Excellent article on Nerdist about Universal wanting to reboot Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. This is my favorite part:
Plus, of all the art forms, music is the most subjective. Readers of the novels could imagine Lestat’s music sounding like anything they wanted it to; hair metal people probably thought they sounded like Mötley Crüe, while New Wave fans might have thought Lestat sounded like Bowie. Anne Rice has said that in her mind, Lestat sounded like Jim Morrison of the Doors. (For the record, as a pseudo goth kid, in my mind Lestat sounded like Peter Murphy of Bauhaus.) I’m pretty sure no one ever wanted them to sound like Korn, but that’s what we ended up with.
Lemme just give you the main points. My comments in italics.
Don’t Chase The Twilight Audience: PREACH.
Consider Cable Television: There are alot of TV vampire series but this one really could be unique among the rest.
Use the Broadway Musical Structure: It’s worked since Ariel the Little Mermaid, and before that. It’s worked in countless movies.
Skip “Rock Star” Lestat: I think it could be handled differently than in QotD. It’s very much a part of his modern bravado. Korn was probably chosen for QotD because (I think) the lead singer had expressed interest in the project. It was also a time when Korn was among the EXPLICIT CONTENT evil corrupting-of-innocents bands of the time.
Keep Anne Rice As Part of the Creative Process: YES. Whatever you feel about her, she did a great job keeping the IWTV movie close to the source material. These ARE her precious babies, and she’s gonna make sure they’re handled with care ❤
“Whatever you feel about her, she did a great job keeping the IWTV movie close to the source material. These ARE her precious babies, and she’s gonna make sure they’re handled with care <3”
With one glaring exception:
Noooo he is not a total failure. I really do think that was a carefully considered choice. I lay out my theory of the Banderas!Armand casting here.
In essence: if they had cast a cherubic teenage redhead it might have been confusing to people who hadn’t read the books, and might have taken the sympathy away from Louis (who was supposed to remain the focus, it’s HIS story, after all). That would have been compromised by omg cute little redhead bby we want to snuggles you!
Let’s say it was an appeal to those who hadn’t read the book(s) … casting an Armand that they could understand more easily as being a more mature/father/teacher figure for Louis.
foreverrhapsody: Also, I’m betting they wanted no accusations of Louis being a pedophile. I mean, the fans know he’s not but to someone not familiar with the characters it might have gotten some raised eyebrows.
^Yes, I think that was part of it, too. It was bad enough that Louis and Claudia’s relationship towards eachother was a major part of the story, whether she was purely a daughter or something more to him. She certainly stood between him and Armand.
Louis tells Armand that she is his “daughter,” and Armand corrects him, “Your lover.” Louis revises it to “My beloved, my child."
So yes, if Armand was also a teen, it could raise this questioning of Louis, and limit the audience. After all, a movie has to be good enough that people recommend it to others, word of mouth keeps it running past opening weekend. Now it’s more of a cult classic, I guess.
Excellent article on Nerdist about Universal wanting to reboot Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. This is my favorite part:
Plus, of all the art forms, music is the most subjective. Readers of the novels could imagine Lestat’s music sounding like anything they wanted it to; hair metal people probably thought they sounded like Mötley Crüe, while New Wave fans might have thought Lestat sounded like Bowie. Anne Rice has said that in her mind, Lestat sounded like Jim Morrison of the Doors. (For the record, as a pseudo goth kid, in my mind Lestat sounded like Peter Murphy of Bauhaus.) I’m pretty sure no one ever wanted them to sound like Korn, but that’s what we ended up with.
Lemme just give you the main points. My comments in italics.
Don’t Chase The Twilight Audience: PREACH.
Consider Cable Television: There are alot of TV vampire series but this one really could be unique among the rest.
Use the Broadway Musical Structure: It’s worked since Ariel the Little Mermaid, and before that. It’s worked in countless movies.
Skip “Rock Star” Lestat: I think it could be handled differently than in QotD. It’s very much a part of his modern bravado. Korn was probably chosen for QotD because (I think) the lead singer had expressed interest in the project. It was also a time when Korn was among the EXPLICIT CONTENT evil corrupting-of-innocents bands of the time.
