#rewind the tape

[iwtvfanevents]

Rewind the tape —Episode 7 highlights

One of our favorite outfits is...

…the suit that Claudia wears to their meeting with Anderson. This is the first —and so far only— time we see Claudia wear a suit. Combined with her hair, which she started to wear pulled up in episode six, and her grown woman’s purse, this is the closest she gets to shedding the facade of youth while in public —but, of course, Tom’s “little girl” reminds us that she can never fully access womanhood.  But she’s trying, and the suit symbolizes her new position in the family structure, the attempt to make herself into an equal: at the start of episode five she was still the daughter left home while her parents went to meet Anderson, now she not only attends the negotiations, but is an active participant, handing Tom the list that ends up defining his decision. The palettes of their outfits seem heavily symbolic too: Claudia, in beige, brown and red, stands apart from Louis and Lestat’s blue suits, but Louis keeps “a little shelf” for her, a touch of red in his tie that matches her crimson shirt.

What's a favorite look of yours? Claudia's high-waist pants and cape from the New Year party? One of their Mardi Gras outfits? Armand's unsubtly vampiric coat?

Reblog with your highlights, or make a new post with the tag #vampterview to join the conversation! And, if you're just getting caught up, learn all about our group rewatch here ►

#the vampire claudia #claudia iwtv #spark in the dark #bailey bass #vampterview #interview with the vampire #iwtv #amc interview with the vampire #interview with the vampire amc #amc iwtv #iwtv amc #IWTVfanevents #rewind the tape #the thing lay still

[dwreader]

Post-Season 1 IWTV Podcast Transcript

Special Guests: Assad Zaman, Rolin Jones and Mark Johnson

"Armand is someone who comes into Louis's life in the second half of IWTV, they meet in Paris and Armand is immediately like most people completely entrhalled by everything about Louis and what he stands for. He's changed from the person he was before he met Louis, which is a person who's a bit lost in the monotony of his life is the way I would describe it. -Assad Zaman

[intro chit chat with Assad]

Assad: Armand is someone who comes into Louis's life in the second half of IWTV, they meet in Paris and Armand is immediately like most people completely entrhalled by everything about Louis and what he stands for. He's changed from the person he was before he met Louis, which is a person who's a bit lost in the monotony of his life is the way I would describe it.

N: Its been 500 years its definitely been monotonous. [514] Ok yes 514. Ok we get it. You need some love in your life. Now did you know from the beginning like when you got the sides, were you told you were going to be playing Armand.

A: I think if I knew I was auditioning for Armand, I wouldn't be here. I think just the prospect the notion would send me over the edge and I would crumble. I got the audition, a couple scenes with Daniel Molloy, a character named Rashid, I know who this guy is he's highly efficient and he's got skills, very clear part to play in. I kind of went in and did those tapes fairly confidently. Then I got a recall and another scene added, with a bit more subtext. Rashid has a bit of a sting to him with his status. Then I got a third recall and Rolin asked to have a meeting with me on Zoom, give some notes... I was thinking why is he wasting his time talking to me about Rashid when he's got Louis and Lestat to worry about so I'm terrified I get onto Zoom with him and okay okay so basically Rashid is in disguise, he's not Rashid he's actually the vampire Armand and he proceeds to tell me all about Armand. I'm think just don't lose your cool. This has to be a secret and we don't want to leak it but we want to see a bit more from you. And I got off the call and I almost started crying.

N: So how much time did you get then? between that first audition to the recall? You have to go from a no nonsense assistant to I am a vampire king?

A: They gave me maybe 8 or 9 hrs between the call with Rolin and the next tape I sent over. And then I did another 4 rounds after that... it was a grueling process.

N: Once you get to set, everyone knows or its still a secret you're witholding?

A: Apart from the main cast, a lot of the crew didn't know.

N: Sit quiet in a corner and don't attention?

A: That' was my initial approach to Rashid before I knew he was Armand. All  he wants is to keep his job and not get killed.

N: Now while you're filming the first season, what convos did you have with Rolin about the plan for Armadn in the show?

A: We did discuss wth events in IWTV and where we're gonna see him in season 2, a lot of that is very important. Where Rolin has curiosity is when we look into Armand's past and where he came from, there's some obvious differences to me in what to explore and to see what we want to pick from it. His story.. its complex. He's messed up. He was messed up even before he became a vampire. The events that makes Armand have to be complex enough to see how he turned into  what he is. .... I was also very aware as an actor a duty to the story being told in this moment, it's Louis's story and him recounting it to Daniel, their story is very important as well. As much as Armand is sizzling in the background, I have to honor their story as well. We don't want the audience to draw too much attention to it right now cause it deviates from the story and the themes that are important to explore in the season.

N: When Rashid revealed himself, I screamed. It only works cause Rashid has so cleverly.. you almost forgot about him.. "love of his life"? Louis?? Not another old vampire and this one who can stand in the sun.

A: We hope that he hasnt made the same mistakes all over again.

N: Why is he pretending to be Rashid this whole time?

A: I think it's incredibly painful for the love of his life describing another love of his life. There is also curiosity with Daniel about why he's allowing this interview to happen.

N: And Rashid was there in that first interview so that whole thing makes sense.

A: We actually don't know what transpired in SF, cause he was not there in the book. How far did Louis get and what Armand had to do to stop him? That could also be why this interview is happening.

N: A little taste of what's to come in s2?

A: Theatrics, vespas and romance is in the air. We're in Paris. It's a gorgeous part of the Paris and the journey they take to get to Paris and the showdown that has to happen in Paris.

Highlights of Rolin Jones/Mark Johnson

N: How are you feeling about Season 2? Is there pressure? Is there a feeling that OK we did one and now we can really dig in?

R: Actually I'm just sort of being excited about Season 2 and not being scared out of my mind with it. The second half of iwtv, there's some lovely passages but there's a lot of people sitting around talking.

M: It's a whole new continent, but it's characters Rolin has already created. Im feeling quite confident and excited and abuzz about what we're going to do next season.

N: I'm very curious what attracted you to vampires and the world of AR.

M: I was not familiar with AR to begin with, my excitement has to do with what Rolin did with it for the pilot and thought this is extraordinary and I read AR and realized all of the treasures, of what Rolin took advantage of and what needed redressing.

N: Rolin, can you explain to me the process, you know, how did you pitch yourself as the showrunner of this?

R: I had an overall meeting with them about a list of things I wanted to do and as I was leaving they said we forgot to mention our boss bought the Anne Rice books, I stopped and I put everything and I said we're gonna take another 45 min for the meeting. By the time I left, I knew that's what I was going to do. They put me thru the gauntlet to prove if I was a guy. It wasn't just about whats a good poilot or first season it's what does this look like 8 seasons from now.... I was really excited cause I wanted to do something grand and big. I had some of my theater pals create a visual world.

N: Let's talk about Louis being black. I feel as though we are in this age of adaptation or reboots if there will be a gender or race swap and that's the extent of it. It felt as though you making this change meant you got more story, you were able to mine that fact for more story points and a new dynamic. These two men are famously white... and I'm wondering about the choice to do that and what it was to execute that.

R: I came around to his ethnicity a sort of interesting way which is through Lestat. There's a famous rewrite of Lestat in book 2, he's sort of an aggressively different character than what he was in book 1 and that's the Lestat she carried on for the rest of time. So that's our Lestat. So we tried to take the given circumstances and put him back in this time period, so he had a super emo relationship wtih this guy with Nicki, then he had uhhh  a very excitable relationship with his mother as his second companion choice (we'll get into that in season 3 y'all), and then I was like lets give him a legitimate a third attempt at figuring how to be with somebody for the rest of his life and how to not repeat your mistakes. And I started from there so it had to be someone with some money cause he had to be with his own folks and I thought he wanted someone who could fight back and who could be a challenge and would force him to restrain himself. And nobody at AMC was interested in 7 seasons of the regretful plantation owner, so we made Louis come from a lineage that did have a plantation and did own slaves. And the second thing was aesthetic if you take away the ruffle shirts and all the swampy goodness and you wanted to make this new, whats the new hot time and birth of jazz seemed right on. And there was a spot when a black man could get in on some business and have some morally gray thing that owning a plantation would. It all clicked into place pretty quickly. ... and the other thing is you're trying to build as much inherent conflict, enough not to burn thru in a season you want 7-8 years of conflict and distress and vulnerability in both of them. I wanted to load Louis with as many contradictions and things unsettled as possible.

N: How did you decide when to deviate from Anne's books? Were there rules in what you could invent ?

R: There were a couple caveats make it here and now, make it grand and big but we said she wrote a very transgerssive book in 1973 and tried to put her in the room in 2021 making a TV show... there's no point in making it if you're going to make a roughshot of it. You're constantly revisiting the book. That's when you're in draft, in after produciton draft, dropping in as much Anne as we could. We were going to write the heightened language thats in the novel. 

N: Can you tell me about how you found Jacob and Sam?

R: Obviously 9 billion people auditioned. It was very clear something very dynamic was happening when they got in the Zoom. For Jacob, there's this genuine warmth, kindness, for a character who's going to make a number of questionable choices, how do you make you want to love him? .

...

N: Did you always know the season was going to end with the reveal of Armand and the "murder" of Lestat?

R: Very early on, we were talking about making this thing in the writers room and pre-production. A lot had to do with lumber and covid. We were wrting scripts for the entire book and we got a lovely call from AMC "is there enough in this story to stay in new orleans this whole season?" So what we ended up doing, we made the first 4 into the first 7. We did that 50 days before we shot our first day.. it was a lot. And it was to the benefit of the show, we made a better product. We were not going to be able to do Europe in the same beautiful detailed way we were doing New Orleans. What was originally 8 episodes is now a 15 episode book. Was that the ending of my season 1? Not originally but it became the ending.

M: Now it's hard to imagine how we were going to pack all that into one season.

N: There's such a movement to that finale.

R: For me, that kind of episode. It's one for the people, the one for everyone else. you're doing twists and turns like a thriller. My favorite scene is the one that stops the action, the balcony scene...

N: Thinking this is all from Louis's memory.

R: Memory is a huge part of the show. We are only 7 episodes into a 15 episode story.

Audience Q: How sympathetic do you think Lestat is? Obviously this man has some major flaws like the whole next book is a whole lot of backpeddaling like he's not so bad he's not so bad. How sympathetic do you think he really is?

R: The more you spend time with it. I find Lestat wildly sympathetic. and the way it's built... You're not gonna see Lestat speaking for himself until season 3. Its a big deal right? You go ahead and have someone else tell the world about you from their POV. Who had the most traumatic entrance into the world of vampires? It's Lestat. You have no idea the baggage going into North America. We are playing with POV. Stick with Lestat, he's got a lot of pain.

Q: Why is Louis truly doing the interview? He says I wanna redo, but yet he's doing the same thing, he's dodging, cagey. Why did you bring this man to Dubai to do this?

R: It is absolutely THE question. IF you wanna know what we're still digging out, it's the why of it. There's a reason why this is the second interview. The first interview is very important. Something signifcant life altering happened in 1973 but they weren't the right people to do back then. There's a lot if meat on Louis's side, Daniel's side and most important Armand's side.. who's become the most fascinating character of season 2. There's a lot in Dubai left to be revealed.

Q: Do we think we've seen the end of Lestat and Louis's sexcapades?

R: So it's AMC, we are trying to sliding as much under the door as we possibly can. We are interested in the whole thing - the sex sure, the love story, the psychological torment, we are trying to write a love story that doesn't disappear after book 1. There's Armand coming..

N: Can we talk about what's to come? You're hinting this show can go on for many seasons, how long?

R: The real reason I wanted to do this show.. season 3. The Vampire Lestat. I really know how I wanna do The Vampire Lestat and I couldn't be more excited about it... and as goofy as body switching is, I think there's something in the tale of the body thief. QOTD... you gotta think on that one, how to do such a massive object, if you do it in one or two seasons.

#vampterview #rewind the tape

[portraitoflestatonfire]

"You just have to ask me for it. You just have to nod your beautiful head."

#nuptial terror <3 #louis nodding just catches in my throat everytime. mister anderson!!! #vampterview #rewind the tape #louis de pointe du lac #loustat #interview with the vampire #jacob anderson #hnnetwork #pocfiction #sam reid #iwtvedit #horrorsource #horrortvfilmsource #tvedit #max.gif #1.01

[thevampprincex]

“When he’s in his element, he becomes warm and golden….That’s why when Lestat finds him, it’s like a moth to a flame. He glows in this gritty world.” - Carol Cutshall in Variety

Rewind the Tape Ep 1: Fave Looks

As is the fave of many a folk who have good taste, I love the first suit above. The pearl pin.... 🤭 The warmth and how it perfectly fits those big brown doe eyes. -rip brown eyed Louis-. I'm so mesmerized by him.

But in general, aside from thee suit, I love all of the golden, brown, and amber tones Louis wears throughout this episode and what they were trying to convey with this color palette. As Carol said, the story revolves around Louis. He is our sun. ☀️ Our Golden Hour before the sun sets and night falls.

You can read more of the article Carol features in here.

