bloodyvampchrons:

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The Television Show

Production

• As many know now, they will be working with Paramount Television and Anonymous Content
• They want to stay fully engaged with fans in the production process
• No set broadcaster, all options open (Netflix, Hulu, etc.) (Chris joked about it being on Facebook)
• Next announcement will be when that network is decided
• No timeline for production. They have no idea how long it will take. Script-writing is next. Chris is the one who will be script-writing, Anne will review
• Chris: “She finished writing season 1 when she wrote the books!”
• Pilot is done. Next are more episodes. They are starting the process and having several meetings with Paramount and Anonymous Content
• Anne SWEARS the series will be 100% loyal to the books. (They named GoT as an example of doing this though soooooo)
• Anne said compromises are inevitable but artistic control comes from good will
  and respect; you make it work by picking people you admire and trust. They worked with Paramount and Anonymous Content since they all agreed on a common vision and the end result of the series
• No idea about locations of sets and whatnot
• Don’t know if they will keep with the 80’s period of the books, however Anne wants to do Lestat’s pre-vampire period period-accurate
  
• 
  Neil Jordan may end up helping out on the project

Casting

• Still taking suggestions from fans and looking fancasts up on imdb
• Anne: “Lestat is always shaking his fists to those who would break him down…Scrappish impish…lovable hero”
  Chris: “–and he’s hot!! 😀 He’s gonna be hot. #LestatIsHot”
• Chris and Anne might want to cameo in the series (joked about making a game out of it)
• Some characters may change where “ethnicity is flexible”
• Anne and Chris agree that POC being casted are important and will be
  considered in casting. The Millennial vamps (older gang) will most likely
  be largely POC.
• Anne says she has taken notice of black fans showing
  their admiration of Aaliyah playing Akasha.
• Anne gave a story about
  meeting an Akasha cosplayer who mentioned that she and her friends feel
  left out of high fantasy for being black and how Anne was moved by this.
• Anne: “Akasha isn’t written as black or a person of color…she’s middle eastern”
  Me: ??? (Those aren’t…mutually exclusive???)
  Anne: “–but she could be a person of color.”
• Marius was played by a black man in the musical and Anne thought he
  did a great job. Marius can be any ethnicity so long as he’s half Roman. She’d prefer to have Marius as blue eyes and blonde haired like Lestat but it’s “not imperative for him”.
• Anne: “Louis at least has to be beautiful”
• Armand has to look as described as well.
• Anne wanted Cher to play Gabrielle.
• Anne and Chris to be inclusive, but will always focus more on how fine the actor is. Talent is needed to get the role, not just looks.
• Armand will be casted as someone who looks 17, but will be technically older. Not sure about age for
  Lestat and Louis (Anne is thinking early 30s)
• Physical and emotional aging will
  be put into consideration (she gave Marius as an example as him looking like he’s in his 40s but being mentally older)

Plot and Episodes

• They will tell the story chronologically in Lestat’s eyes so wolves-paris-so on. Basically, how knowledge unfolds for Lestat is how it will unfold for audience

  THIS MAY CHANGE depending on when they talk to producers, however this is not
  what they want in terms of how the events should happen.

• Don’t want to cheat on Lestat’s life and skip out any details of it (go figure)
• Stay faithful to the books and to Lestat’s story
• Chris warns for us to be mindful of news that doesn’t come from official page
• Lestat and Gabbi’s journey to be expanded
• Origin stories of Marius and other older vampires will be shown and expanded on (done through the flashback stories Marius gives)
• Blood and Gold will be involved but they won’t DO the story (so using that material for possible spin offs)
• A lot about the Talamasca and especially David. Jesse too, but mostly David
• (Anne: He’s close friends with Lestat in TOTBT
  Me: Is that what you call it? lmao)
• TVL could be 2-3 seasons. IWTV may be one. Depends
• Anne and Chris want to know what goes wrong in the translation from book to media in other series so they can avoid it
• They’re keeping eroticism the same as in the books.
• Lestat turning Gabrielle will be a big scene, as they feel this is when the series starts to truly bring the
  vampire world into view and Lestat really starts becoming a vampire. This scene is significant in
  asking the audience what they would do in that instance. Lestat turning will also be significant.

Characters and Character Relations

• SOMEONE FUCKING MENTIONED LOUSTAT AS THE LOUIS / LESTAT SHIP NAME AND THEY BOTH LOST IT (which one of you was it? Hm?)
• There will be a lot about Louis and Lestat’s relationship in the series (and Lestat and Nicki)
• Anne says she understands how important queer relationships are and how they have driven the series
• *On expanding on other characters*
  Chris: …human characters like Jesse or Daniel Mollo-
  Anne: OR LESTAT WHEN HE’S HUMAN
  Me:
  
• Anne doesn’t feel a need to make new characters.
• More info on
  Théâtre des Vampires

  and the characters in that part will expanded as well

• Chris and Anne openly acknowledge Lestat as bisexual and this will be depicted clearly within the show
• On the topic of Armand, what that character means to Anne will shine, so he will gain a more
  sympathetic role outside of just the IWTV perspective. Both his dark side and his more childish, light-side will be shown
• Jim Morrison of The Doors was Anne’s inspiration for Lestat’s singing voice and for the band (I forget but I think this was the song Anne named as being a good example. Though, I’m partial to their sexy song “5 to 1″). She describes Lestat’s voice as somewhere between a “barratone and tenor…Melodic”. (Something about Jon Bon Jovi also a little bit)

Mayfair Witches

• Rights of Mayfair Witches not available to them (?) and thus, the crossover books are not a part of the VC TV series and, thus no show for them right now
• Maybe Mayfair TV series in future. Anne doesn’t want them to play second fiddle to the vampires

Anne and Chris

• They talked about the recent April Fool’s Joke. Anne apologized to Justin Beiber?? Why?? I don’t know (they weren’t behind the joke article)
• Chris likes Riverdale (ew)
• Chris worked with Anne on Ramses the Damned.
• Someone in the VC Discord Server brought up the question of if Chris could/would carry out the VC books after Anne. Based off this interview, I think it’s very likely depending on how well the VC TV series goes. He seemed a little apprehensive about it, but he’s worked with his mother on writing and is familiar enough with her characters to care about them. I think it’s possible
• Chris went to the VC balls in New Orleans as a kid
• Chris’ A Density of Souls may get a chance to be a film. Chris is in discussion with someone about it (?? that’s what I got from the interview anyways)
• *After Anne leaves to get Chris a Coke*
  Chris *to the camera*: She won’t let me out of the house. She won’t let me leave!!
  Me: Same

The Facebook Page and Other Information

• Anne, yet again, made a little speech about how nerds mean a lot to Hollywood nowadays
• “Readers know things about the novels that are valuable”
• They have a record of fan comments that Anne reads every so often
• They mentioned some of the fights going on in the FB thread
• (Chris: There are some people with…strong casting choices.
  Anne: I got into fights with people lmao)
• Anne prefers if you message her over the page rather than through emails
• They cannot do much about given resumes and asking about jobs related to production. There will be a time for that later
• Anne is in contract for two more VC novels. It sounded like her next novel is also included in the TV series’ contract, but I could have misinterpreted. 
• Anne asks about any regrets or things she would change from the books as she goes into the series. More fleshing out but that’s about it
• Disappointing the fans is their biggest concern and worry

“the older gang will most likely be largely poc” that would be awesome tho. like i’m super hesitant to get excited about this thing but this sounds cool

More Vampires of Color yessss! *Grabby hands* if they want to change anything, that’s a good change that I, for one, can get behind.