Keep Anne Rice As Part of the Creative Process: YES. Whatever you feel about her, she did a great job keeping the IWTV movie close to the source material. These ARE her precious babies, and she’s gonna make sure they’re handled with care ❤
“Whatever you feel about her, she did a great job keeping the IWTV movie close to the source material. These ARE her precious babies, and she’s gonna make sure they’re handled with care <3”
With one glaring exception:
Noooo he is not a total failure. I really do think that was a carefully considered choice. I lay out my theory of the Banderas!Armand casting here.
In essence: if they had cast a cherubic teenage redhead it might have been confusing to people who hadn’t read the books, and might have taken the sympathy away from Louis (who was supposed to remain the focus, it’s HIS story, after all). That would have been compromised by omg cute little redhead bby we want to snuggles you!
Let’s say it was an appeal to those who hadn’t read the book(s) … casting an Armand that they could understand more easily as being a more mature/father/teacher figure for Louis.
But didn’t Lestat himself wonder, at some point, why vampires were always beautiful? Was it because they picked out the young and pretty to turn or because everyone became beautiful after the change?
I always found that rather funny, wherever the question came from, on a very self-referential level. Why are vampires always young, beautiful, without flaws or wrinkles or liver spots or greying hair?
Cult of youth, probably, let’s be honest.
Haha this always catches my interest too! I think in canon in the later books, one of the vampires actually starts trash talking on “modern day” immortals because they were no longer picked out of being beautiful or held the romanticism in killing that the “old generations” did. Correct me if I’m wrong but. Kinda funny!
//Yes, if I’m not mistaken it was Marius who actually makes both of these observations in Queen of the Damned. First in the “vampire bar” makes a mental note of how different and almost comical the newer generations of vampires are. Then in Sonoma when he’s taking stock of the entire coven he notes how uniquely beautiful each other them is and wonders, “Was nobody ugly ever given immortality? Or did the dark magic simply make beauty out of whatever sacrifice was thrown into the blaze?”
Honestly, I think it might be a little bit of both. In the old covens of the Children of Darkness it was a rule to turn only the beautiful because it was more perverse to do so. I think Armand might make mention of it in TVL and then in TVA he explicitly states it.
Marius also tells Lestat that if he is going to make a fledgling it should be because “he likes to look at them.” As a generality, I think vampires tend to fall for the exceptionally beautiful anyway. They come in contact with so many humans and each one is magnificent simply on the grounds of them being alive. Therefore it makes sense that they would end up falling for and turning those who are exclusively “above average” because they stand out.
At the same time, however, think about what vampirism does. It smooths the skins, makes it gleam, the hair is fuller, eyes are brighter. All imperfections are done away with and there’s a certain allure that comes with perfection. BUT if the person was not beautiful to begin with, the effects can just make them look monstrous. Magnus is a perfect example of that. He was much older when he was made and was not very nice to look at, by his own admission.
Sorry, this sort of turned into a rant, but it’s a very interesting discussion point.
The short answer is that I think the majority of the VC fandom preferred Cruise ;D
Compare:
A) Cruise was Lestat. Even in this production still he was Lestat.
B) Townsend going for like bratty!Lestat:
(by textsfromthevampire ^This meme actually works in reference to Lestat and Stuart Townsend AS Lestat.)
The long answer is:
I didn’t hate Townsend. I don’t like to throw hate on actors for their acting (except James Franco, lol). I’d say ST did the best he could with what he was given. His failure as Lestat was a group effort (makeup, costume, script writer, dialogue coach, director, editor, sfx, etc. all had a hand in what we got on the screen) much as Cruise’s success was a group effort (wherein all those things previously mentioned came together so perfectly).
The actor is one part of the machine in creating that character. The failure or success of the character can ultimately be placed on the director since s/he’s the one who coordinates and makes all the aesthetic choices for the entire film.
Agreed. I think that with a decent script and a different approach, we might never have had the kind of group recoil from Townsend that we did. The thing about that movie is that there’s times when the aesthetics and atmosphere were really right (I still weep over Maharet’s house, or the deleted scenes’ original version of the intro), but more times when it bowed to the obvious attempt to make a commercial boy/girl/ancient vampire queen love triangle movie for a generation of teens who liked Aaliyah and/or Korn, which apparently was the only idea they could be arsed executing/move quickly enough on when they finally realised the rights were going to run out and needed exploiting.
