32 Ok, I'm willing to take the risk of having the plots of both ruined, so could you please tell me what is different between the movie of Interview and the book of Interview? (Anne Rice FAQ)
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This article is from the Anne Rice FAQ, by Laura Ann lat13@columbia.edu with numerous contributions by others.
32 Ok, I'm willing to take the risk of having the plots of both ruined, so could you please tell me what is different between the movie of Interview and the book of Interview? (Anne Rice FAQ)
Gladly. From my readings on a.b.a-r it seems to me that the
differences between the book and the movie come in two
categories so I'll list them that way as well. Please note
that, for the FAQ, I'm not going to note what may or may not
have ended up on the cutting room floor. All I'm addressing
here is what was or was not in the movie vs. what was in the
book.
Catagory 1) Major changes that really deviate from the book
and are probably going to have interesting implications on
the sequel (a.k.a. "Wait a minute, didn't that happen the
*other* way?"):
This category starts off with Louis. In the book he turned
to drinking and suicidal tendencies because his brother,
Paul, died in an accident after they had had an argument.
In the movie, Paul is replaced by Louis losing his wife and
daughter in childbirth. Anne herself made this change as she
thought it would better explain both Louis' feelings for
Claudia and also show a bit more of Lestat's nice side (the
idea being that he was attempting, in his own way, to give
Louis the family he lost).
As for Lestat, the big change in the beginning is that his
father is not with him. Louis has no idea about Lestat's
past in any way shape or form.
The next two big changes come in Paris. When Louis makes
Madeline into a vampire, there is no indication that Armand
was just outside influencing Louis to do it. And later, when
Louis, Claudia and Madeline are taken back to the Theatre of
the Vampires, there is no sign that Lestat is there or having
any say in Claudia's ultimate death.
Next, Louis' separation from Armand comes not long after
Claudia dies (instead of staying with him for years as he did
in the book).
Louis then tells Daniel that he saw Lestat again in 1988
(instead of 1976). In the book, of course, Louis lied about
seeing Lestat at all but there has been no indication yet to
show if this will be the same for the movies.
Finally, the last big change is the ending. In the book,
Louis drinks from Daniel and leaves him there to live or die.
Daniel wakes up the next day, replays the last few minutes of
the tapes (where Louis describes where he found Lestat again)
and leaves, apparently to try to find Lestat. In the movie,
Louis attacks Daniel but does not drink. Daniel flees the
room, gets into his car and drives away. As he checks
himself for damages he starts to play the tapes, starting
from the beginning. Just as he has begun to calm down Lestat
appears, drinks from Daniel, puts on Daniel's coat and slips
into the driver's seat. The movie ends with the implication
that Lestat is going to make Daniel into a vampire.
Category 2) Things that are not really big changes but are
still important to note (a.k.a. "Lestat didn't fly in
Interview dammit!")
Well, no, he didn't. But, for the most part, this change from
the book was simply a Hollywood addition that was done for
effect (and to give us that great shot of Brad enjoying the
moment--but that's just me <g>). Other such changes:
The vampires did not shed blood tears when they cried.
After being given the Blood, the vampires had two very noticable
sets of fangs (and the bite marks on their victims implied that
all the teeth were sharpened) whereas in the book only the canine
teeth are affected.
Louis has black hair, not brown.
Armand's appearance is not that of a 30something Latino
with hair down to his knees but, in fact, that of a 17ish
Russian with curly, shoulder-length auburn hair.
Claudia used poisoned victims to weaken Lestat in her attempt
to kill him. The idea of dead blood doing anything but
making vampires feel ill belongs solely to the movie.
At the Theatre of the Vampires, all the vampires should have
had their hair dyed black.
It was Gabrielle (in TVL), not Claudia, who first showed readers
the fact that a vampire's hair will grow back if it is cut.
Also, this process occurs while they sleep during the day, not
within a few minutes as it did with Claudia.
Although there is no mention of Louis' official height in the
books, most people feel that he is shorter than Lestat. In
the movie, Tom Cruise's Lestat is shorter than Brad Pitt's
Louis.
Also, throughout the movie, they shorten the amount of time that
it took for various things to happen. For example, becoming a
vampire happened in a matter of minutes, it took longer for Lestat
to find the mortal Louis again and so on.
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