Over the past several years, we’ve begun to see quite a few film directors make the transition over to TV productions. For many, it’s the creative freedom that folks are enjoying in the realm of TV series that is enticing the auteurs to make the leap. And it appears that Olivier Assayas is the latest filmmaker to take a chance on a new TV series, as he is working on a new show based on his previous film, “Irma Vep.”
According to a new interview with NY Times, where Assayas gave some information about what he’s doing right now during quarantine without the Cannes Film Festival to keep him busy, the filmmaker explained that he’s in the middle of writing a new TV series based on his 1996 film, “Irma Vep.”
“These days I’m writing for A24 a serial based on my 1996 feature ‘Irma Vep,’” said Assayas. “It keeps me busy and I find it very exciting, even stimulating as it has a zany pulp element and also deals with the state of cinema today.”
The French film, “Irma Vep,” tells the story of a Hong Kong actress that finds herself dealing with a number of issues while in France to film a remake of the film “Les Vampires.” The film takes a fairly straightforward premise and uses it to explore some truly interesting aspects of the French film industry around that time. And judging by the description that Assayas gives about the new series, produced by A24, “Irma Vep” is being adapted to tell the story of cinema today, more than 20 years after the original film.
Though he deals primarily in film, Assayas is no stranger to TV series. Ten years ago, the filmmaker wrote and directed the miniseries “Carlos,” starring Edgar Ramirez as the Venezuelan revolutionary Ilich Ramírez Sánchez.
It’s unclear when “Irma Vep” might come to TV screens and where the series might eventually land. A24 is probably best known, on the TV front at least, for the Hulu comedy series, “Ramy.”