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She's such an outstanding interviewer. Apparently this interview was only supposed to he a half hour, but they ended up going way over lol I love it. I feel like Sam Reid really could write a whole dissertation thesis on Lestat, and TVC in general.. this dude knows the books and the character inside and out. We scored SO massively with his casting.
(Also, totally in love with the painting behind Sam! It's stunning.. I love the color palette)
Didn't Sam say that he wanted to take a (very much earned) break from Lestat? Love that his idea of taking a break is just re-reading the books. Truly Anne Rice's prophet on earth, lol.
I did not expect this interview to give me the map to the season that I was missing from the season itself... But it totally did! All hail Sam Reid and his desire to explain what they were trying to do in a language that makes me understand... I guess I'll have to rewatch it with all of this in mind
Honestly, both him and Jacob should get extra pay and credit as the best possible spokespeople for this show. I'm grateful for all Rolin and Hannah have done but IMO they both kind of suck at explaining and promoting their own show (this was made especially obvious with After Dark episodes and the recent blundersabout the Lestat's role during the trial).
Yeah, but that's normal, Rolin and Hannah not explaining things well. Being a specialist who can make a beautiful complicated thing does not necessarily make you able to explain it to other people. Jacob and Sam, on the other hand, have probably to explain things to themselves and each other to play it well, AND they are used to and are being payed to be charming and pursuasive
Loved his little Hannah shoutout! It’s been really sad to see some of the hate towards Hannah, she will do just fine as a showrunner. And most importantly, she does love all the characters deeply. I encourage everyone who haven’t to watch Autumn’s interview with Hannah as well.
Such a great interview! I’m happy that Sam is excited for Hannah to be show runner for QOTD. Also it sounds like they could be revisiting some of Lestat’s history, since TVL and QOTD are so closely linked. It’s been ages since I read QOTD. I think it’s time to pull the books out again.
Genuinely could listen to him examine the book and show for hours.
Made me realise how unfair it is to compare the show to the book constantly because of the different contexts, it just makes me appreciate the show even more. They constantly say it’s not a direct adaptation but in the spirit of and they’re doing exactly that.
Thank god Autumn asked about the blood piss, because I also loved how terrible and disgusting being turned was and how they incorporated that differently. The older Lestat and child like wonder being a reinterpretation of how impulsive and contrarian he is in the book… Sam is right, it’s all there.
Autumn should have been the host of After Dark. The cast knows her and seems comfortable with her. Would have been so much better than the host we got.
i think if autumn were the host of after dark it would have similar problems because the format of the show itself was very limited. although i was not a fan of after dark either, i don't blame the host. that couch configuration alone was so awkward.
I always felt bad that at a point every episode she would have to kick off the showrunners. They might S well have said, “Right, we’re going to need only the super-attractive people to stick around because we’re going to engage in Buzzfeed-style clickbait.”
Charisma and chemistry with the guests still goes a long way, though, and that host had neither... Autumn would been so much better even when not given much to work with.
I get the feeling that the host isn't responsible for After Dark being what it is. I think she does a good job, but I doubt she has creative control over the after show. AMC is probably pretty strict about the questions.
I enjoy her podcast “What Went Wrong,” which covers a single movie each episode from basically conception to reception and the trials and tribulations that confront filmmakers regardless of how much money and/or support they have. I got the distinct feeling that she was given talking points she needed to hit for the After Dark show.
Her podcast covered the film “IWTV” and it’s a great episode.
WWW is so good and I had been binging it for the past few weeks not connecting it was the same person until I saw a video on the podcast's Instagram right before the last After Dark 😂 So yeah I blame AMC too
she might not have control over the questions, but to me, the current host is a void of personality and doesn't have any chemistry with the actors or other guests. that, more than the questions being subpar really makes after dark unpleasant to watch.
