wedding. But there is still no word about the wedding itself. Are you still married or not?

Marius: No, we are not married, but we will definitely get married. This year turned out to be very difficult at work, we simply do not have time physically.

Natasha: Marius took me to Hawaii and made a very nice proposal there. It was so cool, just magical. For me, this is a very personal moment, I told very few people about it. I just posted a photo on Instagram that day with the date and wrote: “Let this stay here.” We have already bought the rings, but so far there is absolutely no time.

Marius: We choose a place in Moscow, shoot ourselves. After all, it is necessary to organize everything really well, to gather all the friends. And now we have a lot of things: a dacha outside the city was built, repairs in the apartment, work. But we don’t have anything that we need urgently, urgently, we have nowhere to rush, because everything is great with us anyway. On the contrary, there will be something to look forward to.

Natasha: We are not in a hurry. The wedding will not run away from us, the rings are lying, it remains only to call friends. I'm in no hurry because I'm the bride. Every day I wake up as a bride. I prolong my pleasure. And it's so cool.

They wanted a daughter, but an awesome son was born

- And why has no one seen your son, Weisberg Jr., where you have been hiding him for the second year already? What's his name?

Natasha: They named him Eric, in honor of Papa Marius. And our godfather is Pasha Derevyanko, our great friend. We do not specifically hide our son, we will definitely show it, but we are waiting for some special occasion and moment for this. We already have almost our whole life in public, everyone sees everything, everyone knows everything. Somehow I want to have something of my own, so that the child does not have to be terrorized by these photographs. Because this is his world, to which we treat warmly and reverently.

- Tell us about Eric, what is he, who does he look like?

Natasha: Oh, he's so cool, just an angel. To be honest, sometimes I'm even afraid to show it to my friends. Although I am not superstitious, I think that people are all different, and there are not very kind people. I don't want any negativity towards the baby. He's so cool with us! He looks like Marius, a real dad's son. Smiling, laughing all the time. Now Marius will show you.

Marius flips through his phone photos of a charming blond toddler with long wavy hair. Little Eric is very similar to his dad, but his eyes are bright blue - he has exactly his mother's.

Marius: when I met Natasha, I immediately realized that this is the woman with whom I want both a child and everything else. Photo: Andrey Salov

Marius: We have a wonderful child. But it is still so small, so defenseless that it is very scary to destroy that idyll where the child is in a cocoon of happiness and love ... He is happy, smiling, he is, pah, pah, pah, healthy. And that's why, why should we publish his photo? I do not think that a small child should be taken somewhere, shown, because for him it is stress ... Let him mature a little, take shape. When we came with him from America, Eric was just a baby, and now I look at him and see that he has already become stronger, he is already such an independent man, he walks by himself. Now it’s already comfortable for me to go somewhere with him, take him with me so that he can talk to someone. A wonderful grandmother, Natasha's mother, helps us a lot. Soon my mother will come to help.

- Did you immediately want a child, or did this news become pleasant, but unexpected?

Marius: To be honest, we didn't plan anything, it just happened. But we treated each other so tenderly and touchingly that we could not imagine that now we would do something other than give birth. In general, when I met Natasha, I immediately realized that this is the woman with whom I want both a child and everything else. Maybe, again, because we are two Aries, everything is quite organic with us. We do not plan anything, we do not force anything. But we value some main things, treat them with care, so as not to offend each other, in no case offend, we protect each other emotionally. The son is now the most important thing for us, as they say, our main common project. In Spain we conceived it. And after some time, Natasha says to me: “Imagine ...”. I exclaimed: “What a thrill!”. And that's all. By and large, everything turned out so naturally that we didn’t have any dilemmas, we did it, we gave birth, we are growing now.

- It was important for you who will be born, a boy, girls, or is it all the same?

Marius: Both wanted a girl, but an awesome boy was born, and now I can’t even imagine that it could not be him ...

- Well, probably, you won’t stop at one child?

Natasha: I just want Marius to get fat next time, give birth, then lose weight (laughs).

"Grandmother of easy virtue" is already in the cinema

Marius Weisberg

The first thing that attracts in Marius Weisberg is his charm and cheerfulness. For a long time, the director lived in Hollywood, and gave the Russian audience such comedy films as Love in the City, franchises about "dating" and "Hitler Kaput!". In addition to his work in secular circles, Marius is known as a conqueror of women's hearts. But actress Natalya Bardo has become much more than just a hobby. The director is ready to offer both his hand and his heart to his beloved woman.

In this case one wants to exclaim: how small the world is! Last summer, we talked with Natalia, did a big interview. The actress spoke tenderly about the man she was in love with, but did not name him. Then we could not even think that we are talking about Marius Weisberg. However, at the GQ Man of the Year ceremony, the director appeared with Natalia Bardo. “Everything is serious and exclusive with us,” they commented, laughing. And skeptics soon became convinced that this was indeed the case. It seems that on the eve of his 45th birthday, Marius finally found his love. And he is ready not only to become an exemplary family man, but also ... a caring father.

- Marius, first of all, what is an indicator of success for you?

- Success is for me self-realization, a sense of satisfaction from my own progress. Not how people perceive you, but precisely your own feeling of how you meet the requirements that you place in relation to yourself.

— Your father, Eric Weisberg, was a famous film producer, worked with legendary directors. Did you choose your profession under his influence?

- Yes. My father was the director of several films by Andrei Tarkovsky, including The Mirror, Andrei Rublev, Sergei Bondarchuk. Our families were friends with the Mikhalkovs and Andron Konchalovsky. I grew up on film sets. Of course, this profession seemed fabulous to me. In addition, I am a humanist by nature: I was good at languages, I wrote poetry, literature was one of my favorite subjects.

Was it not scary to embark on this path when you see talents of such magnitude nearby?

“I was a very confident young man. (Laughs.) And this bravado helped in the early stages of life. But, of course, there were concerns. Firstly, they were caused by the pope himself: he, like no one else, understood all the responsibility that this profession imposes, and the level of competition in it. Directors have great nervous and physical stress, as a result, health problems. Like any Jewish dad, he tried to warn me, to save me from stress. But I was very stubborn, I am Aries by the sign of the zodiac, so I listened and listened, but did everything in my own way.

- Did you immediately enter VGIK?

- I myself went through the first two rounds. He acted under his mother's surname Balchyunas. Dad didn’t even know that I had applied there. But at some stage, Vladimir Naumovich (Vladimir Naumov, head of the course. - Approx. Aut.) found out that I was the son of Weisberg, from a film family. They told me: why were you silent? And after that, everything got easier. But dad was very impressed that I went through these two tours myself.

- And why did you start this intrigue? Would you like to test your strength?

Yes, I didn't want my dad to know about it. Because it turned out that in this way I kind of ask him for help. And I wanted to prove that I can do it myself. To some extent, I succeeded.

- Then the halo of the romance of the profession faded?

- No, because everything worked out for me, like in a movie. I studied at VGIK with pleasure, and Vladimir Naumovich believed that I had great potential. But it so happened that in the summer I had an internship with my father in Andron Konchalovsky's painting "Inner Circle" and met actress Lolita Davidovich there. Her fiance, Ron Shelton, came to her, we became friends. I showed him some of my VGIK work, and he invited me to work as an assistant on his film White Men Can't Jump.

— To Hollywood?

