How the film "Interview with the Vampire" was filmed: Stills from the set and 20 interesting facts about the film (19 photos)

The film "Interview with the Vampire" (1994) starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, released in 1994, tells the story of the vampire Louis de Point du Lac, who, 200 years after his transformation, decides to give an interview about his life.





The film became a real hit. Therefore, today I would like to tell you about how the film "Interview with the Vampire" was filmed, namely, to tell you why Brad Pitt wanted to leave the project, why the actors hung upside down, how the scene with the rat was filmed and other interesting facts about this cult film.

1. The script for the film was not created from scratch. It is based on the book by American writer Anne Rice, published in 1976.



Anne Rice

This book was planned to be filmed in the late 70s, but this process was constantly postponed. Producers and directors were afraid to take on this process, since at that time it was quite difficult to make a quality film about vampires with so many characters and such a plot. As a result, the film adaptation was only possible in the early 90s.

2. Ridley Scott and some other directors were offered to sit in the director's chair, but they refused. But director Neil Jordan was not afraid to film "Interview with the Vampire". He already knew what he would do to get a quality product. Moreover, he personally took on the writing of the adapted script.





He was very lucky when special effects specialist Stan Winston contacted him. He adored director Neil Jordan, so he offered him his services, despite the fact that he himself had not read the original book by Anne Weiss.



As Winston said, Jordan was very surprised by such an offer, because he assumed that Stan only does effects for dinosaur films. But in the end, they worked together.

3. Brad Pitt was approved for the role of Louis de Point du Lac even before the director was found. At that time, he was not yet a particularly famous actor, and many remembered him largely only for his role in the film "Thelma and Louise".



But we have to give the actor his due. He was so passionate about the process that he personally visited Stan Winston's effects studio to have him sketch the actor to see how best to make him a vampire.



4. Many famous actors were considered for the role of Lestat, including Al Pacino. Yes, the actor himself expressed a desire to play a vampire. Stan Winston thought Pacino was too old for the role, since the book Lestat was 24 years old. However, he did make a sketch of Pacino as a vampire.



But in the end, this idea was abandoned. Then new actors began to try out for the role of Lestat, and similar sketches were made for each of them. For example, Jeremy Irons, Val Kilmer or even Rutger Hauer could have played Lestat. In the end, the role went to a young Tom Cruise, which caused a storm of indignation among fans of the original book.



The author of the book, Anne Rice, was outraged by this choice. She considered Cruise unsuitable for the role of Lestat, even purely in appearance. But when she was refused a replacement, she suggested swapping Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. As a result, the director suggested that Cruise wear a blond wig and blue contact lenses, at least to match the image in appearance. Dark-haired and brown-eyed Tom Cruise did not agree right away, since he believed that a dark-haired Lestat would be no worse than a blond one, but in the end he still agreed to these changes.



5. The director said that he was very afraid of working with children in the cinema, because he believed that such an experience would negatively affect their psyche and future life.



But while working with young Kirsten Dunst, Neil Jordan realized that he was wrong. Kirsten Dunst did an excellent job of her role. She perfectly carried out everything the director told her to do, and she did not panic when the plot required her to do disgusting things. That's when Neil Jordan realized that this young girl had a brilliant acting future.



But Kirsten's parents didn't allow her to watch the film with her in it, because they thought it was too early for her to watch such films.

6. The paparazzi didn't let them film the movie in peace. They were literally everywhere. So the film crew had to lead a hidden life, as if they really were vampires. But according to the director and cameraman, such secretive work allowed them to better immerse themselves in the process.



7. What is the main distinguishing feature of vampires? Of course, their sharp fangs. Acrylic veneers with fangs were made especially for the film. But they were so thin and broke so quickly that several of these veneers had to be made for each character.



In order to shoot scenes with teeth, it was necessary to combine filming of prosthetics with computer graphics. For the early 90s, this was a very complex process, not like today. Nevertheless, the special effects specialists coped with their task excellently.

8. The filming of the film took place not only in different cities, but also in different countries. Yes, the film was shot in the USA (New Orleans), France (Paris) and Great Britain (London).

9. In order to look like vampires, the actors had to stand upside down for half an hour a day. After that, the blood rushed to the head, thanks to which the artists could draw veins.



10. Brad Pitt was so tired of filming and constantly hanging upside down that he was ready to break his contract and fly from London back to the USA. The thing is, hanging upside down was simply unbearable, and he simply could not stand it anymore. He called the producer and asked how much they would charge him for breaking the contract. But when Pitt heard "40 million dollars" in response, he decided to stay. It was not easy for him, but he gritted his teeth and continued filming. After all, 40 million is a very large sum, which he did not have.

11. Initially, the role of Daniel was to be played by the actor River Phoenix, but, unfortunately, he did not live to see the start of filming. In the end, the role went to Christian Slater. Slater, in turn, donated part of his salary to charities with which Phoenix collaborated.



12. One of the most memorable moments in the film was the scene with the rat. A trained rodent was brought to the studio especially for this. Tom Cruise caught a real rat, but brought a specially made mechanical toy to his mouth.



13. Neil Jordan had a completely different ending in mind for the film. According to the original plan, Pitt's character was supposed to bleed right under the crucifix. But the management didn't like this ending.

14. The writer An Rice herself was pleased with the resulting film when it was released.

15. There is a reference to Dracula in the film "Interview with the Vampire". In one of the scenes, Lestat tells Louis that eating rats can save your life if you spend a month on a ship. It was by hiding and eating rats on the ship that Dracula was able to survive and get to London.



16. In order to better get into the role of the vampire Lestat, Tom Cruise watched a video of lions attacking zebras. 1

7. With a budget of $60 million, the film "Interview with the Vampire" grossed $223.6 million worldwide, which recouped its costs several times over.



18. The film was nominated for an Oscar in two categories: "Best Art Direction" and "Best Music for a Film". But, unfortunately. the film did not receive a single award. Nevertheless, the film became a laureate of such awards as "BAFTA", "Saturn" and "MTV Movie Awards".

19. But despite the awards and positive reviews from viewers, the film managed to snatch one "Golden Raspberry", namely in the category "Worst Acting Duo" (Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise).



20. The famous TV presenter "Oprah Winfrey" was present at the premiere of the film. And during the screening of the film, she ran out of the hall in panic. As she admitted, this film was so oversaturated with blood that she could not watch it.