Insights from the Cinematic World: Russia

Pawn Sacrifice

In a gripping true story set during the height of the Cold War, American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire) finds himself caught between two superpowers when he challenges the Soviet Empire, whose players have dominated the game for decades

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Red Army

RED ARMY from director, screenplay, Producer Gabe Polsky, is a feature documentary about the Soviet Union and the most successful dynasty in sports history: the Red Army hockey team. Told from the perspective of its captain Slava Fetisov, the story portrays his transformation from national hero to political enemy.

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The Equalizer

In The Equalizer, Denzel Washington plays McCall, a man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him to lead a quiet life in peace. But when McCall meets Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by – he has to help her.

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Franco has been published several times in magazines and through his own books and is currently teaching college courses at UCLA, USC and CAL ARTS and acting classes at STUDIO 4.

James Franco

James Franco was born in Palo Alto, California. His mother, Betsy Lou (née Verne), is a writer and actress, and his father, Douglas Eugene “Doug” Franco (d. 2011), ran a Silicon Valley business. The two met as students at Stanford University. James Franco’s father was of Portuguese (Madeiran) and Swedish descent. Franco’s mother is Jewish, a descendant of immigrants from Russia.

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On a budget of $110 million Salt's principal photography took place mostly on location in New York and Washington, D.C. from March to June 2009, while re-shoots were done in December 2009. Filming for a chase sequence took place in Albany on Water Street near the Interstate 787 ramp between April and May.

Salt

Salt is a 2010 American spy action thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce, written by Kurt Wimmer and Brian Helgeland, and starring Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Daniel Olbrychski, August Diehl and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Jolie plays Evelyn Salt, who is accused of being a KGB sleeper agent, and goes on the run to try to clear her name.

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