- Yes. I asked Naumov for academic leave. He said: I will give it to you with pleasure and take it back to the course if you come, but you will not return. And so it happened. I left and ended up in a big Hollywood production. It was 1991. For me, an unspoiled guy from the Soviet Union, everything was like in a fairy tale: bright, interesting, breathtaking. I understood that I could learn a lot here, and I tried very hard. I watched how Ron works, how he communicates with artists, producers, heads of film studios. I knew English decently, so I understood everything well and absorbed it like a sponge. They also reacted to me with interest, because I was a kind of curiosity for them - a guy from the Soviet perestroika space. It was a very positive, wonderful period in my life, and I cannot say that any illusions about the profession were dispelled. Then I went to the School of Cinematography and Television in Southern California, everything was magical there too.

- From Moscow in 1991 to get to Hollywood is, of course, a strong shock. What struck you the most?

- All! The contrast was so striking in all aspects of life: completely different colors, culture, way of life. But first of all, I was struck by the attitude of people to work. In our country, in intellectual circles, comedy as a genre is perceived condescendingly. This goes back to Soviet times, when Gaidai's paintings were considered "below the plinth". The film that I worked on with Ron was also a comedy, but everyone was very respectful and responsible about the process. Every joke, every comedic display — everything was so polished, so much money invested — of course I was impressed. There was no such thing in Russia then. Now the boundaries are blurred. When I'm in Hollywood's mid-budget venues, they remind me of my own set, I can't say there's an abyss between them. But most importantly, Hollywood instilled in me a professional, serious attitude to the comedy genre.

- You did not have to conquer Hollywood, like many emigrants. You were immediately invited to work ...

— Well, the job was actually not the most glamorous. I was the director's personal assistant and was engaged in driving his car, bringing coffee, taking some things to the laundry. (Laughs.) But nevertheless, I understood that I was very lucky. I didn't have a work permit. I was paid in cash under the table - three hundred dollars a week, crazy money in those days. And I understood that I had a unique chance to learn something in the profession. I can’t say that I got into the director’s chair straight from the plane, but, probably, fate was more favorable to me than to other emigrants trying to break into Hollywood.

- When did you get your first success?

- I made a film with Christina Ritchie "No Places", he won many prizes at various film festivals, including Moscow. And, I remember, I'm going from St. Petersburg to Moscow, they call me from Hollywood and say that Kevin Koestner liked my script. He wants to shoot and is ready to meet in two days! And as soon as I arrived in Moscow, I immediately got on a plane and flew back to Los Angeles to meet with Kevin. It was a milestone event for me. Before that, I worked in independent low-budget films, but then I went to another level, met all the big “Hollywood bigwigs” - agents, producers. I wanted to pinch myself to see if it was a dream.

Has the film been released?

— No, alas. For a couple of months we worked directly with Kevin - we finished the script for him. The film has already passed the preparatory period, but the film producers did not agree on the issue of the fee, as a result, Kevin even sued this company. I also got paid money for the script. There is still a lot of interest in the film. Maybe it's for the best that it wasn't removed at the time. Then there was no question of me directing it myself. And now I can do it.

— What was the reason for your decision to work in Russia?

- Gradually, I began to understand that my path is a comedy. But in Hollywood, in order to compete, you must not only know the language perfectly, but also understand the mentality. After all, humor is closely linked to cultural roots. Yes, I wrote and sold scripts, but at some point I realized that I was competing with people who are here on their own soil. It turns out that already at the start I give them a huge head start. Then a very tragic event happened in my life - my father died. I came to Russia for his funeral and… received an offer to make a Russian-language film. As a result, all this resulted in such a long-playing story.

- The fact that you work in the comedy genre is connected with your character - light, cheerful? Or do you think that the viewer still goes to the cinema for entertainment?

— No, I do not make comedies out of the conviction that cinema exists to entertain a person. In fact, the film is the equivalent of communicating with a person, a director. And we all perceive life differently. If Andrei Zvyagintsev sees everything in gray-cold tones, the same James Brooks, whom I love very much, believes in goodness, in the best in people, in the bright side of their nature. Both of them are very talented masters who impose their point of view on the viewer. My vision of the world is much closer to the vision of James Brooks.

The movie “8 Best Dates” was recently released. There were already "8 ​​first" and "8 new". Why are you filming a sequel and what are these stories about globally for you?

- About faith in the best that is in us: the celebration of love, humanity and freedom of spirit. This is if it is global. As for the dating franchise, all three stories are completely different. If you call them differently, they will be absolutely independent of each other. Especially "The 8 Best Dates" which has nothing to do with the first two even in concept. From my "dates" and "love in the big city" I make a brand that the audience will recognize. The fact is that now a huge number of “plastic” comedy films are being shot in Russia, it becomes difficult to stand out in the market. We came up with this marketing ploy. So that people, when they see a poster with a new film, understand: these are “dates”, they are always funny and pleasant. And, in my opinion, it is not at all necessary that the new picture be a direct continuation of the previous one.

- But the actors are busy the same.

- In the third film, Vera Brezhneva is already playing, and not Oksana Akinshina. And the plot is not connected with waking up in the same bed. If the viewer reacts positively, we will continue to communicate in this way. We will make a fourth film, and a fifth."

Is commercial success an indicator for you that the movie has succeeded?

- Of course. This is not only creativity, but also business. Here I will not open any sensational news. It takes money to make a good film. It costs a lot, and the money must be returned. So financial success is important. Creative success is a much more complex and subjective area. How many people, so many opinions. True, in the case of comedy it is easier: if people laugh, then the film was a success.

Are you sensitive to criticism? Whose opinion is important to you?

- I have long perceived cinema like this: either it is alive or dead. For me, all films fall into these two generalized categories. Zvyagintsev's paintings are not my world, I feel bad in it, but they are alive, so I consider them good. I try to saturate my cinema with life, so that there are emotions, a pulse in it, there is a broadcast of inner freedom. This is the only thing that is objective for me. Everything else is taste. Of course, like any person, I am pleased if my mother liked my film. Or close people whose opinion I care about. In general, I have long been calm about criticism. You can't please everyone, it's a hopeless business.

— Working in Russia, are you trying to implement Hollywood standards?

“I've never been spoiled, I'm not Spielberg. It is he who has been building scenery for two weeks, but he does not like some detail, and he turns around and goes home. I work in the real world. There were some things that needed to be adjusted to. First, everything here is much slower. (Smiling.) Secondly, some professions simply do not exist. For example, a props artist - there was no such profession here when I started. But it made up for it with a lot of shooting time. I shot Love in the City in twenty-three days in New York, and it was stressful for me. I filmed the second part already in Moscow, it was thirty-five days, and this is a huge difference.

- Returning to Russia turned out to be successful for you personally as well. You took your bride, Natasha Bardo, to America...

- Oh yeah! (Laughs.)

Was it love at first sight?

- To be honest, I liked Natasha for a long time. We contacted on social networks, and I really wanted to meet in person. But Natasha did not give me such an opportunity. Politely declined all my tea invitations. (Laughs.) At that time, she had a different relationship. In addition, she knew my reputation and did not want to give advances to such a person ...

- Which one?

- Well, I don’t know how to call myself softer ... (Laughs.) I have a certain reputation, although maybe this is not entirely true. I took Natasha's decision normally, with respect. But then we crossed paths at some event, and then I decided not to miss the chance. (Laughs) After I managed to get her out to a cafe on a date, everything began to develop very quickly. Natasha ideally suited me both in terms of temperament and spiritual qualities, I fell in love with her very much. It's just a miracle that I have acquired such a dear and close person in such a short time. I thank fate for the fact that we wake up together in the morning, like in a movie.

Was it hard to re-educate?

Yes, but not a boy anymore. I understand that you can’t earn such a reputation just like that, there is some truth in this. (Smiling.) But in my heart I always wanted a normal relationship, a family. And when it didn’t work out for me for some reason, I still believed in myself.

- You were already married to an American during your student years.

