“He was my murderer, my mentor, my lover, and my maker.”
September 8, 2022 3:49 PM   Subscribe

The first full trailer for the Interview with the Vampire series has dropped.

Based on the classic Anne Rice novel, but with a slightly updated setting (early 1900s instead of the 1700s).

Starrring Jacob Anderson as Louis du Pointe du Lac, Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt,Bailey Bass as Claudia, and Eric Bogasian as Daniel Malloy aka the Reporter.
posted by Kitteh (62 comments total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
I had no idea this was coming! The movie was such a disappointment; Anderson and Reid have way more frisson on the screen than Cruise and Pitt ever did.
posted by Nelson at 4:17 PM on September 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


The Cruise/Pitt movie was wonderful, a really good adaptation that was amazing in the theater and remains so to this day, including the non-lead roles (Newton, Slater, Banderas, etc., etc.). The new version looks interesting, like they are trying to do something new with it, and I can't wait.
posted by cupcakeninja at 4:23 PM on September 8, 2022 [15 favorites]


I have a fondness for the Neil Jordan film but that stems more from who I was at that age (18) more than anything.

I have to confess I was worried when they cast Jacob as Louis because of the plantation/slaveowner aspect of the novel, and then when they had updated the time period, I was relieved. I was genuinely scared that they might take a heavy-handed slave allegory in the original setting.

This novel is probably one of my favourite of all time because it hit me so squarely and strangely in adolescence so I am tres excite for this show!
posted by Kitteh at 4:28 PM on September 8, 2022 [5 favorites]


This looks very nicely done. I can already hear the whining about race and orientation from certain parts of the populace, though.
posted by Cobalt at 4:35 PM on September 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


OH MY GOODNESS I HAD NO IDEA ABOUT THIS!! 100% IN!!!
posted by Gyre,Gimble,Wabe, Esq. at 5:03 PM on September 8, 2022 [3 favorites]


I can’t wait for the first complaint that they made Lestat gay.
posted by Eddie Mars at 5:03 PM on September 8, 2022 [42 favorites]


I have been carefully, carefully steering clear of any discussion at all about this, since I first realized it was a thing, because nothing is going to stop me from watching it, and forcing everyone I know to watch it, so it's best to go in with a sense of confidence.
posted by mittens at 5:04 PM on September 8, 2022 [6 favorites]


I don't like the look of this. Every scene has the same rather bland lighting and color scheme, with a lot of green.
Doesn't really look vampiric or sexy enough, IMO.
posted by signal at 5:15 PM on September 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


Did Anne Rice have something to do with the production? That's the only reason I can think of for attaching her name to such a loose adaptation. I mean, they didn't call it Jane Austen's Clueless.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:17 PM on September 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


Confirmed: Jacob Anderson makes me more gay.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 5:25 PM on September 8, 2022 [7 favorites]


I absorbed the novels in the original run, but was ashamed to not see that Anne Rice passed in December 2021. I have a signed 4th novel (of the trilogy!), but wouldn’t be surprised if she wants somehow involved in production, TUM.
posted by grimley at 5:34 PM on September 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


A little DuckDuckGo-ing later: Variety.
posted by grimley at 5:37 PM on September 8, 2022


with a lot of green

That's just Louis' piercing green eyes. Swoon.

Anne Rice was always high camp mixed with smouldering gay eroticism. I'm here for seeing that on a TV screen.
posted by Nelson at 5:38 PM on September 8, 2022 [4 favorites]


Nice to see Eric Bogosian getting work but this is a hard pass for me. Rice was an obnoxious ass her final years and I suspect if she was still alive she'd be very much Rowlingesque.
posted by dobbs at 5:38 PM on September 8, 2022


I am surprised that Anne Rice would allow such an adaptation of her book...but I am NOT complaining! I'm really interested to see how they do this. And they picked an interesting time period that you don't see done on TV very often.

In the original film, I unexpectedly thought Tom Cruise was fantastic and Brad Pitt was flat. (Imagine if they had cast Kyle MacLachlan in that role! But he is twice the height of Tom Cruise.) In this version I am engaged by everyone.
posted by rednikki at 5:39 PM on September 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


In the original film, I unexpectedly thought Tom Cruise was fantastic and Brad Pitt was flat.