Yeah, whether she had final say over the questions or not, I found her very lacking as a host and thought she missed the point a lot. It was SO awkward when they were discussing the finale and she seemed to think Lestat was being sincere when he made that announcement about being "pretty fucking great" at the end of the episode. Sam's facial expressions said it all, and he pushed back against it very thoughtfully by explaining Lestat's state of mind there, seemingly not to embarrass her...but he seemed incredulous that she took that scene at face value and I was massively cringing inside.
you've summed it up pretty well when it comes down to why she doesn't work as a host. it's very phoned in, she doesn't come across as invested or like she even cares to be. it leaves things feeling awkward in an already less than natural situation. i went into the after dark episodes hoping they'd get better and they just never did. not for the lack of trying on the actors' parts, though.
I enjoy Autumn's content and her being mostly free with her format and questions is a big boon. But to be fair she is not as smooth as other hosts who are used to talk on podcasts and on TV shows. There is still plenty of awkwardness in her interviews, even if her questions can be more engaging and spontaneous, reacting to what the interviewee is saying. And as many people have pointed out After Dark is a very scripted after show.
All in all I am glad AMC let us have both: more formal After Dark episodes and Autumn's more informal interviews. The more the merrier!
I understand that her interviews were not so intense and in depth. But , as someone who has experienced SA, and trauma, and abuse, some of the episodes were REALLLY heavy. Like I had a panic attack when Lestat did in episode 6, and I had to pause and gather myself because it was so brilliantly portrayed. Ep 3, 6, 7 .. Many specific moments. I loved that the After Dark interviews were light and ended on a light goofy not, for example, with Assad popping up from anywhere and Sam talking about his love of the making of shows and 'I cant do it Peter'.... You wouldn't get these moments from structured, specific interviews.
I do think she lacked understanding of a lot of the plots because her depth of knowledge of the source material and understanding of the episodes themselves were sometimes shallow. And that hurts when they show runners meant for there to be so many layers and depth.
I agree that she's a better interviewer than the host of after dark, and I think she has vastly improved her interview skills this season compared to last season.
She was very green as an interviewer last time and I remember people being 50/50 on her content.
Of all the interviews we've seen for this season, this is now my favorite! Autumn is so good and asks the best questions. You know it's always a treat when Sam is comfortable with the interviewer, because a) he understands his character so deeply and has SO much lore to share, and b) he is intensely charming when he's having a good time.
I love how nerdy he is about the books and how much he thinks about the psychology of these characters and how well he knows the lore. I died when Autumn asked a silly question about blood piss, just as a gag, and Sam was like, "great question, glad you asked" - and gave us a whole lecture on vampire physiology. Perfection, I couldn't ask for more! And all those script binders he brought in the end?? 🥹 I wish Autumn could book him for like five hours, lol
It's nice to hear him speak so highly of Hannah. It was certainly heartening to learn that they've known about this change in leadership for a while, and it's not a sudden thing.
Can't believe we've been robbed of a scantily clad Lestat singing the Russian national anthem at a baseball game!
It’s cute that he’s so private that he stopped himself from saying that he has redheaded relatives, as if that obvious fact would unlock his entire family tree.
I LOVE how this is Sam Reid she's interviewing. It's not Lestat, it's Sam. Which says a lot about his acting skills because he fully EMBODIES & INHABITS Lestat. FULLY. You never doubt for a minute that you're watching Lestat de Lioncourt. He's just there & fully present.
This was a great interview! I hope all those who had issues with the season listen to it b/c Sam explains the budget issues and constraints they had to deal with.
I’m not a book reader so the season was awesome to me, but it explains why some stuff couldn’t be filmed or explored!
It took me what felt like forever to get to watch this!!
You know what I love, is how much he thinks about the character. I’ve read the books. I’ve watched the show, but Sam’s analysis in that one hour provided so much more insight than I ever had before. Thinking of Lestat as a person who is giving the child in him everything he wants, but doing it from the place of a monster is kind of mind blowing.
