Moscow Times Article

March 11,1998

Wistful Fiennes on Location in St. Petersburg
By Valera Katsuba

ST. PETERSBURG - British actor Ralph Fiennes has been walking moodily around Russia's second city this week, shooting location scenes for "Eugene Onegin," a film set in 19th century Russia based on Alexander Pushkin's poetic romance.

Fiennes, the Academy Award-nominated star of "The English Patient" and "Schindler's List," arrived in St. Petersburg late last week for the shoot, which began Saturday on the ice-covered Gulf of Finland and included location filming at the Peter and Paul Fortress on Monday and the Kazan Cathedral on Tuesday.

Fiennes is the film's executive producer and will play the title role of Onegin, Pushkin's ironic romantic anti-hero. His sister, Martha Fiennes, will be making her directorial debut on the film.

Most of the film will be shot in Britain, and only exterior shots will be filmed here. The locations will be used to capture authentic shots of the perennially bored Onegin wandering the streets of St. Petersburg or journeying to find himself in the countryside.

Of the principal characters, only Fiennes made the trip to Russia for filming. The remainder of the footage will be shot on location in England and in the studios.

The Fiennes brother-and-sister team attended a reception at the home of British Consul John Guy last Friday to kick off the week of filming. Fiennes traveled to Moscow last April for the Chekhov Theater Festival when he starred in a stage version of Chekhov's "Ivanov" by London's Almeida Theater.

Fiennes was dubious about the appeal of "Eugene Onegin" worldwide, especially in the United States. "Maybe (the film will raise interest) in Russia, but I can see a slight problem with the distribution of the film in America," Fiennes said, referring to the poem's rather un-Hollywood ending.

"As you know, the main heroine of the novel, Tatyana, leaves Onegin, and Onegin kills his friend (Lensky)."

It's hard to imagine, however, that Russian audiences would not flock to see Fiennes playing in the Pushkin classic, which every Russian student is required to read and virtually memorize.

The British company Onegin Productions Limited is producing the film with on -location help in St. Petersburg from the Russian production company Globus. Valery Yermolayev, director of Globus, also successfully worked on the James Bond film "Goldeneye," part of which was shot in St. Petersburg in 1995.

St. Petersburg and Moscow were also recently used for location shots in a film version of Lev Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina."Sara Keene, publicity director for Onegin Productions Limited, said the decision to make most of the film in Britain was based on financial considerations. "It is more expensive for us to film the whole film in Russia, and less expensive to film the interior shots in studios in the U.K.," said Keene. "It's a question of budget."

Keene had only good things to say about filming here.

"The weather is perfect for the film," she said of the work the combined English and Russian crews were doing Monday. "It's snowing at Peter and Paul Fortress; it looks beautiful."

Tatyana Larina will be played by Liv Tyler, known for her roles in "Stealing Beauty" and "Everyone Says I Love You."

Lensky will be portrayed by Toby Stephens. Lena Headay, who will appear in the role of Olga, has established her reputation in British films such as "The Face" and the forthcoming "Mrs. Dalloway."

Keene would not disclose the film's projected release date, as "Eugene Onegin" does not yet have a distributor.