Russian American director Michael Lockshin heard along with the rest of the world Wednesday that Johnny Depp is set to produce the first English-language feature adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s masterpiece novel The Master and Margarita, with the announcement made at the Red Sea Film Festival
But Lockshin knows well Depp’s co-producers, Svetlana Migunova-Dali and Grace Loh, because he’s locked in an ongoing legal battle with them via his sales company, Luminosity Pictures, in the California Central District Court.
On Wednesday, Lockshin told The Hollywood Reporter Migunova-Dali and Grace Loh have been trying to block a U.S. release of his own Russian-language adaptation of Bulgakov’s masterpiece produced by Len Blavatnik. “I have met with them previously because they (Dali and Loh) have been trying to ban the release of my film in English language territories,” he said.
Lockshin’s Russian-language movie adaptation was shot in 2021, but only got a release in Russia in January 2024 in the wake of that country’s war with Ukraine, and quickly became a box office hit in that territory, despite a political backlash from Russian authorities.
“I am a dissident (in Russia). The movie was ultimately censored because of its politics, but became a huge hit with critics and audiences,” Lockshin recalled. But, despite getting a release for his Russian-language adaptation in Europe, Lockshin insists he has been hampered in securing a U.S. distribution deal by repeated cease-and-desist letters sent out by Migunova-Dali and Loh as they claim to hold the exclusive English language rights to adapt Bulgakov’s novel.
Lockshin added Luminosity Pictures contends the sales rights for the Russian novel — written in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1940 during Stalin’s regime — are in the public domain, and that would allow the Russian language movie adaptation to be released stateside.
Until his legal battle with Migunova-Dali and Loh is resolved, U.S. distributors are expected to be reluctant to acquire his Russian language movie. “We haven’t got a court order to resolve this, and that’s why, although there’s a huge audience in the U.S. who want to see it, we haven’t reached them yet,” Lockshin explained.
All of which has left Lockshin scratching his head to explain why Depp’s co-producers would want to stop the release of a Russian-language literary adaptation in the U.S. market ahead of production on their English language version.
If anything, he argues a Russian-language version of The Master and Margarita would be expected to help build buzz for an eventual English language version. “I’ve always said I’m totally fine and happy for any English language adaptation to be made. I just don’t understand why you’re trying to ban my movie coming out,” Lockshin added.
The Russian-American director has yet to reach out to Depp and his team, as news of their participation has only recently been made public as the news came out on Wednesday. Lockshin assumes Depp doesn’t have “the full picture,” which includes knowing Migunova-Dali and Loh are attempting to ban his movie being release in the U.S. market.
“My speculation would be that he (Depp) doesn’t know about this, and that, if he knows about it and when he finds out, like any artist working in film, he would be against it. Because you don’t ban a movie from coming out. This is not what the artist spirit is about,” Lockshin said.
Legal representatives for Migunova-Dali and Loh were not available for comment after THR reached out.
