Because he’s worth it.
Tag Archives: tom cruise
I’ve never made a film that I didn’t believe in, you know? However the picture turns out, I’ve always given everything to it. That’s kind of how I approach life. I can’t help it. There’s no part-way with me on anything in any area of my life.
“NO”
…or, That One Time Lestat Tried to Watch Queen of the Damned.
Have I told you how much I love you? Because that is my EXACT reaction to not!Lestat (yeah, I can’t call him by the actual character name…)
re: “Not!Lestat” #AGREES AGGRESSIVELY #TERMINOLOGY ACCEPTED.
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.
You know, I’ve been thinking about this lately. Since Antonio Banderas played Armand in the IVTV movie and he didn’t looked like the character in the books, a lot of people were disheartened about it, but actually, i think it was divine. Yes, Banderas didn’t look like Armand and there’s a lot of theories on why they choose him, but his performance was so great. It was like a “Dracula version” of Armand, so fancy, so dark, so dramatic, so… charming. I thought it was great. What do you think?
Well you probably know you’re preaching to the choir on that one 😉
Most of my thoughts on Antonio!Armand are in #Defending Antonio, so you can check that out.
However, I totally understand that other people were disheartened about it, and I’m not looking to argue with anyone, just saying that I was able to enjoy Antonio!Armand, and I’m glad other people were able to enjoy him, as well ❤
Hello! You know, now that some other anon just mentioned the whole Casting Stress™, I have to admit that the Lestat casting is freaking me out. Maybe I just got too attached to Tom Cruise (’cause, c’mon, he was BRILLIANT but maybe i’m just fangirling here) and now I’m too afraid that Lestat won’t be as good played by another actor and it is, indeed, stressing. Like, everyone in this fandom has a different headcanon and goddamit that’s tricky!
First of all: “Casting Stress™” ? ACCEPTED. New tag.
RE: “Like, everyone in this fandom has a different headcanon and goddamit that’s tricky!” That’s an understatement, lol. Even AR has a different headcanon than we do, apparently. Reconciling all our headcanons is highly unlikely, but it’s great that we have Tom’s Lestat as evidence that the actor CAN win ppl over based on their acting (and the rest of the cast & crew’s efforts**) to overcome their physical non-compliance re:
headcanon.
Obviously I’m also very attached to Tom Cruise’s Lestat, I feel ya there ❤
TL;DR: I would hope that whoever gets cast will give it their professional best AND win us over as best they can, have a whole team supporting them well, and a director/showrunner with a clear vision. It’s not all on the new Lestat’s shoulders. It’s a team effort.
Hit the jump for a little more.
And I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again: I’d love to have him train the new Lestat, or at least be available as an adviser, but a new actor will probably want to stake their own claim on the character, like Heath Ledger made his own Joker w/o Jack Nicholson’s advice (I don’t think they talked about it). Different Jokers, different films. Gonna be a different Lestat for a different adaptation.
What made Tom’s Lestat so great? A lot of factors had to come together but mainly, he did his homework, he had read at least the first three books (maybe the 4th, too), he practiced reading aloud from books from the time period the character lived in, watched videos of lions attacking prey (yes they used to show that kinda thing on TV!), etc., and did a lot of that work on his own. I see it in the tags pretty often that ppl who dislike Tom in general loved him in this role.
**But more than his own work, he had a director* with a clear vision and a full cast and crew supporting that vision. Every department contributed to his (and the film’s) success, makeup, costume, set design, special fx, music, etc., it all harmonized in the end. I’m not saying it was the BEST FILM OF EVER, but it was a successful adaptation in my opinion, and I’m not the only one of that opinion. I’ve been told publicly and privately that that adaptation was the gateway drug to many ppl reading the books, so in that sense, it was successful!
*Apparently Neil Jordan was responsible for most of the comedy that got into the script, mostly in Lestat’s dialogue/actions. It was Neil’s idea to add that ending, which was more upbeat than the original ending (which was the book’s ending). That’s an example of a director making a choice that deviated from canon and it working out (admittedly, it would have caused canon continuity issues for a sequel). I’m sure there are ppl who would still prefer the canon ending, but the majority of opinions I’ve seen/heard have been that ppl liked the changed ending.
This casting thing is really stressing me out. I’ve come to realize that my headcanon of lestat is much different from atleast the ppl on the VC Facebook… I see him much less masculine than a lot of ppl want, I think a part of this is all the part on tumblr makes them all a lot more feminine and beautiful which I really like. AR is suggesting these big hairy guys and FB and I just think.. nooo. Also, is she really catering her audience to fb? Does she know the amount of young ppl that read vc?
*hugs* Sorry this casting stuff is stressing you out, Anon. I feel ya, some of the POTP’s suggestions are really so out there I wonder how they read the same books I/we did. Some of their headcanons are also… laughable at best and downright offensive at worst, but I’m not going there.
TL;DR: I don’t think AR and CR are that easily influenced by the suggestions they ask for on FB. They’re probably trying to generate and maintain the hype so that as they make their rounds looking for a producer/showrunner/etc., they can point at the fanbase that wants it! I think they also like the attention and enthusiasm (who wouldn’t??!).
As with her writing, AR will cater a VC adaptation to her own tastes primarily, but thankfully she’s been very public about standing her ground re: making the current adaptation as faithful to canon as possible.
Anon: “I see [Lestat as] much less masculine than a lot of ppl want, I think a part of this is all the part on tumblr makes them all a lot more feminine and beautiful which I really like.”
[I think you meant “…all the fanart on tumblr…”] Yes, the fanart we have is great! It has a wide range, the idea of what’s feminine and masculine is somewhat subjective.
