Spinning Boris (2003)

Director:

Roger Spottiswoode

Writers (WGA):

Yuri Zeltser (written by) &
Grace Cary Bickley (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Electing a Russian president the American way.

Plot:

Russian political elite hires American consultants to help with President Yeltsin's re-election campaign when his approval rating is down to single digits.

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jeff Goldblum	...	George Gorton
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Dick Dresner
Liev Schreiber	...	Joe Shumate
Boris Lee Krutonog	...	Felix Braynin (as Boris Krutonog)
Svetlana Efremova	...	Tatiana Dyachenko
Shauna MacDonald	...	Lisa
Gregory Hlady	...	Andrei Lugov
Vladimir Radian	...	Vasso
Ilia Volokh	...	Elvis Impersonator (as Ilia Volok)
Konstantin Kazakov	...	Oleg Soskovets
Judah Katz	...	Michael Kramer
Maria Syrgiannis	...	Female Journalist
Ola Sturik	...	Post Office Clerk
Gillian Vanderburgh	...	Dick Dresner's Wife
Serge Timokhin	...	Hotel Desk Clerk

Also Known As:

The Yeltsin Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

USA:112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

UK:12 | USA:R | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Licht/Mueller Film Corporation

Trivia:

The film is based on actual events. While the film portrays all three consultants as being in Russia during the entire campaign, Gorton, Dresner and Shumate flew in and out of Russia during the five month period from February through July, 1996. Usually, two of the three were in Russia while the other was in the USA. This was a safety precaution, so if something went wrong in Russia, the member of the team in the US could get the other two out.

Quotes:

George Gorton: When in Rome, speak Russian.

Smart and Clever Insider Political Comedy

This film is a riot! It is like a political comedy version of "THE WIZARD OF OZ." Only here, Jeff Goldblum is the metaphorical scarecrow,Anthony LaPaglia, the cowardly lion and Liev Shreiber is like the tinman...leading the Russian President Boris Yetzin's daughter (who is like Dorothy) played Svetlana Efremova...through the OZ of political consulting and campaign winning. Boris Krutonog and Gregory Hlady add the proper intrigue and menace to make even those of us who read the original Time Magazine cover story about the real incident...wonder how it will all turn out.It is funny, charming, and truly suspenseful. The trio of actors playing the "fish out of water" American political consultants play off one another beautifully and with the charisma and wit of a real life Hope and Crosby road picture!