Yes, I think he would grant such a request*, as long as that person was not an evildoer. Lestat actually has a lot more compassion than ppl give him credit for.
But it would be on a limited basis, I don’t think he’d be satisfied finding only these types of ppl to satisfy his own insatiable needs. He loves taking out evildoers, which, among other things, saves other lives, prevents other misery. Plus, it’s more fun ;]
*Except, of course, for his own father, who was dying, and Lestat couldn’t bring himself to kill his own father, even if he only bled him out like Louis did, w/o feeding on him. There’s fanon out there about that complicated father/son relationship… in the end, it’s clear that, for whatever his reasons, Lestat wanted to make his father’s last years alive to be fairly good ;A;
My ideal cast is right heeeeere check it out… I did that fairly recently, just edited it a little tonight. (You can also check out my #vc casting tag for moar opinions on this. I need a real Navigation page it’s in the works I promise!)
As for YOUR ideas, I’m only giving them a little consideration each to keep the post concise 😉 but I think it helps, when there’s a chunk of suggestions, to see them all heaped up together as a group, bc they WILL be meshing and bouncing off each other, like ingredients in a recipe.
Harry Lloyd as Lestat: You have my vote, lookit this cutie and this smile and just *flails* I don’t watch GoT so I can’t say for sure but from the gifs I’ve seen, he has the right physical appearance to satisfy my headcanon, and he has this brightness and optimism. He seems like he could also slay 8 wolves by himself.
Mads Mikkelsen as Marius: I have trouble visualizing this choice, bc I’ve just binged a TON of Hannibal, but he is pretty fantastic so why not consider him? Also loved him in Casino Royale but that was a very non-Marius role. Physically, I’m kind of leaning towards my own choices for Marius, in my post above.
^One thing more, tho, is that Marius is very paternal and I think MM gives off a great, strong, paternal vibe.
Tilda Swinton as Gabrielle: Well, maybe! She already played a vampire, not sure that she’d be willing to play another. She was amazing in Only Lovers Left Alive. She is very skinny, tho. [X] I think a Swinton!Gabrielle would blend well with a Lloyd!Lestat.
Hit the jump for 2 moar.
Kit Harrington as Nicki: I got an Anon about this, and at the time I searched AR’s FB page re: “someone suggested Kit Harrington as Nicolas to Anne and she loved the idea,” and didn’t find it 😛 Has anyone else seen that? I know she’s a big GoT fan, but idk about Kit playing Nicolas. Kinda big, isn’t he? Maybe he’s just buff for GoT. I picture Nicolas as more slender.But KH is apparently a very good actor, and I do also approve of him shirtless so let’s get him a job somehow…
Ben Barnes as Louis: I got an Anon about him for Louis, and appearance-wise, they are similar. And looking at my comments on that post, I still think he’d be a better Nicolas, he has this sass about him. Louis’ sass is kind of understated, Nicolas’ sass is as big and bold as a slap to the face.
I looooooved Only Lovers Left Alive! So many similarities to VC, I could write a thesis on it, but those characters were also beautiful in their own story. So many questions about them! I want the backstory on all of them. WHAT HAPPENED IN PARIS 87 YRS AGO?
^Bad things happen in Paris in VC, too ;A;
But look at these cuties awwww… the OLLA vampires’ personalities are totally compatible w/ VC, they seem to be characters first and the vampiring is secondary.
The OLLA vampires have different physiological rules from the Ricean vampires, and those rules dictated how they live. For one thing, Adam and Eve have arrangements w/ mortal agents to get clean blood rather than risk taking victims, whose blood could be tainted w/ modern disease or drugs, which OLLA vampires are vulnerable to. So no funtimes hunting evildoers like Lestat :[ They also don’t seem to need to drink as much blood as Ricean vampires do except for Ava bc she’s Claudia.
OLLA vampires can also stay awake during the day if they want to but are still highly flammable to sunlight, so they can probably pass as mortal somewhat better than Ricean vampires do. Eve has a sensory gift in which she can “read” the history from touching an object!
