Interview with the Vampire (30th anniversary)

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Straw Hut Media.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Welcome to Release Date Rewind. I'm your host, Mark J. Parker,
a movie lover and movie maker, and this is a
podcast that celebrates milestone anniversaries in film. Thank you for
listening to this show on the straw Hut Media Network
wherever you get your pods or watching on YouTube. We
have a special two parter here and I'm calling it Pitfest, Yes,

(00:26):
as in Brad Pitt. In this first part, we're taking
a bite out of the nineteen ninety four horror drama
Interview with the Vampire, which was so popular thirty years
ago that it held the record for having the highest
opening weekend for a Brad pit film until Ocean's Eleven
in two thousand and one. If you'd like to watch
or rewatch this Neil Jordan movie, it's not currently streaming

(00:49):
on any streamers with a subscription in the US, but
you could rent it, borrow it from your library, or
find it online somewhere. We'll also compare this movie to
the new AMC Plus show, so stay tuned for that.
All right, movie star bloodsuckers, whip that long hair back
and forth, because it's time to rewind. Part one, my friends,

(01:22):
is beginning with the one and only Sabrina Santora. She
is back, Hi Sabrina, Hi, maybe celebrity, Yes, hello, my
vampiric vixen in the darkness re emerging.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
And people listen to this, you know all the time,
they're probably like this one girl comes on only for
these type. I swear, I love other movies. I swear,
but I think I'm just you know, I'm just.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
You totally do. But yeah, you just this is your wheelhouse.
And also I love that, and I'm so glad you're
you were available for this because you have been on
every Fall for the last few years. You did start
in May. That was our first episode together, was the
Craft and Twister, you know. But then but then ever since,
it's been like October November, you know, last time you

(02:06):
were on was Practical Magic, one of the best last October.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
Of twenty million times this year.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Oh my god, I mean it's just so good. What
do you think about the sequel news that they're they're
going to do a sequel.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
When I think about that, excited, nervous. I'm always excited
and nervous for that. Yeah, uh huh, because you never
know which direction that's good.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
I know, and I did. I so some friends that
are going to come on the show for a Little
Women next month, also starring the great Riston Dunst. What
a back? What a like? Back to back? Like? Right?
She was killing her the end of nineteen ninety four.
I love that ninety four version.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
It's my favorite version.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Right, I'm sorry, Oh my got the cask. I know.
So my friends that are going to come on for that,
I've known them for years. They also we also have
talked about Practical Magic, and I said, let's I forget
who talked about it, but they were like, let's do
a little book club. And I said, hey, you know,
there's the sequel book that is now going to be
turned into the movie. Let's all like read it.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Or listen to it. But there's like three of them, right,
there's a.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Bunch of them. But then the some of them are prequels.
And I remember we talked about this on the show.
But then Alice Hoffman wrote a sequel book a few
years ago, which is called Now. You would think I
just listened to the whole I had to. I borrowed
from the library. It was like seventeen CDs. I didn't
even I didn't even know my car had a CD player.
I'm like, whoa, this is a blastom of past. They

(03:25):
didn't because I couldn't get like the audiobook version, so
I had to get the CD's book is a Book
of Shadows. I think it's just called practical magic Book
of Shadows. Anyway, it's not that good. Have you have
you read it? Yeah? It was not I didn't. I
didn't I cared about it.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
I didn't read it.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
Yeah, So I think they're going to really have to
make some changes for the sequel movie to be exciting
because the book the audiobook was not so exciting. I
gotta be honest, guys. But enough of that. I want
to hear from you, Sabrina, how you've been. You just
saw Wicked, the biggest movie in the world right now
and all sorts of November records, which is funny because
this movie was breaking November records thirty years ago. So

(04:06):
how funny that now we have a new hit. So
in your own words, don't spoil too much for us,
But was Wicked as amazing as they say?

Speaker 1 (04:14):
It exceeded my expectations. It is so magical, so wickedly fabulous.
I was probably crying through most of it. But I
felt like my inner child. I Wizard of Oz means
so much to me, of course, and I went to
see Wicked with the original Broadway cast in two thousand

(04:37):
and four.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yes, we were talking about this and.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
I felt like, and that's where I ended up going.
So I kind of always felt this connection to the
most class and it's Wicked and just that being my
path of my passion, you know, I wanted to win
all the awards.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
I hope.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
I'm telling you it is you. You you leave there
feeling like you're in you somehow found your inner child again. Wow,
And like for me, that's how I felt. And I
felt it such an emotional like there's a kind of
there's there's no place like home feeling. That feeling was
like there and I just like, oh, I'm getting emotion.
I just wanted it was just it's a during this

(05:19):
time of year.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
I think it's perfect, you know, defying gravity. And some
of those Wicked songs from the Broadway show, they were
on my iPod, like and I was not a major
show too, like like love a bunch of show tunes,
but I wasn't listening to them on my iPod all
the time, right, only some and like so so knowing
that this movie is so good and that they're so great.
That song that's amazing too.

Speaker 1 (05:39):
I was holding it in so hard and there was
like just tears because it was just so powerful.

Speaker 2 (05:46):
All right, I'll be seeing it soon. I love it.
I love and it's the biggest movie right now, much
like how Interview with the Vampire was the number one
movie thirty years ago. People were eating that up, much
like they're eating Wicked up. We're gonna eat just like
Lastat and Louis were eating up all these pretty girls.
It was so awful for them. Or rats exactly, or

(06:06):
chicken or you know. Louie was not. I guess he
was sort of considered a bit of a vegetarian, even
though he's you know what I mean, Like, yeah, in
the beginning, yes, he was really trying to hold off
on not eating the people, not drinking their blood and
going for the you know, sewer critters. But you know,
he had to come around eventually. But everybody, let's let's rewind.

(06:28):
Let's go back Sabrina thirty years ago to November eleventh,
ninety four, thirty years ago. Everybody interviewed with the Vampire
the film came out. Of course, we will at the
end talk a little bit about the show that's super
popular right now. I wanted to try to start in
time for this, but I haven't had a chance to
watch it yet. But I've heard nothing but good things.
I know you've seen the first season and you like it, Sabrina.

Speaker 1 (06:49):
I do like it. Yeah, I do have to catch
up on the second season, but I enjoyed it very much.
It's a very different take.

Speaker 2 (06:56):
Okay, well, hey, I'm into I know that. I know
there's some different races involved now to kind of diversify.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
Oh yeah, and they make their relationships very clear. Ah,
they probably couldn't do They could.

Speaker 2 (07:09):
Have done, but right but thirty years ago, with these
big stars, they had to be sadly more careful. Although
on this rewatch, Sabrina, Wow, I forgot just how close
Brad Pitt and Antonio Manderis are getting in that scene.
Oh my god, girl.

Speaker 1 (07:26):
And Antonio was my first crush was because of ad
I was. Oh, I was in like fifth grade. I
think my mom probably trying to see it in movies.
I remember being like, who is this man? The sexist
Spaniard like singing to me, you know, with his sexy
eyes and everything. I like, I don't know, was it

(07:49):
I love that? Why would I have a crush on
Antonio who was fighting his late thirties early forties.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
Oh yeah, probably probably. Yeah, there was something about him,
I believe it.

Speaker 1 (07:57):
You know, that was him coming off with desperate and
oh yeah like.

Speaker 2 (08:01):
Assassins, Assassin Sabrina, you are speaking my language. I loved
Assassins as a kid, and I remember I was like, wow,
who's that guy? Assassins? It was him versus was it
Sylvester Stallone? Oh my gosh. And I remember Julianne Moore.
That was when I like first met Julian Moore. Oh
my god.

Speaker 1 (08:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:16):
That was I think probably ninety five, ninety six, maybe
just a couple of years after.

Speaker 1 (08:21):
That, around the same time.

Speaker 2 (08:23):
Yeah, I want to say that was ninety five. Yeah.
So this this was really starting his you know, real
you know we between him and Kirsten Dunce.

Speaker 1 (08:32):
In United States. Yeah, yeah, he was really crossing.

Speaker 2 (08:34):
Some real breakthroughs. Yeah, of course, I know, especially the end.
Oh yeah, I know, I was like, wow, I forgot
this part because it had been a little while you know,
I've seen this movie a bunch and I've always it's
kind of like one of those movies, even though it
does I'm not good with blood, you know. I love horror,
I love Gothics, Ouki, but like some writing, oh I know,

(08:58):
and some of the budding and especially his like pointy
simple steps you know, on the on the wrist or
the neck, I'm like, you know, so I can't. I
kind of have to watch, you know. And we were
just talking about the substance offline, you know, love it,
but like, oh, there were I was not looking whatsoever.
I'm just like taw.

Speaker 1 (09:14):
People to tell me exactly needle, I can't do.

