Художественные фильмы

                   

The Master and Margarita - 2017

Svetlana Migunova-Dali, Baz Luhrmann, Johny Depp et al

On February 14, 2017, the Russian news agency TASS reported that the film rights for a Hollywood version of The Master and Margarita had been awarded to producers Svetlana Migunova-Dali and Grace Loh. Migunova-Dali graduated as an actress from the renowned Moscow theatre school GITIS in 1997, after which she emigrated to the United States, first to New York and two years later to Los Angeles. Loh is an independent producer who, among other things, headed for seven years.actor John Cusack's production company New Crime Productions.

Светлана Мигунова-Дали

Грейс Ло и Джон Кьюсак

What came before - The mysterious Nikita Androsiani

This isn't the first time producer Svetlana Migunova-Dali has attempted to adapt Bulgakov's novel into a film. In 2000, when director Vladimir Bortko made his first attempt to adapt it into a 10-part TV series for the then-independent NTV channel, titled Визит Воланда [Vizit Volanda] or The Visit of Woland, it was rejected by Sergei Shilovsky, the grandson of Bulgakov's third wife, Yelena Sergeevna, and the writer's self-proclaimed heir, because he was negotiating with Migunova and a certain Nikita Androsiani (a producer, owner of a cosmetics brand, and construction magnate - the reports vary).

Сергей Шиловский

Androsiani allegedly saw a photo of Migunova-Dali somewhere and decided she could be the perfect Margarita. He contacted her, saying he envisioned her starring in a film based on Bulgakov's novel, and was willing to invest several million dollars in the project.

Migunova-Dali responded by offering to work internationally. In 2000, she acquired the film rights from Sergei Shilovsky, and six months later, she showed him the script she had written. The «heir» was satisfied. According to him, Migunova-Dali's version was close to the source material and was perhaps «the best script he had ever read».

Migunova-Dali was very ambitious. In her search for collaboration, she mentioned Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Zemeckis, and Anthony Mengele as possible directors for the film. Al Pacino was considered for the role of Woland, Ralph Fiennes for the role of the master, Danny DeVito for Behemoth, John Malkovich for Pontius Pilate, Matt Damon for Bezdomny, and Nicholas Cage for Joshua.

Vladimir Bortko vividly remembers the struggle back then: «Androsiani sent faxes to national television stations inviting them to participate in the project, which was supposed to include all the world stars - from Al Pacino to Gérard Depardieu». The mysterious producer also reportedly planned to release dozens of products under the Master and Margarita brand, from cosmetics to a wine line. However, he never paid the promised funds. A year later, Migunova took over both the financial and creative aspects of the project, and Androsiani withdrew.

En collaboration avec Grace Loh et Michael Lang

However, hopes were quickly rekindled one day when she read in a magazine that The Master and Margarita was actor John Cusack's favorite book. «Without any involvement from his agents and lawyers, I called his company and said, 'I have the rights and the script. Are you willing to talk to us?'». Cusack and Grace Loh, the director of his company, reviewed the material and joined the project. The collaboration lasted several years. According to Migunova, negotiations took place exclusively with major studios, but the deal never materialized. The option expired.

In 2016, Migunova-Dali - without Cusack, but still with Grace Loh - finally found partners, signed a new licensing agreement with Shilovsky, and even reached an agreement with director Baz Luhrmann. In late 2019, American publications reported that he would direct the first American film adaptation of The Master and Margarita. The production was to be handled by his studio, Baz & Co., co-owned by Leonard Blavatnik, the Russian billionaire who owns Warner Music, among other businesses. This would later lead to quite a few complications.

Michael Lang (1944-2022) also offered to participate in 2016. Lang was best known as one of the organizers of the legendary Woodstock Music and Arts Festival in August 1969. He had already made attempts to adapt The Master and Margarita for the screen in 1989, first with Ray Manzarek (1939-2013), the keyboardist for the famous rock band The Doors, and later with Roman Polanski (°1933). However, these attempts failed each time, mainly due to disagreements about the scripts. You can read more details about Michael Lang's projects by clicking on this link.

Майкл Лэнг

Conflict with Mars Media

For almost three years, nothing more was heard about this project, except that a dispute had arisen with the Russian production company Mars Media. They had also begun a project to adapt The Master and Margarita for the screen. Initially, Migunova-Dali had no objection: «We felt it was perfectly right that Bulgakov's estate retained the rights to the Russian version of the film. Sergei Sergeevich [Shilovsky] and I agreed on this», she explained. A potential Russian producer was would be prohibited from releasing the film simultaneously with the Hollywood version and would not be allowed to translate the film into English, not even with subtitles. Sergei Shilovsky was contractually obligated to inform the Russian producer of this, but this never happened, leaving Mars Media free to determine the release date and to translate the film into English.

