(Probably) hot take: I don't need Lestat to be a good person to "fall in love" with his character. We don't like the villains only when they're actually good or at least relatable/somewhat justified. There's more to it and it's more about the character being well-written.
true, i should‘ve made it clearer tbh, but when discussing lestat i‘m mostly talking about the fact that he feels like a flat one dimensional evildude considering the crew was incorporating later works into the script
@@shashatainment oh, all clear now! I think you'll enjoy the 2nd season then if you haven't seen it already! I think it all round adds more complexity without compromising on the severity of the 1st season events. Also you slay!!!!!!!!!!! (This last bit is important)
@@lukailincic2411 thank uu! i didn‘t watch it before the vid to not get confused on the timeline and or character writings, but i‘ve seen 2 eps after and i can‘t wait for s3 since they announced it‘ll be based on tvl so i‘m hoping for more complexity there as well as the second half of s2
I actually found Louis’ fragmented memory of his past with Lestat to be really relatable and validating. Repeated cycles of abuse can result in trauma that can affect the brain to such a degree that memories become fragmented - kind of like blurry photos or a book with pages missing. Realising that you can’t trust your own memory/account of your own experiences is terrifying, particularly in a situation where you know/suspect you can’t trust those around you. How are you ever supposed to look back, reflect and try to unpack a violent situation for what it was if you can’t trust your own recollection of events?
beautifully put, thanks for such an insightful comment! i loved the moment in s2 when louis and daniel piece the story together, imo it adds to the narrative about the cycle of abuse
I actually really liked how making Louis Black, and a Black brothel owner descended from a Black plantation owner, tied back into the vampirism theme and made it deeper. The show specifically retains the fact that Louis' ancestor was a plantation owner, despite being Black, and Louis kind of continues the same pattern by "exploiting his own kind" to get by. He clearly wants to be part of the "superior" race/class and fit in and be respected and successful, but it's unclear how much of it is his own personal ambition and how much of it is an attempt at escaping the prejudice and exploitation that awaits him otherwise (there's a scene early on where he laments that racism ruined his family's plantation business and it sounds like it's not slavery per se that he's opposed to, but the fact that Black people can't profit off of it anymore). Which is, you know, sort of exactly the same thing as what happens when he becomes a vampire, but his specific background makes him able to reflect on it and pick up on the pattern more. Because the fact is, vampires DID use to be human, and they are absolutely exploiting their own kind to avoid an extremely undesirable state (death, weakness) that awaits them otherwise. But unlike white European Lestat, who thinks that his state of superiority is a completely natural state of things, Louis becomes more and more aware of this dynamic the more he thinks. I thought this was a cool way of making a character who was so up his own ass in the book more dynamic and complex, while also saying something about modern respectability politics that contemporary audiences can recognize and identify with. You know, the themes of alienation and belonging nowhere as a vampire but also the alienation that comes from downplaying and separating yourself from your race and where you come from.
yess, i thought it added a lot to the narrative, and listening to the crew discuss it (if im not mistaken jacob anderson goes into detail on s1 eo 3 of the podcast) was really fascinating - especially because we see the Othering that has been present in vamp media since victorian times & how it manifests differently on diff stages of louis‘ story
He's not descended from a black plantation owner. He's descended from a white plantation owner and he's life as a mixed man adds to that power imbalance and he's social standing before even becoming a vampire and how it affects how looks at things. We can see it a lot in season 2 in Paris with the Algerian comment.
I agree. Making Louis black in this time period only added another layer to the show. What bothers me the people who are calling Lestat a jim crow racist. I never felt that any of Lestat's power plays were about race, but just a power play within a relationship. Lestat loves Louis and Louis feels love for Lestat. ❤
Sam Reids voice in that role holds such a vampiric tone for me. His way of alluring Louis fits so perfectly to their chemistry. The acting is absolutely top notch. I havent been so into a show in such a long time. Oh and I love armands casting. That stare.
There was a news anchor in 94 who reviewed the movie and said “Not gay enough.” HE WAS RIGHT. EDIT: it was a JOKE. I know the time period was too conservative and wouldn’t have realistically given us GAY Pitt, Cruise AND AB. I can just be sad they didn’t, okay. And per a comment, this was a sketch joke. So it wasn’t serious to begin with.
Jacob Anderson's performance in the show is so incredible. I didn't sit down and watch the show all the way through until s2 premiered (for mental health reasons lol), but I would watch his confessional monologue over and over again, just absolutely enthralled. I do really enjoy Sam Reid's Lestat (and Baily, Assad, and Delainey), but it's Anderson's performance that convinced me to watch the show. The man just fucking kills it every goddamn week. The fact he hasn't been nominated for anything is a crime.
Jacob Anderson is also my favorite thing about this show. I never really bought Brad Pitt's performance as Louis, but Jacob really brought him to life. Just incredible!
I couldn't agree more! I wasn't really sold on the time jump at first. Then, I saw Jacob Anderson's performance and I was sold! He is a brilliant actor. I never really liked Louis in the books or in the movie, but I find myself hanging on Anderson's every word or look. He's amazing. I want to see him front-and-center in more films and TV shows.
It's like you took the words out of my mouth. He is the main reason I love this show. The other "more fun" characters usually get the most attention, but for me, Jacob Anderson's portrayal of Louis captivated me from the very start. He's truly underrated. I really hope he stays as one of the main characters in season 3 and onwards.
I loved Tom Cruise as Lestat and always will. But Sam Reid doesn't play Lestat, he IS Lestat. He embodies all the rawness, the passion and the weakness of Lestat. Chef's kiss. He is perfection.
Wildest thing to me about the 94 movie is that while they "had" to majorly tone down the homosexual content and themes, they still had a scene of a literal child kissing a literal adult. I know that in the context of the story she isn't a child, but in real life Kirsten was a child. Being gay was a no no, but kissing a child? Apparently that's fine🤢
both of the aspects were toned down btw, if i‘m not mistaken, the 1994 movie doesn’t have claudia sleeping in the same coffin as louis (when she‘s still a child, the book frames it as a normal child-parent thing with no weird undertones, so i‘d rather they kept that)
i watched the movie the other night for the first time after watching both seasons and actually she does sleep in the same coffin as louis. Very much framed as a parent kid co sleeping situation.
@@shashatainment wow I'm so happy for you I hope you enjoy this precious time together! 🙏❤️🩹 unfortunately my friends have different priorities so...I guess I have to tie them up to a chair
I'm stunned at how Louis is portrayed in the show. So much better than the film, which paints him as sweet and nice, when he's toxic af bc of course he is, he loves Lestat, hes no boy scout😅. Love the show, it's so well done and gives way more dimension to the characters.
I do like that even though they kept Louis’s POV, they added nuance in terms of his character and his assessment of himself (which imo aligns with him growing older and more mature)
Hmm,perhaps I'm a bit biased, but Louis is something of a toxic drama queen & a manipulative, not too honest, self proclaimed victim in the books as well. we find out in the second book most of his interview was a lie or at least repainting of the truth. Luis of the film is fairly similar to his original book 1 version. We see him in a positive light as it's HIS version of events, but he certainly isn't an angel, which is soon confirmed by Lestat
i’m almost done w season 2 as of now (like 6 eps in), and i’m really enjoying how the creators amped up molloy’s persistence by giving him extra material
I think aging up a child character playing older beyond her years is a way to stave off people using the live-action content of real children for fantasies of abuse.
I'm not sure about that. Honestly, I think it really has more to do with practical concerns of it being harder to keep a child actor for multiple seasons without them being re-cast or looking different. I also think that they wanted to give Louis more of an equal partner in Claudia, and that it would have been difficult to portray this as well with a 5-year-old actor.
Yeah and they didn't show the cough cough assault scene with Claudia and literally had Louis tell us in the show that he wouldn't exploit her tragedy like that 😊
I feel that this monstrous way of showing Lestat creates an interesting dilemma for the audience. He has a magnetism that makes me need to continue seeing him but being aware that he is a monster. I find it interesting, especially if we compare it with the way in which all villains are so romanticized lately. Btw, I loooved your outfit and makeup 💗
So true! I think this also applies to their relationship. Even though it is absolutely toxic and unhealthy their dynamic is so good that I want them to stay together. After we find out that Armand & Louis are together now, and have a 'healthy' relationsship the show also throws me into that moral dillema. Their relationship lacks the intensety and insane love, so that I mourn the loss of Lestat. Even though I know that Louis is doing better now, with a 'good' partner. (In hindsight there were signs that Armand wasn't that good, but I personally did not spot them D: )
@@blue-guymaster5121 Yes, I think the difference is that Lestat and Louis really loved each other but in a really monstrous way (because that's what they are), while Armand tried to keep control over Louis in that delusion of neatness and inocence
The best thing this show has done is turn Louis into an interesting character. He was sooo boring and insufferable in the books, he's become one of my favorite characters (only 2nd to Armand) and I can't get enough of him in the show. I hope he'll continue to be the main character in all seasons, Jacob Anderson truly deserves all the praise he gets
@@kaylarodrigues7892 frfr!! like i‘m not usually really interested in the acting if it‘s not Bad but his performance was so impressive i made a note about it!!
I figured the reason they aged up Claudia in the show was that they were planning on having her show up for multiple seasons and kids can look radically different one year to the next as they age. Ended up not mattering cause they had to recast her anyway.
It is much more difficult to get a nuanced performance out of a child than it is a teenager or adult actress. Aging her up allowed for a more mature performance. A child can not accurately play an adult or understand being an adult because they are still developing. An adult or actual teenager can play a pre-teen/teenager trapped in eternal puberty much better because they've experienced it and their brains are much more developed. Kirsten Dunst explained in an interview what they had to do to get the performance out of her while remaining age appropriate and she had absolutely no idea what was actually going on. They had to explain a situation that a child would understand to get the correct reaction and emotion for the scene. Kirsten did a great performance as a child but I personally much prefer the more complex portrayal of the older actresses in the new adaptation.
I think it was because they have her do a scene where she has sex with a guy and is in a relationship with an adult woman. To have the actor be a child would not be great for that. Also because Claudia is a main character and the show is so much longer than the film and child labor laws are much stricter now
I liked the 1994 movie, but I just love the series. There’s something really magnetic about Jacob and Sam. They are both fabulous looking, fit men and there’s a lot to be said for that for an old lady like me. The nature of the story, with its mostly singular POV puts a heavy burden on the actor that plays Louie and casting Jacob was a genius decision, he is such a powerhouse of an actor. I can go on and on about the great casting decisions.
I'm a huge fan of the original books, especially the first three. Despite the changes to the time-frame, I feel the first season nurtured and respected every key beat from the original literature. Despite my initial reservations, it maintained the 'feel' of the books, whilst offering something new to existing fans. Was hoping for a slightly faded French accent...never expected it from an Aussie actor...so good!
I never read the original books and getting into this show with no context has been hugely entertaining. 5 year old Claudia now lives in my nightmares, I much prefer her as teenager in the show!
yeah, she was based on anne rice’s young daughter that she lost and was a way for her to cope and grieve, hence the age afaik, but teenage claudia gives the creators possibilities to explore the topics from a different pov which i find very cool!
Now I need to hear what you think about season 2 and armand! The whole season has been great but 2x5 was one of the best episodes of TV I have seen in a while!
yesss ik the 2x05 has gotten an insanely high score i‘m hyped to see it (i losely know what happens cause ive been keeping up w the news and interviews but actually seeing it is gonna hopefully go so hard)
Assads Armand and Delaineys Claudia were the best!!! for me. I enjoyed them far more than Lestat and Luis. Even Santiago was great. But Tom Cruise‘ Lestat will always be my Lestat ❤
Sam Reid is my Lestat . I grew up on the original movie and queen of the Damned and i don't think its even close. I can completely see why Loius would be seduced by Lestat in the series. I never bought that with Cruise as Lestat. He came off as a bitchy power Bottom to me lol Sam Reid OOZES sex, charisma, threat and emotion.
DISCLAIMER: I hate Cruise, so I can be a bit biased. But Sam's Lestat is my Lestat. I listened to the audiobooks these last weeks and kept picturing Sam's face as Lestat. Amazing casting.
