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Irma Vep(miniseries)

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Irma Vep
GenreComedy drama
Created byOlivier Assayas
Based onIrma Vep
by Olivier Assayas
Written byOlivier Assayas
Directed byOlivier Assayas
Starring
ComposerThurston Moore
Country of origin
  • United States
  • France
Original languages
  • English
  • French
No.of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
  • Olivier Assayas
  • Alicia Vikander
  • Ravi Nandan
  • Hallie Sekoff
  • Stuart Manashil
  • Kevin Turen
  • Ashley Levinson
  • Sam Levinson
  • Sylvie Barthet
  • Daniel Delume
ProducerJes Anderson
Production locationsÎle-de-France,France
Cinematography
Editors
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time46–58 minutes
Production companies
  • A24
  • Vortex Sutra
  • The Reasonable Bunch
  • Little Lamb
Original release
Network
ReleaseJune 6(2022-06-06)–
July 25, 2022(2022-07-25)

Irma Vepis acomedy dramatelevisionminiseriescreated, written and directed byOlivier AssayasforHBO.Based on Assayas's1996 film of the same name,the series premiered at the2022 Cannes Film Festivalon May 22. It debuted on June 6, 2022 and concluded on July 25, consisting of eight episodes.

It starsAlicia Vikanderas Mira, an American movie star who comes to France to star as Irma Vep in a television series adaptation of the French silent film serialLes Vampires,andVincent Macaigneas René, the director of the adaptation. It also features an ensemble supporting cast, includingAdria Arjona,Byron Bowers,Jeanne Balibar,Vincent Lacoste,Nora Hamzawi,Hippolyte Girardot,Devon Ross,Alex Descas,Antoine Reinartz,andLars Eidinger.

Irma Vepreceived highly positive reviews from critics, who praised Vikander's performance and Assayas's direction.

Premise

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Irma Veprevolves around Mira, an American movie star disillusioned by her career and a recent breakup, who comes to France to star as Irma Vep in a television series adaptation of the French silent film serialLes Vampires.Set against the backdrop of a lurid crime thriller, Mira struggles as the distinctions between herself and the character she plays begin to blur and merge.[1]

Cast

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Starring

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  • Alicia Vikanderas Mira Harberg, a Swedish-born American actress keen to change the direction of her career and shake off a recent tabloid scandal. Vikander also portraysMusidoraduring flashback scenes.
  • Vincent Macaigneas René Vidal, the director of the television series whose history ofanxiety disorders,incoherent artistic vision, and constant clashes with the cast, crew and producers all threaten to derail the project. Macaigne also portraysLouis Feuilladeduring flashback scenes.

Recurring co-stars

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  • Adria Arjonaas Laurie, Mira's ex-assistant and ex-girlfriend. After things did not end well with Mira, she married Herman.
  • Byron Bowersas Herman Ray, a Hollywood filmmaker who is in Paris to promote his latest film
  • Jeanne Balibaras Zoe, a costume designer. She supplies drugs to Gottfried and is attracted to Mira.
  • Vincent Lacosteas Edmond Lagrange, a French actor hired to play Philippe Guérande
  • Nora Hamzawias Carla, assistant director. Hamzawi also portrays Feuillade's assistant during flashback scenes.
  • Hippolyte Girardotas Robert Danjou, a French actor hired to play the Grand Vampire. Girardot also portrays Jean Ayme during a flashback scene in the fifth episode.
  • Devon Ross as Regina, a cinephile and Mira's assistant
  • Alex Descasas Grégory Desormeaux, a producer. Descas is reprising his role from the1996 movie.
  • Antoine Reinartzas Jérémie, a camera operator
  • Carrie Brownsteinas Zelda, Mira's agent. She is not interested in theVampiresproject and does not accept that Mira is uninterested in playing the girlfriend in the upcoming "Silver Surfer"movie, despite Mira's repeated refusal of the role.
  • Lars Eidingeras Gottfried, a drug-addicted German actor hired to play Juan-José Moréno. Eidinger also portraysFernand Herrmannduring a flashback scene in the sixth episode.
  • Tom Sturridgeas Eamonn, Mira's ex-boyfriend. He's in Paris for a movie, and they have not seen each other since they broke up.
  • Fala Chenas Cynthia Keng, a rising star from Hong Kong hired by René Vidal to play Irma Vep's provocative accomplice and part of the Vampires' plans.
  • Pascal Greggoryas Gautier Parcheminerie, a man who is financing the series so that Mira agrees to work on a campaign for his cosmetics brand
  • Dominique Reymondas René's therapist