It was a fictitious marriage. Michelle was a good friend of mine, we had an easy, good relationship. When I needed to get a residence permit in America, she offered her help. But we signed not to start a family.

- Maybe you are one of those men who are attracted to an inaccessible object? And when he is conquered, it becomes uninteresting?

- Well, maybe. All men are hunters by nature. But in the case of Natasha, it turned out differently. I have achieved my goal, but at the same time I am happy and do not want anything else. We've been together for almost a year, which is a long time for me. I do not want to guess, but while we are well, we live and enjoy life.

- An indicator of the seriousness of the relationship is your desire to have a child. This is a huge responsibility. Are you ready for it?

- I'm ready, yes! I think I will make a good Jewish dad, caring and loving. (Laughs.)

Have you already proposed to Natasha?

— Soon. I want it all to be somehow beautiful, like in a movie. So I'm getting ready.

Will the wedding be in America?

We're thinking about it, but we haven't decided yet. I have many friends in Los Angeles and my mother also lives here. But, of course, there are Natasha's parents and friends in Moscow. It's just not possible to bring everyone here. You may have to do two celebrations.

Does Natasha like Los Angeles?

— Yes, it is very nice here, especially in winter. (Laughs.) Plus twenty-three, the ocean is nearby. We live in my house, Natasha and her mother get along very well. Everyone is happy. Natasha already has friends here, she is an active, sociable person. Now she plans to go to Moscow only for work.

- Some directors are categorically against filming their wives, others do just that. Will you help Natasha in her career?

- As with everything in life, I stick to the golden mean. I have absolutely no prejudices about this. I do not think that Natasha should be filmed in absolutely all my films. But she is a talented, beautiful girl - why not invite her if there is a suitable role.

- Natasha does not give the impression of a home girl.

- Yes, it's true, she is aimed at a career. But I did not want such a wife who sits at home. Therefore, I will give her complete freedom to do what she wants, to be realized in the profession, otherwise she will not be happy. And why do I have an unhappy wife?!

Together they have recently, but there are already quite a lot of rumors around their relationship. They are successful people - each in his own business. Film director Marius Weisberg shoots high-profile box office films (“Love in the Big City”, “8 New Dates”), and Natalya Bardo is a successful film actress. Since the story of their love is just beginning, our conversation turned out more like a prelude to something important and very serious.

Photo: Vladimir Vasilchikov

MAryus, Natasha, I suddenly discovered that both of you are hiding under pseudonyms. What or who are you running from?

Marius: I'll correct you a little, Vadim. I don't have an alias. Weissberg is the father's surname. For a long time I lived with my mother's surname - Balchyunas. I decided to change it after the death of my father. He is a very famous person in the cinematographic environment: he worked with Andrei Konchalovsky, Gaidai, Bondarchuk Sr., was the director of several films by Andrei Tarkovsky. Andrei often visited our house when I was a child. I watched all his films, and “Mirror” and “Andrey Rublev”, on which my father worked with Andrei, I just knew by heart as a child ... I lived in America for a long time. And when I started making films in Russia, I wanted to take my father's surname - I'm very proud of him.

Natalia: And I, on the contrary, took my mother's surname - Bardo. It seems to me that for the acting profession it is more sonorous, melodic than Krivozub.

M .: There is nothing wrong with the name Krivozub. Absolutely normal surname. Voiced, memorable.

N: Too catchy. ( smiling.)

In addition to your addiction to changing your last name, what else do you have in common?

N: We have a lot in common. We are both Aries by zodiac sign.

M .: Of course, I don’t really listen to horoscopes, but, frankly, I myself am surprised at how similar we are in temperament, in our views on certain things. For the first time, an Aries woman is next to me. I even sometimes have the feeling that I live with my copy.

You probably met on a professional basis.

N .: We met at a social event. Marius asks: "Actress?" I say yes". And that's it, they parted ways. After some time, they met again, quite by accident, and at that time he was about to shoot the movie "8 New Dates", there were tests. Marius suggested that I play one of the secondary roles, on this basis we got into a conversation, chatted for two or three hours, it seems, about everything in the world. Marius, with such burning eyes, gesticulating, told me how he would shoot, what the scenes should turn out to be. I listen to him and understand: how great - Weisberg, a wonderful director. ( Smiling.) And then ... we sit, look at each other, and I understand: something here is no longer about cinema. I like him, and I feel that he likes me too ... But then there was a rather difficult period in my life. On a personal level?

N .: Yes, I just ended a relationship. And Marius says to me: “What are you doing! You will come to Kyiv, there will be shooting, you will be distracted ... "

M .: The role was actually quite small, but characteristic. I suggested that she play a pretty nurse who misdiagnosed the main character. She was eventually played by Nino Kantaria.

And what happened? Natasha was not satisfied with the volume of the role?

N .: I was a little embarrassed by the fact that the role is very small. I then jokingly told him: “You will have a big role for me, then I will agree ...” But to be sincere, I, as a woman, was very scared then. I was afraid that something serious could start between us.

What is there to be afraid of? Especially if at that time you were free from any obligations?

N .: Morally, I was not ready for a new relationship. So Marius flew off to shoot his movie, and I stayed in Moscow. He later told me that he was worried, because he had one foot there, the other here, with me. By the way, he started courting me when he was filming in Kyiv. He sent letters, flowers, persistently called, we talked on the phone almost all our free time.

M .: Once I specially flew to Moscow for one day.

N .: Even for half a day. We had such a great time! I then believed that this was my man.

Natasha, didn’t it bother you that Marius had a reputation as an anemone? The press wrote a lot about his novels, including about the recent relationship with actress Katya Spitz.

N .: I know too much about him, so I am convinced that Marius is different. Not everything that is said about a person is true. We are all in search of a soul mate, we often get burned, but we continue to believe, search, choose and try. That's life. I have a good intuition, I feel that no matter what happens, I know for sure that this is not a passing stage for us. I don't know how else to say this. But what matters is how we feel. Marius, what do you say?

M .: Yes, they saw bright women next to me, but this is not a reason to hang any labels on me. By and large, I'm not a ladies' man. For eight years I lived in Los Angeles in a civil marriage. I came back already as a bachelor, I existed in this mode, but I never had any harem. Well, then I met Natasha, who suits me perfectly both in terms of temperament and spiritual qualities. On the one hand, she is lively, obstinate, on the other - gentle, docile, caring. On the one hand, sedate, reasonable, on the other - emotional, uncontrolled. This is the first time I've met a woman who has a combination of all these traits. Next to Natasha, I am in a state of imbalance, and I like it. I am interested in her, she is both a loved one and a friend for me.

Aren't you afraid that such a multifaceted girl can be taken away from under your nose?

M .: I'm not used to living in fear, so I don't think about it at all. When everything is good, it is simply impossible to take a person away.

Natasha, you already have experience of family life. Your first husband was twenty years older than you. How long have you lived together?

N: Four and a half years.

Now that you're building a new relationship...

N .: No, I don’t think about previous relationships and don’t compare or analyze anything. Over time, much in life changes, a person becomes wiser, more diplomatic. The truth is, I never learned how to cook. ( smiling.)

Marius, as a creative person, I think this is not very embarrassing.

M: It doesn't bother me at all. I just believe that she will learn and cook at least occasionally. And I also want Natasha to learn English perfectly. It is very important for me.

Explain.

M .: Firstly, I hope to spend a lot of time in Los Angeles, I have a house there. In addition, I plan to shoot films there in the future. I would like to share all my interests with my loved one. I want Natasha to be able to watch movies in the original language and to be able to act in my English-language movies. I want her to read William Faulkner in the original - there is a very rich, rich, figurative language. I wish she could share with me everything that delights me. As for Faulkner, that's great. And you, Marius, asked Natasha a question, why did she go to the Dom-2 project at one time?

