Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk as movie stars?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Sc1agjP7Lq4

By Allan Muir

Is there a Russian version of EGOT we don't know about? Because it looks like Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk are going for it.

Already superstars on the ice, the Slavic Getzlaf and Ryan are putting their acting chops on display in a new Russian children's movie, 12 Months.

I'm not sure if the hockey gods have this kind of pull, but this sets up the greatest episode of Inside The Actor's Studio ever.

From what I can decipher (hey, it's been 30 years since I studied Russian at U-Dub), a girl somehow intercepts 12 wishes that were intended for a younger boy to use over the course of a year. Instead of returning them to the rightful owner, she sets out to make his wishes come true so she can keep the magical wishes for herself.

Much zaniness ensues.

Apparently, one of the boy's dreams was to play hockey against Malkin and Kovalchuk, who show up in their Scarface finest. But the pair does more than simply smile and wave at the camera according to this interview with a producer of the film.

"At the start of the movie they play themselves, but then there’s a surprise and their roles change. At the beginning they played world champions and I think no actor could play a world champion, they wouldn’t be charismatic enough. But these guys have it in their blood because they actually experienced it. How about when you score the winning goal like Kovalchuk does or when Malkin repeated Gretzky’s record. They experienced this, so they were able to show it on screen the same way and it doesn’t look artificial. It’s real, no actor could’ve done it."

Apparently he's never heard of Mr. Joshua Jackson.

Russian