I wholeheartedly agree! Sam Reid has made Lestat everything I imagined him to be in the books. The ego, the arrogance, all that is the Brat Prince. Hands down the best portrayal to date. The entire series has completely changed my opinion from first hearing the concept and plans to bring it to TV. I cannot wait for season 3! Each season is better than the last.
This is legitimately one of the best television shows of our time. The sets, cinematography, actors and their acting, the overall directing, the **adaptation of the writing, my god**. It's phenomenal. An absolute triumph.
the writers are very smart and know how to handle topics like abuse delicately with firm sympathy for the victim. lestat being an abuser is very accurate to the books, not only to iwtv but to the rest of the vc as well. of course he is a complicated character and we will see his perspective in s3, but lestat can and has done things that are very very shitty and they will be given the weight they deserve in the narrative.
well, i’m still not caught up w season 2, so i sure do hope the gravity of the abuse is dealt with appropriately, however, my point was not about lestat being abusive, but about the powerbalance in the relationship and the severity of the abuse
This show is pure gold. The pacing is great, the make-up and costumes beautiful, the actors are excellent, the way it changed the source material but respected Anne's vision. It's great, I love it.
can't wait for you to watch the 2nd season and also the interviews coinciding them - particularly sam's most recent interview with autumnbrown. his take on lestat and this adaptation is so immaculate 😭💕
It's sad that the network didn't do a better job promoting this series. Anne made an exclusive deal with AMC to have her works shown on their network *in perpetuity* . I would be busting my ass to promote the books and shows!
agreed, i think they are slowly improving though, like in the case of the trailer for s3 and reviews that treat the vampire lestat as a real band, but fans did a lot of the heavy lifting - that’s how i found out, at least
Anybody who's actually taken the time to watch the show will know the show is better. It gave Louis so much more depth and made him feel more real and well rounded. Something the movie and not even the book made me feel about Louis. And Sam Reid brought Lestat to life in a way no other actor could do before him. The show is so good I feel like AMC is failing to promote it properly. You can tell a lot of love and passion was poured into the show.
I recently listened to a Podcast with Sam Reid and he was describing what all was going down between the characters in the second season, and his take was that everything was just incredibly f*cked up, all that he was doing, what has happening, it was just all unfolding in such a sadistic way for his character. I like that the writers and the actors have continued to say, we have not yet seen "real Lestat." I think of it as if we sat there and described a horrible ex. We'd paint them as the absolute worst, but what do we leave out, right, we leave out any good they ever did, how we managed to fall in love with them (b/c sane people don't fall in love initially with a-holes), and it would be our narrative that ultimately makes us out to be the better person. That's season 1&2. As far as the change in Claudia's age, there will always be the issue of Claudia's age within the context of the real world. There was quite a bit of gore and violence, a lot of sexual themes like rape, human body parts, relationships with adults, and other characters that Claudia participates in or witnesses or is the victim of. I remember people flipping out at the movie because Dunst kissed Pitt's Louis or slept in the coffin with him, even though both were relatively innocent gestures. It's the implication behind them and of course the real actresses age at the time, that were of great issue in a seemingly more morally stringent world of the early 90s. Well, I mean, we still take issue with Twilight and a 200 year old trying to date a 17 year old which they got around by him waiting until she was 18, so you know, totally fine there as long as he looks young (sarcasm).
yess regarding what sam said i am so hyped for s3 but i was expecting a little more nuance to lestat in s1 considering what was mentioned in the interviews and podcasts :(
I honestly don’t get everyone’s distain for this adaptation of Lestat, it felt so true to the books to me. But I guess that’s the beauty of art, it’s subjective.
Who's disdain lol? Maybe I'm just on the wrong (or right depending on how you look at it) side of the internet, but I've seen nothing but praise for this portrayal 🤷♀
I love this version. By far my favorite. Season one showed me he was a wildly romantic and as a force of nature, charming and charismatic and dangerous. Season two showed him as petty and regretful and, in the end, even somewhat pathetic. A lot of it has to do the with actor as well, as he's fire.
I think some people forget what he was like in IWTV and not say TVL or QoTD. And even then, ToTBT also shows some of his cruelty lol. Like he hits Nicki twice iirc in TVL lmao. He’s always been like that and that’s okay. You can still like him.
my take on the shows lestst as someone who never read the book or watched the movie, and really got invested once I found out that Louis was a black gay man and played by Jacob Anderson; it really doesn't bother me that they make him to be so violent and at time so cruel. I 110% do understand why lestat fans were so mad at episode 5 because when you take away the DV aspect lestat is fun, morally grey, and chaotic and a bit of a pathetic loser but it does make him loveable. however him committing demoestic violence makes sense for this narrative (and yes even after what we find out about the scene in season two it still is DV.) The show lestat did hide a lot of things about vampirism from Louis and Claudia, which added to the power imbalance in their relationship. he's very insecure about Louis loving him back, during season one I thought it was because he wanted unconditional love from Louis, even though he failed to unconditionally love Louis and often resented the fact that Louis didn't accept vampirism, but season two implies it's because he feared that Louis would leave him. regardless, I think the DV does make sense in this narrative.
glad to hear that it was handled well in s2 (that was my main concern and i‘m not that far yet), while this portrayal of lestat is not my fav, but i love the way sam reid talks about the character and it gives me hope for a possibly more nuanced portrayal in the future seasons + as long as the topic of dv is handled with care it is obviously ok within the narrative,
@@shashatainment My interpretation of the added scenes in season two is to show that Louis wasn't the perfect victim and that Louis stood up for Claudia more than he gives himself credit. Also, I would love to hear your thoughts about season two :)
@@rifa1673 oo, sounds promising! i’m also very interesting at how the show will deal w the imperfect victim (as almos every victim is in the eyes of the society supporting perpetrators) point, and i am planning to make a vid about season two once i’m done with my term papers - i wanted to reread the second half of iwtv again to get my facts straight
I had vaguely heard of this adaptation but forgot about it because I figured they would adapt them as accurately as the movies. I’m so grateful to have stumbled upon this video and your channel. I’m literally heading upstairs to watch the series now.
Love this video, I never got into Anne Rice books (and the movies, pheeeewieee) but the show really gripped me from the first episode. Thanks for all the citations listed, it's nice to have them in a document.
Their choice to make Louis black is one of the few times in media changing the race of the character ACTUALLY matters and ENHANCES the story. Louis’ story is so much richer when you add the racial aspects.
and if i told u the cast & creator interviews were fascinating (eric bogosian keeps spoiling stuff cause he‘s got no filter, sam reid is posessed by lestat, assad zaman thought he was fr gonna play a random dude named rashid)
Anne Rice was correct because the new show allows us to see each characters dynamic fundamentally changes throughout every episode. I love seeing how the story develops each reboot tbh. Hopefully they give me 3 more seasons. This movie was my roman empire.
This show is near perfection. 4:51 It says a LOT when the ONLY negative audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are (clearly) from bigoted trolls says a lot. There’s no real substantive complaint to be made. The acting is perfect, the writing is smart and refreshing for a well known story, the production value is up there with Game of Thrones… I remember asking myself “why do we need this?” When I first heard of the series. Now I totally get it. Her books deserved this series.
i think there are some things about the show that are up for debate taste-wise, like the styling, etc, but the majority of the comments that were talking about how the show is bad (under this vid) was fr comprised of weirdos talking about it being “too gay” and “anti-white” (ngl the last one got me so confused like…ok have they never seen a poc before???), so i do agree that a loooot of negativity comes from simple bigotry
Straight White Man here and I feel like I've been asked so... I began reading the books in the 90s as a teen. The homosexuality was made more palatable for me for two reasons. 1, she didn't explicitly describe the sex and 2, these are vampires not humans. What Ann Rice did was kind of like taking the homosexual subtext thing, later made well known from shows like Xena Warrior Princess, and inverted it a way. It was there, but if you didn't want it to be, there was a pass of sorts. A small concession to the straight people. And maybe even a light and subtle and very clever slap in the face. As for the new series: I love it. I've read all the books at least twice, listened to the very well performed audio-books a handful of times and of course seen the movies more times that I can count ( QoTD 3x ). I needed a fresh take and AMC has done a better job that I would have ever hoped for. A masterclass in writing, cinematography and of course, ACTING. Bravo!
One thing I really loved about S1 and S2 was the unfolding understanding that both Louis and Lestat are incredibly unreliable narrators about their own behavior but are probably very good at reliably describing each others behaviors. Like Louis vs Lestat interpretation of the changing of Claudia. I think they have a good handle on how each other acted but want to portray themselves in that moment as the better voice of reason. And I can't wait for S3 to expand on Lestat's POV
сначала думала, что не осилю целое видео в один заход, но ты так круто и точно обо всем рассказываешь, что время вообще незаметно проходит! спасибо з такую объемную работу, надеюсь тебе понравится второй сезон!!
спасибо за добрые слова!! пока что (я только два эпизода успела посмотреть тк специально не смотрела в то время как делала этот ролик, чтобы ниче не напутать) очень нравится, плюс судя по интервьюхам и реакциям аудитории вообще что-то с чем-то :) надеюсь как будет время сделать подобный ролик про второй сезон
AMC by a huge margin. I can't imagine anyone else but Sam Reid as Lestat now. I just hope they go all in with the music angle and actually give us The Vampire Lestat as a band.
Jacob really decimated the role of Louis. I'm sooo happy with the changes to Louis character. Like I'm sorry but its really hard to feel sorry for a rich white slave owner 😢😂
thank u!! i‘m loving it so far & i‘m most hyped for 2x05 & 2x07 and hopefully i‘ll put out a vid in like a few months once i‘m done with big uni projects
I just finished the 2nd season really good show. Great video. I 1st watched the show almost 2 years ago, i thought the film was decent but the show blew me away. The actor of lestat is so good, everyone does so good. Its Crazy the armand actor hasnt been really in anything either. In the 2nd season he had an amazing performance, i hope all these actors get big film roles in future and more known, they deserve it.
I started the series with 0 context, loved it and fell in love with Lestat’s character, he was really fun to watch and so unpredictable. When I finally watched the movie I was VERY disappointed, I thought I would’ve loved Tom Cruise in this role (he looked great from what I had seen) but he was so bland compared to Sam Reid’s version + I thought he had very little chemistry with Brad Pitt. What saved this movie for me was Kirsten Dunst as Claudia, I loved everything about her from the amazing performance to her beautiful dresses and curly hair, she really looked like a victorian porcelain doll. I understand that they probably didn’t want to hire a child actress for the tv show, and I think they did a great job. (btw, someone needs to cast Sam Reid as Dorian Gray ASAP)
This video finally got me to settle down and watch the show (after two failed attempts) and I love it! It’s an awesome show to sit and watch to kick off spooky season.
Fantastic breakdown. Book kept me company while trying to adapt to a new country in my teens and while this show took alot of artistic liberties, i absolutely effing love it.
I feel like the 90s movie is getting shit on too much. They made it as gay as they could. Anyone whose head was out of their ass could tell they were _somewhere_ in the acronym. They gay coded as hard as they could get away with in the last millennium. It's unfair to say they didn't make it gay enough, at the time it was shockingly and obviously gay.
Gay or not Gay. The story was changed. And not just what job Louis had. Or the time frame. The characters were altered. Louis was mourning a "wife" Anne never gave him. A "child" he never had. Alters the whole Claudia storyline if Louis has lost a child. And all for what? The main story of most of Anne's Vampire Chronicles, is the relationship of Lestat and Louis. Anne went back to their relationship time and time again. They were way closer than the 1994 Movie allowed them to be.
I agree. I was 13 when I read the book and watched the movie - a couple of years after it actually came out. Even as a very young teenager, I absolutely understood that these vampires were being queer coded. There's just no other way to read it. Lestat and Louis are partners who live together and share a daughter. Later, Armand clearly wants Louis for himself. I was a child and I picked up on it. They made it as gay as they could at the time - and it was gay enough that even kids could read the not-so-subtle subtext. The vampire bite as a metaphor for sexuality - as much present in Dracula as in Interview - serves the same purpose. It creates subtext where overt text would be censored. I don't think I ever once questioned whether or not Louis and Lestat were in a relationship, just as I don't think I ever questioned the sexually charged nature of Dracula's bite. It was obvious, juuuust barely skating underneath the line of what would get greenlit or published at the time. I DO like that the show makes that more explicit than the original book or the movie could in their time periods. I think it's making the subtext text in a way that it always deserved to be, but it's unfair to judge a 30-year-old movie adaptation of a nearly 50-year-old book by the standards of 2024. I think we can celebrate positive steps forward in representation without denigrating older artists who were simply trying to exist within the constraints set forth in their own times.