You asked about Lestat specifically, but Louis and Adam would totally bond over poetry and literature. Lestat and Eve (and/or Ava!) would go out to dive bars and rock out. Ava’s similarity to Claudia would make her an ideal hunting buddy for Lestat, but her recklessness would definitely irk him when he realizes he can’t reign her in. Ava seems as insatiable as Claudia, and even MORE selfish.
I’ve fully just accepted that [the OLLA vampires are] a part of the VC universe but have managed to stay out of the way of the wacky bullshit that affects the rest of the VC characters (probably due to the powers bestowed on Tilda Swinton from being an alien goddess). But maybe one day they run across Louis and Lestat and become so incredibly grateful that they don’t spend time around these other vampires (even if Lestat and Adam talked about music for like 8 hours and Lestat told Louis for days afterwards that Adam was like him except better… but less pretty don’t be offended Louis)
Hit the jump for moar pics and thoughts…
Some more comparisons bc of reasons:
^Never in the house you naughty girls!
^Little sisters to big bro/sis: “We are going to have S O M U C H fun”
^Adam would appeal to Lestat in his similarity to Nicolas, w/ the tortured musician thing and similarity to Louis with his fascinations with things (and he’s a slim brunet w/ a lot of soul like BOTH of them). Adam seems even less interested than Louis in fashion and material possessions, and his home is as disorganized as I would imagine Louis’ would be (Adam has nests of use, w/ items roughly clustered by category). I would hope that Louis takes better care of his stuff, tho. Adam and Louis both considered suicide a very real option but couldn’t do it themselves; fortunately, their loved ones dragged them back from the edge. Nicolas allegedly did suicide in canon, but there is fanon that he’s still undead, kicking around in secret.
Eve was definitely like Lestat in her confidence, curiosity for even the smallest things. Fearless, outgoing, very fashionable. Blood popsicles! She also has some positive Marius qualities to her, in that she had been turned a VERY long time ago, and is largely at peace with the way the world changes around her. Lestat would be intrigued by her tactile gift, too.
Ava is very Claudia, aged up, more optimistic, her default mood is generally pretty happy, even though it seems like she’s a pro at being kicked out of groups. Her mood can shift quickly, she’s selfish, flashy, silly, impulsive. She might have been turned anywhere from 16-24 yrs old. She even disregards the #No Killing Friends in the House rule! This is probably how Claudia would have been if she had been turned later in life.
Some mortals have a naturally impenetrable psychic wall, good for them! But for the rest of us, here are some options re: mortals vs. a vampire w/ the Mind Gift:
Try to envision a wall,
or throw up confusing images,
or think of your fave Ace of Base song. Anything BUT what you don’t want them peeking at!
If said vampire has been captured For Science, and you’re trying to keep them incapacitated, I’d put headphones/earbuds on them and blast something loud and confusing. A mix of industrial machinery and 80′s synth, or Disney songs, anything really catchy.
Try to distract them w/ your scintillating conversation?
In all fairness, it’s taxing for them to use their gifts, and they generally do not bother reading minds unless they are checking you out to see if you’re being honest w/ them, or they don’t want to wait on your oral responses.
Plus, most vampires seem to prefer oral communication since it is closer to being mortal, which most of them tend to imitate. They don’t seem to read minds literally, like text in a book, it’s more like gathering images and sounds, and trying to piece them together like a puzzle, when it would be simpler to just ask you about whatever information they’re seeking.
The real question is: What are you afraid they’d discover in yer mind?
I think that’s a valid theory! I’m not sure I would use the word “concubine,” since that would imply that she was coerced into it due to her status on the plantation. My headcanon is that if she was in a relationship w/ him, she was willing, and not coerced into it, based on fanon that she was raised w/ him, and they were always very close and mutually respectful, even though he was her plantation master in title.*
We see little of their interaction in the movie, so it’s impossible to say definitively, but it appears that she was not afraid of him before he was turned, could sense the change in him, and was genuinely concerned about him with more than a servant’s required amount of care.
