Queen of the Damned

Did You Know?

• Jonathan Davis of Korn provided the uncredited singing voice for Lestat and also appeared as a scalper in the film.
• Over 3000 goths were recruited from Melbourne nightclubs and the internet to act as extras for the Death Valley concert scenes, filmed in a quarry in Werribee.
• The songs for Lestat's band were written by Jonathan Davis and Richard Gibbs, but Davis's vocals were re-recorded by other musicians for the soundtrack due to contractual commitments.

Plot

The sound of a nu metal band rouses the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt from a long sleep, and he takes over as their lead singer. He achieves international success with the band, named The Vampire Lestat, and reveals the existence of vampires during an interview to promote his first live concert. Jesse Reeves, a researcher for the paranormal group Talamasca, becomes intrigued by his lyrics and, after hearing a song on TV, theorizes he is a real vampire.

Her mentor David Talbot gives her Lestat's journal but warns her against pursuing him. The journal recounts how Lestat was turned into a vampire in 1788 by Marius de Romanus, and how his violin playing awakened Akasha, the first vampire. Jesse tracks Lestat to a London vampire club, where he saves her from three vampires. Marius warns Lestat that his public profile has awakened Akasha and urges him to cancel his concert.

Akasha arrives at the coven, and after the vampires plot to kill Lestat, she burns the club and kills them all. Jesse gives Lestat his journal back and asks him to show her what being a vampire is like, but he angrily refuses to turn her.

Development

Warner Bros. Pictures acquired film rights to several Anne Rice novels after a 1988 takeover of Lorimar Productions. After the success of Interview with the Vampire, Neil Jordan began developing an adaptation of The Vampire Lestat, but it did not proceed. With rights reverting to Rice at the end of 2000, story meetings began in 1998. The decision was made to base most of the film on The Queen of the Damned, as The Vampire Lestat was considered too broad and episodic, though its setup of Lestat's rock star career was used. The backstory of Akasha and the Story of the Twins were omitted despite being central to the novel. Anne Rice wrote a critical reply to a fan in 1998, displeased with the lack of consultation. The script was developed by Scott Abbott and Michael Petroni in 1999. Michael Rymer was confirmed to direct and suggested shooting in Melbourne to save costs.

Reception

Queen of the Damned opened at #1 at the box office with a $14.75 million gross, beating Dragonfly and dethroning John Q. However, it dropped to $5.9 million in its second week, finishing at #6. It grossed $45.4 million against a $35 million budget and is considered a flop. Critics gave mostly negative reviews; Roger Ebert described it as 'goofy' or 'damned'. The film holds a 17% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus calling it 'a muddled and campy MTV-styled vampire movie with lots of eye candy and bad accents.' Anne Rice initially expressed enthusiasm in July 2001, having met Stuart Townsend and calling him charming. After seeing the completed film, she allowed her name on promotional material, but by 2003 she dismissed it, urging fans to 'simply forget' the film and saying it hurt her to see her work 'mutilated'.

Future

In February 2012, a film adaptation of The Tale of the Body Thief entered development with Imagine Entertainment as a soft reboot. Lee Patterson was to write the screenplay, but Anne Rice's son Christopher had drafted a screenplay that was praised. Creative differences led to the project's dismissal in April 2013. In August 2014, Universal Pictures acquired film rights to the entire Vampire Chronicles series, with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci as producers.

A new screenplay by Josh Boone was announced in May 2016, with Jared Leto suggested for Lestat. In November 2016, plans for a theatrical reboot were scrapped, and Rice announced she had regained the rights to create a television series starting with The Vampire Lestat. In June 2021, AMC announced a television reboot titled Interview with the Vampire, created by Rolin Jones. The first season is based on the first half of the novel, with elements from The Vampire Lestat used in season two. Queen of the Damned is adapted into season four.