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The King of Csardas - is he? Not just yet, but he trains for the purpose!
The fact is that Dalton was the one the first well-known persons who signed a contract for the participation in the new and great Warner Brothers project, running soon at the States. Let's remember, that this cinema-company had become the main Timothy's employer during last years. And the new film will be directed by Milos Forman himself! If to judge by the official announcements he has done recently while talking to a journalist from "The Los Angeles Times", it will be the musical film - the true story about the young Hungarian composer Emmerich Kalman and the way he realized the plot of the one of his best operettes - "The Queen of Csardas".
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Milos Forman, who is 71 years old, who came to States from Czechoslovakia many years ago and made a career for himself working in Hollywood, had chosen the theme due to some reasons. First of all, he studied the themes of "war and peace", "genius and black-hearted ordinariness" earlier: the antiwar musical "Hear" (1979) and philosophically-psychological "Amadeus" (1984) are the facts to confirm the assertion. Secondly, developing the theme of stydying the nature of the musical composition by example of Emmerich Kalman, Forman gets a chance to investigate the ways to achieve a success for a composer among the widest audience during the times of strong social cataclysms: it's a fact of the common knowledge, that "The Queen of Csardas" was created and won unusual popularity all over the world at the times of the First World War!
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At last the atmosphere of the operette's birth itself reminds us of the events of last few days, when the war in Iraq coloured the everyday life, behaviour and perception of all people in the world. Additionally, the great success of the musical "Chicago" shows the "decisive direction" in the cinema for nearest time and makes us to be encouraged by its example and get a sureness - it will be a great success too, when the old and lovely tunes will sound brifhtly, performed by the world cinema stars !
The new many-millions project "The Kings of Csardas" will reconstruct the atmosphere of the prewar and war Austria of 1913-1915. It will be Austria, the musicians and actors saw, the great and simple folk watched then.
Villa "Rose" in Eeshle and "The Iohann Strauss Theatre" in Vienna will be the places of location for the film. By the way, villa "Rose" was the place, where the world-known composers wrote the great works of art: at different times Mayerbeer created there the opera "The Predictor" and Brahms made some pieces. Franz Lehar composed here his operette "The Count Luxemburg"... The studio has already announced about its readiness to buy a lot of articles of luxory and consumption including the clothes of those days and pay a lot of money (about 5 million dollars) to make the film's reality most closer to the real life of the beginning of twentieth century. The world-known dress designers Eve Sent Lorahn and Valentine Yudashkin will make costumes for the movie. The musical score will be performed by the orchestra of the Moscow Operette's Theatre, where this wonderful entertainment goes on stage already almost 90 years!
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Nickolas Cage will perform Emmerich Kalman himself and it will be the mail leading role. Half German, half Italian, he, who is a nephew of Fransis Ford Coppola, decided one day to bring his name into repute himself and it was a reason the actor took the stage-name: Luke Cage - from comic book character. It is hard to say at this moment, what will be the effect of such a literature upon the process to prepare the role, because it's well-known that Nickolas' character was a very gloomy companion in the real life. However it's clear: the Oscar prizewinner for best mail role in "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995) has all the needed scills to make the interesting performance.
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Natasha Richardson will play a part of Paola Dvorjack, the faithful girl-friend and cheerful helper of the young Kalman. And though the her actor's scills in the field of musicals (she won Tony award for her work in the revival of "Cabare" on Broadway), the talent of dramatic actress will stand Natasha in good stead to show "the muse" of the great Hungarian composer.
It's still unknown, who will play the roles of Bela Yenbach and Leo Steine, the famous librettists, co-authors of "The Queen Of Csardas" - the one of the favourite operettes in the world. By the way, it was Leo, who wrote the script and the texts for "The Merry Widow", composed by Ferenz Lehar some years earlier (1908).
Catherine Zeta Johns will play a part of Silva. After her success in the featured musical "Chicago" and getting the golden statuette for the best supporting femail role there it will be difficult to find someone, who will have the doubts, that the young actress can decide this problem with an exellent mark.
