Victor Migalchan: Crafty Celebrity Stories

I'm not really a drinker to be honest, however I do have a funny story. When I was doing my 1st masters degree, my fellow students organized a party for our ladies fellow students. I didn't participate in any events and parties with them for like 4 years so I had to go, or they'd be really upset. As a present I brought them a bottle of a traditional Chinese alcohol drink that was very strong. I left the party at 1 am, because I had my morning training at 6 am. The party ended at around 3:30 am. They decided to continue outside and took my present. As they later shared with me it was a blast. They had my present around 4 am and had a blank in memory between 4 am and 7 am that morning!

Who's the coolest person you've had a beer or drink with?
I do recall such times when I had a drink and in-depth discussions about history, diplomacy and business development with HRH Prince Philipp of Belgium; Ambassadors of People's Republic of China, Romania, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, etc. Having a drink at these closed VIP diplomatic events is a part of protocol and leads to very interesting discussions. It's a great chance to learn about real business and international relations, compared to books, however I never neglect the power of the books.

What are a few of your favorite craft beers and why?
As a person educated in cultures I do favor German, Czech beers and the Romanian beer Ursus. The culture of beer I believe was mostly developed in these countries, and they are the best producers of beer in the world. There are many others of course but I can't say that anyone could compete with them.
 
Do you have a favorite (craft) brewery or breweries and why?
I don't think I could recall a name, but the best taste of beer I ever experienced was in Germany, in a small family owned (for many generations) brewery. It is the best place to experience a taste, whether it's a brewery or a pretzel place, or a restaurant.
 

Have you attended any beer events or festivals that you particularly enjoyed? What made them stand out?
Oh yes, Oktoberfest in Germany! It was a great experience to meet so many people, learn their tradition, and see how they celebrate. How cleanly they celebrate, no matter how many guests and international guests they have! To me that was super important.  

What types of beer do you like to have in your cooler when working on set or after a long day of shooting?
I never use anything that might influence my focus while working. Even food or water. I'm a type of person that is extremely focused and disciplined, it comes from my authentic martial arts background, so yeah no beer or anything that would not be useful for work shall not be used by me and by anyone on set. It's our rule.  

What's usually the process for a beer company to get "product-placement" in a show or movie?
Product placement or brand integration processes are different, depending on what the company wants. It could be a product in the background, foreground, in actors hands with or without mentioning its name. There are many different scenarios. The most important thing, which smart marketers understand, is that the story sells the product. It is about how you make people feel.

What upcoming projects do you have brewing?
As for now we are working on season 2 of My American Family. We filmed the pilot of our new show "Modern Kung Fu" and season 1 (15 episodes) of the cooking show "Dragon Chef". We are in the pre-production process of two feature films and an animation educational and entertaining TV series for kids. Besides TV and film projects I'm working on my book, which will be entitled "How I Created My 1st TV Show."