M: To be honest, I didn't know about it.

I hope you didn't hear it from me? It's not a terrible secret.

M: No, no. Someone sent me this information, at first I even thought that this was some kind of mistake. I asked Natasha, she told me everything.

N .: Come on, Vadim, I will tell you now to close this topic. There are many embarrassing moments associated with this story. I was eighteen years old. My dad, a European champion in athletics, had a stroke. He fainted and broke his neck. We practically lost it. A lot of money was needed to purchase a device with which dad could be cured. There was no money, my mother worked five jobs, but these funds were not enough, and I studied. I went to Dom-2 after I was told that they paid a salary there. At that time, I was already starring in serials, I gradually had roles. But there were not so many offers, and the question of income stability was then an edge in our family. By the way, then in "House-2" there were no frivolities that appeared later. They signed a contract with me for a certain period, they gave me money. It saved my father. But frankly, people, unfortunately, do not care about motivation, give many just a reason to discuss and condemn. Yes, it was in my life, but everything is in the past. And I don't want to be associated with it anymore.

Marius, I can not yet perceive as a director. I respect what he does, I'm proud of him, but I don't think of him as a director. For me, he is just the real man.

The main thing is that all this does not cause a negative reaction in Marius.

M .: For me, this is an ordinary reality show, I lived for nineteen years in America, where this genre appeared quite a long time ago. So I don't see anything wrong with that. What worries me much more is that Natasha gets nervous when this topic comes up again and again.

Well, Natasha is probably hardened, she was seriously involved in sports.

N .: There were attempts, because dad is an athlete. I did rhythmic gymnastics at the sports school of the Olympic reserve. Sports hardened me, yes. I set such standards for myself that I can pole vault very high, figuratively speaking. If I set a goal, then by hook or by crook I will achieve it.

Now you have your own director, which is very convenient for realizing your acting ambitions.

N: Of course! I just dreamed of acting in a comedy ( turns to Marius). Kidding. By the way, I cannot yet perceive Marius as a director. I respect what he does, I'm proud of him, but I don't think of him as a director. For me, he is just a real man, very punctual and responsible. Although there is a stereotype that the director is necessarily an unassembled person, the wind is in the head, you can’t cook porridge with him ... This is the first time I hear about such a stereotype. Well, now I will know. But after all, you, Natasha, still don’t cook porridge for the director Weisberg - regardless of whether he is responsible or irresponsible.

N .: I cooked buckwheat once. And when he was sick, I even cooked rice, but he didn’t succeed a little. ( friendly laughter.)

M .: Yes, she managed to cook it wrong. I just love her. ( Laugh.)

Natasha, as I understand it, you always wanted to be an actress. Why didn’t you immediately follow this path, but first studied at a mathematical school?

N .: Because my mother dreamed that I would be engaged in a serious business. To work from nine to six and get paid on time. When I entered the theater, my mother and I agreed: “If I don’t work out with filming, I will become an economist. But please, give me the opportunity to try to do what is really dear to me!” At first, I went to the Shchukin Institute as a free student and subsequently spent twenty-four hours a day there.

Tell me, did your parents tightly control you, or did you grow up as a free bird?

N: My parents separated when I was little. Mom worked a lot, but, despite the load, she surrounded me with crazy love and care, which only she can share with me. I am proud of it, I have a special connection with her. Mom is my friend.

Marius, how did you grow up? Cinematic family, bohemian world...

M .: I wanted to follow in my father's footsteps, to do cinema, but my parents assigned me to the Institute of Foreign Languages, considering this a guarantee of some kind of stability, reliability. I have always had an aptitude for foreign languages. I entered the foreign language, I studied there wonderfully, but secretly from my parents I applied to the directing department of VGIK to Vladimir Naumov. I was then seventeen years old. Naumov later said: “Why didn’t you say that you are the son of Weisberg?” But I wanted to test myself, I wanted everything to be honest. But at VGIK, I also did not study well, although Naumov treated me warmly. It so happened that I was invited to Hollywood. And I said to Vladimir Naumovich: “Can I take an academic leave? I go back and forth." He says, "You're not going anywhere. Though I'll be waiting for you." It was the 91st year. “Invited to Hollywood” sounds beautiful and intriguing. What was it?

M .: I was invited to work as an assistant to director Ron Shelton in the film "White Men Can't Jump." This is a comedy, just the genre in which I myself really like to work.

And what, in America there is such an acute shortage of assistants, since they turned to you, a Muscovite?

M .: No, it just coincided. While studying at VGIK, I had an internship in the summer on the set of Andrei Konchalovsky's film, which was produced by my father. The film was called The Inner Circle. I already knew English well then, and the actress who played the main character, Lolita Davidovich, asked me to be assigned to her as an assistant translator. We became very good friends, and during the filming, her future fiancé, the famous director Ron Shelton, came to her. I showed him some of my VGIK works, he liked them, and he advised me to go to study in Los Angeles. And I just dreamed about it. As a result, Ron called me and invited me to fly in and work on his new project as a personal assistant. For me it was a tremendous experience. As a result, I graduated from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, one of the best film schools in the world.

Have you had any success in America?

N .: He worked with Angelina Jolie.

M: There is such a story. I studied with her brother James Haven. We were obliged to involve each other in student work. For some reason, he fell in love with me as an actor and always filmed. And then one night James called me and said: “Can you help me out? I have shooting at eight in the morning, the actor “flew off”. Come ... ”And I didn’t sleep at all: student life, we buzzed all night. As a result, I arrive at the office of Jon Voight, they already put the light there. And James says to me: “You play a psychiatrist. You sit on that couch, say whatever you want, it doesn't matter. This is a silent scene. There will be no sound. A patient comes to you, you communicate with her, and you fall in love with each other. Everything must end with a kiss." I say, “Okay, no problem. Can I just sleep now while you put on the light? I wake up - Angelina Jolie is sitting next to me ... Of course, then she was not such a star.

You see how, but he returned to Russia - he shot the film "Love in the City" with Sharon Stone. It's a good company!

M .: By the way, in America I made a film with Christina Ricci, it is called “No Places”, the film received awards at many international festivals, including Moscow. In fact, in America, everything was not bad for me: I wrote quite successful scripts, produced, made several films. Adapted, acquired acquaintances. But then a difficult period arose, primarily in psychological terms. I nurtured the idea of ​​a big project for a long time, wrote the script, it was accepted, the picture was in the process of being launched. I flew to San Francisco, chose nature, objects for filming. Kevin Costner was supposed to play the lead role, and I worked with him for six months, rehearsing. But the financiers could not agree with Costner about the fee. Negotiations went on for a long time, and as a result, the project was closed. For me it was a terrible blow, I was depressed for a month. At the same time, a family tragedy happened - his father suddenly died. And I went to Russia. Did you expect to return to America, or did you fundamentally want to change the situation and stay here for a long time?

M: I came to my father's funeral. It so happened that people from my childhood came there, filmmakers - my father's associates. One of them, Sergei Livnev, suggested that I stay in Russia. He saw my films, he knew what I was doing in Los Angeles. Sergei told me: “Make the movie you want to make. I will give you complete freedom, I will give you as much money as you need. And I thought it was a good chance. In addition, it was necessary to support my mother, who was left alone ... And so everything began to spin.

It turned big. You make films non-stop, they all have a resonance, and in your personal life everything has “turned around” before meeting Natasha. Tell me, would you like to settle down, have a family, children? You are forty-four years old.