@@sircharlesmormont9300 topics of sexuality and queerness are not subtext in anne rice’s work - sure, the first book is tamer than the others, but it still openly points to the sexually charged nature of the bite, equaliting it to a sexual act (i.e. the quite i used in the video), and the reason people could consider its queerness subtext is probably only the absense of a proper tag on the relationships. the movie is toned down in comparison, and me pointing out these differences is not in any way degrading or belitteling the honest efforts of those involved with the production, and i even point to reasons for it.
вы убедили меня наконец-то посмотреть этот сериал (вместе с тамблером и моим другом, лол) :) отличное видео, как всегда, надеюсь рубашка в итоге отстирается ❤
I have only heard one person (you) say they didn't absolutely LOVE Sam Reid as Lestat. He's everything I pictured for the character (and I was around for the movie as well). No judgement, everyone has their tastes but I thought Sam Reid was incredible in the role. I haven't seen a role that well cast in ages
I did mention how I love Reid’s approach and portrayal, my beef is with how it was hyped up to be Lestat from the further books in the season 1 promo, which ultimately did not end up to be the case 🤨
personally I love both the film and the show for different reasons. i wouldn't pick one over the other. i feel like the show did an amazing job at adding depth to louis's character, and I think the whole race swap thing actually made him and the story more interesting. also the actors did such a phenomenal job. The show fleshes out the characters more, because they have more time DUH. And the story is suitable for modern audiences. In 1994 they couldn't have possibly gone thorugh with making the film any gayer, but that's fine with me. Homoeroticism is fun. And I personally LOVED Tom Cruise and Kirsten Dunst in the film. Don't get me wrong, Sam Reid's Lestat is amazing, but he is a different character. WHICH IS GREAT. But to me Cruise's Lestat is still THE gold standard of vampires for me. I love both their portrayals, but something about cruise's Lestat was very addictive. He managed to make Lestat such an interesting and charming villain in whatever little time he had, and it's not because of the screen writing or dialogues or anything like that. It's way he spoke his lines, his body language. So, honestly? I could never pick a favourite among the two.
Your analysis is excellent. I especially loved the way you had black creators clips to examine the New Louis and his reality. For me it was a pleasure to watch and listen to you describe the differences between the way Interview: the book, the movie and this new iteration were created, performed and seen. Thank you.
thank u for the nice comment :) it’s not my place to talk about black people’s experiences, plus i’ve never been to the us and simply do not know enough, so it was important to me to base the section on the material by people who actually know what they’re talking about
Just binged season 1 on Netflix and I really hope that adding the amc catalogue to a wayyyyyy bigger audience will make it go far :) hoping the agreement keeps production in amc’s hands. Random but something I liked and read in a review comparing Daniel to Anthony bourdain in how they made him interesting in this adaptation and I couldn’t agree more
I disagree I love the 1994 movie and I think all the actors did an amazing job. They brought us a rare movie in a time that movies like this was too much. The new TV series to be brought new universe of what if would of been like if Loui was black in a very difficult time which is so perfect for the story. I tend to see these 2 stories as yes same story but made in 2 different universes and perspectives of both this era and 1994. I respect and enjoy both story telling
I love this analysis so much although there are 2 points I absolutely don't agree with. The first one wanting Lestat to be a good person. As an ancient vampire with a history of being abused, I don't expect him to turn that around and be mature, him being a bad person is something I expect. Second, your commentary of what happened to Claudia. What happened with Bruce didn't make her "stronger" and I don't see it at all like that, it made her bitter and even more resentful of Louie, she closed herself, she was in search of a companion who didn't wrong her. What thoughten her up wasn't the grape, it was age, reading, Lestat education and the death of her first lover. Bruce only gave trauma and took the light of her. That is very much illustrated when she speaks of the ordeal.
thank u for the well thought out comment! regarding the point about lestat: i don’t want him to be a goody two-shoes, i just did not expect him to be this flat of a character (combined with the changed power dynamic) since the crew talked about incorporating tvl into the 1st season - the person whose comment i pinned expressed it very well, and it was fr bad phrasing on my part, i should’ve made it clearer. regarding the claudia part: it is not so clear cut, as the show imo still follows a lot of characteristics of “sa makes a female character stronger&tougher” trope, namely (again, to me) it seems to coincide with her starting to act more mature and decisive afterwards, but i agree that it is largely in the eye of the beholder with this case.
Yeah, I'm so shocked that people saw what happened to Claudia and thought it was a make her stronger narrative. It didn't make her stronger, it was just part of the trauma that a girl like her in this world like ours has. It shows that Claudia existence in this world is a constant pain like most women and how much that's confuded by her being stuck in a small body
I watched the film version when i was a kid i enjoyed it but the tv series is my favorite i love seeing the relationship between Louis and lestat and how the show has handled the source material i have only read 5 books in the series its sad anne rice passed away she would be happy can't wait for season 3
Got on the hype train late too and was also surprised at how smart the writting feels, every change is so interesting a lot more is adapted and they still managed to adapt some of the movie vibe. With the story mainly set in Louisiana this new version of Louis makes a lot of sense and feel fresh for old fans. There's a real sense that he thinks being a vampire gives him access to white privilege at some point.
re: the e5 fight, I'm glad they revisited it in s2 I think it adds a lot more agency to the event on Louis' end without erasing the horrific abuse. It feels more true to the characters and the source material even though this event didn't happen in the books. Idk if they'll talk about it again in s3 but it seems like Lestat was really bent out of shape about it in Paris in s2 so we'll see.
they did an amazing job, absolutely amazing, i was even shocked at how they got to the point of actually portraying who they are accurately, they grey areas, how the develop the chars, 10/10
I’ve found your video being already deep in season 2, this has give me a different take on some events that I didn’t consider before, another perspective for instance on the horrendous beat up scene, it wasn’t surprising to me for the impossibility of that happening (I personally think that according to the antisocial traits Lestat was showing in season 1 and how jaded he was, it was surprising something like that didn’t happen earlier in the relationship, from my perspective). But for it’s brutality of course, I found myself anxious through it. I hope you keep on making these very well argumentative analysis of the series. A new subscriber!
Love the movie but the show is superior in every way i hated movie Louis I adore series Louis especially now that show caught up with the movie and the book its safe to say the show is better
@@shashatainment yeah movie Louis just looked bored 24/7 like he had the same face extortion the entire movie tv Louis tho needs every award possible he was incredible
I’m having a really hard time with Mayfair Witches. The production, writing, acting and chemistry between the actors is SO lacking. It is hard to believe they are in the same universe and adapted by the same network.
I'd be surprised if we got a s2 of Mayfair. The writing was horrible and the actors were seriously lacking. They missed the boat on this would be crossover.
Thank you for the in depth analysis. I agree the changes the showrunners decided on make for a much more interesting show. I’m still curious what Bryan Fuller would have done.
my main concern with bryan fuller would‘ve been whether he would the queer stuff mostly subtext or go all out tbh. but would looove to know how his version would‘ve looked
I hope you all realize that Anne pitched this show. First to Paramount. Then AMC. She rejected Paramount edits. And literally walked away from them and to AMC. So yes, the showrunners had input. But Anne and her son brought the basic outline of how they wanted it to be adapted for this series. Some viewers think that Anne was completely out of the picture, because she had passed away by the time the show premiered. But it takes a long time to produce and film a series. Again, this adaptation was outlined by Anne herself.
@@donny1960 hi! nobody said Anne Rice or Christopher had nothing to do with it, like i literally quote their posts about the show in the first chapter 🤷🏻♂️ but there is no record of which changes were implemented by her and no interviews (that i could find) of her talking about them, so the quotes i pulled were from the showrunners and writers
@@shashatainment Annes web page was still up when the 1st season premiered, might still be. She talked extensively about the AMC show and had input in the screen play. Again, she talks about it in her own words.
@@donny1960 well, again, i did not say that Anne did not have any input into the changes, just that it’s unclear whose idea it was to do what and to what extent - so i’m using the word creators as a catch-all category, and naming people when pulling quotes
Interesting remarks about Lestat and his arc in s01, I've read Interview with the vampire 15 years ago, so maybe it's more an impression at this point, but I really hated Lestat in the book, and I cheered Claudia and Louis when they killed him. In the book he felt so much more controlling, always keeping them ignorant, not sharing anything he didn't have to about vampirism, I felt like Louis and Claudia were his hostages and not family, so I thought that the extreme violence of ep5 was good equivalent to get us to the point of hating Lestat and being happy for Claudia and Louis to be free in the series Also, I love the decision the show made about explicit queerness, I'm ace, and I'd love some asexual rep too, but I feel that asexuality coming as a part of being a vampire and not a human wouldn't be my first choice. Interesting concept in the books, but I don't read it as exploration of asexuality and more of separation between being a vampire and human
i’ve read it recently and i’d say that the controlling/abuse side is present in the book, but the degree of it is not as severe, as louis himself states he could (and did) stand up to lestat. asexual rep would be very cool tbh, hope we get that in later seasons :)
@@shashatainment "as louis himself states he could (and did) stand up to lestat" then i can guess you will like what they did in s2 regarding that fight
Hello Shastainment, Despite my many issues with the unnecessary changes they made on the show, it was still a good adaption of the book, but not great, I am still looking forward to the upcoming third season which will adapt "The Vampire Lestat" & set up "Queen of the Dammed" since they named dropped Akasha in the finale last night. Love the 1994 big-screen adaption as it retained the gothic atmosphere of the book, which the show has lacked & was a more faithful retelling of the book. As much as I love what Jacob Anderson & Sam Reid have done for the characters of Louie & Lestat as well as the two girls who played Claudia, they don't come close to the magnetism or level of depth that Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt & Kirsten Dunst had as Lestat, Louis & Claudia. You couldn't help, but root for them as you experienced their pain & their pleasure. At times, it seems like these actors on the show were just going through the motions & in my opinion, they were far too old to play Lestat & Louis. Plus, Claudia's death & Louis' revenge hit harder in both the book & the film & was more satisfying, plus both these elements were more iconic in the book & film. Plus, Louis' revenge seemed rushed in the finale. But despite these issues with the show, I'm still willing to give it a chance because I'm curious to see what they will do next. The 2002 screen adaption of "Queen of the Dammed" was terrible, the only bright spots were Stuart Townsend as Lestat & the late great Alliyiah as Akasha. Something I hope they correct for the TV adaption.
thanks for the well thought out comment! i felt different about almost everything you brought up, but it is a taste-based thing at the end of the day, so the show might be my favorite adaptation but not yours, and that’s ok :) i’m hyped for season 3 too, especially considering the fact that the creators cited rocky horror as an inspo for rockstar lestat!
@@shashatainment The Vampire Chronicles are to the Vampire Genre, what the Dune Saga is to the Sci-Fi Genre. It redefined the genre for a whole generation & beyond. My hope is they retain the grandness & epic scope of the later books as they explore some very profound themes, such as the origin of the vampire race. Heck they even have Lestat meeting both God & the Devil in one book & he literally witnesses the creation of the universe, including Satan's fall from grace & goes on a tour of both Heaven & Hell and witnesses the Crucifixion & drinks from the blood of Christ. How more epic can you get than that? How do you think they will be able to adapt that for television? All, I know is if they can pull it off, I'm on board.
