Interview With the Vampire, Anne Rice, & 150 Years of Gay Vampires
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2022
- Interview With the Vampire is one of the most influential vampire stories ever told, and also one of the gayest. Originally published as a novel in 1976, the book spawned 12 sequels, a wildly successful film (and one less-successful one), graphic novels, a Broadway musical, and now a TV series - each one dripping with blood, debauchery, and fanged monsters whose passion for each other spans centuries. But this tasty tale didn’t just spring into being by itself. The saga builds on queer vampire stories going back 150 years, through exploitation films of the 70s, early motion pictures, and Victorian novels full of forbidden gay encounters with creatures of the night. So, where did Interview with the Vampire come from, why was it such a hit, and how did an aspiring writer’s scandalous debut novel change vampire stories forever?
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Развлечения
I write gay romance novels about vampires. I once got a 1-star review that said, "One star. Everyone knows vampires can't be gay." It was the funniest bad review I've ever had. 🤣
The comment should have just said "1 star, everyone knows vampires aren't real." for all the usefullness it provided.
@@kyleellis1825 that's what I said at the time. It was hysterical.
I'd frame that and hang it on the wall.
@@TheSongwritingCat Damn it! I should've. Not sure I want to wade through reviews again to find it though. People are freaking harsh. As an author, I try to never read reviews. It's very depressing.
There's a difference between review and getting constructive feedback. I'm trying to get back into writing again, but have so little time. I always share my writing with those closest to me to get their thoughts on how to proceed. But the internet is full of trolls that have unrealistic expectations on others.
I love that Interview's queer symbolism was entirely accidental. I just imagine Anne Rice being told "I love how you depicted what it's like to be gay," and she goes "what do you mean, I didn't write a gay book?" And then it dawns on her like "Oh my God I wrote the *gayest* book:
if you read some of her interviews this is exactly what happened lmao 😭
One of my favorite surprise gay vampire moments of late: Nandor in What We Do in the Shadows (the TV series): "Some of my wives were girl wives; some of them were guy wives. It's not that different."
I believe Taika has said at some point that all vampires in WWDITS are canonically bisexual, but I could be misremembering. Either way, all the gayness is fantastic.
@@tyf.5111 Also, there's Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) who's character just came out at the end of last season. Rooting for him as a soon-to-be (gay) vampire.
@@renofigaro8071 I couldn't see where they were coming from either. Aside from Nandor, Harvey Guillen's character (Guillermo), who is gay in real life even came out on the show at the end of last season. I'm so rooting for him to become a vampire in Season 5! 😀
@@renofigaro8071 Indeed! Just this morning, I saw people arguing on Facebook about how Harry Styles is a terrible poser who's trying to leach off of gay pride themes for personal gain. But then as far as I'm concerned (as a gay man myself), any major figure in pop music who openly challenges gender norms in the way they present themselves publicly is doing a service to the nonconforming community. The motivations and/or fashion tastes of the person are (mostly) irrelevant.
Nandor is the best!
Lestat is a drama queen with the most memorable lines.
He was literally a thespian...
I think it’s Tale of the Body Thief where he gets pissed at Louis for not helping him and goes “lol fuck you” and LITERALLY BURNS DOWN LOUIS’ HOUSE.
@@beautifulmidnight in the movie he says, "That's it Louis, let's burn it all" if my memory doesn't fail me
@@beautifulmidnight also, "all I had to do is follow the trail of dead rats to find you"
@@3114Cancerbero "Burn it, everything we own"
Louis "You thought you could have it all"
"A gay vampire with a 2 octave range can be just as dull as a straight one" is honestly a great review
Yeah, that burn is so good I feel like, even if it was about something I had done I'd have to nod and give it credit.
Imagine the epic burn of being told: "you would have been just as boring if you were straight."
My favorite review of the hideous musical play, which we soldiered through is below.
It’s the only time that we kicked ourselves for not requesting our money back after the first 30 minutes.
One New York newspaper wrote “Calling Lestat the worst musical ever written is an insult to the word ‘worst’…”
Is it by coincidence or your intention that your icon looks like the flag of the country called lesotho?
@danielngubane7518 yes, it is the flag of Cascadia, called The Doug. Cascadia represents a bioregion, mostly in the PNW. Often used for soccer matches between Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver.
Anne Rice never hesitated to publicly own her mistakes. I’ve always admired that about her
Truthfully, I do not blame her at all for being apprehensive about the casting. Even having seen the movie several times, it's still hard to believe that the movie starred Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.
what mistakes it should be called interview with the lgbtq vampire
@@brianlindee220 we love our gay vampires 💅🏼
@@bluexy121 that is why there are vary little games and movies made about them
@Anti SJW the fact that you think gay people existing and being open about their sexuality is "woke" shows that you really need to go outside more
I love that line in the trailer about being together 10,000 nights. That's about 30 years. "We are immortal, I will be with you for as long as many mortal couples last."