M .: The impulse to start a family I had only a couple of years ago. In this sense, I am a late maturing person. Before that, I was completely immersed in work, engaged in self-realization.

So the meeting with Natasha took place on fertile ground.

M: Of course! Despite the fact that our relationship began not so long ago, Natasha has already become a dear person for me, with whom I have a lot of things connected in my life. I believe her, I love her very much, and I am sure that no matter what happens next, this is a hundred percent important story for me. It happened to me like this: you meet a person, but you see each other only once or twice a week. And then we immediately came together and began to live together. That is, with Natasha, my relationship is developing differently than it was before.

Marius, how many years are you older than Natasha?

M: Almost sixteen years.

"I didn't know" is that what you mean?

N: I just didn't think so.

Is it necessary to hurry to run to the registry office?

N: No, please. There is no point in this yet.

What exactly needs to happen in order for you to propose to a girl?

M .: I just have to feel that she wants it. As soon as I understand that Natasha wants to marry me, I will immediately propose to her.

N .: While we are at that stage of the relationship, when we just feel good together.

Style: Alisa Donnikova.

Make-up and hair: Alexey Gorbatyuk/ URBANDECAR, KÉRASTASE

The star of the series "Fly Crew" spoke about the first vacation in her life, which she recently took, about the family budget and about the important secret that she used when choosing a nanny for her child.

The long-awaited premiere of the second season of the series about pilots is on the STS channel. The first season was directed by famous director Marius Weisberg. The main role, the pilot Polina Ovechkina, is played by Natalya Bardo, who is also the wife of Marius. We talked with Natalia about what it is like to work with her husband on the same site, and about the family life of two creative people.

- In the second season there will be more romance, more relationships, a lot of scenes outside the plane. We left the cabin in real life, descended from heaven to earth, - says the actress. There will be a lot of jealousy. As a result, Polina finds herself between a choice. Either she forgives Kulagin, because she still loves him. Or you need to consider someone else. Most importantly, in the second season, my Polina changed internally. She realized: a career is important, but it is not the most important thing in life. She realized that she wanted to love. She became more feminine, she had thoughts about family and children. She began to want it.

Have you also experienced something similar in your life? For some time they lived only with work, a career, but in the end they decided to become a mother. Or was it all more harmonious with you?

Natasha was born in Moscow. As a child, she played basketball, ballet and rhythmic gymnastics.

— No, I never had harmony. I have always been a careerist, always thinking only about work. I do not hide the fact that Marius and the child came into my life very suddenly, unexpectedly. As it seemed to me at that moment, not even on time. I was approved for several main roles when I found out about the pregnancy. On this occasion, I even had a strong depression. It was quite difficult for me to understand that the family is important, that the child is wonderful.

Understanding came only with time. Even when the child began to grow up. I just recently thought about the fact that it is impossible to be loaded only with work 24 hours a day. And for the first time in my life I took a month's vacation.

- And what are you doing?

- I just fly where I want, I do what I want. Or I don’t do anything at all and I don’t feel any remorse because of this. I have never been able to rest. I didn’t know what it was like to sit and not think about work. I didn't understand how it was at all.

Natalya regularly writes about her love for director Marius Weisberg on social networks.

- Son Eric spends this month with you?

— No, Erica is at home. He has his own schedule. My trips are still related to work in one way or another. Thanks to social networks, I am invited to rest by barter. And they can not always offer a vacation with the family, because it is difficult and expensive. Especially for a two-year-old child, numerous flights can be tiring. Therefore, he is in Moscow, at home, with my mother and nanny.

- How does Marius let you go on such long trips?

“Absolutely normal, because we work a lot together. And everyone needs to rest. Now he is editing a movie, so he cannot leave. Of course, he would be there if he could. He himself understands: why should I sit in Moscow, where it has already snowed, if you can be at sea? At home, of course, it’s great, but why not go if there is such an offer?

But the actress still hides the face of their son Eric.

“My husband and I have a separate budget”

You play a female pilot. Have you ever been on an airplane with a woman at the controls?

- Yes. A couple of times. It was just after filming the second season. After the "Air Crew" I began to pay attention to who the pilot is, who the flight attendants are, I began to delve into this life. Recently I had a trip to France, and I saw a female pilot with the same ponytail as me, also a blonde. It's like my heroine. It was very symbolic!

- A female pilot is still a rarity. They have to win their place at the helm.

- Yes exactly. Constantly prove that a woman can also be strong, able to make serious decisions, and be responsible. I'm just now thinking a lot about whether a woman should be so strong? About feminism and so on... Are those women who fight for independence, take everything upon themselves, are on the endless run, like driven horses, happy? I've been so tired over the past 12 years that I seriously thought about it.

In the new season of the TV series "Air Crew", the audience will find a classic love triangle (pictured with Alexei Chadov).

- And what did you come up with in your thoughts?

- Haven't come up with anything yet. I just think about it. Although I myself live by the principle of self-sufficiency, I achieve everything myself. And my husband and I have a separate budget. I have always believed that you have to do everything yourself. But now, in recent months, I have been thinking about the topic: am I truly happy?

And maybe for women like me, men stop doing some things? They think: “Why do it? She is all by herself, she likes independence. And thus it turns out that a man has nothing to do! Double-edged sword. It is not clear: did men relax and women become independent? Or did women become independent and thus relax the men?

- In your family, the situation is classic for cinema: the wife is an actress, the husband is a director. Does it still help in work and in relationships? Or interfere?

- At home, we absolutely calmly talk about cinema, and about work, and support each other. Many at first said: “Oh, class. Her husband is a director, he will shoot her in all films. But in fact, I was faced with the fact that in some sense it interferes.

“A director husband is not always the key to success for an actress. Sometimes it even gets in the way, ”Natalya is convinced ...

- Why?

- Firstly, we cook in the same boiler, and we know everything about each other. We are missing new topics. There is nothing to discuss at home in the evening. All the talk about the same thing, you get a little tired of it. Secondly, other directors, for example, do not shoot me because I am Marius's wife. And we, they say, will open new faces ... One bird informed me on its tail that I was no longer perceived separately from Marius and his projects. So the husband-director is not always the key to success. Of course, I would like to participate in other projects. And I think that Marius would also like to shoot new, different actresses.

“And what are you going to do about it?”

- I recently talked with Marius that we need to slightly change the concept of working relations and still try to work separately. Together, of course, great. But I would like to have some other topics for conversation at home.

Did he support this idea?

- Well, it seemed strange to him, although he tried to treat it with understanding. At the same time, he continues to send me some scripts (laughs).

... although he does not refuse to work with Marius. Very soon, for example, Weisberg's film "Grandmother of Easy Virtue-2" will be released, where Natalya is filming with Alexander Revva.

“I was in charge of people in the bank”

- You said that you were not quite ready for the appearance in the life of Marius, then Eric. Do you feel different now?

— Yes, the child gives me a lot of energy. And there is no longer this fad in my head, like many women: I am 30, I have no children, I have to hurry. This one is now closed for me. Of course, I adore my son. For me, he is the best child, the most talented and beautiful. Everything is like any mother (laughs). But, of course, there was more trouble. It is necessary to follow the nannies, the upbringing, the training. I have never in my life thought so much about everyday life as I began to think after the birth of a child. And I had to show my organizational skills.

— Have there been any unpleasant situations with the staff?

- I have no problems with this, because there is a huge and very important secret in the selection of personnel. You need to take a piece of paper and write what specific person you are looking for and what you want from him. Then, when you take a nanny to work, you need her to read and sign this piece of paper. It is important that the person understands what expectations you have for him. And so that you understand exactly who you are looking for. You just need to be able to clearly set the task - and then there will be no problems.

