Interview with the Vampire Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Let's face it -- Hollywood's view of age is skewed, at best. The industry might try to avoid fine lines and wrinkles like the plague, botoxing and facelifting all over the place, but it also likes to slip older actors and actresses into young roles ... not to mention making younger stars look older and more mature, and basically playing with age as the industry sees fit. And it's not only behind the scenes. From old-school 90210 to the big screen, age gets wiggled.

For example, Online Education lists a bunch of films where older actors ignore their age to play college students -- some being in their 20's and a close jump to college life, and others being ridiculously over-aged for their work, like a 39-year-old Harland Williams popping up as a college student in Sorority Boys. But age also becomes a factor in book adaptations.

As Elisabeth noted last week, there's a rumor that Robert Downey Jr. is in talks to play the vampire Lestat in a new re-do of Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. (Although no word on which books will be included, and how.) Big-screen treatments of Rice's work have always been my favorite examples of throwing age out the window. Where something like the Twilight series has been very particular about picking appropriate ages, casting peeps have a field day with Rice.

Like everyone in the civilized world, I love Robert Downey Jr., and it's because I love him that I fervently hope that this fangbanger rumor hits sunlight, and bursts into flames. Bloody Disgusting reports that Universal is looking to cash in on the blood-sucking frenzy, and reboot Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles, and that Downey is in talks to play the famous Lestat de Lioncourt.

Lestat was the hero of most of Rice's vampire novels. Blond, bisexual, and a blend of poetry and snark, his seductive powers led him into all kinds of scrapes. He seduced men and women, ran around with the Devil, swapped bodies with humans, seduced the first vampire (who just happened to be an Egyptian queen), and found time to be a rock star. At thirteen, he was one of the most wonderful literary characters I had ever met and by my 20s I found him pretty annoying. Your mileage may vary. But I was one of the few who actually liked Neil Jordan's Interview with the Vampire, and enjoyed Tom Cruise in the role, and was always disappointed that they didn't go on to make The Vampire Lestat together. I think Cruise could have done good things with that installment.

To bring it back now just feels wrong. It feels like a series that time has just passed by, and so much of Rice has been ripped off by every vampire series after that it's not going to really offer anything new. But if they go through with it (and with Twilight and True Blood winding everyone up, I have no doubt they will), they have to look elsewhere for Lestat, don't you think? Downey is wrong for the role, far more ill-suited to the Frenchman's fangs than Cruise ever was. Hopefully, it won't come to pass, and a new Chronicles will only happen in a universe where Alexander Skarsgard can take the role because he isn't on True Blood.

(With Valentine's Day arriving this week, we thought we'd dig up some of our old romantic favorites and mix them in with some new stuff. Enjoy.)

By: Monika Bartyzel

Warning: Even though this isn't about sex, it's about sexiness, so some content might not be suitable for work, or for young/impressionable/anti-sexual readers.

There's a vast sea of in-your-face sex on film -- close-up penile shots from the likes of Brown Bunny, real sex in Shortbus, porn penis in Romance -- and those are just the moments that capture the real deal. There's also all the simulated sex from the infamous prosthetic in Boogie Nights to the sexual addiction of A Dirty Shame.

Yet in this barrage of real and almost-real sex, there's tons of sexy scenes that do just as well without the actual act of copulation. And I'm not talking about a scene like Mulholland Drive, where the camera fades out before the heat begins to sear. This sexiness could be orchid tickling by a young man who gave up sex for Lent, Mark Hunter dancing with a fan to "Why Can't I Fall in Love?, " or even two people working on some clay. And that's just the beginning. In honor of Valentine's Day (which is Saturday), what follows are some of sexiest moments cinema has captured without the sex. Read on, and then weigh in with your favorites.

Career Opportunities | View It!

This is one of those scenes that went well beyond the movie, which is impressive since this flick is pretty damn low on the John Hughes totem pole. Jennifer Connelly's Josie McClellan is a rich, dissatisfied young woman stuck in Target. When some lame criminals interfere with her evening locked in with Jim (Frank Whaley), she gets creative. While the boys sit down for a bite to eat, she throws a long leg over a stationary horse, and calmly, seductively rides it while taunting the thieves with every mechanical bounce, and her statement: "I think I might need more than just a quarter."

Even though this isn't about sex, it's about sexiness, so some content might not be suitable for work, or for young/impressionable/anti-sexual readers.



