Култура

The 37-year-old Velingradian Todor Vladimirov has been cast in the currently popular film Troya, which has been going on for four weeks with unprecedented success in cinemas both in the world and in Bulgaria. Our fellow citizen brandishes spears and swords alongside stars such as Brad Pitt (Ahill), Orlando Bloom (Paris), Sean Bean (Ulysses), etc.
In the spring of 2003. representatives of the Warner Brothers film company conducted a casting for the mass scenes in the film, which presents the war between Greeks and Trojans for the Beautiful Helen, described by Homer in the poem "Iliad". They stop at Bulgarian extras because they are looking for physical resemblance in the people who once lived in our latitudes. 800 people from all over Bulgaria appeared at the casting, 270 of them were approved for the filming, between them and our fellow citizen.
In the month of May 2003. They're going to Mexico, where the film is being made. For a month the Bulgarian extras together with their colleagues from Mexico, the United States and Canada were prepared for the mass scenes by military instructors who taught them marching, entering combat, shooting, etc. N.A. From the beginning of July, filming began, with a working day lasting 14-16 hours. The extras are located in the town of Cabe San Lucas, which is 15 km away. from the location of the photos. It occurs at 4.30, then transport to the set, arming, and then for 9-10 hours, general commands are executed for building up in battle ranks and entering combat. All this is performed at 40-45 degrees, it is mandatory that no one shaves and does not trim their hair to make the troops look as close to reality as possible from years ago. During filming, says Todor, there are also curiosities, such as stars Orlando Bloom or Brad Pitt drinking coke under an umbrella, and 1,000 extras sunbathing in the scorching sun in full combat gear and waiting for them. Often times the army does not stand and booing and swearing at the stars, because of which it is necessary to shoot a scene 15-16 times, as the actor does not perform the battle scene properly. It is a curious fact that when filming the attack scene of Achilles (Brad Pitt) on the coast of Troy, the producers hired special stuntmen from the Czech Republic, but the Bulgarian extras played it so well during training that they ended up filming it with them.
Todor remains with good impressions of all the actors on the set, even with some of them like Sean Bean (Ulysses) and Taylor May (Ajax) joking each other.
A small blunder occurs during the filming with the Bulgarian extras, when, tired of the endless masses and unbearable heat, they strike for better conditions and higher pay. They even staged a procession along the 15 km stretch to Cabe San Lucas, and filming was suspended for two whole days, with even director Wolfgang Petersen forced to wait for the problem to be resolved. Eventually an agreement was reached and filming continued. Todor Vladimirov does not seem to be very impressed by his participation in the film, sharing that he was most impressed by the exceptional class division in Hollywood, which is evident especially during filming. Even the extras themselves are separated and some of them perform lighter tasks and others heavier. Regarding the equipment, Todor says that the weapons are made of plastic, the shields made of wood and leather, but even so during the combat scenes and training there are numerous injuries - injuries, bruises and even fractures. At the end of August 2003. our fellow citizen returns to Bulgaria and now he is about to recognize himself on the screen somewhere between Achilles, Hector, and why not next to the Beautiful Elena...
Nikolay Stoynov