Rachel Maddow is getting into the feature documentary business.
Under her production business Surprise Inside, the MSNBC personality has developed her first feature-length documentary, which the cable network has acquired. Next month, MSNBC will screen the movie.
The plot that resulted in the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump is chronicled in the movie From Russia With Lev.“It follows the much, much larger-than-life journey of Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-born hustler and former small-time mafia operator whose random, almost accidental association with Trump and Trump attorney Rudolph Giuliani took him around the world, and ultimately to prison,” per the logline.
On September 7, the Brooklyn Academy of Music will host MSNBC’s Democracy 2024 event, where the movie will have its world debut. One of the highlights of the occasion is the premiere.
The film was directed by Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami), and Maddow was the executive producer. In collaboration with Rakontur and Universal Television Alternative Studio, the movie was also made.
“There should be more documentaries from an insider’s perspective about the Trump presidency. There should be a Mike Pence documentary. There should be a John Kelly documentary, or a Rex Tillerson documentary. But it takes someone like Lev Parnas to be brave enough to speak up first,” says Maddow. “Lev’s story is un-put-down-able.”
“Lev Parnas’ story is like Tom Clancy if Jack Ryan was played by Jackie Mason,” adds Corben. “This film is a continuation of Rakontur’s signature subgenre of ‘Florida Men Behaving Badly With World-Changing Geopolitical Stakes.’”
From Russia With Lev continues Maddow’s run as a multiplatform star for MSNBC.
Naturally, Maddow hosts her own program on Monday nights and frequently appears to report on significant news stories. Nonetheless, she also creates and broadcasts other podcasts for the business, such as Déjà News, Ultra, and Bag Man. Furthermore, Ben Stiller and Steven Spielberg are developing Bag Man and Ultra for cinematic versions, respectively.