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It is worthy of note that her celebrated husband Michael Douglas will appear in the film in a little episodical role of Mishka, the intelligent servant at a ball in the house of Edwin's parents. The participation of Michael will make possible for the family couple to keep together during the filming. The process will start directly after the happy parents, Catherine and Michael, will born their second child.
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Barbra Streisand has come back in the movies after her long absence on the screen as an actress - she will change her role of the executive producer to the part of operette's prima donna. She will shine with her vocal skills in the part of well-known in the past chansonette "Nightingale" and the star of cabare "Orpheum". But in the film she will be simply a princess and Edwin's mother (Edwin is a hero of "The Queen of Csardas"). Michael Caine will be her partner (and the sixth husband in the operette). It's well-known, that he never refuses to play roles do they seem to be strange for the first view or not. Probably this experienced and hard-working actor has something interesting to show his admirers!
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Keanu Reeves (look at picture above!) will play the mail leading part of Edwin. He is young and very attractive actor with enigmatic appearance. The films he worked usually have a good back office and return good money. Keanu has a good ability for music (he plays bass-guitar and is keen on ball-room dancing). He also is a good rider and even plays ice-hockey. But I don't know, how he would apply the former skill to his performance of the Austro-Hungarian aristocrat!
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The toast of the women's half of audience Leonardo Di Caprio will become the happy-go-lucky fellow Bony. But the name of his partner Stassy is still a secret. As the saying goes, someone speaks about Guinet Peltrow, someone talks about Mag Rayan, but according to the words of Milos Forman, the viewers will find a surprise here.
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As for surprises, the Timothy Dalton's appearance in the role of old theatre-goer Ferry Kerekesh will be undoubtedly a greatest surprise for his admirers! Indeed, Ferry is the elegant, handsome for his years gentleman, who had made a dent in his fortune while visiting such cabarets, like "Orpheum". However he is a little bit fall in love with his youth's dream chansonette Nightingale and sympathizes with "star-crossed lover" Silva, the poor young actress and lover of Edwin. Such Ferry must be accepted by audience with admiration!
The newsperson from Russian journal "The Merry Life" by name Theodore Witling recently communicated by telephone with Timothy Dalton in Los Angeles. Here are some quotes from the interview:
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"The invitation to take part in "The Kings of Csardas" was not completely unexpected for me, because I regulary made musical scenes earlier. Do you know, I sang in "Sextette" with May West, I played guitar in "Mary, Queen of Scots", I played woodwinds in "The King's Whore", I danced slowly and fast in "The Rocketeer" and in "Time Share"."
Timothy Dalton continued: "But there will be especially severe requirements to voice-training and dance in the new film! You know, I had to learn to sing and dance. It's scheduled by my contract. I must take a course in ball-room and Hungurian Falk dansing, because I have 3 great musical scenes - one scene in the each of three acts! I suppose, dances will be especially complicated, because we will work with the famous Russian premier danseur and choreographer Michail Baryshnikov! We are in training some hours every day and I have already grown thin by 10 pounds."
Answering the question about his new character, will he be shown according to the old traditions of Viennese operette or he will be performed as a living man with his troubles and problems, the actor said: "Mmm..., you know, we do have such a great actor's ensemble here, that it would be a crime do not use all its resources! I think, that the script, written by Forman himself, will be changed many times. But even those pages I saw allow the actors to act in a new deep manner. I even can't exclude that the end of the operette will be transformed like it was done during the last French picturization of "Comte Monte-Cristo". But for the justice it's useful to remind, that probably there is no sense in doing this, because we must not take viewers' mind off main hero and his problems. I mean Emmerich Kalman - the real King of Csardas!"
In conclusion let's wish all the participants of the new project to succeed in their job and good luck! As for Timothy's admirers and the other viewers - we wish you to be healthy and very much patient, because all the material above is our First-of-April joke!!!
Review of newspaper writings and Internet materials was prepared by Ê.Å. - 1.04.2003
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