Successful and attractive, popular and famous Konstantin Ernst is one of the most significant figures in the Russian media business. Indeed, this person is a screenwriter, producer, co-founder of the magazine However, president of the Industrial Committee of the Media, general director of Channel One and a member of the Russian Television Academy all rolled into one. It is safe to say that Konstantin Ernst, whose biography will be described in the article, has done more for Russian television than anyone else.
Childhood and youth
Constantine was born in February 1961, the 6th. His father - Lev Konstantinovich Ernst - Honored Biologist, Academician of the Agricultural Academy, Doctor and Professor of Agricultural Sciences and Vice President of the Russian Agricultural Academy.
Konstantin Ernst spent his childhood and school years in St. Petersburg. There he received his higher education - at the University of Leningrad at the Faculty of Biochemistry. After graduation, Konstantin began working at the research institute. And his career was more than successful. In 1986, at the age of 25, he already defended his dissertation as a candidate of biochemical sciences.
A chidhood dream
Despite the fact that everyone prophesied to Konstantin a great future in science, he chose a different path for himself, following the old childhood dream. Work in the cinema for him was much more important than biochemistry. Konstantin Ernst even refused the tempting offer to train at the University of Cambridge, as he clearly saw his gray and uninteresting future as a researcher. Cinema attracted him with incredible strength, and he began to look for ways to realize his childhood dreams. So Konstantin Lvovich got on television.
The first steps in a television career
In 1988, Konstantin Ernst first appeared on television - he became the face of the program “Look”. In the same year, he tried himself as a director - he shot a video for the song “Aerobics” of the group “Alice”. The very next 1989, the director presented the viewer with his first full-length work - the film "Radio Silence", and a little later, the short-length feature film "Homo Duplex". Ernst's first works became evidence that he possesses undoubted talent and is truly engaged in his own business.
In 1990, Konstantin Lvovich appeared as the author and presenter of the Matador program. At this time, the general producer of the VID television company Vladislav Listyev gave his colleague a serious assignment - to develop a plan for transforming the first channel.
In November 1994, Boris Yeltsin issued a decree on the creation of ORT, the first independent channel in Russia (now Channel One). Most of the company's shares belonged to the state (51%), and 49% were divided among themselves by the largest commercial banks in Russia. The general director of the channel was appointed Vladislav Listyev, who tragically died at the hands of a hired killer in March 1995.
Sergey Blagovolin was appointed to his post. For several months, ORT management persuaded Ernst to become the channel’s general producer. It was believed that he was the only person who understands the concept of developing a new channel to the end, because it was he who developed it together with the deceased Listyev. Ernst resisted for a long time, because he did not consider himself worthy of this responsible position, but nevertheless, in June 1995, the ORT channel acquired the general producer in his person.
Achievements
In the first few years of Konstantin Lvovich’s work, ORT has become the country's top-rated television channel, which it still is. It is thanks to him and his colleague, journalist Parfyonov Leonid, that the viewer can now enjoy “Old Songs about the Essentials”. For this work, Konstantin was awarded the Golden Olive International Festival of Entertainment and Music Programs. Ernst Konstantin Lvovich also became the father of many popular Russian TV series. The biography of the producer is rich in successful film works, the production of which he began to engage in 1998. Among the first series of Ernst, one should single out "Deadly Force", "Border. Taiga novel ”,“ Stop on demand ”,“ Waiting room ”, which were replaced by Mexican and Brazilian“ soap operas ”from Russian television screens. The work of the Checkpoint earned Ernst recognition at the Russian Film Festival in Sochi. The project was recognized as the winner in the nomination "Best Film". And at the international festival in Moscow, Konstantin Ernst was awarded the Crystal Globe as the best director. He also became a co-producer of the film Evstigneeva Denis "Mom".
General Director of ORT
In September 1999, Konstantin Ernst, whose biography contains many achievements in the field of the television industry, began a new stage in his life - managing the affairs of the ORT channel as the general director. Prior to this, Igor Shabdurasulov held the post, and he proposed to Konstantin to replace him. During this period, there are such films by Konstantin Ernst as “Night Watch”, “Irony of Fate. Continuation "," Stop on demand "and others.
In 2000, Konstantin Lvovich became a co-author of the joint project “ITAR-TASS” and “ORT” entitled “Formula of power”, dedicated to the leaders of the world. In the same year, under the direction of Ernst, the last "Old Songs about the Essentials" were shot.
In 2002, at the initiative of Mikhalkov Nikita with the participation of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, GTRK, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation and the ORT channel, the National Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was created, of which Ernst Konstantin also became a member.
Birth of the First Channel
In July 2002, at the suggestion of Ernst, at a meeting of shareholders, it was decided to rename ORT to Channel One. Already in October of the same year, Konstantin Ernst was elected head of the Industrial Committee of the Media.
Projects of recent years
The period from 2002 to 2004 was very productive in the career of Konstantin Lvovich. During this time, as a producer, he presented the viewer with a lot of interesting television projects, including “Plot”, “Special Forces”, “Saboteur”, “Azazel”, “Investigators are leading experts”, “Another Life”, “Turkish Gambit”, “72 meters” and many others.
Ernst later swung at records - the film "Day Watch", where he acted as a screenwriter and director, generated the largest box office in the history of Russian cinema.
In 2009, under the leadership of Konstantin Lvovich, the Moscow Eurovision Song Contest was created, which, according to Europeans, has become the largest in the history of the project. The audience beat all the previous indicators, since Eurovision 2009 was watched by more than 122 million people.
In 2011, another record holder was released on television - the film “Vysotsky. Thank you for being alive, ”co-produced by Ernst. And a year earlier, viewers got acquainted with the director’s most controversial project called “School”, which was awarded the TEFI Prize.
A family
It is known that Konstantin Ernst was twice married. The personal life of a television figure, although hidden behind seven locks, the press is still aware of some facts from it. Konstantin Lvovich’s common-law spouse is Larisa Sinelshchikova, the head of the Red Square television company, which works closely with Channel One. The couple brings up two children of Larisa from their first marriage - son Igor and daughter Anastasia.
Ernst Constantine's first wife is theater critic Seluance Anna. In 1995, she bore him a daughter, Alexandra.