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Ask Neil Gaiman and Amber Benson About Their Kickstarter Vampire Movie 103

Posted by samzenpus from the ask-what-you-will dept.
Writer and novelist Neil Gaiman and Amber Benson of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame have teamed up to star in a new vampire movie called, Blood Kiss. Kickstarted by ST:TNG and Emmy-winning writer Michael Reaves, Blood Kiss is a film noir vampire movie set in Golden Age Hollywood. Of his acting debut Gaiman says, "I'm willing to pretend that the prospect of acting doesn't terrify me in order to help Michael Reaves make his film." The trio have agreed to take a break from the blood and answer any questions you have about the new project or their past work. As usual, ask as many as you'd like, but please, one per post.
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Ask Neil Gaiman and Amber Benson About Their Kickstarter Vampire Movie More

Ask Neil Gaiman and Amber Benson About Their Kickstarter Vampire Movie

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  • Overdone? (Score:3)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @12:03PM (#43783497)

    Given the plethora of vampire-related media in recent years, do you believe there is still a market for this type of film? What will you bring to the table that has not already been done?

    • I came here to ask this.... although I was going to go with something along the lines of "What makes you think we need another vampire movie"

      Of course, lets take a look at the movies we can be expecting soon... Another Superman movie (Man of steel), Fast and Furious 6 (AKA return of the dead characters), Hangover 3, Thor 2, Jurassic Park 4, Star Trek Into Darkness (reboot part deux), and on and on. Why do we even expect new stuff anymore?

    • Not sure there has been a plethora in "recent" years. Vampires have always been popular. there are almost 2000 IMDB entries with the keyword "vampire".

    • 1.) Amber Benson,
      2.) Neil Gaiman
      3.) I'm reasonably sure these vampires won't glitter.

  • what are the vampires like? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by gl4ss ( 559668 ) on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @12:05PM (#43783537) Homepage Journal

    what are the vampires like? are they cool like masquerade, goofy like buffy or just plain retarded like twilight?

    yes this is intended to sound like buffy and twilight are uncool/stupid and that masquerade is cool/interesting. if their faces change to bad masks like buffy then gtfo and if the thing is like twilight then gtfo. don't care about the story. blade style is ok as well, it's somewhat akin to masquerade anyways(the basic stuff minus the "special" shit).

  • Will Lincoln be in it? (Score:3)

    by the_humeister ( 922869 ) on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @12:07PM (#43783559)

    I'll only watch if the main character is a popular dead president.

  • Vampires are so over (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Animats ( 122034 ) on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @12:09PM (#43783587) Homepage

    Somebody didn't get the memo that vampires are over.

    You can track this at a Barnes and Noble store by noting how many bookcases in the teen section are devoted to a subject. At peak, there were four cases of "Teen Paranormal Romance" and two of "New Teen Paranormal Romance". That dropped to three cases total, then two. "Survival" books are big now - there are two cases of Hunger Games imitations, not including the table of Hunger Games merch.

    • Can we be over zombies now, too? pretty please?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gl4ss ( 559668 )

      if twilight is dead then great!
      the little vampire books were kinda fun as a kid though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_kleine_Vampir [wikipedia.org] they should get a resurgence(no idea about the movie though).

      but did barnes & noble really have a shelf dedicated to that shit? at least finnish bookstores aren't that kind of insane(or finnish teens don't read or have more sense..). the funniest labeled shelf I saw was at londons forbidden planet: "macho guys with guns". around here they're just fiction or non fiction.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Molochi ( 555357 )

      Sorry, it ain't over yet.

      http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=vampire [google.com]

      Search Interest generally spikes in October with the highwater mark being October 2011. However looks like May 2013 has the highest search interest in vampires for the month of May, ever and all-time interest should peak this October.

      Interest in Zombies and Werewolves may have reached a plateau.

    • Neil Gaiman gave an interview in 2009 to Entertainment Weekly : http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20301186,00.html [ew.com]

      Where are we now, in the grand vampire cycle?

      Vampires go in waves, and it kind of feels like now we're finishing a vampire wave; at the point where they're everywhere. It's probably time to go back underground for another 20 or 25 years.

