Tom Cruise as Lestat de Lioncourt | Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Okay, so let’s talk about Tom Cruise for a minute.
One of the things I love about this movie is that the scenes with Lestat make it SO different if you go into them on Lestat’s side. Tom Cruise nailed it so hard and I recall hearing that he read the books for research? So he had such a deeper grasp on Lestat’s personality than if they’d only used the Interview source material and taken Louis’s word on Lestat’s personality and temperament. There’s so much subtext to these two characters that you don’t really get from Interview alone because Louis is such an unreliable narrator*. But for example, the scene with the hookers: Louis makes Lestat out to be this horrifying monster and it’s like such a heartbreakingly different scene if you go into it on Lestat’s side and realize that he’s trying to help. PLZ CHILD PLZ EAT SOMETHING! And they drop a teeny clue earlier in the movie about how Lestat kills evildoers and it’s subtle and I’m not sure if everyone who hasn’t read the book picks it up? But knowing that going into the scene and being able to deduce that these women deserve to die makes it so different.
And there are so many little clues in their scenes about how much he truly cares for Louis, and even just his acting like YOU CAN JUST SEE IT IN HIS FACE HOW MUCH HE ADORES LOUIS and it’s just like so fucking special. Like the part where he drains the rat into the glass, he’s doing that to help, and the look he gives Louis when they have the “there’s nothing in this world now that doesn’t hold some-” “-fascination” exchange UGH. he’s basically like 😍😍😍😍😍
* I MEAN, DEPENDING WHICH ONE OF THESE IDIOTS YOU DECIDE TO BELIEVE. The options are A) Louis is salty as fuck and Lestat is actually like a mostly-loveable happy vampire dude, or B) Lestat is bipolar as fuck and everything Louis said was true and we get to see Lestat’s bullshit behavior unfolding later in the series and we see the way he packages it as if it’s normal because he’s an egomaniac. IDK WHATEVER. Point is, even when Lestat is doing atrocious things, his sense of humor is such a strong voice in the series, and it makes you like him, so what I’m saying is that it was amazing that Tom Cruise played it the way he did, and that the crew obviously used extra source material to get that bit of his personality, and if this movie had turned into a series it would’ve been believable later on when you learn that Lestat is a silly jackass. ❤
It’s something that could’ve been neglected so easily and like I’m forever the happiest and luckiest losernerd that I got the rare Excellent Adaptation for a book I love to death.
Tag Archives: professional acting
Wee baby Kirsten Dunst, from Interview With The Vampire. (via the-vampire-chronicles)
I remember my very first day, I improvised a line. My first day, probably my first shot, I had to kind of flounce out of a room when Dumbledore, played by the late, great Richard Harris, put me in my place, and there was no line written, no exit line. And I’d been humiliated, and my plan had come to nothing. And I said to Chris Columbus, “Don’t you think there should be a line?” And he said, “Well, say something. Say whatever you like.” So we did another take, and I hadn’t told anyone what I was going to do. And as I turned to leave, I looked at Daniel, and I said, “Let us hope Mr. Potter will always be around to save the day.” And then Daniel, who was all of 12, stepped right up to me, looked me right in the eye, and said “Don’t worry. I will be.” A chill went down my spine. And as he did it, I thought, “Christ, this kid is good.” — Jason Isaacs
Melanie Griffith learns about Charles Chaplin , 1966
“As watchably awful as the 2004 movie is, the rabbit hole goes deeper still, as we reach the coup de grâce of this whole shitshow…”
OMG! I just found behind the scenes footage of Interview with the Vampire. It shows mostly Tom Cruise, a little bit of Anne Rice and a little bit of Brad Pitt. The video was uploaded by WalrusRider and the video is called Tom Cruise – “Interview With a Vampire” On Set Footage. Not sure if you’ve seen it already but if you haven’t check it out.
I HAD NOT SEEN IT THANK U!
It’s so fun to see at least this shot from the other side of the door, lol…
I’ll transcribe it somewhat for y’all:
The narrator is all about the *~secrecy~* like of course Tom Cruise wanted to keep the secrecy of his costumes and makeup and whatever, so as not to spoil the surprise! We have closed sets all the time these days and back then. I don’t think that was just Tom, I think everyone involved in making the movie wanted that secrecy.
- The narrator pronounces his name the way AR prefers, not the way it’s pronounced in the movie
- Claudia at 0:15!
- Makeup touch up!
^X Bruh.
