Ashley, Joel and Their Favorite Vampire - AC001

Ashley & Joel's Favorite Vampire - AC01

Joel: The Articulate Coveen is the original unofficial podcast and fan community for An Rice's interview with the Vampire and An Rice's Immortal Universe from AMC and AMC Plus.

Joel: Welcome to the Articulate Cove, and we are your host, Joel Sharpton and

Ashley: Ashley Wright Eiler.

Joel: And we are here to discuss the ongoing series, the Vampire Chronicles from Anne Rice. We are the unofficial podcast and fan community for Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, the Vampire List stat, and the forthcoming TV series, Ashley, there's gonna be a TV show.

Joel: I'm

Ashley: so excited. It's everything that twelve year old Ashley dreamed of? Right. Like, it really is it really is an amazing time. I so First of all, let me give

Joel: you an overview of what we're gonna do here. We are gonna talk about the TV show when it finally gets here, but we don't know how long that's gonna be. You know, Christopher Rice and Anne Rice are working on sort of the Bible for the series now. They're beginning to shop it out to networks, and we hope to hear news soon, but we don't know how long it's gonna take between here and there, we're gonna cover the rest of the series as well. We're gonna talk about the books that have been written so far both in the Vampire Chronicles. I think there's some other books from Anne Rice that we're both interested in discussing at some point. Yeah. And then we're also gonna cover the movies that have existed so far interview with the vampire and the not so wonderful queen of the damned. Although we have some rabid fans of queen of the damned for one reason or another, I don't understand them. But we will discuss their points of view as well when we cover that movie eventually. So but today, the first thing that I wanted to do as before we even get to the news about why this podcast has started. And and I will say we are proudly still the only podcast based on and rice or the vampire list out or the vampire chronicles in iTunes. So Yay, for us, bully, share us with your and rice loving friends.

Ashley: Police and Actually,

Joel: I would love to hear your story about how you first found Anne and in particular how you first found Lastat.

Ashley: Well,

Ashley: we

Joel: Or Lestat, I should say, I've been dressed down already twice. This is our first real episode, and I've been dressed down twice for for saying Lestat. It's Lestat. I'm sorry. I'm southern. I

Ashley: know. And I say a stat too, so we're gonna probably get lots of emails about that. We're just have to retrain our brains. Yeah. You know, I remember horror is a huge was a huge genre in my household. My father was a huge fan of horror and and of Steven King in most particularly. And when I was about twelve, that's when I finally got to kind of break into those books. And I was it was really citing. And I remember my mom had a copy. I don't remember how old I was, but I remember my mom had a copy of the witching hour, and it was just sitting there looming on the shelf like this giant tone and I was so, like, so into wanting to read it. And I remember asking to read that and be being given a copy of interview with a vampire instead, which was a a good place to start. And I loved that book and I just you know, and going back and rereading it recently because I hadn't reread it in very long time, the visuals of those stories. And that's around the same time that we started taking, like, family vacations down in New Orleans and when I was a kid. And and so, like, I would, like, troll the streets of the French quarter and try to figure out where, let's start in in Louis and Claudia were having their adventures in New Orleans. I just and it totally, of course, over romantic size and rise completely. I'm sure in my head, but I still I still feel that same way going back in a rereading. You know what I mean? It's like I can almost I remember feeling that all that excitement and and and feeling it again going back and rereading is was a really cool feeling I didn't expect in you know, thirty seven year old brain now. But the characters are amazing. You know, I think that's something I love about Steven King as well and Love About Ian Rice is that she creates and paints these beautiful these beautiful characters that you can't help but kind of fall in love with, flawed those they are. And then you start with this book and you get this introduction to Louis, and you think you almost think that that's who the stories are gonna continue to be about. And then, you know, and then you find out the real storyteller is is L'Estat.

Joel: So so that's interesting that you did come to interview first. I backed into the series. So

Ashley: Oh, excellent.

Joel: You grew up as a horror fan. I did not. I I don't like things that go bump in the night except I did find around you know ten to twelve years old. I found that I had a real taste for books that were written from the point of view of the monster.