Speaker 2 (09:19):
A so so yeah, there were some moments. Still, even
though I love this movie and it's kind of like
a warm blanket, I still have to kind of look
away because, you know, it just gets a little too
vampiric for me. But we're going to talk about our
favorite scenes in a moment. We're going to talk about
where these actors were in their careers. But first time, Sabrina,
I'm just gonna set the scene. I'm gonna jog our
memories we were kids, but this is what was going
on in November ninety four. I want to say we

(09:41):
get started, like we were just saying, Sabrina and I
are theater people. That's where we met. How funny. Sunset
Boulevard is very popular right now on Broadway with Nicole Scherzinger.
Thirty years ago, the musical from Andrew Lloyd Weber, Sunset
Boulevard was about to open on Broadway and about to
take over the Tony's. I think it ended up winning.
I think I read like seven Tonies. So how funny. Yeah,

(10:03):
when it was originally right, it was opening just about
a week after this movie came out, so it must
have been in previews when this was out, you know, Yeah,
so that was about to be a big deal. On
the music side, I'll list the top three songs and
you're gonna love this, okay. Number one everybody was I'll
Make Love to You by Boys to Men. That was
a huge song number one for like, I think I

(10:24):
saw at least like twelve weeks at number one, maybe
even more months and months right Boys to Men. Yes.
And then number two was all I Wanna do is
have some fun right from Sheryl Crow. How funny. It's
funny because like I kind of forget that she was
around that early video. Oh yeah, very video. For some reason,

(10:49):
I just always thought that was more late nineties, but no,
it was. It was early to midnight.

Speaker 1 (10:53):
I agree. There are times I'm like, wow, yeah, things
for early nineties when I really thought it was like ninety.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
Seven nineties, right, because Cus Cheryl Crow was so popular
a little later with even more songs, you know, so
it's like, oh yeah, that was ninety four, so that
was the number two song and number three Everybody was
one of my faves. You play this and I Am
on the dance floor Another night from the real McCoy. No,
then dam between those songs, right, I'm just like, take

(11:28):
me back. Wow, those three songs give me such a vibe.
And Madonna was in the top five with Secret, so
you know, this was a.

Speaker 1 (11:34):
Great time for music, probably doing something.

Speaker 2 (11:36):
Oh I'm sure they were probably in the top ten.
They were definitely around. Their album was out, so yeah,
so that was what was happening on the music side.
Everybody on the movie side. So, like I said, this
came out November eleventh of that year, the same day
as a movie I remember seeing in the theater. I
didn't see interview with the vampire in the theater, did you.

Speaker 1 (11:54):
I doubt my parents, my parents going on dating, because
they would do like regular movie date nights. And I
remember why I remember this. I remember my mother coming
home because she read all the in race books and
this is where I get my oh fear loving books
and Stephen King and all that stuff from. She was
like it was gross at times because of the rats.

Speaker 2 (12:15):
That's so funny.

Speaker 1 (12:16):
We enjoyed it, but like I just remember, like for
some reason, I remember her like complaining about the rats.

Speaker 2 (12:20):
The rats. I mean, it is quite gross how they're
like draining rats into glasses and like rats and the steward.

Speaker 1 (12:27):
I was not allowed to watch until I was a
little bit older.

Speaker 2 (12:29):
When I was when this was out. The only thing
I remember. I don't even remember seeing commercials or trailers
for it. I just was totally unaware, you know. But
I remember seeing the poster. I want to say it
was at the Campden Aquarium because I'm South Jersey boy,
and I want to say I was there on a
school trip and I saw this poster and I just remember,
like this this vision of seeing it in the daytime

(12:51):
and being like whoa, and like, you know, we we
were creepy kids. We liked our horror, even though some
horror we weren't seeing just yet. But I was like, oh,
that looks kind of good. And I I couldn't rid
my head that that was Tom Cruise because I'm pretty
sure I knew who he was at this time, but
the way, you know, because his face is pretty large
and a little obscured on the poster, and I was like,
ohh and he's blonde and his not. I just was like, oh,

(13:13):
that looks like a different Tom Cruise. So I was
very mesmerized by that poster, but hadn't didn't really get
to see it until much later. But a movie I
did see opening weekend, same weekend was the Santa Claus
tim Allen, right, big Christmas classic. Of course you probably
saw that in the theater, right, of course that was
such a big deal, right, it's so good. I don't know,

(13:35):
Tim Allen's like pretty conservative and annoying and whatever, but
oh sorry, no, not the same age. No. I like
how you clarified that.

Speaker 1 (13:46):
Birthday with oh that's the big Evans.

Speaker 2 (13:50):
I think, oh, okay, you've got some good ones.

Speaker 1 (13:53):
I share it.

Speaker 2 (13:54):
I share it with Kristin Stewart, Jesse McCartney. He and
I are the exact same age. Dennis Quaid, who was
just in the substance, another conservative. That's so great guy,
but you know, he's a good actor. That's all I
can think of now. But every now and then I
like stumble upon more people. I'm like, really, but anyway,
I digress. But the Santa Claus was number two that

(14:14):
weekend because Interview came in at number one. Other popular
films within the top ten there was Stargate with Kurt Russell,
sci fi movie. There was pulp fiction of course, iconic
quent In Tantino Frankenstein, another gothic horror thriller with Robert
de Niro and Kenneth Brena. I did see that in theaters.
I don't know why my parents took me to see that.

(14:36):
I think we were trying to see something else. I
don't know what else we were trying to see, and
it was sold out. So my dad was like, well,
Mark loves horror. I love herr. Let's go. Oh my god.
That movie freaked me out at like seven years old
or whatever. I was, Oh my god. So that was
in the top ten. No, no, no, it gets It's
pretty brutal. What happens to hell and the bottom Carter?
Oh my god? So yeah, that was pretty scary. And

(14:59):
then another, The River Wild with Meryl Streep. Do you
remember that one?

Speaker 3 (15:02):
I love?

Speaker 2 (15:04):
Oh? The River Wild is her and Kevin Bacon is
the bad guy and they're on a raft in a
crazy river. Oh. Check it out. She is in like
action mode. Oh, it's so good. I almost talked about
it on this pod, but I just didn't have time
in September. But that that also was popular at this time,
came out September ninety four and last but not least,
still in the top ten from summer nineteen ninety four.

(15:26):
This was at a time when movies were in theaters
for months. Everybody Forrest Gump that was still huge.

Speaker 1 (15:33):
Yeah about this? No, what apparently Tom Hanks is and
they're running to possibly play this that And I almost
died laughing.

Speaker 2 (15:41):
I did hear?

Speaker 1 (15:42):
Can you imagine? I can't imagine?

Speaker 2 (15:45):
No, Yeah, no, he's just he's not right at all. Right,
So that will be right back.

Speaker 1 (15:58):
So you want me to tell you the story of
my life, I'll tell you my story.

Speaker 3 (16:03):
I'll tell you all of it.

Speaker 2 (16:09):
I'm blessing blood, but not human.

Speaker 3 (16:13):
I haven't been human for two hundred years.

Speaker 2 (16:16):
I know some people don't love Tom and Brad in
these roles, and we'll talk about them in a second. Especially,
I mean, Brad's pretty good. He's a little he's a
little stiff, whereas Tom is a little over the top,
like really reaching for the stars. But you know, I
think it works.

Speaker 1 (16:33):
Though, I think it works. I'm not gonna lie. Oh, yes,
but this movie, I'm okay West.

Speaker 2 (16:40):
Okay, yeah, I am. I think it works. They balance
each other out, right, they bounce each other out. Everyone's
kind of acting at their different degrees, and I think
it works pretty well. But again, I'm a fan of
this movie. I know some people, like I was talking
to some people who love the show and they say
the show is way better and this movie has not aged. Well,
I'm still you know, you're still like this one?

Speaker 1 (17:03):
Yeah, you know what, because I think it also. I
don't know if it's just because of you know, we
kind of grew up more with it, you know, because
when I was in middle school. I'm going to shout
out to my friend Megan, someone tell her to listen
to this. We were up all of our sleepovers, like
all of our parties that were either at like my
house or her house, we always want to watch it

(17:25):
because we were always wanted still staying up late, and
all of our other friends were like, no, we don't
want to watch this. Why like so boring as well,
and I was like, well, then go to sleep.

Speaker 2 (17:38):
You're like, go to sleep obsessed with because we were.

Speaker 1 (17:41):
Up sister Johnny Depter and you know during that time,
Brad Pit Yeah, Brad pet So like anything, any movies
that they were, we always had to watch.

Speaker 2 (17:50):
And I just think this was totally an era Christian Slater.
My god, I was gonna say this was an era
of very pretty leading men, like every one's hair was
just so great and like everyone happened john like and
it's funny because Johnny and Brad. I was just actually
looking it up because I am in the middle of it.
I actually it's due back at the library. Wolloves, please

(18:12):
don't overcharge me, but I just borrowed for the first time.
I've never seen it ed Wood starring Johnny Death but
Tim Burton.

Speaker 1 (18:20):
Because I really was trying to like, you should.

