SDCC 2022: INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Honors Anne Rice’s Vision

Noetta Harjo

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Interview with the Vampire debuts at SDCC

Interview With the Vampire is finally at San Diego Comic Con. The big question is … will be just like the 1994 film. From the looks of the trailer, the answer is no. But maybe it will at least stay true to the 1976 Anne Rice novel of the same title. Rice served as executive producer before her death in December 2021. Her son, Christopher Rice, is an executive producer. 

RELATED: Keep up to date on GGA’s SDCC 2022 coverage!

Interview With the Vampire stars Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt and Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac. The book is told from Louis’ perspective, about the ending of his mortal life and the beginning of his life as a vampire. Lestat is Louis’ maker and they have love-hate relationship throughout the book. 

The panel consists of executive Producer Mark Johnson, Creator, Writer and Showrunner Rolin Jones, cast members Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson, Bailey Bass and Eric Bogosian and Production Designer Mara LePere Schloop. Damien Holbrook moderates the panel.

Jones started by saying they stayed aggressive to the plot of the books. “There will be some differences, but it’s generally locale and time and setting… the fans will be excited about how much of Anne’s prose made it into our series.” Johnson adds that it’s a great privilege to be able to adapt Anne Rice’s world and believes it will go on for a long time. 

 

Jones also added that all of the episodes are titled with beautiful prose written by Anne Rice. He also addressed Rice’s passing. He feels a great responsibility to adapt the story right.

Anderson says he did his audition at 11 PM and did a lot of chemistry auditions with Reid. He watched the film and read the books to prepare. Anderson wishes someone had given him the books when he was a teen. He feels an emotional connection to Louis. 

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Reid said the role of Lestat is the greatest gift he could have been given. He adds that he and Anderson did dance and singing lessons together. The writing is beautiful and he loves working with Anderson. 

When describing Claudia, Bass says she does as she pleases. “She feels what she feels. If she’s hungry she will eat, if the wants to say something she will say something.” Bass adds that Claudia doesn’t think she’s a bad guy. She also plays the character from the ages of 14 to 35. That gives her time to build relationships with both Louis and Lestat. 

As for who is the villain? Bass says the viewers won’t know who the true villain is. 

Bogosian plays Daniel Molloy the reporter. His part in the show is set 40 years later. In this version, he interviewed Lestat in 1973. Now he’s no longer a boy and gets a second chance to get the story he wants. Bogosian says he always wanted to play a vampire. 

The cast agrees that the contacts and fangs were hard to get used to. Claudia has the most comfortable coffin. Louis’s is the most beautiful. Schloop says she moved to New Orleans because she read the Rice books. 

Fans were able to ask questions. The most notable is about Daniel’s fate. Louis is tempted to turn Daniel in the series according to Bogosian. In the books, Daniel is taken by Armand. A fan asked if that will happen this season. Jones answered that it’s only the first season and there is a grand design for the series. But he understands it is an important relationship and tells fans not to worry. 

The fans were treated to a special clip of Louis and Lestat meeting for the first time. And that’s it for Interview with the Vampire SDCC panel. 

You can catch the new Interview With a Vampire Trailer, here

Interview With the Vampire premieres on October 2 on AMC. The first two episodes will be available on AMC+ the same night. 

Noetta Harjo
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