“The end of the world, or kogel mogel 4”. Ilona £ epkowska: When Dorota Staliñska came to the casting and made the splits, we were enchanted

During conversations with the cast, the thought was often made that this part would be closer to the first two parts of the series. Was that the assumption from the beginning?

There was no such assumption. It is difficult to adapt the type of humor, structure, style, rhythm or pace to films made 30 years ago. If the fourth installment is really more of the character of the first two, that’s cool, but it happened a bit accidentally.

The previous parts are a mine of texts that have passed into colloquial language. We can also find such delicacies in the latest one. What is the reason for this ability to create texts that Poles take over? Where did the inspiration for these texts come from?

It is very difficult to answer such a question. It happens while you work, by the way. It’s not that my assumption is “I have to come up with a sentence that everyone will repeat afterwards.” When writing the previous scripts, I was not aware that any phrase would become “cult” or that it would enter the everyday dictionary. This time, I didn’t have that assumption either. Because I think that if someone gets so tense and wants to come up with something very funny and iconic, then nothing will come of it.

The film is directed by Anna Wieczur. How was it working together?

Very good. At the beginning we had a few… disagreements in the conversations. No quarrels, because Ms Anna is such a calm and well-mannered person that there is no question of arguing with her. But she tried to convince me of some of her ideas, and I tried to convince her that these ideas weren’t always good. We talked for quite a long time, sometimes the talks were difficult, there were more arguments on both sides, but in the end a compromise was achieved. Anyway, I was the person who suggested that “The End of the World” be directed by Mrs. Anna, because I remembered her first film – “To be like Kazimierz Deyna”. I knew she had a sense of humor and was an efficient director. And it all turned out to be true, so I am very glad that it was she who directed “The End of the World”.

Among the new characters in the fourth part, there is Marlenka’s mother, created by Dorota Stalińska, who is great in a duet with her daughter. Was it conceived as a duo from the beginning?

When I was writing the script, of course I wanted to introduce some new characters to slightly liven up the atmosphere with the line-up of characters well known after the “three”. I wondered for a moment who it might be. And it occurred to me that we didn’t meet anyone from Marlenka’s family in the previous part, apart from her husband, Piotr. Therefore, I could add everything. And I invented a mother who lived in the United States for years. It seemed to me that this specific style of clothing, which characterizes Marlenka, may have its source precisely in the American, kitschy taste. This way I have come to the point that mummy will suddenly come from America, with suitcases, unannounced. It will cause confusion and trouble in this house. Why this new character here? Because in the “three” the marriage of an adult Piotr, played by Maciej Zakościelny and Marlenka, played brilliantly by Katarzyna Skrzynecka, performed very well. It was an extremely strong point of the third part of the series. It was known that these characters had to be led further, and even expanded and enlarged their roles. And that’s why we added Marlenka’s mother, and as the viewers see, there is not only mother, but also other characters associated with her. It was not immediately known who would play Marlenka’s mother. When Dorota Stalińska came to the casting and made the splits, simultaneously speaking the Polish-English text as quickly as a machine gun, she charmed us. We knew it was perfect for this.

Each part of the series was a huge success – the last one attracted nearly 2.5 million viewers. Do you think that after a difficult pandemic time, viewers especially need fun and laughter?

Comedies are definitely needed today. There aren’t that many comedies in streaming services, which we have got used to seeing often over the last two years, so I think that viewers missed them. So I think that “The End of the World or Kogel Mogel 4” is for us – tired of the situation of constant limitations, anxiety about loved ones, economic problems – a good proposition and I have a feeling that it will be successful.

What does this part of the series have to do with the others and how will it stand out?

All parts of “Kogla Mogla” were based on conflicts within the family. And this one is also based on it. There is a conflict between Marlenka and her mother, Marlenka’s mother and her fiancé, and the main plot axis is the conflict between the young heroes, i.e. Agnieszka and Marcin. I think this is the common denominator with the previous parts. What distinguishes it from the first three? It is definitely a very modern story – times have changed, so family relations are also a bit different. Kasia and professor Wolański live, as her mother says, “on a bicycle license”, that is, they do not have a wedding. Agnieszka and Marcin somehow do not want to get married either, although their grandmother blackmails them that she cannot leave this world until they get married. In the end, everything will fall into place and, as always, the wedding is a happy ending. This part of the series is probably the craziest – mainly because of the character of Marlenka and the crazy final sequence that takes place in the house of Marlenka and Piotruś, which is a total comedy of mistakes. We had the greatest doubts about this part of the script, because it is a very large fragment of the film that takes place in one place. There is always a danger in such a case that it will turn into a theater play or a radio drama. It turned out that despite the fact that the thing is happening in one place, it is dynamic, the action keeps rushing, rushing, causing the viewers – I hope – to burst out laughing. It is really funny and it was very well directed and played. Perhaps the script also contributed a bit to this.

Last year, we said goodbye to the three actors who appeared in the film.

We finished shooting for “The End of the World” over a year ago. After such a long wait, the premiere will certainly be a joyful moment, a holiday for all of us, but also a moment of sadness, because we will not see the three actors who played in the fourth part of “Kogla Mogla”. First of all, Grandma Wolańska, that is Katarzyna Łaniewska, a great actress. It so happened that the film ends with her image. We did not plan it, but this is what it is – the last frame is a picture of a smiling Katarzyna Łaniewska with a bouquet in her hand. And that is a very beautiful ending. Unfortunately, Katarzyna died shortly after completing the shooting. Then we said goodbye to Paweł Nowisz, who played Goździk in three parts. A great character actor, he created a great character that arouses a lot of sympathy. And finally, Krzysztof Kiersznowski, who played only one scene here, an episode, but an extremely tasty episode. This one scene, a character that he created with just a few sentences, is, in my opinion, an absolute acting gem. We also had to say goodbye to him. We will dedicate this film to their memory. They stayed in it and these will be almost their last roles, if not the last, as in the case of Katarzyna.