Speaker 2 (18:22):
Check it out if you haven't seen it, Yeah, to
watch it. I'm sure it's online or you know, borrow it.
But and he looks so good. And I was looking
him up his age and they he and Brad are
like the same age. They both are, they were born
the same year. And so it makes a lot of
sense that you guys were, of course obsessed with the
two of them because they were you know, they weren't old.
They were like around thirty, you know, you know, team beats,

(18:43):
so like still total heart throbs, but now entering like
real you know, uh, leading man, like like an award
worthy leading men, you know, especially like Johnny I think
was already nominated for Oscars and Brad was about to be,
you know, so yeah, it was such a time for
these these very attractive leading men. And Tom Cruise too,

(19:05):
he looks really good. I was watching interviews. He doesn't
look so good in this movie. They you know, he
looks kind of freak even when he's not like about
amazing makeup, when he's really scary. But interviews about this movie,
oh my gosh, he looked great. He had longer hair,
like a little bit facial hair. I'm like, okay, Tom,
all right, I got it, I get you, you know,
but now Sabrien, I'm gonna throw it over to you

(19:26):
for a second, in your own words, for anyone out
there who's too scared, doesn't know what this movie is
or this story, I should say, because of course it's
based on a famous book. But in your own words,
it gonna be short. What's the what's the gist? What's
is an interview with the Vampire about Oh.

Speaker 1 (19:41):
I I was about to go into the book, but
it's different than the movie. So basically it's about Louis.
That's Brad Pitt's character. He owns a plantation his in
the movie. He just recently dealt with his wife dying childbirth.
In his well, I guess he's unborn child. Yeah, And
so he's depressed. He doesn't want to live anymore. He's

(20:03):
kind of just like over life, Like I don't want
to do this anymore. Income some cruise like KALs that
like sees this, it's like, oh, I think I want
this guy to be my companion. We'll get more to that.

Speaker 2 (20:16):
Leader quote unquote companion. Huh.

Speaker 1 (20:19):
And so he kind of gives him the choice I
never had because he just like it's so dramatic, because
we love it that that when we were little my friend. Sorry,
it's just so funny. And then so he givesn't the choice,
but not really, he doesn't really give him choice. He

(20:41):
becomes a vampire, and they kind of it's not your
typical vampire movie with like ooh, I'm Dracula or not
gonna like kill everybody. It's it's very much about it's
kind of like they're real people, real humans, but as vampires,
if that makes any sense. Yeah, dealing with you know,
feelings and emotion and transitioning in a.

Speaker 2 (21:05):
Sense, survival, you know, just trying to like, you know,
live and like any sort of happiness. Right. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (21:13):
Then they come across Claudia, you know, unfortunately her family
was wiped out with the plague, and they kind of
make her into their quote daughter. She's the you know,
which is so twisted that never grows up, which is
I know, you know, and you really feel for her
interesting depths.

Speaker 2 (21:33):
Oh yeah, and you know, in different countries, lots of
traveling trees.

Speaker 1 (21:38):
Yeah, it's basically kind of like you're immersed into a
journal of Brad Pitt's character. That's the best way to
put it, because I think in the book it's basically
him narrating.

Speaker 2 (21:53):
So okay, yeah, and he has his voice over and
yeah in the interview.

Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah, oh yeah. That's the thing. The interview is its
important part with Christian Slater. He's being interviewed, so he's
telling his life story about why or how he has
become a vampire, and this is where he's at today,
and the interview takes place in the early nineties. I'm
at present moment, you know, nineteen ninety four in San Francisco,

(22:18):
and it kind of just goes back in time and
tells him of how he was maiden, who was his maker,
and this is where he.

Speaker 2 (22:25):
Is now and now, Sabrina, can you tell me? I mean,
I just rewatched it, but the beginning is a little
unclear for me. Why is he being interviewed? Like do
we know what a Christian Slater's character like wants to
like do with this interview? Is he going to write
an article about him? Like I think we know anything
about that?

Speaker 1 (22:42):
Oh gosh, you know what, I haven't read the book
since I was really young, so I feel like I
should know this answer.

Speaker 2 (22:48):
I know, like like Brad says, like Louis says, like
I was watching you and I think his name's Molloy,
says like, oh, did you want molloy? Yeah, did you
want to drink my blood? And he said yes, but
I wanted to talk first, so he was like yes, yes, yes,
not because he's like staring out the window.

Speaker 1 (23:08):
Probably wants the interviewer Christian. I think he also wants
to be He obviously wants to be turned into a vampire.
He's something. He's fascinating about the life of vampires and interesting.

Speaker 2 (23:19):
Yeah, and he wants to see if they're real, right, Yeah. Yeah,
he's like a little spectical. I think he wants to
like kind of hear proof of like do you even exist?
Maybe that's it. Yeah, like I could tell that, you know.

Speaker 1 (23:33):
His vulnerability and kind of like yeah, you know, and
he's also this is my way of telling my story
and get right there.

Speaker 2 (23:39):
And also Louis has lived quite a solitary life. I
really you really feel for him. I mean, because like
you know, I know, we're jumping around, but once Claudia
dies that terrible death, oh my gosh, everybody, I mean,
it's heartbreaking for him. And he's he's kind of like
solo for the rest of it, seems his life. So yeah,
I guess it makes sense why he would want to

(24:01):
just now share and like get all this off his chest.
But yeah, the movie just sort of starts and I'm like, well, wait, like,
can you tell me more about how you two men
because they're just already they're already in the room and
they're just like, okay, let me start the tape. I'm like, oh, what.

Speaker 1 (24:14):
Is this for beautiful song?

Speaker 2 (24:19):
The score? The music is so good, and the score
was one of the two Oscar Noms that this movie got.
It got nominated for music and for and oh yeah, yes,
that music is so I love it. Oh yeah, it's
it's both quiet and haunting and then it's very intense, yes,
because we got some intense moments. There's fire, there's there's

(24:42):
like a group death going on, and yeah, that music
picks up. But yeah that The Oscar Noms that got
were for the score and for art direction, which makes
perfect sense because the movie, I mean, it's a feast
for your eyes. The sets, the costumes and just I
love this swaby.

Speaker 1 (25:01):
I don't feel like it's a Halloween movie. I don't
watch it really like as I'm not like, ooh during Halloween,
I'm gonna watch it I can watch it year round.
I think it's just more of a drama, a moody drama.

Speaker 2 (25:12):
Oh yeah, yeah, it's just a moody gothic like historical gothic. Yeah,
kind of like a fairy tale in a way, a
dark one, you know, a grim one. But and it's
funny because we've talked about that when you were on
the show a couple of years ago in November for Dracula,
a movie we love, another vampire movie you've talked about,
and that we were saying that was a November movie,

(25:33):
and I mean November horror is.

Speaker 1 (25:36):
For Halloween, right, yeah, November is a great month for
that night. That kind of I actually watched. Oh yeah,
I watch it either on Halloween or like the day
after or after.

Speaker 2 (25:48):
Yeah yeah yeah that middle Ground.

Speaker 1 (25:50):
Transition yeah right, like oh yeah, great transition movie is into.

Speaker 2 (25:54):
Like totally where there's where there there are maybe scares
and there's murder and there's really dark stuff, but it's
it's more of a vibe. It's gothic and like it's
not like jump scares. It's it's a real like totally enveloping,
like just spooky story. Yeah. Yeah, and I love that
you say you watched this year round because it's crazy.

(26:16):
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think it
might be accurate. I think the last time I saw
the movie in full was years ago. I had just
moved into my East Village apartment. This was back in
two thousand and nine. So I can't believe I think
that was the last time. I might have you know,
I've seen clips, but like you know, I think, and
it's so funny, Sabrina. So I had just this was
my second apartment in New York, just moved to a

(26:37):
little box studio in uh near Alphabet City. And it
was one of the last blockbusters. Oh yeah, it was
one of the last blockbusters or just a block away
from me. It must have been between First Ave and
Avenue A, and oh my god, Sabrina. So for whatever reason,
literally I had just moved in. I lived in this
apartment not even a week maybe maybe it was actually

(26:59):
that weekend, and I thought, all right, I'm way too
tired after like getting everything in order, Like I'm not
gonna try to go out and hang out with people.
I want to watch a movie. I want to run
a movie. And I went to Blockbuster and for whatever reason.
I had a craving for Interview with the Vampires, and
I'm like, you.

Speaker 1 (27:11):
Know what, those are the best time to watch it
because it's like, I don't think about it every day.
It's not when it is news where I can just
like put on TV every day. Maybe once a year maybe,
but I feel like I actually haven't watched it.

Speaker 2 (27:24):
In a while.

Speaker 1 (27:25):
Yeah, a year probably. Yeah, that's for me because I
was obsessed with the movie.

Speaker 2 (27:30):
Yeah, and watch it. Yeah, well, much like a vampire
craves that sweets me blood. I was like, I need,
I'm craving this on and it must have been DVD. Yeah,
it wasn't VHS, but I go, and I'll never forget.
I'm like, yeah, it's an old movie, you know. I'm
sure Blockbuster charges more for newer movies in New York City. No, ma'am.
I think I paid five ninety nine to rent it

(27:51):
for that night. I'm like, Jesus, Okay, well, there goes
part of my food budget for the night. Okay, you know,
I was what two thousand and nine, I was twenty two,
I think so, But I just and it was so
fun to just I think I got Domino's pizza probably,
And I watched Interviewed the Vampire, and I just had
a little nineties night by myself in my little apartment
in noisy New York City, and I was loving it,

(28:13):
you know. So that's one of my favorite memories that
I associate with this movie is Yeah, some nights you
just kind of and it was not fall. It was
like late It's probably like late August, I seemed to,
you know, and I just was like, I'm in the
mood for some gothic New Orleans seasonal movie.