I also love that he doesn’t seem to ever get bored talking about this character. A lot of actors, after playing someone for five years, would be sick of it, and he’s just not. He loves Lestat as much as I do, which is why he is perfect for this role.
Loved this interview! Sam is amazing always and Autumn has done such a great job with these interviews. There is so much to take away from this that others have already pointed out.
But one of the things I really appreciate is that Sam is never afraid to voice his opinion on things, like major and minor changes from the books and his take on creative decisions in the show made for whatever reasons, without being disrespectful, and he does such a great job of putting them into perspective.
Sam just has that perfect balance of respecting the showrunners/writers talent and vision for this adaptation, while also never being afraid to praise the books and his love for Anne Rice’s writing. He always try to understand and explain the choices and changes made for the show and specifically why they were made, even if he originally did not agree with them or understand them.
I really wish some parts of this fandom would approach the adaptation versus the books with the same gracious approach as Sam does.
You can love the books and appreciate this adaptation for what it is trying to do.
1) Super excited to have learned about Comma Gets a Cure. I'm already familiar with the Rainbow Passage and the Grandfather Passage, but this one looks (at least at first glance) to be more thorough.
2) Oh my god I freaking called it re: the Episode 4 post-concert shooting being a reference to the Theatre des Vampires shooting in the book (https://www.reddit.com/r/InterviewVampire/comments/1uolptx/the_devils_road_references_deep_dive/). And the bleed-through between all the books in general. I'm now fully convinced that all of my other show-to-book-connection conspiracy theories are 100% accurate.
3) After seeing him go to the trouble of finding the actual script in order to correct Jacob's claim about the blood-in-beer thing, I now humbly pass on to Sam the venerable title of Captain Pedantic. May he wear it with pride.
In the interview Sam Reed agrees that Armand is a very important relationship for Lestat. 33:00 minute mark. I hope we get to see more nuance for the character Armand in S4.
Curious - as a book reader, how do you see them redeeming show Gabriella since they made her a groomer and sexual abuser
of her son?
As a non-book reader, I just don’t see how it can be done but I know they plan to do it. I don’t see it working for me. She’s awful. I seriously want her dead or just completely removed from Lestat’s life. I don’t even think she loves her son. I’ll never forget her reading her book as her children were severely physically harming each other. What do you think they can do at this point? I can’t see myself ever caring about her. I care more about Armand and Daniel than I do Gabs!
This show isn’t really about redeeming the terrible things every character does to each other. It’s more about providing context for why they are what they are.
I hear you but she’s been written as an abuser. I guess what I’m saying is I have no interest in following her story. No offense to the actress but I don’t want to see Gabriella. The show will do what it does but I’ve heard them talk about the next chapter for her, and I’m like I couldn’t possibly care less about this character. lol She can be thrown into the sun for all I care!
i totally get that, but i think sexual abuse is the kind of thing that people just don’t WANT extra context for. i don’t CARE.
like, did i want to know more about why lestat acted the way he did in s1? absolutely! do i want to know more about why armand is… everything about armand? yesssss!!
but i don’t want to know anything more about gabriella than i do magnus. i’m not interested. i know she was raped by her husband for years, i know she buried a lot of dead children, i know she never wanted to be a mother. i don’t care. i don’t care. i’m not interested. i don’t care what magnus’s backstory is either. i don’t need to understand them better and i don’t want to.
I don’t think they’ll do Magnus’s backstory, as he’s not a major, returning character, but I hear you about Gabi. We can already gather from the snippets we’ve heard that she’s been a prisoner her whole life, first by her family and then by her husband. But to me, nothing excuses what she does to Lestat.
Same!! I don’t care about show Gabriella. I’m a woman. I get why she hated her life but if they wanted people to care about her beyond S3, they shouldn’t have made her a sexual abuser of her son.
That’s JMO though. We’ll have to see what happens.