Michael Lang filed a claim against Mars Media and Mars Media filed a lawsuit against Sergei Shilovsky, claiming 115 million rubles (1.24 million euros) in damages. However, the case appeared to have been settled amicably in April 2020. We don't know who paid what to whom. We only saw a statement from Shilovsky; «Okay, fine, I'll return most of the money», but the amount and the beneficiary were not disclosed.

Baz Luhrman's entry and exit

Meanwhile, Migunova-Dali had made herself heard again. On December 11, 2019, the news site Deadline Hollywood reported that she, along with Grace Loh, had signed a collaboration agreement with renowned director Baz Luhrmann to direct the film. Luhrmann is known for his films Romeo + Juliet and The Great Gatsby, both starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and for Australia and Moulin Rouge!, both starring Nicole Kidman. He was also previously mentioned as a potential director for The Master and Margarita when producer Scott Steindorff acquired the film rights to the novel in 2010.

Баз Лурман

When we announced the news of Baz Luhrmann as director on our our Facebook pagethe link was widely shared, although the reactions were widely varied. They ranged from «Fantastic» to «Oh my god. I am afraid». he skeptics feared, in particular, that Luhrmann was too idiosyncratic to respect the spirit of author Mikhail Bulgakov's work.

Two months later, on February 10, 2020, news broke that there appeared to be ties between the Luhrmann project and Mars Media's Russian project. The aforementioned Leonard Blavatnik, co-owner of Baz & Co, the company with which Baz Luhrmann had previously produced his film Moulin Rouge!, also turned out to be the owner of Amedia Productions, one of Mars Media's co-producers for the planned Russian film adaptation. Click on this link to read more about it.

Леонард Блаватник

On December 4, 2023, the well-known film magazine Variety published an interview with Baz Luhrmann, following the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he chaired the jury that year.

In the interview, Luhrmann provided more clarity about his connection to Migunova-Dali and Loh's project. «That book has haunted me since 'Romeo + Juliet.' It's been a constant thread throughout my life. I could tell you stories about it, but I don't have time. I'm not saying that 'M&M' - that's what we call it - will ultimately be the film I make. But I can't tell you how often people say, 'You should film that story.' It would be unfair to say I don't constantly encounter it».

On May 28, 2024, the curtain finally fell on the collaboration with Luhrmann when Variety magazine reported that he had now completely withdrawn from the Migunova-Dali and Loh project.

Another conflict with the Russians

Unlike Migunova-Dali and Loh, Mars Media, despite many difficulties during the production process, succeeded in realising their project, allowing the Russian film adaptation of The Master and Margarita, directed by Michael Lockshin, to premiere in Russian cinemas on January 25, 2024. Just as with the novel's initial publication in 1966, the official authorities were not pleased, but the film became a box office success.

Майкл Локшин

Just over a year later, on May 1, 2025, the film was released in Germany and Austria, and on June 5, 2025, also in Italy.

However, when the distribution company Luminosity Pictures also wanted to release an English-language version for screening in the United Kingdom and the United States, Migunova-Dali and Loh wanted to prevent it and succeeded in blocking the premiere, even though they had not filmed even half a second of their project themselves.

On February 11, 2025, Luminosity Pictures responded by filing a lawsuit against the duo in the California Central District Court to lift their blockade. Click on this link to follow the progress of the lawsuit.

The impact of the court's ruling will extend beyond the distributor's interests. Luminosity Pictures' argument states that the novel The Master and Margarita is in the public domain and therefore no one can claim rights to it. If the court follows this reasoning, anyone wishing to adapt the novel in the future - film, theatre, opera, or otherwise - would be permanently freed from the stifling claims of Sergei Shilovsky, Bulgakov's self-proclaimed «grandson». Click on this link to read more on Sergei Shilovsky.

Johnny Depp enters

Eight years after the initial announcement, Migunova-Dali and Loh's plans were suddenly widely reported in the film press again. Following Baz Luhrman in 2019, this time it was Johnny Depp who grabbed the spotlight. In 2023, Migunova-Dali collaborated with Depp as one of the executive producers on the film Jeanne du Barry, in which Depp played the role of French King Louis XV.

Migunova-Dali and Loh were to collaborate with Depp's company IN.2 Film and producers Stephen Deuters and Stephen Malit on the production of the first English-language film adaptation of The Master and Margarita. Depp himself announced this on December 11, 2025, at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he, along with Deuters and Malit, were present to lead a workshop for actors.

Джонни Депп в Джидде