My expectations were exactly the reverse, so I was pretty happy! Antonio Banderas was my only real disappointment.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:46 PM on September 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


At a certain point in my teenage years, I had a lot of feelings about Armand/Daniel that I would write about extensively on the rare occasions we were allowed to pick our own essay topics. As a result, seeing Fake Bernie from Succession as Daniel has made me unable to interrogate this text from any kind of perspective.
posted by betweenthebars at 5:46 PM on September 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


Why do they sleep in separate coffins?
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 5:52 PM on September 8, 2022 [3 favorites]


This is a ‘maybe’ for me. The preview didn’t wow me. It looked pretty generic, really, but with vampires. By ‘generic’ I guess I mean the lighting, photography, colors, etc. If not for the occasional blood-letting, it could have been any old period piece. I didn’t get a feel for any unique atmosphere. I dunno. Like I said...maybe.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:08 PM on September 8, 2022 [5 favorites]


Why do they sleep in separate coffins?

I think they tried that in The Fearless Vampire Killers?
posted by ovvl at 6:10 PM on September 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


Seeing Sam Reid, but hearing John Malkovich and it's unsettling.
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:28 PM on September 8, 2022


Oh my god. Interview was probably the first book I ever truly loved, just an absolute obsession with the purple prose and the vampire mystique. I’m still deeply attached to Anne Rice-style vampires, high camp and ravenous, indiscriminate sexuality.

Who can say anything from a trailer — other than that this does seem to hit the nexus of delightfully campy and deliriously horny — but I will be watching the hell out of this. My god.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:31 PM on September 8, 2022 [4 favorites]


I'm not gay, but after watching the trailer I've upgraded to gay-ish.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:54 PM on September 8, 2022 [20 favorites]


This looks way more watchable every time I see a trailer than I expect it to be.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 7:25 PM on September 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


I thought Tom Cruise would be terrible and then when I actually saw him on screen thought he was completely perfect, so I have no particular faith in my ability to guess whether this will be good or not.
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:39 PM on September 8, 2022 [4 favorites]


I'm not gay, but after watching the trailer I've upgraded to gay-ish.

In retrospect it's pretty clear that if you were just the right age at just the right time the Cruise/Pitt movie answered a lot of questions for a lot of people that they did not quite know how to ask.

Out of respect for my fellow GenXers I will be taking no further questions at this time.
posted by mhoye at 7:54 PM on September 8, 2022 [32 favorites]


made Lestat gay

I mean, Anne Rice made Lestat gay.

Gen Xer who deep throated the initial trilogy and can never re read nor watch adaptations. This is like how no one should read On The Road after age 20.
posted by latkes at 8:13 PM on September 8, 2022 [7 favorites]


It always surprises me to hear people say they thought Tom Cruise wouldn't be good as Lestat. That crazy bitch was BORN to play Lestat. (And I'm using "crazy bitch" as a compliment here.)
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:21 PM on September 8, 2022 [10 favorites]


Not available in the UK, sadly. This would never have happened under Elizabeth.
posted by one more day at 12:35 AM on September 9, 2022 [17 favorites]


i found a tumblr link :> for the non-USians like us: https://leztat.tumblr.com/post/690605879281795072/sdcc-trailer-anne-rices-interview-with-the

i'm definitely giving it a shot just on the time period re-set alone.
posted by cendawanita at 12:40 AM on September 9, 2022


…and being from July, isn't the same trailer. This worked for me here in Japan.
posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol at 3:21 AM on September 9, 2022


I dunno, looks very TV. I doubt it could actually improve on the movie, which IIRC is quite good.
posted by zardoz at 3:47 AM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


IIRC, Anne Rice is still credited as executive producer as her son Christopher.
posted by Kitteh at 4:31 AM on September 9, 2022


Why do they sleep in separate coffins?

I can tell you've never been in the same room with a vampire, much less slept with one.

Vampires smell absolutely, fantastically horrible. They're dead and drink blood after all. This is why they're always burning scented candles, incense, smoking cloves and putting on so much cologne or perfume. It's because they stink like a ripe corpse.

And vampires have an extremely heightened sense of smell, so they basically get to spend an eternity being able to smell their own corpse. Being trapped in a coffin with another vampire is a particular kind of hell for them.

Wait, why is everyone looking at me like that?
posted by loquacious at 4:34 AM on September 9, 2022 [37 favorites]


IIRC, Anne Rice is still credited as executive producer as her son Christopher.