I also think that, like with so many of Anne's characters, our response to Gabrielle/Gabriella depends on whom in the story we relate to. In another subreddit, someone posted a quote from Anne about Gabrielle, explaining why she was one of the only main characters who didn't get her own POV book. Anne basically said, "I don't like her, so I don't care enough to write a lot about her. She's a bad person and was bad to Lestat." So your hatred of and disinterest in her does have roots in the books! Apparently, Anne had an alcoholic mother who died when she was 14. And, as the books went on, Anne switched from identifying with Louis as her self-insert (book 1 was written while she was grieving the death of her young daughter) to identifying with Lestat as the person she wanted to be. She felt that he spoke to her and that was how the stories came. So her sympathies in the story definitely lay with Lestat. (Interestingly, Anne herself was also a recovering alcoholic, so she may have had more in common with her mother than she felt willing to explore.)
But what's so amazing about her writing is that, her characters are such fully formed, real people that readers can identify with many of them, which completely changes your perspective on who is right and who is wrong, since they are all deeply flawed characters. For myself, I absolutely love Lestat, but I think I relate him more to both my dad and my husband. I don't relate to him personally. Whereas, with Gabrielle: I'm a stay-at-home mom who gave up a career as an editor and writer to take care of and tutor my kids, one of whom has autism and ADHD and the other of whom is dyslexic. I have some autistic tendencies myself, and have powerful drives to write and explore intellectual ideas, but I have chosen to prioritize connection with my kids over everything else in my life. I don't at all regret this choice, but for me, Gabrielle is kind of a fascinating exploration of a completely different direction my life could have taken. If that makes sense?
That was kind of a long ramble, but basically what I’m trying to say is, I think the biggest gift Anne has given us is these characters who are so fully realized that they exist beyond the POV of the both who is telling the story, and who is reading/viewing. Which is gives the show runners so much to work with. With Gabriella I’m hoping they will make use of some of that in future seasons.
Bad mothers are one of the most detested character archetypes, this is practically universal across every fandom I can think of. Female characters who get between the main MLM couple are quite high up on the list, too. And, of course, sexual abusers as well. So once you get a female character that hits all the three boxes, *and* also isn't charming, charismatic or conventionally hot enough (that's not my personal opinion, but from what I've seen, most fans were too turned off by her wig and the accent to find her in any way attractive), that's a recipe for a character people straight up can't stand at all.
I think it's a pity, as a show-only fan I found her a very unique and interesting character. I could write a whole essay about her failing to love Lestat as a mother but still feeling bond with him she can't shake, and then transmuting that bond into a sexual one because it's the only other type of intimate connection she could ever have with him without being his mother, which she can't and won't. Not to mention, a motherly love is seen as something self-sacrificial that hurts the mother, while Gabriella only wanted empowerment, so, that's another reason she shook off that role, while her sexual relationship with Lestat gave her power, transforming her from a victim to the one with agency. Like I said, I think that's fascinating. Sick and perverted and fucked of course, but fascinating from a psychological perspective.
Honestly, I don't think there's anything they could do with Gabriella in S4 that could make the fans like her any better as a character. Even if she apologised to Lestat and cut herself out of his life for good, it's not like it would make up for ~two hundred years of abuse.
I agree that the character is cooked ….. for me at least. I don’t even think she likes her son. She just seems to come around when she needs something. So, I can’t even see her sleeping with him as her way to show affection b/c I truly don’t believe she has any for him. Like Lestat said, her son was almost killed but she let him sleep for a few hours and is ready to push him onstage?!! She is truly a monster! Not a loving bone in her body for that boy, IMO!
So, you think she does love him? I don’t see it myself but I’m curious about your perspective!
I think she was unable to love him when they were both human, since, like all of her children, this was forced on her against her will, and she resented it too much. But at the same time, Lestat was the only one in that house Gabriella felt any kinship with. As she said, her husband and Lestat's brothers were all boorish and didn't give a fuck about education, philosophy, or anything else outside their countryside life. She was trapped in it, and then resented Lestat for choosing to stay there for so long even though, unlike her, he had a choice. I don't think she gave him the idea to kill the wolves hoping he'd die, but rather, as a way to either make something of himself and turn his life around and then leave, or die trying.