Other co-stars

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  • Sigrid Bouaziz as Séverine, a French actress hired to play Marfa Koutiloff, and Edmond's ex-girlfriend
  • Vivian Wuas Jade Lee, René's ex-wife who played Irma Vep in its previous remake. Archival footage ofMaggie Cheungfrom the1996 movieis used when Jade appears as Irma.
  • Lou Lampros as Galatée, an aspiring actress hired to play Jeanne Brémontier. Lampros also portraysLouise Lagrangeduring a flashback scene in the eighth episode.

Additionally,Valérie Bonnetonportrays Mira's French PR, Élizabeth Mazev appears asMusidorain an interview from 1947, while Jean-Luc Vincent portrays the host.Denis Podalydèsappears as the Police Prefect during a flashback scene, Maya Persaud plays Sandra, a member of the production, andJérôme Commandeurportrays Angus, a production executive. Alexandre Steiger plays Jules, an actor portraying Mazamette, while Stefan Bohne appears as Thor, a bondage consultant on the series, Mélodie Richard as Aurélia, an actress portraying Augustine, andMaud Wyleras Rebekah, an actress portraying Mme D'Alba.

Also appearing areNathalie Richardas Ondine, Calypso Valois as Edmond's Girlfriend,Maya Sansaas Grégory's wife,Jess Liaudinas the actor portraying Satanas, Bertrand Pazos asSacha Guitry,and Laurent Papot asAlbert Willemetz.French comic Panayotis Pascotcameoas a young executive, and Aude Pépin as the voice of René's wife.Kristen Stewartappears in the eighth episode as Lianna, a famous pop star and Eamonn's girlfriend who recently suffered a miscarriage.

Episodes

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No.Title [2]Directed byWritten byOriginal air date [2]U.S. viewers
(millions)
1"The Severed Head"Olivier AssayasOlivier AssayasJune 6, 2022(2022-06-06)0.071[3]
2"The Ring that Kills"Olivier AssayasOlivier AssayasJune 13, 2022(2022-06-13)0.046[4]
3"Dead Man's Escape"Olivier AssayasOlivier AssayasJune 20, 2022(2022-06-20)0.049[5]
4"The Poisoner"Olivier AssayasOlivier AssayasJune 27, 2022(2022-06-27)0.042[6]
5"Hypnotic Eyes"Olivier AssayasOlivier AssayasJuly 4, 2022(2022-07-04)0.039[7]
6"The Thunder Master"Olivier AssayasOlivier AssayasJuly 11, 2022(2022-07-11)0.031[8]
7"The Spectre"Olivier AssayasOlivier AssayasJuly 18, 2022(2022-07-18)0.045[9]
8"The Terrible Wedding"Olivier AssayasOlivier AssayasJuly 25, 2022(2022-07-25)0.073[10]

Production

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Assayas started developing the miniseries in May 2020 as a loose adaptation of the film, with it being officially ordered by HBO in December 2020 and to be written and directed by Assayas.[11]

Casting

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In December 2020,Alicia Vikanderwas announced to have been cast in the leading role.[11][12]Adria Arjona,Carrie Brownstein,Jerrod Carmichael,Fala Chenand Devon Ross were cast in July.[13]In August,Byron BowersandTom Sturridgewere cast, with Sturridge replacing Carmichael who had to depart the project due to scheduling conflicts.[14]In November, several new roles were announced, includingVincent Macaigne,Jeanne Balibar,Lars Eidinger,Vincent Lacoste,Hippolyte Girardot,Alex Descas,Nora HamzawiandAntoine Reinartz,with Macaigne cast as the director of the film and the rest of the announced as cast and crew.[15]In an Interview withThe New YorkerKristen Stewartrevealed that she was cast in a small part.[16]

