QUEEN OF THE DAMNED
Written by
Scott Abbott and Michael Petroni
Based on the novel by
Anne Rice
FADE IN:
1 EXT. LAFAYETTE CEMETERY (NEW ORLEANS) - NIGHT 1
An empty breeze blows across a deserted cemetery. We
hear the sound of FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING, then nineteenth-
century boots ENTER FRAME. We FOLLOW them strolling past
the headstones and mausoleums. The sound of a HORSE and
CARRIAGE ECHOES in the distance.
VOICE (V.O.)
There comes a time for every vampire
when the idea of eternity becomes
momentarily unbearable...
As we REACH an old stone tomb, the boots leap up and OUT
OF FRAME. PAN UP to reveal:
A FIGURE stands steadily atop the roof of the tomb,
silhouetted against the moon like a large, black bird.
VOICE (V.O.)
The wounds suffered from love and
failed friendships don't heal like
a human's, but seem to only gape
larger. The longing to be mortal
returns, a longing for finiteness.
A beat as the indistinct figure gazes out at the night...
CUT TO:
2 OMITTED 2
& &
3 3
4 EXT. TOMB - CONTINUOUS ACTION 4
The figure enters an alabaster tomb and closes the door.
VOICE (V.O.)
In 1883 I suffered such a spell
and decided to cease feeding on
blood. Just lie in the earth and
let time return to its natural
state...
As the WIND PICKS UP, the LEAVES of a fledgling vine
growing up the side of the tomb begin to RATTLE FASTER
and FASTER, until curiously, time seems to speed up.
Night passes to day and back to night. Shadows from the
sun and moon drift across the tomb. As days and months
fly by, the vine winds and grows in circuitous patterns
all around the tomb.
(CONTINUED)
2.
4 CONTINUED: 4
VOICE (V.O.)
I had hoped the sounds of the
passing eras would fade out, and a
kind of death might happen. A
kind of forgetting where I would
be healed from my wounds.
The CLIP-CLOP of HORSES and the SQUEAK of PERAMBULATORS
DISSOLVE INTO the THUMP and SCRAPE of INDUSTRIAL ENGINES.
VOICE (V.O.)
But as I lay there, the sounds
didn't fade but grew with the
world.
The BUZZ of PROP ENGINES MELT INTO the sound of a JET
STREAMING overhead. CARS, MACHINES, RADIO BROADCASTS
MERGE INTO a medley of MUSIC from this century -- JACK
BENNY, MUDDY WATERS, ELVIS, HENDRIX, SEX PISTOLS.
VOICE (V.O.)
And gradually the world didn't
sound like the place I had left,
but something different...
better...
As we DRAW CLOSER TO the now vine-covered tomb, SOUNDS of
the '70s, '80s, '90s PERSIST...
VOICE (V.O.)
A new fearless attitude had
possessed the world, brave and
Godless. I began to wonder if it
was not time to resurrect. But
the thing that eventually brought
me back -- the decisive thing
really -- came like a bolt out of
the blue.
GUITARS STRIKE, DRUMS CRACK and the MUSIC SLAMS OUT, raw
and dark.
5 SERIES OF GLIMPSES 5
Slender hands with long, painted nails, Gothic rings, and
a half-pound of silver bracelets play their instruments.
Long hair, body piercings, Celtic tattoos, and brightly- colored
nylons show a lot of pale, smooth flesh. In the
confusion of glimpses, it's hard to tell who's a boy or
girl, but they're all young and beautiful. Breaking in
on the CACOPHONY of MUSIC COMES ONE GUITAR CLOSER and
LOUDER than the rest.
(CONTINUED)
3.
5 CONTINUED: 5
A SCRAPING ROAR, like a bandsaw being twisted into the
most gorgeous, powerful chords, almost religious in its
emotion.
VOICE (V.O.)
A music so sublime, so deeply
vampiric, I had no doubt it could
be heard in Hades. I had no
choice... it summoned me.
An ULTRA-FAST TECHNO BEAT BEGINS and the FULL-SOUND of a
BAND RUSHES in, creating a sense of vertigo with its
energy.
6 INT. TOMB 6
The BAND'S sounds ECHO about the stone chamber, thrumming
a deep, life-giving pulse. Suddenly, the LID of a
SARCOPHAGUS SCRAPES and slides to one side.
7 EXT. LAFAYETTE CEMETERY (NEW ORLEANS) - NIGHT 7
The Figure re-emerges from the tomb, his cape now in
tatters -- posture bent. He creeps across the cemetery
in unnatural, staccato movements as if hindered by the
physics of distance and time. All the while the SONG
plays, drawing the figure toward it.
8 EXT. FRENCH QUARTER - NIGHT 8
The Figure moves through the shadows avoiding the spill
of yellow light from the street lamps. Stopping in a
darkened alleyway, he gasps for air, exhausted by his movements.
He listens again to the mesmeric TUNE of the
band in the distance, when -- From down the alley, a
voice...
VOICE #2 (O.S.)
(in French; subtitled)
Need a fix?
9 CLOSE ON FIGURE'S EYES 9
staring hungrily at...
10 BACK TO SCENE 10
A MAN proffering a little parcel wrapped in foil.
(CONTINUED)
4.
10 CONTINUED: 10
Pulling deeper into the shadows, the caped Figure beckons
the dealer over. The man approaches when -- With a wild
animal cry, the Figure lunges like a phantom -- A flash of teeth
-- The Dealer is on the ground -- the Figure set
upon him. OVER this scene the BAND'S SONG RUSHES IN LOUD again,
reaching an incredible CRESCENDO as the violent
frenzy continues -- the monster gnawing at the Dealer's
neck.
11 CLOSE ON FIGURE'S HAND 11
Its vein refilling with the flow of warm blood -- skin
regaining a youthful tautness.
12 WIDER 12
Rising from his victim we see for the first time the
revitalized face of this creature, a mane of blond hair
frames the beautiful features of the VAMPIRE LESTAT --
his bulbous lips glistening red.
LESTAT (V.O.)
Whether it was that first meal,
the music, or the 100 years of
rest, I'm not sure, but suddenly I
was feeling better than ever. My
appetite for living was voracious.
My hearing so exact I could locate
precisely the source of the
music...
13 EXT. NEW ORLEANS HOUSE - NIGHT 13
In the street, Lestat emerges from the shadows in the
dealer's snug-fitting leather outfit. He looks up at an
extremely run-down flophouse...
LESTAT (V.O.)
My old house.
High in the attic, a single window glows with dim light.
The source of the MUSIC. The whole house is shaking from
the sound of the BAND playing upstairs.
14 INT. ATTIC - JUST AFTER 14
The room booms with music, speakers stacked high on all
sides, literally shaking the house to its foundations.
(CONTINUED)
5.
14 CONTINUED: 14
REVEAL the band members of Satan's Night Out. JAMES,
ALEX and MAUDY stare at each other as if in some tantric
trance, as they play their music -- Alex's long fingers
climbing up and down his guitar, Maudy's waifish body
sensually curls around her keyboard, the waves of music
flowing through them while James, on drums, drives them
further into it.
LESTAT (V.O.)
It was hard to believe these
beings were mortal -- so confident
in their skin. Everything in my
body wanted to be with them. I
couldn't help myself.
Then, from somewhere in the room, an ANGELIC VOICE begins
to hum the most hypnotic melody over the tune, melding in
exquisite harmony. Arching her neck in some higher
ecstasy, Maudy looks across the makeshift studio and
suddenly stops playing.
ALEX
What the hell, Maudy.
Seeing Maudy's stunned face, Alex and James turn to see
Lestat perched like a raven on top of the stack of
speakers, eyes closed, still humming to the fading reverb
of the guitars. Slowly opening his cool grey eyes --
LESTAT
Please don't stop.
JAMES
What the f-- How did you get in
here?
LESTAT
The door, of course.
James and Alex look at the door on the other side of the
attic -- they should have seen him. Maudy stares at
Lestat, quite taken by the handsome vampire's looks --
Drinking Maudy in with his eyes --
LESTAT
Your music woke me from the
longest sleep. It's sublime. In
two hundred years I've never heard
anything quite like it.
ALEX
Who the hell are you?
(CONTINUED)
6.
14 CONTINUED: (2) 14
LESTAT (V.O.)
The question provoked an
irresistible urge...
LESTAT
You may call me the vampire Lestat.
As we REMAIN ON the stunned looks of the band's faces --
LESTAT (V.O.)
It just rolled out of my mouth.
With one simple sentence I had
betrayed everything about my kind.
Betrayed our code of secrecy.
LESTAT
Your struggles are over.
Suddenly from across the room --
LESTAT
All that you've ever dreamed of
will be yours.
They spin around to see Lestat now right behind them,
smiling.
ALEX
(terrified)
What the hell is this?
LESTAT
Your lucky day.
They all stare at him, faces white. A beat. Then James
breaks into a big smile.
JAMES
Cool. We got our very own vampire.
Maudy and Alex look at each other getting used to it.
They break into smiles, going with it.
MAUDY
Hey, Vampire Lestat, I've always
wondered... about Keith Richards...
CUT TO:
15 EXT. SKIES - NIGHT 15
FLYING ACROSS night skies, as the distinctive dark sound
of SATAN'S NIGHT OUT KICKS IN to join Lestat's soaring
voice.
(CONTINUED)
7.
15 CONTINUED: 15
LESTAT (V.O.)
It was a bold move, I admit. But
from that moment on, they were my
friends, my children, my band.
Together we rode on the wave of my
preternatural ambition to
superstardom, giving the world a
new god... me.
We COME ACROSS the city lights of London. Below, police
cars section off a few blocks around a very sleek,
ultramodern office building where a huge crowd has
gathered.
SUPERIMPOSE: LONDON (6 MONTHS LATER)
16 EXT. OFFICE BUILDING - CONTINUOUS ACTION 16
Through the crowd, a very long, black limousine snakes
its way toward the building. Rows of fans dressed as
Goths, ghouls and vampires scream out...
FANS
Lestat! Lestat!
Girls press their breasts and necks up against the
limousine. Thump! Thump! Fan after female fan flings
herself on the car. Groupies scream with pure
excitement.
Confusion of screams as the door to the limo opens. The
crowd's scream reaches a fever pitch as... James, Alex
and Maudy climb out, ogle at the sight. ROGER SMYTHE,
their business manager (40s), gets out next, hustling
them through the crowd.
A wave of hysteria hits the fans. Roger hustles the
band through the crowd and up the stairs into the church,
past the giant billboard with their own images written
huge, Lestat's smiling face above them all and the
announcement --
LESTAT -- LIVE & UNDEAD -- OCTOBER 31, ALL HALLOW'S EVE,
DEATH VALLEY, U.S.A.
17 INT. OFFICE BUILDING - SOON AFTER 17
A high-tech conference room. The band, sitting up front,
is faced by an audience of over fifty journalists and
then another fifty photographers and TV cameras. The
room crackles with anticipation. Roger steps to the
podium.
(CONTINUED)
8.
17 CONTINUED: 17
ROGER
May I present the Vampire Lestat.
He pushes a button and a black curtain slides open to
reveal a huge monitor on the wall.
Every eye is glued to the SCREEN... CRACKLE, CRACKLE.
Nothing. Then suddenly, on the screen, a face in shadow
appears... Lestat. His voice booms out over the crowd.
LESTAT
Good evening. I'm so sorry I'm
late. I was just having my...
breakfast.
18 OMITTED 18
19 BACK TO SCENE 19
Then Lestat leans forward into the light. Hushed
whispers move through the crowd. Lestat's eyes burn
unnaturally bright. His white skin absolutely glows,
luminous. Lestat smiles out at them with a tight smile.
Then grins wider, revealing his fangs.
JOURNALIST
Excellent makeup job. Marilyn
Manson, look out...
A thousand questions suddenly burst out of the
journalists.
ROGER
Hey, hey! We're gonna keep this
short here! One at a time. You!
He points to a PRETTY FRENCH JOURNALIST.
PRETTY FRENCH JOURNALIST
So, Lestat. You say you're a
real vampire. Correct me if I'm
wrong, but what I remember about
vampires is you guys usually keep
your identity secret.
LESTAT
Yes. But why hide it in this day
and age? I've hidden in the
shadows for centuries. It's time
to share myself with the world.