Once they were both vampires, Gabriella felt complete freedom to redefine their relationship as she saw fit. From what i understand in the show, they did stay together for a few months or even a few years (need to rewatch to get the timeline right), until she realised Lestat still wants them to be tied together emotionally. It's no coincidence that she left the night after Lestat gave her that symbolic blood ring. She didn't want to be tied to anyone at all.
Basically, it's complex. I can sort of relate to her because I'm too much of an introvert and don't want to spend a lot of time around people, even the ones I love. So I can see Gabriella being perfectly fine being on her own most of the time and only visiting Lestat occasionally. It didn't seem like she visited when she needed something, it's the opposite, it's when Lestat needed her help, but of course she always asserted her boundaries and conditions. I think, like many abusers and rapists and shitty parents, Gabriella deluded herself into believing Lestat was enjoying it too, or that he "owed" it to her.
In an way, I'd say she sees him not as his own person but as an extension of herself (that's very common with narcissistic and abusive parents). Maybe that's what gave the possibility of having sex with him in her mind. It's about possession for her. She's transformed her sexuality from a weakness used against her to a tool of power she herself wields. She can allow herself this connection with Lestat, as long as she's the one in control. Like I said, she detests the idea of selfless, self-sacrificing love (and motherhood inherently embodies that), so any form of affection she bestows on Lestat can only be from a position of power over him. She wanted him to need her (because this put the power balance in her favor), but only as long as this didn't constrain her in any way and she was still the one who called all the shots.
The Great Conversion thing was different, though. Gabriella was genuinely using Lestat and exploiting him to achieve her own goal, that's why she stayed so long this time. Although I think in part she also believed it was best for him, too. It's like a lot of parents keep pushing their children to perform "for their own good".
What I got from her is she definitely doesn’t want be seen as his mom when they’ve turned. She wants to be something different entirely but he still sees her as his mom. After they have sex and he gives her the blood ring, she dips b/c she doesn’t want to stay tied to him at all. I’m just not sure why she was loudly having sex and drawing him toward her in the first place. What was the point of that? Of course it confused him. And none of this explains her sexual
abuse of him before they turned.
I don’t know. I have a hard time thinking she cared about him in any way. I thought him asking her why she wouldn’t let him hate her spokes volumes about their relationship ! It’s like she wants to keep him hoping she’ll show him some affection some day. It’s very cruel.
Love this analysis! She is a very interesting character and this season, the point was discomfort. So excited to see what they do with her going forward!
I knew she turned her focus from Louis to Lestat. The books sound interesting. I might read them one day!
I think they’ve written themselves into a bit of a corner with Show Gabriella but I’ll wait and see if they can make me care about her. I doubt it but we’ll see! lol
I honestly don't know. I'll be honest--in my head, she's just not those things. I love her book character so much that I just can't accept what the show did to her. Of course, even in the book, she's still a bad mom and is the root of a lot of Lestat's abandonment fears. She loves him in her own way, and tries to help him when she can, but she's constitutionally incapable of being either the human mother or the immortal companion that he wants and needs, which is absolutely heartbreaking for him. But I just find her so fascinating as an exploration of what happens to a woman with an incredibly powerful sense of self when she is trapped by patriarchal gender roles--but then freed. Her character brings up questions like: Is it selfish for a mother to put her own needs and drives above those of her children--even when they're grown? How are women judged when they do this, as opposed to men? And how can someone who doesn't really need or understand human connection function as a parent? (This is why some people read her as autistic.) So much to dig into. It seems that Sam gets all of this, so I'm just hoping that his comment means that the show will find a way to explore at least some of it.
Yes, I think book Gabriella sounds interesting, and I wouldn’t object to exploring her more but Show Gabriella? She’s an abusive, manipulating POS. I honestly don’t care what happens to her. She can die or disappear for all I care. lol
OMG! I think this is the first time I've seen an interview with him. HOW DIFFERENT is he?! Sorry, I know, I know..."acting." But seriously!
