Post by davidhr on May 8, 2012 11:43:41 GMT -5
In the thread of last week’s news update, ‘jimfromtexas’ referred to the video of the mock battle between Yannick (Lara’s bodyguard) and Gerard backstage during a rehearsal (again, available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=o48kNobP7C0). In that (mostly) play acting, Lara helped settle the issue. However, a real battle has broken out, it is no laughing matter, and there is no one seemingly in a position to mediate. Given what events have been leading up to, it is not surprising that Lara and Alan Badoev are now toe-to-toe concerning the fate of the Mlle. Zhivago movie. This time it was Badoev’s turn to serve. Appearing on Ukrainian TV, he dropped the façade of accommodation he had been displaying and told the audience precisely what he thought. The video of it with English subtitles (thanks to Daina) is available at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LKfeC__zYQ
And what he thought was that Lara had initially liked what they had filmed, but when she saw the movie put together, she thought it was too dark and violent for Western Europe, especially the scenes of war and the concentration camp. However, by that time $3 million had been spent, and three years of work had gone into it, from beginning to end. He tried to accommodate her, but nothing satisfied her. Her decision to keep the film locked up he felt was irresponsible, and her whims had driven people into debt and wasted their time (including that of Max Barskih, who is becoming very popular). Badoev noted that he would be able to show the film by buying a license for ‘exclusive rights’, which would cost $200,000. But in addition, he would have to pay Lara royalties for the songs, something he is loath to do. He thinks she will request additional money, “because…she’s that kind of woman”. The other option apparently would be to actually purchase the film, and that would cost $3,200,000.
What’s not clear from the report is from whom Badoev gets the exclusive license, even if he does come up with the 200K (which he probably could). If it is from Lara, then he has misread her entirely – no amount of money will get her to change her mind, as she is not ‘that kind of woman’, if by that he means mercenary (he may mean ‘vindictive’, and in that case, he’s probably not wrong). It may however be Universal, although on the Russian fan site the thought was expressed that Krutoi had put up a lot of the financing. The answer to this question likely will decide the issue, as if it becomes simply a matter of paying the producers, the movie probably will appear; if Lara has to sign something, it never will.
On her side, Lara put a message on her FB site thanking the fans for their backing, and they promptly pledged it again. Badoev did not win them over with his recent comments about Lara; if anything his anger and the reference to the violence in the film made her position seem (to them) the more reasonable one. [On the Russian fan site, it was reported that Badoev had shown the film to students during a presentation at their school, and one student said it was ‘emotionally unsettling’]. Their divide may, in some sense, represent two different schools of thought about the role of art: Lara believes it should be uplifting, Badoev has said it should ‘tell the truths that people want to avoid’. Lyrics from the Bob Dylan song ‘One Too Many Mornings’ seem to characterize the impasse:
It’s a restless hungry feeling
That don’t mean no one no good
When ev’rything I’m a-sayin’
You can say it just as good.
You’re right from your side
I’m right from mine
We’re both just one too many mornings
An’ a thousand miles behind
Badoev’s open declaration of warfare indicates he feels a compromise is no longer possible, so there’s no reason to hold back. Lara’s message to her fans basically said the same thing, that she’d given up. So in that they agree, yet it is not a healthy holding pattern. Normally artists only benefit from controversy, but in this case Lara will likely be dogged by this if she appears in the Ukraine or western Russia - the TV broadcast took Badoev’s side, not surprising given his influence in that culture. Note that this is the first time in 8 years that without any obvious reason, Lara has no spring concerts planned for Russia (it was the case last year as well, but then she had been preparing for a fall concert series there. We’ll see if that’s the case this year as well).
In other news, Gerard spoke to ‘leParisien.fr’ about the increasing trend toward using holograms on stage. "For Lara Fabian concerts in 2009, we were the first to use the holographic process live. Holograms for Veronique Sanson, Francoise Hardy, Lara Fabian and Maurane entered the stage. In 2011, who used it was the U.S. band Black Eyed Peas at NRJ Music Awards. Two of the four singers could not be there live. It was recorded before the show, and then the images of the scene were projected. "Very complicated and expensive for an entire show with artists missing, the task becomes even more complicated: Lara Fabian with Edith Piaf? We recorded with a double.” The article goes on to note that recently at the Coachella Music Festival, viewers were surprised to see Snoop Dogg singing with a hologram of the rapper Tupac, who died fifteen years ago.
