In 2008, a multi-part film work by directors Oleg Larin, Vladimir Filimonov, Anario Mamedov, Mikhail Kabanov under the intriguing title "Hot Ice" was released on television screens. The actors of the film are not only professionals in their field. The filming was attended by eminent skaters - champions and prize-winners of competitions at various levels.
History of creation
The idea to make a television series that covers the subject of figure skating belongs to the Channel One team. It arose after the project “Ice Age” was a huge success with the audience, and not only in the Russian Federation, but also abroad. It was decided to show professional sport from the other side - from the inside, to talk about all the experiences and upsets of athletes. After all, high stakes are at stake here, and this entails a behind-the-scenes fight.
In the film "Hot Ice", high-ranking actors work in the same team with skaters, who here not only perform tricks on ice, but also play dramatic roles. The television company Star Media was the embodiment of the idea to create such a film.
The plot of the movie
The main events in the series begin to revolve around the championship of the Russian Federation in figure skating. Therefore, many film critics believe that "Hot Ice" - a series for sports fans. Here rivals fight not only for prizes, but also for a more important award - the opportunity to go to the European Championship. During the competition it already becomes clear who entered the top three. Gold medals are practically in the piggy bank of the pair Nikolai Rokotov - Alexandra Belkevich, the second place goes to Vera Loginova and Sergey Brattsev. And for the third place there is a serious struggle between two pairs of skaters: they are trying to score the highest scores of Zorin - Davydenko and Molodtsov - Trofimova.
The last couple is at risk and includes very difficult support in its program, despite the prohibitions of coach Alexander Trofimov, who is the father of Natalia. But this risky event did not justify itself - Molodtsov dropped Natalia on the ice, being distracted for a second by his former lover. As a result, Trofimova is seriously injured and cannot continue to ride professionally. However, leaving sports is not part of her plans, and now she has to prove to herself and others that she is still able to achieve high results.
About the main characters
In the serial film of the main characters, Natalya Trofimova and Viktor Molodtsova were played by Ekaterina Guseva and Roman Kostomarov, respectively. They presented the audience with a couple of ambitious skaters who skated together and fought for a prize in the championship of the Russian Federation. Natalia is the daughter of coach Trofimov, who dreamed of participating in European competitions. But because of the injury, she decides to become a coach. Actress Ekaterina Guseva herself is also related to this beautiful sport - she took part in the project “Ice Age”, where she skated together with Roman Kostomarov.
As for the character of Viktor Molodtsov, he is a partner of Natalia Trofimova. In life, Roman is an Honored Master of Sports of Russia. At the Olympic Games in Turin, Kostomarov was a member of the Russian national figure skating team (sports dancing on ice). Roman’s arsenal has a gold medal, which he received for his performances with Tatyana Navka. It is not surprising that it was easy for Roman to act as an experienced athlete in the film "Hot Ice". Actors who, unlike him, had no experience in ice skating, encountered difficulties while filming on ice.
Casting
In addition to Guseva and Kostomarov, in the series there are many famous actors and skaters, who are known to viewers on other projects. So, the actor Konstantin Demidov played the role of the journalist Golubev. The image of Nikolai Rokotov was presented to the audience by the repeatedly titled skater Alexei Tikhonov, and Alexandra Belkevich - actress Anna Bolshova. The latter at one time played the main roles in such theatrical productions as “Taming of the Tamers”, “Mystification”, “Tartuffe” and others. The character Sergey Brattsev was played by actor Pavel Trubiner, who made his film debut in the multi-part film project “Plus Infinity”.
Cast - Champions
Since the series is sports, it goes without saying that famous athletes who have dedicated their lives to figure skating take part in it. Among the famous actors stands out Alexei Yagudin, who played the role of Roma Kozyrev. Alex is one of those professionals who are referred to as "pride of the nation."
He not only honored master of sports of the Russian Federation, but also won gold four times at world championships. In 2002, the gold of the Olympic Games was added to his piggy bank , twice he won the finals of the Grand Prix in figure skating and also twice became the first at the world championship among professionals. It is interesting that Alexei Yagudin, in addition to sports, participated in sports and entertainment shows, including Russian and foreign ones. So, in his piggy bank, participation in the projects “Stars on Ice”, “Ice Age”, “Ice and Fire”. For several years he performed with various celebrities, including singer Victoria Daineko, actress Valeria Lanskaya and others.
Alexey also hosted the 2012 Professional Cup show. He also managed to star in several films, including the film "Hot Ice". Actors and the crew appreciated his artistry.
Entertaining facts
Shooting the hot series “Hot Ice” brought together many figure skating champions, including Roman Kostomarov, Alexei Yagudin, Alexei Tikhonov, as well as prize-winners of Russian and European championships, including Alexander Abt, Povilas Vanagas and others.
It is also worth noting that the actor Konstantin Demidov, before starting an acting career, starred in commercials. In 2005, he received the Golden Apple for successful participation in advertising with MTS.
It is interesting that the leading actor Ekaterina Guseva appears throughout the series in a wig. In other films, directors preferred to see Gusev with their natural hair. Some cinema critics noticed that Gusev was often shot by the cameraman from the back, and decided that she was replaced by an understudy at these moments, and the actress herself was absent during the filming process.
As for the complex supports, several skaters duplicated on the ice. So, Natalia Mikhailova replaced three actresses: Ksenia Romenkova, Natalya Rychkova and Ekaterina Guseva. In this regard, makeup artists tried to make the actresses simple hairstyles, so that later they could easily be reproduced on understudies.