I say all of this with love, as a Brad Pitt fan I'm terribly biased to the 1994 movie. I love it despite any of its flaws because it was the first vampire movie i saw that got me into the genre. I also say that, to say, that there are later interviews with Brad admitting that he didn't want to do the movie but was contracted and wasnt able to get dropped from the film. Which might be why his acting might seem subpar, byt his brooding came from actually not wanting to be there🤷🏽♀️. I wish i could find the source, if i do ill come back and post the link. (Even if you're just not a BP fan in general thats cool) I just wanted to share that info cause the Brad Pitt slander made me laugh😅
I think it’s so interesting when people say brad Pitt is a bad actor. Especially for the movie cuz he wasn’t imo it was just the direction. The show will always dominate tho..from casting all the way to wardrobe..absolutely stunning show! And so refreshing
I like what both did. The show gives something new as we don't have Anne anymore :( . Plus the story can change depending on a vampires point of view. So you could tell the same story more then once. Which I think is interesting
эх, я хотела записать русскоязычное видео о сериале, но кажется, просто не успела спасибо вам большое за материал и русские субтитры! прошу творите и дальше, а мы будем наслаждаться❤❤❤❤
@@shashatainment я никогда не побью подобные крутые allegations плюс я ахдхшница и мне оч сложно структурировать плот видоса но вы лучшая! серьезно, завтра после серии со своим киноклубом я посмотрю ещё раз ваше видео🤲
@@Лиана-б3чспасибо большое! мне кажется чем больше люди взаимодействуют с контентом, тем интереснее - опять же, мой тейк на вещи - это ни разу не истина в последней инстанции!! :) поэтому нет смысла сокрушаться, думаю, если хочется - то надо! п.с. можно на ты, все ок :)
This video is so thorough & well researched, wow you did such a good job. I also agree that most of the creative changes made to the tv adaptation were purposeful and allowed the show to explore the same story in more nuanced ways rather than producing something identical to previous versions or even the source material. I think it's good when remakes stray from the source material a little bit to be something different instead of the same thing we already know. But one of the changes i didn't like at all which I didn't see you mention in depth is how the show makes Louis the one who pleads (and in the season 2 flashback reveal- practically begs) Lestat to turn Claudia, whereas in the movie and book it's Lestat that does it almost against Louis' will as a way to 'babytrap' him, like you said. I think the way Claudia came to be and who made that decision is a key component to their family dynamic, and a lot of Louis' development as a character (especially regarding the guilt and suicidal-ness he strongly felt at the beginning of the book) is directly related to his feelings about Claudia stemming from the night of her transformation. Because she's a symbol of Louis' weakness, how he gave into his thirst on her and left her for dead, and then how Lestat making her into one of them was perhaps a worse fate than death in Louis' eyes. He hated himself for what he was and he let an innocent child become one too etc etc. With the prostitutes Lestat liked to 'play' with before killing, Louis wouldn't want to drink from them, nor would he kill them even when they were begging to die by the end. But he gave into both of those urges when it came to Claudia, and he allowed her to be turned (which he didn't allow for the prostitutes either) because he wanted her in his life. So she marks Louis' selfishness and Louis' weaknesses all at once, while also looking and acting strikingly similar to Lestat. It even continues to be relevant when Louis and Claudia flee from America to Europe. Louis tries to kill Lestat but he is never really 'gone' as long as Claudia is there to remind Louis of what they had done, just by the way she looked and acted, and just existed. So she represents all these different things to him, and it's a big part of why Louis is still so tormented even after he meets Armand and starts finding out some of those answers he was longing for. And it all ties back to the night she was turned. And for the show to change the fundamental details of that, in my mind, does a lot of disservice to the core of their family dynamic, and especially Louis' narrative of the way things happened.
If I'm not mistaken, there has been a lot of discourse over the years relating to Claudia's age and the nature of her and Louis' relationship. Through the source material, we see that their love is not quite sibling, not quite parent-child, but something difficult to portray visually in the current landscape of things. Claudia is in love with Louis, and I think that is reciprocated in a non-physical way -- despite that, I think it's seen as inappropriate, placing Louis in the position of a groomer. While the show shys away entirely from the depth of that affection, there is also something to be said about having a child actor portray certain aspects of this character that may be downright disturbing for someone under a certain age. Kirsten Dunst was brilliant in the 1994 movie, but I always wondered how she felt as a child portraying someone much older going through such a physical, existential crisis. I could see an adolescent struggle with body dysmorphia without proper care during the production and after. TLDR: Some people think there's a creep factor to the Louis/Claudia dynamic (something I think is more fandom and less canon) and I think the show was just trying to cover it's bases by aging her up.
yes, i remember that being a big point of discussion when it came to the movie specifically, and how it was in the works for a long time partly because of the fear of backlash from conflating the topic of grooming with homosexuality, and i am grateful that the show makes more of a distinction between romantic & sexual and family&sibling feelings considering the current political climate
Love the commentary & makeup omggg❣this vid made me subscribe. (For context, I am a Black queer Creole woman). Seeing a queer Black Creole man was SO amazing; there's not much Creole media. Putting a Creole man in an abusive relationship with a French man is an incredibly interesting & devastating dynamic. Their relationship mirrors real-life historical dynamics between Black Creoles & white Creoles/French, who have a more specific history beyond general Black/White race relations in the South. this change 100% elevated the story telling
oooh, i didn‘t even know about it reflecting historical facts (i‘m not from the us and has never lived anywhere with a sizeable black population), this is so cool!
@@loganterry9849 would u maybe be interested in discussing this on any other social media? i would love it if u wanted to give me some pointers so i coukd research some more and incorporate it into the video about season 2 :)
Thanks for the enjoyment I got from watching this video - the comparison between the series and the book, and your voice, and the edit, and the memes, and the fake blood and other things like your look. And thanks for Noize at the end, too.
I love the show and Louis as a person that suffers from BPD and show signs of being Bipolar it hits hard seeing patterns I went thru with a Narc like Les Seeing him overcome made me feel less shame about sadly caring about my abuser as of season 2 I did very similar things warppin my recalling for a while S2 goes into how when u have issue like BPD etc. and u in a Narc dynamic y'all constantly in a fight of making the other feel ur frustration. They both took their stress of mental health on each other like punching bags. Understanding I wasn't as innocent which helps heal the traumatic memories one has with break ups, it's always worst to break up if u didn't have input into the result and knowing I had a hand show me I had some control or lack of and I was a person not a puppet matter how small I felt then. The relationship was real.
As someone diagnosed with BPD I saw SO MUCH of myself in Louis, and I've done so much growth to take accountability for how I've emotionally hurt others and process how I've been hurt...seeing an imperfect victim like Louis being given so much grace was exactly what I needed. So cathartic🥲
@@princessmiaxo Exactly like I feel so much it blinds me others feel things to. I like louis at any sign of space created I will double down like how he touch starve Les and even if Les yelled at him for being against eating humans Louis very much judge him way in a passive way for eating humans way more often. The bench scene where they sat and talk about eating show how Louis judge them still and he was blind seeing Claudia tryin to be around Les. Her saying u do judge for a moment shown he truly atm thought he was the glue and only one tryin there for them to coexist.
thank you for making this ❤ I saw the 1994 film as an (undiagnosed autistic, ~10yo or less) kid who was already obsessed with vampires and writing stories about them. after that, the original Vampire Chronicles book trilogy was absolutely foundational for me as a lover and writer of horror. that part of me is dying to watch this clearly well-made show full of sweaty queer representation. but as a transmasc survivor of domestic violence, I normally avoid shows for much less than the DV I know is very much present at least in S1. so while I try to decide whether this show is likely to trigger/help me cathart/both, I am living vicariously through cast interviews and video essays like yours!
Part of the reason i never got around to watching this show is because i read an interview with the show runners talking about the decision with Claudia and while child acting laws issue was a major factor the director and executive producer was really into hormonal impulsive Claudia because “I have two teenage daughters and it’s fascinating to think what would happen if this phase was extended for potentially eternity,” which gave me a bit of a yikes at the time😅
Great breakdown! Really appreciated this. It’s been almost 40 years since I read the original book. I love the changes made for the show and think they depict a version that improves the characters (Luis) minus some things you mentioned (Lestat). I’ve not watched season 2 yet. But if they end up doing Memnoch the Devil…oh Lord help us all. To see that onscreen will be amazing and Christians will freak the fuck out. I hope they can do a great telling of this whole story.
(Probably) hot take: I don't need Lestat to be a good person to "fall in love" with his character. We don't like the villains only when they're actually good or at least relatable/somewhat justified. There's more to it and it's more about the character being well-written.
true, i should‘ve made it clearer tbh, but when discussing lestat i‘m mostly talking about the fact that he feels like a flat one dimensional evildude considering the crew was incorporating later works into the script
@@shashatainment oh, all clear now! I think you'll enjoy the 2nd season then if you haven't seen it already! I think it all round adds more complexity without compromising on the severity of the 1st season events. Also you slay!!!!!!!!!!! (This last bit is important)
@@lukailincic2411 thank uu! i didn‘t watch it before the vid to not get confused on the timeline and or character writings, but i‘ve seen 2 eps after and i can‘t wait for s3 since they announced it‘ll be based on tvl so i‘m hoping for more complexity there as well as the second half of s2
@@shashatainment Sameeeee, I'm inhumanly excited about this show (pun intended). Strap in for the rest of s2!!!
@@lukailincic2411 haha me too!!! gonna have more time to sit down and really watch season 2 soon!!
I actually found Louis’ fragmented memory of his past with Lestat to be really relatable and validating. Repeated cycles of abuse can result in trauma that can affect the brain to such a degree that memories become fragmented - kind of like blurry photos or a book with pages missing. Realising that you can’t trust your own memory/account of your own experiences is terrifying, particularly in a situation where you know/suspect you can’t trust those around you. How are you ever supposed to look back, reflect and try to unpack a violent situation for what it was if you can’t trust your own recollection of events?
beautifully put, thanks for such an insightful comment! i loved the moment in s2 when louis and daniel piece the story together, imo it adds to the narrative about the cycle of abuse
I actually really liked how making Louis Black, and a Black brothel owner descended from a Black plantation owner, tied back into the vampirism theme and made it deeper. The show specifically retains the fact that Louis' ancestor was a plantation owner, despite being Black, and Louis kind of continues the same pattern by "exploiting his own kind" to get by. He clearly wants to be part of the "superior" race/class and fit in and be respected and successful, but it's unclear how much of it is his own personal ambition and how much of it is an attempt at escaping the prejudice and exploitation that awaits him otherwise (there's a scene early on where he laments that racism ruined his family's plantation business and it sounds like it's not slavery per se that he's opposed to, but the fact that Black people can't profit off of it anymore).
Which is, you know, sort of exactly the same thing as what happens when he becomes a vampire, but his specific background makes him able to reflect on it and pick up on the pattern more. Because the fact is, vampires DID use to be human, and they are absolutely exploiting their own kind to avoid an extremely undesirable state (death, weakness) that awaits them otherwise. But unlike white European Lestat, who thinks that his state of superiority is a completely natural state of things, Louis becomes more and more aware of this dynamic the more he thinks. I thought this was a cool way of making a character who was so up his own ass in the book more dynamic and complex, while also saying something about modern respectability politics that contemporary audiences can recognize and identify with.
You know, the themes of alienation and belonging nowhere as a vampire but also the alienation that comes from downplaying and separating yourself from your race and where you come from.
yess, i thought it added a lot to the narrative, and listening to the crew discuss it (if im not mistaken jacob anderson goes into detail on s1 eo 3 of the podcast) was really fascinating - especially because we see the Othering that has been present in vamp media since victorian times & how it manifests differently on diff stages of louis‘ story
He's not descended from a black plantation owner. He's descended from a white plantation owner and he's life as a mixed man adds to that power imbalance and he's social standing before even becoming a vampire and how it affects how looks at things. We can see it a lot in season 2 in Paris with the Algerian comment.
That's when black washing is great, when it adds to the character in such a magnificent way
I agree. Making Louis black in this time period only added another layer to the show. What bothers me the people who are calling Lestat a jim crow racist. I never felt that any of Lestat's power plays were about race, but just a power play within a relationship. Lestat loves Louis and Louis feels love for Lestat. ❤
Lestat was not just a white European, he was a white nobel men. He was literally raised to be the ruler over other people.
Sam Reids voice in that role holds such a vampiric tone for me. His way of alluring Louis fits so perfectly to their chemistry. The acting is absolutely top notch. I havent been so into a show in such a long time. Oh and I love armands casting. That stare.
There was a news anchor in 94 who reviewed the movie and said “Not gay enough.” HE WAS RIGHT.
