Thursday, January 28, 2010

Favorite Fictional Character--The Vampire Lestat

I am a day late posting this...sorry about that! I fell asleep early last night.

This weekly event was created by Ryan at Wordsmithonia.

The Vampire Lestat...there's not much more a person can say about him.  Just the name is enough, at least for those of us that are loyal Anne Rice fans.  Lestat--dubbed the Brat Prince, the Wolf Killer and other very appropriate monikers--is the epitome of the evil protagonist with a yearning to overcome a fate he did not choose and find some sense of humanity again.  I have read the Vampire Chronicles through Memnoch the Devil and I am currently rereading them via audio book (in preparation for picking up the next book in the series, The Vampire Armand).  In Interview with the Vampire, told from the point of view of Louis, Lestat is demonized.  But as the books progress, so does Lestat.  We get that Louis has made him out to be more evil than he truly is, but really I think a large part of that evil leaves him after the Claudia debacle in Interview.  Lestat is witty, clever, impish, and fiercely loyal to those he loves.  He really is the most unique vampire ever written (IMO).  I think that is why it has been so difficult to find exactly the right person to portray him, which I will discuss below.

There have been two movies based on the Vampire ChroniclesInterview with the Vampire which starred Tom Cruise as Lestat and Queen of the Damned with Stuart Townsend portraying him.  The film version of Interview with the Vampire was by far the better adaptation.  And while Cruise did a pretty good job (I mean he did play entirely against type), I still was not completely satisfied with the depiction.  Queen of the Damned was a hot mess.  They took one of my most favorite books and basically destroyed it.  Stuart Townsend did okay playing the rock star version of Lestat, but there just was not any depth of character.  I really wish they would remake that movie, but alas, it probably will not happen.  If they do make more movies from the books, I don't know who should play Lestat.  It's going to take just the right person to satisfy me and I'm not sure if that person even exists!

If you have not read Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and discovered Lestat, you are really missing out.  Ask any Rice fan who their favorite character is...I bet the majority will answer with a resounding LESTAT!  

The Vampire Chronicles (in the order they should be read):

1. Interview with the Vampire (1976)
2. The Vampire Lestat (1985)
3. The Queen of the Damned (1988)
4. The Tale of the Body Thief (1992)
5. Memnoch the Devil (1995)
6. The Vampire Armand (1998)
7. Merrick (2000)
8. Blood and Gold (2001)
9. Blackwood Farm (2002)
10. Blood Canticle (2003)

For more information on Anne Rice, click on her picture in my right sidebar.

10 comments:

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  1. Ah my first vampires. Yes Anne Rice was the first vampire books I ever read although I think The Vampire Diaries is a close second. I do love Lestat but I did love Louis but I think it might have a little bit to do with Brad Pitt playing him although Tom did awesome I just find Brad hot and Tom well not so much. I don't think he's ugly but I just don't find him attractive if that makes any sense at all.

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  2. I am an admirer of Anne Rice, and I think I'd have to agree that Lestat is one of her most interesting and unique characters. I love talking about this topic because I live in N.O. and remember well the hullabaloo when Tom Cruise was cast to play the part of Lestat. I was so angry because I thought it was going to be a farce and ruin the Lestat mystique. (I loved Tom in Top Gun, but as Lestat?!? I think not!) I believe even Anne Rice was not originally happy about the choice, either. But I have to say Cruise rose to the challenge and gave a fair interpretation of Lestat. He pulled it off much better than I thought he would. I think you're correct in wondering if there is anyone who could truly capture the essence of Lestat and portray him -- begs the question, should some books be left alone and not made into movies?

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  3. Awesome choice. I did love this series. The movies, well, not so much.

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  4. I read (and loved) Interview with the Vampire in college and have always been a fan of the movie. I plan on reading the second book in the series this year for one of my book challenges.

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  5. Great, Fantastic, Brilliant choice this week. I still love Lestat and find him to be both alluring and repelent at the same time.

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  6. I have not read any of Anne Rices books. I have seen the both of the movies and actually enjoyed them. I know everyone says Queen of the Damned is really bad, but I didn't mind it. I am yet completely sure it is WAY different than the book which would make it bad.

    Thanks for sharing this pick this week. I am definitely going to have to get to reading these books.

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  7. I tried reading her vampire series many years ago, but for some reason never finished the first one. I keep meaning to go back and try again, hopefully with different results. I did read part of her series on witches (I'm exposing my Anne Rice ignorance here) and it was really good.

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  8. Lestat is the standard and Anne Rice is still one of my favorite writers, whether the subject is vampires, witches or Jesus Christ. She just captivates me.

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  9. Denise...me too! She could write the phone book and I would read it! =O)

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  10. Lestat is definitely my favorite vampire too!!!

    As for who could play him, I think Paul Bethany would do a great job... He might be a tad old, but I think he has the perfect temperment to pull it off! :)

    Great blog Michelle!

    *HUGS*

    Lisa :)

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