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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, September 30, 2022 4 By Dana Simpson TV Media W hile vampires, true to their nature, never re- ally died off in popular culture, TV and film trends as of late point to somewhat of a re- surgence of the genre. Though this can perhaps be linked to feelings of uncertainty and vi- ral infection amid the pandem- ic, AMC's newest series was in the works long before the CO- VID-19 outbreak of 2020. Based on Anne Rice's 1976 novel of the same name, the eight-episode series "Inter- view With the Vampire" makes its television debut Sunday, Oct. 2, on AMC and AMC+. The first instalment in Rice's Vampire Chronicles book se- ries, "Interview with the Vam- pire," perhaps best known for its 1994 film adaptation star- ring Brad Pitt ("Fight Club," 1999), Tom Cruise ("Top Gun," 1986) and Kirsten Dunst ("Ma- rie Antoinette," 2006), follows a misfit family of vampires liv- ing largely in New Orleans. The plot is driven forward by the titular interview, conducted by a journalist (Christian Slater, "Mr. Robot" in the film) and chronicling the details of Louis' (Pitt in the film) second life, from the moments just before he became a vampire up to the present day. While AMC's new series seems to hold rather true to both the book and the film, "present day" in the TV version will be 2022 (not the '70s or '90s of other versions) and thus is subject to weave new, more modern elements in amid the plot. In this iteration, Slater's role as journalist Daniel Molloy is taken on by Eric Bogosian, who lends the same fast-talk- ing, no-nonsense attitude to his vocation as he does to his character, politician Gil Eavis, in the HBO super hit "Succes- sion." The leading roles, mean- while, are filled in the AMC se- ries by a couple of familiar fac- es: one from "Game of Thrones" and the other from "The Astronaut Wives Club." Jacob Anderson, who played Grey Worm in HBO's George R.R. Martin fantasy series, takes on the role of distressed vampire Louis, while Sam Reid, best known for his role as John Glenn in ABC's 2015 historical space drama, assumes the role of Louis' sire Lestat (played by Cruise in the film). The series follows the same plot as the film, but given its more drawn-out structure, al- lows for a more detailed explo- ration of Louis' life as laid out in the novel. One of these ex- pansions is the inclusion of Louis' younger sister, Grace (played by relative newcomer Kalyne Coleman, "Dog Bite," 2021). Described as a calm and commanding presence, Grace has the strength to support her brother through his tumultu- ous new existence. Because, as fans of either existing iteration will already know, Louis is tormented by the insatiable bloodlust of his kind. Miserable after the death of his wife and young son, hu- man Louis is stalked by an un- predictable creature of the night. When Louis begins to feel as though he cannot go on living, his night stalker, Lestat, offers him a choice: either die and be rid of his torment or drink Lestat's blood and be turned into a vampire so he may go on living in another form. Eventually choosing the lat- ter, Louis is soon forced to con- front the nuances of his condi- tion. For a while, he spends time feeding on small crea- tures — unable to bring him- self to commit murder — until he finally gives in and drains a young girl who has just lost her mother and is bearing familiar grief. Claudia, the young girl in question (played by Dunst in the film), is portrayed by rela- tive newcomer Bailey Bass in the series. Bass, whose previous credits include "Moon and Sun" (2014), "The Jenkins Family Christmas" (2021) and a 2020 episode of "Law & Order: Spe- cial Victims Unit," has a num- ber of projects coming down the pipe, from the next three Avatar films to "At That Age," a TV series currently in pre-pro- duction, according to IMDb. From the trailer, Claudia's role also appears to have evolved from the film, hinting at a possible romance with Le- stat after she has assumed her vampiric form and lived as an undead tween for several hun- dred years. While five years old in the novel and played by 10-year-old Dunst in the film, Bass's Claudia is still a girl, though on the cusp of becom- ing a young woman. "It was very important for us to shoot in New Orleans, where child labor laws say your actor can only work so many hours," showrunner Ro- lin Jones ("Weeds") said of the change. "We decided to make her trapped in all the chemical excitements of puberty, and we put our Claudia at 14." While this certainly isn't the only change to the Vampire Chronicles canon, anyone wor- ried about the integrity of the source material should rest fairly easily knowing author Rice and her son, Christopher Rice, are attached to the series as executive producers. (The pair also collaborated on a 2017 novel called "Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra.") Other changes include the nature of Lestat and Louis' oc- cupations — they now own brothels instead of plantations — and the influence of mod- ern technology on their un- lives. The interview itself will also likely touch on shifting journalistic standards. Whether you're new to the saga or a diehard fan, there is plenty to love about AMC's new adaptation of Rice's be- loved series. After all, the au- thor did write, "The world changes, we do not, therein lies the irony that kills us." Experience this changing world through the eyes of the undead when "Interview With the Vampire" premieres Sun- day, Oct. 2, on AMC and AMC+. coverstory Bailey Bass in "Interview with the Vampire" TV 'With the Vampire': Anne Rice classic makes its way to AMC By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Was "Alien vs. Predator" based on the "Ancient Aliens" show? A: I'll say no, only to be nitpicky. They were both based on a third source — the work of Swiss author Erich von Danik- en. Von Daniken is the one who came up with the idea that formed the basis of the "Ancient Aliens" show — that vari- ous major events in planetary history were caused by alien visitors. One of the more famous pieces of von Daniken's theory, first laid out in his landmark bestselling book "Chariots of the Gods," is the suggestion that the pyramids built around the world in ancient times were built under alien supervi- sion. This would explain the similarity between pyramids around the world, built by civilizations that as far as histori- ans know had no contact with each other. "Alien vs. Predator" (2004), a sci-fi crossover movie that combined the previous Alien and Predator film franchises, borrowed from that theory for its plot. In it, the (human) protagonists discover a massive pyra- mid under the ice in Antarctica. After becoming trapped in it, they learn that it was built in ancient times by humans who worshipped the predators (who are themselves extra- terrestrials, in case you haven't seen the movies). The pred- ators wanted it to serve as a sort of giant tournament com- plex where they would breed and then hunt the xeno- morph aliens of the Alien film franchise for sport. Q: I just watched the movie "Uncharted" with Tom Holland, and it felt like there was some kind of cameo toward the end: the guy who said, "Something like that happened to me once." Should I have recognized him? He didn't look familiar. A: That was Nolan North. And while it's not so surprising that he didn't look familiar, to some he would have sound- ed very familiar indeed. "Uncharted" (2022), the big-screen smash released ear- lier this year starring Tom Holland ("Spider-Man: Home- coming," 2017) and Mark Wahlberg ("The Fighter," 2010), was in fact based on the popular Uncharted series of video games. Serious fans of the games would recognize North's voice immediately as that of the games' main character. Like the film, the video games follow the treasure-hunt- ing exploits of Nathan Drake — a character voiced by North in the games and played by Holland in the movie. And so his appearance in the film, as a hotel guest who pops up just to say to Holland's character that a similar, wildly specific treasure-hunting exploit happened to him, is a little joke aimed at the diehard game fans. No one else could be expected to recognize him. Well, that's not exactly true: There are, actually, reasons to recognize North that have nothing to do with "Unchart- ed." He's a prolific voice actor who did roles in blockbusters such as "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water" (2015), as well as dozens of other films and TV shows. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A

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