Advanced search

"Notes From The New World" is a contemporary retelling of Dostoyevsky's novella which unfolds in Los Angeles where dreams and harsh realities collide. It is a place where almost everyone spies on everyone else, and everyone seems to be playing a dangerous game. Steven is torn between two women he loves, each of whom is pretending to be someone else. The danger only intensifies when Steven comes face-to-face with the Russian Mafia. Soon he will discover who he really is. On another level the story suggests an amazing reading of the state of the postmodern/post-Communist world. Are we witnessing certain realization of Dostoyevsky's prophecies--especially as far as the Underground Man's dilemma regarding Love/Terrorism is concerned?..

SOMEONE -- OR SOMETHING -- DID NOT WANT THIS MOVIE TO BE MADE... It had the hallmarks of a thriller: betrayal and abandonment. Lies and innuendo. Colleagues caught up in a mysterious ancient cult. A side project gone terribly wrong. But these occurrences were not part of the script; they took place in real life behind the scenes of the production. The original concept was daunting enough: a contemporary, sun-drenched re-imagining of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's dark 19th century classic, Notes from the Underground. At the outset, writer/director Vitaly Sumin had a script, a location, a vision, and no budget. But he'd been down this road before; his critically acclaimed previous film, Shades of Day, was an LA story based on another Dostoevsky novella, White Nights. Since he did it once, everyone assumed, he could do it again -- until a tsunami of unforeseen challenges threatened to tear these 'Notes' to shreds. Behind the Scenes -- The Making of Notes from the New World stands as a compelling story in its own right, sure to inspire filmmakers and anyone else who wishes to achieve the impossible.

Robert Hurley, 27, a Culver City native and one time computer engineer, has not been heard from since late February, after many attempts to contact him via phone calls, e-mails, and visits to his home in Los Angeles. The latest film based on his screenplay, 'Notes from the New World', tells a modern day version of Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 'Notes from the Underground', complete with Russian mafia gangsters and a dangerous call girl, and evidence suggests Hurley's disappearance is due to real life characters who inspired the script.

"Shades of Day" is a suspenseful Hollywood fable based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's classic novella "White Nights"(considered one of the greatest love stories ever written), but here transferred to modern day Los Angeles. It's the first part of our "Dostoevsky-L.A" project, which also will include "Crime and Punishment, LA" and "Idiot, L.A". The film crosses and re-crosses the thin line that separates tragedy from comedy. It introduces us to the enchanting Linda, whose life is centered around a planned reunion with her former lover Paul. Her plans change in remarkable ways as she encounters an extraordinary cast of characters, including a new lover and a movie producer who is pursued by the Mafia.

Meet Torey Gerace, vlogger for VM Productions, as he follows the ongoing production adventures of 'Dostoyevsky Reimagined: The Making of Notes from The New World.' Find out about this fascinating project and the trials and tribulations behind bringing Fyodor Dostoyevsky's classic 'Notes From Underground' to cinematic life.

The room has an uneasy yet somewhat calming feeling to it, a highlight of pink and blue. WOMAN (mid 20s), beautiful, charming, tall, and cunning, wipes the splash of blood on her face and down to her neck with a cotton pad, rather calmly. A body of a man lays on the floor, but only his arm is visible. The rest is a mystery.

Nick has two week to locate Robert Hurley, the disappearing screenwriter.

Bob confesses that he still doesn't understand what "Dostoyevsky's Reimagined" is about. Suddenly the lights go off and the situation becomes weird. There's a menace in the air.

Ash Johnson suggested developing a series of vlogs. Each vlog will focus on a different quote by Dostoyevsky, and how we can interpret them in modern society. Despite the technical imperfections, we have decided to publish her videos. The reason: we were deeply touched by the sincerity of the presenter. Here's the citing from the beginning of this vlog by Ash: "People speak sometimes about the 'bestial' cruelty of man, but that is terribly unjust and offensive to beasts; no animal could ever be so cruel as a man, so artfully, so artistically cruel." (as per Dostoyevsky) . I want to talk to you today about human nature, and the idea that man is crueler than beast. Is this true, do you think? Fyodor Dostoyevsky certainly seemed to think so."

Nick helps Bob, his co-worker who struggles to understand the independent art film. The two guys are magically transported back to 1860s Russia where they meet the author of "Notes from the Underground" Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

VM Productions in association with Los Angeles Review of Books and the International Screenwriters Association will sponsor ADAPTATION LA - Film Festival and Screenwriting Competition, a celebration of independent and low-budget film making. For now - enjoy our video - Movies You'd Never Imagine Are Adaptations.

Robert Hurley: Screenwriter. Dreamer. Missing person. During filming of 'Notes From The New World,' a modern retelling of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 'Notes From The Underground,' Hurley vanished.

Despite the technical imperfections, we have decided to publish this video. The reason: we were deeply touched by the sincerity of the presenter, Ash James Johnson, as he talks about his personal experiences after losing his loved ones. "The darker the night, the brighter the stars, the deeper the grief, the closer is God." - Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Kate and Carolyn meet Peter Parker (aka Spider Man) and Rodion Raskolnikov, the hero of Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment".