TV
AMC’s “Interview With the Vampire” Series Bites Into a Director!
Anne Rice was recently shopping around a massive television and film package for both The Vampire Chronicles and The Lives of the Mayfair Witches, you may recall, with AMC Networks acquiring the package last year and therefore landing the rights to all novels in both series.
The first to get a small-screen adaptation is “Interview With the Vampire”, which was ordered to series earlier this summer.
Many of AMC’s series have been heavily director-driven (see “Preacher” for example), which is what makes this announcement so juicy.
Variety reports that Alan Taylor will direct “Interview With the Vampire” for AMC.
What kind of vibe can we expect? Well, Taylor, who will helm the first two episodes of the vampire series, also directed multiple episodes of “Mad Men,” including the pilot, as well as “Game of Thrones,” “Sex and the City,” “Six Feet Under,” “Deadwood,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “The West Wing,” and “Lost”.
The “Interview With the Vampire” saga of course centers on vampires Louis and Lestat, characters played by Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in the 1996 feature film directed by Neil Jordan.
“Interview With the Vampire” will be an eight-episode series with an eye toward a 2022 debut on both AMC and AMC Plus. Rolin Jones will serve as writer, executive producer, and showrunner on the series under his overall deal with AMC Studios. Mark Johnson will executive produce under his overall deal with AMC Studios as well, with Anne Rice and Christopher Rice also executive producing.
TV
‘God of War’ – Ryan Hurst Suffers On-Set Injury and Will Be Replaced as Kratos in Prime Video Series
After four episodes have already been shot of Prime Video’s hotly anticipated “God of War” television series, we’ve learned that an on-set injury will send the team back to square one.
Deadline reports that actor Ryan Hurst, who had been cast to play Kratos in the series, tore his bicep during a stunt-gone-wrong on set, and rather than wait until Hurst has healed up and can get back into action, the streaming series will instead recast the role of Kratos.
Additionally, all four episodes they’ve already shot will have to be fully re-shot with the new actor they bring in to play Kratos. At this time, no replacement actor has been announced.
Deadline notes that the decision was made by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios, the producers of the upcoming Prime Video adaptation of the video game franchise.
Hurst tore his bicep while doing a stunt on set back in late June. “This is a heartbreaking development for Hurst who underwent a physical transformation after getting the role, putting on 40 lbs of muscle, and worked hard for months on the Vancouver set filming the physically demanding role until getting hurt performing his duties,” Deadline notes in their report.
The outlet explains, “Hurst’s recovery time is unclear but for a serious bicep tear requiring surgery, it is typically 4-6 months, with a return to full strength taking up to a year. Given the physicality of the role, it will likely not have been safe for Hurst to resume filming until 2027. According to sources, while Hurst’s full recovery is a priority, the period required was longer than the production shooting schedule could accommodate, leading to the difficult decision.”
The “God of War” production is currently on hiatus. Stay tuned for more.
Callum Vinson (“Crystal Lake”) is playing Atreus in Prime Video’s “God of War.”
The live-action adaptation of PlayStation’s massively popular ancient mythology-themed video game franchise has received a two-season order from the streamer.
The tale follows father and son Kratos and Atreus as they embark on a journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye. Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human.
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