Childhood and youth
Marius Weisberg was born on April 1, 1971 in Moscow into a cinematic family. His father Ernst Markovich Weisberg, a Jew by nationality, worked at Mosfilm as a film director and then as a producer. Danguole Balciuniene's mother, originally from Lithuania, was an employee of the trade mission of the Baltic republic in Moscow.
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Director Marius Weisberg
By way of thinking, Marius felt like a humanist from childhood: he liked to study foreign languages, and his favorite school subject was literature. From an early age, the boy visited the film studio, where he observed the filming process. The young man was interested in cinema, loved to watch comedies and dramas, and reflect on the plot. Gradually Weisberg came to the idea that he wanted to be a director.
After school, Marius entered the faculty of directing at VGIK. During the entrance exams, the guy introduced himself under his mother’s last name as Balciunas, and passed two rounds on his own. On the third, the admissions committee learned about the applicant’s family, but this did not influence the decision. Marius demonstrated himself to be an original and talented young man with high creative potential. He was lucky to study with the famous director Vladimir Naumov, who directed Tehran-43.
Marius WeisbergMarius Balčiūnas
Marius Weisberg was born on April 1, 1971 in Moscow. His real name is Balciunas, and he took the pseudonym when he was working on the film “Hitler, Kaput!” He has Lithuanian roots. Since childhood, he was fond of cinema, loved to watch comedies and dramas, and reflect on the plot. Even as a child, Marius realized that he wanted to be a director. After school, the young man entered the faculty of directing at VGIK. He was lucky to study with the famous director Vladimir Naumov, who directed Tehran-43.
A year after VGIK, in 1996, Marius continued his studies at a television school in America. This is probably why the influence of the Russian and Hollywood cinematic schools is felt in his films. Marius Weisberg shot his first film, “No Places,” in 1999 in America. In total, he has eleven films on his directorial list. In 2008, Marius directed the comedy “Hitler, Kaput!” The very next year, viewers saw the first part of the comedy “Love in the City,” and in 2010 the film “Love in the City 2” was released.
Another famous work of the director is “Rzhevsky against Napoleon.” This film was shot in 3D. Marius Weisberg says that filming was a great experience for him. The project turned out to be commercially successful, and this was with a small budget for the 3D format - only $10 million. In 2020, the premiere of the film “Eight Best Dates” took place, in which Weisberg was both director and creative producer. This is one of the few paintings by Weisberg where events develop as usual, without magic or the intervention of the Universe.
Marius says that he tries to make serious comedies. Many of the scripts that are offered to him do not appeal to him. He is thinking about making a thriller that has never been made before. The director sees it as a film-play, in which almost all the action takes place in the elevator. Marius Weisberg became famous as a comedy director, but Russian film critics do not have a high opinion of his films. He does not pay attention to harsh criticism addressed to him. However, the director never denied that he does not make films for highly intelligent viewers.
Marius Weisberg is not officially married. His ex-wife is American Michelle Wilson. They knew each other for a long time, got married almost 20 years ago - at a time when the director lived in the USA. Weisberg admitted that they had a romantic relationship, but it was light and cheerful: no one intended to live together until death. Michelle proposed to him. They gathered friends, went to Las Vegas and got married there. After the wedding, life hardly changed. Michelle studied in Alaska, Marius - in Southern California. They saw each other rarely and soon broke up.
The director had many affairs, but he never married again. For six years he lived in Los Angeles with the woman he loved in a civil marriage, dreaming of children. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out - they broke up.
Marius Weisberg's next love was actress Ekaterina Shpitsa. They met at the premiere of the film “Eight New Dates.” For some time, Shpitsa and Weisberg hid the affair because Katerina was married and had a growing son. But soon it became known about her divorce. True, the relationship with Marius lasted less than a year. Katerina Shpitsa officially confirmed to reporters that she was no longer dating the director, they remained friends. It was rumored that Weisberg was interested in another actress.
