Alexander Nevsky – Black Rose

By starrymag | June 7, 2017

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

Q) What made you want to be a part of Black Rose?

 

A) I created an original story for Black Rose and wanted to play the main character from the beginning. Brent Huff wrote the first version of the screenplay, George Saunders wrote another version and Bryan Gores and legendary Sheldon Lettich polished the final draft. I have portrayed a tough Russian cop before in my breakout film Moscow Heat. It was theatrical success in Russia/CIS and it was sold pretty much everywhere worldwide. So, I decided that I’ll produce Black Rose

 

Q) How did you get involved with directing the film?

 

A) I think Sheldon Lettich was the first one who told me that I should direct Black Rose. I love Sheldon’s films, Double Impact with Jean-Claude Van Damme especially. He’s great director and writer. So, I consider it for a while and said “Why not?” But I was smart enough to surround myself with great professionals including director of photography Rudy Harbon and editor Stephen Adrianson. Sheldon Lettich, Bryan Gores, Alexander Izotov and Robert Madrid served as executive producers.

 

Q) What did you find challenging about your role?

 

A) As I said already, I played cops before and loved it. But Black Rose wasn’t just an action movie like Moscow Heat or Treasure Raiders. We had action, suspense and even some comedy moments in Black Rose. My character is Moscow Police Major Vlad Kazatov. He’s strong and tough, but he really becomes a “fish out of water” when he travels to California from Moscow. He has stereotypes about LA and couldn’t understand many things around him. It was interesting and not easy to play Vlad.

 

Q) How did you prepare for this role?

 

A) I graduated from Moscow State University of Management and my education helped me a lot when I started producing. I learned acting much later in Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in West Hollywood. I believe in “The Method” and I’m a big fan of the Stanislavsky’s system. But I also remember myself fifteen years ago when I was a “fish out of water” in LA in real life. I was a huge celebrity in Russia in the 90s, but when I moved to LA it was like the moon suddenly: people didn’t know me and didn’t even understand me (because of my poor English). It felt really surreal at the time. I remembered those feelings when I played Vlad in Black Rose.

 

Q) Where did you connect with the character?

 

A) We have a lot of things in common. We are both big and strong, but nice and gentle. We are both well educated. We both like Arnold’s and Stallone’s classic action movies. [smile] He’s just much better in shooting guns and probably he eats hamburgers more often.

 

Q) Were you familiar with any of your costars before working with them on Black Rose?

 

A) Adrian Paul did Moscow Heat with me. Adrian is my friend and he’s great action star. I liked him in the “Highlander” TV series and movies a lot. Robert Davi co-starred in my other film called Magic Man. Robert is a very good actor and my friend, too. Black Rose was my first movie together with great Matthias Hues, but I was always a fan of his and we knew each other for years. And I have to say I’m very happy that Kristanna Loken agreed to play the role of LAPD detective Emily Smith! Kristanna is a very nice actress and she was very supportive during the shoot. She is my dear friend now and I’ll be glad to work with her again.

 

Q) What was it like having to balance acting while directing the movie?

 

A) It was tough. As a director and producer I was heavily involved in almost all the aspects of preproduction, production and postproduction. As an actor I was in almost every scene of the movie (except the prologue). It was really hard to balance everything, but in the end of the day it’s all worked out. Black Rose was a theatrical hit in Russia/CIS, international rights were sold to 22 countries and it was released in North America this May in limited theaters, on DVD/VOD and on all digital platforms. I should thank again all my cast and crew for their great job and support!

 

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming?

 

A) My most memorable moments from filming in Moscow were all those days of shooting the opening action scene in the bank. We used a lot of actors and extras, we had to shoot guns and blow up cars, etc. My most memorable moment in LA was the shooting of the scene in Malibu. I love the ocean and it was so great to have it in my directorial debut!

 

Q) What do you hope viewers take away from Black Rose?

 

A) I hope Black Rose will be entertaining for the US audience. I also hope that people will get my message: Russians and Americans should work together and should respect each other – in movies and in real life.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) I achieved my dreams through really hard work and I believe that everyone can do it too. Thank you all very much for interest and support, I wish you the best of luck!

 

Black Rose is currently on Redbox and is available for rental on most streaming outlets.

Watch The Trailer

Follow Alexander Nevsky On Twitter: @NevskyAlexandr