New York (AFP)

American cable channel HBO has commissioned French director Olivier Assayas to produce a mini-series based on his film "Irma Vep" (1996), with Oscar-winning Swedish actress Alicia Vikander in the title role.

Critical success, but little supported by the public, the feature film by the French director told the story of the shooting, in France, of the remake of a part of the silent film "Les Vampires" (1915).

Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung played her own role there, a star of mainstream Asian cinema propelled into an arts-and-essay project, piloted by a whimsical and neurotic director (Jean-Pierre Léaud).

Asked by AFP, HBO has not communicated the number of episodes or the expected release date for this mini-series, of which Olivier Assayas will also be the executive producer.

Olivier Assayas (65) has long been a popular director abroad.

He has already shot films in English, such as "Boarding Gate" (2007) or "Cuban Network" (2019).

In 2016, he received the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival for "Personal Shopper", starring American actress Kristen Stewart.

To succeed Maggie Cheung, the production chose Alicia Vikander (32), who received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2016 for "The Danish Girl".

The Swedish actress will be the co-executive producer of the project, which will be broadcast on cable channel HBO but also on the new online video platform HBO Max.

The successful independent American company A24 ("Moonlight", "Lady Bird," Midsommar ") will be in production.

"Olivier is a master when it comes to telling unique stories that are both dramatic and lighthearted," Francesca Orsi, HBO executive vice president of programming, said in a statement.

Alicia Vikander will play the character of Mira, a famous American actress in search of elsewhere, who goes to France to shoot, as in the film, a remake of "Vampires".

Against the backdrop of a thriller, Mira walks on the border between reality and fiction, between art and real life.

"It's a comedy that will try to embody the spirit of the times, in the same way that the original film had done", explained Olivier Assayas, quoted in the press release, "in a very different world, a different time, which seems light years away. "

© 2020 AFP