Yeah, that doesn't really bode well for the series.
HILARIOUS observation!
Unreliable narrator. Dude did always hate admitting he had just as much of a flair for the dramatic and a tendency to wallow as Lestat did, but of course that's why Lestat loves him. Louis believes his own pageantry and it comes through in his authorship.
This is one of the most impressive things about her work, I've always thought. Give me a page and I can tell who's writing, because they all do it differently, be it Lestat, Louis, Kayman, Ciprien, or Quinn.
Part of the reason for this is because Lestat needs to have a person of the time to help him integrate with the present society. So, switching out with another mortal that he can turn in about 30 years sounds on brand for him.
@@bikecaptain8015 I think this is why I always favored Queen of the Damned. I enjoy all the different POVs.
I was such a big fan of Interview with the Vampire that I sang “Moon Over Bourbon Street” in my high school’s senior show. I convinced the tech crew to give me one blue spotlight instead of the pink and amber lights everyone else was getting. I wore a 1940s style dress in black with big red roses, and a pale face with bright red lipstick.Everybody already knew I was a weirdo but I figured I’d go out as a beautiful spooky weirdo.
Very cool. 👍🏾
Fabulous. 👍
Have you ever hear of "Bloodletting" by Concrete Blonde? I think of INTERVIEW every time I hear it.
This is the most inspiring thing I’ve read in a while. That’s cool as fuck.
This is the most inspiring thing I’ve read in a while. That’s cool as fuck.
Anne Rice was a customer at our music store in New Orleans in the late 90s, and she came in a few times to buy digital pianos for talented kids (teens usually) whose parents didn't have the money to invest in an instrument. She was hella strange but really generous to locals... she covered our piano commissions a couple of times.
New Orleans is known for its dark gothic/true 'romantic' sensibilities--Mardi Gras and Halloween are the two biggest holidays, everyone has a closet of costumes for themselves and friends/guests, and you can routinely see people on the street living out the entire theatrical lifestyle. Dog bless the weirdos, for they are the givers of much awesomeness.
It makes perfect sense that she would fall in love with New Orleans.
Oh man, when I was a teen, it was a dream of mine to attend one of her parties. She really felt like my kind of weirdo.
My English teacher worked at Barnes and Nobles in Metairie and Anne Rice would send in someone with a list of books for her. She was known the those employees during that time as a bit of a strange character. Overall I’m glad to have her work in the world
IIRC when she lived here in San Francisco, she was still in the phone book. if anyone's interested, the Castro here is fantastic for Halloween [and just about anything else, as well]@@xstarsystemsx
me too, must've been amazing@@xstarsystemsx
i was raised in a cult. shortly after leaving with my mother i saw interview with the vampire in theaters, i did love it, but the following summer while visiting a relative i found a copy of the Vampire Lestat in the bottom of a closet (go figure) the diversity of thought amongst the characters on everything from religion to morality to philosophy blew my sheltered little brain to bits. i had no idea there were so many possibilities of thought and it remains one of the most formative experiences of my life.
Poor Anne! I could not imagine her pain loosing a child so beloved by both parents. She is a strong wonderful writer.
I absolutely agree my heart certainly sank for her and her husband. 💔 Truly unimaginable May her daughter continuously Rest In Peace.🤍🙏🏾🤍
Not a mother but as someone who has read Interview with a Vampire as soon as Matt said “they nicknamed her Claudia” I was like “oh no” because I had a feeling how it was going to end, especially since Lestat’s name had already been established to be inspired by her husband’s name
I will never stop laughing at the booming voice that announces “Very unnatural ladies” 😂
With the giant red V, dripping with blood 😂
That voice sounded unmistakably like the late Adam West. He had a very unique narrator's voice.
I met Christopher Rice years ago. He was sweet as hell and left now doubt that he was out and flamingly gay. He was such a gentleman and so much fun to hang out with. I still have my picture with him.
I can’t even put into words how Interview affected me as a young queer man. I discovered a worn second hand copy of it at a flea market in the early 90s as a teen. I devoured it I couldn’t put it down. I was struggling with my identity and it spoke to me. Flash forward all these years later and Anne is part of me. I know it sounds melodramatic but it’s so true. I am southern. I am from a city a lot like New Orleans....Savannah, Ga. I think it’s another reason Interview resonated with me. I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Anne. She was a light at a very dark time in my development. Long Live The Queen of the Damned!!