Hit the jump for more, cut for length.
- AR wasn’t pleased about the casting at the time of this video, but when she saw the movie, she was thrilled with Tom’s performance.
- Tom said: “The negative criticism? When it starts out, it kind of hurts your feelings and then I just go, well, I can’t help myself, y’know? I wanna play this character.”
- Other actors AR had preferred to see in the role: Daniel Day-Lewis (he turned it down), Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich. She named River Phoenix, but I don’t think she meant as Lestat. But he had died by the time this video was made, and Christian Slater had taken his role as Daniel.
- In the video John Preston (Anne’s friend, and therefore an authority?) said, “Tom Cruise will not allow himself to be photographed kissing a man,… he’s evidently very upset that Brad Pitt of all people looks taller than he does and we’re told that he’s wearing risers.” Yeah well Lestat is supposed to be a little taller than Louis. Heels were in fashion for men then, anyway.
- Narrator: “There is word that Tom has insisted that a makeup person be on the set at all times” Well yeah, those contacts are uncomfortable, apparently, and with all that action the fragile prosthetics and fangs probably needed to be put back in place every few minutes, “to make sure his eyebrows look right.” Well that’s a valid concern! They actually weren’t all that happy with his makeup at first, as far as I know, some scenes were cut bc they changed his makeup, made the hair darker.
-
Narrator:
“But some insiders say this behavior is just another example of Tom Cruise’s well-known perfectionism, a perfectionism that proved wrong those critics who thought he was too light-weight to star in Born on the Fourth of July. He ended up getting an Oscar nomination for it.”
- Tom Cruise: “I’ve gotta wake up every day and play this role. Is it going to be exciting? And I want to commit six months of my life playing the character.”
- Narrator: “In the end it all comes down to this: with a [the audio sorta hiccups but I think it was a $40 million dollar] budget at stake, the fate of Interview with the Vampire is going to depend on Tom Cruise, his looks, his acting ability, and his demands.” Like they’re such unreasonable demands and he’s carrying the whole movie himself? He’s not even the vampire that gets interviewed!
Now I feel even worse for Lestat Poor guy :,(
IKR?! It makes my heart hurt so YOU HAVE TO HURT, TOO. I am aware that Lestat is one of the biggest antagonistic monsters in canon, but that’s not all he is, and when he’s cut down like this, you can’t help but feel bad for the poor guy.
Let me torture y’all a little more…
^HE THINKS SHE FLAVORED THEM FOR HIM. He’s being slightly cute here with the way he’s gesturing theatrically to her, don’t think about all the times he and Louis “acted Shakespeare together for Claudia’s amusement…” He thinks she went to EXTRA EFFORT to make this peace offering special for him! Well, she did, but not the way he thinks ;A;
^(Just a still of Claudia bc of reasons) Then she basically tells him it was dead blood* she gave him, which, in the context of movie!IWTV, is apparently dangerous to them. On her first kill he told her that they always have to “stop before the heart stops,” but he doesn’t say why. So now he knows she poisoned him, and the laudanum is working, bc look how incapacitated he is:
^It’s probably no accident that his right hand is in his crotch there, he’s been emasculated, brought down by his own daughter *cries*
^That whole right arm is just not functional, he tries to put weight on it, and it just collapses ;A;
Even if he COULD grab her at this point, he’s in no shape to try to fight her physically. He can barely even talk!
In the context of the scene, there’s no going back for her at this point, she poisoned him intentionally and there would have been no way to regain his trust. All the sadness.
Asterisked stuff under the cut.
*In the film, it’s implied that the deadness of the blood is what’s incapacitating him, and that’s fine, for the film. He taught her this in her first kill. But in the books, it’s about the laudanum** that actually would have a strong effect on him. If Louis had been able to put Lestat in his coffin, Lestat could have slept off this opiate dose and been fine the next night.
**Laudanum is not just any drug, it’s a BAMF (Wiki):
“Reddish-brown and extremely bitter, laudanum contains almost all of the opium alkaloids, including morphine and codeine, and its high morphine concentration makes it a potent narcotic. Laudanum was historically used to treat a variety of ailments, but its principal use was as an analgesic and cough suppressant.”
One more note on the dead blood – if those boys were truly dead, Lestat would have known just with his own senses. Vampires can’t stand to be around their dead. But we’ll have to just ignore that ;]
Leading the wolf to slaughter
A little breakdown of this scene, re: why I loved Tom’s Lestat so much in this scene, since we’re talking about it.