(CONTINUED)
9.
19 CONTINUED: 19
In the corner, Roger gives a big winking smile to the
camera crew. The journalists smile, playing along. A
younger, hipper MUSIC magazine JOURNALIST pipes in...
MUSIC JOURNALIST
And it doesn't hurt the record
sales, huh? Your album just
topped all kinds of sales records.
LESTAT
Our label isn't complaining, no.
PRETTY FRENCH JOURNALIST
Could you prove it? You know give
us a demonstration of your powers?
LESTAT
If you like, I'll give you a
private demonstration in your
hotel room tonight.
The journalists laugh. The French Journalist looks a
little frightened/fascinated by Lestat's leer.
LIFESTYLE JOURNALIST
Why not a demo at your own house?
I mean, what's with all the
secrecy about where you stay? Is
it true you move residences every
few days?
LESTAT
(smiles, giving away
nothing)
After calling one stone tomb home
sweet home for so long, I like to
experience as much diversity as I
can. Wouldn't you?
The Lifestyle Journalist smiles.
MUSIC JOURNALIST
There are a lot of rumors flying
around the internet about the
hidden meaning in your lyrics,
that you're giving away 'vampire
secrets.' Something in all that?
20 SMALL TV SCREEN 20
In a dark room, the interview continues.
(CONTINUED)
10.
20 CONTINUED: 20
LESTAT (V.O.)
Maybe I'm trying to resurrect a
few old friends with my words.
Daring them to come out.
MUSIC JOURNALIST
Of the closet.
LESTAT
(smiles)
The casket...
Laughter. They're enjoying this performance although no
one is taking it very seriously. PULL OUT to reveal we
are --
21 INT. PRIVATE CLUB - SAME TIME 21
A man in a dark suit plays pool. Looking up over his
dark glasses, his strange, luminescent, grey eyes stare
up at Lestat on the TV scornfully.
22 BACK TO PRESS CONFERENCE 22
MUSIC JOURNALIST
Your first and only concert's in
Death Valley, just days away. Why
just the one?
LESTAT
(grins)
I don't like repeating myself.
MUSIC JOURNALIST
But these other vampires, aren't
they going to be pissed that
you're giving away their secrets?
LESTAT
I imagine they are, yes.
LIFESTYLE JOURNALIST
Do you have anything to say to the
other vampires listening out
there?
LESTAT
Yes, as a matter of fact, I do...
Leaning forward, Lestat smiles at the TV camera.
MATCH CUT TO:
11.
23 INT. PRIVATE CLUB - TV 23
LESTAT (V.O.)
Come out, come out, wherever you
are.
CAMERA BOOMS DOWN to reveal...
A group of dangerous-looking vampires dressed in various
styles, staring stony-faced up at the screen, their eyes
glowing strangely in the ultra-violet light. The pool
player is in the b.g. Other vampires, dressed in black, eyes
cold as ice, stare up at the TV.
VAMPIRE #1
Goddamn fool's going to bring back
the Inquisition.
VAMPIRE #2
I say we kill him, before this
gets out of hand. Bleed him dry.
VAMPIRE #1
Gotta find him first. Elusive
bloke. Never know where he's
going to turn up.
VAMPIRE #2
Well we know one place he's
definitely going to be...
Next to him sits a female VAMPIRE, Evian bottle in hand.
VAMPIRE #1
When I was in Manchester, the coven
there was saying exactly the same
thing. That we should nail him at
the concert...
FEMALE VAMPIRE #1
I don't know, if he's as old as
they say, he's gotta be pretty
strong... If you came within a
mile of him, he'd eat you alive.
She brings her Evian bottle to her lips. Drinks heartily.
The liquid inside glistens deep red.
VAMPIRE #1
Yes. Well let's see how he
handles a thousand of us at once.
Crack -- the pool player sinks the last ball on the pool
table. The TV suddenly EXPLODES.
(CONTINUED)
12.
23 CONTINUED: 23
BACK TO LESTAT ON HUGE VIDEO SCREEN
He smiles at the journalists.
LESTAT
See you all in Death Valley.
CLICK. The screen goes black.
24 CLOSE ON LESTAT 24
in the flesh. REVEAL he is...
25 INT. LESTAT'S CHATEAU (LONDON) 25
All alone in his magnificent chateau. He sits in front
of a video camera and monitor set up for the two-way remote
feed. Lestat puts the remote down.
Laughs out loud with the pure pleasure of it all. He stands,
crosses to huge doors. Opens them. Goes out to...
25A EXT. LESTAT'S CHATEAU GROUNDS - CONTINUOUS ACTION 25A
Lestat walks across his lavish grounds, gazes up into the
night.
Staring up at the dark heavens, Lestat inhales like an
emperor taking in his kingdom, stretches his arms out, still
drinking in the adulation.
Slowly, his grin fades...
A melancholy look comes over Lestat.
LESTAT
(quietly, to world)
Come out, come out, whoever you
are.
As he lowers his arms, the CAMERA PULLS UP and OUT FROM
Lestat, whirling into the dark night...
CUT TO:
13.
26 CLOSE ON SET OF HEADPHONES 26
as it plays LESTAT'S SONG.
PULL OUT ON...
A beautiful young woman, JESSE, 22, lays in black satin
sheets. Her long red hair snakes over her slender neck as
she sleeps to Lestat's voice, still as death. Flickering
candles all over the room reveal her lithe, strong body,
pale as the moon. She is surrounded by her work, ancient
language books, her laptop computer. Another book is
clenched in her hand. The Unconscious Vampire. We MOVE
IN ON her fluttering eyes.
CUT TO:
27 DREAM SEQUENCE - EYES 27
opening. Blank. Still. Unsettling. PULL BACK to
reveal these eyes belong to a 19th-century porcelain
doll. We TRACK ACROSS rows and rows of dolls from
different eras, all exquisitely detailed. TRACK PAST the
billowing floor-to-ceiling curtains to reveal a six-year-
old girl lying awake in a large bed, Jesse, green eyes and
long red curls. LAUGHTER wafts in with the breeze.
28 INT. CORRIDOR 28
Jesse's bare feet pad down the endless corridor. The
little girl is dwarfed by the stone pedestals, all lit
with candles. LAUGHTER ECHOES through the halls.
29 INT. GREAT HALL 29
Jesse moves past rough-hewn columns, watching something
with great curiosity. Behind her, we glimpse a giant
mural of names cut into the stone walls. A family tree,
extending up onto the ceiling and down to the floor.
30 JESSE'S POV 30
A grand party is in progress. There are about thirty
vampires, all thin, pale and beautiful. An eclectic
group, elegantly-dressed in Indian silks, Arabic veils,
mixed with a few gaudy Versace outfits. Guests lean into
each other's necks, showing blood-red tongues and fangs.
31 BACK TO SCENE 31
A young VAMPIRE scoops Jesse up and puts her on his knee.
(CONTINUED)
14.
31 CONTINUED: 31
VAMPIRE
Ah, Jesse. You want to come and
play with us, don't you?
She stares at him, nervous, intrigued.
WOMAN (O.S.)
(urgent)
Jesse!
VAMPIRE
Soon, soon, little one. I'll make
sure you're with us forever.
WOMAN (O.S.)
(more urgent)
Jesse!
32 INT. JESSE'S BEDROOM (PRESENT) 32
JESSE
No!
Jesse sits up with a start. She stands, heart pounding,
trying to shake the dream off. We see on a bulletin board
behind her, a flyer for Lestat's concert. She takes off
the headphones. Walking over to the mantel above her
fireplace, she picks up a solitary, framed photo -- holds
it tight...
33 CLOSEUP - PHOTO 33
Young Jesse (the girl from the dream) stares straight at
camera. She is held in the arms of a red-haired woman,
her back to camera.
34 BACK TO SCENE 34
Jesse puts the photo down, catches her reflection in a
mirror, lit by flickering candlelight. Her face is
distressed, troubled by the dream. She goes to the
window, stares out into the black night. The dark waters
of the Thames snake through the London cityscape. Jesse
blows out the candles. Darkness.
CUT TO:
15.
35 EXT. TUBE STATION (LONDON) - THAT NIGHT 35
Fluorescence pierces the black night. Jesse comes out
of the tube station in a tight, short skirt, boots. She
looks down the street. In one direction, a busy,
brightly-lit street. Jesse gazes at a group of tourists
coming out of a pub, laughing. Then she turns, looks the
other direction. A dark street. She hesitates a long
moment, stares at the light, then can't help herself,
plunges toward the darkness, the LAUGHTER ECHOING, then
DYING.
36 EXT. ALLEY - JUST AFTER 36
Jesse passes "rent-boys" stepping from the shadows as
cars cruise by. Jesse, unable to look away, gazes as one
gets in a car. He stares back at her, disappears into
the car.
37 EXT. BRIDGE - JUST AFTER 37
Jesse passes couples using the shadows for privacy in the
dark, filthy streets. She strides past a girl leaning
against a brick wall, the man grunting, moving
rhythmically against her.
38 EXT. LONDON STREET - LATER THAT NIGHT 38
Fog floats in the yellow vapor lights. Jesse pauses at
the intersection of a narrow alley. She hesitates,
nervous, then turns down the dark lane, disappearing into
the blackness...
39 EXT. WAVERLY ARMS - NIGHT 39
Jesse, from the shadows, gazes, wide-eyed, at the Soho
private club's entrance, a solitary door with a faded sign
and a dull blue light mounted above.
Jesse hears strange whispering. She sees now figures
moving through the fog. One pushes a buzzer. Jesse stares,
barely breathing, her heart pounding.
The figures have white, luminescent faces, strange, bright,
glowing eyes. Their fingernails are glass-like. A moment
later, a slot in the door opens. The glowing eyes of another
creature stares out at them, scrutinizing them. The door
closes quickly.
Jesse stands there, deliberating. She takes a step closer
to the door. Stops. Takes another nervous step. She hears
something, whirls around.
(CONTINUED)
16.
39 CONTINUED: 39
Another group of the strange figures walk steadily down the
street towards her. Jesse begins backing away. A HISSING
sound slowly fills the alley...
CUT TO:
CLOSE ON LESTAT
smiling, revealing his fangs.
REVEAL we are...
40 INT. LIBRARY - TALAMASCA INNER COUNCIL CHAMBER - NIGHT 40
Lestat's face appears on a video screen in front of a room
lined from floor to ceiling with leather-bound books, ancient
scrolls. Subjects are marked, Werewolves, Poltergeists,
Possession...
SUPERIMPOSE: SECRET ORDER OF THE TALAMASCA: CENTER FOR
PARANORMAL STUDIES: LONDON HEADQUARTERS
Jesse, making a presentation, stands before an impressive
and imposing group of 10 TALAMASCANS, wearing demure
suits.
Jesse is excited, a bit nervous, hoping to impress. She
holds a remote which controls images appearing on the
large video screen. Clips from Lestat's press conference
continue. Jesse gazes out at the Talamascans.
JESSE
I have reason to believe Lestat's
the real thing. A vampire. And
an ancient one.
TALAMASCAN #1
I don't know, Jesse. It looks to
me like the guy's got a good P.R.
man with a flair for the
theatrical.
JESSE
(leans forward,
eagerly)
It would appear that way. But
have you listened to his songs?
Read his lyrics?
The Talamascans glance at each other, surprised. Shake
their heads. A few laugh. They're not Lestat's usual
audience.
(CONTINUED)
17.
40 CONTINUED: 40
JESSE
Well,i have. In one of his songs
he refers to a pub called the
Sailor's Arms. I think it's a
clue...
She pushes a button, the lyrics appear on screen.
JESSE
(reading screen)
'Where are you now? Back in the
sailor's arms, somewhere in the
back streets of Soho?' I tracked
down the old leases in London. It
turns out, in the late 1700's,
there was a pub right in the
backstreets of Soho called the
Sailor's Arms.
The lyrics on screen are replaced now by an old engraving
of a pub with the sign reading "SAILOR'S ARMS."
JESSE
And it had a reputation for
dealing with black magic.
Witches' covens, seances, that
sort of thing.
Quick flashes of gruesome drawings appear -- animal
sacrifices. A corpses floating above a table...
Jesse talks faster and faster with her enthusiasm.
