t.A.T.u, who represented Russia in the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest, start shooting their new film “Finding t.A.T.u” next week. The film will be produced by Russian-American Ramco in Mosfilm Studios and it will feature Yulya and Lena as themselves. The band are also currently working on their third album which will be the film's soundtrack as well.
Finding t.A.T.u is based on Alexey Mitrofanov's book TATU come back which has been especially adapted for the big screen. Apart from the two members of t.A.T.u, Yulya and Lena, the film also features Misha Barton, Igor Desyatnikov, Shantal VanSanten and Helen Madson, Swedish model and actress. It will be directed by British director Roland Joffe (The mission, Killing Fields).
Finding t.A.T.u will be shot in Moscow, Yaroslavl and the cast will also spend one week in Los Angeles. It is a "love story with t.A.T.u music" as the band play themselves and perform songs from their forthcoming third album, which will actually be the film's soundtrack. The story is about two girls, a Russian and an American, who meet through the Internet initially and then meet in person in Russia. According to the film's producer, Sergey Konov: "In general, all book's characters do is drink, smoke hemp, eat pies in huge quantities (because for some reason there're always pies in a fridge) and have sex. It's too much, of course… We'll try not to exaggerate. And then, any frank scene can be shot beautifully and elegantly, and the most harmless kiss can be shot in a vulgar way. Again – it all depends on HOW. HOW is art."
Although the producers consider Russia to be their key market, nevertheless, the film will be produced with an international audience in mind. "Our goal is to produce a movie for the world market and make it successful. That's why we need a high-quality movie at the world market. Which means, we need an American director, Hollywood stars and western writers for the film script. In fact, writing style, script goals are very different in Russian and American cinema…"says producer Sergey Konov.
t.A.T.u are also currently working on their third album which is expected to be quite different from their previous work in a more serious and mature way. The new album is being produced in Los Angeles.
You can watch t.A.T.u talk about their new project here on Channel One here. (English subtitles)