P. S. I wish they would make a movie of her novel Cry To Heaven. It’s one of my favorites. Talk about homoerotic
have you seen the recent tv show adaptation? i think it really respected and solidfied the queer angle
I stumbled apon the film interview with a vampire by chance as a little kid and i became enthralled by Anne Rice's vampire series. Her work is what inspired me to become more open minded and it sparked my love for the LGBTQ+ community. I grew up in a religious household and my mother would have never bought me her books had she known what they were about lol I truly believed that Anne Rice saved me from being a homophobe and made me into the freak that I am now. May she rest 🙏
So awesome. 😁👏💖
That's so beautiful. I have no doubt Anne would be tickled pink by this.
Same thing happened to me! Just stumbled on it late at night as a teenager. Thought it was brilliant. As a child growing up with The Vampire Diaries (the books before the show) and Twilight, interview felt like a fresh and really adult take on vampires that I'd never seen before. I got the first 3 books and really enjoyed them.
I still blush while watching the movie when Brad/Louie caresses Antonio/Armond's face, it was so perfect, and they both REALLY looked like they were ready to boogie. I was young when I first watched the movie but my brother's gay, so I understood what was going on. I'm a prude, which is why I still blush over that scene at the age of 42. I like the movie more than the book. I think Exit To Eden was the book that enthralled me though...
Interview with the Vampire is the very first novel i’ve ever read. I was in grade 5. This was like 30 years ago in the Philippines, there’s not many novels around for our age so we read whatever book we can get our hands on. I also grew up in a religious environment but because of this book i became very open minded.
After watching 'Interview With The Vampire' here in England I wrote to Anne Rice and she sent me a signed photograph of herself which I still have. For the life of me ( or death for that matter ) I can't remember how I managed to obtain her address but I obviously had her correct address otherwise she wouldn't have been so gracious to reply to my letter, would she? She was a great, very talented and imaginative lady who deserves all of the acclaim that she's received over the years. R.I.P. Anne.
Incidentally, my favourite part about 'Interview With The Vampire' was at the very end after Lestat had bitten the interviewer and took over driving his car with 'Sympathy For The Devil' by The Rolling Stones playing....it just seemed so appropriate, didn't it?
How can ppl say they didn't catch on to Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise character's homosexuality? I was a little girl when I saw the movie with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. It was one of my favorites and it was OBVIOUS the two vampires were in love. One of them more in love with the other.
+Kibby Kissinger THANK YOU! I was also a little girl when I had first seen the film, but I didn’t pick up on Lestat and Louis being a couple until a little later. But even as a child, I could tell that they were a lot closer than friends. Especially in the scenes where the characters would argue with each other. They would argue just like a married couple. Not to mention, if you pay close attention, the way Louis’ mannerisms are sometimes, he is basically “the woman” in the relationship while Lestat is “the man” in the relationship.
I'm gay, and saw this as a kid. It fully went over my head when I first watched. Then again I tend to be oblivious sometimes 😅
Until you just said it, I never thought it. But then I didn’t know Liberace was gay
I was a child and I didn't get it,I thought that Louis and Claudia were the couple,but I thought that Armand was gay or bi.
The romance simply wasn't written there.
I completely missed it. To me it was a kind of companionship as they met no other vampires for the time being.
Anne’s parents are a vibe✨
Matt, this is such a superb video. It was humorous, educational and compelling. You're a great content creator.
Aww yay thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. 🏳️🌈🦇
Agreed!
Could not agree more....when I was at uni Interview was the film to watch on a Sunday night. It became a ritual and let us never forget Banderas' beautifully straight black hair (okay that's my kink). Excellent video as always, you are a highlight to all xxx
What in the world did you find ""educational""? This show is smarmy... Yuk!
I'm rather confused by this opinion... This is the first of Mr Baume's videos that I've come across, but he seems to be treating the development of the media property (& the author) with decent lack of bias, and providing a useful historical context? There doesn't seem to be any kowtowing to the author's mistakes, or obfuscation of the ups and downs of her career?
She also wrote a book called Cry to Heaven, about an 18th-century Venetian castrato. It's a great story.
Ehhh....Servant of the Bones was better....
@@LucianCorrvinus Not if you're totally into baroque music.
Cry to heaven was soooo good
I remember liking Cry to Heaven when I read it but I truly don’t remember anything about it now. I’ll have to find all my books in storage that have been packed away for the past two years since I cleared out my moms home.
one of my favorite books
I found ‘Interview with a Vampire’ when I was a sophomore in High School and I devoured that book and subsequently the whole original Vampire Chronicles.
I had never read anything like it, I was transfixed!
"I have a gift for you. Come." OMG that was perfect🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
That line!!!! Every time I watch the movie I can't believe it's real.
@@MattBaume It's been so long since I've seen it, and I don't know how I missed it before lol!
