‘Skywalkers: A Love Story’ Team on Risking Death, Avoiding Panic Attacks and Escaping Malaysia: ‘If We Are Banned, We Don’t Know About It’
variety.comEthan Shanfeld In Netflix’s “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” Russian rooftopping couple Ivan “Vanya” Beerkus and Angela Nikolau mount some of the world’s tallest skyscrapers without a safety net — breaking laws, deceiving security guards and running from authorities in the process.
If it were a scripted movie, some of it would feel too unrealistic. In climbing Malaysia’s Merdeka Tower — which, at 2,227 feet tall, is the second-tallest structure in the world after Dubai’s Burj Khalifa — Beerkus and Nikolau pull off the ultimate heist with the ultimate stakes, while ignoring orders from director Jeff Zimbalist. “‘You’ve got to get out of there.
We can’t risk an arrest. We know how dangerous getting arrested here in Malaysia is. … It’s not worth it. Don’t do it,’” Zimbalist recalls telling Beerkus and Nikolau sometime during their 30-plus hour climb. “Sometimes they would override us, and they would do their own process.
So, the best we could do in those circumstances was tell them to be safe and tell them that the film didn’t need them to risk their lives, and then the rest was up to them.” Discussing their adrenaline-pumping documentary with Zimbalist via Zoom, Beerkus and Nikolau are nestled in their new home in New York.
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