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Dino DinevFrench producer, Bulgarian by nationality - became famous for bringing the soap series “The Rich Also Cry” to Russia
Country:
 France |
Content:
- Biography of Dino Dinev
- Early Life and Career
- Time in Russia
- Time in Prison
- Life in Prison
- Success with "Rich Also Cry"
- Relationship with Vladimir Vysotsky
- Helping Sergey Lisovsky
Biography of Dino Dinev
Dino Dinev, a French producer of Bulgarian nationality, gained fame for bringing the soap opera "Rich Also Cry" to Russia. His biography is remarkable - he has been in prison and has been friends with such remarkable people as Vladimir Vysotsky, and helped the former show business hustler Sergey Lisovsky to get rich. Our correspondents met with Dino in his office in Paris, not far from the Champs-Elysees.
Early Life and Career
Dino Dinev has been living in France since 1966. His grandmother used to work as a makeup artist in Paris for the famous opera singer Chaliapin. His uncle was the director of a Parisian film studio. Dino himself started working as a cameraman on television and later enrolled in film school. For his graduation film, he needed an actor with a thuggish face, and he found an unknown young man named Depardieu at the theater institute. Depardieu played brilliantly, and he still remembers me to this day.
Time in Russia
When asked why he didn't study at the Moscow Film Institute, Dino explained that he was told he would have to study the history of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union for five years, and he was horrified. Despite being a communist himself and loving Stalin, Dino couldn't bear the thought of studying the history of the party. He even raised his hand in admiration when a huge portrait of Stalin was shown in Nikita Mikhalkov's film "Burnt by the Sun" at the Cannes Film Festival. He even has Lenin's pipe, given to him as a gift, which he smoked for the first time on Red Square.
Time in Prison
In 1978, Dino was imprisoned by the French, accusing him of spying for Russia and Bulgaria. He had been collaborating with Russia, organizing Russian and French film weeks. He was sentenced to three years in prison. Although he was separated from his children and his wife Monica, he felt great in prison. He wrote books and scripts during his time there. The prison was on an island and they had a tennis court and communal showers. The cell was opened at six in the morning and closed at nine at night. He could do whatever he wanted.
Life in Prison
When asked about the food in prison, Dino said it was much better than the food for regular prisoners. Twice a week, they were given a "fish" - a paper on which they could order whatever they wanted, if they had money. Dino had money, and he would order the best - pheasants, caviar. Alcohol was not allowed, but the guards would bring whiskey in exchange for bribes. He was released from prison in 1981, thanks to an amnesty declared by President Mitterand.
Success with "Rich Also Cry"
In 1992, Dino received a list of films from Mexican distributors, and one of the titles was "Rich Also Cry". He liked the title so much that he didn't even watch a single episode. He invited actors from the Taganka Theater in Moscow to Bulgaria, and within six months, they dubbed 248 episodes. At that time, they had no work in Moscow and their salaries were meager. They brought ten copies each from this "side job"! When he proposed the series to the First Channel, the management was hesitant, fearing backlash from journalists. However, Dino persuaded them to air six episodes at first. The trick worked, just like with "Ruslan and Lyudmila". The success was overwhelming, and he immediately signed a contract for the whole series. He also brought the main character of the series, Veronica Castro, to Moscow, where she was greeted by thousands of people at Sheremetyevo Airport. Bouquets of flowers filled two trucks, and they were taken to Moscow. They were received at the Kremlin by President Yeltsin himself.
Relationship with Vladimir Vysotsky
Dino was good friends with Vladimir Vysotsky and deeply misses him. He believes that Vysotsky was killed by Americans. They co-wrote the screenplay for the film "Holidays after the War" for a year. Vysotsky used to leave his suitcase with Marina Vladi and stay with Dino at his castle near Versailles when he visited France. As Vysotsky was being considered for production by Americans, he went to Los Angeles for negotiations and ended up being arrested for drugs. Dino tried to warn him about the dangers of drugs, but Vysotsky couldn't resist. Dino even bought drugs for him once in Paris. Sadly, Vysotsky passed away six months later.
Helping Sergey Lisovsky
When Dino brought the series "Rich Also Cry" to Russia, Sergey Lisovsky was in charge of advertising placement on the First Channel. Dino offered him a deal: "Pay me $500 for a minute of advertising during the series' breaks, and whatever you make on top is yours." Lisovsky sold a minute for $30,000 and made a fortune. He is still grateful to Dino for this opportunity. Later on, Dino helped Lisovsky enter the poultry business. Today, Lisovsky has poultry farms, incubators, and a slaughterhouse in Domodedovo. The factory cost $80 million, and Sergey took a loan from a bank to finance it. So far, they haven't made any profits, but the success of the series "Rich Also Cry" wasn't immediately believed by everyone either.
