What The Producer Thought

On Anne Rice's Involvement with the Project

Anne Rice has now seen the movie. You can hear her comments on her web site phone message, but I can tell you that she was pleased enough to offer the use of her name and possessory credit in our marketing materials.

ON CASTING

Early Casting Ideas

Wes Bentley told us that he was exhausted and not up to the challenge of the role at that time. We considered just about every young actor, as you might imagine. Heath Ledger was doing FOUR FEATHERS, and Josh Hartnett couldn't get out of his Miramax options. Hugo Weaving was considered for Marius, but wanted to rest before embarking on back-to-back MATRIXes. Aaliyah was the first person we cast, and no one else was considered for that role. I think it would be unfair to say who we passed on for the role... but it most certainly did NOT include some guy who corresponded with Vampvan, and claimed we met with him in Texas (I think). That was a complete hoax and amused the hell out of me!

The Reprise of the INTERVIEW Cast

Casting Choices

Why is it okay to cast Aaliyah, despite her not looking at all like the Akasha of the novel, but not okay to let Stuart Townsend keep the hair color that suits him best? I'm not sure how Anne Rice feels about all of the casting, but I have reason to believe that she was happy in the end with our choice of Lestat. In the end, casting is a matter of taste, and very hard to quantify. We made the best choices that we could, given our circumstances, and are quite happy with the overall results.

Tom Cruise was offered the role of Lestat. He passed due to prior commitments and the understandable impulse of an actor not to repeat himself.

Khayman is my favorite male vampire in the novel QUEEN OF THE DAMNED. Bruce Spence was chosen from our Australian casting list for the part due to his talent and distinctive looks. As I said elsewhere, these standards were applied to all of the Ancients, so that they would be more noticeable. Again, due to our need to focus on Lestat in the story that we are telling, Khayman and most of the Ancients don't get nearly as much screen time as we would have liked. Maybe next time!

THE CAST

Aaliyah

Aaliyah probably had the toughest part to play in our film, in that she was then a 21-year-old with one movie under her belt, asked to play a 4000-year-old Egyptian queen who was transformed into the most powerful vampire of all. I was most concerned as to whether Aaliyah would be able to command the respect that Akasha would certainly draw. Aaliyah arrived in Melbourne extremely well-prepared, and delivered a performance that will make everyone who loves her proud.

Aaliyah was obviously a woman of many talents, and very much in command of them, despite her youth. She was also a very giving person who made everyone around her feel comfortable. I believe much of the credit for this goes to her terrific family, which was always with her, giving her support and a sense of home even when abroad. It's much easier to be an exemplary person and spread one's creative wings in such a nurturing environment. Aaliyah's work speaks most eloquently for itself, and I can only hope that the rest of our film does her justice. We will address how we feel about her life and her passing at the end of the film.

I wouldn't say that Aaliyah had a difficult time, but rather that her role was a very difficult one to play well. That she did play it exceedingly well is one of the lasting tributes we will have of her. Aaliyah was a wonderful, giving person who never complained about anything, including how long it took to dress and make her up.

Aaliyah never had a chance to see the finished film. However, I watched some of her scenes with her in dailies (rushes), and she was very happy with her performance... as she should have been.

I was blown away by Aaliyah's acting in the movie. She showed promise in ROMEO MUST DIE, but in QUEEN she pushed her talent much, much further.

Thank you for supporting our choice of Aaliyah to portray Akasha. We did indeed go in the direction of someone with African ancestry because of the historical reality. However, I can't argue with Anne Rice's choice of a non-African character in what is clearly a mythical time.

We're doing our best to have an Aaliyah song in the movie. I don't think it's right to rank actors, but I can easily say that Aaliyah's talent and potential blew away everyone on the set.

I looked into the Rashad story a little. You will never "hear" Rashad in the movie. If we use his voice at all, it's to provide clarity in the two scenes that take place by the seashore. But the effect will be subliminal.

You're absolutely right about the advantages of her sensuality. Probably the most difficult specific aspect of her performance was the accent that she herself developed for the role. From my perspective, it was generating a sense of command that befitted Akasha, the most powerful vampire of all. To me, this was her (Aaliyah's) greatest success.

Aaliyah's death has affected our movie in many ways... but I don't think that it will keep people away.

I would just add that she was also a devotee of Egyptian history, and liked vampires, too. In effect, she had every base covered. That she was an actor who became famous as a singer puts her in the same company as, for example, Frank Sinatra and Cher, who delivered more than one critically lauded performance.

The only vampire who has an accent that sounds like their country of origin (an accent they may well have lost over the centuries, in my opinion, especially when speaking English) is Akasha.

On Producing a Movie about Aaliyah's Life

Please remember that I am not producing a movie of Aaliyah's life. This is something that I would imagine her family will do, when they are ready. They are doing as well as could be expected, and the support of her fans definitely makes them feel better.

This will definitely be discussed at the right time, with my support, regardless of whether or not I wind up being involved.

Stuart Townsend

Everyone who has seen Stuart Townsend's portrayal of Lestat marvels at his charisma and sexiness. He managed to integrate Lestat's soulfulness, brattiness and bravado into one pretty damn seamless performance.

Stuart has a slight Irish accent, which is what you'll hear in the movie. The only person in our very international cast who noticeably altered their normal way of speaking was Aaliyah, who developed an ancient Egyptian accent for the role of Akasha. Stuart is indeed a good singer, but we didn't learn that until after we chose him for the role... which is well after we had already signed up Jonathan Davis to sing (as well as compose our songs and score).

Stuart's stand-in had become quite a favorite of the crowd at Werribee by the time that Stuart was to first appear on stage. He was nervous about being perceived as a "movie star," nervous about performing a rock song in front of a big audience, and very nervous once he found himself suspended fifty feet above the stage for his entrance. Stuart fortified himself as much as was seemly (ahem!) (i.e., had a drink or ten), then met his fears. He was terrific from his first swoop down, the crowd loved him, and he now considers that night the highlight of his acting career.

It was difficult to cast Lestat because we were asking a young actor to carry a movie, not to mention risk looking very silly as a rock star. To make the concert work as well as it does, we needed a psyched-up audience, a band that didn't look put together, and someone to hold the center. That was Stuart. He is terrific as a singer, and even better when all hell breaks loose. I think Stuart is a better Lestat from Lestat's point of view than Tom Cruise would have been. (Remember, Cruise played a radically different character Lestat from Louis' point of view).

Stuart is a very serious actor, who wouldn't take a role he didn't believe in. Lestat is a terrific character, and Stuart enjoyed enacting many of Lestat's aspects. I don't recall Stuart staying in character after "cut" was called, but he certainly didn't crack jokes, either. Rather, he remained focused. Stuart did a lot of training for the fight scenes working out with a trainer, movement tutoring, wire work, and action choreography but he was a natural at it. He made it look effortless.