In 1994, 18 years after it was first published, Interview With the Vampire, the movie, was released. Distributed by Warner Brothers, it starred Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, and Tom Cruise as Lestat. It was directed by Neil Jordan and produced by David Geffen.  

When it was first announced that Tom Cruise was to play Louis’s secretive and malicious maker Lestat, Anne Rice and her fans weren’t pleased. They weren’t shy about voicing their opinions either. Although Anne Rice respected him as an actor and thought he was extremely talented, she couldn’t see this all-American actor as the fair-haired, Anglo-Saxon Lestat. As a consequence of her harsh criticism, she had no contact with the studio or anyone working on the movie.  

However, after she saw the movie, Anne Rice changed her earlier opinion. She bought two pages in Variety and wrote a retraction, announcing that she had seen that movie and loved it. When Interview With the Vampire finally opened in theaters, it was a huge success, earning approximately $35 million on its opening weekend. It then went on to gross over $100 million.  

Anne Rice had originally written the script for the movie, but after a rewrite by Neil Jordan, many details in the book were left out. For example, there were no blood tears and Lestat never reappeared in Paris. Other minor changes include an older portrayal of Armand and Claudia and more brutal vampires. Nevertheless, overall, the movie remained faithful to the book.  

Cast

  Brad Pitt: Louis de Point du Lac

Tom Cruise: Lestat de Lioncourt

Kirsten Dunst: Claudia

Christian Slater: Daniel Malloy (Interviewer)

Antonia Banderas: Armand

Stephen Rea: Santiago

Directed by Neil Jordon, produced by David Geffen, screenplay and novel by Anne Rice.