Anne Rice approuve le choix de Robert en Lestat
Anne Rice Gives Robert Downey Jr. Her Vampire Vote
by Elisabeth Rappe, Aug 19th 2009
Just days ago, we were buzzing about a rather startling rumor that Robert Downey Jr. might just put on the cravat and fangs of Anne Rice's Lestat de Lioncourt. The comments were pretty much split down the middle on this one, and for good reason. He's an unlikely pick, but it's not as though you can deny he always turns in a fine performance.
But what does Anne Rice think of all this? Jay Tomio of BSC caught up with the author to get her take on the project and its possible star. As everyone remembers from the days of Tom Cruise's casting, Rice has never been shy about voicing her thoughts when it comes to adaptations of her work. Downey can breathe easy though -- if he does take the part, there will be no advertisements against him, because Rice loves the idea.
The author stressed that she had no inside or official information on Universal's remake / reboot or Downey's involvement, but that she loved the possibility. "I can say without hesitation that I love Robert Downey Jr. and I think he would make a fabulous Vampire Lestat. He is a major actor, a powerhouse of talent and personality, and he evinces an irrepressible and seductive charm. He would bring great energy and skill to the role. I would love to see this happen. I've loved Robert Downey Jr. ever since I saw him in Restoration years ago, and I thought he was magical and powerful in Iron Man ... Some are saying he is too old to play the part. This is absolutely not true. He is quite youthful. Besides, Lestat is a man when he is made into a vampire. A twenty year old man in the 18th century is the equivalent of an older man today. Age just shouldn't be an issue here, not with an actor of this scope and charisma. - I'm thrilled at the prospect that this rumor might be true."
To step away from casting rumors, one of the things that confused me about Universal reviving the property was the issue of rights. I used to follow Rice's blog (back in the olden days of 1996 when they were just "official sites") and I remember her hoping that Warner Bros would lose the rights to The Vampire Chronicles. Because they hadn't made a follow-up to Interview with the Vampire, the rights were supposed to revert back to her -- something I assume didn't happen once they threw The Queen of the Damned into production. So how did Universal get them?
Well, Rice doesn't answer the how, but notes that rights to her numerous novels are scattered all over the place. "The rights were controlled by one studio for a very long time; and though there was constant interest, that one studio controlled whether or not something got made. The rights are no longer with that studio. And my agents are working diligently on the new possibilities. -– I have often wondered why so few movies have been made from my work. I think the problem lies in the fact that I wrote rather long series of books. If a studio buys one of a series, that studio wants to tie up the whole series. It is a built in problem. - I can't complain. Had there been more movies, maybe I wouldn't have written so many books. And I loved writing the books. I hope now that the series can really take off, with one high quality film after another."
As I said before, I'm skeptical about returning to the Vampire Chronicles -- it just doesn't feel as fresh and frightening as it once did. But hey, stick a handsome guy in a cravat and I'm there. Plus, if the vamp craze spurs on a craze for Southern Gothic, and ends up terrifying us all with an adaptation of Rice's The Witching Hour, I'm on board.