HBO’s ‘Irma Vep’ May Be the Most Meta TV Show Ever
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If one more Hollywood person from the film world who dabbles in TV says that the episodes of their series are like “one long movie, divided up” TV critics and journalists across the world might all collectively have their heads explode. Sir. Ma’am. What you are describing is a television show. Get over yourself.
It’s undoubtedly gratifying, then, to hear this hilarious little quip in the new trailer for HBO’s super meta series, Irma Vep.
“It’s a film, admittedly a bit long,” the fictionalized writer-director René Vidal (Vincent Macaigne) tells a studio head after he’s accused of making a series. “Divided into eight pieces.”
“If you say so,” the studio head replies, echoing all of our thoughts as each new lengthy piece of cinema drops into theaters.
It’s not just this—the entirety of the new Irma Vep trailer mocks the film industry, laying into remake culture as Alicia Vikander stars as an actress looking to reboot Les Vampires. The catch here is that Irma Vep is a remake of Olivier Assayas’ 1997 film of the same name. It’s a remake of a movie about a remake.
And it might all be a little too confusing, if it weren’t for Vikander’s dashing appeal as the titular (well, kind of—she’s not Irma Vep, she’s the actress, Mira, in the starring role) Irma Vep. Sporting a all-black outfit, perfectly-curled hair, an overall Parisian look, Mira takes center stage in her new project. The eight-part HBO film, that is.
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She’s going to need to keep that sleek aura on set, especially since she’s dodging her ex-assistant and ex-girlfriend Laurie (Adria Arjona), who just got married. “I’m so sick of being the superhero,” Mira says in the trailer. “I don’t need a hit. I need a good movie.”
A limited series will have to do, Mira, because that’s what HBO’s giving you! Irma Vep will be an eight-episode series, all created by Olivier Assayas himself. Euphoria’s Sam Levinson also hopped onto the A24 project as an Executive Producer with his wife, Ashley Levinson.
The original Irma Vep, starring Maggie Cheung in Vikander’s place, was unveiled at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. For the most part, the film followed the same plot: Starring as herself, Cheung was set to remake the classic silent film Les Vampires under the French film director René Vidal.
The OG movie is streaming on HBO Max, if you want to catch up before the new series drops. Irma Vep will debut on HBO on June 6.
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