Speaker 1 (28:28):
It's like whenever you feel the need to watch.

Speaker 2 (28:31):
Yeah, yeah, I agree.

Speaker 3 (28:33):
From the novel by Danne Rice from Neil Jordan, the
director of the Crying Game, I've come to answer your prayers.

Speaker 2 (28:44):
So, Sabrina, you probably know a lot of this stuff.
You said you read the book a long time ago.
I've never read it.

Speaker 1 (28:48):
I read that actual series.

Speaker 2 (28:49):
Oh you read the whole series. Yeah, there's a bunch
of books in there. Wow.

Speaker 1 (28:54):
It was Interviews Vampire, Vampire of the stat and Quinna
the Damned, and I think the Tale of the Body Thief.
I want to say, Okay, Love Green Dan, and that
was also the movie that came out. Yeah, I just
wish that they you know, I really wish I had
done more or like the series somehow.

Speaker 2 (29:17):
It is really surprising.

Speaker 1 (29:18):
AMC is going to do that. I wonder if that's
I hope.

Speaker 2 (29:21):
So it seems like they because apparently, you know, it's based.

Speaker 1 (29:25):
On but that's nothing to do with the product.

Speaker 2 (29:28):
Right, But that's another book that yeah, another end rice. Yeah,
but it's interesting. It seems like the show obviously is
really following the interview book. But then I saw I
read that season two also intertwines. I guess the book
the Vampire Less stat So it seems like they could,
you you know, interweaving more. You know, I think that'd

(29:48):
be really smart. But yeah, it is shocking because this
movie made over two hundred million worldwide. Everybody, but it's
shocking we didn't get like an immediate sequel. It was
a hit. I know it was success, but I guess
Neil Jordan, who will talk about the director, he started
prepping and I guess started writing a sequel based on
the next book. But then I guess, just this movie

(30:09):
and this series has been caught in development hell for
years because then even after long after Queen of the Damned.

Speaker 1 (30:15):
Well, she she always.

Speaker 2 (30:17):
Wanted these to be made into movies. She was all
for it, she did. She didn't always love the casts,
you know. But so I don't know what it was,
because even long after Queen of the Damned, I saw
they were trying to get movies of some of those books.
Jared Letto was in talks like different people, but they
always fell through. So and not until Anne Rice got
the rights back apparently, I guess in twenty fourteen, ten

(30:38):
years after this, then there was real movement, still slow
on getting them made into a TV show.

Speaker 3 (30:50):
Life has no meaning anyone, what doesn't? His name is Lestatt.
What if I could give it back to you, pluck
out the pain and give you another life?

Speaker 1 (31:03):
What you would never imagine?

Speaker 3 (31:06):
I could see you lying on a bit.

Speaker 1 (31:08):
And she wanted to interview The Vampire to be a
movie since I think two years after she wrote it.

Speaker 2 (31:13):
Right, yes, yes, and exactly like pushed Away. We'll get this,
I'll tell you so, I'll tell you everybody. So nineteen
seventy six is when the book comes out. Apparently, the
rights for a movie were initially purchased by Paramount shortly
before the book was even published. Earlier in seventy six
so it was one of those situations. But for years

(31:34):
it was in development hell, jumping around from different studios.
Finally I guess it landed at Warner Brothers. Yes, like
you were saying, different actors, she had her like prime
actors in mind and power thing, Ruger Howard. I also
heard Julian Sands, who passed away not that long ago,
a British actor. She really wanted him for the stat
which I could see, but he wasn't, you know, a

(31:55):
big enough exciting name. So yeah, lots of different verse
and different styles. I think it's so impressive when a
novelist writes the screenplay. But Anne Rice wrote the screenplay
for this film, which is.

Speaker 1 (32:07):
So interesting that why I think a lot of people
you read the books, yeah, love the movie because.

Speaker 2 (32:13):
Yeah it's a good translation, a good adaptation. Yeah. It's rare,
you know for her to do that. So that's pretty cool.
And this, I guess was her first screenplay. Fun fact,
a month before one of her random books that I
guess really was sort of butchered into this comedy movie
Exit to Eden with Rosie O'Donnell and Dan Aykroyd that
had just come out a month prior it's like a weird,

(32:34):
funny sex romp. You know. That was based on her books.
She didn't write the screenplay, but knowing Anne Rice, it
was not so much a comedy, but they really run
it into a more busy Yeah. Yeah, it was definitely
spun into a comedy for the movie. So I don't
think she was happy with that. So that was October
ninety four. Now here's interview. Luckily a better experience for her.

Speaker 3 (32:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (32:55):
But so the movie was directed by Neil Jordan. Like
I had mentioned, he had just come off of the
Crying Game, Big Movie. He won the Oscar for screenplay
for that. He wrote and directed that. He directed this
and apparently I don't know if it's completely factual, but
I guess he did. He was also involved in the screenplay,
so even though it only his soul writing credit for
Ann Rice, he I guess wanted to. He said his

(33:17):
stipulation was ill direct, but I need to also be
a little bit involved in the screenplay.

Speaker 1 (33:21):
And he wanted to make it theatrical because remember I've
read something where he had seen Dracula.

Speaker 2 (33:27):
Yes, he's inspired by Speaker col dramatic, theatrical, Yes, theatrical, colorful, but.

Speaker 1 (33:36):
It was that typical like corny vampire stuff that you
know that's like.

Speaker 2 (33:41):
Lavish, a big romance. Yes, let me read you the
quote that he says about Dracula, because I love that
you're bringing up bringing it up, he said, yeah, it
was an influence. Up to that point. Francis Ford Coppola
had introduced opulence and theatricality normally before his film Dracula.
I always thought of vampire movies as cheap, coupled together
brilliant use of minimal resources. But Francis made it this epic.

(34:05):
So when I was given the opportunity to make interview,
I thought, oh, it would be really great to expand
on that epic sense of darkness and to give these
characters huge romantic destinies and longings and feelings. So there
you go, and he did you feel it? He really did.

Speaker 3 (34:21):
He chose one man. He gave him infinite power, eternal life,
and a daughter who would be forever young.

Speaker 2 (34:36):
I thought it was interesting. This was at the time
the highest budget for a vampire film. It was around
seventy million dollars for the budget, so that was unprecedented
at the time for this kind of story. Usually much
more lower budget for a vampire.

Speaker 1 (34:52):
They got that because it was a book probably so.

Speaker 2 (34:55):
Well, because it was a successful book, I'm sure. Yeah,
and because you know, Coppola's movie was not only a
financial but a critical and an award hit. So people
wanted to see some gothic historic horror, you know. So
it makes sense for sure. And also I just actually
did a post about this recently on my Instagram. Ninety
four was sort of the year of bringing back sort

(35:18):
of the old movie monsters. We first had Wolf with
Jack Nicholson, which I love, where modern day Werewolf we like,
we were just saying Frankenstein came out only a week
later with Robert de Niro. So we were seeing a
resurgence in these old kind of classic stories, either modernized
or you know, and now here comes more vampire. So
I think it was all because of the hit that

(35:39):
Copola had two years prior, right, Yeah, so there, but
so yeah, so that was our key players behind the scenes.
Real quick, we're going to talk about our four leads.
Tom Cruise. I know, he's, you know, not the best
guy scientology is bad, but he was on top of
the world at this time. He was already Oscar nominated
born on the fourth of July, so he was a

(36:01):
big star as he still is. This was before Mission Impossible,
which is wild to think about because he's been doing
that for decades.

Speaker 1 (36:08):
But Jerry McGuire too.

Speaker 2 (36:09):
Before Jerry McGuire exactly, he had just done The Firm,
A Few Good Men, and one of my faves with
his then wife Nicole, Far and Away, Love Far and Away.
I just love the sweeping historical drama. Right. So he
had done those. This was a big salary for him
at the time. It was a record ten million dollars

(36:29):
record salary and a percentage of the profits. So this
was his movie. Baby, He might not be in the
whole thing. Brad is really the star. But Tom, you know,
took all that money, honey, right, So that was Tom.
Speaking of Brad, he had just done these movies The Favor,
which I had never heard about, a lower budget kind
of rom com. He had done True Romance with Christian Slater.

(36:50):
He had a smaller part in that California, a gritty
movie that I think he did with Juliet Lewis who
he was dating it at that time then, and a
river runs through it. Super cute blonde, you know, the
historical drama. You know, this was right before he did
Legends of the Falls. Sweeping, long hair, Yeah, year came
up a month later. Yeah, so this was his big yeah,

(37:12):
like sweeping. Oh, I'm sure, long hair, clean shaven, open shirt, like,
I mean, it's iconic, right, Moving over to Christian Slater,
who we were talking about as the interviewer. He was
in True Romance, which people love, Untamed Heart with Marissa Tomy.
He was in a movie with Joe Pesci. I didn't
really know about Jimmy Hollywood. That came out earlier in

(37:33):
ninety four, and I got a shout out. He was
just two years prior in fern Gully. One of the
voices in fern Gully one of my faves. I mean,
I was.