Jesus christ. It’s been TWELVE YEARS and, despite the mild affection I’ve weirdly developed for the movie (apparently just because it’s been around for so long, and mocked for so long, like an ugly family heirloom), apparently I still find it hard to talk about it without ranting. 😛
I can’t believe you’ve seen the deleted scenes, ffs! Impressive commitment there. It IS an ugle family heirloom. Like the butchering they did to the Lestat musical when it came to NY. Apparently it was a shell of the successful production they had going in San Francisco; much of the best was cut out as, I believe, it was deemed “too gay” for NY…
Agreed on all points that I can agree to, considering that I haven’t been able to sit through the whole movie. From what I’ve seen, it’s enough torment.
Korn was the band of choice then, as far as “Not safe for public consumption, it’s pure corruption of the innocents!” music at the time, along with Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, and Tool… definitely some others I’m neglecting, but maybe the producers went with Korn bc it was the only band willing to write songs for a movie in that way. NIN certainly had only dabbled in soundtracks at that time, as I recall, and they generally never play those songs (e.g. “the Perfect Drug”) live, for some reason. Maybe it’s a rights issue.
ANYWAY. I do think Townsend had a chance, and he did the best with what he was given.
Can I ask everyone in the vc rp fandom a favour? I feel like this sounds really shitty of me but if anyone finds out of anyway to audition for the new vc films could you please let me know? I really really really want to at least have a go at playing Armand.
I’ll keep an eye open for you~ But it doesn’t sound shitty at all! Why shouldn’t fans become part of the production? Who would know Armand better than the people who, really, already play him in every conceivable way but in front of a camera?
thanks, I really apprieciate it, both you looking out for me and for being so nice
DUDE I WOULD BE FIRST IN LINE TO AUDITION. Or share the news if there are auditions. I think casting cosplayers could be fantastic.
Along the same lines, I would love to see fahrlightloki in a movie with the real Loki. Or just as Loki on her own in an Avengers movie. Either way. She’s a perf Loki. There must be a VC role for her…
Thankyou. It’s good to know I can rely on people. I-want-my-iwtv who would you audition for?
Gosh anything. I think I could pull off Merrick with alot of tanning, makeup, and fitness regime… or a Theatre des Vampires member, maybe Estelle 😉 I don’t really have the physical foundation of any other main character. If we’re going for later books, I could go for Eudoxia.
Can I ask everyone in the vc rp fandom a favour? I feel like this sounds really shitty of me but if anyone finds out of anyway to audition for the new vc films could you please let me know? I really really really want to at least have a go at playing Armand.
I’ll keep an eye open for you~ But it doesn’t sound shitty at all! Why shouldn’t fans become part of the production? Who would know Armand better than the people who, really, already play him in every conceivable way but in front of a camera?
thanks, I really apprieciate it, both you looking out for me and for being so nice
DUDE I WOULD BE FIRST IN LINE TO AUDITION. Or share the news if there are auditions. I think casting cosplayers could be fantastic.
Along the same lines, I would love to see fahrlightloki in a movie with the real Loki. Or just as Loki on her own in an Avengers movie. Either way. She’s a perf Loki. There must be a VC role for her…
The short answer is that I think the majority of the VC fandom preferred Cruise ;D
Compare:
A) Cruise was Lestat. Even in this production still he was Lestat.
B) Townsend going for like bratty!Lestat:
(by textsfromthevampire ^This meme actually works in reference to Lestat and Stuart Townsend AS Lestat.)
The long answer is:
I didn’t hate Townsend. I don’t like to throw hate on actors for their acting (except James Franco, lol). I’d say ST did the best he could with what he was given. His failure as Lestat was a group effort (makeup, costume, script writer, dialogue coach, director, editor, sfx, etc. all had a hand in what we got on the screen) much as Cruise’s success was a group effort (wherein all those things previously mentioned came together so perfectly).
The actor is one part of the machine in creating that character. The failure or success of the character can ultimately be placed on the director since s/he’s the one who coordinates and makes all the aesthetic choices for the entire film.
I-want-my-IWTV 