THE MECHANIK / THE RUSSIAN SPECIALIST (Dolph Lundgren, 2005)

[Jox]

theres also pics of Dolph the shoot on "filmattributen" and "filmlocaties"... and one think I noticed: the movie's gonna be sexy and bloody

[bomaz]

by looking the photos , i think the movie will have a good atmosphere . and some locations look depressing , and that is good !!!

[Bryan Hill]

Hi all,

I'm Bryan Hill. I wrote the Mechanik and I can tell you that Dolph is a humble, hard working, and dedicated actor/director.

It's great to see you all here. He deserves it.

If anyone has any questions about The Mechanik, I'd love to answer them. Please post them on the board. I'll check often.

Cheers,

BH

[TombRaider]

Well everything you can tell us would be great. How dolph is a director, as an actor, what the movie about, how was russia, when the mechanik is going to be released....

[Bryan Hill]

Hi all,

Well the one liner...

Nick Cherenko used to be a Spetznaz(Russian Special Forces), but now he lives peacefull with his wife and child, far from violence and war. When his wife and his children die in the cross-fire of a gang war, Nick seeks vengeance, waking up the soldier inside himself in order to settle the score.

Dolph's idea started the story process. He's always thinking, always pushing himself to do better work. I saw a little of the production, but being a writer, by the time the picture began to shoot, my job was done. We shot in Bulgaria, Dolph and Ben Cross did some pickups in Russia and I think it's going to be a grounded, gritty piece of action filmmaking.

There's a lot of Clint Eastwood in Dolph. I hope it shows up on screen.

Cheers,

BH

[Dolph_Fan]

Ex Spetznaz, Sounds like a sequal to Red Scorpion.

[bomaz]

Hi Bryan !

i'va a lot of questions ( like a lot of people here )!
1st : is Dolph a nice guy ???

Have you write another script ( for a new movie ) ?

Would you like to became a director yourself ???

If Dolph purpose you , would work again with him ?

excuse my english , and thanks for your answers !!

[Jox]

Dear Bryan,

thank you so much for joining us on this forum to share your experience on THE MECHANIK.

There is a few question I have for you

- did Dolph came up to you with the story and hired you to write the script? did he first sell a story or treatment to Nu Image, or first developed it through his company Thor Pictures?

- the story still sounds a lot like some previous Dolph movies, what did Dolph tell you he wanted to achieve with this movie? did he still tried to make a movie that would be a departure from his previous performances?

- I read here (http://groups.msn.com/joostinbulgarije) that even when filming had began, the shooting script wasn't locked, and that Dolph demanded more changes, and some locations had still to be found, can you tell us more about all that?

- who are the characters played by Olivia Lee and Maria Ilieva, from the pics I have seen, it seems that they are dancers in a club and hunted by the russian mob for some reason... apparently there's also something about Olivia Lee being reunited with her mother...?

- who is the character played by Ben Cross?

- do you know what was the approx. budget of the movie? around $5 million?

Thank you again for bringing light to our questions on the making of THE MECHANIK.

[Max Potential]

Hey Brian,

How does one get to a position in life like yours? What kind of schooling do you have? How important is it to know "someone"?

[bomaz]

- Music is composed by Adam Norden ( like Defender ) and Elia Cmiral ( Wrong turn , Six Pack )
- There is a Wescam Operator( i don't know what is it ) who has worked on Fantastic Four (2005) and Benjamin Gates ) !!
so , it could be a good thing for the movie !!!!

[Bryan Hill]

Well I'm only 28 and still learning the ways of the game, but here's my insight.

Know someone?

My response to that is: write a story you're proud of. Damn the market. Damn the idea that you can't do it. Just WRITE. Be passionate about your work and your perspective and passion will infect others.

Vision is both rare and marketable. Follow it.

Cheers,

BH

[Jox]

here are Bryan Hill's Q&A to my questions (makes more eager to see the movie!):


>- did Dolph came up to you with the story and hired you to write the
>script? did he first sell a story or treatment to Nu Image, or first
>developed it through his company Thor Pictures?
>

Dolph read a sample script of mine, and liking my pared down style, he
talked with me about developing what eventually became The Mechanik. Nu
Image and I worked out the details and then Dolph and I began development on
the story, first via telephone(I'm a New York City native), and then I flew
out to meet with him daily in Spain.


