Luc Besson Interview: Dracula: A Love Tale and Billie Eilish Inspired the Tone of the Film

There's been no shortage of adaptations inspired by Bram Stoker's 1867 novel Dracula. In the last couple of years alone, we've seen Nicolas Cage in Renfield and a unique take on a single chapter in The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Now, filmmaker Luc Besson is returning to the material, taking inspiration from Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula, and leaning heavily into what he believes is the untold story. Many retellings get wrapped up in the "pure fantasy" of Dracula the monster, but Besson finds untapped potential in the centuries-spanning love story, which led him to reunite with Caleb Landry Jones as the titular vampire in Dracula: A Love Tale.

While working on DogMan together, Besson extended an opportunity for him and Jones to work together again, this time on a timeless classic that would explore an epic tale of undying love. In A Love Tale, Jones plays Vlad, or Dracul, a fierce warrior and a prince who finds infamy when he is punished by God to walk the earth for eternity. Often, we see depictions of Dracula's terrors and powers, but Besson explores the romance integral to the story of a man who loves his wife so boldly that he renounces God for her untimely death and attempts to reconnect with her through time.

During this interview, where Collider's Steve Weintraub sits down with the director on the set of A Love Tale outside Paris, Besson is forthcoming with details about his 2025 film. We learn about the characters Jones and Academy Award-winner Christoph Waltz play, how nine-time Grammy Award-winner Billie Eilish inspired the tone of the film, and details about this star-crossed take on the iconic vampire. For all of this and more, check out the full conversation in the video above, or you can read the transcript below.

#LucBesson #DraculaALoveTale #BillieEilish

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