31.03.2018
Personal life
In his youth, Marius was officially married to an American woman, Michelle Wilson. Weisberg admitted that they had a romantic relationship, but it was light and cheerful; no one intended to live together until death. Michelle proposed to him. They gathered friends, went to Las Vegas and got married there. After the wedding, life hardly changed. Marius’s wife studied in Alaska, he himself studied in Southern California. Later, the director clarified that he needed this marriage to obtain a residence permit.
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Marius Weisberg and Natalya Bardo
In his personal life, the tall, stately director (his height is 188 cm) had many affairs, but he never married again. For six years he lived in Los Angeles with the woman he loved in a civil marriage, dreaming of children. In Russia, the director was also known as a heartthrob. He had a colorful affair with Vera Brezhneva. The relationship developed rapidly, but quickly ended.
Weisberg's next love was actress Ekaterina Shpitsa. For some time, Shpitsa and Weisberg hid the affair because Katerina was married and had a growing son. But soon it became known about her divorce. True, the relationship with Marius lasted less than a year.
Later, the director increasingly began to appear at social events with Natalya Bardo, a participant in “House-2”, and later an actress. Natalya is 17 years younger than Marius. The lovers began to live in a civil marriage, contrary to the opinion of skeptics who did not believe in the sincerity of the relationship between the director and actress.
Vera Brezhneva has an affair with Marius Weisberg
The filming of three parts of the film Love in the City, beloved by all Russians, ended for actress Vera Brezhneva and film director Marius Weisberg in a dizzying romance, which only the couple’s colleagues on the set knew about.
It is unknown when exactly feelings flared up between Vera and Marius. But now lovers behave as if the very first period of passion in their relationship has already passed and it has been replaced by trust, tenderness and sincere affection. On one of the evenings free from filming, the couple headed to the casino to relax at the gaming table. The 41-year-old producer behaved very kindly and caringly - he advised something in Brezhneva’s ear and hugged the actress around the waist. At some point, Vera looked at Marius and the lovers kissed: dispassionately, one might even say out of habit. Brezhneva's birthday fell during filming in Las Vegas. The lovers decided to celebrate him there with friends and other actors from the film. All day long, Marius kept giving his beloved little surprises, and in the evening before the gala dinner, when it was just the two of them, he gave her a box of jewelry from one of the most expensive jewelry companies in the world, Tiffany & Co. It seems that with Weisberg, the 30-year-old beauty has finally found true feminine happiness and harmony. With the naked eye you can see that next to the famous director she feels calm and confident, and most importantly, a happy smile almost never leaves her face now. Surrounded by Mariusa's attention, Vera now looks more like a shy young girl than the sexy seductress from the VIA Gra group that she was known before. Marius Weisberg himself neither confirmed nor denied his relationship with Brezhneva to Heat.ru journalists. “I would really not like to discuss my personal life,” Weisberg said delicately. -Can we forget this question? At the same time, he talked about what the third part of “Love in the City” would be like: “The storyline remains the same,” director Marius Weisberg told Heat.ru. — The third film is more designed for a comedic subtext rather than a romantic one, as was the case in the previous films. The team, as before, works very friendly, we have a creative symbiosis. Sharon Stone really surprised us, she worked with all her heart, very emotionally, with dedication. And she looks amazing. It was not possible to contact Vera Brezhneva at the time of publication of the material. It is known that the popular singer hides her personal life from the prying eyes of the public more than others. In no interview has she ever shared the details of her family’s life and relationships with men. No one, except those closest to her, still knows about the true reasons for Vera’s divorce from her husband, Ukrainian businessman Mikhail Kiperman, in October 2012. Updated 11/02/13 09:55 :
Marius Weisberg now
By 2020, work on the comedy “Granny of Easy Virtue - 2. Elderly Avengers” was completed. According to the director, the new film differs from the first film in its more dynamic action and more action scenes.