JESSE
And most importantly, reports of
people being lured there and
subsequently attacked by
bloodsucking fiends.
Quick flashes of gruesome period newspaper drawings,
blood pouring from the neck of a screaming woman. A
white-faced ghoul with fangs.
Jesse is smiling wider, excited by her discovery.
On screen, an old map of London appears.
JESSE
Here's where you could find the
Sailor's Arms in old London.
A modern map appears, overlaying the old map.
(CONTINUED)
18.
40 CONTINUED: (2) 40
JESSE
And here is where it would be
today. Of course the Sailor's
Arms is not there anymore. That
part of London is mostly old
warehouses, meat-packing plants.
TALAMASCAN #2
In a few years it will be artists'
lofts and pretentious French
cafes...
Jesse leans forward now as she talks.
JESSE
Yes, but right now there's only
one place to get a drink -- of
sorts. A private club -- in
exactly the same place. The
Waverly Arms.
On screen, a photo of the Waverly Arms.
JESSE
Well, what happens at the Waverly
Arms now makes the Sailor's Arms
look like a Happy Meal at
McDonald's.
She pauses for emphasis, gazing at the faces of the
Talamascans, gauging their reactions.
JESSE
It's a vampire coven. And
Lestat's leading us to it.
Murmurs. Many of definite interest. Some of definite
skepticism. Jesse's face shines bright with her
enthusiasm.
TALAMASCAN #1
(skeptical)
And what makes you think so?
Jesse smiles. Pushes a button. Ready to receive the
Talamascans' approval.
On screen, a new picture appears of several figures,
white faces, dark clothes -- but they're very blurry.
TALAMASCAN #2
Jesse, can you, uh, focus that any
better?
(CONTINUED)
19.
40 CONTINUED: (3) 40
JESSE
(excitement dampened
by embarrassment)
Well... it was taken... while...
(clears throat)
... in motion.
Talamascan #2 smiles at her sympathetically. Jesse gazes
out at the other Talamascans, sees she's losing their
interest.
JESSE
(quickly, trying to
cover)
But listen, if you look closely,
you can see they're vampires. I'm
sure of it. And Lestat's leading
us to them and --
TALAMASCAN #3
(interrupting)
Interesting. Perhaps we should
assign someone to observe --
TALAMASCAN #1
Oh please, based on this so-called
'data'? That's a waste of time.
JESSE
But... uh...
TALAMASCAN #2
(looking up for a
moment, interrupting)
Wait a second. Who took this
picture?
JESSE
(a beat, softly)
I did.
Murmurs bubble through the entire group now. They stare
at Jesse, dismayed.
TALAMASCAN #2
You went there?
JESSE
Yes. Last night.
TALAMASCAN #1
And who gave you this directive?
(CONTINUED)
20.
40 CONTINUED: (4) 40
JESSE
No one. I... just... went.
(quickly)
Look, I know it was breaking
protocol and I'm really sorry,
it's just I think --
TALAMASCAN #1
Jesse! You're just an apprentice
here! You must follow our
rules... Or perhaps we need to
reconsider your position.
She stares at him.
TALAMASCAN #3
For 12 centuries our mission as
Talamascans has been to observe
and record paranormal behavior.
But never get involved. You're
getting far too close.
JESSE
(gesturing to photo,
defending herself)
Hey, does it look like I got
involved? That is not called
involvement. That is called
running.
TALAMASCAN #2
(leaning forward,
trying to help)
But, Jesse, tell us, what did you
see?
Jesse turns to her.
JESSE
Vampires. Gathering. I'm sure of
it.
Jesse steps from the podium, moving through the
Talamascans as she pleads her case. She talks a mile a
minute, her passion rising...
JESSE
You have to listen to Lestat's
lyrics. They're amazing.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
21.
40 CONTINUED: (5) 40
JESSE (CONT'D)
Many of the references could only
be derived from years of research
in the Bibliotech de Paris, which
seems unlikely for a young rock
star in his early twenties. Plus
there are historical details
dating back hundreds of years
Lestat describes that don't exist
anywhere... except in our library.
He refers to Marius, the great
white lord, who ruled over a group
of islands off the Bay of Naples
in the late 18th Century. What
I'm trying to say here, and maybe
I'm not doing the best job of it,
is that Lestat may be the oldest
and most powerful vampire ever
documented!
Jesse sees some of the Talamascans are again listening.
But Talamascan #1 shakes his head...
TALAMASCAN #1
It doesn't make any sense. Why
would he be forecasting this to
the world? He's all but drawn a
map and marked an X. What
vampires hold sacred is keeping
their kind a secret. You never
name other immortals, tell where
their lairs are. They'd be hunted
down.
JESSE
Right. That's the best part.
Lestat's not afraid to piss them
off. He wants mortals and
immortals to know he's there, to
know he exists. I don't know
why...
(glancing at skeptical
Talamascan #1)
But this has never happened
before. Don't you see? He's a
one man revolution.
All the Talamascans gaze at her a moment. Jesse holds
her breath. Has she gotten them back?
(CONTINUED)
22.
40 CONTINUED: (6) 40
TALAMASCAN #1
And this photo is your evidence?
It's hardly conclusive.
(snorts)
C'mon. It looks like the Blair
witch!
The Talamascans burst out laughing, even Talamascan #2.
Jesse gazes at them, her face burning red. She's lost
them, blown it. Made a fool of herself.
Her frustration rises, she can no longer contain it. It
bursts out of her.
JESSE
Fine. Well then, I guess I'll
just have to go back and get
better, more conclusive evidence!
Maybe you just can't unravel all
the mysteries of the world out
there, by sitting around all day
in a dusty old library in here!
As they gaze at her, astonished, she gathers her
materials, starts out. Several start shouting back at
her. Amidst the uproar, a voice booms across the room.
TALBOT (O.S.)
Jesse.
Everyone turns. Quiets down. DAVID TALBOT stands in the
back of the room. He's clearly the superior Talamascan,
though younger than some, very charismatic.
TALBOT
My office. Now.
He turns, walks out. All the Talamascans look at Jesse.
It doesn't look good. Her face burning red, Jesse turns,
leaves.
CUT TO:
41 EXT. METROPOLITAN BAR (LONDON) - NIGHT (SAME TIME) 41
A line of hopefuls wanting to enter the exclusive club
wait for the judgement of two BOUNCERS, one buff, one
SLEEK.
(CONTINUED)
23.
41 CONTINUED: 41
SLEEK BOUNCER
Okay, you, in. You. No...
(smiles at a sexy
girl)
You in...
(to UNATTRACTIVE GUY)
You, no.
UNATTRACTIVE GUY
C'mon, man, she's waiting for me
in there. She said she was
putting me on the list. My name's
Norman --
BOUNCER #1
Yeah, yeah, right. Hey, get a
life, alright?
(to another sexy
girl)
You, in.
Across the street, a figure in the shadows watches.
42 EXT. AROUND CORNER - JUST AFTERWARDS 42
Bouncer #1 is now making out with one of the young sexy
girls he let in, trying to get a hand up her dress.
A cold WIND suddenly blows, fluttering her skirt. He
looks up. A dark figure stands in the shadows.
BOUNCER #1
Hey, perv, get the hell out of
here.
The figure steps from the shadows. The Bouncer's face
turns white.
It's Lestat...
The Bouncer starts to back way. The girl starts to
scream. Lestat clamps his hand over the girl's mouth.
To the girl...
LESTAT
You. In...
He gestures to the club. The girl turns and runs for her
life. As the Bouncer backs away, terrified, Lestat turns
to him.
(CONTINUED)
24.
42 CONTINUED: 42
LESTAT
(softly)
You. No.
Lestat lunges like a phantom -- a flash of teeth -- as
they FALL FROM FRAME, the distinct sound of BONE
CRUSHING. Over this scene the BAND'S SONG rushes in.
CUT TO:
42A INT. LESTAT'S LONDON HOUSE - THAT NIGHT 42A
Lestat enters. Dabs his mouth politely with a white
handkerchief, the sound of the BAND practicing from
below.
43 INT. LESTAT'S HOUSE (LONDON) - SOUND STUDIO - JUST AFTER 43
Lestat and his band rehearse one of their numbers, music
and voice melding into a grand, almost operatic harmony.
44 INT. CONTROL BOOTH 44
Two SOUND ENGINEERS work the board.
SOUND ENGINEER #1
When's the concert?
SOUND ENGINEER #2
Four days.
SOUND ENGINEER #1
These guys are gonna kill.
Behind them, Roger sits pensively watching.
Surreptitiously, he glances down at a book on his lap --
its title Vampires -- The Occult Truth. He talks on a
phone.
ROGER
Yeah, Phil. We'll need a limo
from the airport. I don't know
which airfield yet... I don't know
the arrival time either.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
25.
44 CONTINUED: 44
ROGER (CONT'D)
(sighs)
Yeah... I'll call you from the
plane... Nope, I'll tell the
driver where he's taking us... Hey
I don't even know myself... pick
up address in London?... Forget
it... you'd never find this place.
Christ we'll probably have changed
houses again by then... What can I
say, the guy's just...
Shaking his head, Phil glances down at his vampire book.
Looking back up he see Lestat now staring at him
intensely while he sings.
ROGER
(softly)
-- just uh... shy... that's it...
shy.
45 INT. STUDIO 45
Lestat slides into a high "C" leaning into the
microphone, catching his own reflection in the booth's
window, and --
CRACK -- GLASS SPLINTERS.
Roger jumps out of his skin, stifling a cry.
46 INT. CONTROL BOOTH 46
SOUND ENGINEER #1
(dumbfounded)
Shit.
47 INT. STUDIO 47
James, Alex, and Maudy "whoop" with excitement.
JAMES
We rock.
LESTAT
Yes, I'd say I'm down with that.
They all laugh.
JAMES
I'm ready for Los Angeles...
(CONTINUED)
26.
47 CONTINUED: 47
MAUDY
I'm ready for Death Valley.
(jazzed)
Two days till we go...
THROUGH the broken glass we see Roger slump into a chair,
his nerves totally frayed.
ALEX
Think we can call that a night.
Unhooking their instruments, Alex and James start to pack
up as Maudy slowly approaches Lestat and nuzzles his
neck.
He shivers with temptation. Her hand moves down the
front of his pants. Lestat pulls her into his arms.
Leaning into her neck he breathes in her scent, closes
his eyes and... Suddenly opens them right at Roger who
looks on, extremely perturbed. Smiling like the devil...
LESTAT
Oh, the sweet song of her blood.
Roger stares on, terrified.
LESTAT
I'll hear it in my head all night.
Gently letting Maudy go...
LESTAT
Roger...
He goes directly to Roger, reaches into his open shirt,
pulls out the crucifix around his neck.
LESTAT
I didn't know you were religious.
Roger tries to laugh it off. Lestat sniffs the air. As
Roger backs away, he turns to open the door, stumbles,
cutting his hand on a fallen shard of glass. Blood
trickles from the cut. Roger looks up at Lestat whose
dark eyes stare intensely at Roger's blood. Roger
quickly sticks his hand in his mouth. With a horrified
expression, he realizes he's sucking his blood. He
quickly heads out. But Lestat is faster and reaches
into Roger's shirt pocket. Pulls out a clove of garlic. Lestat
shakes his head with a smile.
LESTAT
Roger...
(CONTINUED)
27.
47 CONTINUED: (2) 47
Roger tries to laugh. Reaches for the garlic to put it
back in his pocket. But Lestat grabs Roger's hand, blood
trickling down his wrist. Lestat speaks intensely.
LESTAT
Be careful, Roger. Very careful.
Lestat walks away. Roger exhales with relief.
CUT TO:
48 INT. TALBOT'S CHAMBER - SAME TIME 48
A wood-lined room -- walls covered with books, artifacts,
paintings. Jesse stands before Talbot. He fixes his
eyes on her, pours her some coffee.
TALBOT
How's everything? You alright?
You sleeping okay?
JESSE
Yeah, I'm great. I just found a
vampire.
TALBOT
(considers her)
Jesse... you're taking this Lestat
stuff pretty seriously... why?
JESSE
Cause I think I'm on to something
pretty big. The most important
sighting Talamasca's had in
years...
(beat, sighs)
Jesus, I don't know, David... I
thought I was onto something...
