MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. An American take on the enigmatic Mikhail Bulgakov novel, Master and Margarita, is under development, the project’s producer Svetlana Migunova-Dali told TASS.
"We are in negotiations right now about a huge American version, we are counting on a great feature film, with a budget of $50-100 million. It will depend on the director and the actors," Migunova-Dali explained.
According to her, the idea to make the film emerged more than a decade ago. "It was very difficult to get the rights for making the film from the Bulgakov Fund, right now we have the audio-visual rights and have put together a strong team, that is bound to succeed," she stated.
That being said, screenwriters are already working on the upcoming script.
"We have the first version of the script. Bulgakov’s writing is complicated and we will try to uncover what he could not say openly in his time, and explain the implications. We will try to present the film to the Western audience without losing the drama. Quite a large number of A-list Hollywood actors turned out to be Bulgakov fans and have expressed their interest in being part of the project," Migunova-Dali said.
"We’re open to a joint production," she added, hoping that Russian filmmakers would want to be involved. Currently, the American producer for the feature is Grace Loh, known for Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) and Grace is Gone (2007).
Migunova-Dali also expects part of the film’s shooting to take place on location in Moscow, in Bulgakov’s flat.
Mikhail Bulgakov’s mysterious novel Master and Margarita, which blends together the story of Christ’s betrayal, the devil’s visit to Moscow and a tragic love story, has been translated into over 40 languages and has been made into feature films nearly two dozen times.