Bio of Russia's Mark Zuckerberg to Be Filmed

MOSCOW – Russian producer Alexander Rodnyansky will adapt for the screen a book on Russian Mark Zuckerberg, Pavel Durov, the founder and owner of Vkontakte, Facebook’s local equivalent.

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Rodnyansky’s A.R.Films has acquired rights to Nikolai Kononov’s recent bestseller Kod Durova (Durov’s Code), centered on the social networking web site and its 28-year-old owner, and plans to start production next spring.

“For a long time, we have wanted to make a movie directly connected to life around us, a movie that is focused on contemporary people rather than an imaginary world,” Rodnyansky said in a statement.

“The story of Vkontakte is very strong and cinematic, and that is why I decided to write it,” Kononov added. “This social networking web site is a virtual state with a population of over 100 million users, while Durov’s way is instructive for the new generation of entrepreneurs, as well as all those who would like to do business online.”

A spokesperson for A.R.Films told The Hollywood Reporter that the film’s budget is to be between 100 million rubles ($3.2 million) and 120 million rubles ($3.9 million) and the release is tentatively scheduled for early 2014.

Rodnyansky, who is known in the West for Cloud Atlas, Jayne Mansfield's Car and the upcoming Renny Harlin project Dyatlove Pass Incident, is to produce the movie with Sergey Melkumov, his long-time co-producer. The director and cast have not been disclosed.

A.R.Films’ assets include production company Non Stop Productions, international licensing and distribution company A Company and Kinotavr, Russia’s main national film festival.