Ashley: I'm not

Joel: I I don't like books about monsters. I like books written by monsters, I guess. You know, I like the ones where it's inside their head and you sort of see the struggle with nature versus morality or like what is morality and you can see a different, you know, entire view on society, maybe that was always very appealing to me. And in particular, the series that had sort of overwhelmed me was the last vampire by Christopher Pike. He'd written a bunch of young adult novels, but the last -- Yeah. -- I think there's there's, like, six books in the series you've read those two or

Ashley: some of them? Some of them. Yeah. Some of them.

Ashley: Okay. Christopher Pike I told you

Joel: crazy at the end. But, like, they bring in, you know, like, Krishna and Hindu religion and mythology. They bring in. They tie in a lot of other world mythologies eventually as well. The modern story is set in the very modern day. I mean, you know, the the main character who I can't remember her name now, but she's a female vampire, and she is, you know, she's a lot like Listat. She drives a sports car. She wears fancy clothes. She likes the finer things, etcetera. She likes technology even. I seem to remember she likes cellphones and things like that. And this was at the very beginning of of mobile phones. So anyway, I love that series. And I had been reading it for quite some time. I was four or five into that, I guess. And I was spinning this summer with my aunt. And while she was at work, I happen to be sort of thumbing through her library, and I picked up a copy of the tale of the body thief, actually. Oh, yeah. Opening of that book if you're not familiar, but for most of the vampire chronicles actually begin in a similar way, L'Estat has a prologue. And he sort of tells you the story so far and explains a bit about who he is. And then and then dives into the tail that he's actually ready to lay out. And the the tail of the body thief in particular has a great one because he gets to summarize in, you know, fourteen pages or so. The entire story of both his now immortal life his battle with the queen of the vampires, the the the the finish of her, and and the way that that all resolved at the end of the queen of the damned. And now the fact that he is effectively truly immortal, not even the sun can harm him, etcetera, etcetera. That's how he starts that book. And and it was so amazing to me his voice in particular was so empowered. I thought I've got to find out more about this. So when my aunt came home that day, I was like, who is this vampire and where are the rest of his books? Like, what's the deal? She explained to me, you start with the interview with the vampire. She said, you really should start there because otherwise, I don't think you're gonna I think you're gonna miss out on the character of Louis in particular. I was like, okay, sure. So I waited I got back home and I tried to borrow it from the library. They wouldn't let me because I had a child's card, and it was an adult.

Ashley: That's awesome.

Joel: So I had to get my mother to borrow it for me. And then after that, we got my own that was the impetus for me to get my adult card. I wasn't even thirteen yet, but we got approval or whatever, and I got my own adult card. I ran through the series, and then I read them again as I started, you know, buying them from bookstores and everything. And and and from then on, I've been a massive An Rise fan. I was there day one to pick up Ma'am, not the devil and every book since then. I think I've either been day one or day two to buy and try to shove into my head. I love her writing in particular I love the character of L'Estat, maybe more than any fictional character I think I've ever read. And so when the news came out, that there was going to finally be a television series to tell the story properly, I immediately said, I can't let somebody else make a podcast about that. I

Ashley: have Right. And

Joel: so so I reached out to you. So let's talk a little bit about how we know each other. We we went to college

Joel: together.

Ashley: It's true. It's true. Many many moons ago. Or just last week as it feels like, sometimes.

Joel: Yeah. Well, we're we're both babies. We're twenty five ish or so, I

Joel: think.

Ashley: Basically, both of us. Yeah. That's And I'm a little older

Ashley: than you So twenty seven. Yeah.

Joel: Like twenty seven maybe at the most. Yeah. But

Ashley: So so I'm

Joel: now in the I've I've been in the radio industry for the yada yada, how many years between here and there? And you are now into the improv space among other things. Let's talk a little bit about what you're doing these days. Howard

Ashley: Bauchner: It's true. It's true. I'm an an improv improviser, improv comedian with in Providoroc, which is an awesome group out of Little Rock, Arkansas where I live. We've been kicking in our in some form or another for eleven years now, which is freaking crazy. An improv is something I never thought that I would ever in a thousand years do, number one, because I didn't really fancy myself funny. I think I used to take myself much much too seriously, but I freaking love it and flying without a net is was is terrifying to me. But with improv because it's such a team sport, it's amazing. I've just recently started doing some stand up as well, which if you really wanna delve into something horrifying and and and yeah. Completely terrifying and filled with self doubt, then I highly recommend do a little stand up, you know, feel terrible about yourself occasionally. But it's really fun. I love it. You know, like my nine to five pays the bills and then the things I do on the side, keep me happy and sane. It's good stuff.