>- the story still sounds a lot like some previous Dolph movies, what did
>Dolph tell you he wanted to achieve with this movie? did he still tried to
>make a movie that would be a departure from his previous performances?
>

I believe that Dolph is an actor in the vein of McQueen and Eastwood. A
powerful screen presence, apart from the modern "pretty-boy" era we find
ourselves in. Dolph and I agreed on bringing back the feel of 70's action
cinema, like "Bullit" and "Get Carter". Directors like Mike Hodges and Peter
Yates were influences on the nature of the story. He's returning to the
strong silent type that typified some of his best work, really capitalizing
on his ability to command a frame. It's a simple revenge story, but the
emotions are more complex and I hope I've brought a humanity to the tale
that is not normally seen in the genre. I'm a huge fan of Michael Mann and
Cassavetes so you all will have to let me know if some of that shows up in
the tale.


>- I read here (http://groups.msn.com/joostinbulgarije) that even when
>filming had began, the shooting script wasn't locked, and that Dolph
>demanded more changes, and some locations had still to be found, can you
>tell us more about all that?

Hahaha. Well, Joost(a fantastic guy by the way) is right that there were
last minute changes and re-shoots, but that's common in the genre.
Flexibility is key in situations like these. Every change that Dolph wanted
was born from his strong desire to push us all creatively and make the best
movie possible. He's a perfectionist and it's demanding work keeping up with
him, but in the end you have a product that you're proud of giving your
time, blood, sweat and tears.

>
>- who are the characters played by Olivia Lee and Maria Ilieva, from the
>pics I have seen, it seems that they are dancers in a club and hunted by
>the russian mob for some reason... apparently there's also something about
>Olivia Lee being reunited with her mother...?

Olivia plays "Julia", a girl Dolph (Nick Cherenko) is pressured into
rescuing from the grip of the Russian Mob. Maria plays "Natalya", a whore
working in the Russian club that aids Dolph in the mission. I haven't seen
the cut, but I hear they both did a fantastic job.
>
>- who is the character played by Ben Cross?

Cross plays "Burton", Nick's compatriot in his mission. Like a all of the
characters in the story, he's fallen from grace and this is a proper chance
for redemption for him. Cross is a brilliant actor and good man. Again,
pushing the material to maximize the narrative. It's really freeing to work
with an actor like him. As a writer, it's a great opportunity for
experimentation.
>
>- do you know what was the approx. budget of the movie? around $5 million?

Not sure. All I know is that it cost less than "Revenge of the Sith".
>
>Thank you again for bringing light to our questions on the making of THE
>MECHANIK.

Thank you, Jox. Cheers.

[bomaz]

i saw few images of "the mechanik" on TV ( on Canal + ) !
the french reporter Didier Allouch was interviewing the producer Avi Lerner ( executive producer on Mechanik , and one of the boss of Nu Image ) . He was talking about "the black dahlia" , and behind him , there was a TV screen , and there was images of Dolph , walking on a typical russian place ( or square ) ...

that's all !! it's a little scoop ( maybe we'll soon watch a trailer ... ) but it's really cool , andi think the movie is at the Movie Market of Cannes !

[Jox]

cool, est-ce que t'as pu l'enregistrer? avec un peu de chance, Dolph est a Cannes, jette un oeil au cas ou il passerait a la TV!

Il etait passe sur Canal en 2001 pour parler d'Hidden Agenda et un bras de fer avec Benoit Poelvoorde! Cette annee-la j'avais eu la chance d'etre au festival et de voir Dolph a l'hotel Martinez juste avant de passer au journal du cinema!

Ici, aux etats-unis personne ne s'interesse a Cannes, a part les gens de l'industrie qui y sont... j'ai achete le Variety special Cannes mais pas de nouveau projet pour Dolph annonce, meme Nu Image ne fait plus la pub pour ses series B et Z habituelles, seulement pour leurs gros projets comme Black Dahlia justement...

[bomaz]

cool, est-ce que t'as pu l'enregistrer? avec un peu de chance, Dolph est a Cannes, jette un oeil au cas ou il passerait a la TV!

Il etait passe sur Canal en 2001 pour parler d'Hidden Agenda et un bras de fer avec Benoit Poelvoorde! Cette annee-la j'avais eu la chance d'etre au festival et de voir Dolph a l'hotel Martinez juste avant de passer au journal du cinema!

Ici, aux etats-unis personne ne s'interesse a Cannes, a part les gens de l'industrie qui y sont... j'ai achete le Variety special Cannes mais pas de nouveau projet pour Dolph annonce, meme Nu Image ne fait plus la pub pour ses series B et Z habituelles, seulement pour leurs gros projets comme Black Dahlia justement...

je regarderais , t'inquiete ! mais je n'ai pas pu enregistrer , car je ne m'attendais pas à ce qu'il y ait des images du film !! dsl !!