UPDATE July 2 throughout: Ivan “Vanya” Beerkus and Angela Nikolau, the subjects of Netflix’s 2024 documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story who climbed to the needle-top of the Empire State Building Wednesday for an attention-getting betrothment, have been given supervised release following a brief appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court this morning.
The couple – he under his legal name Ivan Kuznetsov – appeared in court for arraignment wearing the same black outfits they wore during their daredevil stunt Wednesday. Their next court appearance is August 24.
The local ABC 7 newscast quoted the judge as saying, “We will do supervised release. We will do it at a low level.”
Watch on Deadline
The couple face charges that reportedly could include burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, violation of a local law, criminal tampering, disorderly conduct and possession of burglar’s tools.
The couple spent the first night of their engagement in separate holding cells at New York City’s 100 Centre Street, location of the Manhattan Criminal Court.
Exactly how the Russian natives, whose current address is in East Orange, New Jersey, about 30 miles west of NYC, gained access to the supposedly secure tourist attraction for their stunt is the subject of considerable official scrutiny. Officials told ABC News that the daredevils might have used a worker entrance to avoid the usual visitor screening process.
The couple, whose stunt set off a police action and commandeered airtime on local and national news channels, later revealed themselves to be Beerkus and Nikolau, stars of Netflix’s 2024 documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story.
The stunt was not being filmed in any official connection with the show or with Netflix, Deadline reported Wednesday, though apparently the streamer wasn’t above a little opportunity-knocks cross promotion: Netflix posted a promo for the documentary on X Wednesday afternoon. – see it below.
Dressed in black and carrying a banner reading “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace,” the couple got engaged in the perch high atop the city. The quote on the sign has often been attributed to classic rock star Jimi Hendrix, although whether he ever actually said it remains a matter of some dispute.
On their Instagram page (see it below), the couple posted photos in which Beerkus is on one knee with his left hand over his heart and his right hand holding what appears to be a ring. In another photo, Nikolau displays her newly be-ringed hand, and in yet another pic the two show their hands with pinkies entwined.
Sources tell Deadline that the stunt had nothing to do with the documentary, and that it was not being filmed for any official purpose related to the show.
Netflix declined comment, as did the NYPD.
Skywalkers: A Love Story, the 2024 doc directed by Jeff Zimbalist and co-directed by Maria Bukhonina, chronicles the adventures of the Russian couple Nikolau and Beerkus, known as “rooftoppers” who scale skyscrapers and other heights, usually without permission and often illegally. The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
You can watch the Skywalkers trailer below.