- Did someone advise you, or did you come to this by experience?

— No, I myself, intuitively. I have a love for organizing things. And some managerial skills. And by the way, I fight in the family to ensure that the agreements are clearly implemented. For example, my mother may ask the nanny to clean the extra room or wash the dishes. I swear and say that a person should not do this. That's not what he was hired for. He is taking care of the child. And how do many do it? They hire a nanny and try to hang everything on her. It is not right. If you want to hang - pay extra. Everything must be discussed in advance, it is impossible to introduce any innovations unexpectedly.

Recently, the actress took a month off and traveled the world to her heart's content.

— You do have a banking education. Does it suit you in any way in life?

“I always thought not. But recently I came across the fact that yes, it helps. When serious acting contracts began to appear, when you have to cooperate a lot with banks, to count some percentages, that knowledge is immediately remembered. Plus, of course, we were intellectually developed there quite well. And it even helped me to enter the theater school. We were accustomed to work, it was very hard to study. So maybe it all helped. Well, again, communication with the staff. I had an internship where I supervised people in a bank.

- Do you have any plans to give birth to Erika's brother or sister?

- No no. For now, I think I'll have a lot of work to do.

- You were very worried that you would fall out of the cage due to pregnancy. And this is a fairly common story among career girls. If you had to support a friend in the same situation right now, what would you say to her?

“It really depends on the woman. There are those who are afraid to fall out of the cage, then they fall out of it and at the same time are happy! They began to sleep normally at night, rejoice that there is a child and a beloved husband nearby. They began to rest together. That is, someone gets from this only pleasure. If you don’t want to fall out of the cage, then you don’t have to be afraid of it. You just need to give birth to a child, organize everything and get back to business. Now I don't see a problem here. If you don't want to fall out, it won't happen to you. There are nurseries, kindergartens, nannies. Everything can be solved.

Another question, when I basically thought about the child, I decided for myself that I would become a mother rather late. And she planned to raise the child herself, without nannies. It seemed to me that a nanny is bad, that in this case a child grows up without parents. Now I am faced with the fact that we have a nanny. And all my fears are just fears. Eric knows I'm his mom. He loves me. And it's complete nonsense that children begin to love nannies more than their parents. I know that many people are afraid of this, they talk about it. This is all not true. I consciously agreed that my child would have a nanny. And in the end, I don't see anything wrong with that. Here you have to choose. If you want to be in the cage after giving birth, you definitely need some help - parents or someone else.

- Now you have "Flying Crew" coming out. What can viewers expect next?

- In January there will be "Grandmother of Easy Virtue-2", where I took part. There is another project that is still kept secret. And maybe there will be a third season of "Fly Crew" if the audience likes the second.

“It’s crazy that children are starting to love nannies more than their parents”

- What, by the way, can the audience expect in the second season?

- In the first season, my heroine fought for her place at the helm. She said: "I'm not a flight attendant, I'm a pilot." Polina Ovechkina is a very purposeful girl, a careerist who always wants to be the first and the best, she is a really talented pilot. Apparently, genes play a role, her dad is a famous pilot. In the first season, Polina fought for her career. Although there were also personal events - she fell in love for the first time in her life, became attached to a man, to Lesha Kulagin, played by Alexei Chadov. True, their feelings were not based on romance, but on love for airplanes. In the cockpit, they constantly argued, cursed, sorted out the relationship on various occasions. And at the same time they got to know each other so well that they realized that they could not live without each other.

In the second season, a third character appears - Lesha's brother, played by Makar Zaporozhsky. Polina will grow up to the rank of first pilot, she is being selected for a partner. And she is already used to flying with Kulagin, she cannot let anyone near her. Just imagine: being in a confined space with some stranger for hours is hard! On the one hand, she is very offended - after all, Kulagin betrayed her, on the other hand, she does not want to see anyone else nearby.

In the end, Polina finds herself in the same cockpit with her brother Kulagin, he becomes her co-pilot. Family ties are not immediately clear. And the most interesting thing is that in the end, of course, the guy falls in love with her. It's a classic love triangle. And I am sure that it will be very interesting to watch his denouement!

Private bussiness

Natalya Bardo was born on April 5, 1988 in Moscow. In 2012 she graduated from the Boris Shchukin Theater Institute with a degree in acting. At the age of 14, Natalia visited the set for the first time and fell in love with this process. At the age of 18, she first starred in Natalia Bondarchuk's film Pushkin. Last duel. She played in the series "Barvikha-2", "Veronica. Lost Happiness”, in the films “Grandmother of Easy Virtue”, “Night Shift”, “To Russia for Love”. Natalia is in a relationship with director Marius Weisberg. Has a son, Eric.

I congratulate you on the premiere of the film "Grandmothers of Easy Virtue". In whose head was born the enchanting scenario about a swindler hiding in the form of a grandmother from bandits in a nursing home?

Marius: The idea was proposed by Sasha Revva, who loves to transform. He told me all the time: "Marius, let's do something together, I have an idea - I'm a grandmother, I end up in a nursing home." To be honest, for a long time I did not know how to approach this story. At some point, I realized that if you make him not quite an old grandmother, but one like Barbara Streisand, and take Sasha’s mother as a prototype, then you can get a very funny, fashionable and fresh story. I began to work on the script, and for a long time we brought it to the standard. It is clear that there is nothing new in the concept itself, because the artists have been dressing up as women since the days of “Only Girls in Jazz”. The hardest part was making a really fresh film on an old theme.

- What do you remember about the shooting?

Marius: For me it was an extremely difficult film from a technical and production point of view. There are a lot of tricks in it, plastic make-up, which took two and a half hours of a shooting day, a lot of objects, elderly artists. Moreover, we started shooting in the fall, and it instantly, almost two weeks after the start of filming, turned into a fierce winter.

Natasha: With rain, hail, blizzard and frost ...

Marius: In the scene where Natasha leaves the entrance with a suitcase, we literally had to break, melt the ice, remove snow from under our feet and cover the ground with golden leaves.

Natasha: A piece of autumn was recreated in the courtyard, and it was winter around, and I was standing in a summer coat, waiting for Sasha Revva. Or there was a scene after which I came down with a sore throat - where I get out into the hatch of a car flying into the cold at breakneck speed. I asked Sasha not to accelerate, but he was driving 70 km/h. I have a bottle of champagne that almost freezes, sticks to my hand, wild cold, and I shout: “We are happy, we are rich!” There are two blankets wound on the back - it’s not easy to stick out of the hatch of a car at such a speed when you are simply nailed to the hatch by the wind. They did several takes, and as a result, a big bruise formed on my back, no blankets could save me.

- Did you work together for the first time as a director and an actress?

Natasha: Yes. By the way, when Marius and I met, it turned out that I watched his films, but did not know that he was their director. He saw me somewhere, but did not understand that I was an actress. It so happened that we first began a personal relationship. And only then, after a while, Marius began to try me on his projects.

Marius: Natasha turned out to be a wonderful comedic actress. Honestly, unexpectedly, in my opinion, even for herself.

Natasha: In "Grandmother of easy virtue" I have a small role, but bright enough. I play the accomplice of a swindler - the hero of Sasha Revva, I try to throw him for money. And Marius only later, after the completion of filming, realized that comedy was mine, and I understood this too. And in January, another film by Marius is released - "Night Shift", where I have the main role. I play stripper there. For the sake of this project, I learned to dance on the pole.

- Marius, I remember you said not so long ago that you were going to make a thriller. Ready to change your favorite genre - comedy?