IMO, this is more feminine: (gonna post a little bit of fanart here and if the original artists want it removed, I’ll remove it, just illustrating a point.)
^X L/L by @claquesous, kind of androgynous to me, but one could say more feminine than masculine, too.
^X L/L by @icestorming. Also what I would consider feminine.
And this is more masculine:
^X Lestat by @jodeeeart, to me, this is more heavily masculine, but there’s still some feminine elements.
Keep in mind that finding someone who looks like fanart is asking a lot; we’ll have to give the actors a chance to prove that they can ACT like the characters, and hopefully their talent will overcome whatever physical limitations some of us are bound to disagree on (I probably have the WHAT DOES LOUIS’ HAIR REALLY LOOK LIKE??!! Debate 1-2x/month, most recently w/ @wicked-felina lol).
Anon: “AR is suggesting these big hairy guys and FB and I just think.. nooo.”
I haven’t seen her suggesting “big hairy guys”… I know she liked Chris Hemsworth at one point or another, and he’s big, not really that hairy to me? But he’s bulked up as Thor right now. He seemed less built up in Ghostbusters, but you make a fair point. My headcanon of Lestat is not a huge mountain of dudebro, so to speak.
You should read @monstersinthecosmos‘s post about the VC series bc it’s got some very good points about more than the casting aspect that are worth keeping in mind. I asked permission to post a few snippets here, my emphasis added in bold:
I think the posts on FB are mostly just to get everyone excited; I’m sure they’re taking the general temperature of everyone into consideration but LIKE THE IDEA THAT MAJOR CASTING DECISIONS ARE GOING TO BE MADE FROM FACEBOOK IS JUST REALLY NAIVE AND STUPID AND IMO NOT EVEN WORTH DISCUSSING BECAUSE IT’S COMPLETELY PREPOSTEROUS.
^See, this is why I don’t go on AR’s or the OVCFB pages* that often bc it would take too much time for me to attempt to keep up with all the posts and comments, and tbh yeah, I think @monstersinthecosmos is right!
(*ppl submit links/screencaps of posts that seem to be newsworthy to me, which I really appreciate bc if it’s really something TRULY newsworthy and not just hype, I do share it here.)
BASICALLY the thing everyone needs to keep in mind is that for this to get greenlighted there has to be a viable expectation of profit.
^YES, they’re trying to generate hype and excitement in the fandom bc that’s a good thing to do when you want producers, etc., to get on board w/ your project (”Look, our audience is SCREAMING for this TV series, we have the audience READY!”) and also I think CR and AR like the attention (who wouldn’t??!).
… this has to please and appeal to like MAINSTREAM REGULAR MORTALS who haven’t read these books. It can’t only be fanservice.
^EXACTLY.
I’m kinda cautiously optimistic about all of this. I’m obviously super paranoid that it’s gonna suck and I would hate for it to be on some shit network, and I would also hate if they had to change it SO much that the core themes of the story are unrecognizable, but I’m also personally open to changes if it’s gonna make for a compelling show.
^AGREED.
Hit the jump for more, cut for length.
But to return to the casting thing briefly, there are ppl suggesting Brad and Tom currently when that is TOTALLY ridiculous, HELLO? they are both 50+ yrs old, not gonna happen but I would take them in cameo roles, or have Tom as the Marquis de Lioncourt *begging the universe*
Anon: “Also, is she really catering her audience to fb? Does she know the amount of young ppl that read vc?”
We are getting an influx of new VC fans from the recent books, and some of them are young ppl, and some of them find her FB page, so idk that you can divide those groups; (a) young ppl and (b) her POTP, bc there is probably some overlap. I personally couldn’t make a blanket statement like “All the POTP want X; and all the young ppl want Y” bc of that overlap and that there are plenty of other factors at play. Cultural and personal tastes in beauty being one of them.
ahhahh I nearly died watching the iwtv bts video. That was pure gold omg. Tom cruise upset that brad pitt is taller than him and wanting risers. Brad pitt just leaning there like “where did I go wrong” and anne’s cringey 90’s look all made me laugh so hard.
That BTS video is a new fandom treasure and like, back in the 90′s, Tom’s publicist Pat Kingsley would have tracked the source down and made them delete it. ;A; * I love that we’re getting stuff out of private collections now!
^I think this is one of my fave shots of Brad “where did I go wrong” Pitt from that movie… which is why it was so great to see him go from that to this BAMF later in the movie:
^YISSSS PLZ
^Height issues aside (and yeah I’m sure that was an issue!), here’s my take Tom Cruise’s eyebrow concerns. The lighting is different but you can still tell the difference in his makeup/hair. On the left is a still from an earlier scene that was shot and probably had to be discarded bc the blond was too bright, orangey, weirdly smooth (I think they were going for “pampered” and “golden”). Looks like they changed it to highlights and lowlights of blond and a mussier texture to mesh better with Tom’s own coloring. So he had good reason to be concerned about his eyebrows, he probably didn’t want more footage to be wasted.
^anne’s cringey 90’s look: Hey that was in style then bc BELIEVE ME I LIVED IT! But yeah she looks a lot better these days, current 90′s-inspired looks are very different from some of the actual 90′s looks.
*Even though it wasn’t an interview specifically, it was unauthorized bts footage.
Amy Nicholson, How YouTube and the Internet Killed Tom Cruise, America’s Last Movie Star.:
“Kingsley was adamant about keeping Cruise out of the tabloids. At press junkets, she demanded that journalists sign contracts swearing not to sell their quotes to the supermarket rags. Then Kingsley expanded her reach and insisted that all TV interviewers destroy their tapes after his segment had aired.”
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!
Totally Looks Like: Young Tom Cruise Totally Looks Like Paolo Anchisi
#vc casting…
I-want-my-IWTV 