There's a vast sea of in-your-face sex on film -- close-up penile shots from the likes of Brown Bunny, real sex in Shortbus, porn penis in Romance -- and those are just the moments that capture the real deal. There's also all the simulated sex from the infamous prosthetic in Boogie Nights to the sexual addiction of A Dirty Shame.

Yet in this barrage of real and almost-real sex, there's tons of sexy scenes that do just as well without the actual act of copulation. And I'm not talking about a scene like Mulholland Drive, where the camera fades out before the heat begins to sear. This sexiness could be orchid tickling by a young man who gave up sex for Lent, Mark Hunter dancing with a fan to "Why Can't I Fall in Love?, " or even two people working on some clay. And that's just the beginning. In honor of Valentine's Day (which is tomorrow!), what follows are some of sexiest moments cinema has captured without the sex. Read on, and then weigh in with your favorites.

Career Opportunities | View It!

This is one of those scenes that went well beyond the movie, which is impressive since this flick is pretty damn low on the John Hughes totem pole. Jennifer Connelly's Josie McClellan is a rich, dissatisfied young woman stuck in Target. When some lame criminals interfere with her evening locked in with Jim (Frank Whaley), she gets creative. While the boys sit down for a bite to eat, she throws a long leg over a stationary horse, and calmly, seductively rides it while taunting the thieves with every mechanical bounce, and her statement: "I think I might need more than just a quarter."

The trick to creating a successful adaptation is not so much in being a stickler about the plot, but in recreating the verve behind the words. It goes beyond simple interest in the characters. Adaptation is just like translation -- translated word for word, it will seem flat and lack the life it does in its original setting. The translator must understand the context of the words within the language, and then find the best fit to recreate that same sentiment. Yet it must also stay true to the original words. If it diverges too much, the life will be lost, even if the meaning is the same. The right adaptation will flow so well that it will not only feed a fan's penchant for details, but also recreate the element of surprise within them.

It, of course, helps when the original screenwriter is the woman who wrote the novel -- Anne Rice. But even director Neil Jordan's inclusions, which took some liberties, Interview with the Vampire maintained most of the spice that made it a book worthy of a cinematic adaptation. He brought the world to the screen, impressing audiences as well as Rice herself -- who was, at first, quite vocal in her distaste over casting. But even she was stunned with what Jordan and his cast accomplished, and ultimately gave the film much praise.

In an attempt to remove the "Hey, that's the chick in all those romantic comedies and Spider-Man movies" label from below her name, Kirsten Dunst will star in and produce A Jealous Ghost for Paramount Vantage. Film 360 will also produce, while Megan Holley has been brought onboard to adapt from A.N. Wilson's novel of the same name. However, before the project was even brought to Paramount, a whole team of people (including Dunst, Holley and 360's Ben Forkner) ripped the book to shreds, removing chunks of it and adding new characters and story points. Hmm, a film that will in no way stay faithful to the original source material? There's a new one for Hollywood.

Dunst had been searching for a juicy psychological thriller to sink her fangs into as of late, seeing as her last attempt in the genre was 1994's Interview With the Vampire -- a film that kick-started her career. In A Jealous Ghost, Dunst will play a young woman who, upon shacking up with one of her professors while attending University in London, begins seeing demons. I guess that's what happens when you try to sleep your way toward a good grade. Not that I would know, of course -- back in college, all my professors had hair protruding out of places I'd rather not discuss, which made it difficult to even look at them, let alone flirt or -- God forbid -- engage in any sexual activities. Here's hoping Dunst can successfully pull off the thrills and chills. A part of me is really looking forward to seeing what she can do with this genre as an adult now, however it's quite difficult to watch without wincing out of fear that this might be trainwreck waiting to happen.

As if Interview with the Vampire and Fight Club weren't gay enough, the British tabloid press are reporting that the inspiration of Brokeback Mountain has Brad Pitt on the lookout for "the ultimate gay love story." (Seriously, has he not seen Fight Club?) Though apparently seeing Pitt in a gay role would be "shocking" to the sensitive public, our Brad doesn't care. "He's seen the critical acclaim that Brokeback...has won and he wants a piece of it." He also might be seeing the whole gay thing in an entirely new light after spending a lot of alone time thinking about the beautiful love once shared by Angelina and Jenny Shimizu.

The best thing about this rumor, though, is watching how the flacks will try to deny it in a sensitive, politically correct way. It's not as if they can say "Ew! No, Brad's not looking for a gay role! That's outrageous."

[via Towleroad]