I'm cleaning the house so my reward can be watching ep 1 of the new IWTV show. Watching this while cleaning is the PERFECT thing to hype myself up even more. My parents didn't know how gay these books were and enabled my Anne Rice obsession in the late 90s/early 2000s and it was a balm on my soul.
For context: my English was better than theirs so they couldn't really read them. We'd go to a special bookstore in Caracas that sold books in English and they would set aside Anne Rice books for me. My face when I read CRY TO HEAVEN in 6th grade? Priceless. (And then we passed the book to the entire 6th grade class to the point the spine was broken and the cover went missing.)
The first two episodes of the new "Interview With The Vampire" series are out and they are so good! and so gay! Better and gayer than I could have ever dreamed of! You all need to go watch them now at once!
No thanks, Anne Rice wanted a TV series where characters and story followed her books. They have butchered Anne Rice's books until we only have the names of the characters left.
Her son Christopher Rice, who is gay, refuses to talk about the TV series. Take a look at "Anne Rice | The Vampire Chronicles | Inside The Master Plan For A New Show".
I love the show as well!
The homoerotica in Interview with the Vampire should have been my clue I'm not straight.
Hello Karen, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
Great video, Matt! I met Anne Rice once and she signed one of her books for me, The Mummy. I originally read Interview in 1976 when it came out in paperback. But I think The Vampire Lestat is a greater book, and dearly wish it could be filmed. The homoerotic elements of Anne's books very much appealed to me.
I love the Vampire Lestat as well. I think Interview just slightly edges it out for me, but that's also a bit of nostalgia talking. It's a pity that the Queen of the Damned movie did such a poor job adapting not only the book it's named after but also Lestat's history as well.
Agreed. I tore through Vampire Lestat so quickly, I couldn’t get enough.
I actually think Interview is a little boring. Not bad, and with interesting characters, but slow and meandering. I agree Lestat is the greater book, and Queen was great, too. But after that, the Vampire Chronicles were just, okay.
Not sure why, but this vid made me tear up. Might be bc of the connection it has with me and my long departed incredible grandmother who gave me the books in middle school and the erotic gay subtext I could pick up on at a time where there were no gay themes in popular culture I could look up to.
Thanks so much for this! As a shy queer kid growing up in the late 70s early 80s, ‘Interview’ (the book) was a revelation and a comfort and a thrill
Hello Pat, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
That is so heartbreaking about their little Claudia.
Good for her for channeling it into her writing in order to cope.
What we Do in the Shadows has rendered vampires permanently unstraight in my mind, if they ever weren't
For me it was Buffy. I can't think of a single (non monster looking) vampire who isn't at least bi.
Oh. I hadn't realised Anne Rice has passed. I'm very sad. Thank you for doing a background on all this - I love diving into her wonderful novels and I have a good feeling about this new adaptation of my most favourite vampire Lestat - obviously I adore Louis also. Thank you to Anne Rice for bringing us all these characters we love.
I had the honor of meeting Ms. Anne Rice and I have an autographed first edition of Interview with the Vampire. Anne was amazing and i will never forget meeting her and her son! Thank you so much Matt for this video!!
Ah what a great experience that must've been! She really seems wonderful.
Hello Elizabeth, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
Thanks so much. As a New Orleans native, I never knew Anne Rice's story or how long it took her as an artist to reach success, her way. As an artist, it's really inspiring.
Hello Pretty, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
It’s crazy because my parents are lowkey homophobic, but my mother loves Interview With A Vampire and would play the movie and Queen of The Damned all of the time. My aunt eventually got me the special edition of the whole series for my birthday and it’s one of my favorite literary works ever as well as one of the only books where my parents don’t realize it’s even gayer than the movie. It’s the only book I have that is unexplicitly explicitly gay which is a comfort to my queer heart.
I’m having trouble understanding how anyone could miss the blatant homoeroticism of Interview with the Vampire.
@@ttintagel By being bigoted :/
@@jam-the-hologram Yeah, it was kind of a rhetorical question. Being bigoted usually comes with big blind spots.
I loved the chronicles since I was a teenager and struggled to read them in english because there was no translation in my language until twilight became a thing, to me it was comforting that these queer men and women could love so ardently and would not die at the end like all the other queer characters in media. No matter what happened, each and every book ended up on a mostly possitive note and that gave me hope.
One of the three pillars of 90s Goth kids.
What are the other two?
@@annabelcranston3618 The crown and The craft, I guess
Amazing video, as always.
I have such complicated feelings on Anne Rice as an author, public figure and with her work overall, so this video is a little bittersweet.
I read a lot of her work in my teens and early twenties. It was very influential on my tastes and so much of the media I consume now wouldn’t exist without her work.