Joel: That is that is exactly the way to do it. I think that's the story of the modern artist, Ashley. So what we're gonna do on the show is at least in the near future, we're gonna try to have episodes out at least monthly. If news really ramps up about the production of the TV show, we may make that every other week. And then ideally, when the show comes out will be at least once a week with episodes for you to cover the show and bring your feedback. You can join our community, by the way, we're on Facebook, and we've got a great group go in there already. We'd love to have you and all of your and love and Rice loving friends join the articulate covenant on Facebook. Search for articulate covenant. You find the group. It is a closed group, but as long as you're not a spammer or a Ray ban salesman, we will add you very seriously there and get you into the conversation. So, Ashley, I thought real quick, why don't I'm gonna read the statement or at least read most of the statement, the original statement from Anne and Christopher about exactly what's happened, and then we'll sort of start breaking it down from there. Okay. Maybe at the end, we'll get to a little bit of speculation about what this series might could be. And here posting the original announcement of the TV series for those who might have missed it. From November twenty six, this came out from Anne's people. The theatrical rights to the Vampire Chronicles are once again in my hands free and clear. I could not be more excited about this. A television series of the highest quality is now my dream Lastat, Louis, Arman, Marius, and the entire tribe. In this, the new golden age of television such a series is the way to let the entire story of the vampires unfold. My son, Christopher Rice and I will be developing a pilot script and a detailed outline for an open ended series, faithfully presenting Lestat's story as it is told in the books. Complete with the many situations that readers expect to see. We will likely begin with the Vampire L'Estat and move on from there. When we sit down finally to talk to producers, we will have fully realized vision of this project with Christopher as the executive producer at the helm. I will also be an executive producer all the way. Again, I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to be able to announce this. As many of you know, Universal Studios and Imagine Entertainment had optioned the series to develop motion pictures from it, and though we have the pleasure of working with many fine people in connection with this plan, it did not work out. It is more than ever abundantly clear that television is where the vampires belong. Over the years, you have all told me how much you want to see a Game of Thrones style, faithful rendering, of this material and how much you want for the series to remain in my control? Well, I have heard you. I have always heard you. What you want is what I want. You, the readers, made these books a success before any movie was ever made based on them, and I will never forget that fact. Christopher and I will be posting many questions on the page for your input in the days to come. I am filled with optimism this morning about the future for my beloved brat prints. What better way to start a tour for the new book? Again, this was posted near the end of November since then, this page has been set up for comments and feedback. You can follow Anne and Christopher. By the way, they've set up a Facebook page, the Vampire Chronicles. That's specifically for the book series, the movie series or excuse me, the TV series now, and sort of everything in between. That's the home for all of their information, I think, going forward. And they've put a ton of of great comments and info. Christopher's been posting, you know, neat little things there. It's a good place to follow if you're interested as we are in addition to the articulate coven fan community. Alright. So when you heard the news, Ashley, what did you think first.

Ashley: Oh my god. Yes. And

Ashley: I think

Ashley: I mean, I am such a huge fan of what cable television has done for the tell has done for the television industry. I mean, it's incredible what what kind of work is being done on TV these days. I mean, I think that a lot of actors really feel like, you know, and that's that's our background, obviously. And I think that's something that a lot of actors are so excited about that movies are not where it's at and with a story like this that's so epic, that's told through so many different books and over, literally, I mean, like, the time that passes through course of these books. Like, the movies, that's there there's there's a reason why Queen of the DM didn't really work as a film, and it's just there's too much to cram into two two and a half hours. I mean, every fan is gonna want more than what what a movie is gonna be able to provide. And I think with the level that artistically, television has taken it up to lately, really, really excites me for this project Anne. I love Anne. I think she's amazing. I've always thought, like, her as a woman. She's just freaking incredible. I love that she has she has the rights again, you know, that she's in control because I think it's I I hope she doesn't get too precious with it. That's my only fear is that I think that she loves particularly the start so much. I I worry about that because I've seen, you know, I've seen Stephen King kind of get himself into into issues with his with his adaptations before. But for the most part, I'm completely excited and thrilled. Love how accessible she makes herself to her fans. That's something I've always loved. And the fact that she's, you know, in fighting and open open to feedback from her fans right now is they're in the process of, like, figuring it out. And I like that she's working with Chris. I'm really excited she and Chris for working together on this. I think it's gonna be amazing.