I had a big argument about this with some dedicated Rice fans (many of whom seem to be really quite angry about the "unacceptable changes" to the canon, i.e. making Louis not a slave owner). Apparently Anne was very ill and in a coma for much of the time they were planning/producing the series and Christopher has vocally distanced himself from the project, refusing to answer any questions about it and promoting his own work instead.

I get the feeling it was initially signed off but Christopher (at least) may have been burned by the workings of the media machine.

Either way, I'm super excited. I love the changes they've made and the cast looks gorgeous. I hope it's super gay!
posted by fight or flight at 4:36 AM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


Thanks guys, that looks great fun!
posted by one more day at 4:49 AM on September 9, 2022


I am a huge fan of vampire shit and I loathed the book so much that I left it on a train after finishing it because I didn’t want it in my house. I’m not sure I even remember why anymore, but I am definitely provisionally interested in the show…
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:23 AM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


MetaFilter: Wait, why is everyone looking at me like that?
posted by zengargoyle at 7:21 AM on September 9, 2022 [9 favorites]


Honestly? This looks pretty good. I read the book in my 20s and saw the Tom Cruise film once (meh, other than Kirsten Dunst, who scared the shit out of me).
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 7:22 AM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


"I mean, Anne Rice made Lestat gay."

When they first discussed possibly making a movie in the late 70s, Anne Rice wanted Lestat to be played by Cher in binders for an androgynous look.
posted by CyberSlug Labs at 7:47 AM on September 9, 2022 [10 favorites]


I though Cher was David Geffen's pick? Over the decades, Rice favored Rutger Hauer, Jeremy Irons, Julian Sands, Chris Hemsworth...
posted by Iris Gambol at 8:19 AM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


Another reason I’m giving this a strong ‘maybe’ is the probability, given the state of television drama these days, that this will be an ultra-violent gore-fest. Yeah, I know we’re talking vampires. Still, I half-expect the show to be as needlessly graphic and violent as possible, ‘cause that’s just the way tv rolls today.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:37 AM on September 9, 2022


My fave part of these books back when I read 'em is still how

** spoiler alert I guess? even though from 1976 **

right at the beginning of Vampire Lestat, Lestat says that most of what Louis told the interviewer (and thus us) in IWTV was wrong. I want to say Lestat retconned his own history, but is that proper use of the term 'retcon' if they specifically point this out? : )

**
posted by bitterkitten at 9:22 AM on September 9, 2022


It's become a literary convention that the vampire always tells you everything you know about vampires is wrong.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:36 AM on September 9, 2022 [4 favorites]


That's true, though. Everything you know about vampires is wrong.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:22 AM on September 9, 2022 [6 favorites]


I'm sort of curious about when her ambition to create the ARLU (Anne Rice Literary Universe) manifested. IwtV was written to tolerate a sequel but not demand one. TVL was written to demand a sequel. I'm not immersed enough in all of it to remember how Queen of the Damned worked: I read it twice within a few years of it coming out. I don't remember when characters began to cross over between the Mayfair storylines and the vampire storylines, and stopped reading before (I think) those were anything other than cameos.

Not sure if I'll watch this, but if I do I hope it keeps the emo heart of the source material. The tradeoff to inflect from IwtV to TVL was a shift from melancholy and longing to wish fulfillment. Or perhaps a shift from a very melancholy and fraught sort of wish fulfillment to a less circumspect wish fulfillment.

It has been forever since I read anything of hers, so there's a good chance my read is less memory of what was on the page and more awareness of what I probably would have gotten wrong about what I can remember from any of it, which is not a ton after 30 years.

This has been my sober comment on the matter. Now over to Twitter to tweet how excited I am to watch Interview with a Dracula.
posted by mph at 10:29 AM on September 9, 2022 [4 favorites]


This thread is hilarious, even just the first two comments are a perfect encapsulation (the movie was crap! the movie was wonderful!) of the subject. I doubt I'll watch it since I have never understood the love for these books myself, unless any friends are rapturous over it, but judging from these teasers and trailers, I can't see that happening. I could be wrong, though, but right now I'm so meh I'm into bleh territory.

Still, if you need Sexy Vampires, here's some, Key and Peele style.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 10:37 AM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


Am I the only one who's blinking (in a good way) that Eric Bogosian is the interviewer?

...It's not a choice I'd have made - but only because of how I remember the book ending: the interviewer being so captivated by the story that he begs Louis to "turn him", and Louis tells him off, snacks on him a bit and leaves. And I do not see Eric Bogosian playing that kind of easily-seduced character in the slightest. He's got way too high a snark field.