Her ig: carolcutshall

#iwtv louis #i love the fashion and the story telling in the looks so of course I'm starting my rewatch discussions with my fave looks ahskghdskjh #rewind the tape #vampterview #the titular vampire #iwtvfanevents #louis de pointe du lac #ldpdl #iwtv

[feedingicetothedog]

rewind the tape ep 2 question: Why do you think it's important for Louis to maintain the thread of his humanity, specifically by doing so through having a human meal he can't taste?

i had to answer this question bc i'm obsessed w it and what it reveals about louis narratively. i think it's important for louis to keep up the motions of humanity in a way that mimics connection. louis is desperate for authenticity but only if the gesture carries symbolism but the moment one imbues ritual into an action, the action is now a performance even if the audience is just the performer. i've talked about the usage of the golden spoon in this scene before but it adds an extra layer of performatism (in the post-postmodern sense) to the whole scene.

but on top of that performative aspect, i think it's interesting that the gesture of humanity louis chooses to preserve is eating food. this whole ep prominently features louis' struggles w hunting and how his vampiric hunger almost drove him to kill his nephew and further alienated him from his family, his human connections. the interview is also placed entirely in a dining room. daniel eats human food but these meals are more aesthetic than satiating w the presentation of an experimental fine dining establishment while louis drinks blood from a mysterious farm, eats a live fox, and then drinks from a human man all on the other side of the table. the way eating is presented in this ep feels almost hostile. daniel comments that louis "missed" several endangered species in what he chose to serve daniel, ultimately leading daniel to participate in predatory, unethical consumption alongside louis. and i think that's the point. serving daniel these meals attempts to force a reluctant empathy (one that daniel rejects and instead voices his disgust). and then he asks daniel this:

louis does. it's all he contemplates. what he eats and how he eats it symbolizes his separation from humanity. so in this mode of thinking, louis decides to make his tenuous tether to humanity by eating human food once a week. and the dish he chooses in this scene is taken from an emotionally significant moment from daniel's memoir, another act of proposed empathy between him and daniel. and while this moment is softer than the scene w the fox or damek, it still ends in this shot:

louis and daniel are sharing this meal and this moment but they're so far from each other. to me this demonstrates the futility of the gesture. they're physically performing the same action but their experience is so fundamentally different. louis is performing human actions but he is at this point so far removed from the concept

#i think the essence of the question got away from me a bit but i'm so obsessed w the dessert scene and what it means #and i just really wanted to talk about it #rewind the tape #vampterview

[blacclotusss]

Spindly Roots

The fact that Jacob gave us this stellar performance in EPISODE ONE is mind blowing to me. Fresh out the gate with greatness like this is insane to me. Every word uttered was like a knife through my chest. I did not cry, but this scene chilled me to the core. It's both beautiful and stressful, and Jacob Anderson, the man that you are, will always have a place in my heart for this scene alone. Everyone actor should watch this as a study guide for what acting is!

Favorite Scene of Episode 1 💫

@iwtvfanevents

#vampterview #the titular vampire #louis de pointe du lac #amc interview with the vampire #interview with the vampire #jacob anderson #iwtvfanevents #rewind the tape

[salmoncakepls]

🗝️🔒

#I was just thinking about this one thing on tvtropes #claudia as the key * i need szn 2 to come out so i can fully annuciate what i need to say w/o things bein not confirmed #and yk if we keep up the metaphor & this go around (essentially the two / one are inside and the key is thrown away....forever trapped) #save for later #but i rlly neednt get ahead of myself bc idk everything #i will revisit when it comes around anyways #random thoughts #iwtv #vampterview #claudia #spark in the dark #Like Angels Put in Hell by God #rewind the tape #amc interview with the vampire #claudia iwtv #promo pic

[dlsintegration]

This is a very belated (and silly) contribution to the rewind the tape event organized by @iwtvfanevents !! I've been loving reading about everyone's thoughts and personal highlights!! I feel like I've reached a point where my brain can only produce so many coherent thoughts on season one so . here's a 'Louis as the kitties in my phone' post (stay tuned for vital weekly updates) 😸😸😸

Episode one: In Throes of Increasing Wonder

episode 2

#rewind the tape #iwtvfanevents #vampterview #the titular vampire

[iwtvfanevents]

Rewind the tape —an AMC IWTV group rewatch

Episode 4: …The Ruthless Pursuit of Blood with All a Child's Demanding

In the time leading up to the second season, which premieres on May 12th, we’re hosting a group rewatch of season one! Today, Sunday, March 31st, we’re starting with Episode 4, …The Ruthless Pursuit of Blood with All a Child's Demanding.

You can watch with your friends or in your own time, and come talk about it in the #vampterview tag! We want to hear your thoughts, theories and burning questions, as well as your favorite moments, costumes and lines from the episode.

Come revisit the first season, and countdown the weeks to the second with us, here or on Twitter, using the tag #vampterview.