Joel: Well, you know, I think about so I do have concerns. I've got a few concerns like you. I'm a little worried about, in particular, how tightly she holds to her creation and whether or not there will be a network that can find a a good balance, you know, to help her because Chris for neither one have experience in the world of television. You know? And so I do wonder and I worry, are they are they gonna be overlooking something? And not see well, that precise thing is not possible, but we can do this thing, which will actually be better in the translation to television. So anyway, I'm hopeful they'll find some good partners there and then trust those partners.

Ashley: Exactly. The only

Ashley: thing that I'm slightly worried about. And I mean, you know, there's

Joel: been good reaction to last couple of Princeless notebooks, Princeless data, and then Princeless data in the realms of Atlanta. So I I I think that the audience is there. But I do worry have have they've sort of missed their time in their window. I know how important we think L'Estat is and these vampire chronicles are. I know how important Anne and Christopher think they are. I worry that the bigger players who I I think it's clear she's she's hinted, you know, it's an HBO or a Netflix. That's what she's really hoping And I think that's what we're all sort of hoping

Ashley: for. Absolutely. FX

Ashley: FX could offer a really good product, I think, in the end AMC.

Joel: AMC.

Ashley: Yeah.

Joel: Yeah. They're capable of of of producing quality television. But ideally, you know, an HBO or a Netflix would allow the episode. You you effectively have no time limits, you know, you you

Ashley: can --

Joel: Right. Anything from, you know, forty two minutes to an hour and forty two if you need it to for each individual episode. We know the budgets are there for both of those networks and they're willing to spend because they've got a long term view of the product. And those would be real partnerships that could eventually blossom not only into lots and lots of seasons of this show, but perhaps eventually a Mayfair project or, you know, Ramsay's the damn project or whatever. So there she's got so many characters and so many stories to tell. I'm hopeful that she can I'm hopeful that there are executives that feel the way about her and her work that we do. That's what I hope.

Ashley: I agree with that. I think something that's really great about her work though and something that in going back and doing this, like, epic reread that I've kind of started. Is that they are so freaking timeless. You know what I mean? Like, I I'm transported back to how I felt when I read them the first time, but I think that anyone that picks up these books be it, you know, twenty seventeen or nineteen ninety four, you know, it doesn't really matter the characters and the stories are so timeless that it I think that she'll find she'll re expand and find her audience. You know? I think that I think that she missed definitely missed we missed the heyday of, like, the the mid to late nineties when when interview was made and and it was such a great success. But I I don't know. I feel like it could come back around in be just as huge if not if not huge or Well, if and if

Joel: you look at what happened with the Game of Thrones series after it came on to HBO, I mean, obviously, that brought it to a whole new level of fandom and a a whole new level of readership even back to back to the books. And I think that would absolutely be the case. Or will absolutely be the case when the series finally gets, you know, up and rolling. One of the reasons why we wanted to start the podcast. I think there's a great opportunity there. I think people are gonna be hungry. To find out more about the material, to find out more about these characters, and then to talk about the ongoing storylines that are presented. So that's what we're here for. Alright. Let's talk a little bit about speculation. Where where do you think that, you know, she said there in that conversation that she's planning on starting or they're planning on starting with the vampireistat. I think that's a good call. You tell the story of Listat. You can then frame the story of Louis inside that. But otherwise, you start off with the main character of your series that you wanna go for seven or eight or, you know, ten years or something. He's a real bastard in interview with a vampire,

Ashley: you know. Totally. Totally. And and very what's a simple, you know, like, Louis

Joel: less dumb. Actually, his

Ashley: eyes, he's so simple and so, like, it's it's it's it's all selfish. I mean, which he is very selfish regardless. I mean but through Louie's eyes, he's very simple and it's so funny to me that that character is not simple at all. There's so much depth to him. But you literally can I mean, interview is told in the vampire list that? You know, he tells his story, he tells it from his perspective, which is another thing I think is kind of cool and I love the idea of them playing with perspective, with the show. I hope that they do that a little bit. You know, I'm I'm doing a podcast with my brother right now. We're talking about lost and how you're gonna see that plane crash from like, six different perspectives in the first, like, three episodes. And I love the idea of maybe within the storytelling of of this telling the same story from different perspectives because we see that with with Marius, and we see that with with L'Estat, we see that with with Louis, they all have the same experiences, they have the same experiences together, but they see them in very different ways. And and depending on where they are in their life, being alive for millennia, being alive for, you know, twenty plus years, their perspective on it is very, very different.

