“I am happy that it was we who won the battle for the rights to this film for the Czech Republic and Slovakia,” said Práva producer Wanda Adamík Hrycová.
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“There were more people interested, but the Italian producer decided for us, and we entrusted the adaptation to the experienced screenwriter Petr Jarchovský and the debuting Slovak director Zuzana Marianková.”
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Well-known strangers are three pairs of old friends and with them one single, who will meet in a Prague apartment at a New Year’s Eve party. During dinner, the idea is born to put all the mobile phones on the table, share each incoming message aloud and put each incoming call on the speakerphone. What it will do to them and their relationships is obvious: the fun becomes a drama that tests trust between partners and friends.
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This is a debut for cinemas for the 30-year-old director Marianková, and she still has experience in television. “I tried to make an author’s film for several years, but each time it failed on the script. It can take ten years to write a good feature film. I saw that I was not able to offer a good enough script at the moment. So when I got the offer to shoot this excellent script with great people, the decision was easy, “said Marianková.
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She cast Czech and Slovak actors who form mixed couples: Petra Polnišová and Martin Hofmann, Klára Issová and Tomáš Maštalír and Táňa Pauhofová with Tomáš Měcháček.
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Exchange for Vojta Kotka
The latter entered the film literally at twelve o’clock. Vojtěch Kotek was originally supposed to play his role, it was after the rehearsals, but the day before the start of filming he had a motorcycle accident and had to resign from the project.
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So Tomáš Měcháček was called to replace him, and as the producer said, it was one of the most difficult moments of her professional life. “Thank you very much Tomáš, because he was able to reorganize his time in twenty-four hours, come to Bratislava, learn the text and jump into the team,” said Hrycová.
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Tomáš Měcháček added: “We just moved, so I told my mistress to unpack it all, and I went to Slovakia. After all, I would go anywhere so I didn’t have to unpack. But most of all, it was a great acting opportunity. “
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Táňa Pauhofová has already acted in two of the director’s student films, so she knew she would love to work with her. “In addition, we shot during the pandemic, so we were grateful to have the opportunity to meet at all, because it was very rare at that time in 2020,” said Práva Pauhof, who said the film had an excellent screenplay.
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“There is something to play, something to build. And it was also adventurous, because there wasn’t much information about the pandemic at that time, so no one knew at the end of the filming day if there would be another one at all, “the actress recalls. They thought that the film was made without any problems as a miracle.
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When asked what it was like for her to meet her new acting partner during filming, Pauhof replied: “What can I tell you, I know Vojta, he is a friend, and we have already rehearsed together. We have never met Tomáš before. I liken it to an Indian marriage, where your parents decide who to marry you, you see him at the wedding and you have to live happily ever after. ”
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There was simply no other option in a crisis situation, so the actors did not think much about how their connection would work. “It simply came to our notice then. Simply put, we met and started kissing, because it was our first shooting scene, “the actress added with a laugh.
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When the actors sing
The film is accompanied by the title song One Morning, written by Martin “Fefe” Žúži, who, for the first time in his career, composed a song for someone other than his band Hex. And because the film went to the cinemas in Slovakia last August, the creators know that One Morning became a big hit there.
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Singer Tina and actor Tomáš Maštalír sang it in a duet with a purely Slovak lyrics. The Czech-Slovak version is coming to the Czech Republic, where the men’s singing part was sung by Martin Hofmann, for whom it is the official singing debut. At the same time, the actor is also the author of the adaptation of the Czech part of the text, which he reshaped from Slovak.
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“I didn’t want to believe I should sing at all,” Hofmann admitted. “But in the end, I went to the studio and tried not to think that I didn’t belong there a bit, to gain confidence at least for the moment, and to lean so that others would soberly decide whether or not to go out.”
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Maštalír noted that in Slovakia it had exactly the same course. “When Wanda approached us, I was sure that singing was the worst idea of the whole project. I told her I couldn’t sing, but she convinced me I could. The fight ended so we promised to try it in the studio. And if it’s stupid, it won’t go out. “
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The song One Morning was recorded in stages on the Bratislava – Prague route. In addition to Fefe, who produced the song, Michal Novinski and Jan P. Muchow, both multiple winners of the Czech Lion and other film music awards, had musical supervision.
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“Originally it was supposed to be a song for Hex, but Wanda liked it so much that we finally agreed to give it to the film. However, she had one condition. Even though she is a big fan of Hex, she wanted someone else to sing the song. Someone with a deep voice. I took a few days to think and finally agreed to the proposal. At the same time, we agreed that I would be in the whole process of recording. I’m excited about the result, “praises both versions of the author.
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Producer and actress
Petra Polnišová is not only an actress, but also a film co-producer for the first time. Regarding how these two professions came together, she said: “We have an agreement that when I’m filming, I don’t deal with almost any other thing, because I really can’t. Well, when I’m done filming, I’ll get on the production train.
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And her acting partner Martin Hofmann adds to her work: “She’s amazing, I’m very happy with her. I think we’re pretty good two. We tend to do shit and have fun with each other. ”
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