EXCLUSIVE: AMC’s Interview with the Vampire Season 2 has paused production due to the actors strike, despite the fact it is filmed outside the U.S. with a majority international cast.
Rolin Jones’ gothic horror TV series has been filming mainly in Prague since April and stars Brits Assad Zaman, Jacob Anderson and Delainey Hayles, and Australia’s Sam Reid, along with Americans such as Eric Bogosian.
Some U.S. projects filming abroad with majority international casts such as HBO’s House of the Dragon have been able to push on despite the strike but AMC confirmed that Interview with the Vampire has downed tools, with some of its stars understood to be SAG members. House of the Dragon and fellow HBO series Industry are contracted under British actors union Equity, rather than SAG.
Slated to be given a first look at Comic-Con this weekend, Interview with the Vampire is based on the 1976 novel by Anne Rice, which spawned a 1994 movie starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. The series follows the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac (Anderson) who recounts his life with his maker Lestat de Lioncourt and teenage vampire Claudia to veteran journalist Daniel Molloy, accompanied by ancient vampire Armand. The first season was received well by critics and the show was renewed ahead of premiere in October last year. Gran Via Productions, Dwight Street Book Club and AMC Studios are producers.
The actors strike was ratified on Thursday and, buttressed by the months-long writers strike, looks set to virtually ground Hollywood to a halt. News has begun to emerge, however, of projects being handed waivers by the union, such as upcoming Rebel Wilson-starring movie Bride Hard and faith series The Chosen, the latter of which is filmed in the U.S. It is widely anticipated that waivers will largely apply to indie films, given that most U.S. series are made with a studio.