While many viewers of the live shows enjoyed the holograms they did put limitations on where seats could be sold (not off to the side), and what theatres could actually be used. You may remember that because of the stringent requirements, Lara had to give acoustic concerts at some of the locales, rather than the TLFM show. The holograms do appear clearly on the live DVD.
In the past month, a number of videos have become available from Lara’s concert in Bratislava (on March 13th). You can find them on the ‘Lara Fabian est ton autre’ FB site that has been featuring them (most of them are on youtube.be). There are also some new pictures of Lara from that concert at:
www.lemondeproductions.com/index/fotogaleria/nazov/lara-fabian-13-03-2012-2
And speaking of photos, there are many of Lara available from a wide range of time periods at the site
larafabian-hq-photos.narod.ru/sessions/
(thanks to Irina Sokolova on the LFIAG FB site, although if one wants bigger versions, you have to get in touch with her at larafabian-hq-photos@yandex.ru).
The LFIAG site also noted that there is a seldom or previously unseen version of Adagio by Lara performed in Italy that has recently been made available on youtube. Showing Lara with all her power, it can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q6d6in5EsA
Pam was nice enough to provide the recently released ‘Dalida’ double CD set, which she picked up in France, so it can be verified that, indeed, the version of Lara’s rendition of ‘Il venait d’avoir 18 ans’ included is the one from TLFM. Most of the other songs by different artists were also previously recorded, although there are a few 2012 dates. It is interesting to compare Dalida’s version of the song with Lara’s; to my ears, Dalida’s is more believable, because she has an older (and deeper) sounding voice, hence more in line with the subject matter. Lara also changed the melody a bit, simplifying it in some places and making it a bit more ‘modern’. In her career, Dalida recorded in 7 languages, 500 songs in French, 200 in Italian, and 200 in others (German, English, Spanish, Japanese, etc.). All told she sold 120 million records. Lara has a ways to go!
But there is no indication she will be starting next week, so the most we can ‘look forward to’ is another episode of the ‘Lara and Alan’ debacle. A fan on the Russian website said that the reason people are paying so much attention to this is that there is nothing else that Lara’s doing right now, publicly. We’ll see if anything arises before her June concert in Israel, and the release of the MZ book/CD/DVD.
David
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LKfeC__zYQ
And what he thought was that Lara had initially liked what they had filmed, but when she saw the movie put together, she thought it was too dark and violent for Western Europe, especially the scenes of war and the concentration camp. However, by that time $3 million had been spent, and three years of work had gone into it, from beginning to end. He tried to accommodate her, but nothing satisfied her. Her decision to keep the film locked up he felt was irresponsible, and her whims had driven people into debt and wasted their time (including that of Max Barskih, who is becoming very popular). Badoev noted that he would be able to show the film by buying a license for ‘exclusive rights’, which would cost $200,000. But in addition, he would have to pay Lara royalties for the songs, something he is loath to do. He thinks she will request additional money, “because…she’s that kind of woman”. The other option apparently would be to actually purchase the film, and that would cost $3,200,000.
What’s not clear from the report is from whom Badoev gets the exclusive license, even if he does come up with the 200K (which he probably could). If it is from Lara, then he has misread her entirely – no amount of money will get her to change her mind, as she is not ‘that kind of woman’, if by that he means mercenary (he may mean ‘vindictive’, and in that case, he’s probably not wrong). It may however be Universal, although on the Russian fan site the thought was expressed that Krutoi had put up a lot of the financing. The answer to this question likely will decide the issue, as if it becomes simply a matter of paying the producers, the movie probably will appear; if Lara has to sign something, it never will.
