Perfecting 'Strangers' with a Russian twist
MOSCOW -- Warner Bros. is on a roll in Russia with a local version of its 1980s TV hit "Perfect Strangers", featuring two local actors playing reincarnated versions of the show's original central characters Larry and Balki -- but with the new monikers of Andrei and Ivan.
This is a distinctly Russian version of the U.S. evergreen comedy that aired on ABC from 1986-93, starring Mark Linn-Baker as Larry and Bronson Pinchot as Balki. But the local actors playing the leads were diligent about studying their American counterparts' performances before hitting their marks.
Artem Semakin, who plays Andrei (and is known to Russian audiences for his role in CTC comedy "Born Ugly"), says during a pause in the frantic production pace on the Russian set, "The American actors have that accuracy which is so necessary in a sitcom: accuracy of tempo and pauses."
Ivan is played by Anton Eldarov, who also is well known to Russian audiences from his role in military drama "Soldaty" (also on Ren-TV). "We simply show what goes on between two guys, one with a Moscow psychology, the other with a provincial outlook," he says. "Two 'grotesque' types -- exactly the same ethos as the U.S. series."
Already in its second month on air, "Perfect Strangers" -- or as Russian audiences know it "Brat'ya po-raznomu" is off to a promising start with a respectable 5% audience share.
This is a distinctly Russian version of the U.S. evergreen comedy that aired on ABC from 1986-93, starring Mark Linn-Baker as Larry and Bronson Pinchot as Balki. But the local actors playing the leads were diligent about studying their American counterparts' performances before hitting their marks.
Artem Semakin, who plays Andrei (and is known to Russian audiences for his role in CTC comedy "Born Ugly"), says during a pause in the frantic production pace on the Russian set, "The American actors have that accuracy which is so necessary in a sitcom: accuracy of tempo and pauses."
Ivan is played by Anton Eldarov, who also is well known to Russian audiences from his role in military drama "Soldaty" (also on Ren-TV). "We simply show what goes on between two guys, one with a Moscow psychology, the other with a provincial outlook," he says. "Two 'grotesque' types -- exactly the same ethos as the U.S. series."
Already in its second month on air, "Perfect Strangers" -- or as Russian audiences know it "Brat'ya po-raznomu" is off to a promising start with a respectable 5% audience share.
- 11/13/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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