I was a young adult when she had her apparent heel-turn in the 2000’s, which led me to re-read and reappraise my own relationship to her work throughout that period. She said some pretty gross stuff and while I don’t think she ever outright went for the LGBT+ community, the inference was there. She also went pretty hard on fan communities, fan fic and interpretations of her work that were counter to her own (and her interpretations of the meaning of her work varied wildly over the years).
There is also some seriously dark stuff throughout her work (even in more modern work), that doesn’t really get any context or critique (and in older stuff ends up in some really problematic places and pretty awful conclusions about consent, sexual assault, morality and sexuality).
Ultimately I value her contribution to genres that I love, the representation in times where there wasn’t much, but whose work I can only appreciate through a set of very specific critical lenses. She was clearly a very troubled person who went through a lot of hardship and mental health struggles, so I’m glad she ended her life and career in a more positive place.
OMG! So psyched for this. I grew up going to the Anne Rice Ball and her Mardi Gras parties. I even saw a ghost in her guest house one year, which Anne thought was pretty cool.
I called her Anne, because we were just that super close. No big deal. I was simply a very hip and well-read 12 year-old.
Ahhh that's so cool. I bet Anne was a fantastic friend for a 12-year-old to have.
@@MattBaume Honestly? She was a really cool and sincere lady. She was the exact woman you see in those interviews. Chris was a teenager at the time and probably a little too cool to be socializing with middle-schoolers but he was always really nice to me as well. I remember one time I told a joke that made him and Stan laugh. Still pretty proud of that.
If you're still in touch with Chris (and man does he look like Stan now) ask him if he remembers Susie Miller. She was his mom's assistant during the time Interview was being filmed and released.
P.S.
I actually befriended the lead singer of Better Than Ezra during one of the Mardi Gras parties, if you needed any more confirmation that this was the 90s.
@Joel Farrelly she was incredibly sincere and I don't think that's talked about enough. She was always so kind to fans.
@@MekareP Exactly! She genuinely enjoyed meeting and talking with her readers, even long after she was "Hollywood famous". To me, that's somebody worthy of their talent. Anytime I meet a successful creative these days, I measure their attitude against the standard she set.
So sad to hear Anne Rice died before the show was made. She’d enjoy the vision and the scale. However, I’m happy Christopher is doing well.
Anne isn't dead....she just had to fake her death, so nobody would stake her ..
She hated "vision" when it steered away from her source materials. She despised everything about Queen of the Damned because it butchered everything so much. Changing core characters that she loved and was very specific about would likely not fly very well with her. These aren't just fantasy characters to the people who create them. They are living breathing people in their minds. Same goes for die hard fans really. Changing established characters so drastically is never a very smart idea. Which is why I personally won't be touching the show. Queen of the Damned being butchered is enough for me, I won't waste my time seeing a mockery of a movie that actually did things right.
The woman literally said she wouldn't want to see an adaptation of her work done in someone else vision, complained about Tom Cruise as Lestat, but according to you she would like the scale and vision of the AMC adaptation..
she was working on the adaptation before she passed, no? at least thats what i heard...
She was a producer of the show (: at least that's what I saw in the credits
I'm still floating of how good those two first episodes were. ✨️😍
Your vids are my absolute favorite! As a gay man, it’s fascinating fighting how society wants to hide eons of homosexuality and homophobia. Ty for helping us young gays ❤
You should ABSOLUTELY make a video on the what we do in the shadows series as well, or at least watch it. It's incredibly queer from the first episode and just such a good sitcom in general!
They really build on the “lol vampires are all bisexual idiots” idea from the movie.
It’s amazing.
What We Do in the Shadows
Yes: "I am doing an erotic dance for my friends!". Great show!
Fankly, because the bisexual themes are so open, it doesn't really need an episode.
@@Visplight Don't you mean *fangly*?
😂🤣😅
Vampires are so Queercoded that it’s hilarious. Of course the most well turned out and fabulous cis man has fangs and the AFAB/female vampire has her eyes somewhere else.
It's funny because vampires are also soooo often implied, if not outright stated, to be just huge sex lovers in general and will bang anything that moves lol.
Hilarious would be an understatement. It's beyond blatant with male vampires
It's so prevalent that I missed the forest for the trees for most of a decade. I legit thought Nicky and Lestat just had an unusually physically intimate friendship until I was, like, 25 and had an, "Ooooooooh. That makes a lot more sense." moment. She comes just short of saying it, so for so long I thought the book was just being Victorian and vampire-y. My literal favorite literary character of all time, and it took me a decade and at least a hundred reads to notice he was queer.
It may be more apparent in Interview, but I've only read that, like, a dozen times at most. One of Rice's most impressive talents as an author is writing different voices, even in first person. So, as a Lestat Stan, Interview pisses me off for obvious reasons. Every time I just sit there going, "That's not how it happened, you sniveling whiner. Don't lie. You're so into this. You revel in it. Noone is more in love with their own misery than you are, Louis."