Filming

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Principal photography began on June 14, 2021 inÎle-de-France,mostly inParisand its suburbs, and took place over one hundred days. Some of the locations used by the production include theOpéra-Comique,theChamps-Élysées,Montmartre,theGare du Nord,and theCharles de Gaulle Airport.[17]

Music

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The song playing during the opening credits isMdou Moctar's "Ya Habibti".[18]

Additional music throughout the first episode is fromJonny Easton's "Follow The Light" album.[19]

Costumes

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Jürgen Doering created the costumes for the series whileLouis Vuitton's creative directorNicolas Ghesquièreis the designer behind Irma Vep's costume.[20]

Release

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The series premiered on June 6, 2022, onHBOin the United States. It also streams onHBO Max.In France, episodes premiere onOCS's streaming service the morning after the American broadcast then aired onOCS Cityon the evening. Unlike many series that alternate dialogue in French and in another language, the production decided to not dub the English-language scenes in French for the French broadcast.[21]

Reception

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Irma Vepwas met with critical acclaim upon release, with praise towardsVikander's performance. On thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,the series holds an approval rating of 95%, based on 57 reviews with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Catnip for cinephiles and a welcome spotlight for the spellbinding Alicia Vikander,Irma Vepis a worthwhile expansion of writer-director Olivier Assayas' cinematic opus ".[22]OnMetacritic,it has a score of 84 out of 100, based on 21 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[23]

Following its premiere at the75th Cannes Film Festival,Daniel Fienberg ofThe Hollywood Reporterdescribed the series as "loose and intellectually loopy, broad and jokey one moment and wallowing in sad self-absorption the next" and found Vikander's performance "wonderfully light and open".[24]

In his review forVariety,Daniel D'Addario commended Vikander's performance, concluding: "If big-budget moviemaking is a prison, then Vikander-as-Mira, sylphlike and darting, is going to wiggle out between the bars."[25]David Cote ofThe A.V. Clubgraded it with an "A" and praised Assayas's direction, writing "It's a masterful handling of visual vocabularies, arguably the most sophisticated serial moviemaking HBO has ever produced".[26]RogerEbert's Brian Tallerico called it a "smart, twisting look behind-the-scenes, and a reminder that Olivier Assayas is one of the best alive today in the filmmaking business, and apparently TV too".[27]In his review forThe Ringer,Adam Nayman wrote, "The pleasures of a show likeIrma Veplie in its relentless cleverness and post-modern sophistication—the way it flaunts its own intelligence and frame of reference ", praising the characters and direction.[28]

