Who is in charge of Russian show business? How Russian show business is waging war on its own people

There are rumors that recently the former president of Sberbank, and now the head of Russian Post, Andrei Kazmin, has also begun investing in show business.

"Grey cardinals" of show business

Alexia Melevskaya

The show industry has always had patrons. But this is a secret that has always been kept under seven seals from mere mortals. Firstly, why break the myth about talented nuggets who are polished by producers. Secondly, it’s a small-town way to somehow sponsor obviously unprofitable projects. So they decide the fate of many of today's idols from behind the scenes of show business...

Gangster past

There are no random people in show business. Today even more so. After all, the rules of the game are completely dictated by media structures and their “helmers.” In order not to get lost in the clan's cage of weak-willed artists, their “ownerless” colleagues resort to more thoughtful strategic maneuvers... Which ones? They are looking for support from the so-called gray cardinals.

In the 90s, artists were protected mainly by criminal circles. “All the artists had support among the bandits,” admits former Dune participant Sergei Katin. – For security and some financial assistance, the stars periodically went to clean-up days, where they played the role of “wedding generals.” Refusal from such concerts was life-threatening. Despite all the star tinsel and paraphernalia, patrons treated their “court musicians” as consumables, which they could always get rid of if not needed. But there were also singers to whom their “trustees” always showed honor and respect. Among such artists for a long time were Mikhail Zvezdinsky and Alexander Rosenbaum.

Around 1996, show business changed not only its priorities, but also its “guardian angels.” But for some representatives of show business, the trail of gangsterism continues to this day. For example, in the crowd, many people associate Viktor Rybin and Natalya Senchukova with the Dolgoprudny gangster group. There are rumors that tour organizers for a long time did not want to work with these artists, because they were afraid of “boyish squabbles” due to unfulfilled little things in the star rider.

Alignment with the Kremlin

Today everyone is trying to be closer to power structures. Artists are no exception. Some people's favorites themselves go to power - or rather, they give their name and reputation to it or some party for use. Others simply have a long-term creative friendship with her. For example, the rock movement was “patronized” for a long time by the deputy head of the presidential administration, Vladislav Surkov. Among his favorites are Boris Grebenshchikov, Vladimir Shakhrin and Chaif, Agatha Christie. With the latter, in 2005, Surkov even released a joint creative creation - the musical album “Peninsulas”.

Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Dzhakhan Pollyeva is not indifferent to the show industry.

Jahan writes poetry herself and enjoys singing. She released a disc with performances of romances by various authors, which was distributed in limited editions among friends and acquaintances. Pollyeva’s songs are already being sung by both “manufacturers” and our masters. And although the presidential aide tries not to show off her friendly preferences, on the sidelines of the Kremlin they are gossiping that today she is very favorable to Alexander Buinov.

Bank reserves

The business elite mainly supports the pop crowd. Some time ago, the press gossiped that businessman Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov, nicknamed Taiwanchik, had been the patron of Sofia Rotaru for many years. According to rumors, the businessman was in love with the singer and was ready for anything: he gave expensive fur coats, helped buy a car...

There is a lot of talk about Alla Pugacheva’s multiple patrons. One of Alla Borisovna’s close friends, who is always ready to come to her aid, is the oligarch and philanthropist Shabtai Kalmanovich. People from the prima donna’s circle said that many of Alla Borisovna’s projects were financed by the now disgraced oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky. And recently, they say, Alla Borisovna is friends with Roman Abramovich, who has recently been friends with Zemfira.

The ex-husband of the prima donna, Philip Kirkorov, is helped by businessman Viktor Baturin. Let us recall that with a competent financial and production policy, Baturina was able to strengthen his position in Russian show business and singer Dima Bilan.

There are rumors that recently the former president of Sberbank, and now the head of Russian Post, Andrei Kazmin, has also begun investing in show business. They say that it was thanks to his financing that the star of a certain TV presenter and supposedly famous model in Europe, Oksana Lavrentieva, lit up. Oksana (with the support of her patron) also helps her colleagues in the workshop. For example, Lavrentieva’s acquaintances said that not long ago she “benefited” Valery Meladze by appearing “in a friendly way” in his video.