Unfortunately we can’t talk about Louis/Yvette w/o bringing up the way he ended that relationship – rather badly (and I’m using a little levity in the pic below bc it’s very grim, upsetting, so many other words for how awful it is, but if anyone is offended, I apologize in advance. This is the way I choose to engage w/ the material, so Unfollow if you need to, I understand)
After he kills her, Louis carries Yvette out of the house bridal-style, a reversal of the carrying-over-the-threshold tradition that newlywed men do w/ their living wives to signify that she is welcome and a necessary part of their home and life together.
Louis carries Yvette OUT before he burns down the big house, so that she can be returned to her people (and family members, probably) and given the proper religious rites, funeral arrangements, etc. Conversely, he knows he doesn’t deserve any of that since he’s going straight to Hell; he intends to pay for her life (really, taking her life is the worst thing he’s done so far, especially considering their implied ship and the way he took her life) with his own. He knows that killing an innocent is terrible, even worse that she was someone he loved! He succumbed to desire, fed his vampire nature, and that finally sealed his damnation: “This place is cursed. Damned! And yes your master is the Devil!”
Fun fact: Brad Pitt and Thandie Newton (Yvette) were dating during the filming of IWTV. They are both professionals, but if my boyfriend had to basically act like he metaphorically raped and murdered me, or I had to do the same to him, pretty sure it’d kill the romance somewhat. [X]
Hit the jump for moar, cut for length.
There is some fanon out there that Yvette was raised along with Louis, that they had real history together and cared deeply for each other ❤ So the idea of them becoming closer than that would make sense. Yvette NOTICED his daytime absence in the fields, and seemed to want him back out there. She seems to genuinely care about him: “Are you still our master at all? You must send away this friend of yours… they’re frightened of him. And they’re frightened of you.” I headcanon that they had a good relationship prior to his turning, maybe the best possible relationship between two ppl of such different stations at that time.
This doesn’t seem like the face of someone required to be concerned for her boss, it seems like the face of a lover or family member, someone very close who senses something is very “off” about Louis, more even than when he was drinking and throwing himself at whores; she wants to help and probably thinks she knows him well enough to be able to talk some sense into him ;A;
In movie!IWTV: Louis’ killing of Yvette seems to also be a metaphor for giving in to sexual urges, basically a metaphorical rape in how it’s nonconsensual :[
We see him struggling with it and trying to make Yvette leave him alone, even ordering her to leave: “That will be all, Yvette.” (which he can barely even say, so consumed w/ hunger) but she deliberately disobeys: “I will not go unless you listen to me!” Again, does not seem like the kind of interaction between a plantation owner and his servant.
He looks like he’s about to receive Holy Communion in the shot above, his eyes closed almost in prayer, he’s probably thinking about everything Lestat’s told him, and How wrong can this be when it seems so right? VERY WRONG.
*So my answer is based on their 100% consensual relationship, but books could be (and have been!) written on the pressures of a slave being coerced into a relationship with the plantation’s owner, and I’m not going there.
So, @sherlockspider suggested this. I don’t watch Penny Dreadful, and now it’s added to my watch list, bc of reasons.
This Reeve Carney is good stuff. He appears to be the right age (Lestat was turned at 20 or 21 depending on your headcanon), he has the expressive eyes, the generous mouth, the jawline. Looks great in period costume. There are definite comparisons that can be drawn between Dorian and Lestat as characters. They both have this beautiful shell and a deep well of loneliness right underneath the surface, which translates into an insatiable lust for life’s pleasures and consuming other ppl.
Did I mention he plays guitar? And sings? Rather than give u pics, here’s two vids I found: [X][X].
Ah… distracted… so yeah, he has this great dimple when he smiles:
Have another:
Hit the jump for moar. Cut for length.
And then, he is also hawt, much seduct (and how much better is it when brushes his hair back? i have never been a huge fan of the middle part on dudes) We’d need to do smtg major with his hair:
Interview with the Vampire (1994) dir. Neil Jordan
one of the greatest performances ever
I’m in love with this film for Tom Cruise ‘s performance and the fabulous long hairstyle of Brad Pitt.
