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Robert Downey Junior as The Vampire Lestat?

Captaindemotion

Captaindemotion

Admiral
Admiral
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=58100


Seems that Hollywood casting agents can't get enough of the guy. Or they seem to think he has to star in every franchise.

Coming soon.net reckons that bloodydisgusting.com is reporting that Universal plan to revive Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and are seeking Mr Tony Stark and Mr Sherlock Holmes to play Lestat, previously played by Tom Cruise in Interview With the Vampire and Stuart Townsend in Queen of The Damned.

I really don't get this. Lestat is supposed to look like he's in his early 20s, is tall, elegant, slim, blond, French and fey. RDJ, well, isn't. Downey is a great actor, but he's just all wrong for this role, IMHO. Rice had once suggested that Rutger Hauer circa Blade Runner was the perfect Lestat and notoriously threw a hissy fit over the casting of Cruise, which she took back on seeing the movie. She's more recently suggested that DeCaprio would be a good Lestat. Personally, I can imagine new Dr Who Matt Smith in the role.

Apart from anything else, there has to be a risk of franchise overload and overexposure if Downey takes on a third iconic role. Not to mention the risk of conflicting schedules, if Sherlock spawns a sequel and IM continues to star in movies.

Thoughts anyone? Or does anyone still care about Lestat and co, after the last duff movie and the fact that Rice's novels passed their best at least a decade and a half ago (IMHO)?
 
Lestat was, not a popular opinion here, one of the best things Tom Cruise ever did. Yeah, Lestat is supposed to have a certain look, but so does Wolverine, and look how awesome Hugh Jackman is in that role. It really just depends if someone is a great actor, the particulars about his age or whatever can be fudged.

I think RDJ is one of the best actors of this generation and I'd love to see his take on the role. I'd rather Johnny Depp...even though he's pretty much already played all the aspects of Lestat's character. Depp hasn't aged much over the years, is elegant, slim, could be and has been blonde, lives in France and is fey. Dude might actually be Lestat.
 
Well, an honest portrayal of Rice's vampires would be nice for a change.
One that does show their bisexuality and the troubled love between Lestat and Louis.
 
Eh. Interview is one of my favorite movies, and I would have LOVED to have seen a followup with the same director and same actors.

But seeing another version with a whole new cast and in a new style doesn't interest me.
 
Well, RDJ would certainly make a sexier vampire than... *shudders* Tom Cruise. I'm sure with some good makeup and a good wig, they can do wonders with RDJ. Just look at Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy.

Johnny Depp would have been a great Lestat, but at least he'll get to play a vampire in Dark Shadows. That's the one character type I've always wanted to see him play: a vampire.

I think it's a great idea to re-visit the Anne Rice vampires. It's time to get some REAL vampires back out there in Hollywood.

Joy
 
Yes, he is a great actor but he is still a pretty big risk. What are the studios going to do if and/or when he falls off the wagon again?
 
Wow. I don't care if he's in just way too much stuff. This just may get me over my current aversion to the whole massively overexposed bloodsucker genre.

And Anne Rice's Lestat saga really could use a reboot. They kinda missed the mark with that weird Tom Cruise thing...okay, Cruise and Pitt are sexxxy but not together and not so much as vampires. Just a oddball misfire there.

Who should play Louis! Dare I hope for...Johnny Depp? :D :D :D Good gort, the amount of tickets sold would break the boxoffice in two.

Or is Depp too old? Can we overlook Milo Ventimiglia's total lack of any discernable acting talent and shoehorn him into this thing? He can just stand around with a dopey look on his face while Downey does all the acting for both of them.

Depp's already going to be playing Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows.
Click to expand...

Yeah I guess he's already got his vamp. (Any recent news on the movie btw?)
 
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Oh god. RDJ and Johnny Depp in one movie, both as vampires? I would DIE from the hotness.

Joy
 
ST-One said:
Well, an honest portrayal of Rice's vampires would be nice for a change.
One that does show their bisexuality and the troubled love between Lestat and Louis.
Click to expand...

Did we watch different versions of 'Interview' because I got that message loud and clear (without ever having read a single Anne Rice Novel.)
Granted there was (mercifully) no soppy make out scene, but I really didn't need to be hit over the head with it to see what was going on there.
 