EDIT: it was a JOKE. I know the time period was too conservative and wouldn’t have realistically given us GAY Pitt, Cruise AND AB. I can just be sad they didn’t, okay. And per a comment, this was a sketch joke. So it wasn’t serious to begin with.
lmaooo kinda me
@@shashatainment basically.🤣🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♂️
It was Norm McDonald on SNL lmao
@@meredythwithay5187 oh okay! Didn't know that.
The gay aspect is implied in the books but that's about it
Jacob Anderson's performance in the show is so incredible. I didn't sit down and watch the show all the way through until s2 premiered (for mental health reasons lol), but I would watch his confessional monologue over and over again, just absolutely enthralled. I do really enjoy Sam Reid's Lestat (and Baily, Assad, and Delainey), but it's Anderson's performance that convinced me to watch the show. The man just fucking kills it every goddamn week. The fact he hasn't been nominated for anything is a crime.
yesss, and it was very interesting to hear him talk about the character, the new version of louis is so much more interesting imo
Jacob Anderson is also my favorite thing about this show. I never really bought Brad Pitt's performance as Louis, but Jacob really brought him to life. Just incredible!
I couldn't agree more! I wasn't really sold on the time jump at first. Then, I saw Jacob Anderson's performance and I was sold! He is a brilliant actor. I never really liked Louis in the books or in the movie, but I find myself hanging on Anderson's every word or look. He's amazing. I want to see him front-and-center in more films and TV shows.
It's like you took the words out of my mouth. He is the main reason I love this show. The other "more fun" characters usually get the most attention, but for me, Jacob Anderson's portrayal of Louis captivated me from the very start. He's truly underrated. I really hope he stays as one of the main characters in season 3 and onwards.
Agree!! I loved GOT and it's amazing to see the range he's displayed
As a French person myself I can confirm. Lestat is just French.
i think he should apologise to the french for giving the entire country reputation damage by being too dramatic lmaooo
😂
yeah he looks both arab and black
I loved Tom Cruise as Lestat and always will. But Sam Reid doesn't play Lestat, he IS Lestat. He embodies all the rawness, the passion and the weakness of Lestat. Chef's kiss. He is perfection.
Wildest thing to me about the 94 movie is that while they "had" to majorly tone down the homosexual content and themes, they still had a scene of a literal child kissing a literal adult. I know that in the context of the story she isn't a child, but in real life Kirsten was a child. Being gay was a no no, but kissing a child? Apparently that's fine🤢
both of the aspects were toned down btw, if i‘m not mistaken, the 1994 movie doesn’t have claudia sleeping in the same coffin as louis (when she‘s still a child, the book frames it as a normal child-parent thing with no weird undertones, so i‘d rather they kept that)
i watched the movie the other night for the first time after watching both seasons and actually she does sleep in the same coffin as louis. Very much framed as a parent kid co sleeping situation.
@@rockyowls oh damn, thanks for correcting me! i must have forgotten and then missed it on the rewatch :)
@@shashatainmentthat happens in the film as well & it's also framed as a young child-parent thing.
yeah that always bothered me, even as a kid. that’s a big reason why i don’t rewatch it now.
as someone who also cannot get their friends to watch a gay vampire show, absolutely loved seeing someone talk in depth about it🙏
yay! glad u enjoyed it!
omg same, it feels lonely tbh 😔💔
@@al_stein2503 i slowly convinced two whole friends by the sheer power of yaps and memes & believe u can do the same
@@shashatainment wow I'm so happy for you I hope you enjoy this precious time together! 🙏❤️🩹 unfortunately my friends have different priorities so...I guess I have to tie them up to a chair
Dunno why you describe it as "a gay vampire show". That says a lot about you and your limited worldview.
I'm stunned at how Louis is portrayed in the show. So much better than the film, which paints him as sweet and nice, when he's toxic af bc of course he is, he loves Lestat, hes no boy scout😅. Love the show, it's so well done and gives way more dimension to the characters.
I do like that even though they kept Louis’s POV, they added nuance in terms of his character and his assessment of himself (which imo aligns with him growing older and more mature)
Hmm,perhaps I'm a bit biased, but Louis is something of a toxic drama queen & a manipulative, not too honest, self proclaimed victim in the books as well. we find out in the second book most of his interview was a lie or at least repainting of the truth. Luis of the film is fairly similar to his original book 1 version. We see him in a positive light as it's HIS version of events, but he certainly isn't an angel, which is soon confirmed by Lestat
I liked the sweet Louis
Season 1 was great, season 2 is superb. Utterly superb. The unreliable narrator of Louis memory becomes a massive plot point.
i’m almost done w season 2 as of now (like 6 eps in), and i’m really enjoying how the creators amped up molloy’s persistence by giving him extra material
I think aging up a child character playing older beyond her years is a way to stave off people using the live-action content of real children for fantasies of abuse.
ooh, i didn’t even consider that tbh, but this is such a good take!
Yes, child actors really shouldn’t be a thing imo
I'm not sure about that. Honestly, I think it really has more to do with practical concerns of it being harder to keep a child actor for multiple seasons without them being re-cast or looking different.
I also think that they wanted to give Louis more of an equal partner in Claudia, and that it would have been difficult to portray this as well with a 5-year-old actor.
Yeah and they didn't show the cough cough assault scene with Claudia and literally had Louis tell us in the show that he wouldn't exploit her tragedy like that 😊
@@blackcatkyotoagreed
I feel that this monstrous way of showing Lestat creates an interesting dilemma for the audience. He has a magnetism that makes me need to continue seeing him but being aware that he is a monster. I find it interesting, especially if we compare it with the way in which all villains are so romanticized lately.
Btw, I loooved your outfit and makeup 💗
thank you! i am very interested to see what they do with lestat in s2 & especially s3!!
So true! I think this also applies to their relationship. Even though it is absolutely toxic and unhealthy their dynamic is so good that I want them to stay together. After we find out that Armand & Louis are together now, and have a 'healthy' relationsship the show also throws me into that moral dillema. Their relationship lacks the intensety and insane love, so that I mourn the loss of Lestat. Even though I know that Louis is doing better now, with a 'good' partner. (In hindsight there were signs that Armand wasn't that good, but I personally did not spot them D: )
@@blue-guymaster5121 Yes, I think the difference is that Lestat and Louis really loved each other but in a really monstrous way (because that's what they are), while Armand tried to keep control over Louis in that delusion of neatness and inocence
The best thing this show has done is turn Louis into an interesting character. He was sooo boring and insufferable in the books, he's become one of my favorite characters (only 2nd to Armand) and I can't get enough of him in the show. I hope he'll continue to be the main character in all seasons, Jacob Anderson truly deserves all the praise he gets
yesss that too, making louis an actually well thought out and sympathetic character was a great decision imo
jacob anderson is one of the pillars of the show seriously he’s such a talent
@@kaylarodrigues7892 frfr!! like i‘m not usually really interested in the acting if it‘s not Bad but his performance was so impressive i made a note about it!!
I wonder if book Louie can get depression meds? The characters were brilliantly crafted and the story line is a master class.
If they get rid of Jacob and or Sam I can’t watch the show anymore cause why… why mess with greatness lol
I figured the reason they aged up Claudia in the show was that they were planning on having her show up for multiple seasons and kids can look radically different one year to the next as they age. Ended up not mattering cause they had to recast her anyway.
It is much more difficult to get a nuanced performance out of a child than it is a teenager or adult actress. Aging her up allowed for a more mature performance. A child can not accurately play an adult or understand being an adult because they are still developing. An adult or actual teenager can play a pre-teen/teenager trapped in eternal puberty much better because they've experienced it and their brains are much more developed. Kirsten Dunst explained in an interview what they had to do to get the performance out of her while remaining age appropriate and she had absolutely no idea what was actually going on. They had to explain a situation that a child would understand to get the correct reaction and emotion for the scene. Kirsten did a great performance as a child but I personally much prefer the more complex portrayal of the older actresses in the new adaptation.
@@thehappyrecluse But can we agree Kirsten Dunst did a hell of a job in the original
@@domokun845she did a stellar job
I think it was because they have her do a scene where she has sex with a guy and is in a relationship with an adult woman. To have the actor be a child would not be great for that.
Also because Claudia is a main character and the show is so much longer than the film and child labor laws are much stricter now
@@smolson8471 I agree, these are other reasons why a child actor wasn't appropriate for the show version of the story.
I liked the 1994 movie, but I just love the series. There’s something really magnetic about Jacob and Sam. They are both fabulous looking, fit men and there’s a lot to be said for that for an old lady like me. The nature of the story, with its mostly singular POV puts a heavy burden on the actor that plays Louie and casting Jacob was a genius decision, he is such a powerhouse of an actor. I can go on and on about the great casting decisions.
yess, it feels like the casting directors have NEVER missed
Fabulous actors! They have such chemistry! I'm an old lady too, and they are making me very happy!!😊
I'm a huge fan of the original books, especially the first three. Despite the changes to the time-frame, I feel the first season nurtured and respected every key beat from the original literature. Despite my initial reservations, it maintained the 'feel' of the books, whilst offering something new to existing fans.
Was hoping for a slightly faded French accent...never expected it from an Aussie actor...so good!
yess, the accent work is fantastic!!
same! huge book and show fan!
I never read the original books and getting into this show with no context has been hugely entertaining. 5 year old Claudia now lives in my nightmares, I much prefer her as teenager in the show!
yeah, she was based on anne rice’s young daughter that she lost and was a way for her to cope and grieve, hence the age afaik, but teenage claudia gives the creators possibilities to explore the topics from a different pov which i find very cool!
Now I need to hear what you think about season 2 and armand! The whole season has been great but 2x5 was one of the best episodes of TV I have seen in a while!
yesss ik the 2x05 has gotten an insanely high score i‘m hyped to see it (i losely know what happens cause ive been keeping up w the news and interviews but actually seeing it is gonna hopefully go so hard)
Assads Armand and Delaineys Claudia were the best!!! for me. I enjoyed them far more than Lestat and Luis. Even Santiago was great. But Tom Cruise‘ Lestat will always be my Lestat ❤
@@aniscofra oo i’m currently watching s2 and loooooving delainey’s claudia!!
am I the only one who thought this was the best version of Lestat so far 😅
Sam Reid is my Lestat . I grew up on the original movie and queen of the Damned and i don't think its even close. I can completely see why Loius would be seduced by Lestat in the series. I never bought that with Cruise as Lestat. He came off as a bitchy power Bottom to me lol Sam Reid OOZES sex, charisma, threat and emotion.
DISCLAIMER: I hate Cruise, so I can be a bit biased. But Sam's Lestat is my Lestat. I listened to the audiobooks these last weeks and kept picturing Sam's face as Lestat. Amazing casting.
I wholeheartedly agree! Sam Reid has made Lestat everything I imagined him to be in the books. The ego, the arrogance, all that is the Brat Prince. Hands down the best portrayal to date. The entire series has completely changed my opinion from first hearing the concept and plans to bring it to TV. I cannot wait for season 3! Each season is better than the last.
No!
Sam Reid is Lestat. Love his rendition of the character.
No such thing as too late we need everybody on board with this show its too good for television
it isss, i’m trying to hypnotise friends into watching it atp
It's also too good for AMC for them to not upgrade their marketing department
This is legitimately one of the best television shows of our time. The sets, cinematography, actors and their acting, the overall directing, the **adaptation of the writing, my god**. It's phenomenal. An absolute triumph.
the writers are very smart and know how to handle topics like abuse delicately with firm sympathy for the victim. lestat being an abuser is very accurate to the books, not only to iwtv but to the rest of the vc as well. of course he is a complicated character and we will see his perspective in s3, but lestat can and has done things that are very very shitty and they will be given the weight they deserve in the narrative.
well, i’m still not caught up w season 2, so i sure do hope the gravity of the abuse is dealt with appropriately, however, my point was not about lestat being abusive, but about the powerbalance in the relationship and the severity of the abuse
@@shashatainment I'm interested in your take on the how the situation was reframed toward the end of season 2.