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Marius Weisberg in 2020
In addition to feature films, Weisberg also tried his hand at television. He released the series “Flying Crew,” which was shown on the STS channel. The employees were presented on the screen by Alexey Chadov, Natalya Bardo, Catherine Assi, Yulia Topolnitskaya.
Marius Weisberg: “Maximum truthfulness is important to me”
The author of the popular Russian film comedies “Hitler Kaput!”, “Rzhevsky against Napoleon”, “Love in the City”, Marius Weisberg, directed his first television series “Flight Crew” about the charismatic crew of the civil aircraft “Vostorg Avia”. On the eve of the premiere of the TV project, the director answered questions from KinoAfisha.
– Marius, why did you decide to switch from comedy films and do a TV project? What got you interested in the series “Flight Crew”?
– Indeed, “Flight Crew” was my first experience in television directing. Of course, filming episode 21 was long and hard for me, but it was worth it. In the case of “Flying Crew,” I was captivated by the filming process that was well organized by the producers, and they also selected a good acting team. I worked with many of them before the “Flying Crew”. Overall, I was pleased with the project: we ended up with material that will last for many years. At least, there is a feeling that everything worked out - there is a lot of life in the series, bright characters for whom you begin to root for and fall in love with them.
– Are there any series or films about pilots that you were guided by when working on “Flight Crew”?
– I don’t like to repeat the works of other authors, but I still watched the American TV series “Pan American” and the drama “Crew” with Denzel Washington. I studied how Hollywood directors film on airplanes. I haven't found anything like this in Russian cinema.
– Was it easy for the actors to get used to the role of pilots and flight attendants? What difficulties did you encounter during filming?
“I gave the actors creative freedom, the opportunity to misbehave and improvise. In this regard, I don’t like to control the creative process. The actors consulted with the pilots and flight attendants: if questions arose, they always prompted and helped. The actors had to work for many hours in a confined space, but this was required by the filming process.
I was racking my brains over how to realistically convey the atmosphere of a cargo plane: I wanted it to have scope. Maximum truthfulness is important to me, so that the audience is immersed and believed. And then that’s it, they are already yours, you go on adventures with them. If you initially fail to convince the viewer, the season can be considered a failure.
– In addition to the topic of pilots, the series touches on current feminist issues - a girl pilot is not trusted just because she is a woman. How did you present this topic?
– The main character Polina Ovechkina (Natalia Bardo – approx.) wants to become a pilot, but for this she needs to fly a certain number of hours as a co-pilot. The problem is that in domestic aviation you can count the number of female pilots on one hand; it is really very difficult for them to get flight hours. Our heroine Polina is a very purposeful girl, she can achieve everything on her own. She forces the obstinate misogynist Alexei Kulagin (Alexei Chadov) to fly with her. Kulagin has already been burned: he went through a painful divorce and no longer wants to have anything to do with women. Alexey Chadov's character is trying to rein in the self-confident blonde Polina - after all, in his opinion, women have no place in the cockpit. This conflict seemed very funny to us, many comical situations were built on it - however, you will soon see everything for yourself.
– When starting work on a TV project, you probably developed your own code of rules. What tricks will you please the viewer with?
– I decided to film the series on real objects: filming took place in the registration hall and cargo compartment of Pulkovo Airport. The only set built was the unique “Vostorg Avia” plane: a wide passage was made in the cabin, thanks to which we could move freely and rearrange the seats. It’s hard for me to imagine filming in a real plane, unless it’s a double-decker Boeing 747.
.– Who will be interested in the series “Flight Crew”?
– For lovers of romantic comedies. If you liked “Love in the City,” then “Cool Crew” will also be to your taste. Our series gives inspiration, romance, good emotions - it is a story about love and success, positivity and inner freedom.
Watch the television series “Flying Crew” on the STS channel from March 26.
Interviewed by Ekaterina Radyuk