...Although, if they're setting up some kind of final surprise ending where Bogosian is actually this kind of Van-Helsing-Buffy-Slayer type of dude, that would be awesome.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:43 AM on September 9, 2022 [5 favorites]


They replaced the subtext with TEXT and dropped the poor sad slaver angle? Sign me up!
posted by thecjm at 10:44 AM on September 9, 2022 [3 favorites]


I remember liking the movie when it came out, I hadn't read the book and it was certainly different from common vampire fare of the time which was definitely more into the horror/gore side. I also wasn't playing V:TM at that time.

But I got to say I'm done with moody vampires, probably won't be watching this.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 11:17 AM on September 9, 2022


While we're on the subject, when are they adapting the sleeping beauty books?
posted by mittens at 11:28 AM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


I was a HUGE fan of the original trilogy as a young teen, but on re-read it's got a lot of stuff that hasn't aged well, to put it mildly. I'm totally here for all of the changes they're making, up to and including Eric Bogosian. The canon is dead, long live the canon.
posted by merriment at 2:58 PM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


They replaced the subtext with TEXT

I mean... the text was never particularly sub.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:01 PM on September 9, 2022 [4 favorites]


I mean... the text was never particularly sub.

But Louis sure was, right?
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:14 PM on September 9, 2022 [11 favorites]


Why do they sleep in separate coffins?

In the book, they start off in the same coffin. It's the vampire version of oh no this room only has one bed.

I live in a timeline where Anne Rice finished the series with Queen of the Damned, but sometimes this utopia is marred by flashes of a different reality, one where the Vampire Chronicles crosses over with the Mayfair witches and a good time is not had by anyone.
posted by betweenthebars at 3:26 PM on September 9, 2022 [8 favorites]


In the book, they start off in the same coffin. It's the vampire version of oh no this room only has one bed.

omg put this in the MOMA
posted by Kitteh at 5:44 PM on September 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


That's true, though. Everything you know about vampires is wrong.

Seriously.

For example, most people don't know that most vampires have have really intricate and fabulously skillful hobbies. They basically invented things like general concept of oil painting, egg carving, knitting and crocheting, calligraphy, typography, type layouts, block cuts and engraving for printing and so much more, because they had so much more time on their hands than mere mortals like us that they had to do something to pass the time that wasn't either feeding or hedonistic debauchery.

Not many people know this but there were a whole lot of vampires that helped knit the magnetic core memory modules for early computers and the Apollo program and do wire-wrapped circuit board modules. They were also instrumental in helping create the artwork that made the photo-litho masks for early integrated circuits before automated software mask layout tools because most living, mortal people don't have the patience or time for that kind of nonsense.

Some mortals do, but they were often taught how to do it by vampires.

In the book, they start off in the same coffin. It's the vampire version of oh no this room only has one bed.

Fucking gross. No wonder Louis and Lestat's partnership was such a toxic shit show and didn't last. That's just disgusting and perverse.
posted by loquacious at 8:36 PM on September 9, 2022 [8 favorites]


This thread is quickly turning into that classic Ask/Guess thread, except instead of “who grew up in ask or guess cultures” it’s “who’s already been bitten, and who just really wants to be.”
posted by mhoye at 9:38 AM on September 10, 2022 [6 favorites]


loquacious: In The Vampire Lestat you learn that some time before Lestat even came to the Americas he'd worked out how to sleep in the earth, and didn't even need to use a coffin.

The whole sharing-a-coffin-thing was a setup from the word go.
posted by Jilder at 7:25 PM on September 10, 2022 [3 favorites]


This thread is quickly turning into that classic Ask/Guess thread,

Eh, in Undead circles, vampires are considered pretty sad. Yes, they can sort of be glamorous (unless you happen to be one of those Orlok types), but their sad addiction to blood and their constant need to feed is just prolonging the disgusting habits of the living. Ghouls, wraiths, and even the more coherent ghosts don't really want vampires around because of all the negative attention they bring. What you really want to aim for is becoming a Lich, where your consciousness and power can continue to grow for all eternity as you sit on your dark throne and observe the world that one day will be yours!

Ahem, or... so I have heard.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:25 AM on September 11, 2022 [3 favorites]


brb updating my lichedin profile
posted by mhoye at 11:02 AM on September 11, 2022 [8 favorites]


As long as they say "preternatural", I'll be happy.
posted by MetaGolem at 11:28 PM on September 12, 2022


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