Vocabulary:

а guest artist – балерина по приглашению

the corps de ballet – кордебалет

to be appointed – быть назначенным на должность

to retire – выйти на пенсию

• True or False:

1. Altynai graduated from the Kirov Ballet School in 1978.

2. Altynai is more popular in Kazakhstan than in Western theatres.

3. Her repertoire included all the classical ballet roles.

4. You can watch a lot of videos of her dancing.

5. She is still dancing in the Kirov Ballet/Mariinsky Theatre.

• Find 10 international words.

Timur bekmambetov

Timur Bekmambetov (born 1961) is a Kazakh-born director, producer and screenwriter who has worked on films and commercials. He is mostly popular for the Russian film Night Watch (2004) and its sequel Day Watch (2006), and the American film Wanted (2008)

Bekmambetov was born on June 25, 1961 in the city of Guryev, Kazakhstan. At the age of 19, he moved to Tashkent, in the former Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, to study at the A. N. Ostrovsky Theatrical and Artistic Institute and graduated it with a degree in theater and cinema set designing in 1987.

Between 1992 and 1997, Bekmambetov was one of the directors of Bank Imperial's popular World History commercials. In 1994 he founded “Bazelevs Group”, an advertising and film production, distribution and marketing company.

In 2004, Bekmambetov wrote and directed Night Watch (2004), a popular Russian fantasy film based on the book by Sergey Lukyanenko. The film was extremely successful in Russia, and became its highest-grossing release , making $16.7 million in Russia alone, more money than The Lord of the Rings. The sequel to Night Watch, Day Watch (2006), was likewise written and directed by Bekmambetov. The two films attracted the attention of Fox Searchlight Pictures, which paid $4 million to acquire worldwide distribution rights.

Bekmambetov followed up Day Watch with the smash hit The Irony of Fate 2 (2007). This sequel to the famous Soviet film The Irony of Fate (1971) is one of the most successful in Russian history, second only to Avatar for total box office receipts.

Now Bekmambetov is currently directing and producing the live action adaption of S.Smith novel Abraham Lincoln, also produced by Tim Burton and Jim Lemley.

In general he created 8 films as a director, 8 films as a producer and 3 films as a screenwriter.

Vocabulary:

а screenwriter – сценарист likewise – также

а commercial – рекламный ролик distribution rights – права на распространение

а sequel – продолжение, вторая серия a smash hit – сокрушительный успех

the highest grossing release – выпуск фильма, принесший огромный доход

currently – в настоящее время, сейчас

• Answer the questions:

1. What is Timur Bekmambetov?

2. Is he a professional or amateur producer?

3. What films made him popular?

4. What is he currently busy with?

• Match the year with the event:

1961 the foundation of “Bazelevs Group”

2007 the release of Night Watch

1994 the year of his birth

2004 the sequel The Irony of Fate 2