Exiles of structures

As practice shows, the friendship of show individuals and their patrons does not always end with a happy ending. Not long ago, the country witnessed a bloody showdown with singer Abraham Russo. And despite the fact that he did not make official accusations against Telman Ismailov, “cobblestones” were still thrown towards the ex-benefactor.

Let us remember that Abraham Russo began his professional singing career in the Cyprus nightclub “Temple”. It was there that Russian businessman Telman Ismailov spotted him and without thinking twice decided to help the talented Syrian. Rumor has it that Thalmann's initial investment in the newly minted pop star amounted to about half a million dollars. With this money, a team of professionals was hired (with producer Joseph Prigozhin and a whole staff of authors, among them Viktor Chaika, Arkady Ukupnik, Larisa Rubalskaya). Thanks to their efforts, Rousseau made himself known. They say that success turned the singer’s head, and he decided to get rid of his patron, trying to join other influential characters...

As a result, an attempt was made on the singer’s life, and he emigrated abroad under the strictest secrecy.

Singer Katya Lel also fought for the right to remain in the show industry with her former benefactor, restaurateur Alexander Volkov. Multiple trials and public strife have not yet brought any of them a final victory.

The revenge of the former “admirer” did not spare the ballerina Anastasia Volochkova. Some time ago, the ballerina admitted to the press that a certain influential person was involved in the persecution of her at the Bolshoi Theater and other legal troubles, who could not forgive her for his “resignation”... There are rumors that, in order to resolve the current situation, Nastya was forced ask for help from influential government officials.

P.S. Of course, there is no slavery in show business in our country. But there are plenty of dolls who are looking for puppeteers... It’s easier this way - you can live in a toy world created for you, smile with a porcelain smile and not think about tomorrow... But relaxing with such “privileges” is extremely dangerous... Don’t forget - the control levers are located in the wrong hands, and the fulcrum in this situation is very unreliable. So it turns out that being “friends” with patrons is a rather “expensive” pleasure. And for both sides.

The famous TV presenter, following the example of her fellow co-host on the show “Two Stars” Tina Kandelaki, actively maintains a blog and happily shares juicy details from the lives of celebrities with the public. Thus, her latest post reveals the secrets of Stas Mikhailov, whose songs suddenly filled television and radio airwaves.

Further in the text: “They say that a certain Svetlana Medvedeva is very welcoming to S.M. and attends all his concerts. Therefore, political and business circles quietly whine and howl - they all also have to go there, clap and smile, secretly glancing at their watches. Really! They say, they explain it just like that, they say, I’m sorry, I can’t do it tonight, I’m going to this Stas Mikhailov’s concert, so fuck him. In response to the interlocutor’s silent question, they answer that the entire Kremlin is filled with the same fans, and if you don’t go, you understand. I was stupefied myself, damn it! I googled it and became even more amazed - it turns out that Russian President Medvedev, the husband of that same Svetlana, at the beginning of January personally awarded Stas the extraordinary title of Honored Artist of Russia without any doubt. Now it’s time to go nuts about the hero of my harsh days. I quote: On New Year’s Eve, Stas Mikhailov received a call and was told that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had signed a decree conferring the title “Honored Artist of Russia” on the famous performer Stas Mikhailov. However, initially the singer did not believe this, deciding that it was a New Year’s joke: “For me, being awarded the title came as a big surprise.

They called me on January 1 or 2 in the afternoon and informed me about the signed decree. I was sure that this was some kind of New Year’s joke, but I was very happy and flattered when I found out that it was true.” He was glad and flattered!!.. The young lady had already gone to bed and asked... However, the Honored Artist himself explains his success simply, I quote: At first, about 100 people knew me. Only a few months passed and my audience already numbered about 500 people, and a year later – 1000! »

September 30, 2017, 13:00

I've been wanting to write this post for so long that I think I'm already burned out. :(But articles about working in show business, as a rule, are interesting to readers and fit well into the gossip genre, so I decided to briefly describe my experience.

Everything below is a subjective perception of reality, and if your experience differs from mine, then do not criticize, but simply share in the comments. Let's draw up a general portrait of everyday work in glossy magazines and on television. :)

At the end of last year, I got a position as editor of an entertainment TV channel. My joy knew no bounds - in my imagination I painted pictures of the most interesting meetings with famous people, anticipated how every day I would reveal all my talents and write original articles and scripts, imagined how I would go on long business trips to present this or that award. In reality, everything turned out to be much more prosaic.

