"Hosni" For Rosalyoussef Gate: The Oscar for The Return of the Mammoth is credited to me as the first film of its kind in Egypt

The hero of a daring experiment that touches the limits of imagination and tests the capabilities of the film industry itself. His passion for his work pushed him to venture out with his film “Oscar… The Return of the Mammoth” It is the first of its kind in Egyptian cinema, and it quickly became the talk of the public after achieving widespread success in theaters inside and outside Egypt.

 

Although the film belongs to an uncharted territory of fantasy, visual effects and techniques, Ahmed Salah Hosni’s presence in front of the camera seemed confident and free from any calculations, which made many consider the experience a new turning point in his career. In his interview with Rosalyoussef Gate, we go with the star Ahmed Salah Hosni behind the scenes: How do I prepare for an intangible world? What tempted him to take the risk? What did this experience change in his view of himself and his artistic path? Questions that open the door to a deeper reading of an actor who continues to redefine himself at every new station.

 

The movie “Oscar… The Return of the Mammoth” It belongs to an unexplored space in Egyptian and Arab cinema, yet it achieved wide resonance in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. When you read the script for the first time… Was this success within your expectations, or did the experience surprise you?

By God, of course, I wished for this success, and I still hope for more and more success, and the film still has not reached all the Arab countries. The film is now on tour in the Arab countries and has achieved great success in Saudi Arabia and will reach Iraq, Morocco, the Emirates and other countries. So far the film has only been shown in Saudi Arabia and the audience’s reaction was very good in Saudi Arabia, a real honorable reaction, and very happy with the reactions so far, and we hope It will increase in the coming period, God willing.

 

When I read the film for the first time, I knew that you were facing a huge challenge and with this productive and artistic risk.. What was the moment or element that made you say: "Yes"hellip; I will jump into this world"

I love (Risk) taking risks, and the subject of the film is new, and it will count for all of us, and it counts for me personally that my first absolute starring film in the cinema will be a film that relies on graphics techniques (CGI) and visual effects, and it will always be attributed to me that the first Egyptian film in this way is my film, and in addition to that, there are many elements that encourage you to the film, which is Trend Company and the director Hisham Al-Rashidi and all the elements in the film, and all of these elements were reasons that excited me and encouraged me to make the film.

Embodying a character inside a fantasy world, and in direct interaction with a CGI object that does not actually exist in front of you… requires a completely different approach. How did you build your relationship with the character in light of this visual vacuum? How did you train yourself to believe in a world that only existed in the imagination of the work team? 

Preparing for the film took a long time, as did the execution, and the good thing about it was that the director knew very well what he was doing, and he was preparing the film in a way that was new to all of us, because the film industry in general had not known this type before, and therefore the preparation for the film had to be a different preparation, and there were many rehearsals, both physical and physical. I had to be on top of A certain level in order for me to be able to film this film over the course of three years. It took six months to write the film, and we made modifications to the film, so it took about a full year to write it, in addition to two and a half years of filming. I had to remain in this physical form and level, because the drama will be new to the audience because in this type of film the drama is not very controlled, because the action and graphics are more prevalent in order to break the boredom that may occur. Thank God, the film is not boring at all, and this is the testimony of the entire audience, who said that the film ended quickly because Its events are very fast, thank God, all of this was planned with pen and paper, before we started.

During filming, what was the scene or situation in which you felt the film was testing your abilities to the fullest extent? And what made it the most difficult?

All the action scenes in the film were difficult, but the preparations and training that we underwent and it took a long time were very difficult for it to come out in the end like this, because it was a very big challenge for the action scenes to be attractive with the cuts with the mammoth action scenes in the center of the country. This scene is very tempting, so to cut the scene and move to another scene is at the same level of temptation and attract the audience and maintain their level of attraction. This was a great challenge through the new action, and thank God it came out in a decent way.

I previously stated that absolute heroism has no value if it does not add value to its owner and open new horizons for him. After the experience of “The Return of the Mammoth,” can it be said that you found the shift you were waiting for? 

Certainly a turning point, first because it is your film, then the film achieved very good revenues, and cinema is pen and paper. Your price is determined according to the revenues you have achieved and the producers who want to work with you and other accounts. I believe that I and all the filmmakers attribute this success to it at this particular time because the film’s release coincided with strong films and you must prove yourself in the midst of these strong films. With a completely different movie that has not been presented before with us, and this in itself is a credit.

Bahaa El-Din Muhammad described you as “a football star, an acting star, and a composing star.” This is a rare description of one person. Which of these three worlds do you feel represents your true essence? Do we have surprises or other talents that you have not yet revealed?

The closest thing to me is acting, of course. Acting is my first love, but I love them all because football, of course, took a long time with me. I was honored to have played professionally since I was young. I was the first to become a professional among the youth. I represented my country’s national team and participated in the African Cup of Nations. I reached a very large stage in football. It helped me psychologically and physically that I can present action at this level and maintain the sport throughout my life. This It appears in the action scenes that I perform that physically, thank God, I still have a lot.

 

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