Strip 100 Number No. 43(398) dated 05.11.2002

Moscow never became Broadway

Photo: SERGEY MIKHEEV, Kommersant

The terrorist attack on Dubrovka dealt a blow to the emerging musical genre in Russia. One of the co-authors of the ill-fated “Nord-Ost”, Georgy Vasiliev, expressed himself more than categorically: “Nord-Ost is no more.” At a meeting of the troupe, the actors were informed that the Link company, which produced this project, had actually gone bankrupt. The actors were advised to agree to offers from other companies - the revival of Nord-Ost would take at least six months: it was necessary to restore damaged sound and lighting equipment, destroyed costumes, and establish a ticket sales system, the initial organization of which took six months. There is no money for this: the musical has not yet paid off, the company has not even managed to pay off its debts. The authors and producers of "Nord-Ost", determined to restore the project, turned to the state and sponsors for help. But they have not yet received official notifications from city authorities that assistance will be provided. The Ministry of Culture promises to allocate about $50 thousand to restore the performance, but this will cover only a small part of the damage suffered. Representatives of the companies LUKOIL, YUKOS, RAO UES of Russia stated that they were ready to support Nord-Ost, but things have not yet gone beyond promises.
Meanwhile, attendance at other shows also fell. “It’s not even a matter of attendance—the point is that they stopped buying tickets,” said Boris Krasnov, producer of the musical “42nd Street.” This is a significant blow for the Krasnov project. By his own admission, the situation can only be saved by deferring payments to the American company, which, according to the contract, receives a certain amount from the weekly fees.

NOT IN CONTRIBUTION

Jeremy Irons saves Montenegro's economy

Photo: AP

A couple of weeks of one-star accommodation pays for four years of downtime at a five-star hotel.

The famous actor Jeremy Irons gained fame as a savior after spending 65 thousand pounds sterling in a Montenegrin hotel located on a small island in the Adriatic Sea. Irons stayed at the Sveti Stefan Hotel for two weeks while filming the new anti-war film Matilde. Local authorities literally pray to the actor, calling him a savior, since his fee has become a significant contribution to the island's budget. It was once a favorite holiday destination for stars - the island was visited by many, including Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren. Due to the Balkan War, the flow of guests dried up, and local hotels faced inevitable economic difficulties. “Jeremy Irons' bill was the largest we have issued in the last four years. He paid so much that we can now make the most necessary improvements,” says hotel manager Pero Radenovic. “He was demanding, as is usually the case with famous actors, but I hope that we were able to satisfy his wishes,” the manager added. Now the hotel staff are waiting for the start of filming the second part of "Matilde", which is scheduled for early November.

IT WILL BE NOT ENOUGH

Harry Potter Forever

Photo: AP

Young actors of "Harry Potter" demand continuation of contract

The young stars of the first two parts of “Harry Potter” do not intend to leave the project in the near future and want to extend their contracts for the maximum period. Daniel Radcliffe (who stars as Harry Potter himself), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) currently have three films under contract. Director Chris Columbus recently said that he doubts that the actors will be able to continue filming after the third part, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." Children will simply turn into teenagers and no longer match the age of their characters. However, at a recent press conference last week in London, the three young actors said they were looking forward to a contract extension. Rupert Grint says: "I'd love to do more films. Maybe at least five parts. We're having such a great time filming." Children have fun on the set, of course, not for free.

ALIEN'S POCKET

Bloomberg shares rise

Photo: AP

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is playing big

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, with a personal fortune of $4.8 billion, is the richest politician in the United States. This conclusion was reached by the authoritative weekly Forbes, which published a study on the topic “Politics and Money” in America. Having headed the administration of the largest US city less than a year ago, Michael Bloomberg has not yet managed to gain great fame in this field. He is far from the hero status enjoyed by his predecessor Rudolph Giuliani, who led New York after the September 11 terrorist attacks. As the “father of the city,” Bloomberg has so far become famous only for his unpopular anti-tobacco campaign. Himself an active opponent of smoking, he went further than Giuliani, who banned smoking in all restaurants where there are more than three dozen customers: Bloomberg intends to impose a complete ban on smoking. True, the mayor’s fight against smoking extends only to cigarettes—in one of his interviews, he admitted that he smoked marijuana and even enjoyed it. That statement was used by the pro-marijuana legalization group NORML Foundation to make the mayor the face of its $500,000 pro-marijuana campaign.
The mayor is famous for other bad habits. For example, he wastes money on a grand scale. To get elected mayor, he spent about $73 million. In US history, this is the most expensive political campaign not related to the presidential election. Bloomberg's rival was Democrat Mark Green, who spent only $12 million and, apparently, for this Bloomberg accused him of lacking a commercial spirit. The lucky winner clearly has this streak: those who watched the election campaign agreed that Bloomberg “bought the election fairly, but he bought it.”

WHITE CROW

"I'll give you a quarter of a million for a night with you"
72-year-old Rolf Eden, who made his fortune in the disco business in Berlin, bequeathed a significant part of his fortune (namely 250 thousand euros) to the one in whose arms he would die. Eden's proposal caused serious enthusiasm among a certain part of the female population of the planet. Eden claims his email inbox was filled with messages from all over the world, including the US, Brazil and Russia. And although Eden is extremely flattered by the number of people who want to share his last bed, he is quite satisfied with German women. "In Berlin alone there are two million women, and one in four are single. This is simply fantastic." The ever-smiling, tanned blond Rolf Eden does not at all look like a man preparing to give up his life. In the 50s he worked for several years as a jazz pianist and waiter in Paris. For the past 45 years, he has owned four popular disco clubs. When he felt that life was approaching its inevitable end, he decided that he should share part of his substantial fortune with the last woman in his sex life. “What I suggested is quite serious. I just want to thank all the women I slept with.”
When preparing the materials, information from Delfi, NTVcom, ClickUK, and the Kommersant newspaper was used.
The column is led by ANNA RABIN

Magazine "Kommersant Money" No. 43 dated 05.11.2002, page 100

Authors:

Anna Rabina

Themes:

Hostage taking at Nord-Ost