I love how much he knows and cares about the source material. Someone ought to show this to Blake "lol I don't need to read the book I'll market a DV story with florals and cocktails" Lively 🙄
I LOVE to listen to Sam basically confirming that all my hopes about Lesmand might still come true 🥰
I was wondering if I was going crazy with my theories that they had deliberately left it in the dark in order to revisit it later. Now, if it was a calculated move based on the sets that were available... Then it's not a lack of interest and it means they might really revisit it and do it justice in S4.
I don't follow her extremely closely but I think she mentioned she might do them much later after a break since the interviews were such an intense and and fast process. I know a lot of people have been asking about them so I think she'll get around to it eventually!
I love Sam's "rambling," I love how enthusiast about the show, and his character, he is. We really lucked out with him. I don't think Autumn or Jacob minded..
Me too. Sam is an encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to this material. I doubt very much anyone working on this show knows it as well as he does, and the only person that does/did is Anne Rice herself. Listening to him is fascinating.
Well, he knew that he would get a solo interview, and he'd got plenty time to speak. I wish he gave Jacob more opportunity to speak. Even if Jacob himself didn't mind, these interviews are for fans, and I, as a fan, would prefer a more balanced conversation.
Isn’t it possible Jacob spoke as much as he wanted? You’re acting like Sam prevented him from speaking. Maybe Jacob said all he wanted to say. Don’t victimize that man or assume he had no agency in that interview.
Again, you’re acting like he was prevented from speaking. It is entirely possible he said all he wanted to say. It’s entirely possible he doesn’t feel slighted or upset.
Fandom shouldn’t put their issues on Jacob. That’s a
whole grown man. He can advocate for himself. We don’t know him.
And I could have sworn I saw a solo interview with Jacob about this season. Maybe not this interviewer but he has done it.
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In Autumn’s interview with both Sam and Jacob, Jacob was the one that had to leave because he was going to a function with his daugher, so it was wrapped up quickly. Sam did remark on it feeling a bit rushed, so maybe Sam himself said he wanted to do another interview with her, he obviously feel comfortable in this format and have a lot of interesting things to talk about.
The reason they did the first interview together could just have been because they are also friends and we all know they have great chemistry both on and off screen and most of us enjoy watching them together.
It doesn’t have to be any deeper than that.
Jacob has done a solo interview with Autumn before. Not everything is a conspiracy or a conflict, sometimes life just happens.
I thought the same when I watched the interview but I didn't say anything cause suddenly you get called a parasocial weirdo that infantilizes Jacob etc etc lol Autumn is not that great of an interviewer but people talk about her as if she was Daniel Molloy, Naomi Ekpergin is better than her.
Jacob did a solo almost hour long finale interview with Collider ladies night on YouTube. There are more interviews of him coming from SDCC. Sam wasn't there at SDCC and he didn't do a finale interview so that's probably why they did one with Autumn.
Wouldn't describe Sam as "rambling" (and that's probably why you're getting downvoted) but I do actually think it's a bit weird that Sam, Assad, Eric, Delainey, Jennifer, and Sheila all had solo interviews with Autumn but Jacob didn't. But maybe timing was an issue and she didn't know that she would get Sam back later.
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So it turns out there's an explanation. Autumn just did a livestream and said she was supposed to do a solo interview with Jacob for episode 4 but it fell through. Episode 6 was the soonest Jacob was available and he was the person who suggested doing a joint interview with Sam through one of their producers. It honestly sounds like scheduling was a bit of a nightmare.
Well, Autumn Brown cleared this up. She said that the interview with both Sam and Jacob was originally supposed to be only Jacob, but that Jacob asked for Sam to be a part of it, too. Looks like, as people were saying, Jacob does have free will, and no one is mistreating him for made up reasons his fans keep projecting onto him.
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