Maria Ivanova
She is the woman behind Beachworld Dollar Baby Film.
SKSM: Could you start with telling me a bit about yourself? Who are you and what do you do?
Maria Ivanova: I live in St Petersburg, I make animated films, I love theater.
SKSM: When did you make Beachworld? Can you tell me a little about the production? How much did it cost? How long did it take to film it?
Maria Ivanova: I’ve completed Beachworld in 2012. I don’t think I can tell how much did it cost, I was just making it along with my other projects, sometimes in my freetime. So, overall, it took me from 8 to 10 months.
SKSM: How come you picked Beachworld to develop into a movie? What is it in the story that you like so much?
Maria Ivanova: I liked the sci fi theme, I don’t think I have ever done anything regarding other planets or spaceships, so it was an interesting opportunity, I decided to give it a shot.
SKSM: How did you find out that King sold the movie rights to some of his stories for just $1? Was it just a wild guess or did you know it before you sent him the check?
Maria Ivanova: Nothing interesting here – I found it on the official site.
SKSM: Was there any funny or special moment when you made the movie that you would like to tell me about?
Maria Ivanova: My short film doesn’t have any dialogue at all, so it was a bit tricky to include everything that happened in the story. I tried my best. One day I was drawing a part of storyboarding, and I came up with a detail that wasn’t in the story, and I decided – oh well, let it be, lets see, where it will lead me to. And only at the end of the film this very detail helped me to tie everything together.
SKSM: How does it feel that all the King fans out there can’t see your movie? Do you think that will change in the future? Maybe a internet/dvd release would be possible?
Maria Ivanova: How does it feel? It’s sad a bit. It’s like an actor without an audience. But of course, I respect the Dollar Baby rules, and I understand, that the fact that we are allowed to adapt stories is already great.
SKSM: What “good or bad” reference have you received on your film?
Maria Ivanova: I didn’t have a chance to show the film to a lot of people, so I don’t have much to say about this question.
SKSM: Did you have any personal contact with King during the making of the movie? Has he seen it (and if so, what did he think about it)?
Maria Ivanova: No. I didn’t have any contact with King.
SKSM: Do you have any plans for making more movies based on Stephen King’s stories? If you could pick – at least – one story to shoot, which one would it be and why?
Maria Ivanova: These days I focus mostly on making films based on my own stories.
SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything you want to say to your fans?
Maria Ivanova: What fans? Do I have fans?
SKSM: Do you have anything you’d like to add?
Maria Ivanova: Boris Pasternak wrote a really good poem about creation and dedication, and what is important in this process, in russian the poem is called «Быть знаменитым некрасиво» Maybe you could find it, maybe you will read it, and maybe you will like it.