Definitely one of my fave scenes. There’s so much going on here. Lestat bursts in and immediately looks around to see if he can salvage anything out of this, but knows he can only save Louis, and still has time to have this thorny little exchange bc he’ll be damned if he isn’t going to take this as an opportunity to lay in a little verbal smackdown. “Have us sleeping in the field like cattle!” He has this subtle pain in his eyes, as if Louis was actually trying to usurp his role as the captain of this ship, not that he was in fact trying to commit suicide. It doesn’t even cross Lestat’s mind to remark on the fact that that’s what this was, a suicide attempt. Or maybe it does, and in not giving Louis the choice to go down with his fiery mansion, Lestat has made a renewed internal vow to guide Louis into becoming the vampire he knows he can be.
Lestat could have easily just let Louis burn up with the house.Except that he loves him. Even though this was an act of ENORMOUS REBELLION it only makes Lestat love Louis more, bc only a BAMF like Louis could do something like this, try to destroy everything an apparently materialistic creature like Lestat has ever wanted, and not care about the consequences. But that’s not who Lestat really is, that’s all just retail therapy, hoarding shiny things to fill a void, and they both know it. Having stripped away Lestat’s treasured hoard, Louis’ face is 99% sexual ecstasy, he’s so satisfied with himself here.
Louis didn’t do this to rile Lestat, he did it to win, and finally do away with himself. But seeing his maker there, clearly to rescue Louis, the most precious thing to Lestat in the whole place, had to touch something in Louis. Because he lets Lestat save him without putting up a fight, and he doesn’t run away as soon as he’s capable. He stays with Lestat. As much as he doesn’t like his methods or philosophy, he’s captivated by Lestat. He trusts Lestat.
They’re both helplessly bound together in how much they want and need each other ;A;
Part of what makes them so shippable is how much Lestat wants to own Louis, and how not-for-sale Louis is, but how much he is drawn to Lestat against his own better judgment, like a moth to flame.
That feel when you’d rather answer questions all day in a state of weird and pleasurable natural – albeit caffeinated – high rather than attempt to do any real productive Work for your Job.
I just want to mention, and please take this completely w/o attitude bc I do not intend any attitude here: I get a number of VC Casting ideas on a regular basis, and I do enjoy them a lot! But if you don’t see an answer for yours it’s either bc:
I haven’t had a chance to research the actor yet;
I researched the actor and they don’t reeeally work for me and I’m trying to come up with another role for them so I can still answer publicly; or,
I researched the actor and they don’t work for me and I can’t think of another role for them, so I might have to let it go unanswered or just delete it.
If you haven’t seen your Ask answered, and it’s been a long time, it may have been a #3 sacrifice. Not every male violinist can be the illustrious Nicolas de Lenfent! But you are more than welcome to post your own casting ideas, and tag them #VC Casting, and I will be tracking that tag so I might reblog from your blog ;D
(I’m only talking about casting in terms of the physical attributes of the actors and their acting abilities, not their personal lives.)
As we all know, casting is highly subjective, and “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” What a terribly boring world it would be if we all fell for the exact same faces!
The whole thing stirs up beauty as a concept. We argue whether Louis’s hair is long and straight, and chestnut in color, like in movie!IWTV, or that it’s shoulder-length, wavy and raven black as described in canon. In some fanart it’s drawn just long and black and silky straight, in some, it’s short and curly!
In considering VC Casting, we will have to make compromises, it’s unlikely that whoever is cast will look or be styled sufficiently to please everyone. I have my own subjective ideals for beauty and how the characters should look, don’t take any of my opinions personally (unless you want to agree with me!), I would never want to cause anyone discomfort simply because I disagree with their choice.
Whoever is finally cast, let’s try to give the actors a chance to do their jobs and try to keep in mind that these are fictional characters, and the movie people want us to enjoy their product, and buy the BluRay of it, and make a cult classic out of it, and all that jazz.
More on beauty under the cut.