Speaker 1 (37:42):
Just springing that movie up because they're doing construction next door,
and I was like, I feel like it's fern Gully
with the trees.

Speaker 2 (37:49):
That is so sad. Oh no, the trees start singing exactly,
starts singing toxic Love, and like, you know, I.

Speaker 1 (37:59):
Know for the boys.

Speaker 2 (38:01):
Yes, the lead guy, Zach, I'm my confirmation name. When
I had to go to fucking c CD, I was like,
I want my name to be Zach Zachary because I
loved Zach and Fern Gully. So there you go, little
fun back there. But you probably know the Sabrina Christian
Slater was not originally supposed to be that, right, I know,
tell us who was it gonna be?

Speaker 1 (38:22):
River Phoenix Phoenix?

Speaker 2 (38:24):
But he's right. He died only a month I think
four weeks.

Speaker 1 (38:30):
Yeah, I guess Christian just kind of swooped on in
and about this is that he gave all that money
that he earn from the movie to I think charities
that Phoenix pH that Phoenix was like a part of
or something.

Speaker 2 (38:42):
Yes, apparently to Phoenix's favorite charities. Yeah, which is amazing.
Oh my god, that's so nice. Yeah, and god, the pressure.
I mean, luckily he doesn't have a ton to do.
But like, whoa, I mean it's a big movie, big budget,
big stars thing.

Speaker 1 (38:56):
Is you still remember him? Like when I think about
this movie.

Speaker 2 (38:58):
Oh yes, later totally oh yeah, oh yeah. And I
mean we'll talk about that ending. But I love the ending. Whoa.
Just when you think it's ending, it's like, oh dang,
you know. But the film even has a dedication to
River Phoenix and the end credits. Yeah, so very interesting.
It just goes to show how on top of the
world he was too. But yeah, he you know, passed

(39:20):
away because of drugs and that was infamously at going
back to Johnny Depp, right, it wasn't that at the
Viper Room, which Johnny Depp owned, I believe, right, a
club in La Yeah. Yeah, I remember years ago being
on a La Hollywood tour and they took you by that.
They're like, this is the Viper Room where River Phoenix died.
I'm like, bak Hollywood history. Okay, And last, but not least,

(39:44):
the last star we'll talk about. We could talk about
them all, but we got to talk about little Kirsten Dunce.
Oh my god, what a queen, What a star, what
a buy through performance.

Speaker 1 (39:55):
I was watching it last night and I've always thought this,
but like thinking about how old she was when she
had to like do this role, that's very I mean, yes,
in the beginning she could play a child, but really
she's you know, at one point she's a thirty year
old woman that you still looks like a twelve year old,
you know, one point she's No. One hundred something, you know,
I don't know, but like I'm just saying it's it's

(40:18):
it's a lot, you know, for an hour. I can't
imagine that age having to like have that maturity.

Speaker 2 (40:24):
And yeah, she must have been only around ten or so.
And yeah, man, she commands the screen. She's my favorite.
I mean, she steals the movie. She's just so good
and like forever right when she screams, oh you boys
better listen, like she is so good yeah at that.

Speaker 1 (40:42):
But you know, now looking at it, I'm like, oh,
it's so sad. Oh, I know, like that one shot,
we're just her mouths open and the scream. It kind
of gives me. That reminds me of Dracula with Lucy,
you know, with the I felt the velociraptor.

Speaker 2 (40:57):
Kind of yes, you're right, you're so right with the
uh huh, I know, yes, I love that. Yeah, I
love her in this movie. What I mean, she had
done a few things, but this between this and like
I said, Little Woman and Women the next month, holy cow,
what a breakthrough end of ninety four and got she
got a but oh, I know, well that's what's also fun.

(41:20):
She played brats so well, right, like this was her niche.
But she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Supporting
Actress for this movie, I mean, and then Jumanjia a
year later. Oh yeah, she was an instant star. But
before this, earlier in ninety four, she had a small
role in a Michael J. Fox movie called Greedy. I
didn't really know that one well, but she's in that big, big,

(41:41):
like family movie. She's on the poster on the side.
She also a few years prior was in the Bonfire
of the Vanities and another smaller role with Melanie Griffith.
I think Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis, so she was
in that. But she had done lots of TV, popped
up in different things, but this was a true star
making term and I just love shoot. Not for an Oscar,

(42:01):
but for a Golden Globe. I think she should have
been nominated for an Oscar. I can't remember who was
at the time. I know Anna Paq went around this time,
was nominated and won for the piano. That might have
been maybe a year after or before, I forget, but
it was right around this time. So, you know, another
powerful role for a kid. But yeah, love her so much.
I even posted this. I will always one of my

(42:23):
best memories. One of my favorite memories from this movie.
A great moment is her transformation. The cameras close up
on her and you see her hair turning into these
tight curls and like a doll and she gets pale. Right, Yeah,
a walking, talking doll. And man, it's so twisted, Sabrina,
like I said, like, rewatch it again, I really feel

(42:46):
bad for her. Like Brad, Louie is giving the stat
such shit for killing different women, which is terrible and terrifying,
and we can talk more about that. But then here
comes Louie running away from that and finding this girl
who needs help. Her mom is dead like flies on
her like looks scary, right because exactly, and little Claudia

(43:09):
holds Louis. She hugs him and please help us. And
of all the people you're gonna bite, you're gonna bite
this little girl Louis.

Speaker 1 (43:17):
Okay, I guess, because, like I think, in the book,
to you, they were like, oh they had such a connection,
and like I don't. I'm still like I get that.

Speaker 2 (43:26):
But you know, yeah, I know. And then of course
Lestat comes in and he's like, well, she's gonna die,
so she either dies or we turn her. Oh my god, yeah,
dances with.

Speaker 1 (43:36):
The mom that difference between them too, like he has
I think because he's lived such a long girl life,
like his emotions have completely You got off the door,
you know, out of the door. He does not care.
He's just like, I'm gonna do what I want. Yeah,
this is you know. And then there's Louis, who's.

Speaker 2 (43:51):
Much more careful, crying. I know what is I wrote
it down? What does Lestat saying? And in the car
with Uie, she says, he says, still whining a little.
I had to listen to that for centuries when when
Christian Oh yes, uh huh, but yeah, so I'll start

(44:16):
us off with that's one of my favorite moments this
movie is Audius Transformation and how what she sits up
and she says, she's immediately hooked. And man, she is
a troublemaker. She's killing people left and right. I love.
I forgot how much comedy she brings to this. A
piano teacher, her piano teacher, head of hits the piano.

(44:37):
She just killed him. What did we tell you? Never
in the house? Right? Is that something like that? Never
in the house? Sorry? Right? Oh, she's such a troublemaker.
So I got a shout out that Hey, Rewinders. If
you're loving this episode as much as I am, please
leave a rating and review on the podcast app you're using,
or a thumbs up on YouTube.

Speaker 3 (45:02):
This is the only real Eva left. And then he
took the light of.

Speaker 1 (45:10):
Day right right now. I was thinking about when they
were at and they're in Paris and it's just Louis
and they're watching the show that the vampire humans put
in the vampires, and that I don't know why that
woman in the audience always gets me every time.

Speaker 2 (45:29):
Wouldn't she say like take me.

Speaker 1 (45:33):
He's like you wait.

Speaker 2 (45:35):
But it's twisted how they had fans that didn't even
really know what was really going on.

Speaker 1 (45:41):
You know, that part always like weirds me out, weirds
me up. But it's just so creepy with the whole
like you having the human there and everyone's watching them,
but like at the same time, it's so weirdly powerful.

Speaker 2 (45:56):
Oh I know. Oh, and how he like forces him
on Louis and Louis like yeah, goes to bite the
spot on his arm where like who is it? I
guess it's armand it's like armand's like toy. You know,
he looks to bite at the one section but He's like,
I'm going to turn you out like the other side,
you know, to get a clear, a clean bite, you know,

(46:18):
oh bleak this this poor boy being like, yeah.

Speaker 1 (46:22):
I you know. I do also love the beginning some
person in the beginning where louis you know this is transformation.

Speaker 2 (46:29):
I think, oh, yeah, I love.

Speaker 1 (46:31):
Everything for the first time and you go and he
goes by, but you know they're in the graveyard, but
he goes by the statue and you see that because
you're kind of trying to see through his eyes in
the statue, like looks at him because you're seeing things, right.
I did love that.

Speaker 2 (46:48):
I love when Lestat bites him for the first time
and had a flying like whoa. I remember like as
a kid teen seeing us, I was like, oh, that's interesting.
You don't see that too often in vampire movies, you know,
like just the power was lifting them up and then
and unless that drops him into water. You know, did you.

Speaker 1 (47:07):
Make the whole feeding thing and like blood like sexualized, sexualized?

Speaker 2 (47:12):
It's really it really, Yeah, it's portrayed.

Speaker 1 (47:16):
Yeah, and you can tell with that that and Louis
that like there's definitely more there and yeah, but that's
it's like a normal thing. You don't really think anything.
I mean, I that's why I always needed I never
thought like this is weird or whatever.