Maybe I didn't see anything...
Talbot takes in the dark circles around her eyes, how
quickly she's emptied her coffee cup. He pours her
more, smiles gently.
TALBOT
You know we work in a really
strange field? The supernatural
is beguiling at times. It doesn't
like to just be observed, it is
only satisfied when it has drawn
us in completely. I know cause
I've felt these things myself.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
28.
48 CONTINUED: 48
TALBOT (CONT'D)
That's what we have to resist, as
Talamascans...
(as a shadow crosses
his face)
It's not always easy.
JESSE
(leaning forward)
Talbot. C'mon. You know me. I'm
not freaking out on you. I'm just
onto what looks -- alright looked
-- like a good lead. You're the
one who taught me how to do all
this. You're the one who taught
me to keep pushing and pushing...
He still looks at her with a penetrating glance. She
looks back at him.
JESSE
David. There's nothing else.
Nothing is 'beguiling' me,
alright? Nothing. C'mon.
He gazes at her as she downs her whole coffee,
registering her strong denial. He smiles at her,
forcefully changes the mood.
TALBOT
Alright. Just checking...
Jesse starts out. Looking down at papers on his desk,
Talbot calls out, almost casually...
TALBOT
Well, all I can say is you're
really lucky you're not lying
dead in a gutter with two holes
on your neck.
JESSE
I'd be even luckier if that damn
picture came out...
(stops in her tracks,
turns back, gazes at
him, amazed)
Wait a second. So you do believe
me? You do think it's a vampire
coven.
(CONTINUED)
29.
48 CONTINUED: (2) 48
TALBOT
(looks up, eyes
sparkling)
Yes. But not exactly for the
reasons you think. Though your
research is top-notch of course...
(smiles)
Come back here. I'm gonna show
you something.
He goes to the paintings hanging on a wall in the back of
his office, covered with black velvet. Jesse follows.
He unveils them.
They stand before an Eighteenth-Century painting. The
interior of an enormous Italian villa. There's a man in
his forties with long white hair, back to us, but his
face is reflected in a standing mirror.
TALBOT
What do you see?
JESSE
They're all nightscapes. The
detail is amazing. Mid-1500s.
Florence.
TALBOT
Right. And what do you see in
this one?
Jesse moves to the next painting. Another nightscape, a
giant medieval tableaux, circa Bruegel.
TALBOT
And I know it's a Dutch pastoral.
Jesse runs her finger across the faces, then stops on the
face of a gentleman with long white hair watching the
bloodshed of gory battles and the sacrifices of saints
burned at the stake.
JESSE
This man is in both.
TALBOT
Right. He's in all of them.
Jesse moves to the next painting, then the next and the
next, all nightscapes set and painted in the style of
different eras, all featuring a portrait of the same
white-maned man.
(CONTINUED)
30.
48 CONTINUED: (3) 48
JESSE
Have you --
TALBOT
Carbon tested? Yes. The
different paint samples are all
authentic. All painted at the
time of that particular style.
Jesse stops at a contemporary self-portrait.
TALBOT
It's Marius, Jesse.
JESSE
(whirling around)
Marius?! From Lestat's lyrics.
I knew I was right.
TALBOT
Yes, you were. Good work.
She smiles at him, victorious.
TALBOT
I've been personally tracing
him for decades. My little
obsession. The oldest vampire
ever documented. The closest
we've come to the original
vampire.
JESSE
What do you mean the original
vampire?
Pointing to a larger depiction of a beautiful woman in
Egyptian garb --
TALBOT
There's a Mesopotamian legend that
there once was a queen of Egypt,
Akasha, long before Tutankhamen or
Nefertiti. She was believed to be
the original vampire... Marius
himself dates back to 400 B.C...
Jesse gazes at all the paintings, shaking her head in
wonder, then speaks softly.
(CONTINUED)
31.
48 CONTINUED: (4) 48
JESSE
David, you've been tracking Marius
your whole life. Maybe he's out
there waiting for you right now.
(without looking
at him)
Don't you ever want to just go and
find him and --
Talbot crosses to her.
TALBOT
No. Jesus, we are not talking
about having a drink at the
Dorchester, Jesse. You know that.
Especially with the ancient
vampires -- the older they are,
the more powerful, the more
dangerous...
He takes her by the arm, smiles down at her.
TALBOT
Anyway, you don't need to go and
stake out some club. Your time is
too valuable. I have something
far better for you...
JESSE
(surprised)
You do?
He steers her over to a locked cabinet.
TALBOT
Yes. And I'll tell you something.
I've never shown this to anyone.
No one else has proved themself
in the way you have.
JESSE
(touched)
Thanks. What is it?
As he unlocks the cabinet...
TALBOT
Oh you're gonna love this.
(glancing at her)
Although I'm sure it will keep you
up nights to come with nightmares...
He takes out an old leather-bound journal. Turns to
Jesse.
(CONTINUED)
32.
48 CONTINUED: (5) 48
TALBOT
Lestat's diary. I found it some
years ago. This is where you'll
find the answers you need.
Jesse stares up at him in absolute awe, taking it in.
Talbot gestures in the direction of the Talamascans in
the library.
TALBOT
They don't need to know
everything, right?
She smiles at him. He gives her the diary.
JESSE
Thank you for this.
TALBOT
My pleasure. When I took you on
as an apprentice, I knew it was
the smartest thing I'd ever done.
Now you and I'll meet when you're
done... This will be our project...
As Jesse goes out, holding the journal, Talbot smiles
after her.
But after the door closes, his gaze turns again to
concern. He crosses back to the paintings, pauses a
moment, staring up into Marius's eyes. Then Talbot
covers each with the black velvet.
CUT TO:
49 INT. JESSE'S APARTMENT - NIGHT 49
Jesse sits on the floor, curtains drawn, the room lit
with candles. A LESTAT SONG plays in the b.g. She
opens the journal.
JESSE
Je suis le vampire Lestat...
(a beat)
I am the vampire Lestat.
50 FLASHBACK - EXT. MEDITERRANEAN ISLAND - FULL SHOT 50
A solitary paradise in a rough, nighttime sea.
(CONTINUED)
33.
50 CONTINUED: 50
LESTAT (V.O.)
It was the winter of 1788 and I
was brought to a Mediterranean
Island by the man who made me...
A lightning flash illuminates a sprawling 18th-Century
sea-front villa.
LESTAT (V.O.)
... if a man is what you'd call
him.
51 INT. VILLA BEDROOM - NIGHT 51
A great round room encircled with candles, their
reflections flickering in the great glass windows braving
back the outside STORM. A huge antique bed sits in the
room's center, and on it... Lestat lays feverish and
fitful, dressed in a soft linen nightshirt. His neck
wears a swollen bite. Another flash of lightning
suddenly jolts him awake. His hands feel the inflamed
wound as he sees...
An indistinct shape of a man dressed in draping red
velvet, sitting asleep in a chair across the room. An
easel stands before him, holding an unseen painting.
Lestat rises out of the bed and grabs his clothes from a
nearby Louis IV chair. He makes for a door when...
Lestat suddenly stops. He looks back to see the painting
that stands on the easel. It's a portrait of himself in
ancient Roman garb, like the god Mars, complete with his
blond hair and fiery blue eyes. Unable to help himself,
he approaches the painting, completely fascinated by his
own image, when suddenly...
The sleeping man leaps up, grabs Lestat unmercifully and
again plunges his teeth into the young man's neck.
Lestat fights as best he can but his strength is no match
as he's slowly drawn down to the floor. Finally...
The strange man lifts himself up from Lestat's neck to
reveal the face of the vampire MARIUS, the mysterious
figure. Wiping his blooded mouth on his painter's
cloth --
MARIUS
Lestat. Welcome.
Weakened and helpless, Lestat drags himself back across
the floor in terror.
(CONTINUED)
34.
51 CONTINUED: 51
LESTAT
Who are you? Do I know you?
MARIUS
I'm unknowable by nature.
Marius advances again on the young man...
MARIUS
But you may call me Marius.
As Lestat keeps weakly dragging himself away.
LESTAT
I'm the lord of a great manor.
They'll send an army of men to
look for me.
MARIUS
I doubt they'll find you,
Lord De Lioncourt. You're a long
way from home...
His strength leaving him, Lestat slumps flat on the
floor.
MARIUS
You're weak... near passing. I
can barely hear your heartbeat.
LESTAT
I'll kill you!
Marius smiles, impressed.
MARIUS
You really do fear nothing. It is
why I chose you. Because you
think things are possible which
aren't possible...
Lestat stares at him, his eyes wide.
LESTAT
Chose me? For what?
MARIUS
My companion. Someone to share my
burden.
Bending down, he gazes at Lestat.
MARIUS
You've lost a great deal of blood.
(CONTINUED)
35.
51 CONTINUED: (2) 51
LESTAT
(near tears)
I'm dying.
Suddenly Marius draws a knife from a Roman sheath on his
belt. With the last of his strength, Lestat grabs his
attacker's wrist.
MARIUS
Then drink.
Guiding Lestat's hand with the knife, Marius smiles and
cuts his own arm, opening his veins. Lestat stares in
true terror as Marius lets his blood drip onto Lestat's
lip. Lestat pulls away as the blood slides into his
mouth...
MARIUS
Good, is it not?
And indeed... it does taste good. That's the new terror
that's gripping him. He crosses himself and stares up
into Marius's gentle eyes. Marius bends down, cups
Lestat's chin.
MARIUS
Drink and live. You've been brave
enough for one night, my son.
Marius brings his open vein to Lestat's lips. Lestat
hesitates, but then suddenly... Feeds hungrily as
Marius's face fills with the bond. He slowly sinks
down to his knees as Lestat feeds and feeds. As
Lestat drinks, a barrage of IMAGES flood into him...
52 IMAGES 52
of Marius's life through the ages... Impressionistic,
subliminal burst of IMAGES, color... the glory days of
the Roman Empire to this very moment flash by...
53 BACK TO LESTAT 53
He keeps drinking from the vampire Marius who gasps with
the creation of his child.
MARIUS
Drink... drink and learn.
Lestat's body grows stronger, his back arching up as he
draws the "life" into him with full force, as... Marius
begins to weaken, himself.
(CONTINUED)
36.
53 CONTINUED: 53
MARIUS
There... there... that will do.
But Lestat keeps on feeding hungrily.
MARIUS
No... no more. Lestat, no more!
With one great move, Marius pulls Lestat off his arm and
tosses him across the floor twenty feet away. Marius
reels back, clamping his open vein with his hand as
Lestat curls on the ground, gasping ecstatically from the
rush.
Slowly, Lestat starts to feel something. Pain begins
travelling through his body, consuming him until he
screams. Marius crosses to Lestat convulsing on the
floor. He kneels and gently wipes his brow. Lestat's
body thrashes as he grabs at his own limbs...
MARIUS
Don't be afraid, it's only your
body that dies...
Wiping his brow as he dies...
Then, Lestat's face still buried in his arms, he begins
to laugh almost drunkenly. Raising his head, his
metamorphosis is clear as his face pales and his eyes
fill with a new kind of power.
LESTAT
More!
Lestat smiles with red glistening lips. A beat on Marius
as he slowly smiles, too.
54 EXT. BEACH - NIGHT 54
A million stars...
LESTAT (V.O.)
I impressed my maker with my
thirst for things. He set out to
educate me in the unknown. Taught
me all about the world, its hidden
history... and about myself.
TILT DOWN to reveal an old fisherman who cries out as
Lestat bites into his throat. Marius watches as the
fisherman's body relaxes. He pulls Lestat away.
(CONTINUED)
37.
54 CONTINUED: 54
MARIUS
That's enough, my son... When you
feed, you must hold back from the
moment of death. You must never
take the last drop, or it will
draw you in and you will die...
The fisherman is moaning. Looking down at the suffering
victim, Marius swiftly snaps his neck and dumps him into
a boat. He picks up an oar, and with vampire strength,
drives it like a stake through the bottom of the boat.
Water starts bubbling in.
MARIUS
Remember, there is wisdom in the
flesh, Lestat. A man wears his
history on his skin...
Marius feels Lestat's gaze, turns to him.
MARIUS
I'm talking about humanity.
As Lestat watches the water begin to fill the bottom
of the boat...
LESTAT
Humanity?