Vampires are dead they have no circulation they can not achieve an erection. They do not have sex . They have companions and are demi sexual. That was the entire fuckin point of the novels. To have to live forever without all the pleasures from living including sex. How far gone can you people be to like interview with the vampire and not know this.
@@bikecaptain8015 old Louis and his "Precious guilt"..
I love Interview with the Vampire, both the book and the film. I became very obsessed with vampires in middle school as a way to cope with my mom's illness (it was a non-fatal chronic illness, but during the three years we waited for a diagnosis I genuinely thought she was dying) and I fell absolutely in love with Lestat and Louis and their story.
Hello Raye, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
@@trevorjennings72 I’m fine, had Covid last year, but I got lucky and it wasn’t too bad of a case. I felt like shit for a week, but no lasting damage.
@@EveryDayALittleDeath Okay.
Hope you’re having a nice and a wonderful day today??
I was 13 the year I first saw Interview with the vampire.... I went to see it 4 times... I had snuck the book from my mom's shelf the summer before. It was part of my awakening from child hood. It was beautiful.
I thought I subscribed to your channel already, Matt!! Thanks to H Bomberguy's latest video, I finally did! 😊
I’am from Scandinavia, my father was a huge Anne Rice / horror/vampire fan, I got my love for Anne Rice and her books and the movie, from him, I watch the movie with him as a young young (a little to young for vampire movie’s) kid.. I remember wanting to be Kirsten Dunst (Claudia).
Hello Zena, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
I love the story, makes you feel that not all humanity was gone from a person turning into a vampire.
Hello Lonnie, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
I watched the movie as a young kid, and it changed my life. I was hooked on vampires. Once I was an adult, I finally read the book and some other prequels and sequels. I own the graphic novel that is absolutely gorgeous and so well-done. I adored Claudia the most and Lestat is the most dramatic being ever, love to hate him. lol. I think for me as a bisexual, it's kind of a given to love vampires.
Hello Kristi, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
I knew what was coming with Michelle but you still wrote it so beautifully. I appreciate how much care you take in crafting scripts and empathizing with the subjects you cover.
I hope we're going to mention Blackula.
The gay stuff in Blackula is a bit limited but I'll be talking about that one over on Patreon!
I definitely recommend Dracula's Daughter - it is FUN, and the lead is so iconically statuesque. The cheekbones! Carmilla has been on my to-read list for a while. Maybe now is the time, in honor of Halloween!
I think Dracula' s Daughter is a better movie than Dracula 1931. (All it really offers is Legosi's iconic performance, although check out the Spanish version for a better Dracula.). And I recommend that you do read LeFanu's Carmilla. It's really good.
@@thothmesx1 yes the Spanish version is better! It is my understanding that they filmed Dracula with Legosi in the day time, but at night they filmed the Spanish version using the same script in Spanish with an entirely different and Spanish speaking cast on the exact same set. The actor who played Renfield in the Spanish version was a tour de force! Sorry, I don't know his name.
It was filmed at night of the same sets and wardrobe. I knew NOTHING about it, even that it existed, until I bought the Universal boxed set for Drac, Frank, and Wolfie. It had the Spanish version, and a mini documentary about it. Well worth it!
One of my favorites...I thought she was so beautiful.
I was introduced to Interview with a Vampire in my mid-to-late teens and fell in love with the movie and then the books. It wasn't until later in life while I was coming to terms with my sexuality that I realized the queer coding of both Interview and vampire media in general is something that drew me to them. Growing up in the 90s and early 2000s I was more often exposed to negative stereotypes and opinions of gay people so the homoerotic nature of a lot of vampire media and, especially, Anne Rice's work connected with me on some level even though, at the time, I didn't fully realize I liked men. I re-watched Interview a few years after I came out to both myself and other people and I ended up seeing it in a whole different light. Same happened when I re-read the books a few years ago.
It's sad that Oprah ever held sway over the popular culture at all.
What a deeply touching story. Thank you for making me aware of Anne's history.
As an Old Fan, I am very happy with the new series. Must of the changes are ultimately cosmetic while the core, character driven elements are still intact. And Sam Reid is amazing.
The Pet Shop Boys did a vampire themed video for their song Heart in 87 or so. There was a building vampire vibe in this era it seems!
The Anne Rice books are basically romance novels with Vampires in them.
I was a teen when the movie came out and saw it three times. I was also incredibly lucky to have seen the Broadway show twice and it’s closure broke my heart!
