Stone Village Pictures and producer Scott Steindorff are looking to bring us THE MASTER AND MARGARITA. Your probably asking yourself what is THE MASTER AND MARGARITA, well it’s a pretty infamous novel by Mikhail Bulgakov.
The novel is set in pre-WWII Moscow, where the devil appears as a mysterious man who insinuates himself into a literary crowd. Amid a series of deaths and disappearances, the devil brings together the title characters, a despairing novelist and his devoted but married lover. The story shifts to the setting of the master’s rejected novel, Jerusalem in the time of Pontius Pilate, and then to a supernatural world where Satanic forces have taken over Margarita’s life.
Sounds like it could be pretty intense, right? Well it seems like the book has caused quite the stir in the past. It was once banned because of it’s allusions to Stalin’s regime. It was eventually released in a censored version.
Fortunately, Stone Village Pictures are looking for a writer to adapt the uncensored version of the manuscript! That’s pretty sweet news. Some more sweet news was that the book apparently was the inspiration behind my favorite Rolling Stones song “Sympathy for the Devil.” This project is getting better and better.
Roman Polanski was once signed on to bring THE MASTER AND MARGARITA to the big screen, penning an adapted screenplay and everything, but the project was pulled because of budget issues. Eventually it was brought to the little screen with a Russian TV miniseries in 2005.
While Steindorff will be producing, Chris Law, Danny Greenspun, Robin Greenspun, Scott Lastati, and Dylan Russell are all set to executive produce.
Reading up on THE MASTER AND MARGARITA, I’m reminded a little of THE NINTH GATE. Working on a project like this, especially an uncensored version, seems pretty ballsy. Let’s hope Stone Village stick to the good stuff and don’t water this one down. We’ll keep you updated.