Quite recently, with great success, Channel 12 hosted the 12-episode melodrama “Red Queen” (2015), telling about the difficult path upstairs of the Soviet fashion model Regina Barskaya. Recognized in the West, she was known and successful, but not very happy in her personal life.
The story, based on real events that took place in the life of the prototype - Regina Zbarskaya, excited the mass audience of viewers who wanted to know more about the tape and favorite artists. In our article, we will consider interesting facts related to the Red Queen tape, a description of the series and a story about actors reincarnated as real characters.
Mysteries of the fashion model
The life of this famous fashion model was shrouded in a halo of mystery, and her tragic departure is full of mysteries. Even the place of birth of Regina is unknown (the cities of Leningrad and Vologda are indicated in various sources).
The difficult fate of a charming catwalk star, in which lies, betrayal, fashion and politics intertwined, interested a team of creative people who wished to tell the world about the tragedy of the beauty.
The choice of the main character
The young director Alena Semenova recalled: “We have been looking for a girl for the role of Regina for a long time, but none of the candidates suited us. All actors were approved, and the main character was not. But still had to sew a huge number of costumes. And once, when I was overcome by despair, I saw a student at the St. Petersburg Academy of Theater Arts, reminiscent of the outwardly famous fashion model. The main problem was her overweight, and the main condition for filming was the rapid weight loss of the heroine. "
Losing weight actress
The performer of the role of Regina Barsky, 22-year-old Ksenia Lukyanchikova, who was called to audition in Kiev, was very worried. This was her first role in the movie, and the girl wanted to complete all the tasks assigned to her. After being approved for the role, she went in for sports a lot and followed nutrition.
As Xenia, who is inclined to fullness, admits, losing weight by almost 15 kilograms was very difficult, but she did this, feeling her responsibility to the director who chose her from among hundreds of candidates.
Actual Story Today
The exciting melodrama "The Red Queen", the series of which is permeated with the tragic fate of the first Soviet fashion model, tells the story of the career of the unknown Cinderella, who turned into a true Queen. And today the plot of this tape is very relevant. Women in pursuit of success and fame, beauty and youth are ready to sell their souls, making various sacrifices. But few people think about the reverse side of crazy popularity.
Unsettled personal life, depression, lack of understanding friends, total loneliness - this is the wrong side of fame. Beauty and fame, unfortunately, pass away, and there is nothing left to keep afloat. The dramatic storyline of the series “The Red Queen” (2015) focuses on this, as if inviting to stop and understand that the real happiness of a woman lies in a completely different way.
Truth and fiction
The director does not hide the fact that the film adheres to historical truth, but at the same time departs from it, exaggerating or embellishing some moments. The biographical tape not only told about the fate of “Russian Sophia Loren”, but also lifted the veil of secrets of political intrigue, as a result of which careers collapsed and human lives broke.
The unsightly ins and outs of a beautiful life is shown in the TV series “The Red Queen”. The actors felt the burden of great responsibility, but the main burden fell on the performer of the main role, whose debut took place in this picture.
Furor and Oblivion
Regina Zbarskaya ’s career in the Soviet Union developed successfully, and after shows abroad, the fashion model became known throughout the world. The furor-producing beauty was at the very peak of fame, which was described by the multi-part melodrama “Red Queen”. The series about love, which ended with the madness of the main character, conveyed all the terrible depth of the tragedy.
Regina's contemporaries say that after such a resounding success, she begins a real black streak. A marriage with a successful painter ends with a difficult divorce, and the model involved in the KGB special operation gets acquainted with a Yugoslav journalist who publishes a book about his relationship with the Kremlin’s beautiful weapons, pulling out all the dirty laundry.
Nervous breakdowns
The broken Zbarskaya, who dreamed of children, turns into a mentally ill person suffering from depression. Because of the prescribed medications, she gains weight, losing her amazing beauty. Instead of a catwalk on the catwalk, the former star is treated in hospitals and commits suicide in the fifty-second year.
Ksenia Lukyanchikova, reliably conveying the emotional state of Regina, who was on the verge of madness, was very worried, because she had to play a strong personality. The actress posed a difficult task - to show that even the most hardy and seasoned person needs the help of family and friends.
Death alone
Zbarskaya sought support, but did not find it, from which she suffered incredibly. The terrible fate of the previously popular and world-famous diva, who turned into a sick and deeply lonely woman, is told in the Russian-Ukrainian project “Red Queen”. The description of the series of the picture reliably shows how overnight you can lose everything you have, and wearing a crown becomes a load pulling down.
It is known that Zbarskaya died in 1987. Her death was also surrounded by a halo of secrets, and no one knows the burial place of cremated remains.
The Burner of Life Lev Zbarsky
The painful break with her husband became the starting point of the road down. The collapse of family relations crippled Zbarskaya, and this tragedy was shown in the film “The Red Queen”.
Artyom Tkachenko, the most popular artist, perfectly played Lev Zbarsky, who had cheated on his wife, the prototype of Regina’s husband. They say that not a single Moscow beauty could resist the charm of a brutal artist. A life-lover who loved to party and have parties did not want to become a father, which insanely upset the woman.
Two celebrities, who did not agree on life, parted, and a few years later Zbarsky emigrated to Israel. In February of this year, the life of a former womanizer broke off at the American hospice.
Seven months of work
For seven months, work has been ongoing on the incredibly popular Red Queen series. Actors accurately conveyed the vivid characters of their characters, literally getting used to their roles.
The filmmakers did not try to adhere to strict reliability, saying that a large-scale project is not an accurate reconstruction of events. Therefore, no one recreated or restored buildings and their interiors. Parisian sights were shot in Lviv, and the history of Moscow was in Minsk.
Crew issues
The big difficulties were that there were no photo chronicles and magazines of the time. Even a break all the archives, the director did not find enough material. She later said that the group was saved by a mystical event: quite unexpectedly, in one of the rooms they found a closet littered with fashion magazines of the 60s, and in each of them there were photographs of Regina Zbarskaya, as if fate itself had given signs to the film crew of the painting “The Red Queen ".
The description of the life of Moscow fashion models was striking with close attention to the details of their outfits. The film crew did not want people who knew those times well to have any comments about the appearance of the actors. A whole team of artists worked on the creation of costumes and accessories. Even shoes were made to order so that the shape of the heel or sole did not seem modern.
The terrible price for success is the main idea of the painting “The Red Queen”
The series, created by the efforts of a friendly team, spoke about a bright star who left her mark on the fashionable horizon of our country. The famous fashion model, who lost everything, was terribly lonely. The celebrity surrounded by fans did not find understanding, and attempts to cope with problems independently were unsuccessful. The sad story of Regina Zbarskaya, who paid a terrible price for her success, is filled with deep meaning.