(snort)
We're murderers.
MARIUS
We're more than that. Their blood
that we take into us carries with
it life... their life, their
knowledge, their complexity.
Appreciate your prey, Lestat.
Marius gazes at the fisherman, then, with vampire
strength, shoves the boat far out into the ocean.
55 EXT. BEACH - NIGHT 55
Below the brightest of summer night skies, Lestat and
Marius walk along, talking intensely. The ocean appears
to shimmer in the faint light of stars. In the distance,
several bonfires burn on the sand, dancing figures
gathered around.
(CONTINUED)
38.
55 CONTINUED: 55
LESTAT (V.O.)
My senses run amok, like a newborn
child. And as for my new powers,
I was beside myself with the
pleasure of it all...
MARIUS
The trick is to find the way to
face eternity head on. The
spirit can be annihilated by
boredom just as the body can be
destroyed by sun or fire. My
solace, my delight, is witnessing
the unfolding of human destiny...
Lestat gazes at Marius's eyes dancing with intellectual
fervor. As they walk, they pass a group of teenagers,
just younger than Lestat, at a bonfire, dancing, laughing.
Lestat gazes over at them as he and Marius pass, hidden
in shadow.
MARIUS
... From Christ to the Dark Ages
to the enlightenment, I've never
been able to divine what was coming.
That's what keeps me going -- I
can't wait to see what human
beings are going to do next...
Lestat nods, taking it in. They pass another bonfire.
MUSIC floats through the night. An OLDER MAN, 50, plays
balalaika while his daughter, 18, plays violin with great
passion.
MARIUS
Who could've predicted the
Enlightenment? Or Hannibal and his
elephants?
Marius stops talking, turns. Lestat is no longer beside
him. Marius turns back and sees Lestat standing in the
shadows, listening to the music. The young woman, sensing
something, turns towards Lestat in the shadows as she
plays. Marius goes to Lestat, pulls him farther into the
shadows.
MARIUS
Careful.
(CONTINUED)
39.
55 CONTINUED: (2) 55
LESTAT
But why must we hide, Marius? We
are the powerful, we are the
immortal. We should walk fearless
in the open!
MARIUS
Shhh. The life of a vampire is a
life of discretion. We must sleep
during the day, when we are
vulnerable to the sun. Mortals
must never know about us. It is
forbidden, for the sake of all our
kind.
LESTAT
(gazing at violin
player as it sinks in)
So I could never know her?
MARIUS
Not unless you wanted to kill her.
LESTAT
(beat, quietly,
intensely)
So I can never be known?
MARIUS
You're known by me. I granted you
that. There are others of our
kind... though most are solitary
creatures.
Lestat's eyes fill with some existential realization.
LESTAT
My God...
MARIUS
Forget God. You're no longer in
his realm. Now we must leave.
Relenting, Lestat starts to follow. But the music
quickens. Lestat pauses, turns back. As if the music is
calling to him.
The girl still faces into the shadows towards him, and
plays fast and wild, her fingers flying. Lestat stands
there frozen to the spot. The music pulses through
him. He gazes at her fingers, studying their intricate
movements intensely...
(CONTINUED)
40.
55 CONTINUED: (3) 55
Impulsively, Lestat goes back to them, hovers, his face
still somewhat obscured by the darkness. Lestat starts
clapping along to the music, exuberantly.
The girl and Father smile, nod to him as they play.
Marius, in the shadows, is fuming. Lestat's eyes fill
with the moment, the girl's vitality. He notices that
sitting on the ground by the girl are several
instruments. Impulsively, he reaches over, picks up a
violin. He studies the girl's playing again, then with
his new powers, as if by osmosis...
Begins to play with exactly her skill, exactly her
movements.
The girl and her Father laugh, delighted with this new
musician. Lestat plays along with them, joyful,
exhilarated. The girl's fingers fly. Lestat's fingers
pick up speed. Faster. Faster. A glittering torrent of
notes fly out of his violin as if made of gold.
Unconsciously, Lestat steps closer to the music, into
firelight. The Father and his daughter become less
certain, as they gaze at Lestat's strange, pale, glowing
skin, the luminous shine of eyes. But Lestat is
completely taken by the music, the moment. The Father
and the daughter, sensing something strange, stop
playing. Lestat looks up. Sees terror in their eyes.
The Father is slowly backing away, pointing in
horror at Lestat.
FATHER
Fantasma!! Teras!!
Lightning fast, out of the shadows, steps Marius. He
grabs the Father. The girl drops her violin, turns, starts
running down the beach to a bonfire in the distance.
MARIUS
Stop her, Lestat!
Lestat turns to Marius, shaking his head no in horror.
MARIUS
You must!
Lestat hesitates, then runs after the girl. She turns
back, sees him getting closer, starts to scream...
Lestat is suddenly in front of her with his hand over her
mouth, covering her muffled scream. Her struggle is no
use against his strength. Reaching up to her neck, he
touches it. He looks into her terrified eyes...
CUT TO:
41.
56 EXT. ISLAND'S SOUTH SHORE - NIGHT 56
Marius kneels over the body of the Father on the island's
deserted shoreline. Tosses him in a boat. Lestat gazes
at the lifeless body of the girl. Marius turns to
Lestat, furious.
MARIUS
I will not have you put everything
at risk! You will mind our laws!
Picking up Lestat's victim, Marius tosses her into the
boat as well.
MARIUS
We remain in the shadows. To do
otherwise is a road to
destruction...
Marius turns to Lestat, who stands in silence, gazing at
the girl and her Father.
MARIUS
(quietly)
I see you still have a few
lingering mortal emotions. They
will serve you no good, Lestat.
Lestat turns to Marius, shaking his head, speaks in a
horrified whisper...
LESTAT
My God, what have you done to me?
Lestat turns again toward the bodies of the dead girl and
her Father, his face filled with pain, enormous sadness.
LESTAT
(whisper)
She's just a child... forgive me.
57 EXTREME CLOSEUP - LESTAT 57
closes his eyes. A violent VIOLIN STRAIN as we PULL BACK
to see...
Lestat standing alone in the bedroom, in a deep reverie,
playing the girl's violin with incredible passion. His
playing picks up speed as he works himself into a Pagnani
furor...
(CONTINUED)
42.
57 CONTINUED: 57
LESTAT (V.O.)
The faces of my victims haunted
me, rising behind my eyes,
reminding me of my fate... I
played for days trying to expel
the last bit of my human
feelings... and face the cold,
dark wasteland of eternity...
The violin dissolves into Lestat's ROCK MUSIC.
58 BACK TO JESSE (PRESENT) 58
Reading the journal, listening to LESTAT'S MUSIC. She
hears the lyrics... "Mine eyes dazzle, she died so
young..." She looks up, her eyes fill with tears, moved
by Lestat's loneliness. She gazes into the dark night...
then turns, sees her camera...
59 EXT. STREET (LONDON) - LATER THAT NIGHT 59
Jesse moves steadily along the street past darkened
warehouses. Several bonfires line the lane, illuminating
rows of prone bodies, cardboard shelters, empty bottles.
The drunks look up at her with dead eyes.
60 EXT. ALLEY - LATER 60
Jesse goes deeper into a labyrinth of alleys, the street
becoming darker with every step. In the distance she
sees the blue light. Figures moving through the fog.
Jesse moves slowly along a wall in the shadows trying to
get a better look... Suddenly, out of the shadows, a
BOTTLE SMASHES... She starts, quickens her pace...
Runs straight into a bulky figure. A primal scream rises
from her stomach. The figure is a homeless drunk, more
scared than she is, who scuttles off quickly into the
night. Jesse presses her back against the wall.
Breathes. She inches around the corner...
61 EXT. WAVERLY ARMS - CONTINUOUS ACTION 61
... and from the shadows, gazes at figures knocking on
the solitary door in the wall up ahead, with the dull
blue light mounted above. The slot in the door slides
open. A moment later, the figures vanish inside.
A moment later, two couples approach, dressed in black.
Jesse takes a deep breath, then...
(CONTINUED)
43.
61 CONTINUED: 61
... falls into step behind them. One knocks on the door.
A face peers out at the group. Steps back. The door
opens. Jesse follows the couples in. The door shuts
behind her.
62 INT. CLUB - NIGHT 62
The music is part blues, part Kurt Weil, part Gothic,
dark and ominous as if the pianist knew exactly the sort
of trouble Jesse was in. The bar is comprised of
elaborately-carved Chinese dragons, a TV mounted
incongruously in the corner showing a silent Vampire
Lestat video.
Couples dance cheek to cheek, rotating like figures on a
music box. Another couple is necking hot and heavy in
the corner. Jesse stares at the patrons of this vampire
coven. Many of the faces are unnaturally pale, gaunt.
Their eyes shine with a strange, reflective light. Jesse
moves through the tables, passing a mortal YUPPIE-TYPE
sitting with a VAMPIRE GIRL he's obviously just met that
night.
YUPPIE
Wow. This is the coolest after
hours club ever. You sure you
don't want a drink?
VAMPIRE GIRL
Soon.
The Vampire Girl smiles, glances up at Jesse as she
passes. Jesse looks away quickly, moves on... The
pianist watches as she passes by. The couple necking in
the corner begins to get even more aroused. A mortal
girl sips on her drink while her lover, a vampire, kisses
her shoulder, her throat...
63 UNKNOWN POV 63
Unaware that she is being watched, Jesse continues her
circuit.
64 BACK TO SCENE 64
as Jesse approaches the bar where three PUNK VAMPIRES
slouch, looking up at Lestat on the video.
44.
65 UNKNOWN POV 65
We watch the Punk Vampires and hear every word they say
as the other SOUNDS FADE AWAY.
PUNK VAMPIRE #1
Every coven's going...
66 REVERSE ANGLE 66
REVEAL unknown POV. A vampire, face hidden behind a
hood, seems extremely interested in what the Punk
Vampires are saying.
67 BACK TO PUNK VAMPIRES 67
A young girl dressed in Goth gear sits down at the bar.
Punk Vampire #1 turns and smiles insincerely at her as
she stares up at Lestat on the TV. Getting a sudden
chill, the Goth girl takes her drink and moves back into
the crowd as the vampire looks after her with murderous
eyes.
68 JESSE 68
reaches the Punk Vampires. They fall silent as she
pauses at the bar. She turns, stares at the necking
couple...
69 JESSE'S POV 69
... a brief glimpse of the tiny trickle of blood on the
mortal girl's neck as she swoons... an even briefer flash
as her vampire lover comes up for air, his lips and teeth
shiny with blood...
70 JESSE 70
stares, horrified.
71 BACK TO SCENE 71
PUNK VAMPIRE #1 (O.S.)
Come here often?
Jesse turns to see Punk Vampire #1 leaning towards her.
JESSE
Sure, all the time.
(CONTINUED)
45.
71 CONTINUED: 71
The Punk Vampire pulls down her collar.
PUNK VAMPIRE #1
Don't see any marks.
JESSE
You haven't seen the rest of my
body.
PUNK VAMPIRE #2
Is that an invitation?
Jesse finds herself surrounded by the three Vampires.
She shakes her head, too frightened to get out a
response.
PUNK VAMPIRE #3
So, where's your host?
JESSE
My host... oh he's here somewhere.
She peers into the darkness, starts moving towards the
door...
Finds herself blocked by Punk Vampire #2.
PUNK VAMPIRE #2
Your host. What's his name?
Jesse looks around, trying not to panic. Pale faces,
pale eyes stare at her. A long, terrible pause...
Suddenly --
JESSE
Marius...
72 HOODED FIGURE 72
leans forward, surprised, studies this strange mortal,
fascinated.
73 BACK TO SCENE 73
PUNK VAMPIRE #1
Sorry. Don't know the guy.
The Punk Vampires laugh. Jesse desperately tries to
cover her terror.
(CONTINUED)
46.
73 CONTINUED: 73
JESSE
Marius has the blood of the
ancients flowing in his veins.
PUNK VAMPIRE #2
There aren't any ancients left.
They all turned to dust...
JESSE
That's a myth. Marius is around
here somewhere...
Jesse again heads for the door. But Punk Vampire #1 has
appeared in front of her. She stares at him, terrified.
JESSE
You... you really should meet him.
PUNK VAMPIRE #1
And why is that?