^Claudia leads him in, and he’s so trusting. When he sees the boys there, he is not immediately very pleased. He actually looks a little disappointed. The house rule is not to bring victims into the house, and she brought them in, is he going to have to lay down the law again? Bad timing for it, since he’s trying to make peace with her.
She glances up at him to gauge his reaction but looks away before he can meet her gaze. She’s thrilled with what she’s about to do and doesn’t want him derailing her from her mission.
^I use this gif a lot for “such feels,” but there’s really more going on here, and not necessarily happiness. She’s told him that the boys are the gift to him. He starts w/ a facepalm, bc, hey, Lestat would actually rather not kill children.* He tries to go for adult evildoers. It’s clearer in TVL than in movie!IWTV, but he does tell Louis in an earlier scene, “Evildoers are easier, and they taste better.”**
Lestat is also very guarded in his body language here, all closed off w/ his arms across his chest (we don’t usually see him this closed off in the movie). When he shows his face, he’s not smiling at first, bc, this wasn’t really the kind of truce he would have wanted. But then he rallies, shakes his head a little bit, and tries to smile, probably tells himself inwardly, “She did this for me, she has good intentions…”
^”Well, you certainly have… outdone yourself,” he says. He’s struggling to compliment her, that hesitation could have led to a criticism. Trying to convince himself that this is a peace offering and to reign in his usual edgy sense of humor. The main rule in their home was always “Never [kill] in the house” and she wants him to share this kill. In. The. House. A rule she’s broken countless times. He’s still guarded, still has his arms up protectively.
The smile fails as he looks over the boys like he’s looking at something unappetizing at a buffet. For me, that would be the wilted salad area.
^There’s a full second pause as he looks at her bc he’s still struggling to believe it was all this easy. Then he asks: “We forgive each other, then?” This is Lestat without any of his bravado, no games, not asking as her maker, just as someone who loves her and wants her love, too. This is the Lestat who spent most of his childhood unloved or beaten down for trying to find a place where ppl would love him ;A;
^There’s almost a full second pause as she looks at him – bc she doesn’t really forgive him – and then says: “Yes” She’s lying right to his face, so evil! If you cover her mouth, her eyebrows don’t change at all with that smile. But there is still a chance to abandon her plan if she wants to.
^Having secured the peace, putting his trust in her about this gift being OK to consume, he has this little sigh of relief; his usual confidence comes back in, you can see a hint of a smile as he turns away.
(This victim is one of the moments in the film that really pushed the envelope for its time, when Lestat bites into the child. It’s actually a lot less homoerotic/pedophilic than in the book, where he gets his hands wrapped up in the kid’s shirt. Unlike when he bites adults and we see his face, here, we see him from behind. It makes it less sexual, he didn’t choose this victim, it’s seems like it’s more about the consumption.)
^Anyway… he thinks she spiked their blood with absinthe bc he immediately feels drugged/drunk from it.
She tells him it’s laudanum, and he repeats that word, has he heard of it before? Probably not, bc she tells him what it does.
So right up until the moment she explicitly lays it out for him, he still believes they’ve reconciled, and even that she flavored the blood for him as an extra consideration! It’s a very painful betrayal, specifically bc he wanted to believe her SO BADLY that he ignored all the red flags ;A;
You could say he deserved this betrayal, but I think this scene is part of what makes Tom’s Lestat so very good. Even as he’s led into getting his punishment, you still feel sorry for him, it’s hard to hate a monster when he’s being this trusting and gentle and really wanting to well… not be a monster.
I recognize that this is a social media site so you are welcome to reblog and comment and engage on this, but please do so respectfully, and keep in mind that #your headcanon may vary, and we are all entitled to our own interpretations/opinions about canon, and about movie!IWTV.
(Asterisked notes under the cut.)
* It’s implied that Lestat and Claudia finished off whole families together in an earlier scene in the film, including children, but we’ve only seen him kill adults on screen up to this point. In the book, it’s Claudia who insists on killing families (her own, IIRC), and she kills a mother and daughter who worked domestically in the flat for Louis and Lestat. Lestat rarely kills children in the books, typically it’s only in moments of extreme emotional weakness.Tom would have known this, bc he read books 1-4.