References

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  1. ^Thorne, Will (December 14, 2020)."Alicia Vikander to Star in HBO Series 'Irma Vep' From Olivier Assayas".Variety.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023.RetrievedApril 16,2022.
  2. ^ab"Irma Vep – Episodes".Rotten Tomatoes.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023.RetrievedMay 12,2022.
  3. ^Metcalf, Mitch (June 7, 2022)."Showbuzz Daily's Monday 6.6.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated".Showbuzz Daily.Archivedfrom the original on June 11, 2022.RetrievedJune 8,2022.
  4. ^Metcalf, Mitch (June 14, 2022)."Showbuzz Daily's Monday 6.13.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated".Showbuzz Daily.Archivedfrom the original on July 15, 2022.RetrievedJune 14,2022.
  5. ^Metcalf, Mitch (June 21, 2022)."Showbuzz Daily's Monday 6.20.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated".Showbuzz Daily.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023.RetrievedJune 22,2022.
  6. ^Metcalf, Mitch (June 28, 2022)."Showbuzz Daily's Monday 6.27.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated".Showbuzz Daily.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023.RetrievedJune 30,2022.
  7. ^Metcalf, Mitch (July 6, 2022)."Showbuzz Daily's Monday 7.4.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED".Showbuzz Daily.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023.RetrievedJuly 8,2022.
  8. ^Metcalf, Mitch (July 11, 2022)."Showbuzz Daily's Monday 7.11.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED".Showbuzz Daily.Archivedfrom the original on July 15, 2022.RetrievedJuly 19,2022.
  9. ^Metcalf, Mitch (July 19, 2022)."Showbuzz Daily's Monday 7.18.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED".Showbuzz Daily.Archivedfrom the original on July 23, 2022.RetrievedJuly 22,2022.
  10. ^Metcalf, Mitch (July 26, 2022)."Showbuzz Daily's Monday 7.25.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED".Showbuzz Daily.Archivedfrom the original on July 27, 2022.RetrievedJuly 27,2022.
  11. ^abWhite, Peter (December 14, 2020)."Alicia Vikander To Star In TV Adaptation Of Olivier Assayas' Feature Film 'Irma Vep' For HBO".Deadline Hollywood.Archivedfrom the original on December 14, 2020.RetrievedApril 16,2022.
  12. ^Debruge, Peter; Keslassy, Elsa (April 14, 2022)."Cannes: David Cronenberg, Claire Denis and George Miller Join 'Elvis' and 'Top Gun' in 2022 Lineup".Variety.Archivedfrom the original on April 27, 2022.RetrievedApril 16,2022.
  13. ^Petski, Denise (July 19, 2021)."'Irma Vep': Adria Arjona, Carrie Brownstein, Jerrod Carmichael Among 5 Cast In TV Adaptation Of Olivier Assayas' Feature Film For HBO ".Deadline Hollywood.Archivedfrom the original on July 19, 2021.RetrievedApril 17,2022.
  14. ^Petski, Denise (August 5, 2021)."'Irma Vep': Byron Bowers & Tom Sturridge Join HBO's TV Adaptation Of Olivier Assayas' Feature Film ".Deadline Hollywood.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023.RetrievedApril 17,2022.
  15. ^Murphy, J. Kim (November 23, 2021)."Olivier Assayas' 'Irma Vep' HBO Series Adds Eight New Cast Members".Variety.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023.RetrievedApril 17,2022.
  16. ^Witt, Emily (November 15, 2021)."How Kristen Stewart Became Her Generation's Most Interesting Movie Star".The New Yorker.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023.RetrievedApril 17,2022.
  17. ^""Irma Vep": filming in Paris and screening in Cannes for Olivier Assayas' series ".Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée.May 16, 2022.Archivedfrom the original on July 3, 2022.RetrievedJuly 3,2022.
  18. ^Johnson, J. Paul (June 6, 2022)."Irma Vep Episode 1: 'The Severed Head'".25 Years Later.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023.RetrievedJune 23,2022.
  19. ^Brown, Jim (October 17, 2022)."Irma Vep Episode 1: 'The Severed Head'".IMDb.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023.RetrievedSeptember 23,2022.
  20. ^""Irma Vep": formidable mise en abyme ".Les Echos(in French). June 7, 2022.Archivedfrom the original on July 3, 2022.RetrievedJuly 3,2022.
  21. ^"Irma Vep, mini-série inédite, sur OCS".OCS(in French). April 25, 2022.Archivedfrom the original on July 3, 2022.RetrievedJuly 3,2022.
  22. ^Irma Vep,archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023,retrievedJune 3,2022
  23. ^Irma Vep,archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023,retrievedJune 3,2022
  24. ^Fienberg, Daniel (May 22, 2022)."Alicia Vikander in HBO's 'Irma Vep': TV Review | Cannes 2022".The Hollywood Reporter.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023.RetrievedJune 3,2022.
  25. ^D'Addario, Daniel (June 2, 2022)."'Irma Vep' Is Shrewd Industry Commentary, Anchored by Alicia Vikander: TV Review ".Variety.RetrievedJune 2,2022.
  26. ^Cote, David (June 2, 2022)."HBO's Irma Vep is ridiculously meta and enjoyable".The A.V. Club.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023.RetrievedJune 2,2022.
  27. ^Tallerico, Brian (June 3, 2022)."Olivier Assayas, Alicia Vikander Are Having a Blast in HBO's Irma Vep | TV/Streaming | Roger Ebert".RogerEbert.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023.RetrievedJune 3,2022.
  28. ^"'Irma Vep' Is a Sprawling, Brilliant TV Show About Movies ".theringer.June 6, 2022.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2023.RetrievedJune 6,2022.
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