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SEEING IS BELIEVING
Curiosity about the forthcoming epic tale of 'Barbarossanova' has resulted in a 'Crux Chronicle' investigation to track down some of the main players, with a view to obtaining exclusive interviews. Following a fruitless search through the backwaters of Eastern Europe, Spike Sharp finally caught up with the Barbarinder Production Team in Chernyshevskoye, Russia, near the border with Lithuania.
There is an eerie atmosphere about the town, which has lain partly abandoned in ruins since the end of the Second World War. The German population was expelled when the town became part of the Soviet Union, and large parts of Chernyshevskoye still form a military restricted area. Spike discovered some frantic activity in the ruins of the old Protestant Church, where Bobinder had installed a simulated snow machine in the underground crypt.
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Bobinder:-
Actually it's not really a crypt - we're not making a crux-vampire movie, you know. It's really an old air raid shelter, but it is one of the few remaining accommodations which are still intact around here. We are busy cutting down trees and making substantial repairs to the church and surrounding buildings.
Spike:-
So, what has all this activity to do with 'Barbarossanova'?
Bobinder:-
Well, we are using authentic locations and gradually realising our cinematic vision for the story. That means we have to find the places and sometimes restore them to create the kind of stage set we need for a virtual location shoot. Chernyshevskoye was previously the East Prussian town of Eydtkuhnen. It was devastated during the Russian invasion of East Prussia in 1914 and again in 1945 during the East Prussian Offensive by the Red Army.
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Spike:-
Recreating a town seems like a production strategy on an epic scale. Is that why this project is taking so long?
Bobinder:-
One of the reasons is the quest for perfection, but fortunately we do not have to recreate everything. There is a lot of original visual material such as period photographs which can be adapted for the purposes of the story. Some of these have been colourised in a style evocative of old colour film, and our characters have been manipulated into the scenes.
The resulting mix of colour and monochrome visuals helps to evoke the style of a big movie from the 1940s, similar to the way 'A Matter of Life and Death' was filmed in 1946. Some of the visuals will appear in widescreen aspect, which complements the cinematic vision.
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Spike:-
There is some speculation about the characters, of course. Is it true that we can expect some big stars to appear in 'Barbarossanova'?
Bobinder:-
We are still casting the main roles, refining the script and the visual content, so I would rather not confirm too much at this stage. Obviously, the big star is Barbara Moore - here she is now.
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Spike:-
Hello Barb, fancy meeting you here!
Barb:-
Hi Spike, I might say the same. As Bob has explained, we are very much into a work in progress, but this isn't just another tale of gratuitous sex and violence. It's a human interest story, and we want to present it in a way which is honest and respectful to the people who were actually involved.
We're not going to rush this one out with compromises. Everything needs to be just right prior to release. As for epic scale, that would apply to any film, poem or book that is long and contains a lot of action, dealing with a historical subject, so yes, it's definitely an epic.
Spike:-
But surely, there will be some gratuitous sex and violence, right?
Barb:-
Well, you are familiar with the prequel, "Berlin Diary", are you not?
Spike:-
Then no one will be disappointed, will they?
Barb:-
Well Spike, Barbara Moore is Barbara Moore ... always a bit too impetuous, naive and a tad too clumsy to ever stay completely out of trouble, whether it concerns love or danger. But as Bob already said, we don't want to give too much away at this point.
Spike:-
Well thanks, Barb. I should let you get back to work. Good luck with the scene and WHOAAA, those aren't real incoming artillery shells, are they?
Barb:-
Yes, Spike ... we are shooting on location in a restricted military zone for the sake of realism. That artillery bombardment is definitely real!
Spike:-
Wow!
Barb:-
We're ready for the next scene now. I have to go do my part.
Spike:-
And this is Spike Sharp, for 'Cruxforums Chronicle', signing off. Barb has gone off to film a scene and it appears that yours truly is about to be escorted out of town by a squad of humorless Ivans who speak no English, but keep repeating what I believe to be Russian for "under arrest."
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