My 8 year old cousin just told me on Saturday night, right in the middle of a lovely collage session in which we were cutting up models from Seventeen and making fashion plates, that she wished she had “straight blonde hair.” She said curly hair was ugly. Her hair is perfect Louis de Pointe du Lac hair to me, brunette and maybe a little lighter than his, but silky and slightly wavy to her shoulders, then descending like a little bubbling waterfall into the most perfect little shining curls for about 4 inches. Oooh purple prose! But I had to paint a picture since I can’t post one here, so let me be briefly flowery just for the sake of description, ok?
I knew I didn’t have a satisfactory answer for her concern, because telling her “But you have beautiful French girl hair!” “But mine is just like yours! Is mine ugly?” would have meant nothing in the face of a culture that forces certain ideals of beauty at us from such an early age. She said “I wish my hair was straight and blonde,” as if that would solve all her major problems, so that she could then go on to tackle the important ones.
She then followed it up with “- like my dance teacher Lilly.” Ah! Now it was clear! She wanted to look like someone she deeply respects and appreciates! Hopefully that’s really where it’s coming from and not the mass media trying to convince us all from an early age that our inadequacies are many and can only be overcome with dye, paint, etc. I admit that I wear makeup, but for me, it’s more like war paint, and bc I enjoy the art of it.
I told her anyway, “My best friend has straight black hair, and she told me that many girls like her get their hair professionally curled, they pay a lot of money to try to get their hair curly like yours.”
“Really?” said my 8 year old cousin.
“Really.” I said.
She seemed somewhat pleased with this factoid and we went back to our art project, but still… It just brought up this whole beauty topic. It’s not resolved, the conversation is far from over, but at least we started it.
Thanks for the compliments! YES THIS THING IS GLORIOUS ♥u♥
So I’m not sure exactly what you’re getting at, re: an ‘audience book’ vs ‘author’s book’ but it I do know that AR has always advised to “write the book you would want to read.” She just put up two quotes recently that I think are relevant here:
Unfortunately, I think we generally prefer those books coming from negative places for her, and I think it’s because she spun gold from the misery, she fought her demons through those stories and the product was captivating, clawing into the reader and giving us some secondhand catharsis.
Stories that came from a more positive place for her seemed not to produce that kind of engagement for the reader, but it’s important to remember that some ppl may prefer those.
Either way, she’s given us an incredible gift. The stronger works resonate with us to the soul like only our favorite music and art can, the weaker works are humorous and we can lovingly refer to them as “the vampire crackicles,” but even they still have good moments in which AR has tapped into the old veins (pun intended!) to give us that gold we’ve come to expect from her.
I stand by my previous short answer on this subject: I think AR can still capture that old quality we all fell in love with, albeit in slivers. Which is why I can’t disregard any of the books entirely. It’s still hard for me to accept Prince Lestat as canon, I might never, but there are moments and lines of dialogue in it that are SO VERY GOOD. Moments where I’ve had to pause and smile, because it was as if the old Lestat, from IWTV or TVL, actually graced us with his presence, if only for a moment.
Hard not to notice that I’ve been putting out more Lestat casting ideas than any other, hm? They’re alternatives for a particularly divisive option that I’d honestly rather the Powers That Be not choose. If it were MY choice, I wouldn’t want to contaminate the entire project w/ such negative baggage on our Lestat (if you don’t know what I’m referring to, sorry, but I refuse to answer publicly any further on it, you can try to find it in my #vc casting tag, tho).
But yes, always important to consider Nicolas! Half the duo? Well, yes, in a way, bc I do agree Nicolas gave Lestat his first long-term loving relationship, despite its flaws. It shaped him in a very powerful way, for better and worse. Mostly better ❤ I do think it’s some of Nicolas’ brand of sass that Lestat displays towards his loved ones in IWTV ;] But since Nicolas does not occur in later canon as a living character, I don’t consider him “half the duo” currently.
AND YES we don’t have nearly enough characters with brown eyes, dark brown eyes, that you can lose yourself in. Tender and sometimes scary depths. MORE LOVE FOR BROWN EYES.
Ben Barnes, okay, so I looked at some pics and gifs bc I haven’t seen his movies, and he’s won me over! I think there was an RPer using him as a face claim here, and I don’t remember their url, but those are usually still images so I didn’t really see it until now. He would probably make a fine Nicolas and he has my vote!