Speaker 2 (47:32):
Yeah, because because there's such a sense of loneliness for
all of them that it's like, yeah, I need someone
to like be with forever, you know. But of course, yeah,
it's not that easy, you know, And you gotta like
each other first.

Speaker 1 (47:44):
You know the part where Claudia kills the staff for
the first time, Oh.

Speaker 2 (47:49):
My god, Well, she's pissed because she she can't even
cut her hair, poor girl, and it grows. She is stuck,
you know. And and I love when Louis says to her, like,
see that all woman out there, You'll never be You'll
never grow old, You'll always be this age, you'll never
get older.

Speaker 1 (48:05):
I think you see in his face that he regrets
saying it.

Speaker 2 (48:09):
Yeah, and I think he also, of course regrets even
putting her in this situation. Yeah, you know, but she's
so pissed for being stuck as a vampire. I love
when she says, who did it? Who made me into.

Speaker 1 (48:24):
Awful dead body riding in her bed? Yes? The dolls,
Oh yeah, you should get rid of it. They're all
He's like because he keeps getting her dolls because I know.
But then away and she starts like going.

Speaker 2 (48:39):
Going crazy and she's so fierce because and I and
it's so smart. Actually, it's such a great character that
Anne Rice created because of course she's a kid. She
can't really handle all these crazy emotions, so of course
she's gonna lash out. But I just love how she's
a bit of a mastermind. Like she tells Louis, She's like,
we have to get rid of him, you know, Like.

Speaker 1 (48:57):
He's like, oh, we can't.

Speaker 2 (48:58):
She's like really right, And the way she tricks the
stat oh boy. So so yeah, it was a little
confusing for me because again it had been a little while,
but basically I had forgotten that yet it's not good
for them to drink the blood of right of an
already dead person. They need to be alive. I forgot

(49:18):
about that. And so he immediately tastes that something's wrong
and these boys and she's like, yeah, I killed them,
and I poisoned you bitch, you know, and then she
slashes his throat and one of the best visuals, one
of the best shots is the blood. I remember that well,
his blood seeping on the carpet and moving towards their feet,
and she says, really picked me up.

Speaker 1 (49:39):
I think it's like a VH my VHS state that
I have. Yeah, there were some type of specials after it,
behind the scenes, and they were showing that robotic.

Speaker 2 (49:50):
They made of say, yeah, you can tell, but it's
so spooky. Stan Winston did great makeup and effects, you know. Yeah. Oh,
I think it still holds up pretty well. I think
to when when and when they dumped the body in
the swamp, like soon after, Like I think he is
so spooky looking, you know, he comes oh and even

(50:11):
and even before right, But and I also I love
how oh when he comes back at the piano and
the curtain is naughty girl and breaks out right and
oh man, Tom Cruise is scary. I'm actually surprised. Well,
I'm not surprised because he's always been so a list
for so many decades. But I actually think Tom Cruise

(50:33):
should have been like a killer in a horror movie
because he played one here so well.

Speaker 1 (50:39):
He feels a certain way about this.

Speaker 2 (50:40):
I think, yeah, maybe it's just kind of quote unquote
below him, but he could have easily played like a
serial killer or and it could have been highbrow like
but like he is spooky in this movie. I love
it and the way he looks. But and someone said
it on the on the YouTube video that I watched
of this movie, but it's so true. When ever Brad
Pitt is angry, he just sets things on fire. And

(51:02):
it's so true. He does it three times in this movie.

Speaker 1 (51:05):
I mean, that's really funny.

Speaker 2 (51:06):
Actually, yes, right, and I never thought of it until
this We watch him like, all right yet again because
he sets his house on fire. Right, that's the first
time with the slaves there. What a shot with the
with his plantation slaves celebrating and jumping around as the
house is in flames. And he does that because he's
just he's already a vampire.

Speaker 1 (51:24):
He's just over him. Yeah right, he just wants to die.

Speaker 2 (51:29):
Life just sucks, right, but Lestat keeps, you know, saving him.
That's the first time. Second time is this time when
they kill uh what they think? Sat right? Yes? And
yeah that you're right. This is the second time because
they've already killed him, put him in the swamp. He's
now back now they set the house on fire. He's
on fire. Great scene. Love that scene they flee. That's

(51:51):
what gets them then to flee to Europe? Right, yeah,
but then again fast forwarding to in Paris once poor
Claudia and her female companion, which I had forgotten about her,
you know, die that, yes she doesn't, but what a
good role. I mean, we don't know her name, We
don't even I don't even know her character's name. Do

(52:11):
you remember what her character's name is? I don't even know.

Speaker 1 (52:14):
I don't even know.

Speaker 2 (52:14):
If there was there might not have been one. Yeah,
but his mother she was daughterless. Yes, she acted sort
of like yeah, absolutely, because Claudia by then is getting
jealous of Armand and wanting because Armand really kind of wants,
uh Louis to be his companion. Louis really in demand everybody,

(52:35):
I mean, with Brad Pitt, how can I mean, it's
perfect casting, how can you not? But so so poor
Claudia has died in that brutal you know the sun
that scene.

Speaker 1 (52:45):
Though after when he's walking because he's so angry and
his eyes and the music and then you see Stephen
right right, yes, he's I hate so much because it's
like like Griddon like that, like when we killed her.

Speaker 2 (53:00):
He's so like he's such a clown you know the food. Yeah,
but he is, he's like this twisted he's almost vampiric, pennywise,
he's like playful and twisted. But his eyes.

Speaker 1 (53:14):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (53:14):
He did a good job in his smaller role for sure.
But he leads them to kill Claudia because now is
that would you say that's because of what they did
to Lestat, right, Yeah, I.

Speaker 1 (53:26):
Think so, because it was vampire code and vampire code
not to kill your own kind, especially your maker. And
I think Armand also wanted to him. He wanted to
travel with and he knew that Claatea would get in the.

Speaker 2 (53:41):
Way, right exactly because because and and Claudia knew that.
I think she even said She's like, I think that's
why she she could like understand him that right, She's like,
I need a companion now because I know I'm going
to lose you. But Louie didn't want to lose her.
Louis loved being dad to Claudia. It's so sweet their
father daughter thing, and it's so cute. I was watching

(54:02):
an interview where because you know, they have that brief
kiss in the movie and they both separately and their
interview said, oh, it was so weird obviously, I mean
especially for Brad, like I'm kissing a kid, this is
so weird. But even Kirsten was like, oh, so gross.
It's like kissing your brother, like we were like brother
and sister. And I just thought that was so cute
because you know, here she is like, it's like you're
kissing Brad Pitt, but you're like, oh, he's my brother.

(54:23):
But then so she dies and he touches their the
like kind of their their form of ashes, and it
withers away. Won a shot, and that's when he does
he sets his third fire, right, sets it on their
whole really amazing, like it's like a catacomb under the theater.
It's really amazing. But he sets that whole thing up,

(54:45):
and I just love that one really nasty female vampire
in their group who's like, yes when she when she
comes in and basically kidnaps them, you know, and the
music's really going, she's crazy. But then yeah, then she's
losing her ship with the fire and yeah, so.

Speaker 1 (55:02):
Cuts what's his face the puff and the clowns and.

Speaker 2 (55:07):
Half right, yes that, Oh my god, I forgot about that.
So that was a shot. That was that was you're right,
and now I gotta find that clip because that was
edited out of the free YouTube video. Yeah, because I'm like, well,
what happened to him? I can't remember, but now gets
half because yeah, yeah he's holding that like almost like
a sickle or something.

Speaker 1 (55:25):
Right, Yeah, well he just literally turns around and he
just slices him in half.

Speaker 2 (55:31):
Okay, Well when we're done, I'm watching that clip because yeah,
that's iconic. Come on.

Speaker 1 (55:35):
And then he tries to go outside, but it's like
daylight and Arman and the little little boy. He's like
running the carriage.

Speaker 2 (55:42):
Yes, the boy. I did laugh when the boys like okay,
you're the one doing this.

Speaker 1 (55:49):
Okay, cool, and then they go into some museum or
something and they're big fur coat.

Speaker 2 (55:55):
Yes, I know. It was so like I'm like, this
is so funny.

Speaker 1 (56:00):
Scene where I was ready for the start making out.

Speaker 2 (56:04):
I think if it was filmed in a different time,
I think it was even Oh my god, Brad is
literally his lips I think basically like touch Antonio's nose.
But if it was filmed I think ten years later,
I think they would have totally had a full on kiss.
But yeah, that's when armand you know, basically is cool
with his whole group getting killed right because he knew

(56:27):
it was coming. He knew they were crazy, and he
really wanted Louis, and Louis says, he's like, well, thank
you for the invitation to be you know, but he's
like but still like, I don't like you, and I
don't like what you. Okayed right with Claudia, and I'm
going on my own. I'm going solo. It's funny because
in years past, I always kind of, you know, the

(56:49):
second half of the movie. I don't know if it's
exactly in the middle, when when Tom Cruise, when Listat
goes away, but let's just say, you know, that's like
the first part and then the second part is all
about you know, Antonine. I always got a little bored
with the second half. But actually, as an adult now
rewatching for the first time in years, I kind of
love it all.

