Source Bekmambetov sold the film studio Bazelevs in Russia. It was there that he created the movie hits Night Watch and Christmas Trees. Timur Bekmambetov sold his Bazelevs film studio in Russia. The film studio was bought out by its current general producer and commercial director – Lala Rustamova and Timur Asadov.
The current general producer and commercial director of the film studio, Lala Rustamova and Timur Asadov, told RBC that they bought it from the director. The transaction took place on commercial terms, but the specific amount is not called. At the beginning of 2023, the film studio will be rebranded.
Sixty-year-old Bekmambetov is not parting with his offspring because of the current political situation: he has been selling the film studio for several years. Apparently, he was looking for suitable buyers, says Alexander Golubchikov, Director of Development for the Cinema and Series direction of the marketing agency Salo:
Alexander Golubchikov Salo agencies
“In recent years, Timur Bekmambetov has focused on the development of his screenlife format, and this has already become, in a sense, an obsession: most of the films, including Devyatayev, were partly shot as films for smartphones. Of course, Bekmambetov really believed in this idea, and these projects are mainly implemented in the West. In Russia, with the exception of a couple of projects, the idea hasn't caught on; in Russia, the audience is probably not ready yet. Therefore, it was logical for Bekmambetov to focus on working abroad with foreign partners, on projects that are obviously more numerous and that bring more satisfaction and, probably, more money, after all, already a person over 60 and it is too difficult to spread out. If last year they thought about how to bury the Yolki project, then the release of the ninth Yolki this year showed that the idea is alive, and the current producer and CEO of Bazelevs Lala Rustamova and her partner understand very precisely what the pictures should be like today filmed in Russia. As can be seen, the result was quite satisfactory for Bekmambetov, who realized that he was transferring the case in Russia to the right hands. It was not so much a question of money as a question of not giving away your offspring to just anyone.”
Bekmambetov, in fact, sold the asset to his team and, most likely, will participate in his future fate one way or another, the editor of the Film.ru portal Evgeny Ukhov believes:
Evgeny Ukhov
editor of the Film.ru portal
“He is a creative person, a great director, a successful screenwriter with a large collection of original ideas, with a good track record of successful films, in my opinion, here and in Hollywood. Therefore, he hardly liked to engage in some other directorial activity, boring for sure for a creative person. In fact, this issue was resolved a long time ago: Timur was engaged exclusively in creativity, and everything else was in charge of just people who were more prepared for commercial work, for the work of lawyers, producers. The fact that the studio passed into the hands of just this part of Timur's team does not surprise me at all, so I do not expect any radical changes in the repertoire, style, work with authors, work with the audience for the updated Bazelevs, it will be the same team, Timur will be present in some way in any case, either from abroad, or maybe here he will submit ideas that the financial, commercial part of his company will put into practice thanks to his much more confident ability to conduct money than Bekmambetov's. ”.
According to the new owners of the studio, the money that secured this deal is the entire proceeds for 2022: first of all, the fees from the film distribution of Elok-9 and other films, the sale of rights to content on online platforms and television. The parties to the transaction did not disclose the exact amount of the agreement.
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