Joel: So one of the things that Chris for and Anne have asked on the Vampire Chronicles Facebook page. I mentioned earlier that they were gonna be asking questions and they have asked a lot. One of the things was what do you think about the idea of an overall narrator, a a voice over for the series, sort of. And we discussed that in our community too. I think it's a very, very fine line to walk. There are films with narration and and an overall voice over that work very well. There are television series that have been done that way that worked pretty well. It is also a real hamfisted tool at times. I do see though the opportunity to frame certain sections of the show, maybe even entire episodes, as here is Marius sitting down to Telesat the story of his life or a piece of that story, you know. And literally, that voiceover begins and you hear Marius for a while, tell the story, and then you mostly see it play out. And then perhaps he to, you know, offers a little direction or a little context and then you go right back into the story. So I could see some voice over in that way. And very much with interview, I would love once we get to that part of the story. So and I'm thinking that's at least the beginning of the second season, if not later. But when you get to that story, it would be interesting if you maybe even got dueling voices almost as if

Ashley: it was. Yeah.

Joel: Louis and Lestat were sort of Louis would say something and Lestat would cut in to correct it for him, you know? For vice versa if Louis, if L'Estat was telling you, well, you know, Louis would have you believe x and y and z, but truthfully it was this. You know, I think that could be very compelling and very original and interesting, unique almost in television, especially in the genre, but at the same time not take it too far into a shortcut for good acting. You know, I mean, we wanna be able to tell the inner story of the characters without literally having it in close captioning. You know?

Ashley: Yeah. No. I totally agree. I think that I I worry narrative, narration is such And I and I guess mainly I think of it in terms of like theatrical production where to me it is like the laziest storytelling trope. You can touch. You know? Like, in in I worry it would it would feel that way, but I think if it's done correctly, and I think that, you know and you hit on some really cool ways to to to handle it. It could be it could be great. There's so much going on inside these characters' heads, and I know she won't wanna abandon that. You know what I mean? But if it's cast well, like, that's subtext. You know, like, that should all they should be able to make a lot of that come across. Like, I'm really interested too in like, the timeline? Like, how much is gonna be like, where are we where are we sitting in time with LESDOT? You know? And is it is this gonna be are we sitting in present day with him? Or are we gonna go through this journey with him at some point? You know, like, is it flashbacks and flashbacks? I'm just I'm really interested in the time of it.

Joel: Well, okay. So I was gonna transition into characters for a minute and maybe talk about a little casting, but you brought that up. I wanna go right there for a second. Let's talk about time. Are you going to put the modern day portions of the Vampire List stat storyline, are you going to set it in the, you know, the early eighties? Is it going to be is he gonna be a period rock star? Is he gonna be a rock star period? You know, both of those things. I wanna I wanna know the answer to.

Joel: Is

Joel: he gonna be a rock star at all?

Ashley: It sounds really cheesy When you say it out loud like that

Ashley: Well, and think about it.

Ashley: Rock star. It sounds so silly. But I remember like, I haven't done that reread yet, but I remember buying into that story line really, you know, really hard when I read it the

Joel: first time. Well, okay. So and again, in in the book, I think it works so perfectly because we can all translate it to whatever music speaks to our souls.

Ashley: You know what I mean? And we

Joel: had this conversation on our Facebook group as well because for me, anything short of effectively like Robert Plant. Is gonna fall fall short. Or or and I realized this today, I would settle for Ted Neely from the original film production of Jesus Christ superstar. If we got Ted Neely to move forward in time and sing the part of Lestat, I'd be okay. Not Ted Neely today. I love him, but he's not up for it anymore. I said this. So but you're

Ashley: not gonna please everybody, I think. And when you actually put it into music. I mean, think about any I'm trying to think about even Okay. Here's something that

Joel: was done pretty well. You look at the Lord of the Rings films and the Hobbit movies.

Ashley: Alright? They

Joel: took a lot of music that was never actually music and then translated that into songs. Absolutely. And I think overall, they did about as good a job as you could possibly imagine. And yet, it's not what you heard when you read

Ashley: the hobbit, when you're eleven.

