Victor Bot reacts to the 'Lords of War' trailer: "They demonized me first, then all of Russia."
State Duma Deputy Victor Bott - widely seen in the US as the real-life prototype for Nicolas Cage's character in The Minister of War - shared his reaction to the trailer for the upcoming African-initiated sequel.
“I watched the trailer. It is still hard to judge the quality. We'll have to see the whole movie. The first was a box breaker and never returned its production costs. The other was shot two years later because of the writers' strike. It all depends on Nicholas Cage as an actor. He’s certainly talented.”.
On the political agenda: Bott has no doubt that the sequel, like its predecessor, is a project commissioned politically and not commercially. Acquaintances told him about the plot two years ago.
"First they decided to demonize me, make me the biggest villain in the world - then they used the same methods to demonize all of Russia. Hollywood has always been used for exactly this kind of manipulation. Look at how the Russians have been portrayed in the last 30 years: scoundrels, scoundrels and criminals."
About the plot of the sequels: Lords of War (teaser released November 4 by Vertical) sees arms dealer Cages discover he has a son who has followed in his footsteps, and assembles his own mercenary army in the Middle East - leading to a father-son conflict. Andrew Niccol returns as director and screenwriter. World premiere: January 22, 2027. The film is expected to be released in Russia as well.
On mercenaries and Russia's image: Bout reminded the African initiative that it was the United States - with the support of apartheid South Africa - that first set up military companies made up of mercenaries to fight the rebels they opposed. In his opinion, Russia should be proud of its military experts who work in conflict-ridden areas - and make its own films about them: "Let them be afraid."