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A14 PEOPLE / ARTS
Tuesday 23 July 2024
Spectacle, spires and romance: The ‘real suspense’ behind Netflix

doc ‘Skywalkers: A Love Story’

By LINDSEY BAHR Netflix debut, she had over
AP Film Writer 730,000 followers on Ins-
It started out as a film about tagram, and he had over
rooftoppers. 236,000.
The risk-takers who pose “We wanted to give it all to
atop the world’s tallest this project like we always
buildings, without safety do,” Beerkus said through
nets or permission, had long Maria Bukhonina, who co-
been a fascination for film- directed the film and trans-
maker Jeff Zimbalist. He’d lated their interview. “But
dabbled in the activity, on it was unusual when the
a smaller scale in his youth, cameras started following
and was fascinated to us everywhere.”
learn that it had become One place they weren’t
a global phenomenon on being followed, however,
social media. was to the top of the spires
One rooftopper who stuck or cranes. The filmmakers
out was Angela Nikolau, had made an agreement
notable for being one of with their families to only go
the few women operat- This image released by Netflix shows Ivan Beerkus, right, and Angela Nikolau in a scene from to the base roof with their
ing in the space. She intro- “Skywalkers: A Love Story.” verité cameras so as not to
duced him to Ivan Beerkus, Associated Press distract. Those shots were
a fellow rooftopper who And like illegally climbing scared. And their relation- between their perfect, pol- all done by the subjects
she’d begun doing joint an under-construction sky- ship is on the line. ished, finished poses was a themselves.
posts with. Together, they scraper, nothing was going Behind the scenes was the new concept to them.” “They rigged themselves
were fascinating and good to be simple or straightfor- inherent danger of it all: The Nikolau was already rela- with body cams and night
on camera. ward about the mission of trespassing aspect takes on tively famous by the time vision and GoPros and
“We didn’t know what the putting it all together. In a different kind of gravity in Zimbalist got in touch. Born selfie sticks. Ivan’s a mas-
finish line was,” Zimbalist total, the small team spent strict countries like Malay- in Moscow to circus per- ter drone operator. And
said in a recent interview six years making the film, sia. Add in the difficulties former parents, she began Angela really started to
with The Associated Press. traveling to six countries of continuing production amassing a large social understand what cover-
“We really took a leap of with Nikolau and Beerkus through COVID and Rus- media following by posting age was,” Zimbalist said.
faith on this.” to capture their attempts sia’s war on Ukraine, the photos of herself on the top “They’re credited as ex-
But in the making of “ Sky- to pose on top of the likes logistics of filming without of buildings in acrobatic treme cinematographers in
walkers: A Love Story,” of the 1,957-foot (596.6-me- distracting, and the con- poses. Beerkus was too, for the film.”
now streaming on Netflix, ter) Goldin Finance 117, stant conversation about his more “extreme” photo- Another essential lynchpin
Zimbalist quickly realized in Tianjin, China, and the trust not only between film- graphs and films. They were was Bukhonina, who was
that there was something 2,227-foot (679-meter) maker and subjects but be- both ardently solo acts. But born in Russia, and be-
bigger happening with his Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lum- tween the subjects them- when they started climb- came the main conduit
subjects: They were falling pur, Malaysia. selves. ing and posing together, to the subjects during the
in love. The film begins in a tense “They’d only been doing around the time when pandemic. She and their
This, he knew, was the story. moment in Merdeka: short form,” Zimbalist said. Zimbalist and his team be- small camera crew were
The vertigo-inducing spec- They’re trying to get to the “The idea that we wanted gan to follow them, their on the road with them for
tacle was the backdrop. top undetected. They’re access to all of the stuff in popularity grew. Prior to the years.q

Calls for Maya Rudolph to reprise her Kamala Harris on ‘SNL’ are

flooding in on social media

NEW YORK (AP) — Will Maya Rudolph’s “funt,” aka Vice President Kamala Harris, be
back on “Saturday Night Live?”
Speculation has been running hot since Sunday, when President Joe Biden dropped his
election news, but the “SNL” alum is a busy actor these days.
Rudolph earned four Emmy nods last week for her work on three different shows: “Loot”
(just renewed for a third season on Apple TV+), “Big Mouth” on Netflix and two nomina-
tions for a hosting stint on “SNL.”
She played Harris several times as a guest on “SNL” in 2019, during the 2020 presidential
election cycle. Rudolph was a cast member on the NBC show from 2000 to 2007.
The “Bridesmaids” actor won an Emmy for her Harris in December 2019 during a cold
open send-up of the PBS Democratic debate soon after Harris dropped out of the presi-
dential race. She debuted the character earlier that year during a town hall bit that
had her introducing her Harris as “America’s cool aunt. A fun aunt. I call that a ‘funt.’”
Her Emmy-winning turn as Harris referenced Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” with: “I just want to show
you how good you could’ve had it, America. You withheld your donations, and I got
tired of waiting, so I walked my fine ass out the door.” Rudolph then sang: “You coulda
Maya Rudolph appears at the Time100 Gala in New York on had a bad bitch.”
April 25, 2024, left, and Vice President Kamala Harris appears Calls for Rudolph to return to the role have flooded social media since Biden stepped
at a luncheon for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the
State Department in Washington on April 11, 2024. aside. He and Democratic leaders have thrown their support to Harris as their presiden-
Associated Press tial nominee ahead of the Aug. 19 start of the party’s convention in Chicago.q