Anne Rice Speaks

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 17: Writer Anne Rice signs copies of her book "The Wolf Gift" at Barnes & Noble bookstore at The Grove on February 17, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/WireImage)

What does the Grande Dame of vampire fiction have on her mind? Plenty these days. Her latest novel, the twelfth in her INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE series—Can you believe it’s been forty years since the debut of that book?—is on bookshelves now. It’s called PRINCE LESTAT AND THE REALMS OF ATLANTIS. Also, she recently reacquired the rights to her work as depicted onscreen, and intends to bring to us a GAME OF THRONES-esque cable TV series. These are both big news items and might sufficiently require an entire interview devoted only to them, but Ms. Rice also offers her thoughts on various other subjects.

On TWILIGHT: “It wasn’t for me, and not the type of thing I’d normally read, but I was fascinated…The idea of vampires going to high school forever seems like hell to me.” On Trump: “I hope we learn from this, and develop a greater resistance to fake news stories and conspiracy theories…it’s a bit discouraging and confusing[,] what’s happened. Most of the people I talk to are numb, frightened and confused.” On homosexuality: “People told me [the novel] was a gay allegory, and I was very honored by that…I’ve always transcended gender, and I’ve always seen love as transcending gender.” On the obsession with youth and beauty in Hollywood: “If you went to the 19th century, people were dressed in corsets and frock coats and ties, so we invent these strange societal requirements in every century.” And lastly, on her vampiric inspiration: “I saw [DRACULA’S DAUGHTER] when I was a little girl…I fell in love with the idea of this little girl, this countess, who was a painter and caught in the tragic dilemma of having to take life in order to survive…That was always my impression of what vampires were…” Glad to hear Ms. Rice cut her teeth on one of the classics.

By TheCheezman

WAYNE MILLER is the owner and creative director of EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS, specializing in theatrical performances and haunted attractions. He has written, produced, and directed (and occasionally acted in) over two dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and True Crime genres. He obtained a doctorate in Occult Studies from Miskatonic University and is an active paranormal investigator. Is frequently told he resembles Anton Lavey. And Ming the Merciless. Denn die totden reiten schnell!

2 comments

  1. Full disclosure: not only have I met Anne Rice( back in 1994) and got her autograph, but we seem to like the same movie. I refer of course to “Dracula’s Daughter”(which came out in 1936- see Wikipedia entry- not 1934); we even seem to have the same disease( diabetes- talk about a small world, so does Sharon Stone).
    Critics (esp nowadays) have long noted the thinly veiled eroticism in “Dracula’s Daughter”, esp the seduction sequence in which Countess Marya Zaleska lures a young girl into her studio ostensibly to paint her portrait but ends up using “Lili”(Nan Grey) as a disposable snack pack(note the feral expression on Zaleska’s face as she suggestively glides towards Lili despite the latter’s appeals “please don’t come any closer!” and then we hear her screams!
    The really strange thing is that Zaleska(despite her allegedly being Hungarian, Zaleska seems more Polish) may very well NOT have intended to kill Lili( to use Lestat’s phrase in ” TheTale Of The Body Thief”, she may have intended to take no more than “a little drink”). Dr Garth afterwards notes that the Countess’s hands are visibly shaking and cold as ice( given that we see her earlier killing a man in the London fog without a hint of remorse, it may be that her distress is due to Lili’s sex. “Save the women(but NOT the men) of London from Dracula’s Daughter!” runs an early poster, hinting at the lead characters bisexuality if not flat out lesbianism)

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