Joel: You know? Right. It's

Ashley: not what you heard when you read Lord of the Rings, when you're in college, waste in time, skipping history classes,

Joel: you

Joel: know. So maybe smoking some elven no. Not elven herb. A a a hobbit weed. There's

Ashley: Yeah. He's he's too farthing. He's too farthing. Yeah.

Ashley: So what I'm saying

Joel: is, I worry that anything once you actualize it, once you make it real, you're gonna lessen it. You're going to buy its very nature, you're going to make it less than.

Ashley: Whereas,

Joel: there are other ways to tell the story of a list at coming public. And calling out, you know, the elders, so to speak. There are other ways to do that. What if he was a podcaster for Well,

Ashley: yeah. I was gonna say in this day and age too, like, with with social media and and the reach the reach that you can actually have is so

Ashley: What if you became Gary very

Joel: new chick? You know, he's he's Gary b effectively doing list at five minute videos every morning, you know, where he's laying out the and he I mean, again, like, you could

Ashley: do pretty much for YouTube.

Joel: You could do Exactly. Exactly. He could become a celebrity proposing to explain to society that vampires are real. He could still do that without the rock star element. And I and I do worry that if you go with it, you're gonna end up with corn pretty much.

Ashley: No. I kind of I kind of agree. I kind of agree with that. And and and also I think that Yeah. No. It's just it could come across real, real bad. Like, real cheesy, really not as cool as it was when I read You know what I mean? And I think that especially timing wise, like, what even type of music would if you wanted to keep it current current day. Like, what there's no type of music right now that really inspires me to that level. I don't know. Like, I'm not really so into pop music and that's, like, probably what has that farthest reach these days. I just can't imagine, let's stop being, like,

Ashley: Maroon five. One direction

Ashley: or maroon five. Yeah. No. It just doesn't feel right.

Joel: It's just singing shit. I don't No. I don't see it. But but at the same time, like, you again, okay. So let's take it back and make it period. Let's set that period. Let's set that part of the story in the eighties. But then but then what? He's, you know, like, a bad imitation of David Bowie or something, you know, like,

Ashley: like, Bowie.

Ashley: That's not I don't so anyway, I I worry about that part of the story. I think though there is so much good drama to be had and there

Joel: are so many angles that you can take on that. I don't think she has to stray very far from or they the team has to stray very far from the basic ideas and concepts to make it both believable and engaging and entertaining and not, you know, take you out of it by thinking, well, that's not really great rock music. I mean, you know, the other alternative is when you see this, make a movie about a comedian and they never actually tell any jokes. You know, you just like hear the audience laughing to the thing that you don't hear. Like, I don't want -- Right. -- to have and either. So you it's it's a very

Joel: Like

Ashley: the time I was in a play about Abraham Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln wasn't in the play.

Ashley: Yes. Or or a fair I mean,

Ashley: the the one that comes to

Joel: mind for me is studio sixty on the sunset strip, which was a great show. But the whole concept of the show is that it's the funniest sketch show of all time, and they almost never showed any any sketches. And when they did, they weren't funny. So, like, that's you don't want that. You don't want that. So that's my one big concern as far as timeline goes. I do think though, you know, how compelling will it be to, like, open on LASDAT L'Estat going to kill the wolves. You know? I mean, and it's and the snow is blowing and it's this beautiful French countryside remote you know, this struggling boy and this life or death. I mean, like,

Ashley: I think you can make such a compelling opening and it hasn't it doesn't even have to do anything with the supernatural for episode. You know, you know, just

Joel: a

Joel: story about his life as a boy in France for several episodes before you ever even really bring in Magnus or anything else. So I I think you don't need the rock star angle, and it's possible that it could derail the whole damn thing. So -- Agree. -- I would just say, please, be careful there, Anne and and Christopher.

Joel: Tread

Joel: lightly. Let's go to casting for a minute we wrap up here for this episode. Do you have any any names that come to mind? Matt, is it Balmer, I believe, is the handsome man that everyone keeps mentioning for LASDOT. Not not for list, not for Louis. But, oh, that I have not I mean, I know Anne has mentioned him in the past that that's one of her handsome young fellows who does pretty good in a period peace. I could see him. I've seen photos of him. I could see that just fine. I truthfully am a wide open book. What I want is good actors. I just want good actors and then costuming and makeup will take care of any issues I have as far as looks I feel like. Yeah.