Fun facts on his IMDB page under the cut but for now ONTO SOME GIFS.
^“I don’t believe it, ” Nicolas said bitterly. “He wouldn’t be ashamed
of us.” There was a suppressed rage in his voice, an ugly grief. “And
why did he leave the way he did? I heard him calling me! The window
was smashed to pieces! I tell you I was half awake, and I heard his
voice… Lestat would spit in the face of anyone who would
be ashamed of us!” ;A;
^Nicolas being forced to dress up to deliver the red velvet cloak but HE’S NOT GONNA SHAVE U CAN’T MAKE HIM. I actually prefer him with this scruff.
^Willing to kiss dudes is a major plus. Not that I personally need it for any kind of nefarious reasons! maybe a little bit, but I do think it’s relevant that Nicolas and Lestat are very gay for each other, and it would be nice to have that loving relationship on screen to contrast how bitter the loss of it is for both of them ;A; Also his hair is perfect here.
Hit the jump for moar. Cut for length and moar opinions.
^Did I mention he looks great in period costume? He DOES. Also his hair is perfect here. Maybe a bit short.
^He has tons of excellent smiles and I just had to settle on one, this is good stuff ❤
^
“Oh, not goodness again,” he said. “You and your malady of
mortality, and your malady of goodness. “He had been looking at the
fire and he turned to me with a deliberately scornful expression.
“We’re a pack of actors and entertainers who can’t even be buried in
consecrated ground. We’re outcasts." Nicki you mean bastard >:[
^He even looks good flushed like this.
Fun facts on his IMDB page:
“He can also sing, play drums and piano,” which means we could train him to play violin! Obviously has some musical inclination, can probably read sheet music.
“Was in the short lived boy band Hyrise; his band performed their song, "Leading Me On” in 2004 for Eurovision Song Contest.” – Okay ex-boy band, to me, reads, Has sense of fun and theatrical performance over and above regular character acting. Which would be gr9 bc I would love to see a little more Theatre des Vampires action than we got in movie!IWTV, especially the moment it was born!
“His father is a psychiatrist and his mother is a therapist.” – They are probably great resources for him as an actor. And as the son of such, he probably knows all too well what it’s like to be over-analyzed and rebel against it!
Supports Make-a-Wish Foundation.- ok well my heart. THIS is the kind of baggage I like on an actor, HAPPY baggage!
Was one of the four finalists for the role of “Edward Cullen” in Twilight (2008). – SO WE KNOW HE WAS WILLING TO PLAY A VAMPIRE BEFORE
This seems like a Nicolas quote, it’s Ben Barnes from his IMDB page: “I don’t wear underpants in bed. They are really uncomfortable. I don’t wear anything in bed. I like girls to wear the same as me. His ‘n’ hers matching invisible outfits. But I think I am a gentleman in bed.”
As a side note, It shouldn’t be surprising to me that so many newer ppl to the fandom seem to gravitate towards Nicolas, but it does surprise me. Why is he of interest now? Lestat does reach back and mention him at times, but I just don’t remember there being so much interest in him 10 yrs ago.
It seems like in general, it’s more of a current fandom thing to pick up and care for these characters the author has handled less than the main characters, almost as if the readers have more blank space to fill in for them. So that makes sense.
I also think Nicolas reflects this generation of young adults better than any other VC character, with his disillusionment, his struggles with religion, and his anguish at how much talent he has and how little chance of success there is available to him in life in general, and defining what is success? What is contentment? He also may have some undiagnosed mental illness, which is another thing that’s much more out in the open these days than it was even 10 years ago.
The only character I can think of that could come close to all of ^that would be Armand, but he is a much more able to center himself and much more in control of his outward display of emotions than Nicolas. Armand was a coven master, a director, accustomed to being in a position of power, and Nicolas is more truly a performer, and artist, an open heart with little self-defense other than his rapier wit and scathing sass.
There is some fanon headcanon that his Mind Gift is too strong for him to really control, and that was another thing that drove him more deeply mad after he was turned.
I-want-my-IWTV 
