Russian TV viewers were treated to the sight of Jack Nicholson taking tea with Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. The Hollywood heavyweight, who was in Moscow to promote his latest film The Pledge, was joined by co-star Peta Wilson and the film’s director Sean Penn for a half-hour chat with the Russian leader which was televised on the state owned RTR channel.
Putin confessed that his favourite Nicholson film is One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, but added that the actor was probably better known in Russia for his role in the first Batman movie. Nicholson spoke of the beauty of the Russian capital, reportedly saying: “It’s a lifelong dream for me to be in Moscow”, and praised the organisers of the Moscow International Film Festival where The Pledge was given a special screening.
The Russian leader also told actress Peta Wilson, who plays a secret agent in the American TV series La Femme Nikita , that her “spy” show was his favourite, prompting her to joke about the possibility of a job with his security team. A post as a junior official would be open to her, quipped back the premier.
Nicholson’s arrival with on-off girlfriend Lara Flynn Boyle was greeted with surprise. Asked by a Russian reporter about his reputation for womanising, the As Good As It Gets star gestured in Lara’s direction and said: “She doesn’t allow other women to look or talk to me. And I like it like that.”
The American stars were also joined by famed Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov, celebrated actor Oleg Menshikov and Mikhalkov’s brother and colleague Andrei Konchalovsky.
The Moscow Festival, which is now in its 23rd year, draws to a close on Saturday with a screening of Buz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