One thing I'm trying to understand here-- What kind of movie are we talking about? Are they remaking Interview with the Vampire? Are they making The Vampire Lestat and just trying to forget that the Stuart Townsend version of Queen of the Damned ever happened? Are they skipping ahead to The Tale of the Body Thief?

Joy said:
Johnny Depp would have been a great Lestat, but at least he'll get to play a vampire in Dark Shadows. That's the one character type I've always wanted to see him play: a vampire.
Click to expand...

Yeah. All those Tim Burton movies have been close but no cigar.

I think it's a great idea to re-visit the Anne Rice vampires. It's time to get some REAL vampires back out there in Hollywood.
Click to expand...

Damn right! Any self-respecting vampire should burst into flames when exposed to direct sunlight!
 
Too bad Heath Ledger is gone. He'd make a great Lestat. RDJ doesn't seem to have the elegaic presence I'd expect from Lestat. The aforementioned Johnny Depp would have been better suited.
 
Joy said:
Oh god. RDJ and Johnny Depp in one movie, both as vampires? I would DIE from the hotness.

Joy
Click to expand...

They'd have a license to print money on that one, huh? :D But I doubt Depp wants to play two vampire roles so close together. But maybe we can flip this around...have Robert Downey Jr appear in the Dark Shadows movie, maybe as Quentin Collins the werewolf or was he a witch? Or both? All I remember is him and Barney mixin' it up a lot.

Reverend said:
ST-One said:
Well, an honest portrayal of Rice's vampires would be nice for a change.
One that does show their bisexuality and the troubled love between Lestat and Louis.
Click to expand...

Did we watch different versions of 'Interview' because I got that message loud and clear (without ever having read a single Anne Rice Novel.)
Granted there was (mercifully) no soppy make out scene, but I really didn't need to be hit over the head with it to see what was going on there.
Click to expand...

From what I recall of the books, the vampirism is the usual stand-in-for-sex thing so popular in the genre, so there isn't going to be anything else besides neck biting in terms of a physical connection. And that did seem to come thru in the movie, sure. But Cruise and Pitt aren't my idea of a good slash couple. Bring in Downey, and wow. The possibilities suddenly proliferate.
 
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Reverend said:
ST-One said:
Well, an honest portrayal of Rice's vampires would be nice for a change.
One that does show their bisexuality and the troubled love between Lestat and Louis.
Click to expand...

Did we watch different versions of 'Interview' because I got that message loud and clear (without ever having read a single Anne Rice Novel.)
Granted there was (mercifully) no soppy make out scene, but I really didn't need to be hit over the head with it to see what was going on there.
Click to expand...

Oh, it was there, but it was all very understated and the movie shied away from getting deeper into that important aspect of the story.
Louis and Armand were supposed to be an item for many years and you see nothing of that in the movie (completely ignoring that Banderas looks nothing like the the blond teenage boy Armand is supposed to look like in the novel).

Oh, and there would never be a 'soppy make out scene' - Rice's vampires aren't capable of physical love. ;)
 
I must admit, when I read the novels, soon after the initial casting broo-ha-ha about Cruise as Lestat, I pictured Depp as Louis. I couldn't imagine how he wasn't offered that part first time around. Still think he'd be great in that role but now I could totally see him as Lestat too. But like RDJ, there might be a risk of over-exposure (not just to direct sunlight).

The late Mr Ledger would also have been an excellent Lestat, as Jackson Archer suggests.
 
I don't know. IMHO RDJ is wrong for the part of Lestat. He is too old and doesn't look like Lestat is described in the books. I also agree with theenglish that RDJ would be a risk. But I care about the books and therefore I'm definitely interested in a new vampire-chronicles-movie, even with RDJ in it (but I'm crossing my fingers that it won't happen). I don't think he is a bad actor, just not right for this part. Maybe he would be better as Armand? I actually like the idea of DeCaprio as Lestat.
 
I was never much for "Interview", but I could definitely get on board for RDJ taking a shot at the character. Combine that with a decent script (I realizing getting a decent script out of something Anne Rice wrote would be difficult) a good director and a strong supporting cast, and you could really have something.
 
Then with RDJ as Lestat, hopefully, he will make the movie more interesting. I liked Interview with a Vampire, but Rice's books after the Vampire Lestat are dreadfully boring. I never thought Vampires can be boring, well then again I never thought Vampires could sparkle.
 
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