Ashley: One hundred percent agree with that. And I am not messed up about them going out and finding brand new, fantastic people. I don't know anything about you know, I love I love that unknown element. You know, I I don't wanna have it solid by you know, the fact that this dude played, you know, Superman two reboots ago or something. You know what I mean? Like, I loved that. I I think that that's something that helped so much with with the force awakens for me? It was that it was a really pure cast I hadn't really seen in a lot of things before. So I really kind of hope that they go in that direct and try to find some new fabulous blood. Because whoever does this, I mean, this is going to be, you know, if it's done well and it and it catches the way it this is gonna be a really defining role for for some very lucky actor.

Joel: Well, and for a lot of very lucky actors, I mean, let's be honest, there is some really, really choice roles. I think about Gabrielle, you know, Lestat's mother. I think about Louis, who is an ongoing you know, he's effectively a series long role after maybe the first or second season.

Ashley: Absolutely.

Joel: Someone like Armand who gets to play

Ashley: a real

Ashley: villain early, and then, you know, the leader of the pack in many ways later in the series, like, that's really outstanding. And then you think of Marius who comes in like such an overarching you know, leader for the tribe and yet also this, like, fount of knowledge and mystery. And he's got a compelling back story. You know, there's a he's got his own

Joel: book for goodness sake.

Ashley: So Yes. I I think there's so many of those characters that could could totally run a season on their own, you know, effectively as the

Joel: main character. And that has the potential to launch a whole bunch of careers or to revitalize a lot of careers. The other cool thing is that the vast majority of the characters, you can effectively cast, you know, let's say, somebody from their early twenties to their early forties and they would probably be fine playing the role for ten to fifteen years. That's

Ashley: exactly what I was just about to say. Like, that's the thing that, you know, and I think with with, like, with our mind because he's actually what is he like? Fifteen? Yeah.

Joel: And the and the books, I think he's even he's fourteen or fifteen years old when Marius turns him. So

Ashley: like you need a very eager, you

Joel: know, boyish actor there.

Ashley: Yeah.

Joel: But at the same time, much like with Claudia, like, I think they will have to obviously, you can't cast a fifteen year old for the role. And and likewise, for Claudia, you can't cast a six year old

Ashley: for whatever

Joel: Claudia is in the book.

Ashley: Yeah. I'd be super creepy. Like, I think that that's something that with Game of Thrones, they did a really good job of aging the characters up enough that makes the sexual relationships more comfortable. If you get You know what I mean? Like, I think that and I think that with with close

Ashley: attention time

Ashley: though, like, you you never feel you never

Joel: feel like Rob, for instance, in Game of Thrones, is old enough to have all this responsibility.

Ashley: No. Yes. Yeah. You

Joel: know, he he's not a child exactly.

Ashley: He's a

Joel: tall But clearly, he's yes. He's young still -- Yeah. -- too young to take on all of these roles. And

Ashley: and I think it could be

Joel: true for these vampire actors exactly. Yeah.

Ashley: No. I agree with that. I think that that's something that there's a certain level of aging up they'll have to do with with probably pretty much just with Mond and with Claudia, but they did it well in the movie. It didn't never bothered me. And of course, I mean, hello Antonio Banderos when I was in high school, so it doesn't really matter. But It did bother me that they aged up our wand in the film at all. But, I mean, again, Antonio Banderas, so I guess

Joel: Yeah. I I would like I would at least like the actor to be to to look, you know, younger or fresh faced, more fresh faced than L'Estat and and Louis. Especially because if you're going to and and Anne has sort of hinted that maybe the entire first season will largely play out as, you know, the antagonist relationship between the beginning of the antagonistic relationship between L'Estat and Armand as he becomes a vampire and then has his battles with the children under the the cemeteries. I think that that if that is your is gonna be your main antagonist, it would be really compelling to see this sort of even though L'Estad is young, he's seasoned he's been hardened in a lot of ways because of his mortal life. And then he goes through this incredibly traumatic incident with Magnus. And, you know, he's sort of seen it all. He's a little bit world weary yet, he's confronted with a vampire that's much more powerful than him and much more ancient than he is. And yet, he looks like a child. You

Ashley: know, he

Joel: looks like a boy. I think that can be very compelling. You know, so if they can find an actor that's capable of it. I I think about Milo ventimliya, say, I don't know, ten years ago or so, like,

Ashley: he's a little old

Joel: for it now, clearly. But, like, that's this style actor that I think could be really, really cool in that. I am so excited though to begin to hear names and news as this goes on. And I'm really trying to keep I I'm trying not to put any any hopes for myself out there so that I will be a blank slate for the series. I just I want them to build these roles in my mind Now, you know, I have what I've lived with for twenty some odd years as I've read these books, but I I want new layers put on top just like I feel like the Lord of the Rings movies nailed it. I want this series to nail it in that same way.

