BD: How did you come across this project?

My two previous films were big action movies called "Moscow Heat" and "Treasure Raiders". But I was always a fan of horror films. Many years ago I watched "Hellraiser" and "Friday the 13th" on pirated videos in Moscow and liked them a lot. When I became a movie star in the former Soviet Union I wanted to do action films like Schwarzenegger. But after "Treasure Raiders" was released this April and became a theatrical hit in Russia I decided to try a different genre and "Magic Man" was perfect for that.

BD: What made you decide to star in it?

With my background as an action star in Russia I have the ability to open a movie theatrically there and in the rest of the former USSR. So if I star in the movie it can make up to 3,000,000 dollars in Russia alone (theatrical, TV deals, DVD etc) and have international sales as an icing on the cake. And since I am producing the film as well I want to make sure that it will make money! And, as an actor, I was curious to try the horror genre.

BD: Are you a fan of horror films?

Yes, I am. I watched so many of them and still have a lot of new DVDs in my house. The problem is my wife Katya doesn't like them, so now I watch horror films only when she sleeps or if I travel. I like classic George Romero and Wes Craven. Also, one of my favorite Arnold films is "Predator" which I think has a lot of horror stuff there, not only action! After "Magic Man" I will start work on a film called "Black Rose" which will have a lot of horror elements in it as well.

BD: How bloody Magic Man intended to be?

There will be blood and gore, trust me! Poor girls will get killed one after another. I will play a policeman who will try to catch the real killer. Robert Davi will play my partner. I’ve liked him ever since I saw him in "Raw Deal" with Schwarzenegger. By the way, I was a very skinny kid but thanks to Arnold's films and books I started working out and became the biggest bodybuilder in Russia (in my prime my weight was 330 pounds with 23 inch biceps, height is 6'7).

BD: Is it more of an action film or more of a thriller?

I think it's a thriller with horror and action in it. George Saunders wrote a good script. But I’ve had horror elements in my previous action films such as "Moscow Heat". Richard Tyson and Andrew Divoff played perfect and scary bad guys in "Moscow Heat" and I always liked their work before. I am glad that we got a chance to do another movie together.

BD: The synopsis is pretty vague, what other goodies can you reveal about the plot?

Three girls head to Vegas. One of them is an amateur magician and has a dark past herself. They go to the show of the Great Darius (Billy Zane) and after that start to die (one of the poor girls will be cut in half). Local police can't do much and only detective Orloff (my character) knows how to save at least one of the girls...

BD: Will the film take place in Russia or here in the States?

It will take place in Las Vegas. And let me tell you that "Magic Man" is the first Russian/American co-production, which will be shot completely in the US. I want to do post-production in the States too. "Magic Man" should be ready for wide theatrical release in Russia in the first part of 2009, and after that it will be released in the US, Europe and Asia. It will be produced through my new LA production company "Hollywood Storm".

BD: Do you see this becoming a franchise?

I don't know yet. I like to take it step by step. First - to shoot a good movie, second - to get good box office results and third - think about the franchise. I use this strategy with all films, which I produce. But it's not easy because Michael York and I want to shoot "Moscow Heat 2" but both of us have a lot of other things to do.

BD: The cast is pretty impressive; do you have any more names coming onboard?

Yes. We made an offer to Danny Glover. He wanted to do it but had some scheduling problems. So now we are trying to get Armand Assante. We also signed Christina Vidal (your readers may remember her from "See No Evil"). I'll let you know when we have more news!

BD: What would you like to tell horror fans about the movie that would get them excited?

We have a good director Stuart Cooper who won at the Berlin Film Festival twice, we have a lot of good actors including Billy Zane, Robert Davi, Richard Tyson and Andrew Divoff and we have pretty actresses like Bai Ling, Christina Vidal and Estelle Raskin. Also we have a great and scary story with blood and gore in it, we have mysterious Las Vegas locations and last but not least we have me - "Russia´s Schwarzenegger" Alexander Nevsky who makes his debut in horror film! And thanks a lot for your support. I like your BLOODY-DISGUSTING.COM and hope that you and your readers will enjoy "Magic Man"!