**
“Evildoers are easier, and they taste better.” – This is what Lestat tells Louis to try to get him to acclimate to the idea that killing is okay, and in fact, some ppl need to be killed anyway, to protect the general population (like Lestat killing the wolves to save the villagers back in the Auvergne). But in the books it’s implied that innocent blood tastes better, which makes it harder to resist. “…these victims had been taken in the perfect semblance of love. The very blood seemed warmer with their innocence, richer with their goodness.” (TVL)
I might do more of these if you’re interested, but they do take a long time to put together. We’ll see…
I saw your recent post about Claudia’s murder of Lestat so I rewatched that scene on youtube. I had totally forgotten most of the details and wow. People bash Tom Cruise (for some pretty valid reasons), but everthing about his reaction and his words and expression was so perfect. They really captured that moment. Poor Lestat, I think because he was so happy he turned blind/naive in that moment when he asks Claudia if shes forgiven him and doesn’t think twice when she says yes. Claudia was being
(2/2) so cruel because she KNEW being really kind to him for once would make him the most vulnerable so she could kill him. And if that’s not evil I don’t know what is.
It’s one of the best scenes in the movie! And one of the most heartbreaking ;A;
“When Claudia starts her assassination plot by bringing him a human gift, Cruise’s eyes show Lestat’s surprise that someone has finally done something nice for him for the first time in the film…
In that moment, we realize that while Lestat is capable of love, he’s never been loved back.” – Amy Nicholson, Tom Cruise: Anatomy of an Actor
[X]
You are preaching to the choir re: Tom’s Lestat 😉 He may not have LOOKED 100% like Lestat but I thought his performance really captured the essence of the character. I think Kirsten took a lot of her acting cues from his Lestat, too. They were so well-matched that it was easy to believe that they were “father” and “daughter”; she seemed like a little girl version of him, inheriting more of his cruelty than his kindness, but definitely taking on both ❤
She really did lead him to believe that they had forgiven each other, and doing that one nice thing for him, to a person as starved for affection as he was… she knew it would kindle his hope for reconciliation, she KNEW that would make him the most vulnerable and YES that is pretty elite evil *cries*
What would you say the climax of (book) IWTV is?
I hope you’re not the anon with the project for class, asking me to do your homework for you! But I do want to answer this, so you get my opinion, which may not be the actual answer.
I think there’s more than one climax, depending on what your reading of IWTV focuses on. I’m not as religious as some ppl, so I don’t give that theme as much weight as other readers might. And that is a huge aspect of Louis’ struggle with vampiring and giving into his vampire nature, being in direct conflict with the most important of commandments, Thou Shalt Not Kill (in conjunction with Thou Shalt Not Steal, bc this kind of killing is doing both).
Here’s one definition I found for climax, the noun: “the most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex.” For me, that moment could be a catalyst, too, changing a character to some extent, could be a drastic re-calibration of their inner dialogue with themselves, reconfiguration of their moral values, etc.
I’m not quite sure which scene in IWTV (book or movie) that would be for you, but for me, one of the most intense moments was when Louis found Madeleine and Claudia’s ashes:
First is denial.
It’s in this moment that Louis has lost the most precious person, the one who’s told him what to do, someone he could worship and follow, someone who metered out his doses of happiness with her approval.
He’s also lost his own
(and very first!)
fledgling, and even though in both the book and the movie there doesn’t appear to be much attachment to between them, @vampchronfic/@gairid‘s headcanons about that have convinced me that there IS a bond, deep and invisible, created in the act of turning. Maker and fledgling are drawn together. Something like the attachment between a mother and her child, perhaps more powerful bc (hopefully) the giving of the Dark Gift was a consensual act between adults. It’s even more cruel in the movie bc she dies the same night she was turned, talk about bad life choices.
ANYWAY.
He holds off on the anger for now, goes straight to bargaining. He reaches out to touch them, maybe he thinks there’s some way to save them still? Or maybe the ashes are just on the surface, maybe Claudia and Madeleine are still intact under there? It feels like a nightmare and he wants to prove it’s not real.
But it is real, and they crumble, and everything that they were is gone.
This, his lightest touch, it’s heartbreaking, their final destruction at his own hand ;A;
Depression and acceptance. It’s real, they’re beyond saving, he’s failed them both in so many ways. The only thing left is (anger stage) revenge against this injustice, against the Theatre troupe, and once that’s accomplished, against himself.
So I’d say this was a climax bc it acted as a catalyst for Louis, he finally burst into action because of this, and any remaining illusions he had about vampiring and immortality were shattered. He’s 1,000% done and he’s gonna go out in a blaze of fiery glory punishment.
I-want-my-IWTV 