Creativity and censorship

In general, the word “creativity” appeared in the list of job responsibilities (there was something about writing “creative texts”). But in the end, all this originality did not bother anyone.

The channel had an established, recognizable style, and no one had plans to change anything. Absolutely all texts of programs and articles were written according to the same template and any liberties were suppressed.

The same applies to the choice of heroes of articles and programs. There was a conditional list with a gradation of stars - from permitted to undesirable. And before writing about any singer, it was necessary to check whether she was really worth writing about. :)

Censorship also affected topics. For example, we were forbidden to talk about some sad news, even if the whole world was discussing it. Yes, this is logical, the channel is entertaining, but it was strange for me to write about the filming of a video for some Oleg Miami, if everyone was grieving the loss of the legendary American musician.

We often criticize Gossip for its editorial policy, but according to my observations, it is much softer here than it was with us.

Blat

I won’t go into too much detail, I’ll just write that all the talk about how many people get on television through acquaintances is true. Almost all leadership positions, as well as positions of TV presenters, were occupied by the beloved of influential people.

And if not lovers, then simply those for whom they were willing to pay. Yes, we had several young girls (presenters) who were not paid a salary by the channel. It was their parents who paid the channel. :)

By the way, almost all Russian awards in which employees of our channel won were also purchased (nominations “TV presenter of the year”, “model of the year”, etc.).

Salary

For some reason, all my friends were convinced that everyone on television makes fabulous money. But no. Our salaries are average in Moscow - the same as for any office job. The management, of course, is disproportionately higher, but this is understandable.

In general, everyone was happy with everything.

Stars

There were few truly interesting meetings. As it turned out, for the most part, almost all the guest stars are mediocre and boring people. Many behaved arrogantly - I wrote in earlier posts that young stars such as Star Factory graduates were especially distinguished by this.

Sometimes it was difficult to film programs with stars, because they spoke clumsily and did not put words into sentences well. It has happened that you ask a detailed question, and in response you hear: “Uh, well, yes, sort of like that.”

Fortunately, there were exceptions.

Stress

In general, it seems to me that working on television is not very dusty. This is not to unload the wagons. But sometimes we faced such stressful situations that then we had to just lie at home all weekend and recover. :)

All the problems stemmed from the fact that the leadership positions were filled by someone’s girlfriends who had no management experience. And with their inconsistency and 7 Fridays a week, they often did something incomprehensible.

From the visual:

We approved the entire process of filming the new program, including the appearance of the TV presenter. The deadlines are tight, we shoot 3-4 issues at a time.

And literally a couple of days before the release, the director declares that she once again looked at the photo of the presenter, which was sent to her before the shooting (!) and... she doesn’t like the makeup. Let me remind you that everything was approved in advance! Despite this, we hastily reaffirm the image, change the makeup and reshoot those episodes.

Force majeure at work is a common practice, I understand, but in our case they could have been avoided if the management had been more experienced, responsible and more disciplined. This is what makes it unpleasant. :)

pros

But not all is gloomy in the television realm. Otherwise people wouldn't have worked there for years. :)

As I already mentioned, I was quite satisfied with the salary. In addition, we had a wonderful team - there were only a few of us in the editorial office (15 people), difficulties made us closer, so we were close friends and had a great time at events. I still communicate with some colleagues.

We were also constantly given tickets to various concerts and shows, which was also good. In any case, it brightened up more than one evening.

I also liked multitasking. For example, I not only wrote texts for filming, but also often helped the director and cameraman. So during the filming process it was never boring or monotonous. It's a pity that they didn't film every day. :)

As a result, I changed my profession and moved to a more promising field (IT), but in general I think that the experience gained on television helped me a lot to “pump up”. So it wasn't all in vain.

Here's the story. :)

Update: at some point everything began to be perceived as routine, and the antics of the stars were no longer stored in memory. But here's what might be more or less interesting:

Olga Buzova once refused to take part in the program because of...her illiteracy. They say that during the interview her director is responsible for her, and at the time of our invitation he left somewhere, so she did not dare to come alone. :)

Sati Casanova looks good, but her character is not very good: during pauses between filming, she ran to the editor-in-chief’s office and did not communicate with any of us, the channel’s employees. She didn’t condescend.

