Tatiana Dogileva, a People's Artist of Russia who has worked in film for almost 50 years, said actors should not wait around for a career-defining project but should instead focus on playing every role well. She made the comment in an interview with the Russian state news agency TASS ahead of the September 10 release of the comedy "Between Us, Girls," in which she appears.
Dogileva said the film industry has changed repeatedly over her decades-long career, particularly when it comes to working conditions. She recalled that labor law was once strictly enforced on set, guaranteeing an eight-hour working day with no overtime, which left time for a personal life after a shift ended.
She said standard contracts now specify 12-hour shifts, with overtime sometimes stretching to 14 hours or more. Dogileva said that after a shift like that, the only goal is to get home, lie down and try to fall asleep. She noted that her own roles are now smaller and episodic, yet still tiring at times, and said she could not imagine how leading actors and actresses cope.
Directors versus producers
Dogileva said the standing of directors on set has also shifted. She said that in the past, no one on a film crew ranked above the director, who she described as being treated almost like a king, whereas producers now run the show. She called this strange, adding that she still takes direction only from the director out of habit.
She said it now strikes her as odd that some directors seem almost as young as schoolchildren, noting that directing programs used to admit only adults who had already worked in some field and had life experience, rarely accepting people straight out of school. She said this has changed completely, with young people now moving into directing straight from school.
She added that she now watches this part of the industry, which she called the "dream factory," somewhat from the outside, but said she is glad her own roles have grown and that she enjoys taking part in contemporary Russian cinema.
Older actors still in demand
Asked whether actors of her generation are still in demand, Dogileva credited her agent, Maria Prokonicheva, with keeping her working steadily. She said she is not exactly in constant high demand but does have a choice of roles, and said screenwriters do write parts for her age group, so her generation is not being overlooked. She said her generation has also risen to the occasion, continuing to work and act well.
She said older actors generally speak their lines far more clearly than some younger performers, who she said seem to believe that mumbling a script indistinctly makes their delivery more natural. She said this marks a major difference between Soviet-era cinema and today's films, noting that in the past a film with such poor sound would simply have been rejected, whereas now this goes largely unnoticed except by viewers who cannot understand what the actors are saying. She called it simply a sign of the times.
On the broader talent level of today's actors, Dogileva said the profession has always included the talented, the mediocre and the untalented alike, just as it does now. She said the key for any actor remains landing a good project that gets them noticed, but stressed that people should not wait for their own star vehicle to come along. She said playing every role well is itself a path to success, adding that she always says good actors are not just lying around on the road waiting to be found.
Bloggers and internet celebrities on screen
Asked about the growing presence of bloggers and other internet celebrities in Russian film, Dogileva said many productions now cast people who built their names online rather than trained actors. She said she does not fully understand the phenomenon and was initially very surprised by it, but said it has since become widespread, calling it almost a hallmark of contemporary Russian cinema to cast bloggers and comedy-show performers.
She said she has worked alongside such performers herself several times, finding some likeable and others less so. She said Russian cinema today is largely producer-driven, and if producers have decided there is value in casting internet celebrities, they presumably know their business better than she does. She said she does not understand marketing and cares mainly that the resulting film is good.
The secret to a good film
Asked what she considers the main secret to a good film, Dogileva said the success of a film or series depends on many factors, but said she still believes, in an old-fashioned way, that the key ingredient is the talent of the director.
Her view on remakes
Dogileva said she takes a strongly negative view of the recent wave of remakes of well-known Soviet films. She said her instinct each time is to say filmmakers should leave the originals alone and come up with their own ideas instead, adding that today's filmmakers apparently either struggle to create something original or do not feel the same love for those older films that meant so much to earlier audiences.
She said she simply would not watch a new version of "The Pokrovsky Gate" if anyone ever decided to remake it.
Looking ahead
Despite her criticism of some changes in the industry, Dogileva said she remains optimistic about the future of Russian cinema. She said there are excellent directors and actors working today, even if there are not many of them, adding that this has always been the case.
She said she genuinely admires good films and series, and that watching a strong performance from an actor or actress feels like a celebration to her. She said she loves good acting and urged filmmakers to keep trying, writing good scripts with good roles, working with good directors and casting good actors.