This show is pure gold. The pacing is great, the make-up and costumes beautiful, the actors are excellent, the way it changed the source material but respected Anne's vision. It's great, I love it.
can't wait for you to watch the 2nd season and also the interviews coinciding them - particularly sam's most recent interview with autumnbrown. his take on lestat and this adaptation is so immaculate 😭💕
oooo i’ve started that one in the morning and will finish it in the evening!! loooove listening to sam reid talk about lestat
It's sad that the network didn't do a better job promoting this series. Anne made an exclusive deal with AMC to have her works shown on their network *in perpetuity* . I would be busting my ass to promote the books and shows!
agreed, i think they are slowly improving though, like in the case of the trailer for s3 and reviews that treat the vampire lestat as a real band, but fans did a lot of the heavy lifting - that’s how i found out, at least
@@shashatainment Yep. I think it's the fandom that got them sent to SD Comic Con 😁
Anybody who's actually taken the time to watch the show will know the show is better. It gave Louis so much more depth and made him feel more real and well rounded.
Something the movie and not even the book made me feel about Louis. And Sam Reid brought Lestat to life in a way no other actor could do before him. The show is so good I feel like AMC is failing to promote it properly.
You can tell a lot of love and passion was poured into the show.
Now I'm on pins and needles for your to watch season 2 and fall in love with Assad and also episodes 5 and 7
i‘ve been watching some interviews and i loooove assad he‘s so interesting to listen to + such stark contrast between actor and character!!
those are exactly my fav episodes, too. 5 & 7 !!!
I recently listened to a Podcast with Sam Reid and he was describing what all was going down between the characters in the second season, and his take was that everything was just incredibly f*cked up, all that he was doing, what has happening, it was just all unfolding in such a sadistic way for his character. I like that the writers and the actors have continued to say, we have not yet seen "real Lestat." I think of it as if we sat there and described a horrible ex. We'd paint them as the absolute worst, but what do we leave out, right, we leave out any good they ever did, how we managed to fall in love with them (b/c sane people don't fall in love initially with a-holes), and it would be our narrative that ultimately makes us out to be the better person. That's season 1&2.
As far as the change in Claudia's age, there will always be the issue of Claudia's age within the context of the real world. There was quite a bit of gore and violence, a lot of sexual themes like rape, human body parts, relationships with adults, and other characters that Claudia participates in or witnesses or is the victim of. I remember people flipping out at the movie because Dunst kissed Pitt's Louis or slept in the coffin with him, even though both were relatively innocent gestures. It's the implication behind them and of course the real actresses age at the time, that were of great issue in a seemingly more morally stringent world of the early 90s. Well, I mean, we still take issue with Twilight and a 200 year old trying to date a 17 year old which they got around by him waiting until she was 18, so you know, totally fine there as long as he looks young (sarcasm).
yess regarding what sam said i am so hyped for s3 but i was expecting a little more nuance to lestat in s1 considering what was mentioned in the interviews and podcasts :(
I honestly don’t get everyone’s distain for this adaptation of Lestat, it felt so true to the books to me. But I guess that’s the beauty of art, it’s subjective.
I hated QOTD version of lestat
Who's disdain lol? Maybe I'm just on the wrong (or right depending on how you look at it) side of the internet, but I've seen nothing but praise for this portrayal 🤷♀
I love this version. By far my favorite. Season one showed me he was a wildly romantic and as a force of nature, charming and charismatic and dangerous. Season two showed him as petty and regretful and, in the end, even somewhat pathetic.
A lot of it has to do the with actor as well, as he's fire.
I think some people forget what he was like in IWTV and not say TVL or QoTD. And even then, ToTBT also shows some of his cruelty lol. Like he hits Nicki twice iirc in TVL lmao. He’s always been like that and that’s okay. You can still like him.
@nikicarrie4071 I think that version was Stuart Townsend. I loved Aaliyah's character, though
Cannot wait to hear you talk about s2!!
i specifically ignored it to not conflate anything but i‘m finally watching it and ngl i would LOVE to talk about it!!!
The dedication alone to costuming and blood effects made me automatically throw u a like, my god I can’t wait to watch this
haha thank u! washing it off was certainly an experience
my take on the shows lestst as someone who never read the book or watched the movie, and really got invested once I found out that Louis was a black gay man and played by Jacob Anderson; it really doesn't bother me that they make him to be so violent and at time so cruel. I 110% do understand why lestat fans were so mad at episode 5 because when you take away the DV aspect lestat is fun, morally grey, and chaotic and a bit of a pathetic loser but it does make him loveable. however him committing demoestic violence makes sense for this narrative (and yes even after what we find out about the scene in season two it still is DV.) The show lestat did hide a lot of things about vampirism from Louis and Claudia, which added to the power imbalance in their relationship. he's very insecure about Louis loving him back, during season one I thought it was because he wanted unconditional love from Louis, even though he failed to unconditionally love Louis and often resented the fact that Louis didn't accept vampirism, but season two implies it's because he feared that Louis would leave him. regardless, I think the DV does make sense in this narrative.
glad to hear that it was handled well in s2 (that was my main concern and i‘m not that far yet), while this portrayal of lestat is not my fav, but i love the way sam reid talks about the character and it gives me hope for a possibly more nuanced portrayal in the future seasons + as long as the topic of dv is handled with care it is obviously ok within the narrative,
@@shashatainment My interpretation of the added scenes in season two is to show that Louis wasn't the perfect victim and that Louis stood up for Claudia more than he gives himself credit. Also, I would love to hear your thoughts about season two :)
@@rifa1673 oo, sounds promising! i’m also very interesting at how the show will deal w the imperfect victim (as almos every victim is in the eyes of the society supporting perpetrators) point, and i am planning to make a vid about season two once i’m done with my term papers - i wanted to reread the second half of iwtv again to get my facts straight
I had vaguely heard of this adaptation but forgot about it because I figured they would adapt them as accurately as the movies. I’m so grateful to have stumbled upon this video and your channel. I’m literally heading upstairs to watch the series now.
ooo, i hope u like it!! glad to have spread the word
Love this video, I never got into Anne Rice books (and the movies, pheeeewieee) but the show really gripped me from the first episode. Thanks for all the citations listed, it's nice to have them in a document.
thank u!
Their choice to make Louis black is one of the few times in media changing the race of the character ACTUALLY matters and ENHANCES the story. Louis’ story is so much richer when you add the racial aspects.
Not y'all draggin me into ANOTHER vamp obsession ahhh (do do do do)
and if i told u the cast & creator interviews were fascinating (eric bogosian keeps spoiling stuff cause he‘s got no filter, sam reid is posessed by lestat, assad zaman thought he was fr gonna play a random dude named rashid)
Anne Rice was correct because the new show allows us to see each characters dynamic fundamentally changes throughout every episode. I love seeing how the story develops each reboot tbh. Hopefully they give me 3 more seasons. This movie was my roman empire.
idk if u‘ve heard already, but season 3 has been announced (AND it‘s going to be based on tvl AND the creators quoted rocky horror as INSPO!!!)
@@shashatainmentI knew about it bein renewed for another season. But that extra info is reassuring & Exciting as a rocky horror fan.
This show is near perfection. 4:51
It says a LOT when the ONLY negative audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are (clearly) from bigoted trolls says a lot. There’s no real substantive complaint to be made. The acting is perfect, the writing is smart and refreshing for a well known story, the production value is up there with Game of Thrones… I remember asking myself “why do we need this?” When I first heard of the series. Now I totally get it. Her books deserved this series.
i think there are some things about the show that are up for debate taste-wise, like the styling, etc, but the majority of the comments that were talking about how the show is bad (under this vid) was fr comprised of weirdos talking about it being “too gay” and “anti-white” (ngl the last one got me so confused like…ok have they never seen a poc before???), so i do agree that a loooot of negativity comes from simple bigotry
Straight White Man here and I feel like I've been asked so... I began reading the books in the 90s as a teen. The homosexuality was made more palatable for me for two reasons. 1, she didn't explicitly describe the sex and 2, these are vampires not humans. What Ann Rice did was kind of like taking the homosexual subtext thing, later made well known from shows like Xena Warrior Princess, and inverted it a way. It was there, but if you didn't want it to be, there was a pass of sorts. A small concession to the straight people. And maybe even a light and subtle and very clever slap in the face. As for the new series: I love it. I've read all the books at least twice, listened to the very well performed audio-books a handful of times and of course seen the movies more times that I can count ( QoTD 3x ). I needed a fresh take and AMC has done a better job that I would have ever hoped for. A masterclass in writing, cinematography and of course, ACTING. Bravo!
I truly love the makeup and outfit :0 tutorial needed ❤
oh thank u!! i‘ll probably do one on tiktok when i do another vampire look 🧛🏻♀️
@@shashatainmentniceee i'll follow because I really want to look that cool
@@fabtiny thanks again! but don‘t worry, i‘ll probably post about it to the community page :)
One thing I really loved about S1 and S2 was the unfolding understanding that both Louis and Lestat are incredibly unreliable narrators about their own behavior but are probably very good at reliably describing each others behaviors. Like Louis vs Lestat interpretation of the changing of Claudia. I think they have a good handle on how each other acted but want to portray themselves in that moment as the better voice of reason. And I can't wait for S3 to expand on Lestat's POV
сначала думала, что не осилю целое видео в один заход, но ты так круто и точно обо всем рассказываешь, что время вообще незаметно проходит! спасибо з такую объемную работу, надеюсь тебе понравится второй сезон!!
спасибо за добрые слова!! пока что (я только два эпизода успела посмотреть тк специально не смотрела в то время как делала этот ролик, чтобы ниче не напутать) очень нравится, плюс судя по интервьюхам и реакциям аудитории вообще что-то с чем-то :) надеюсь как будет время сделать подобный ролик про второй сезон
AMC by a huge margin. I can't imagine anyone else but Sam Reid as Lestat now. I just hope they go all in with the music angle and actually give us The Vampire Lestat as a band.
i saw an interview with rolin jones where he mentioned possibly doing a whole double album!! so fingers crossed
this shouldn’t even be a question. THE SHOW INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, was ABSOLUTELY perfect 🙂↕️🙂↕️
Jacob really decimated the role of Louis. I'm sooo happy with the changes to Louis character. Like I'm sorry but its really hard to feel sorry for a rich white slave owner 😢😂
I really enjoyed your analysis and can't wait for you to watch the second season! I'll be watching for your reactions!
thank u!! i‘m loving it so far & i‘m most hyped for 2x05 & 2x07 and hopefully i‘ll put out a vid in like a few months once i‘m done with big uni projects
And I have a feeling that some of the minor changes that weren't perfectly true to the chronicles might be revisited during Lestat's POV next season.
I really hope your channel grows, I think you are one of the best discoveries I have made in recent months and I love your videos
oh thank u so much for the kind words! honestly, it has already grown way faster than i‘ve anticipated :)
I just finished the 2nd season really good show. Great video. I 1st watched the show almost 2 years ago, i thought the film was decent but the show blew me away. The actor of lestat is so good, everyone does so good. Its Crazy the armand actor hasnt been really in anything either. In the 2nd season he had an amazing performance, i hope all these actors get big film roles in future and more known, they deserve it.
the cast is soooo good!!
I started the series with 0 context, loved it and fell in love with Lestat’s character, he was really fun to watch and so unpredictable.
When I finally watched the movie I was VERY disappointed, I thought I would’ve loved Tom Cruise in this role (he looked great from what I had seen) but he was so bland compared to Sam Reid’s version + I thought he had very little chemistry with Brad Pitt.
What saved this movie for me was Kirsten Dunst as Claudia, I loved everything about her from the amazing performance to her beautiful dresses and curly hair, she really looked like a victorian porcelain doll. I understand that they probably didn’t want to hire a child actress for the tv show, and I think they did a great job.
(btw, someone needs to cast Sam Reid as Dorian Gray ASAP)
This video finally got me to settle down and watch the show (after two failed attempts) and I love it! It’s an awesome show to sit and watch to kick off spooky season.
Fantastic breakdown. Book kept me company while trying to adapt to a new country in my teens and while this show took alot of artistic liberties, i absolutely effing love it.
rhank u!
It's horrifying imagining a 5 year old killing their adoptive father like that
it‘s kinda horrifying at any age tbh
You gotta understand that though Claudia’s outer shell is 5 years old she was about 40 at that point. So spiritually she wasn’t as child.