Marius: The story is completely unique. I ran after this Hollywood script for four years, tried to buy the Russian-language rights to it. And finally, the writer gave me the rights to a Russian-language remake. Shooting will start next spring. Sasha Petrov will play the main role, I also want to invite Evgeny Mironov. I haven’t decided on the heroine yet: the producers are talking about Sasha Bortich, in principle I don’t mind - I like the actress Bortich.

- What is the story about? Already have a name?

Marius: The movie is called Down. A story about two young happy newlyweds who are waiting for their honeymoon. The guys run into the registry office, sign, then run for money to dad - a girl from a wealthy family, happy, kissing, filming each other on an iPhone - in general, complete happiness. They run into the elevator of a skyscraper, and a third man enters with them. They go down in an elevator and get stuck on some floor, the three of them in this elevator, they are late for the plane. At first, all the chuckles are chuckles, they try to get through to the dispatcher, but at some point they realize that they got stuck for a reason and that this man was with them for a reason ... I liked this story first of all because I somehow managed to bring it out during adaptation her into a dramatic plane. That is, I hope that I can create a sense of drama, with a philosophical background about what a family is, what true love is, how it differs from the first happy family year when butterflies in the stomach.

Two halves of one whole

- Probably, it is difficult to be together all the time, both at work and at home?

Natasha: We are two Aries, in many ways very similar, and lately we often understand each other without words. Marius can say: “You know, it seems to me that this is where you need it, you can hang it here ...”. I say, “Okay,” without asking too many questions, because I understand what he is talking about. That is, we think in unison, live, work, love. For me, the family is a priority, despite the fact that the work is in full swing and the character is not easy, but Marius treats this with understanding. I am hyperactive, and, unfortunately, I don’t cook at all, for me the kitchen is something very alien ... A year ago, I still promised myself to learn, but everything got even worse - I cook scrambled eggs, they burn me. I have completely forgotten how, although I do some attempts, I try. Marius says to me: "Well, I poured oatmeal, poured it with boiling water, here's your breakfast." So I will definitely burn myself, or fill it with cold water, because I forgot to press the button on the kettle to make it boil. I mean, not mine at all. I am grateful to Marius that he treats this with understanding. Otherwise, I can do anything: I organize life in full, the garbage is thrown out on time, cleaning the house, everything is clean, ironed, washed.

Natalia: I don't cook at all, for me the kitchen is something alien. But Marius is sympathetic to this. Photo: Andrey Salov

- That is, you are an ideal hostess in everything except cooking.

Marius: She is the perfect top manager of the household (laughs). But for me it is not so important. That is, of course, it is important, but I understand that there are no ideal people.

- Maybe Marius cooks wonderfully?

Natasha: He doesn’t cook either, well, this is not our story. Nobody cooks with us, but we are so beautiful and slender, we don’t bother with the topic of food at all.
Marius: In general, I think one should do what brings pleasure, truly inspires. A person who loves to cook, he comes to the store and thinks: "But this will go well with this, and now I'll add this." Cooking is an absolutely creative process. Natasha cannot be forcibly realized in the kitchen, she is realized in another. For me, family is not necessarily cooking. If this aspect did not work out for my beloved woman, for me it is not a tragedy at all. There are other things in which she is beautiful, as a wife.

- What Natasha's talents will you note?

Marius: Firstly, she is an absolutely brilliant repair engineer, she has golden hands. For example, Natasha can easily assemble a closet, design a kitchen, her hands are shaking, she likes it so much. And I can’t even come close to this, I don’t understand where and what to twist. He does not know where our tools are at home - a screwdriver, a drill. Natasha has engineering thinking, she could be a very cool architect.

Natasha: Just yesterday I collected three bookcases. Although there are masters, but I take away their work, I say, “You twist it crookedly, slowly, I’d rather do it myself.”
Marius: And then, she is a devoted person, whom I completely trust, with whom we have absolutely the same worldview. And this is much more important to me than cooking. She and I really, as they say, live soul to soul, we understand what anyone likes, without intruding into each other's space when it is not necessary. We have found a certain harmony and symbiosis, and at the same time we live a really happy, healthy and friendly family. This is the first time in my life.

- I wonder what was the longest parting of yours?

Natasha: Marius recently went to Vyborg for a festival for two whole days, I missed him so much.

Marius: Well, we parted for a long time when Natasha was pregnant and lived in our house in Los Angeles, and I worked here in Russia

- Some couples say that it is necessary to part, it is very useful for relationships.

Natasha: I used to think so too, but now I can’t understand why it is necessary to leave? But all the same, we part during the day - he goes to sports, I go to sports, he goes somewhere and I go about my business. But we don’t have such that we get tired of each other, we feel good together. We have the feeling that we, like puzzles, in a sense, complement each other, like two halves.

Marius: I have never had such a good time with a person… What can you rest from when you are not tired? Moreover, I know what it is to get tired of a person. When he has a different energy, a slightly different worldview, and so on, then either she or you have to adjust all the time, and this happens very often.

Natasha: We do not load each other, we can be close and silent, hugging, but at the same time everyone works, is busy with something of his own, I read, he does something. I can mess around in the kitchen, assemble another cupboard, for example, Marius is editing his movie, but, nevertheless, the feeling that we are nearby is there, and this makes it good and comfortable. We do not hammer each other, that if we met, we must definitely solve some problems. Because I also have such a trait and Marius has it, but somehow we don’t have any problems.

Marius: Natasha and I have the same worldview, and this is much more important to me than cooking. Photo: Andrey Salov

- So, in past relationships, these problems arose?

There were. That is, we met: “So, we need to decide this, do something about it.” Constantly such conversations among people, and about jealousy, and about life, and about something else. We do not have this at all and, thank God, because we have neither the time nor the desire for this. Everyone has such a crazy life now, would find time, just hugging silently.

director's wife

Natasha, as the director's wife, do you have the right, as they say, on the first night - to read the script first, to choose a role for yourself?
Natasha: No, I don't want to choose my role just because I'm a wife. And I also tell Marius this. I read the script and go to the audition, like everyone else. Although everyone says to me, "What's wrong with that, all directors film their wives." I will not be offended if he gives the role to another actress, and even more than that, I even offer him actresses.

Marius: Yes, she helps me a lot with casting.

Natasha: I help with the casting, I already know all the actors, and many of his acquaintances are in the lead roles. Because it is important for me that Marius has a successful project. There are roles that do not suit me, or I don’t want to, or I can’t play them, or even I’m afraid. There may be different situations. And then, I would not want him to have some kind of restriction - a wife ...

Marius: And I can’t really imagine that I will shoot her in explicit scenes ... I have serious love lines where I need two people to have fire, romance. With Natasha, I will be uncomfortable, I won’t be able to invest in it myself, I won’t be able to really direct it.
- Does everything have to be real for you?

Marius: Yes. And here, firstly, for the actor - this is my wife, that is, he already plays in a completely different way. It turns out that there is a complete conflict of interest inside.

Natasha: Of course, I don't want to be a part of it either. That it was to the detriment of the film or to the detriment of the relationship. Who needs these unnecessary emotions.

Marius: But I understand, of course, that she is an actress, this cannot be avoided, but I myself am not going to take part in this. Natasha consults with me in any case, but we have no taboos or prohibitions.

Natasha: We have, as it were, by default in the family such an agreement: you are wise. Everyone is responsible for himself, but everyone understands in his head how clean he is internally. In comedy, everything is easy, there are basically no such passions, after all, the genre is different. But now I would not want to play some kind of difficult relationship, love, passion. I’m not ready to act in this, because I don’t know how to act and not feel, I completely immerse myself in the role. But I do not want to experience all this, because it will be contrary to my family values. There is quite a lot of other work, a different genre, where you don’t have to break yourself in something and hurt a loved one.

