An Interview with Alexander Nevsky
On the surface, the musclebound monolith known as Alexander Nevsky appears to be almost superhuman. But despite his immense size and stature, the man is a lot like you and me… a lover of the action movie genre.
The Russian born Nevsky has channeled his love of action movies by becoming an action star and filmmaker himself. His latest project to hit the United States is Showdown in Manila. I have had my eye on Showdown in Manila for some time as it brings together an all-star line up that includes Casper Van Dien, Mark Dacascos, Cynthia Rothrock, Matthias Hues, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Olivier Gruner and Don “The Dragon” Wilson!
CTB: Let me begin by saying it is great getting to chat with you again Alexander. Let’s start by talking some Showdown in Manila. The movie was released nearly two years ago in your native Russia and it finally made its way to the USA earlier this month. How difficult is it to get movies distributed around the world in today’s marketplace?
AN: Hi Chris! First of all, thank you and Bulleproof Action very much for all the support! It means a lot because it is very hard right now to make an independent action movie and to get distribution deals. Business has changed so much since the 1990’s and 2000’s – those heydays of VHS and DVD. My films are wide theatrical releases in Russia and CIS always but for the Dolph Lungren/JCVD/Steven Seagal movies it is almost impossible now to get worldwide theatrical distribution. So I’m proud that we shot Showdown in Manila in 2015, opened it in Russia/CIS in 2016, made most of the international sales in 2017 and released it in limited theaters in North America in January 2018. It’s on VOD, all the digital platforms and in Redbox right now, will be out on DVD in March and premiere on Netflix in April.
CTB: Is it a fair to say Showdown in Manila was at least partially inspired by Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables franchise?
AN: Yes, of course. I loved The Expendables, Sly did a great job and brought together so many legends: from Arnold and Bruce Willis to Eric Roberts and Gary Daniels. I grew up in Moscow watching their films and was happy to see all of them together! So I got the idea to shoot that kind of movie (but with martial arts stars) in 2014. Craig Hamann wrote a great script and Mark Dacascos signed as a director. That’s how Showdown in Manila was born.
CTB: The highlight of Showdown in Manila is the fact that you have so many action stars that were big to those of us who were renting and watching action movies back in the 1990’s all under one roof. Was there anyone from the 1990’s direct to video era that you wanted to be in Showdown in Manila but were unable to get?
AN: I think many people forgot that most of the Showdown in Manila stars were making theatrical movies in the 90’s. Olivier Gruner did Nemesis, Matthias Hues was great in Dark Angel, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa did Mortal Kombat, Mark Dacascos was in Only the Strong. And let me tell you a couple of words about Casper Van Dien. He is an action star and we all love him in the Starship Troopers franchise. But he is a great actor also and did a very good job in a studio movies like Sleepy Hollow and Tarzan and the Lost City. It was an honor for me to work with all of them, including Tia Carrere, Cynthia Rothrock, Robert Madrid and Don “The Dragon” Wilson. I just wish I could have used Michael Dudikoff, Lorenzo Lamas, Bolo Yeung, Michael Pare and my great friend Ralf Moeller too.
CTB: How would you rate first time director Mark Dacascos?
AN: Mark Dacascos is very talented and full of ideas. I think he did a very good job as a director and he was always supportive and nice. And that is not easy at all when you are under pressure 24/7! I made my own directorial debut with Black Rose right before Showdown in Manila and I learned a lot. Mark is a personal friend of mine and I knew that he wanted to try directing for a long time. Showdown in Manila was a perfect opportunity for him and I’m glad I produced this movie.
CTB: I’m glad you brought up Black Rose, the last time I had the pleasure to interview you, we talked extensively about your film Black Rose. Rumor has it there is a sequel in the works. Are the rumors true?
AN: I would love to make a Black Rose 2. First one was a great experience: I directed it, produced it, created the story and was in almost all the scenes as an actor. So it was crazy tough but big fun! I spoke to Kristanna Loken recently and she’s very open to the idea of a sequel. We both just need to find a time in our busy schedules. Hope it will happen soon!
CTB: While we are talking sequels, any chance you will team up with Casper Van Dien again for another Showdown?
AN: I had so much fun working with Casper in Manila when we were shooting the movie and it was a big fun again to do all the publicity together (in Russia and in the US). Thanks to Casper we have that great comedy moments in the movie. We improvised a lot during the shoot and Mark was always cool with that. So it would be great to make another chapter of Showdown with Casper. For some strange reason I never did a sequel to any of my movies but in this case I think I should do it for sure.
CTB: Your most recent movie is the star studded action comedy Maximum Impact. How has it been received so far and when will more of the world be able to see it?
AN: Post-production on Maximum Impact was just finished in November 2017. Andrzej Bartkowiak (Romeo Must Die) directed it and Ross LaManna (Rush Hour) wrote the script. I’m producing and co-starring with William Baldwin, Kelly Hu, Denny Trejo, Tom Arnold, Russian actresses Maria Bravikova and Polina Butorina and also Bai Ling, plus Eric Roberts and my friends Matthias Hues and Mark Dacascos. Maximum Impact is my biggest film to date and it will be released worldwide in 2018. First two men who watched the finished film were my idols Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ralf Moeller. To my delight they liked Maximum Impact a lot!
CTB: What is next for Alexander Nevsky?
AN: My next project is Savage Attack. It’s an action drama. Script was written by Craig Hamann again. We want to shoot in Philippines or in Indonesia. To be honest with you, I’m thinking about directing it myself and make it in the good traditions of The Raid, Spy Games and Die Hard. My friends Matthias Hues, Ralf Moeller and Conan Stevens (Game of Thrones) will be co-starring. I’ll keep you posted and your readers can get updates on my official Twitter @NevskyAlexandr and Instagram @RealAlexNevsky. Best wishes to you and to all fellow action genre fans!
CTB: Thank you Alexander, looking forward to your upcoming projects and chatting with you again down the road.