I feel like the 90s movie is getting shit on too much. They made it as gay as they could. Anyone whose head was out of their ass could tell they were _somewhere_ in the acronym. They gay coded as hard as they could get away with in the last millennium. It's unfair to say they didn't make it gay enough, at the time it was shockingly and obviously gay.
well as i‘ve mentioned anne rice had to rework it to get it to the screens, but the director claiming it is „as gay as the book“ is simply wrong 👹
Gay or not Gay. The story was changed. And not just what job Louis had. Or the time frame. The characters were altered. Louis was mourning a "wife" Anne never gave him. A "child" he never had. Alters the whole Claudia storyline if Louis has lost a child. And all for what? The main story of most of Anne's Vampire Chronicles, is the relationship of Lestat and Louis. Anne went back to their relationship time and time again. They were way closer than the 1994 Movie allowed them to be.
I agree. I was 13 when I read the book and watched the movie - a couple of years after it actually came out. Even as a very young teenager, I absolutely understood that these vampires were being queer coded. There's just no other way to read it. Lestat and Louis are partners who live together and share a daughter. Later, Armand clearly wants Louis for himself. I was a child and I picked up on it. They made it as gay as they could at the time - and it was gay enough that even kids could read the not-so-subtle subtext. The vampire bite as a metaphor for sexuality - as much present in Dracula as in Interview - serves the same purpose. It creates subtext where overt text would be censored. I don't think I ever once questioned whether or not Louis and Lestat were in a relationship, just as I don't think I ever questioned the sexually charged nature of Dracula's bite. It was obvious, juuuust barely skating underneath the line of what would get greenlit or published at the time. I DO like that the show makes that more explicit than the original book or the movie could in their time periods. I think it's making the subtext text in a way that it always deserved to be, but it's unfair to judge a 30-year-old movie adaptation of a nearly 50-year-old book by the standards of 2024. I think we can celebrate positive steps forward in representation without denigrating older artists who were simply trying to exist within the constraints set forth in their own times.
@@sircharlesmormont9300 topics of sexuality and queerness are not subtext in anne rice’s work - sure, the first book is tamer than the others, but it still openly points to the sexually charged nature of the bite, equaliting it to a sexual act (i.e. the quite i used in the video), and the reason people could consider its queerness subtext is probably only the absense of a proper tag on the relationships. the movie is toned down in comparison, and me pointing out these differences is not in any way degrading or belitteling the honest efforts of those involved with the production, and i even point to reasons for it.
@@shashatainment the vamps didnt actually have sex, in the books, at that point
вы убедили меня наконец-то посмотреть этот сериал (вместе с тамблером и моим другом, лол) :) отличное видео, как всегда, надеюсь рубашка в итоге отстирается ❤
урааа!! спасибо :) она все еще немного розовая на воротнике, но это ничего страшного
I have only heard one person (you) say they didn't absolutely LOVE Sam Reid as Lestat. He's everything I pictured for the character (and I was around for the movie as well). No judgement, everyone has their tastes but I thought Sam Reid was incredible in the role. I haven't seen a role that well cast in ages
I did mention how I love Reid’s approach and portrayal, my beef is with how it was hyped up to be Lestat from the further books in the season 1 promo, which ultimately did not end up to be the case 🤨
personally I love both the film and the show for different reasons. i wouldn't pick one over the other. i feel like the show did an amazing job at adding depth to louis's character, and I think the whole race swap thing actually made him and the story more interesting. also the actors did such a phenomenal job. The show fleshes out the characters more, because they have more time DUH. And the story is suitable for modern audiences. In 1994 they couldn't have possibly gone thorugh with making the film any gayer, but that's fine with me. Homoeroticism is fun. And I personally LOVED Tom Cruise and Kirsten Dunst in the film. Don't get me wrong, Sam Reid's Lestat is amazing, but he is a different character. WHICH IS GREAT. But to me Cruise's Lestat is still THE gold standard of vampires for me. I love both their portrayals, but something about cruise's Lestat was very addictive. He managed to make Lestat such an interesting and charming villain in whatever little time he had, and it's not because of the screen writing or dialogues or anything like that. It's way he spoke his lines, his body language. So, honestly? I could never pick a favourite among the two.
Your analysis is excellent.
I especially loved the way you had black creators clips to examine the New Louis and his reality.
For me it was a pleasure to watch and listen to you describe the differences between the way Interview: the book, the movie and this new iteration were created, performed and seen.
Thank you.
thank u for the nice comment :) it’s not my place to talk about black people’s experiences, plus i’ve never been to the us and simply do not know enough, so it was important to me to base the section on the material by people who actually know what they’re talking about
Just binged season 1 on Netflix and I really hope that adding the amc catalogue to a wayyyyyy bigger audience will make it go far :) hoping the agreement keeps production in amc’s hands. Random but something I liked and read in a review comparing Daniel to Anthony bourdain in how they made him interesting in this adaptation and I couldn’t agree more
Same here. I just binged the first season. The show was fucking phenomenal.
I binged the first season and got a free 1 week subscription just to watch the second!!! I fell in love with this story it was absolutely phenomenal!!
I disagree I love the 1994 movie and I think all the actors did an amazing job. They brought us a rare movie in a time that movies like this was too much. The new TV series to be brought new universe of what if would of been like if Loui was black in a very difficult time which is so perfect for the story. I tend to see these 2 stories as yes same story but made in 2 different universes and perspectives of both this era and 1994. I respect and enjoy both story telling
I love this analysis so much although there are 2 points I absolutely don't agree with. The first one wanting Lestat to be a good person. As an ancient vampire with a history of being abused, I don't expect him to turn that around and be mature, him being a bad person is something I expect. Second, your commentary of what happened to Claudia. What happened with Bruce didn't make her "stronger" and I don't see it at all like that, it made her bitter and even more resentful of Louie, she closed herself, she was in search of a companion who didn't wrong her. What thoughten her up wasn't the grape, it was age, reading, Lestat education and the death of her first lover. Bruce only gave trauma and took the light of her. That is very much illustrated when she speaks of the ordeal.
thank u for the well thought out comment! regarding the point about lestat: i don’t want him to be a goody two-shoes, i just did not expect him to be this flat of a character (combined with the changed power dynamic) since the crew talked about incorporating tvl into the 1st season - the person whose comment i pinned expressed it very well, and it was fr bad phrasing on my part, i should’ve made it clearer. regarding the claudia part: it is not so clear cut, as the show imo still follows a lot of characteristics of “sa makes a female character stronger&tougher” trope, namely (again, to me) it seems to coincide with her starting to act more mature and decisive afterwards, but i agree that it is largely in the eye of the beholder with this case.
Yeah, I'm so shocked that people saw what happened to Claudia and thought it was a make her stronger narrative. It didn't make her stronger, it was just part of the trauma that a girl like her in this world like ours has. It shows that Claudia existence in this world is a constant pain like most women and how much that's confuded by her being stuck in a small body
I watched the film version when i was a kid i enjoyed it but the tv series is my favorite i love seeing the relationship between Louis and lestat and how the show has handled the source material i have only read 5 books in the series its sad anne rice passed away she would be happy can't wait for season 3
me too, can’t wait for s3!
Oh my God please drop the makeup tutorial for the clean girl makeup it's so nice
not the clean girl allegations when my shirt is still red on the collar even after 2 washes 😭
Got on the hype train late too and was also surprised at how smart the writting feels, every change is so interesting a lot more is adapted and they still managed to adapt some of the movie vibe.
With the story mainly set in Louisiana this new version of Louis makes a lot of sense and feel fresh for old fans. There's a real sense that he thinks being a vampire gives him access to white privilege at some point.
re: the e5 fight, I'm glad they revisited it in s2 I think it adds a lot more agency to the event on Louis' end without erasing the horrific abuse. It feels more true to the characters and the source material even though this event didn't happen in the books. Idk if they'll talk about it again in s3 but it seems like Lestat was really bent out of shape about it in Paris in s2 so we'll see.
they did an amazing job, absolutely amazing, i was even shocked at how they got to the point of actually portraying who they are accurately, they grey areas, how the develop the chars, 10/10
I’ve found your video being already deep in season 2, this has give me a different take on some events that I didn’t consider before, another perspective for instance on the horrendous beat up scene, it wasn’t surprising to me for the impossibility of that happening (I personally think that according to the antisocial traits Lestat was showing in season 1 and how jaded he was, it was surprising something like that didn’t happen earlier in the relationship, from my perspective). But for it’s brutality of course, I found myself anxious through it.
I hope you keep on making these very well argumentative analysis of the series. A new subscriber!
thank u for the nice & well thought out comment :) season two video coming in a few days!
Love the movie but the show is superior in every way i hated movie Louis I adore series Louis especially now that show caught up with the movie and the book its safe to say the show is better
yes, as another commenter pointed out the show makes louis infinitely more interesting and complex!
@@shashatainment yeah movie Louis just looked bored 24/7 like he had the same face extortion the entire movie tv Louis tho needs every award possible he was incredible
3:40 WOW I JUST NOW FIND OUT FROM YOU BRYAN FULLER COULD HAVE BEEN THE SHOWRUNNER. Holy shhite. Divine intervention!!
Tell me about it … i knew interview with a vampire had more connection with Hannibal 🎉. U can literally see the parallels ❤
@@Amy-fc1xl Fr! Armand/daniel is lowk hannigram coded
OBSESSED with ur makeup
thank you!!
Also love the "Mayfair Witch" series as well. Looking forward to the new season of that as well.
never got into that, but i remember the reference to it in s1, a nice little touch! they also anounced a talamasca show as far as im aware :)
I’m having a really hard time with Mayfair Witches. The production, writing, acting and chemistry between the actors is SO lacking. It is hard to believe they are in the same universe and adapted by the same network.
I'd be surprised if we got a s2 of Mayfair. The writing was horrible and the actors were seriously lacking. They missed the boat on this would be crossover.
Thank you for the in depth analysis. I agree the changes the showrunners decided on make for a much more interesting show. I’m still curious what Bryan Fuller would have done.
my main concern with bryan fuller would‘ve been whether he would the queer stuff mostly subtext or go all out tbh. but would looove to know how his version would‘ve looked
I hope you all realize that Anne pitched this show. First to Paramount. Then AMC. She rejected Paramount edits. And literally walked away from them and to AMC. So yes, the showrunners had input. But Anne and her son brought the basic outline of how they wanted it to be adapted for this series. Some viewers think that Anne was completely out of the picture, because she had passed away by the time the show premiered. But it takes a long time to produce and film a series. Again, this adaptation was outlined by Anne herself.
@@donny1960 hi! nobody said Anne Rice or Christopher had nothing to do with it, like i literally quote their posts about the show in the first chapter 🤷🏻♂️ but there is no record of which changes were implemented by her and no interviews (that i could find) of her talking about them, so the quotes i pulled were from the showrunners and writers
@@shashatainment Annes web page was still up when the 1st season premiered, might still be. She talked extensively about the AMC show and had input in the screen play. Again, she talks about it in her own words.