Achieved two years

- Readers, of course, want to know the history of your acquaintance. Who has his eyes on whom?

Marius: I've had my eye on Natasha for a long time. Although, we did not know each other, I just saw her in photographs, maybe on TV once. Been texting her for a while, trying to ask her out, set up a work meeting, whatever, just wanted to get to know her. I came up with various reasons, but for a couple of years there was complete silence. I thought - in a relationship, probably living with someone, and I didn't want to get involved. But unobtrusively, once every six months, he wrote something, you never know, suddenly the situation will change ... Then we finally met.

Natasha: We met in person at a party two years ago. I remember we were sitting with girlfriends, and someone dragged Marius to our women's table. He sat, looked at me carefully and said goodbye, "I'll write to you again."

Marius: Yes, she didn't answer me.

Natalya: we are two Aries, we are similar in many ways, and lately we often understand each other without words. Photo: Andrey Salov

Why were they ignored?

Natasha: Firstly, I had a relationship, and secondly, I never met on the Internet at all. I have never been attracted by prospects, neither directing, nor money, none, it doesn’t matter to me. I have only this: I saw, I was hooked, that's all. But still, fate brought us together.

- Marius wrote again, and you still answered?

Natasha: Wrote. I already realized that it wouldn’t work out directly, I started sending me scripts, and I told him: “This is a small role, I won’t play it.” But he behaved so gallantly, wrote so kindly, and called for his birthday, and already called everywhere. And most importantly, unobtrusively, but regularly. And I decided that I still need to pay attention to this. She wrote: “Well, okay, we can drink tea, just talk about work.” We met and sat on our first date for six hours, the restaurant was closed, we were expelled from there, and we could not talk enough. Everything is in a heap: about work, and about prospects, and about hopes, and about dreams, and in general about everything. And there were five such dates, we sat for five or six hours, we could not close our mouths for a second, and then we no longer parted.

Marius: I went to Kyiv to shoot a movie, we talked on the phone, I flew in as soon as I could, for one day. It was such a beautiful story.

Natasha: He generally flew in in the morning, flew away in the evening, walked with me during the day and left. I was in Kyiv, and constantly sent flowers with postcards. I was regularly called by an unfamiliar number, I picked up the phone and heard: “Hello, where do you deliver the flowers?”. And all the time there were such romantic cards if I got sick or something. All of them I have kept.

- For you, the most valuable quality in Marius, his main character trait that won you over?

Natasha: He is warm and he is responsible. This is something that I very rarely see in people. That is, if Marius said, he will do it. In addition, he is well-mannered, very kind, sympathetic, he will always regret. If there is any problem, he will help. If I get sick, he will run all over Moscow to buy medicines. In general, for me, he is the perfect man.

- All these qualities were influenced by the fact that Marius has been living in America for more than 20 years?

Natasha: Yes, there is merit in that. Because many Russian men are constantly looking for, it seems to me, some kind of trick: “Where is the poop?”. We all live like this: “Now something will happen.” But this is not the case in Marius, he always believes in everyone, looks at the world with open eyes. And he has no figs in his pocket. I also began to learn this from him, and I’m already scared, because I, too, become the same, kindness absorbs, and everyone already seems good to you.

Natalia: Marius took me to Hawaii and proposed there. It was so cool, just magical! Photo: Andrey Salov

- Where do you spend most of your time, where is your home now?

Marius: We used to live in Los Angeles for a long time, but now there is a lot of work here. Since we settled in Moscow for half a year, we have been equipping an apartment, finishing building a dacha.

wedding is not far off

- A year ago there was information that Marius proposed, and you are preparing for the wedding. But there is still no word about the wedding itself. Are you still married or not?

Marius: No, we are not married, but we will definitely get married. This year turned out to be very difficult at work, we simply do not have time physically.

Natasha: Marius took me to Hawaii and made a very nice proposal there. It was so cool, just magical. For me, this is a very personal moment, I told very few people about it. I just posted a photo on Instagram that day with the date and wrote: “Let this stay here.” We have already bought the rings, but so far there is absolutely no time.

Marius: We choose a place in Moscow, shoot ourselves. After all, it is necessary to organize everything really well, to gather all the friends. And now we have a lot of things: a dacha outside the city was built, repairs in the apartment, work. But we don’t have anything that we need urgently, urgently, we have nowhere to rush, because everything is great with us anyway. On the contrary, there will be something to look forward to.

Natasha: We are not in a hurry. The wedding will not run away from us, the rings are lying, it remains only to call friends. I'm in no hurry because I'm the bride. Every day I wake up as a bride. I prolong my pleasure. And it's so cool.

They wanted a daughter, but an awesome son was born

- And why has no one seen your son, Weisberg Jr., where you have been hiding him for the second year already? What's his name?

Natasha: They named him Eric, in honor of Papa Marius. And our godfather is Pasha Derevyanko, our great friend. We do not specifically hide our son, we will definitely show it, but we are waiting for some special occasion and moment for this. We already have almost our whole life in public, everyone sees everything, everyone knows everything. Somehow I want to have something of my own, so that the child does not have to be terrorized by these photographs. Because this is his world, to which we treat warmly and reverently.

- Tell us about Eric, what is he, who does he look like?

Natasha: Oh, he's so cool, just an angel. To be honest, sometimes I'm even afraid to show it to my friends. Although I am not superstitious, I think that people are all different, and there are not very kind people. I don't want any negativity towards the baby. He's so cool with us! He looks like Marius, a real dad's son. Smiling, laughing all the time. Now Marius will show you.

Marius flips through his phone photos of a charming blond toddler with long wavy hair. Little Eric is very similar to his dad, but his eyes are bright blue - he has exactly his mother's.

Marius: when I met Natasha, I immediately realized that this is the woman with whom I want both a child and everything else. Photo: Andrey Salov

Marius: We have a wonderful child. But it is still so small, so defenseless that it is very scary to destroy that idyll where the child is in a cocoon of happiness and love ... He is happy, smiling, he is, pah, pah, pah, healthy. And that's why, why should we publish his photo? I do not think that a small child should be taken somewhere, shown, because for him it is stress ... Let him mature a little, take shape. When we came with him from America, Eric was just a baby, and now I look at him and see that he has already become stronger, he is already such an independent man, he walks by himself. Now it’s already comfortable for me to go somewhere with him, take him with me so that he can talk to someone. A wonderful grandmother, Natasha's mother, helps us a lot. Soon my mother will come to help.

- Did you immediately want a child, or did this news become pleasant, but unexpected?

Marius: To be honest, we didn't plan anything, it just happened. But we treated each other so tenderly and touchingly that we could not imagine that now we would do something other than give birth. In general, when I met Natasha, I immediately realized that this is the woman with whom I want both a child and everything else. Maybe, again, because we are two Aries, everything is quite organic with us. We do not plan anything, we do not force anything. But we value some main things, treat them with care, so as not to offend each other, in no case offend, we protect each other emotionally. The son is now the most important thing for us, as they say, our main common project. In Spain we conceived it. And after some time, Natasha says to me: “Imagine ...”. I exclaimed: “What a thrill!”. And that's all. By and large, everything turned out so naturally that we didn’t have any dilemmas, we did it, we gave birth, we are growing now.

- It was important for you who will be born, a boy, girls, or is it all the same?

Marius: Both wanted a girl, but an awesome boy was born, and now I can’t even imagine that it could not be him ...

- Well, probably, you won’t stop at one child?

Natasha: I just want Marius to get fat next time, give birth, then lose weight (laughs).

"Grandmother of easy virtue" is already in the cinema