Click here to learn more about this dedicated tag ►

We’re kicking off discussion of Episode 4 with two questions: 

Unlike Louis, Claudia never gets a pitch about becoming a vampire or even a choice. What does vampirism offer Claudia, if anything? How does Claudia joining Lestat and Louis’ family affect or change them, separately and also as a couple?

#vampterview #interview with the vampire #iwtv #amc interview with the vampire #interview with the vampire amc #amc iwtv #iwtv amc #IWTVfanevents #rewind the tape #the ruthless pursuit of blood with all a child's demanding

[dwreader]

@iwtvfanevents presents...

rewind the tape: episode 1 (favorite looks)

#vampterview #rewind the tape #the titular vampire

[portraitoflestatonfire]

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE 1.04 "...The Ruthless Pursuit of Blood with All a Child's Demanding"

#love is stored in the location of his slippers #:’) #rewind the tape #vampterview #1.04 #Claudia #louislestatclaudia #interview with the vampire #loustat #amc iwtv #iwtvedit

[fabio-27125]

lil‘ teaser for my next post!

#retro aesthetic #retrowave #retro style #80s #vintage aesthetic #retro tech #retro #vintage asthetic #retro music #retro futurism #retro japan #sony #walkman #sony walkman #sony wm 32 #audio cassette #comeback #trending #latest updates #new album #mixtape #audio tape #cassette tape #come baaaaaaack #cassette collection #cassette culture #cassette player #tapestry #rewind the tape #viral trends

[feedingicetothedog]

i fell behind on the rewatch so i just got to watching ep 3 today but i wanted to answer this question so! rewind the tape ep 3 question: By the end of the third episode, Louis loses two of his remaining connections to the human world (his family, the Azalea). Do you think that this pushes him closer to accepting being a vampire?

absolutely not. i don't even think that louis in dubai accepts that he's a vampire fully, and it's this lack of acceptance that drives him to bring claudia home and start the nuclear family pantomime w her and lestat. i think louis' reluctance to accept his vampirism as opposed to lestat, claudia, and armand's easier acceptance is that louis "chose" to be a vampire whereas the others did not and therefore have no other option but to accept their new reality (and i'm fully aware that louis' decision was heavily coerced but he still regards it as his own choice and that perception affects his relationship towards being a vampire). louis will always spend the rest of his immortal life wondering if he made the right choice and mourning what he lost and i think about jacob's comment during the corresponding podcast ep about how louis regrets being a vampire but he also doesn't want to be human again either so he's never going to be satisfied and that just his struggle now. there's this one part from the book that lestat says to louis that i keep thinking about lately:

and since this excerpt is from just a little before claudia's turned, i feel like this is a very concise way of summing up where louis' at mentally during ep 3 (and the rest of the series tbh)

#i'll get to watching ep 4 sometime this week bc i really like answering these questions 😊 #rewind the tape #vampterview

[blacclotusss]

The Essence of the Sun

To kick off my Rewind the Tape posts, of course I'm starting with my favorite look. This dazzling russet and bronze striped suit, topped with this tawny patterned tie and tie pin caught my attention immediately. It's been almost a year and a half, and this suit continues to clog my mind. The fit of it is superb (don't get me started on how the vest fits his waist like a glove) and the color makes everything around him seem like it's put perfectly in place to make Louis look like the star of the show. Even the glass of brown liquor looks staged to compliment this man's outfit. By far, one of my favorites and it's so funny how this was only the beginning.

@iwtvfanevents

#vampterview #the titular vampire #louis de pointe du lac #jacob anderson #carol cutshall #rewind the tape

[vampire-sugar]

Tried to stay on track for the rewind the tape event by @iwtvfanevents but I’m a binge watcher at heart and could not help but rewatch the entire season in the first week lol :’)

But something I noticed during my rewatch of Episode 6 is the beautiful music playing during this scene, when Louis and Claudia say their goodbyes before Claudia leaves for Europe.

The track is called “Hey Sis You Don’t Need Me” by Daniel Hart, who composed the soundtrack for the show.

Not only was the track lovely and moving, but it was also familiar! It is what plays in Epsiode 5 when Grace and Louis say their goodbyes at the cemetery.

I had to go back and listen again to make sure, but it’s the same tune. Louis saying goodbye to his sisters.

I don’t know if this track appears in other places throughout the show, would love to know if so. This is just a fun thing I hadn’t noticed during my first watch :)

#iwtvfanevents #rewind the tape #vampterview #interview with the vampire #iwtv #daniel hart #low quality screen shots are my own #iwtv episode 6