Jesse watches the other Punk Vampires slowly begin to
close in on her. As she speaks, she slowly edges to the
door...
JESSE
Because... because... he's wise, a
philosopher... he asks the big
questions. Like how are you going
to get through eternity? It's
easier for us mortals. Life is
brief, but for you...
She inches toward the door, desperately stalling. Their
white faces gleam menacingly as they close in. She
struggles to get the words out...
JESSE
I mean... what can you really do
with immortality besides just slip
from one day to the next, trapped
in a void of meaninglessness,
relieved only by your next victim?
How do you not give in to despair
and just wither away from boredom,
hopelessness?
The Punk Vampires pause, staring at her, as her words
sink in. The hooded figure leans forward revealing his
face...
It is Lestat. He stares at Jesse, amazed. Jesse glances
desperately at the door. It's just a few feet away now.
(CONTINUED)
47.
73 CONTINUED: (2) 73
JESSE
You know, it's like they say --
the more things change, the more
they stay the same. For you
that's forever, right?
All around her, vampires are turning to look. The Punk
Vampires stare at her, eyes narrowing. Jesse is now
inches from the door. She can barely breathe. Punk
Vampire #1 gazes at her, his confusion suddenly turning
to anger.
PUNK VAMPIRE #1
You know, you're really a
downer...
He bares his fangs. Jesse bolts out the door... PAN
ACROSS vampire faces staring after Jesse TO Lestat
who gazes at her, absolutely entranced. He watches the
Punk Vampires head after Jesse.
CUT TO:
74 EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT 74
Jesse hurries up the alley. Breaks into a run. But the
three Punk Vampires from the bar have somehow gotten
outside. They land in front of her, beside her, behind
her. Heart racing, she shakes with fear. They close in,
smiling.
PUNK VAMPIRE #3
Now this isn't gonna hurt. You
might even enjoy it...
He runs his hand up and down her body. Jesse starts to
shake. She breaks out in a cold sweat. The others grin.
He picks her up by the throat. Her legs flail in the
air...
Suddenly, the two vampires turn and hiss like cats. Jesse
hits the flagstones hard with a grunt. She gasps for
air, looks up as the vampires are hurled out of the alley
by an invisible force. Jesse alone, turns, still woozy.
Finds herself staring at...
Lestat...
Jesse's eyes open wide, entirely stunned.
He drinks her in with his eyes, marking the soft paleness
of her skin, her long, red hair, the flush on her cheeks,
her pulsing jugular.
(CONTINUED)
48.
74 CONTINUED: 74
Jesse stares into his entrancing grey eyes, tries to
gather herself together, half fearful, half titillated.
They gaze at each other, the air suddenly electric.
JESSE
You saved me.
LESTAT
Perhaps... So you know Marius...
Jesse notices her rucksack cast aside by the Punk
Vampires -- Lestat's journal sticks out. She glances at
Lestat. He mustn't see it. She steps away, tries to
distract him.
JESSE
I know a lot of things.
He gazes at her. Moves closer, breathing her in, making
her flustered. He smiles.
LESTAT
Not how to stay alive apparently.
JESSE
Well I guess we've got that in
common. Although I think I'm a
little ahead in the race here.
LESTAT
(a beat, surprised
at her brazenness)
Well, I can fix that.
He circles her. Jesse is shaking, terrified. Enjoying
the game, Lestat smiles, moves closer. But Jesse suddenly
blurts out.
JESSE
'Mine eyes dazzle, she died so
young.' It's about the girl with
the violin, isn't it?
That stops Lestat. He gazes at Jesse, surprised.
Recovers his composure. Stares at her intensely,
regarding her anew.
LESTAT
Is it? And what else do you think
you know?
(CONTINUED)
49.
74 CONTINUED: (2) 74
JESSE
(desperate,
stalling)
I... I think you're a lot like
Marius, Lestat.
LESTAT
(staring into her
eyes, probing)
Am I? Tell me all about it.
JESSE
You're... you're both artists. He's
a painter. You're a singer...
As she speaks, Lestat guides Jesse over to a pile of
crates. She stares at some beer bottles shattered on
the top of one. He guides her hand downward, closer to
the shattered glass.
LESTAT
Is that so? What I do is art, is
it?
JESSE
Yes... From nothing... you try to
create... something beautiful...
(shaking now as her
hand gets closer
and closer)
... out of the... the cold, dark
wasteland of eternity...
He stares at her, the words oddly familiar, then scrapes
her finger along the bits of broken glass, gravel. She
gasps with pain...
Lestat gazes at the drops of blood that appear,
glistening on Jesse's finger...
LESTAT
(softly)
Something beautiful...
JESSE
(quickly)
But... but Marius isn't a rebel.
You're different in that way. You
don't want to hide, follow the
laws, concealed in the shadows
like some insect. You... you
still want to walk with the
living, don't you, Lestat?
(CONTINUED)
50.
74 CONTINUED: (3) 74
He stares into her eyes, slowly brings her bleeding
finger toward his mouth.
LESTAT
Well, I'm not hiding now, am I?
As her bleeding thumb gets closer and closer to his
mouth...
JESSE
No, but the only time you're not
really alone is when you kill...
But, Lestat, you can't help it...
it's not your fault... He made
you this way...
LESTAT
(with her blood on
his lips, shakes
his head)
Ah. Poor, poor me...
As he brings her finger closer and closer to his mouth.
Their eyes bore into each other, he stares at her rosy
cheeks, the cold sweat on her forehead, taking in her
remarkable, if foolhardy daring. Her eyes gazing
straight into his...
He brings her bleeding finger into his mouth. She may
swoon.
Lestat's eyes burn as he tastes her for mortality, her
fragility a brief second, listening to her blood.
there's something there that surprises him as he gazes
at this mortal girl. He feels something. Desire...
Then her blood speaks to him as Lestat's eyes fall on her
rucksack. He sees the journal. It all falls into place.
Lestat's lip curls in anger. He shoves Jesse away.
Wipes his mouth. The mood suddenly changes.
LESTAT
Well, Talamascan, you're certainly
a very clever librarian, aren't
you?
She stares at him, found out. He turns from her,
laughing, but not the kind of laugh to make Jesse
think all's well.
(CONTINUED)
51.
74 CONTINUED: (4) 74
LESTAT
(shaking his head)
How sad, you people always trying
to know the unknowable... So, was
it a good read? My diary.
Jesse slowly nods, admitting to all. He shakes his head.
LESTAT
Talamasca's been following me for
years. I've never known one to be
so brave. Or is it just foolish?
JESSE
I... I'm only an apprentice.
He waves her off, dismissive.
LESTAT
Go. I'm through with you. Your
kind never satisfies my thirst.
He turns, walks away. Jesse lets out a sigh of relief,
then stares after him. She hesitates, then suddenly
calls out:
JESSE
Does anything, Lestat?
A pause in his gait. But he keeps walking away. Jesse
hesitates again, but still calls out.
JESSE
I mean, what's the point of coming
into the light if not to have
someone really know you?
But he keeps going. She takes one last chance --
JESSE
You want the world to see you're
real, don't you, Lestat? Don't
you? Well, here I am!
Suddenly Lestat spins. Stares at the fragile mortal girl
risking everything. Flash. Jesse gasps.
He now stands right before her. He grabs her, pulls her
to him close, tight, hard. He could just snap her neck
and be done with it.
(CONTINUED)
52.
74 CONTINUED: (5) 74
LESTAT
You better just stick to your
books, Talamascan. 'Cause you
have it all wrong. I love all
this. I delight in it. The
dark, dreary world I went to
sleep in has burnt itself out and
been replaced by the 20th Century
-- can you imagine my joy at
waking up to discover such a
world? It has outdistanced my
wildest dreams of it. I scream of
good and evil, and mortals stand
and cheer. I adore being back in
action... every moment, every
single drop of it! Now consider
yourself exceedingly lucky and go!
He pushes her away. She gasps, humbled by his physical
power.
She retrieves her rucksack. Starts away. As she
reaches the end of the alley, she pauses, takes a breath,
turns back, daring everything.
JESSE
Lestat!
He turns back, stares at her, astonished.
JESSE
There's something you left out of
your diary.
LESTAT
(amazed)
What?
JESSE
(stares right into
his eyes)
You kept her violin, didn't you?
A beat, then Lestat shakes his head, laughs at the
absurdity of what she's saying. But Jesse is undaunted.
JESSE
Hey, it's okay. I understand...
(softly)
After all, it's only human.
(CONTINUED)
53.
74 CONTINUED: (6) 74
That stops him. Their eyes bore into each other again.
Electric. Then Lestat hisses at her, the inhuman sound
filling the alley. Lestat lunges, fangs bared. Jesse
screams. Turns. Runs. Finds herself --
EXT. BUSY STREET - CONTINUOUS ACTION
In the midst of traffic on a busy street. People walking
by.
JESSE
Jesus Christ.
She stands there a moment, happy, amazed to be alive.
Then it sinks in. She realizes -- Lestat let her go.
She glances back at the alley, but Lestat is gone.
She brings her finger to her mouth, slowly sticks it in,
tastes her own blood, shivers with fear -- and something
else -- desire.
What she doesn't see is...
Lestat in the shadows, silently watching her. He gazes
at her youth, her bright eyes, her daring, her mortal
passion. She has affected him.
He watches as she turns and runs away.
CUT TO:
75 INT. LESTAT'S HOUSE (LONDON) - NIGHT 75
The CAMERA TRACKS WITH two young GROUPIES as they walk
through the lavish palace.
GROUPIE #2
I heard that Lestat keeps all
these girls in all his wine
cellars, and it's really nice,
and they give you food and
cable and weed.
GROUPIE #1
Oh, please...
GROUPIE #2
That's what I heard. But you have
to let him suck you on your neck
whenever he wants. Doesn't sound
too bad.
(CONTINUED)
54.
75 CONTINUED: 75
GROUPIE #1
(grins)
We've done worse.
GROUPIE #2
(giggling)
Damn straight... Hey, do you
remember that cute guy's name at
the Kid Rock concert? The one
behind the bathroom.
GROUPIE #1
Oh yeah. Let me think... his
first name was Blow. And his
second name was Me, I think.
They crack up.
76 INT. LESTAT'S BEDROOM - NIGHT 76
Lestat enters the bedroom. Behind him, Lestat's dressing
room stretches off into the distance, rows of beautiful
suits made from the finest wools and silks. The
gradation of colors is spectacular. Peering out at the
near-dawn light, a look of loneliness clouds his face.
He crosses to the closet. Opens a panel to reveal a
safe. Stares at it a moment. Punches in the code. It
swings open to reveal something wrapped carefully in
black velvet. Lestat unwraps it delicately. It's the
ancient violin.
LESTAT
(softly)
Clever, clever librarian.
He quickly puts the violin back, closes the safe door.
He shakes his head, tries to laugh it off. But a shadow
remains on his face. Lestat hears a gasp. Turns. Roger
has just entered.
ROGER
I didn't see you come in.
LESTAT
No, Roger, you wouldn't have.
ROGER
So this house is fine I assume.
To your liking?
LESTAT
Yes. For the moment.
(CONTINUED)
55.
76 CONTINUED: 76
ROGER
We'll be here for what? A week
you think?
LESTAT
Well... I wouldn't unpack if I
were you.
ROGER
(sighs)
Right... the... girls you asked
for. They're in the guest wing.
LESTAT
Ah. Yes.
Lestat gazes at the door, pensive.
ROGER
Do you want me to take them home
later?
Lestat smiles at the clumsy attempt to protect the girls.
LESTAT
No, thank you, Roger. I'll make
sure they're taken care of.
Roger nods, trying to hide his nervousness. Lestat
smiles...
77 INT. LESTAT'S GUEST WING - SOON AFTER 77
CAMERA MOVES OUT INTO the lavish room TOWARD the two
girls who are now dreamy, floating with the effect of the
joint they are smoking. REVEAL Lestat as he approaches
the girls. Looking up, they smile childishly at their
host, then fall about laughing.
LESTAT
I don't think we've met.
GROUPIE #1
Oh my God... It's really you,
isn't it?
GROUPIE #2
We want to be your slaves.
LESTAT
Of course you do.
He smiles. She offers a joint.
(CONTINUED)
56.
