hand a blank check(The director had a lot of creative freedom on this project; the film's backers essentially handed him a blank check. [=let him direct the film exactly the way he wanted to] VLZ_58)
keep it close to the chest(См. с 09 минуты ролика по ссылке: Russia never denied it and never confirmed it. And I am positive: they did that on purpose. The game they are playing is keeping it very close to the chestyoutube.comAlexander Oshis)