Sergey Lazarev is a professional. Once he was invited to filming, but on a ridiculous scale (some kind of announcement), but, apparently, this was not explained to him, and he decided that we were talking about a full-fledged program. When he made his way to us through Moscow traffic jams and found out about the filming of just the announcement, his anger knew no bounds. However, everything was shot at the highest level.

the site learned from several Russian pop music gurus what young guys need to do to become famous.

There is no shortage of artists in Russian show business. But despite this, in every region of our country there are boys and girls who dream of becoming stars. Provincial talents are ready to do anything to be noticed by a successful producer and lead them up the stairs to the coveted stage.

“You can buy it for $1,000, or you can buy it for $50.”

To get on stage, first of all you need to have a great desire, says former concert director of Philip Kirkorov, Tatu and Smash!! Leonid Dzyunik. - You should not wait for the weather by the sea, but take vocal and acting skills very seriously. Well, since we live not in Soviet times, but in ours, then, of course, financial support plays an important role. It's hard to say how much money you need to have to become a star. It's very individual. I know cases when wealthy dads, husbands or lovers of future stars paid about a million to one and a half dollars in order to take the first steps - find a song, record it in a studio, shoot a video, take it to the radio. And then, if you come to the radio with one song, as a rule, they don’t take it. You need to have at least three so that the production and music editors understand that this composition will work today, in 2-3 months there will be another, and in six months - a third. The price of hits is also different - you can buy it for a thousand dollars, or you can buy it for 50. And again, it’s not a fact that after this you will become a star. If you think that mom or dad will invest money in me and I will immediately become popular, nothing will work out! This doesn’t happen, because for every thousand dollars someone else has two thousand, and for every two thousand, someone else has five. Therefore, the most important thing is to work tirelessly.

Previously, producers could meet their future protégé in a restaurant. For example, Lyubov Uspenskaya, Larisa Dolina, Oleg Gazmanov, Igor Nikolaev and many other stars began their careers by performing in front of a drinking and chewing public. An old-timer in show business, Dzyunik, also told our correspondents about how things are now.

// Photo: personal archive

The transfer of disks is now also practiced, continues 58-year-old Leonid Alekseevich. - Don’t forget the various talent shows. For example, to participate in the “Voice” program, you will also need to register on the website, send your resume with a recording of the composition that you want to perform. Such shows help young talents a lot, because the artist, his presentation, charisma and power are already visible there. You can also upload a recording of your song to the Internet. And there are successful examples. Composer and performer Nikolai Voronov’s hit “White Dragonfly of Love” was not wanted on the radio at the time. And then the composition was simply posted on YouTube. She conquered absolutely everyone, and the guy became popular. As for how long it takes to promote, this is also an individual question. Basically, for a year and a half, everything is not done in one day. First, you need to find a song, try to record it in a studio, find a good arranger, sound engineer. Then the hit needs to be mixed. All this is a whole process!

“I was successful with my muzzle and I want to open my mouth on stage”

Producer of the Tatu group Ivan Shapovalov told us that today a future star does not necessarily have to have a lot of money for promotion.

There would be a desire,” says the 51-year-old producer. - In order to become a famous performer, you can either transfer a recording of your song to a producer, take part in a talent show, or appear in some scandal.

// Photo: Global Look Press

Regarding the last point, Bari Alibasov, the constant producer of the Na-Na group, completely agrees with Shapovalov.

Now, in order to become a star, you don’t need anything - no talent, no abilities, no basic vocal skills, says 70-year-old Bari Karimovich. - You just need to shine your face on all TV channels and on the Internet. And a song can be recorded with anything - even with an ass, the tuner will fix everything and put every note in its place. The point is that the era of personalities has ended, the background music industry has begun. Nowadays people sing to whom neither God, nor the gene, nor the sperm have given anything in order to somehow express themselves in music. Nowadays the computer will do everything for you. And you don't even need musicians. All the sounds that humanity has invented are on the Internet. The 20th century was the era of stars. A personality appeared, and everyone deified it. We had a lot of performers - Klavdiya Shulzhenko, Alexander Vertinsky. These are individuals! They had a wide range - musicality, social status, literacy, amount of knowledge and talent. But now you can simply insult someone, hit them in the head with a brick, and tomorrow you will be on all TV channels. And you don't need money. Do any nasty thing - and tomorrow all TV channels will tear you apart. Some slut that the whole town had could become a celebrity thanks to his “generosity.”