77 CONTINUED: 77
GROUPIE #1
Want some?
Lestat calmly shakes his head.
GROUPIE #1
Want me?
Circling the couches, he just smiles.
GROUPIE #1
You hungry?
LESTAT
I'm always hungry.
GROUPIE #1
We've got the munchies? You got
any food?
LESTAT
Vampires don't eat... food.
The girls laugh nervously. Lestat laughs dangerously...
GROUPIE #1
You hungry for something else?
She opens her legs provocatively. Pacing across the
room, he stands before the girls. He curls his finger
around the first groupie's hair when a shadow crosses
his face.
LESTAT
Mine eyes dazzle, she died so
young.
GROUPIE #1
Huh?
LESTAT
It's a very old poem of mine.
Losing enthusiasm, Lestat walks away and drops himself
onto a couch. With a clap of his hands, the TV switches
ON. He silently watches one of his video clips.
The girls glance at each other, then, giggling, crawl
over toward Lestat. Groupie #1 slides her hand slowly
up his leg.
GROUPIE #1
C'mon, don't you want to have
some fun?
(CONTINUED)
57.
77 CONTINUED: (2) 77
She reaches for his belt. But he recoils at the touch
and slides off the couch onto the floor with grace.
LESTAT
Don't do that.
GROUPIE #1
(giggling)
Are you ticklish?
LESTAT
(deadpan)
I'm very ticklish.
The Second Groupie giggles as well...
GROUPIE #2
Hey, you ever been tickled by four
hands at once? Hey, can you take
both us, Lestat? What'd'ya think?
And at once they both start after Lestat on all fours
to tickle him. He gazes at them, torn, then laughs at the
sight and gets down on...
All fours as well as he leads them around the room in a
childish game.
LESTAT
I don't know. Let's see.
They try to tickle him but he stays just a few feet ahead of
them the whole time. The girls giggle as they pursue...
Lestat crawling just ahead of them across the floor
and... Up the wall. The teenagers keep giggling as they
watch him ascend the wall like a spider. They can't
believe what they're seeing as...
Lestat reaches the wall's top and now crawls upside-down
across the ceiling. The girls begin to giggle and half-cry...
as they arch their necks all the way back to see...
Lestat crawling down the opposite wall. The girls sit
open-mouthed with terror as Lestat reaches the ground --
He heads straight for them.
The girls begin to scream... SCREAMS CONTINUE OVER...
BLACKNESS.
58.
78 INT. CORRIDOR - SAME TIME 78
CLOSE ON Jesse, her face bright, walking quietly, talking
intensely on a cell phone.
JESSE
You're right, David. The journal
has everything in it.
TALBOT (V.O.)
I knew you'd appreciate its
scientific significance.
JESSE
David, listen...
(struggles a moment)
I'm going to Los Angeles for the
concert.
TALBOT (V.O.)
What? You are not! I forbid it.
JESSE
David, I... I talked to him...
Look I'm sorry. But I... I have
to see what's out there with my
own eyes. I'm onto something. I
just don't know what yet... I have
to find out...
79 INT. STUDY - ON TALBOT 79
Holding the phone, stunned. He leans forward, speaks
intensely, his face grave.
TALBOT
Jesse, you listen to me very, very
carefully now. You are no longer
seeing things clearly. Your
emotions are clouding things.
80 BACK TO JESSE 80
JESSE
It's not emotion. It's
instinct... I'll return when I
have my findings. Good-bye.
TALBOT (V.O.)
(angry)
Jesse, wait!
She hangs up. Can't quite believe what she's doing.
REVEAL Jesse is heading for a boarding gate at Heathrow
airport. She hands over the ticket, boards the plane.
59.
81 DAVID TALBOT 81
in his inner sanctum. He looks at all the paintings.
His neat, protected world. It's as if Marius is taunting
him. He slams his fist down in fury. Stares at the
rising dust.
82 INT. PLANE - NIGHT 82
Jesse puts on headphones, listens to LESTAT'S MUSIC. As
she opens the journal, LESTAT'S MUSIC DISSOLVES INTO
VIOLIN...
83 FLASHBACK - INT. VILLA - BEDROOM - LESTAT 83
Lestat standing alone in the bedroom in a deep reverie,
playing the violin, with incredible passion.
His playing picks up speed, the bow bending across the
strings with a maestro's speed and precision.
LESTAT (V.O.)
Yes, Marius was impressed with my
thirst for knowledge... But it
turned out that there was such a
thing as knowing too much. There
were things Marius was not yet
ready to teach me... and Marius
and I parted ways.
Suddenly, the bow flies out of his hand and slides across
the floor, jamming itself under an old bookcase. Lestat
comes out of his spell, walks across the room to the
bookcase, bends down to cleave the bow out from under it.
Having difficulty, he pushes back an old rug on the floor
when he sees something...
Carved into one of the floorboards is an Egyptian eye
with a hole dug out of its iris. Stepping aside, he
realizes he is standing on a manhole. A beat ON Lestat
as he thinks... Poking his finger through the hole of the
Egyptian eye, he lifts the manhole to reveal a steep set
of steps leading down into the villa's basement.
LESTAT
Marius!
No answer. Lestat looks around wondering what to do.
Taking a candelabra off the table, he ventures down the
stairs, peering down into the darkness.
60.
84 INT. MARIUS'S VILLA - SECRET STAIRCASE - NIGHT 84
Lestat negotiates a circling flight of stone steps,
winding its way into the lowest bowels of the villa,
still carrying his violin.
85 INT. MARIUS'S VILLA - UNDERGROUND PASSAGEWAY 85
Lestat finds himself facing a steeply descending
passageway that stretches into darkness. He tests the
stones ahead of him with caution...
Suddenly, the sconces along the passageway come to
life... In quick succession, they flare up and burn with
an unnatural intensity. Lestat, struck with curiosity
and wonder, puts down his candelabra and ventures forth.
We FOLLOW Lestat as he rounds the corner and stops.
There is an open foyer area leading to two great wooden
doors, held firm by a tree-sized carved wooden bolt that
bars the doors shut from the outside.
Suddenly, the BOLT flies up and SPLINTERS with a
SHRIEKING CRACK. The doors fly open revealing a bright
light from within... Lestat, apprehensive, continues
towards the open doorway.
86 INT. SANCTUARY - CONTINUOUS ACTION 86
Lestat enters, squinting through the bright light from
scores of burning sconces. At the far end of the
sanctuary Lestat makes out the shape of two statues,
an Egyptian man and an Egyptian woman sitting stone
still, seemingly staring straight at him, AKASHA and
her King, ENKIL. We recognize Akasha from the sketches
in Talbot's office. Stepping closer, they appear not to
be statues at all but rather alabaster humans with the
palest skin imaginable. His eyes widen at the sight of
their clothes -- the most valuable Egyptian finery;
bracelets of gold, headdresses of incredible gems,
clothes of silk. Staring up into their faces, Lestat
is struck with the realization...
LESTAT
They're... alive.
Lestat is drawn to the woman -- her form and beauty is
exquisite even in its absolute stillness. As if this
statue had just asked him to play, Lestat holds out his
violin.
LESTAT
Would you like me to play for you?
(CONTINUED)
61.
86 CONTINUED: 86
Her eyes still bore into him. Lestat smiles. He raises
his violin and begins to play.
The song of the VIOLIN ECHOES around the walls...
Lestat plays, with increasing abandon...
Akasha and Enkil sit frozen...
Lestat plays and plays, lost in the music. He throws a
glance up at the throne and stops...
Akasha is moving...
Slowly, her eyelids pull back to reveal pale green eyes.
Lestat stares in amazement... Her arm rises up, her wrist
extended outward towards Lestat. The pulse of a
HEARTBEAT begins... Lestat moves toward her as if
beckoned. A green vein appears beneath the marble
surface of her skin. The vein pulses as the blood
courses around. The HEARTBEAT POUNDS LOUDER, DEEPER.
The sound fills Lestat's head as he is drawn closer to
Akasha's wrist. Lowering himself, as if genuflecting,
Lestat bends closer to the vein which looks like the very
font of life to him...
87 EXT. VILLA ROOF - NIGHT (SAME TIME) 87
Marius sits under the stars, painting, when his hand
begins to tremble... Suddenly, he drops his brush,
startled by some unexpected feeling that passes through
him. He stands bolt upright as a frightening GUST of
WIND sweeps across him.
88 BACK TO SANCTUARY 88
Lestat sinks his teeth into Akasha's vein, drawing in the
unimaginable font. A burst of image and color floods
into him, as...
89 LESTAT'S IMAGES 89
of Ancient Egypt... power... supremacy... slavery... all
impressionistic, subliminal... the bright burning sun, red
lips, blood spurting like a fountain...
END OF IMAGES.
62.
90 MARIUS 90
in the sanctuary, hovering over Lestat, who lays on the
stone floor in a catatonic state, staring. Marius looks
down upon him, the sconces above blazing high with
flames. Marius's VOICE ECHOING furiously...
MARIUS
What have you done, Lestat?
Lestat!
91 INT. MARIUS'S VILLA - NIGHT 91
Lestat lays in bed, feverish, his skin paler than ever.
At the foot of the bed stands Marius.
MARIUS
(quietly)
Lestat?
The young vampire's eyes bulge open in the grip of some
incredible sensation, smiling the most wicked of smiles.
Lestat's chest heaves upward, pulling his body with it,
only to be jerked back by the manacles that hold him to
the bed.
LESTAT
More!
MARIUS
I don't think so, my little lord.
Lestat writhes with a physical delight that is almost
painful. Lestat realizes he is shackled to the bed with
manacles and chains. Struggles against them.
LESTAT
Let me go!
MARIUS
No. You've drunk the purest
blood. Seen the oldest of things
-- far too much for one as young
as you. You've been unconscious
for days.
LESTAT
God, her blood is like liquid
fire.
(squirms)
Who are they?
(CONTINUED)
63.
91 CONTINUED: 91
MARIUS
She... she is your mother, my
mother... Akasha, the Queen of all
who are damned. And he is her
King.
LESTAT
Release me!
Lestat struggles with all his might. One of his manacles
splits, releasing a leg. Marius stares, surprised.
MARIUS
She made you quite powerful.
(withdrawing a saber
from its sheath)
Don't make me use this!
Lestat still struggles. The manacles strain.
LESTAT
Marius, please, just one more
time. I felt the sun. The light,
Marius, the light!
Suddenly pressing the knife to Lestat's throat --
MARIUS
Lestat, listen to me! I have
watched over Akasha and her King
for 2000 years! They must never
awaken!
Lestat stares up at him.
MARIUS
Akasha and her King nearly drank
this earth dry when they ruled
over Egypt. They drank until
they lost their will to drink.
They became living statues. And
yet Akasha still sustains the
life force of all vampires. It
is believed what happens to her,
happens to all of us.
Lestat gazes up at him, taking it in. Marius moves
slowly away.
(CONTINUED)
64.
91 CONTINUED: (2) 91
MARIUS
If she were ever to rise, she
would again desiccate the earth!
She has no respect for anything
except the taste of blood.
Immortal and human alike...
Lestat roars and struggles against his manacles.
LESTAT
You'll not stop me...
Marius stares at him, shocked.
MARIUS
I hear her blood in your voice...
In all the years I've cared for
them, not once have they moved...
LESTAT
Until tonight. And she chose me!
Me! Never you! You'll not stop
me!
Marius moves at super-speed, grabs Lestat by the neck,
and pins him down.
MARIUS
You are part of a great coven!
You take responsibility for your
kind!
LESTAT
(snarls)
I must have more!
Lestat, lost, looks at Marius, his eyes intoxicated with
Akasha's blood. Marius steps back. Looks at his
fledgling with great sadness, anger, disappointment.
MARIUS
I chose you for your bravery, but
I was wrong. You know only
selfishness. I can no longer trust
you... It gives me no pleasure to
look upon what I have created.
Marius turns his back on Lestat. Lestat stares after
him.
65.
92 INT. MARIUS'S VILLA - NEXT DAY 92
THROUGH the balcony we see the last warm colors of the
sunset vanish into the blue of night. Lestat awakens,
his manacles removed. He stretches, shakes his head, as
if clearing his head, but something causes him to stop...