On her side, Lara put a message on her FB site thanking the fans for their backing, and they promptly pledged it again. Badoev did not win them over with his recent comments about Lara; if anything his anger and the reference to the violence in the film made her position seem (to them) the more reasonable one. [On the Russian fan site, it was reported that Badoev had shown the film to students during a presentation at their school, and one student said it was ‘emotionally unsettling’]. Their divide may, in some sense, represent two different schools of thought about the role of art: Lara believes it should be uplifting, Badoev has said it should ‘tell the truths that people want to avoid’. Lyrics from the Bob Dylan song ‘One Too Many Mornings’ seem to characterize the impasse:
It’s a restless hungry feeling
That don’t mean no one no good
When ev’rything I’m a-sayin’
You can say it just as good.
You’re right from your side
I’m right from mine
We’re both just one too many mornings
An’ a thousand miles behind
Badoev’s open declaration of warfare indicates he feels a compromise is no longer possible, so there’s no reason to hold back. Lara’s message to her fans basically said the same thing, that she’d given up. So in that they agree, yet it is not a healthy holding pattern. Normally artists only benefit from controversy, but in this case Lara will likely be dogged by this if she appears in the Ukraine or western Russia - the TV broadcast took Badoev’s side, not surprising given his influence in that culture. Note that this is the first time in 8 years that without any obvious reason, Lara has no spring concerts planned for Russia (it was the case last year as well, but then she had been preparing for a fall concert series there. We’ll see if that’s the case this year as well).
In other news, Gerard spoke to ‘leParisien.fr’ about the increasing trend toward using holograms on stage. "For Lara Fabian concerts in 2009, we were the first to use the holographic process live. Holograms for Veronique Sanson, Francoise Hardy, Lara Fabian and Maurane entered the stage. In 2011, who used it was the U.S. band Black Eyed Peas at NRJ Music Awards. Two of the four singers could not be there live. It was recorded before the show, and then the images of the scene were projected. "Very complicated and expensive for an entire show with artists missing, the task becomes even more complicated: Lara Fabian with Edith Piaf? We recorded with a double.” The article goes on to note that recently at the Coachella Music Festival, viewers were surprised to see Snoop Dogg singing with a hologram of the rapper Tupac, who died fifteen years ago.
While many viewers of the live shows enjoyed the holograms they did put limitations on where seats could be sold (not off to the side), and what theatres could actually be used. You may remember that because of the stringent requirements, Lara had to give acoustic concerts at some of the locales, rather than the TLFM show. The holograms do appear clearly on the live DVD.
In the past month, a number of videos have become available from Lara’s concert in Bratislava (on March 13th). You can find them on the ‘Lara Fabian est ton autre’ FB site that has been featuring them (most of them are on youtube.be). There are also some new pictures of Lara from that concert at:
www.lemondeproductions.com/index/fotogaleria/nazov/lara-fabian-13-03-2012-2
And speaking of photos, there are many of Lara available from a wide range of time periods at the site
larafabian-hq-photos.narod.ru/sessions/
(thanks to Irina Sokolova on the LFIAG FB site, although if one wants bigger versions, you have to get in touch with her at larafabian-hq-photos@yandex.ru).
The LFIAG site also noted that there is a seldom or previously unseen version of Adagio by Lara performed in Italy that has recently been made available on youtube. Showing Lara with all her power, it can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q6d6in5EsA
Pam was nice enough to provide the recently released ‘Dalida’ double CD set, which she picked up in France, so it can be verified that, indeed, the version of Lara’s rendition of ‘Il venait d’avoir 18 ans’ included is the one from TLFM. Most of the other songs by different artists were also previously recorded, although there are a few 2012 dates. It is interesting to compare Dalida’s version of the song with Lara’s; to my ears, Dalida’s is more believable, because she has an older (and deeper) sounding voice, hence more in line with the subject matter. Lara also changed the melody a bit, simplifying it in some places and making it a bit more ‘modern’. In her career, Dalida recorded in 7 languages, 500 songs in French, 200 in Italian, and 200 in others (German, English, Spanish, Japanese, etc.). All told she sold 120 million records. Lara has a ways to go!
But there is no indication she will be starting next week, so the most we can ‘look forward to’ is another episode of the ‘Lara and Alan’ debacle. A fan on the Russian website said that the reason people are paying so much attention to this is that there is nothing else that Lara’s doing right now, publicly. We’ll see if anything arises before her June concert in Israel, and the release of the MZ book/CD/DVD.
David