Well the way things are going, it doesn't appear as if the resurgence of film to TV remakes is going anywhere anytime soon. And in case you needed any further convincing, the very genre has now entered into peak meta territory. That's right, we now have a remake of a film about a remake of a film and that film in question? Irma Vep.
Here Alicia Vikander plays an actress joining a limited series remake of the French classic Les Vampires in Olivier Assayas' limited series remake of his 1996 film about an actress joining a film remake of the French classic Les Vampires. Brain melted yet? Us too, so let's unpack a little more.
What is Irma Vep about?
Irma Vep was a film released in 1996 as a new limited series, both written and directed by French auteur Olivier Assayas. In the plot of the metamovie, Assayas employed a small, struggling film crew led by an ailing (and mentally feeble) René Vidal, in the attempts to remake a 1915 French serial called Les Vampires. The serial was a 10-part silent noir about a ring of mastermind criminals who called themselves The Vampires, the central figure being the seductive and deadly Irma Vep, a villainous murderer who sulks around stealing or abetting in kidnapping and murder.
In this new HBO limited series, Assayas has created a different, younger René, who casts American star Mira Harberg as Vep in a remake of his remake (he prefers to call it a long film “divided into eight pieces”). In this iteration, Mira just finished an MCU-like mega-flick called Doomsday and is swatting away offers by her agent, Zelda (Carrie Brownstein), to play a female Silver Surfer.
Who is starring in Irma Vep?
In terms of the billing, Vincent Macaigne is set to play René, with Alicia Vikander taking on the movie star role of Mira. The series will also include Carrie Brownstein as Zelda and Tom Sturridge as Vikander's ex boyfriend.
When will the series be released?
Irma Vep is set for release on June 6th on HBO. The show will be structured in an hour long mini series format. Frankly, we can't wait for the utterly delicious binge session. In the interim, you can take a look at the teaser trailer below.
Image: One