@@donny1960 well, again, i did not say that Anne did not have any input into the changes, just that it’s unclear whose idea it was to do what and to what extent - so i’m using the word creators as a catch-all category, and naming people when pulling quotes
Interesting remarks about Lestat and his arc in s01, I've read Interview with the vampire 15 years ago, so maybe it's more an impression at this point, but I really hated Lestat in the book, and I cheered Claudia and Louis when they killed him. In the book he felt so much more controlling, always keeping them ignorant, not sharing anything he didn't have to about vampirism, I felt like Louis and Claudia were his hostages and not family, so I thought that the extreme violence of ep5 was good equivalent to get us to the point of hating Lestat and being happy for Claudia and Louis to be free in the series
Also, I love the decision the show made about explicit queerness, I'm ace, and I'd love some asexual rep too, but I feel that asexuality coming as a part of being a vampire and not a human wouldn't be my first choice. Interesting concept in the books, but I don't read it as exploration of asexuality and more of separation between being a vampire and human
i’ve read it recently and i’d say that the controlling/abuse side is present in the book, but the degree of it is not as severe, as louis himself states he could (and did) stand up to lestat. asexual rep would be very cool tbh, hope we get that in later seasons :)
@@shashatainment "as louis himself states he could (and did) stand up to lestat" then i can guess you will like what they did in s2 regarding that fight
i recently watched it cause of all the talk after sdcc this year and i was blown away it really is incredible
Hello Shastainment,
Despite my many issues with the unnecessary changes they made on the show, it was still a good adaption of the book, but not great, I am still looking forward to the upcoming third season which will adapt "The Vampire Lestat" & set up "Queen of the Dammed" since they named dropped Akasha in the finale last night. Love the 1994 big-screen adaption as it retained the gothic atmosphere of the book, which the show has lacked & was a more faithful retelling of the book. As much as I love what Jacob Anderson & Sam Reid have done for the characters of Louie & Lestat as well as the two girls who played Claudia, they don't come close to the magnetism or level of depth that Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt & Kirsten Dunst had as Lestat, Louis & Claudia. You couldn't help, but root for them as you experienced their pain & their pleasure. At times, it seems like these actors on the show were just going through the motions & in my opinion, they were far too old to play Lestat & Louis. Plus, Claudia's death & Louis' revenge hit harder in both the book & the film & was more satisfying, plus both these elements were more iconic in the book & film. Plus, Louis' revenge seemed rushed in the finale. But despite these issues with the show, I'm still willing to give it a chance because I'm curious to see what they will do next. The 2002 screen adaption of "Queen of the Dammed" was terrible, the only bright spots were Stuart Townsend as Lestat & the late great Alliyiah as Akasha. Something I hope they correct for the TV adaption.
thanks for the well thought out comment! i felt different about almost everything you brought up, but it is a taste-based thing at the end of the day, so the show might be my favorite adaptation but not yours, and that’s ok :) i’m hyped for season 3 too, especially considering the fact that the creators cited rocky horror as an inspo for rockstar lestat!
@@shashatainment The Vampire Chronicles are to the Vampire Genre, what the Dune Saga is to the Sci-Fi Genre. It redefined the genre for a whole generation & beyond. My hope is they retain the grandness & epic scope of the later books as they explore some very profound themes, such as the origin of the vampire race. Heck they even have Lestat meeting both God & the Devil in one book & he literally witnesses the creation of the universe, including Satan's fall from grace & goes on a tour of both Heaven & Hell and witnesses the Crucifixion & drinks from the blood of Christ. How more epic can you get than that? How do you think they will be able to adapt that for television? All, I know is if they can pull it off, I'm on board.
I say all of this with love, as a Brad Pitt fan I'm terribly biased to the 1994 movie. I love it despite any of its flaws because it was the first vampire movie i saw that got me into the genre. I also say that, to say, that there are later interviews with Brad admitting that he didn't want to do the movie but was contracted and wasnt able to get dropped from the film. Which might be why his acting might seem subpar, byt his brooding came from actually not wanting to be there🤷🏽♀️. I wish i could find the source, if i do ill come back and post the link. (Even if you're just not a BP fan in general thats cool) I just wanted to share that info cause the Brad Pitt slander made me laugh😅
that supernatural stopping time was one of my favorite scene, at the card table first episode. i think rolland thought of that.
I think it’s so interesting when people say brad Pitt is a bad actor. Especially for the movie cuz he wasn’t imo it was just the direction. The show will always dominate tho..from casting all the way to wardrobe..absolutely stunning show! And so refreshing
I like what both did. The show gives something new as we don't have Anne anymore :( . Plus the story can change depending on a vampires point of view. So you could tell the same story more then once. Which I think is interesting
эх, я хотела записать русскоязычное видео о сериале, но кажется, просто не успела
спасибо вам большое за материал и русские субтитры! прошу творите и дальше, а мы будем наслаждаться❤❤❤❤
так почему не успела-то, поезд еще не то что не уехал, он даже не тронулся!!! вперед товарищ
@@shashatainment я никогда не побью подобные крутые allegations
плюс я ахдхшница и мне оч сложно структурировать плот видоса
но вы лучшая! серьезно, завтра после серии со своим киноклубом я посмотрю ещё раз ваше видео🤲
@@Лиана-б3чспасибо большое! мне кажется чем больше люди взаимодействуют с контентом, тем интереснее - опять же, мой тейк на вещи - это ни разу не истина в последней инстанции!! :) поэтому нет смысла сокрушаться, думаю, если хочется - то надо!
п.с. можно на ты, все ок :)
@@shashatainment благодарю за веру в меня❤
I would guess closer to 3000 allies watching this. Thank you! PS: Truly appreciating your sugar syrup sacrifice. ❤❤
This video is so thorough & well researched, wow you did such a good job. I also agree that most of the creative changes made to the tv adaptation were purposeful and allowed the show to explore the same story in more nuanced ways rather than producing something identical to previous versions or even the source material. I think it's good when remakes stray from the source material a little bit to be something different instead of the same thing we already know.
But one of the changes i didn't like at all which I didn't see you mention in depth is how the show makes Louis the one who pleads (and in the season 2 flashback reveal- practically begs) Lestat to turn Claudia, whereas in the movie and book it's Lestat that does it almost against Louis' will as a way to 'babytrap' him, like you said. I think the way Claudia came to be and who made that decision is a key component to their family dynamic, and a lot of Louis' development as a character (especially regarding the guilt and suicidal-ness he strongly felt at the beginning of the book) is directly related to his feelings about Claudia stemming from the night of her transformation.
Because she's a symbol of Louis' weakness, how he gave into his thirst on her and left her for dead, and then how Lestat making her into one of them was perhaps a worse fate than death in Louis' eyes. He hated himself for what he was and he let an innocent child become one too etc etc. With the prostitutes Lestat liked to 'play' with before killing, Louis wouldn't want to drink from them, nor would he kill them even when they were begging to die by the end. But he gave into both of those urges when it came to Claudia, and he allowed her to be turned (which he didn't allow for the prostitutes either) because he wanted her in his life. So she marks Louis' selfishness and Louis' weaknesses all at once, while also looking and acting strikingly similar to Lestat. It even continues to be relevant when Louis and Claudia flee from America to Europe. Louis tries to kill Lestat but he is never really 'gone' as long as Claudia is there to remind Louis of what they had done, just by the way she looked and acted, and just existed.
So she represents all these different things to him, and it's a big part of why Louis is still so tormented even after he meets Armand and starts finding out some of those answers he was longing for. And it all ties back to the night she was turned. And for the show to change the fundamental details of that, in my mind, does a lot of disservice to the core of their family dynamic, and especially Louis' narrative of the way things happened.
If I'm not mistaken, there has been a lot of discourse over the years relating to Claudia's age and the nature of her and Louis' relationship. Through the source material, we see that their love is not quite sibling, not quite parent-child, but something difficult to portray visually in the current landscape of things. Claudia is in love with Louis, and I think that is reciprocated in a non-physical way -- despite that, I think it's seen as inappropriate, placing Louis in the position of a groomer. While the show shys away entirely from the depth of that affection, there is also something to be said about having a child actor portray certain aspects of this character that may be downright disturbing for someone under a certain age. Kirsten Dunst was brilliant in the 1994 movie, but I always wondered how she felt as a child portraying someone much older going through such a physical, existential crisis. I could see an adolescent struggle with body dysmorphia without proper care during the production and after.
TLDR: Some people think there's a creep factor to the Louis/Claudia dynamic (something I think is more fandom and less canon) and I think the show was just trying to cover it's bases by aging her up.
yes, i remember that being a big point of discussion when it came to the movie specifically, and how it was in the works for a long time partly because of the fear of backlash from conflating the topic of grooming with homosexuality, and i am grateful that the show makes more of a distinction between romantic & sexual and family&sibling feelings considering the current political climate
Love the commentary & makeup omggg❣this vid made me subscribe. (For context, I am a Black queer Creole woman). Seeing a queer Black Creole man was SO amazing; there's not much Creole media. Putting a Creole man in an abusive relationship with a French man is an incredibly interesting & devastating dynamic. Their relationship mirrors real-life historical dynamics between Black Creoles & white Creoles/French, who have a more specific history beyond general Black/White race relations in the South. this change 100% elevated the story telling
oooh, i didn‘t even know about it reflecting historical facts (i‘m not from the us and has never lived anywhere with a sizeable black population), this is so cool!
@@shashatainmentty for the reply! All good, most Americans dont even know about our own history lol
@@loganterry9849 would u maybe be interested in discussing this on any other social media? i would love it if u wanted to give me some pointers so i coukd research some more and incorporate it into the video about season 2 :)
17:06 “ or is he French” I just CANNOT 😂
Thanks for the enjoyment I got from watching this video - the comparison between the series and the book, and your voice, and the edit, and the memes, and the fake blood and other things like your look. And thanks for Noize at the end, too.
thank u!
I love the show and Louis as a person that suffers from BPD and show signs of being Bipolar it hits hard seeing patterns I went thru with a Narc like Les
Seeing him overcome made me feel less shame about sadly caring about my abuser as of season 2 I did very similar things warppin my recalling for a while
S2 goes into how when u have issue like BPD etc. and u in a Narc dynamic y'all constantly in a fight of making the other feel ur frustration. They both took their stress of mental health on each other like punching bags. Understanding I wasn't as innocent which helps heal the traumatic memories one has with break ups, it's always worst to break up if u didn't have input into the result and knowing I had a hand show me I had some control or lack of and I was a person not a puppet matter how small I felt then. The relationship was real.
As someone diagnosed with BPD I saw SO MUCH of myself in Louis, and I've done so much growth to take accountability for how I've emotionally hurt others and process how I've been hurt...seeing an imperfect victim like Louis being given so much grace was exactly what I needed. So cathartic🥲
@@princessmiaxo Exactly like I feel so much it blinds me others feel things to. I like louis at any sign of space created I will double down like how he touch starve Les and even if Les yelled at him for being against eating humans Louis very much judge him way in a passive way for eating humans way more often.
The bench scene where they sat and talk about eating show how Louis judge them still and he was blind seeing Claudia tryin to be around Les. Her saying u do judge for a moment shown he truly atm thought he was the glue and only one tryin there for them to coexist.
I'm crazy about the movies. But the series give us much more to explore, I'm amazed!
I love your channel so much! I just discovered it like 2 hours ago and just sat down and watched two of your videos
I love all takes of the story from the books to the movie and to the 2022 series all are excellent stories that captivates me.
imo the more the merrier :) especially with all the different versions of claudia!
@@shashatainmentYeah 😁
You've just added a new queer to your group. What a delightfully funny and insightful video 😊
thank u! i am glad to be among my people
thank you for making this ❤
I saw the 1994 film as an (undiagnosed autistic, ~10yo or less) kid who was already obsessed with vampires and writing stories about them.
after that, the original Vampire Chronicles book trilogy was absolutely foundational for me as a lover and writer of horror.
that part of me is dying to watch this clearly well-made show full of sweaty queer representation.
but as a transmasc survivor of domestic violence, I normally avoid shows for much less than the DV I know is very much present at least in S1.
so while I try to decide whether this show is likely to trigger/help me cathart/both, I am living vicariously through cast interviews and video essays like yours!
Part of the reason i never got around to watching this show is because i read an interview with the show runners talking about the decision with Claudia and while child acting laws issue was a major factor the director and executive producer was really into hormonal impulsive Claudia because “I have two teenage daughters and it’s fascinating to think what would happen if this phase was extended for potentially eternity,” which gave me a bit of a yikes at the time😅
2022 series is literally the best adaptation and always will be. it is perfect.
Great breakdown! Really appreciated this. It’s been almost 40 years since I read the original book. I love the changes made for the show and think they depict a version that improves the characters (Luis) minus some things you mentioned (Lestat). I’ve not watched season 2 yet. But if they end up doing Memnoch the Devil…oh Lord help us all. To see that onscreen will be amazing and Christians will freak the fuck out. I hope they can do a great telling of this whole story.
i am now on s2 and loving it!
The movie showed the book very well, but on its own the TV series has been fabulous!
i have a strong urge to watch the show now.
and read the books.
and watch the movie.
yayyy it worked!!!!
Oh yes please do the show is fantastic and the books are really good I love the film adaptation but the TV series is my favorite
@@shashatainment this was your plan all along!
@@causingaspecterzcle3130 no it wasn‘t (yes it was)
@@shashatainment oh okay nevermind then (heyyy wait a minute)
Do you know it took me about 20 secs to realize you were covered in blood like a vampire...? You match the aesthetic perfectly!!
thank u!