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Interview with the Vampire (1994) Film Trivia

Here are some facts and trivia about the Interview with the Vampire (1994) film adaptation that I found pretty interesting. Came across these and had never read most of them, and I figured most people hadn’t either. I’ll forever be upset Neil Jordan has never given me that footage of Lestat burned at the theatre and I know he has it.

- Tom Cruise wanted a private set, and hence tunnels were built to escort the actors to and from the set. This was done so that the vampire’s makeup effects would remain a secret.

- It was the first film production to be given permission to close down two lanes of traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge.

- This was the first LGBT related film to gross more than 100 million dollars at the U.S. box-office. Worldwide, it’s the number two gay film of all time followed only by “The Birdcage” (1996).

- Kirsten Dunst wasn’t allowed to watch the film when it was released because her parents thought that it was too scary for her, even though she has one of the lead roles in the film.

- Tom Cruise prepped for the role of Lestat by watching videos of lions attacking zebras in the wild.

- All the actors playing vampires were required to hang upside down for up to thirty minutes at a time during the make-up application. This would force all the blood in their bodies to rush to their heads, causing the blood vessels in their faces to bulge out. The make up artists would then trace over the swollen veins creating the eerie translucent-skinned vampire look.

- Anne Rice was so pleased with this adaptation that she took out a two-page ad in both Vanity Fair and the New York Times, endorsing it as “a masterpiece.”

- Tom Cruise was placed on an elevated platform during some scenes to reduce the height difference between his character and other vampires. - In an article released in September 2011, Brad Pitt revealed that he had a miserable experience while making this film. He complained of discomfort while wearing his costumes and colored contacts and being forced to play second fiddle to Tom Cruise, both on screen and off. He said at one point he called his friend and producer David Geffen and begged him for a way out. Learning that there was no way, he toughed it out for the remaining months.

- When Lestat and Louis are arguing at Louis’ plantation, Louis says the help watch them eat from empty plates and drink from empty glasses. They only did that in the book in order to fool Lestat’s blind father. They never would have bothered to do that otherwise.

- Although the screen credits read “Screenplay by Anne Rice based on her novel,” the script was actually heavily rewritten by director Neil Jordan. Writers Guild rules meant that Rice got credit.

- A gay connotation to the novel was greatly omitted from the film; Lestat expects Louis to sleep with him; Lestat, Louis (and later Claudia) are a family. Anne Rice mentions “stone walls” in the novel, which could be an oblique reference to the gay rights movement of the same name.

- The estate of Louis (Brad Pitt) in the beginning of the film was the historic Oak Alley Plantation located on the Mississippi River in Vacherie, Louisiana, which is near New Orleans. The plantation’s “guest book” is on display and was signed by Pitt and Tom Cruise.

- The film was a subject of controversy due to inspiring a real life crime shortly after the film’s theatrical release. On November 18, 1994, a man named Daniel Sterling stabbed his girlfriend seven times in her chest and back and sucked the blood from her wounds. He claimed in court that the film influenced his plan and the jury convicted him of attempted first-degree murder, among several other charges.

source: imdb

Brad Pitt doing a fang test pre-production for

Interview With the Vampire, 1994