MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/. In an interview with TASS, US film producer and president of Studio Mao, Stephen Mao, praised Jude Law’s performance as Russian President Vladimir Putin in the film "The Wizard of the Kremlin," noting that the movie portrays Russia in a positive light.

According to Mao, the film’s plot is "semi-fictionalized," so it is "important to make that distinction." "There are some aspects of the film which are kind of played towards the stereotypes of Russia. But I don't think that that's a negative. I just think that, like I said, you have to accept that as part of the director's vision," the film producer said. In Mao’s view, the film is "for the most part positive towards Russia." He added that he watched the movie at its world premiere as part of the competition program of the 82nd Venice Film Festival.

Mao noted that the film is based on the media image of Vladimir Putin’s personality from the beginning of his career to the present day. "Jude Law plays the lead role of Vladimir Putin. And Jeffrey Wright is also in the movie. <…> So they really had a great cast," Mao pointed out. Speaking about the lead actor, the producer noted that Law "really portrayed Vladimir Putin, his mannerisms, he obviously studied his role, so it was amazing to see that."

Earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the film’s release, said that interest in the Russian leader was quite natural. Vladimir Putin is one of the most influential politicians in the world, so it’s no surprise that someone would make a film about him, he said.

The premiere of Olivier Assayas’ film "The Wizard of the Kremlin" took place at the Venice Film Festival, which began on August 27 on the island of Lido. Earlier, Variety magazine published the first still from the film, showing British actor Jude Law as Putin. The film, based on the novel of the same name by Swiss-Italian writer Giuliano da Empoli, also stars Zach Galifianakis and Tom Sturridge.

Stephen Mao was born on June 29, 1960, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. He began his career as a photojournalist for the Associated Press and founded Studio Mao in 2006. One of his productions, the short film Skin, directed by Guy Nattiv, won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film in 2018.