      Theyâ(TM)ve reached the saturation point.

      I think so, and it definitely sort of feels like classical vampires have been around enough that if they could g

    • Somebody didn't get the memo that vampires are over.

      The vampire thing has been ongoing for more than a century and a half so far and probably will never be over. Before Dracula, there was Lord Ruthven who every author made their main vampire. The 19th century was full of books and plays about vampires. Thing is that vampires are allegories for sex, death, and even sometimes romantic love which people have tended to dwell on since they started telling stories. They may be over used at times, but will never be over until something else comes along to replace t

  • Thoughts on Vampire rules? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by kannibal_klown ( 531544 ) on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @12:19PM (#43783709)

    What are your thoughts on Vampire rules; such as classic vampires vs sparkling?
    Over the decades we've seen Vampires (and Zombies) change and evolve from the classic rules and mythology to a whole plethora of variations. Powers, weaknesses, origins, turnings, etc. Such transitions have been slow, but now we have sparkling vampires made of stone. Do you feel that we should stick more with the classic mythos? Or are you in favor with your own spin.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Jaysyn ( 203771 )

      Such transitions have been slow, but now we have sparkling vampires made of stone.

      I know you are talking about Twilight, but if I recall correctly, in Anne Rice's Vampire novels, the really, really old vampires looked like (& were as hard as) alabaster statues until they moved.

      • The original vampires in Anne Rice's books, the ones who created all other vampires, had alabaster skin but were more like marble statues. They were a king and queen who were possessed by a demon. Akasha later killed her husband and got the full power.

        When Lestat found her and drank her blood, he gained some of the power. That is why when he tried to kill himself by lying naked in the Gobi Desert, waiting for the sun to rise, he didn't die. All he got was a tan.

        Yeah, I read the books back in the day. Des

        • Well, even going back to Brahm, Dracula was less powerful in daylight but didn't necessarily kill him, it just reduced his strength and made him unable to use some powers (such as transformation, etc).

          Still, he certainly didn't freakin' sparkle in the sunlight.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by khasim ( 1285 )

      Do you feel that we should stick more with the classic mythos? Or are you in favor with your own spin.

      The problem would be FINDING the "classic" vampire. They've been changing ever since they were first invented. Mostly because the person telling the story needed a certain feature set for that story.

      I'm not saying anything against Michael Reaves. But the main problem with most of the stories is that the reality created by the writer is inherently limited to the knowledge of the writer. So there are usually

      • I realize that even the old-school vampire mythos was not exactly stable.

        But the same way as how Zombies started changing at an accelerated rate around the 2000's... so have vampires. Sun varies from lethal, to dangerous, to a minor inconvenience, to it makes me weaker after X hours of exposure, to I look like a bedazzled-human . Rules for conversion vary, though those rules have almost almost varied since mid 1900s. Innate abilities change. Craving / behavior / personality changes.

        But like zombies, the

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by khasim ( 1285 )

          But with the newer stuff, their abilities are amped and their weaknesses are nerfed. Why not?

          Exactly. You get eternal youth (at whatever age you "died") and all kinds of extras in exchange for a literal blood thirst. Which may or may not require you to kill a person (depending upon the writer) or animal.

          So what effect would that have on society? And when did it start?

          Are there "good" vampires and if so, why aren't they converting some of our best scientists? Why aren't they our space program? Stake them on

  • Why do this? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by macbeth66 ( 204889 ) on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @12:25PM (#43783791)

    Didn't Twilight ruin Vampires for generations to come?

  • My question (Score:4, Funny)

    by Chillas ( 144627 ) on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @12:32PM (#43783845)

    With Michael, Neil and Amber on board, this project has a very intriguing pedigree and I think stands a good chance at being something original and fresh. At the same time, the vampire story is feeling a little worn-out at this particular time, which might make it a hard sell for some. My question is, will Amber Benson marry me?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Nadaka ( 224565 )

      You stole my question, before I could even ask it.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Tara was a very popular character particularly in the geek/nerd community. Do you think that character would have been as accepted if she was a gay man instead of a lesbian?