Speaker 1 (57:08):
Yeah, well, I say a little bit for me, but I.

Speaker 2 (57:10):
Still really love the New Orleans like that, and I
just love creepy Tom Cruise when he's like, really I
wanted more of that. So it's just such a shift,
you know, And you can even feel the shift in
the setting that I'm like, oh, right now, we're like
totally in a different chapter of the story. And also
it's literally like I wrote down the years. It starts
in seventeen ninety one, I believe, and then when they

(57:33):
get to Paris, it's like it's eighteen seventy. Yeah, so
it's like eighty years later. So you really feel a difference.
But it is so fun to see them, you know,
so dressed up. I love when Claudia is like dancing
and twirling in her lavish outfits in Paris. But now,
how are they affording all this? It's because of Louise money. Oh,

(57:55):
and they just steal, right, that's true about that, you
you know, yeah, you're right.

Speaker 1 (58:00):
A not apparently to Dracula.

Speaker 2 (58:04):
Oh I was gonna say, oh, okay, the Demeter probably yeah.

Speaker 1 (58:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (58:07):
The ship, Oh that's fun. I didn't think about that. Yeah,
I do love I forgotten you might remember from the
last time you saw it. I forgot that Claudia is
such a good artist. And it's a fun little montage
movie of Yeah. I thought that was really clever to
not only show how she's maturing and she's wise obviously
beyond her years that she looks, but it was a

(58:28):
great way to just show how they're traveling all over
together as a family. You know, I thought that was
pretty cool. But yeah, I just I kind of, you know,
forgot how actually the second half is pretty cool and
twisted and dark. I just maybe because of Tom Cruise.
I just remember the first half so well and I
do love it. And when I was in New Orleans
got back in twenty eighteen for work. Oh have you

(58:50):
never been?

Speaker 1 (58:51):
No, and you love it?

Speaker 2 (58:53):
You got to go in October. I was lucky to
go in October. I was there for a work trip.
I was casting What would you Do? Because they were
shooting in the New Orleans area, So I was seeing
a whole ton of actors in one day. And you know,
I'm there alone. So I'm like, I want to go
on like a ghost tour. So they all were sold out,
but the Vampire Tour was available, and we went and
saw some locations of where they shot in homes. Yeah,

(59:15):
and it was so fun. A lot of it, yeah,
a lot of it really was shot there. No, even
like I.

Speaker 1 (59:23):
Think they're in San Francisco. They're in San Francisco.

Speaker 2 (59:25):
They're in San Francisco for any modern stuff. Yeah, But
then all like the plantation stuff, and then I saw, right, yes.

Speaker 1 (59:33):
When Tom Cruise is like living in the.

Speaker 2 (59:35):
Maus waem right, they go back to New Orleans, because
that's when that's when Louis says in his voiceover, he says,
in nineteen eighty eight, he found his way back to
New Orleans and he was home. But then I guess
he ends up in San Francisco, you know, but he's born.
He's like, all right, time for a change, you know,
I got to keep it fresh. But uh yeah, So

(59:56):
it's cool how New Orleans is such a you really
feel it, you know, and all the cool architecture and
the places they live. You know, when they're fleeing from
the second fire, he says, when Tom Cruise is in there,
they're running out of this beautiful New Orleans building. I'm
pretty sure I was standing outside of that building on
the tour.

Speaker 3 (01:00:16):
You're a vampire. I never knew what life was until
they ran out in a ridush lips.

Speaker 1 (01:00:25):
A fun, gross, morbid kind of moment is when they
are in the apartment with the two women.

Speaker 2 (01:00:31):
Oh, I'm so glad you're talking about this. It is
so memorable. That actress. He's amazing.

Speaker 1 (01:00:35):
Yeah, but the one already basically dead. But then like
that one actress, I've never heard anyone her name, but
like she was. Yeah, I just remember him saying something
about like, oh, this is your coffin or something like that.

Speaker 2 (01:00:46):
You know, it's so brutal what they do or not
only does he not only does he.

Speaker 1 (01:00:52):
Show how he is. And I think that was just
kind of showing what type of person or what type.

Speaker 2 (01:00:57):
Of and and how how opposite of louis. Right, Louie
is panicking. He's like, finished what you started, and Lestat's like, no,
you do it. And she is bleeding out of her boob,
which is so disturbing, it's so gross. And then he's
also slit her wrist and she's in total panic. And
also she's drunk, so she's not even like totally and

(01:01:20):
then yeah, then he puts her in this coffin and
then I love the shot of him then yeah, flipping
flipping it open. You know, they're fighting. It's so disturbing
what they do to her because then they're playing with her,
you know, because then she's begging Brad Louie. She's like,
please help me, you know. And then and and Louie
just sort of is too chicken to you know, help

(01:01:42):
her do anything or just kill her, you know, so
then Lestat ends up killing her. Oh that seems brutal.
I'm glad you're bringing that up because I remember that
woman so well. And then the poodle scene. We were
talking about that because that was the famous shot burned
in my brain of him snapping her neck that was
cut for YouTube. You hear it, and it looked. It

(01:02:04):
looks so real. It really.

Speaker 1 (01:02:05):
The way he turns with a little thimble.

Speaker 2 (01:02:09):
With the guy another another kind of you know, gay
thing going on. Yeah, totally taking advantage of a seemingly
queer guy. And then nowhere, yeah, I know Louis with
this woman who he's making out with and she's so
and he could easily bite her, but he's like, I can't.
I'll just kill your annoying dogs. That scene is so good,

(01:02:31):
and you know, I totally get it because then less
Stat is furious with him, like are you insane? And
this woman and they do that famous kind of could
I could see it being a little funny, I could
I could picture people laughing, you know, like flying against trees, but.

Speaker 1 (01:02:47):
The kind of love laugh.

Speaker 2 (01:02:52):
Yes, that Moniacle you know he knows Louis a baby.

Speaker 3 (01:02:56):
Yeah, I can't stand this any longer.

Speaker 2 (01:03:01):
And then we have the ending, you know, which, like
I said, I love when you know, Brad snaps, Louis
snaps on the interviewer scares him away. We never really
get a goodbye with Louis.

Speaker 1 (01:03:14):
No, he doesn't bite him. Sorry, no, yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:03:18):
Right right, yes, because he's in his convertible, he's crossing
the Golden gate Bridge, how iconic, and he's playing the
tape of Louis when he just recorded freaking out. And
then all of a sudden, I love this because I mean,
you know us, we love our scary stories. And so
I don't know if it's in the book, I wouldn't
be surprised that they sort of changed this for the movie,

(01:03:41):
you know, but it's just such a fun, kind of
badass thrilling ending where it's like, I guess I don't
need an introduction or whatever. He says, he bites him,
and there's and the.

Speaker 1 (01:03:51):
Cars swerving, and then the hands yes putting.

Speaker 2 (01:03:55):
And then yes, he starts, he starts getting younger again.
He's like, already feel better because he's been sort of
sick and like, you know, hiding for decades, I guess.

Speaker 1 (01:04:06):
Right, and then.

Speaker 2 (01:04:09):
Yeah, please allow me to introduce myself with just spitting
for this, you know, it's kind of funny. But and
then he drives off and he'sible, Yeah he's doing that
maniacal laugh. Yeah, and the end, and it's pretty amazing
to like totally modernize it. And like the Golden Gate Bridge,
which I was just saying with my husband Greg, like

(01:04:30):
that bridge is in so many movies, Like it's crazy
how photographed that bridge is. But it's so it's like
New York. It's like the Statue of Liberty, you know exactly.
But yeah, we end on such a modern shot of
now the stat knows how to drive a car, I guess,
and he's he's going off and he's gonna he knows right,

(01:04:52):
you like dying. But it is kind of sad to
not get a proper goodbye with Louis, you know, like
he last we see he he's in full ferocious mode, right,
But I don't think we see him again.

Speaker 1 (01:05:11):
In the I think there's a continuation somewhere.

Speaker 2 (01:05:15):
I have probably so long ago.

Speaker 1 (01:05:17):
This is like middle school. I read them just so random,
but I would love to go back and remember, like
and reread them to be honest at my age now
because I feel.

Speaker 2 (01:05:26):
Like, right, you pick a lot more and much more,
A lot more. Yeah, exactly great.

Speaker 1 (01:05:32):
They were great. Anyone who wants to read them, I
definitely recommend that.

Speaker 2 (01:05:36):
Yeah, there's a whole series. And it's funny because the
title of the film, it's technically called Interview with the
Vampire the Vampire Chronicles. So they really were hoping that
it would start a franchise, right, but just I guess
random issues and lots of like I said, development, hell
you know. And I still have never seen Queen of
the Dam, but I have to say I think Stuart

(01:05:57):
Townsend from the clips I've seen, in his look, his body,
I think he seemed like a really good Lestat replacement.
What do you think?

Speaker 1 (01:06:05):
I saw it and I loved, you know, I I
loved Aliyah and I was so sad.

Speaker 2 (01:06:11):
Oh I know she looked great in that movie. Yeah. Yeah,
and she.