// Photo: Global Look Press

Bari Alibasov is sure that due to technological progress, even show business gurus themselves may find themselves without work.

What kind of producers are these days?! - exclaims Bari Karimovich. - Now the most important thing is the PR agent who promotes you on the Internet. These people have a price, they say: “We guarantee you one and a half million views of your song within such and such a period...” This is all technology again. A producer is in demand only at the music recording level. You can come to him and say: “I’m a complete weirdo, when I was a child my larynx was torn out due to drunkenness, my butt fell off, I have nothing to make sounds with. But I was successful with my muzzle and I want to open my mouth to something on stage.” The producer will do everything!

“Half of our artists do not have the right to go on stage”

Another show business specialist, producer Joseph Prigozhin, agrees with his colleague Alibasov that a mediocre person now has the opportunity to get on stage without any problems.

Today you can not be an artist and become a star, says the 48-year-old husband of singer Valeria. - It is these “non-artists” who take the places of those people who could be stars. A substitution of concepts has occurred, that's all. Half of our performers do not have the right to go on stage at all, but they come out because they are popular.

Despite the sad statistics, Joseph Prigogine still uses old methods of promotion in his work.

// Photo: Global Look Press

There are four important components of a successful project: talent, professional management, availability of composers and repertoire and, of course, financial support. The amount of finance depends solely on the material. Everything is individual. I do not agree with the opinion that with the advent of computer technology and the Internet, we producers have less work. Everything just transforms. There have always been difficulties with promotion. Previously, there was a lack of information and it was enough for an artist to appear on one TV channel for everyone to recognize him. And now you need to appear on one thousand five hundred channels within a year to become famous. Time for promotion is required in different ways. If you get into the repertoire, in just 3 months you can become a star. And if this does not happen, then you can wait for your finest hour for decades, as, for example, Valeria, Emin, Loboda had to do.

But Joseph Prigogine, in spite of everything, does not want the truly talented people of Russia to remain in the shadows. Therefore, future stars can even write him a personal message on the Internet.

We, the producers, are now publicly available,” Prigozhin continues. - Young talents today don’t need to go somewhere to audition, because we all have a personal account on the Internet. You just need to come to karaoke, record your singing on video and send the material to the producer. And then they will definitely pay attention to the young singer.

Action plan for aspiring artists:

Go to karaoke, record your performance on video;

Send this video to Joseph Prigozhin (or another producer) by personal message on a social network;

Take part in a musical talent show;

Improve your talent every day - practice vocal and acting skills with a teacher;

If you feel that you have written a real hit, then simply perform it on camera and post it on the Internet. If the composition is successful online, the venerable producer himself will call you and start promoting you.

Well, the following two points, which we cannot advise for ethical reasons, but, as show business experts assure, they also work:

Do something scandalous to get talk shows interested in you;

Find a lover (tsu) or husband (wife) who has an extra one and a half million dollars in his pocket, and invest it in promotion.

Pop and movie stars seem ideal to us. We admire their intelligence, insight, and talent. We look at their impeccable appearance, expensive clothes and luxurious life. We listen to their moving speeches from the stage and applaud when they donate large sums of money to charity.

But we know very little about celebrities, because we don’t come across them in everyday life. But their housekeepers know much more. After all, nannies, cleaners, cooks and personal assistants have to endure all the whims of star employers.

Celebrity assistants know their clients better than their moms and dads, even better than the most meticulous and annoying journalists. It is not surprising that employees often leave their jobs, unable to withstand the nagging or oddities of the employer. And along the way, they also tell everything that they managed to learn and experience.

1. Lady Gaga and a cold bed
The scandal of the outrageous singer with her former assistant Jennifer O’Neill broke out all over the world. Through the court, the former housekeeper received a large sum of money from the star, and a little later she wrote a book about her misadventures.