Ashley: Absolutely. No. I agree with that a hundred percent. This is something that these are books that I that I loved. In the same sort of way, I loved Lord of the freaking rings and and I think that that's, you know, like, Peter Jackson, totally, for me, that was a home run. Like Laura Rings was amazing. And I definitely have that hope in my heart with this. But I also think we can't get to ahead of ourselves with casting as far as, like, things we want because good lord, we don't even really know a time frame here for production schedule yet. You know, I mean, we could be we could be two years out of production still.

Joel: Yeah.

Joel: And I and again, that's one of those things I worry about. Like, I hope the momentum doesn't stall. You know, she's continuing clearly to to pump out books. There's gonna be another list that book soon. She's got another mummy book coming out. We're gonna be talking about that in the next episode, I think, in our news section. So lots of of stuff is happening on the literature side but I I do hope they can go ahead and find a partner pretty soon. And then that that that TV partner says, not to rush things, but, like, we wanna get into this business soon. But if there's such a big story to tell, there's such a big opportunity here to build a giant fan base on the TV side, I think. So I I mean, I think this has every bit the potential to be as big a series as Game of Thrones or Walking Dead or or any of those, you know, to think of True Blood, the top True Blood numbers at the end of their series. This is a better series than that.

Ashley: Oh, this is better writing. Yeah. For sure. We're much better. Yes. Much better writing than than true blood wise. And I think that I mean, vampires are always cool hip and popular. You know what I mean? Even when they're really written poorly. You know, I think about when I was a teaching artist at the Children's Theatre hearing tone and all I was Harry Potter was finishing up and I had obviously read Harry Potter and was super into it with all the kids and they were like, Are you gonna read twilight? And I was like, no. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. I'm not gonna touch twilight because I've done I've done I've done I've done vampire and I did them right the first time. So I don't need your twilight nonsense. But I do think that that, like, that whole that whole age group has grown up now and is probably ready for some real vampire storytelling. You know what I mean? I just think that the the audience is there. I just I feel that in my heart. I really do.

Joel: Absolutely. Alright. Ashley, let's wrap up in today's episode. Let's tell you about what the schedule's gonna be for the next couple of episodes. Here's what can expect. The next time you hear from us, it'll be to discuss the original novel, the novel that started at all. We're gonna talk about interview with the vampire. Then we'll discuss the movie interview with the Vampire, and then we'll move on through the book series and the movies gonna have some special episodes sprinkled in, but that'll give you a taste. The next two episodes will be about the book and then the film itself interview with the vampire that's coming up for you here in the feed. Subscribe to us in iTunes. You can rate and review the show. That's a big help if you're into that sort of thing. The biggest thing that you could do is share it with friends. If you know people who love these books, who love the movies, who wanna love the TV show when it comes out, we'd love to have them on board too. And then join us on Facebook, articulate Cove and Search for that, and you can join the group right now, or you can email us articulate coven at g mail dot com. We got a a a tweeter too, Ashley, if you're one of those tweet peoples, you can join us at articulate coven there. You got anything else to add before we wrap up

Ashley: wrap up today? I'm

Ashley: just super excited. I know that as this goes along, we're really gonna need to talk about things. So we're here for you. When you need to talk.

Joel: Absolutely. That's right. We are here for you when we need to talk. We've got our tape recorder in front of us. And I've got bags and bags of a little mini cassettes that I can switch out. So our conversation can go on as long as it needs see. Alright. Until the next time we talk to you, we have been your hosts. I'm Joel.

Ashley: I'm Ashley. And

Joel: this is articulate cover.

Joel: Thanks for listening to the Articulate Coveen. You can join our community on Facebook by following the links in the show notes or searching for articulate coven on Facebook. You can subscribe to the show in Apple podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or at articulatecoven dot com. And share us with your An Rice loving friends.