  • favorite (Score:3)

    by godrik ( 1287354 ) on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @12:35PM (#43783901)

    Thanks to both of you for this interview!

    Who is your favorite vampire ?

  • Will you marry me?

  • Will Amber be singing? Some of us have been waiting a long time for the debut album but will take what we can get.

  • That's it. (Score:3, Funny)

    by ddd0004 ( 1984672 ) on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @01:54PM (#43784863)

    I'm founding Kickstopper.

  • Without spoiling the plot, what separates Blood Kiss from the Vampyres of Hollywood series of novels?

  • ...ANOTHER vampire film / franchise!!!

    I know, "But this is Neil Gaiman!!!" /facepalm

  • The Kickstarter page asks for $50K, but considering the apparent costs usually involved in making anything other than the smallest-scale movies, as well as the references in the text of your KS pitch regarding venture capital, I'd like to know how much you *actually* need to get this film made and distributed.

  • A few (two or three) variations of Dracula.
    And "An interview with a vampire".

    Oh, well if you are hardcore you might want to see Nosferatu.

    Market? Yeah sure, there is a market. The stupid idiots watch everything that is marketed right.

    I for my part can not stand vampire movies, most zombie movies (except "Brain Dead") or horror movies in particular.

    The audience around me is submerged into the "story" and "feared". I see no story as nonly see the flaws in the "chain of events" ... obviously for the brain dead

    • I think you are missing Salems Lot, which is a fairly good interpretation of the Stephen King book.

      I'd also go for The Lost Boys, lightweight but with a good 80s soundtrack

    • Try "Let the Right One In" - it's a vampire movie with a completely different approach. It's not a horror movie really, except in the circumstantial sense - more of a rather charming drama of sorts.

      It's on Netflix on-demand, give it a watch and see if you don't find a vampire movie you truly like.

  • Kickstarter: Monster.com for celebrities (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    My question:

    Don't you think celebrities should get the hell off kickstarter? Having both achieved success and fame in your chosen fields, why don't you use your undoubted influence and contacts instead of taking the lazy option of asking fans to shoulder the risk and provide project financing for you?

    Kickster is a fantastic opportunity for unknowns and people with good ideas, who otherwise would find it hard to raise capital, to get their small projects off the ground through crowdfunding. I find it prett

  • Wait. Will characters fall in love or sleep with each other, eventually or otherwise? If so, count me out.

    The Buffy series was awesome but starts to lose its shine when every character 'buddies' up.

    Series I can think of right now that do not do this are Sam Raimi's Hercules and maybe, Xena.

  • In a 2009 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Neil Gaiman mentioned his opinions on what vampires represented, and the published interview concluded with:

    ...it definitely sort of feels like classical vampires have been around enough that if they could go back in their coffins, the next time they come out [they could] mean something really different. That would be cool.

    ... so do the vampires mean something different this time?

  • As it says we're allowed to ask about past work --

    Should we still hold out hope for a Good Omens movie, or is it just dead in the water?

    (it's still one of my favorite books of all time ... I think I'm on my 4th copy as I've loaned it to over a dozen people over the years and don't always get it back)

    • I was thinking this reading through all of these replies. My favorite work by Gaiman and Pratchett.

      Thank you for mentioning it.

      Worth removing the mods I did on previous posts.

  • Hi Neal - first off I want to say I'm a huge admirer and I can't wait to see you in Nashville this July! That being said, the tour is billed as the "Last US Signing Tour". Say it ain't so!

    My question:

    With the upcoming "American Gods" project for HBO, how much creative control do you have over the direction of series? Is there a firm beginning and an end to the story arc, as with the novel, or do you have to keep things open for possible future seasons?

    Blood Kiss sounds interesting due to the sheer creati

  • A lot of recent movies have kind of ignored sub-plots and development of non-lead characters in exchange for stunts and effects.

    I'm a big Gaiman fan for his thoroughness in crafting worlds (the world is a character, the reader's view and understanding expands as the story progresses). His interest in this movie (... as an actor?) implies that the movie will also have this element.

    What kind of movie will this be, action (effect) or plot (story)? Will there be the level of depth and plots within plots t

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