Timur Bekmambetov Beacon of Russian Cinema

Commonly regarded as one of the most commercially successful directors of early 21th century Russia, Timur Bekmambetov began his career in the advertising arena also guiding a series of popular television advertisements through to fruition. Bekmambetov made his debut with the little-seen-abroad Russian picture Peshavarsky Vals (1994), but his science fiction franchise that began in 2004 with Night Watch and continued two years later with a sequel, Day Watch (2006), is what put him over the top and made him an international sensation. He has also directed Hollywood blockbuster movies Wanted (2008) and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

Night Watch gives the audience a complex world that balances the real and the unreal by integrating the imaginary and fantasy with the realities of everyday. The film's success of bringing to life the fantasy elements relies predominantly on CGI effects, but you seemed willing to employ traditional make-up and prosthetic effects as well. What can you tell us about your approach to special effects as a filmmaker's tool?
That was the most interesting part of the work. You create a world that isn't really there, but the audience believes in it, because it captivates. We developed and produced most of the CGI in Russia and Ukraine. About 100 professionals were involved, from over 20 different freelance studios. During the making of the film they were temporarily united into one unit, working towards the same goal, with all communications taking place over the internet. We created a unique "pipeline," and now that the second film is in the making, we have developed software that allows us to control this complex system. This was the only way to bring these people together without actually bringing them together, physically, and without disrupting their work at the studios; instead, each one sets aside part of one's time for the project. This approach proved very cost- effective.
There's a line in Night Watch, and I'm paraphrasing, that says, "To destroy the light in himself would be easier than to fight the immense darkness that exists all around him." Would you elaborate on this a little in relation to its importance to the film and your philosophical approach to the material?
Everything in the world is interconnected, even if we can't see it. A man can change the world's history. This thought makes me excited.
Someone once said (and I'm paraphrasing again) that an artist is never truly done working on a particular piece of art, but rather, at some point they are merely required to stop. It's not uncommon for a filmmaker to want to make changes to his or her film after they have stopped working on it. Was there anything that you wanted to change, either by adding or subtracting, and were able to alter after Fox acquired the rights to release Night Watch?
I refuse for as long as I can to give in to reality which dictates that all creative imagination must stop after the filming is over. As long as editing continues, our creative team keeps throwing in ideas, we try to make it better. A lot of things become clearer only when the final product is more or less put together. Fortunately, with editing and CGI (and an occasional re-shoot) a lot can be achieved.
Thankfully the U.S. release of Night Watch is subtitled rather than dubbed. The subtitles are integrated in a truly innovative and effective way that actually complements the film rather than distracting from it. Whose inspired idea was this?
We created these subtitles with our editor Dmitriy Kisilev. It's very important figure in the film. It's separate hero, leading the viewers through the whole movie.

SOURCE: INTERNET