Sigh....The San Francisco that Anne and Stan Rice had known may as well have been what Paris was for Lestat and Gabrielle in the 18th century, and for Louie and Claudia a century later, or that glorious Venice of the 15th century enjoyed by Marius and Armand. It's all the stuff of legend now.❤
The book Exit To Eden has lived in my head since I found it in a very old, dusty and dimly lit bookstore when I was still an innocent teenager. It didn't have a cover, but I opened it and read a paragraph then bought it. It was the third book I'd ever read. Interview With A Vampire was the second and D. Koontz's Intensity was my first. Anyways, sorry for blabbering on, and I want to thank you because I still think about that book but for the life of me, I couldn't remember the name of it. So, thx and you've got yourself a new subscriber.
Hello Leslie, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
Omg at this video. I have been in love with Anne Rice novels since I heard her interviewed on Tom Snider’s “Tomorrow” show, extreme late night talk show for just barely a teen.
I think I have devoured everything except for her Sleeping Beauty series. Typing this, tears streaming down my face, I’m so grateful for everything she has given us in her writing.
And to Christopher, thank you for all you’ve done. Your writing horror as well. Helping bring life to two more books in your mothers Ramses series as well.
I suffered bad child abuse growing up. Anne gave me an escape and I felt welcomed in the world she created years before CPS existed.
Thank you so very much.
This is just great! I’m 41, read the chronicles when I was 13 and just have always been my favorite. Great job thank you so much for this❤ I def subbed!!!
Hello Pretty, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
I LOVE Manor, and Ulrichs, and I'm so glad you covered them! Both work and author are fairly obscure but are so interesting and groundbreaking that they deserve way more recognition.
Hello Karen, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
I'm SO EXCITED to watch the series. Thank you for this rich background
Thanks Matt, I learned a lot..... Didn't know Anne Rice passed away or that she had a gay son ! RIP Anne Rice.
The movie was what got me into the books. To this day, The Vampire chronicles are my favorite book series. Anne Rice was a big influence in my earlier writings. Her embellished descriptions of places, people, and things from the perspective of a being that lives for centuries, seeing the world evolve around them, fed my imagination for years. And the fact that these creatures weren't just blood-driven but also curious, longing for purpose and connection, sad, angry, and remorseful as if their humanity was somewhat still intact; resonated on a soulful level. I was sad when she passed, but am proud of having a piece of her legacy in most of her works displayed on my bookshelf to be revisited constantly. Thank you for this video 😊
Knowing this video is coming out has turned my day right around! Can’t wait!
"ten thousand nights" sound like a lot, but it's a bit less than three decades, hardly a great commitment when you're both immortal ;P
Look nobody ever said Lestat was good at math
Hello Hannah, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
Unless I am mistaken, the one on the left is Karl Ulrichs, the trans german who is widely seen as the grandparent of the modern lgbt+ movement.
Very informative, man! I've learned a lot about Anne Rice, her life and career, which gives me a new perspective on her work. Thank you! 🙏🙌👑
Thank you! That was totally my goal with this video. Glad you liked it!
I do sometimes take issue with what I'd call Anne Rice's "aristocracy fetish" - she just adored heroes who were well-dressed upper-crust and impeccably mannered who lorded it over the commoners. Though I admit, all of that does add to the general "fabulousness" of her vampire novels.
She has said that for writing her characters it's just easier if they're wealthy. Because being poor is something that would get in the way since it's such a hardship.
I met Anne Rice when she was doing a book signing in Chicago for Queen of the Damned. The bookstore expected long long lines and so they got me and another musician to busk outside in order to entertain people as they waited (hello Oliver!) We made up songs based on the books on the spot. One was called "Oh Talamasca!." The line wrapped around the block and we played for hours - while inside Anne signed and signed. FInally hours later, the crowd thinned and Anne asked to meet the musician, after hearing god knows what about our songs. They led us into meet her. She was wearing an elaborate Gothic White wedding dress and was practically delusional from signing for hours. She laughed giddily and was very sweet. One of my favorite memories of all time.
Amazing video! I didn't know Anne's story and I'm impressed with how she fought for her work and to represent the gay relationship between her characters. Luckily we finally got the adaptation we deserved and that Anne would be proud of. Rest in peace, legend. 💞
The best and most accurate gay vampire essay I’ve ever seen!
Very well done! A comprehensive look from beginning to end of Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice, book, movie and tv series. Thank you!
What a well-made and unexpectedly comprehensive video - I learned so much! Thank you!
I can't tell you how excited I was when I saw the title of this video. Your well-researched, bare-all peeks into Queer Pop Culture are wonderfully done. And as a big fan of Vampires, this is a subject I'm overjoyed to learn more about!
I'm so glad to see that this series is coming to light is becoming so popular and is getting the recognition that it need a long time ago. I am obsessed with the chronicle vampires and currently on fifth book, but honestly it's so hard to find Rice's books, I don’t know why
I think this newest interview with a vamire is sooo romantic
I am continually impressed by your channel! I was lucky enought to watch interview with the vampire in a college class and really go in depth with all of its themes and it is still one of my favorite movies. I'm currently reading the books so I was so excited to see you post about this series
Hello Jessica, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
I just love yours show so interesting to hear about all the actors and actresses lives and struggles.
