The filming of the second season of the Montenegrin sitcom "Deuč caffe" was completed recently, so its broadcast is eagerly awaited.
In addition to the expanded cast, Miloš Radunović took over the director's baton, Ivan Đurović was the executive producer, and writer Stefan Bošković was in charge of the script, who also received help from the actor Milivoj Miša Obradović, who also portrays one of the main characters.
Obradović spoke to "Vijesti" about his character, Miha The Man, and the atmosphere on the set, and he also referred to his theatrical engagement and the play "Bure Baruta", which had its premiere at the Montenegrin National Theater this month.
"We were really preparing for the second season, because we wanted to improve the series in every sense. So we worked on some of the mistakes we had in the first season, and it seems to me, we improved the series in terms of screenwriting and directing, and I believe also acting", the actor begins the conversation.
"We also had acting changes in the main cast. Instead of Zoran Vujović, Vule Marković has now entered the three main characters. He is very young, but he has done an excellent job. So all that brought a new energy and enthusiasm", he continues.
Given that they were satisfied with the plan "on paper" before the start of filming, it allowed them to be relaxed and have fun on the set.
"It was very tiring on the other hand, because we worked during the summer, when the temperatures were high. We filmed in the Podgorica barracks, in the studio, but it seems to me that the material we prepared gave us security and then we could have fun and it was mostly interesting," Obradović conveys his impressions, and then reveals how much his character has changed. .
"We realized in the second season where the basis of Miha's character is. In the first season, it revolved around the urban milieu of the city, not to say the hysteria, with Azerbaijani rap and movies, but we didn't get much out of that bag," he is honest.
"In the second season, we quite spontaneously came to the fact that he is a great exhibitionist and as the situation dictates, he markets himself through the exhibition. If one of the characters needs to train, Miha "exposes" that he is a trainer in the gym, he dresses and behaves like that, if a friend has dinner with a girl, he cannot do without him, he becomes the head waiter... and all with a goal to help his friends, although he often gets them into trouble", the actor gives examples.
"But I wouldn't want to reveal much, because there will be a lot of new things," he hints.
The novelty in "Deutsche Cafe" will certainly be a handful of new faces, given that the cast has been expanded with episodic roles.
"It's always refreshing when someone from the side comes in or someone from here that you don't play with often. It is very relaxing to change partners and it bears fruit. It was nice to hang out with all those actors, whom Dušan hired as a producer, for the two or three days they spent in Podgorica, both on and off the set. Older colleagues bring you new experience, and with the younger ones you "measure" your strengths", explained Obradović, who with his colleagues from the CNP recently had the premiere of the play "Bure Buruta" directed by Dejan Projkovski.
"An actor always wonders why a text is being written today. We wondered the same about this text, but I think the connection is more than obvious," he answers.
"Because even when the text was written and today, people still have the same problems both in society and with themselves. Unsettled emotions, as a result of unsettled social relations... And vice versa. From Antiquity to today, man has not changed much in this sense. So it was interesting and very inspiring to work on this piece", concludes the actor, adding that everyone can be found in the characters.
"The play was made on a similar principle to that on which 'The Tempest' was made, it is the director's recognizable signature, with a very similar resonance, and I think the audience accepted it and liked that kind of aesthetics and theater. I am always glad that the audience is satisfied", he believes.
At the end of the conversation, Obradović points out that he does not differentiate between working in the theater and on film and series sets.
"I already have enough experience, so I noticed the difference between acting on film and in the theater, and then I had time to adapt myself to both, and to see which suits me better. The approach to the material is the same, but the means are different, so precision is needed to separate the two. It's important to act both in film and in the theater," he explains.
"When I get a little tired of the theater, a movie or a series always comes on, when a person is exhausted on the set, he wants to do something different, so he goes to the theater. So both have their pros and cons...", Obradović said.
There was improvisation, but no change in structure
When asked if there was improvisation on the set of "Deuč Cafe", Obradović answered in the affirmative.
"I wrote one episode by myself and the other with Stefan Bošković, but when you get there and work, you realize that some deviations from the text are necessary and welcome. And we changed lines and gags, but not the structure. We nailed down the structure before filming and there was no improvisation...", the actor conveyed his impressions.
He watched his first movie seven times in a row
A certain number of actors like to watch themselves on small and big screens, while others avoid watching their own projects, and Obradovic belongs to the first group, because it helps him to improve.
"I watched the first season of 'Deutsche Cafe' on the jumps, because it was the theatrical premiere at the time. Later I looked at it in a little more detail, because we had to analyze it in order to improve it. I always find it hard, even with other series like 'The Christmas Uprising', to look at the jumps. Usually later, if I have time, I look at what I did so that I can correct any mistakes", he points out.
"I remember the first film I shot, it was in Novi Sad. 'The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning', a feature film in which I played the main role and when I got it before it was released I watched it seven times in a row", recalls the actor with a smile.
"There, I studied well what is good and what is not. I've never done anything like that again," he admits, and then explains that watching foreign series and sitcoms is just as desirable.
"Even as a kid, I liked to watch foreign sitcoms like, for example, 'Mućke' or 'Friends', they are really great series and top actors, and of course it is a role model for us when we were kids, but also now when we are people from this business," he explains.
"Somehow these things are motivation and role models. Those are my two favorite series, especially 'Friends' and I think the acting in that series is superb. You need to follow what is happening, because things change very quickly, film aesthetics today are not the same as they were five years ago, let alone fifty years ago. And the acting expression has its own trends and changes, you shouldn't be a slave, but you should be up to date with all that, and find your own way, the actor said.
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