Speaker 1 (01:06:14):
Really wanted that role really bad and it's a great role.
I don't think it. I think the script was the issue.
It was not good writing.

Speaker 2 (01:06:22):
I just think it was just didn't get good reviews.

Speaker 1 (01:06:24):
It just wasn't It's like Neil Jordan, you know, or
like you know, he took it, took it over or something.
I think it would be reletely different and amazing. I
just think unfortunately it wasn't. It just wasn't great.

Speaker 2 (01:06:38):
Yeah, okay, yeah, I really I kind of could sense that.
And once I heard the reviews back then, this was
twenty years ago when it came out, I was like,
all right, maybe I'll stay away, but you know, if
you're not gonna have Tom Cruise, I thought Stuart Townsend
looked really good in that role, maybe even better. Yeah
he did Tom, you know, like I feel like his
whole vibe fit.

Speaker 1 (01:06:56):
Yeah, that is kind of he's gonna band. He get
this is the rocker, you know, one of his lives
and you know he definitely had that persona for sure.
It just just a bad script. It just wasn't directed well,
I don't think, and it was just kind.

Speaker 2 (01:07:16):
Of like yeah, I hear you. Yeah, but at least
we have this great movie and now the series, which,
like I said, I got to jump into and see
the changes and the and I'm sure more from the
book is in there books.

Speaker 1 (01:07:29):
And actually shout out to a friend that went to
AMA with my Russell Lewis and his twin brother Matt.
They are in the first season, so they played the twins.

Speaker 2 (01:07:43):
Oh, how funny, but they're.

Speaker 1 (01:07:45):
Older obviously they're all take but when you watch.

Speaker 2 (01:07:48):
It, funny, So you went to school with them with him?
Yeah funny. Yeah, that's so great and.

Speaker 1 (01:07:54):
He deserves all the success he's He was always such
a sweetheart and so great.

Speaker 2 (01:07:58):
So what a great love that God kills indiscriminately. It's
so shall we.

Speaker 1 (01:08:06):
Did you read that one trivia where like they weren't
sure if they wanted to have two men. They weren't
because they were nervous and nervous about it. She was
do we was me almost going to be female and
share share?

Speaker 2 (01:08:21):
I had no idea. I looked that up too. I'm
glad you're bringing I had no idea, but share Share
would be perfect, Like I could totally especially in the nineties,
I could absolutely see her fitting right in. But also
that that just makes me sad that Anne would even
have to change it because of the the you know,
homophobia that was sensing.

Speaker 1 (01:08:40):
Yeah, like whatever ended up taking it on and was
like no, sticking with the book with her.

Speaker 2 (01:08:45):
Yeah, but yeah, I love that that share was in
the mix. She was considered. She was not only considered,
she was talked to about it. Because this also was
mind blowing. She made a song called Forever that she
made for the film soundtrack, but it got rejected once
you know, Pitt was ultimately cast for the role, so
they were like, okay, sorry, Share, We're not going to
use you or your song. But she ended up I

(01:09:07):
read putting that song, or at least a dance a
new version of it on her twenty thirteen album Closer
to the Truth. So now I got to listen to
that song because that was originally meant for interview with
the Vampire I love Trivia like.

Speaker 1 (01:09:20):
That crazy yeah. And then also the fact that I'm
sure everyone knows this though, that Anne Rice was not
a fan of Tom Cruise to the point where she
wouldn't even like she was promote the film. She wouldn't
go to she didn't go to the screening. She was
so against it because she was like, that is not
that he is.

Speaker 2 (01:09:36):
Not that I read that she wanted them to even
swap role. She's like, yeah, make Brad lisstat you know,
which is funny because because Louis has more screen time, you.

Speaker 1 (01:09:45):
Know, But Brad wasn't, to be honest, I I'll think
at the time, because he was still fairly new. I
don't see him pulling off the set.

Speaker 2 (01:09:52):
In my opinion, that dark damn Yeah, because I hear you.

Speaker 1 (01:09:57):
Very theatrical he is. It's very dramatic, and I just, oh, yeah,
see that in Brad.

Speaker 2 (01:10:02):
You know, Grad was more kind of cool, calm, yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:10:05):
Yeah. And then I guess when she actually did see it,
she felt so bad that she like made a whole
two minute I think little promo people go see it
and like apologizing to Tom Cruise.

Speaker 2 (01:10:19):
Yeah. I heard she called him and complimented him and said,
I'm sorry for doubting.

Speaker 1 (01:10:24):
Imagining Tom Cruise. So like, as much as I don't
really care for him, but I'm like, I would be
hord like so horrified and so let down of like
the person who made this story.

Speaker 2 (01:10:33):
Who really hates me in this character. Yeah that's rough,
That's that's not very cool for him. Yeah. So it's
nice that she came around and like, yeah, you know,
ended up not only being happy with him, but I
read somewhere that she basically was like the second I
saw him on screen, I was like, oh, I get it. Yeah,
he is lestat there's no one else but him.

Speaker 1 (01:10:52):
Yeah, if you don't know what makeup can do, you know,
if you don't, you know, if just looking at Tom
Cruise from the top gun or something like that, you'd
be like, I know, I can't see that at all.
But he definitely did you know he had the blonde hair,
long blonde hair. He definitely was different.

Speaker 2 (01:11:11):
Yep. Oh yeah, totally different for him, but he pulls
it off. Yeah. And speaking of the makeup you mentioned,
I'll end us with one more fun fact. I thought
this was so interesting and not great. I would not
like this. So Stan Winston did the makeup and effects
for this movie. He had worked on Jurassic Park A
Terminator too. I mean, he's such a talented guy. He

(01:11:31):
designed the characters vampire appearances, and the makeup effects, including
the technique for stenciling their their blue veins, you know,
on their faces. And so you might have seen this.
I can't believe this. So to do the veins, they
actually spent so much time to make them like authentic
and not just lines the actors. This required the actors

(01:11:52):
to hang upside down for thirty minutes, which already I'm
feeling woozy.

Speaker 1 (01:11:56):
No way, I can do that.

Speaker 2 (01:11:57):
No way, so that the blood would rush to their
heads and cause their veins to protrude. Already, I'm like,
I'm about to vog and that would help them then
trace their actual vein. Oh my god. So I know, yuck.
But I hope they didn't have to do that, like
every day they had to do the veins, So hopefully
it was just a one time thing and then maybe
they you know, just traced it or something. But I

(01:12:19):
just thought that was wild. But it really goes to
show the artistry and the authenticity of this movie that
it wasn't just like, yeah, we'll give you squeigly lines
like that's what I would do, but it's like, no,
we're gonna actually find you know. Oh my god. Oh
can you imagine little Kirsten Dunce upside down being like
how much longer?

Speaker 3 (01:12:37):
You know?

Speaker 2 (01:12:37):
Oh god? Brutal Right. Yeah, you're right, that's that's the
bat vampire theme right there, behind the scenes.

Speaker 1 (01:12:49):
And sorry, you do not doubt.

Speaker 2 (01:12:55):
One last thing I'll say. Of course, it was, like
we said, it was nominated for Oscars Golden Globes. I
want a bat, have to but It also was nominated
and won some MTV Movie Awards. The one the awards
at won were Best Male Performance and Most Desirable Male.
Those two went to Brad, so even though his performance
isn't like the best in the world, it just goes

(01:13:15):
to show how the MTD crowd just loved him. Yeah,
most Desirable Male, of course. And then Kirsten Dunst won
Best Breakthrough Performance at the MTV Movie Awards. So I
thought that was awes fitting. And it did win a Razzie,
which Razzies are stupid anyway, who cares? But it won
a Razzie for Worst Screen Couple for Tom and Brad.
I thought that was funny. But talk about modern family,

(01:13:37):
we got vampires, you know, two dads, a little girl
who's one hundred years old. I mean, whoa one weird family, right,
I think it's aged pretty well personally, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:13:49):
I agree, Right, I will watch it for forever and ever.

Speaker 2 (01:13:54):
Right, And like a vampire, would there you go? Exactly
what else do you do? Let's watch the same movies
over and over.

Speaker 3 (01:14:01):
In Interview with the Vampire.

Speaker 2 (01:14:05):
And that is part one of Pitfest Interview with the Vampire.
Thanks Anne Rice for all the chills thrills and homo
erotic vibes. Very nice, and thank you out there for listening.
If you follow me on Instagram at release date, rewind
which you should be you'll have seen a few days ago,
I did a pole asking which duo was better in

(01:14:27):
Louis and Lestatt. Was it Tom and Brad from this
nineteen ninety four movie or was it the guys from
the TV show on AMC Plus and Tom and Brad one?
So the ogs still got it, I guess. Also, everybody,
this movie surpassed Home Alone two Lost in New York
to achieve a November record when it was released, So
Brad and Tom really did attract audiences. Thank you so

(01:14:47):
much to my friends Sabrina Santoro from Emerging from the
Shadows to join me on this episode. Thanks Strawha Media,
Kyle Motsinger, Greg Clemens and Portland Media Center. And Part
two of Pitfest is next and we're showing skin and
muscles and sweat. It's the twenty fifth anniversary of Fight Club.
See you there.

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