Hello Nina, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
The part in Interview with the Vampire where the other vampires just put the girl and the lady for sun to burn… I cried so much. I didn’t know that I will be sooo emotional and so sad for the characters. The whole movie was a rollercoaster for me. The hate, lost, love, sadness, emptiness… everything
Fascinating. Thanks for the video. I consumed Anne’s books as a teen and found the Taltos series and the crossovers intriguing. But the emotions it evokes in me is like watching what happens when the light of someone’s life disappears and you are an outsider and all you can do is let the scenes play out before you. 😔
You have done a very well and thorough commentary on this. Kudos! Good job
Hello Sheri, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
Oprah contributed so much in other ways to the forces of darkness, by introducing the world to Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz.
I can’t believe u used the “lick lick lick lick lick” scene 😂😂😂😂😂
The 2 T-Shirt Ideas:
- C.E. with ‘Be Gay, Drink Blood, Become Bat’
- ‘Be Gay, Do Crime at Night’.
AMAZING vidéo. I've never been interested by Interview With à Vampire...and now I DEFINETLY have to watch it
Interview was quite popular to read when I was in college in the late 80s, my partner read tons of Anne Rice in the 90s and then the movie came out at perhaps the right time? I started reading her a few years ago and love them! I love her vampire rules and the recurring characters. Rice was an erotic writer early on and it shows! The way she describes the most gruesome scene and you just accept reading this until you're like wait a minute, am I as depraved as these vampires!? She leads you up to a gay sex scene in The Body Thief but then backs off, it's a relief actually, I just didn't want her to go there. Queen of the Damned was a great novel but far too complex for a movie, it could be a better series actually. Memnoch the Devil is her favorite work and you really get into her Christian and religious side, she also wrote a series about the life of Christ which I have not read. I love her descriptive writing, every petal of every flower sometimes, you really get a picture of say 1700s new Orleans. The very best 80s vampire film is The Hunger ! Discuss that!
I remember as a kid seeing the cover of Interview With The Vampire when it first came out, and original thought it was a non-fiction book. The first book of hers I read was The Vampire Lestat which I loved, then went back to read Interview...and thought it very depressing because of Louis' narration but realized it was his side of the story. But for me I consider The Queen Of The Damn a masterpiece...it had my heart racing with the story the ancient twins transformed into vampires by the evil Akasha the queen of the damned, Akasha being awoken by Lestat's music, all the ancient vampires joining together to try to stop Akasha from turning the world into a bloodbath, the one ancient vampire twin bring the leader in their effort to stop the queen...and her twin sister coming out of her centuries of self-imposed exile, running across the globe to also stop Akasha...my pulse is pounding now just remembering it and it's been decades since I've read it. Having watched the first two episodes of Interview on AMC, I can see that Anne's vampire legacy is in great hands...and can't wait to see what AMC does with her Mayfair Witches series next year
What a great video! Learned a lot of things about Rice and the movie that I didn't know. I did watch the first episode of the show and didn't really LOVE it, especially the confusing frame story, but I'll sure give it another shot. Thanks as always, Matt!
I just love all the whiners in the comment section of that trailer acting like all this gay was just cooked up for the new series. Like, did you people just not pay attention before?
Matt, your videos are always so well put together and entertaining!
I’ve been rediscovering a love of literature lately using books as a way to disconnect from my phone and find inspiration for my illustrations. Hearing about the new show made me remember the movie and that I wanted to read the book so now I gotta add it to the list of books I plan on getting to.
Great video! Thanks for making some Anne Rice content.
A few things:
Interview was poorly received at first, poorly sold, and only became successful in paperback post facto. Anne always described it as a slow burn to success, and that’s why she wrote The Feast of All Saints and Cry to Heaven, as well as Exit to Eden, and her Sleeping Beauty erotica before returning to vampires with The Vampire Lestat.
The Queen of the Damned was wildly successful, and was seen as a turning point for the Rice family. Christopher even recounts that his life pre- and post- Queen of the Damned was remarkable. The publisher pre-ordered 750,000 copies in hardcover and sent Anne an astonishing advance that ended up catapulting them to wealth and success.
Please keep the momentum going with great Vampire Chronicles content! Love it!!
Yet another fine video. I have come to genuinely value your work. Thanks!
this was actually a really fun video to watch, you brought a lot of charm to a history lesson !
I love your channel so much, thank you for putting in the work, and for shining a light on all these gems form film and tv.
OMG! just the insane research you made...! THANK YOU!