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (the singer's real name) forced her assistant to warm her cold bed. She would wake Jennifer up in the middle of the night to play her another movie. The assistant's duties even included flushing the water behind the star in the toilet.

2. Britney Spears and burgers

Britney's maid once shared her observations, saying that the singer has a passion for fast food. The housekeeper kept finding burgers, potatoes and empty packages of junk food under the star’s bed. In addition, in one of the closets, Britney keeps a considerable collection of toys for love pleasures.

3. Lazy Mariah Carey

When the singer comes home, she demands that they take off her shoes and put them back on. And you also need to walk backwards in front of it in order to catch the star when it decides to fall.

It's common for an assistant to stand next to a singer with a bottle of soda and wait for her to drink water through a straw. Often the assistants even had to wash the tired star’s hair themselves.

But loyalty and following all orders don’t mean anything. So Mariah fired her children’s long-term nanny because she became too attached to the children, and they began to consider her family.

4. Clean Christian Bale

Christian Bale's assistant wrote an entire book about the life of the movie star. Harrison Chun recalled that during the actor's long absence, he had to look after a whole flock of possums living in his backyard.

But even that wasn't as disgusting as sniffing Christian's armpits before the latter walked on the red carpet. The actor asked to be notified if he smelled of anything other than deodorant.

5. Prudent Alexander Malinin

In order to let the nanny near the children, the singer demanded that she follow all the hygiene rules he had invented. Before the children were shown to the nanny selected by Alexander, she had to take a shower using special equipment, gargle with a solution of hydrogen peroxide, and also put on a medical gown and put on a mask.

6. Ani Lorak and the fear of betrayal

Having seen enough of how Western celebrities took mistresses among nannies and governesses (Jude Law, Ethan Hawke, Ozzy Osbourne, Arnold Schwarzenegger), Ani decided at all costs to prevent this from happening in her family. Therefore, only elderly nannies and housekeepers are hired. Although the years are not doing Caroline herself any favors.

7. Everyone loses weight around Madonna

The singer is simply obsessed with diets and forces her assistants to also adhere to proper (in her opinion) nutrition.

The singer requires her assistants to be able to cope without sleep in order to bring her bottles of fresh water 5-6 times a night. And for all this suffering, Madonna pays her assistants 2 times less than her star colleagues.

8. Shaved Ryan Gosling

The actor, beloved by millions, sleeps with his feet on a pillow, walks up the stairs on all fours and terribly hates the hair on his body. The housekeeper reports that Ryan is a fan of full body hair removal.

9. Megan Fox and the riots

You literally have to follow Megan Fox's heels. The actress loves to throw things around the house, and then gets terribly angry that she can’t find anything. In addition, the beauty often forgets to flush the toilet, for which she receives scoldings from friends. She herself complains that she neglects hygiene and cannot help herself.

10. Electoral Alla Pugacheva

A long-time housekeeper from Pugacheva’s house also spoke about the times when she served Alla and Philip. It turns out that Alla Borisovna loves fried cucumbers. At the same time, Philip Bedrosovich loved to eat fast food.

11. Dirty Johnny Depp

It’s not without reason that they joke about Johnny Depp that he got too used to the role of a pirate. The fact is that the famous actor is not a fan of showers, and also likes to wear the same clothes for weeks on end. Maybe an actor really needs such an image to convincingly play the roles of “dirty” characters? We have already written about Johnny Depp’s philosophy of life earlier.

12. Strict Charlize Theron

The servants in Charlize's house are not allowed to talk. You are even only allowed to look down, at your feet. If a housekeeper or nanny has a burning question, she writes it down in a special diary kept in a designated place. The servants also find Charlize’s answers there.

It seems that stars should treat their housekeepers, nannies and assistants with great respect, because they have huge dirt on them. And if there is dirt on a star, then with a high degree of probability it can be used.

After all these details, we began to look at celebrities with different eyes, without the former amount of admiration. It turns out that famous people are not just the same as everyone else, but also have their own quirks, sometimes very strange and unpleasant.

Now you know a little more about your favorite stars. Has your attitude towards them changed? Share your opinion on this matter in the comments.