Something has changed. Marius's paints have gone. Some
of his paintings remain, but his easel and paint boxes
are removed, leaving splattered outlines on the faded
marble floor.
LESTAT
Marius!
No response.
93 INT. MARIUS'S VILLA - SECRET STAIRCASE 93
Lestat runs down the staircase, which is dark except for
the candelabra in his hand.
94 INT. MARIUS'S VILLA - UNDERGROUND SANCTUARY 94
Lestat throws open the doors and enters to find... Akasha
and Enkil have been taken, as have the thrones and most
of the royal paraphernalia.
LESTAT
Marius! Please!
95 EXT. MARIUS'S VILLA/BEACH - NIGHT 95
Lestat runs down the beach, the sand showing no
footprints.
LESTAT (V.O.)
Many times since, I have called to
Marius. I howled into the night
in loneliness and pain.
Lestat screams into the darkness, filled with despair,
grief. He disappears off into the night.
LESTAT (V.O.)
But there was no answer -- just
the endless procession of days,
months, years... My teacher left
me to my darkest lesson -- that in
the end, we are alone.
Lestat looks up from feeding on a mortal. Wipes the
blood from his mouth, gazes into the dark night.
66.
96 INT. PLANE - NIGHT (PRESENT) 96
Jesse closes the journal, her eyes wide with the new
knowledge of Lestat's past. She sits there a moment,
speechless, then stares out at the vast, black night.
TILT DOWN TO:
97 EXT. HOLLYWOOD SIGN (LOS ANGELES) - NIGHT 97
SUPERIMPOSE: LOS ANGELES
PAN DOWN to Lestat standing on the edge of a very high
fence high above the sparkling lights of downtown,
gazing into the dark night. The fence encircles his
Hollywood Hills home, a high-tech modern version of a
medieval fortress of steel and glass, hidden deep in
the canyon, his only neighbors, chaparral and coyotes.
Lestat closes his eyes as if listening to something. As
we PULL BACK again, and RISE UP INTO the sky, a LESTAT
SONG begins to play and magically we are in the MUSIC
and with a visual splash we are... MOVING SWIFTLY ACROSS
the globe with the MUSIC -- as we CUT ACROSS the world
INTO the west and INTO... The night fallen over Asia
where we soon find ourselves in...
98 ASIAN FACTORY 98
where LESTAT'S MUSIC plays for the evening shift over a
sweatshop BOOM BOX.
99 INDIAN MARKETPLACE 99
where LESTAT'S MUSIC plays from SPEAKERS in a shop
window. We TRAVEL WESTWARD TO...
100 ANCIENT GRAVEYARD 100
where the... Ground splits open before our very eyes.
From out of the dirt, a beautiful teenage boy stands
naked...
101 VAMPIRE ARMAND 101
He pulls the pieces of a worm-eaten coffin from his
person, as the MUSIC travels further to...
102 MASSIVE ANCIENT STONES 102
parting as another resurrected figure rises from the
darkness and reveals itself to be...
67.
103 VAMPIRE PANDORA 103
With one self-assured twist of her head, she shakes the
red dust from her hair to reveal long curling black
tresses falling down over her dark-skinned shoulders.
The MUSIC travels further to...
104 PORTABLE RADIO 104
held by a camel driver camping out in the Sahara Desert.
His CAMEL BRAYS fearfully... The camel driver stares
before him, drop-jawed and terrified, and we now see what
he sees...
105 CAMEL DRIVER'S POV 105
A corner stone of a desert sarcophagus begins to move, as
a figure in tattered rags emerges from the sarcophagus and
unbandages his face and neck, shakes the sand from his
hair and eyes to reveal a skeletal form with white
leathery skin bulging with strange blue veins...
106 BACK TO SCENE 106
The VAMPIRE KHAYMAN offers the driver a polite smile.
The driver faints back into the sand as the camels bolt
off. And still LESTAT'S MUSIC plays as we finally END UP
AT...
107 SANCTUARY OF AKASHA AND ENKIL 107
An OVER the SHOULDER SHOT of Enkil sitting motionless in
his throne, not resurrecting at all. Akasha and her
throne remain O.S. We MOVE CLOSER to reveal... Enkil's
throat gapes, torn open, and whereas before his skin
was pale, it's now a chalkish powder. And next to him...
Akasha's throne sits empty. A god again walks the earth.
A GUST of WIND suddenly blows and Enkil crumbles into
white dust.
108 INT. AIRPLANE - NIGHT 108
A tall, shapely female flight attendant sways down the
first-class aisle of an airplane, her back TO us. She
stops by a seat where Jesse sleeps uncomfortably. Pulling
out a blanket, the attendant drapes it over Jesse, tucking
it closely around her neck, then, curiously, the stewardess
leans down.
68.
109 CLOSE ON LIPS 109
begins to sensually kiss Jesse's neck. We begin to hear
the BEATING of a HEART, getting LOUDER...
The lips part to expose fangs slowly sinking themselves
into Jesse's skin. She murmurs in her sleep...
JESSE
Lestat.
110 WIDER 110
She stirs awake to see -- the face of Akasha, her green
eyes flashing bright.
CUT TO:
111 JESSE 111
wakes with a start.
JESSE
Akasha!
Jesse looks up to see the real ATTENDANT is standing next
to her.
ATTENDANT
We've started our approach into
L.A. You should fasten your seat
belt.
Jesse nods and quickly fastens her belt, pulls it tight.
112 INT. LESTAT'S HOUSE (LOS ANGELES) - NIGHT 112
Lestat suddenly glides through an open door and calmly
touches ground. He empties his pockets out on a coffee
table. We see a --
113 CLOSEUP - BOX OF MATCHES 113
"Sky Bar."
114 BACK TO SCENE 114
Dabbing his mouth with a handkerchief, Lestat tosses it on
top of the matches to reveal fresh bloodstains on the
cloth... a look of loneliness clouds his face.
(CONTINUED)
69.
114 CONTINUED: 114
LESTAT
I hate bedtime.
He turns, enters his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
115 INT. LESTAT'S MANSION - STRANGE POV - EVENING 115
We find ourselves in the strange blue-grey world of a
VAMPIRE'S POV, walking THROUGH Lestat's mansion. PAST
his band, James, Alex and Maudy, laying in the studio in
a hazy sleep from yet another night of debauchery.
We MOVE menacingly INTO... Lestat's expensive living
quarters, PAST the huge glassed-in space and into
Lestat's private hall, leading to his bedroom door. We
ENTER easily, PASSING the enormous bed, and CONTINUE
THROUGH INTO a smaller, darker chamber... OVER TO
Lestat's coffin, stealthily APPROACHING his "sleeping"
figure laying closed-eyed and almost peaceful-looking,
when...
116 LESTAT 116
bolts up and looks around the room to see... nobody.
Lestat's instincts are as alive as they could ever be as
he scans the room with all his powers, and to his utter
surprise finally sees...
117 WIDER 117
A painting leans against a wall, turned front-side-over.
Lestat gets out of his coffin and goes over to the
painting with trepidation. He turns it over and then
smiles to himself. It is a portrait of Lestat as a
rocker. The hand and style are unmistakable.
LESTAT
(whisper)
Marius...!
118 INT. LESTAT'S MANSION - LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION 118
Lestat bursts out the doors of his bedroom and looks down
into the living room. Marius sits on a couch, still
dressed in red velvet, studying the Rolling Stone with
Lestat on the cover.
MARIUS
Lestat.
(CONTINUED)
70.
118 CONTINUED: 118
Marius looks up. The two vampires regard each other for
a long moment. Lestat is overcome with conflicting
emotions. Guarded smiles rise to their faces.
MARIUS
It is good to see you, Lestat.
LESTAT
And you. Still wearing the old
fashions, I see.
MARIUS
Old habits die hard.
LESTAT
How did you manage to slip through
the 1950s in red velvet?
MARIUS
I slept.
LESTAT
Don't think you missed much.
MARIUS
Elvis.
LESTAT
Elvis, yes.
MARIUS
(holding up the
Rolling Stone)
You're bigger than he is now.
LESTAT
I'd say a few pounds lighter.
Though, if you ever catch me
wearing a white jumpsuit, you have
my permission to slice off my
head.
MARIUS
If someone doesn't get to you
first.
Lestat grins, feeling Marius's disapproval.
LESTAT
Live and let live.
MARIUS
If it were only so simple, my son.
(CONTINUED)
71.
118 CONTINUED: (2) 118
LESTAT
(a beat)
How did you find me?
MARIUS
You forget. We ancients have
powers no ordinary vampires
possess... And I know you. I
remembered how you admired the
medieval fortresses in the
hilltowns of Lyon.
(gestures to house)
All you're missing is the moat
and the cannons... which you
may need.
Lestat doesn't want to hear it.
LESTAT
Come, let me show you what it
means to live in the light.
119 EXT. SUNSET BLVD. - CONTINUOUS ACTION 119
Lestat and Marius sit perched on a giant billboard
advertising Lestat's concert. Down below, Sunset Strip
is filled with Goths, club hoppers, HONKING CARS, a
traffic jam.
MARIUS
(sarcastic)
Impressive. Reminds me of mad old
Druids running around chanting in
the forest. Very primitive stuff.
LESTAT
Out there. My fans. Thousands and
thousands. They worship me.
Millions of arms reach out to
embrace, beg me to come into their
lives.
MARIUS
It's what you've always wanted.
LESTAT
With all my black little heart.
MARIUS
Do you think of anyone but
yourself?
(CONTINUED)
72.
119 CONTINUED: 119
LESTAT
I only have myself.
MARIUS
It may be time to get ready for
some company.
LESTAT
What's that supposed to mean?
MARIUS
Your music's woken a very old
friend...
Lestat looks at Marius, trying to understand.
MARIUS
Can't you hear it? Or is the
applause all you can hear now?
Marius becomes eerily still. A deep, somber TONE starts
to VIBRATE. The GROUND RUMBLES. Lestat taken aback,
remembers the scope of Marius's power. Lestat stares at
Marius, then closes his eyes...
120 CLOSE ON LESTAT'S EYES 120
As the sounds of the WORLD seem to FADE AWAY, revealing
beneath the cacophony of mortals a DEEP PULSE like the
beating of a heart the size of a planet.
121 BACK TO SCENE 121
Lestat suddenly opens his eyes as the sounds of the WORLD
rush BACK IN. Marius stares for a beat, then --
MARIUS
Akasha has risen. She has taken
her King's blood. Absorbed his
power. You've done it this time.
Lestat stares at Marius, letting the knowledge sink in.
Then he grins.
LESTAT
Good! I'm glad she's risen! Let
her come.
MARIUS
Don't you understand? You must
stop this concert!
(CONTINUED)
73.
121 CONTINUED: 121
LESTAT
(shakes his head at
Marius)
200 years and the same broken
record.
MARIUS
No. Not the same! You've only
known Akasha dormant. She too
will find you. She is choosing
her moment. She has come to
destroy you, Lestat. And in her
wrath, she will devour everything
that moves. Mortal and vampire
alike.
LESTAT
(smiles at Marius,
softly)
Well then, it's every vampire for
himself. Just the kind of rules I
like. The rules you taught me.
Marius is enraged, tries to control himself. Lestat
gazes at him, speaks steadily.
LESTAT
Do you remember your first words
to me, Marius? 'I am unknowable.'
(shakes his head)
I'd rather not exist at all than
have to live eternally as a ghost.
MARIUS
And you're taking everyone with
you, you fool! We were once
mortals, too. It is our heritage
we protect!
LESTAT
(moving away)
Such reverence for mortals! Then
you should have left me as one!
MARIUS
You're a monster.
LESTAT
(shakes his head with a
dark laugh)
Said the vampire to his son.
Lestat turns, leaps off the billboard, disappearing into
the black night. Marius stands alone.
CUT TO:
74.
122 INT. VAMPIRE COVEN BAR (LONDON/SOHO) - NIGHT 122
No mortals in sight. Amongst various vampires, we spy
the Vampire Lover talking to the Punk Vampire who tried
to attack Jesse.
123 EXT. VAMPIRE BAR - FRONT DOOR 123
The vampire doorman opens the door and peers out. A
figure moves towards him...
124 AKASHA 124
glowing, beautiful, majestic. The vampire doorman is
frightened, but mesmerized as she moves in...
125 INT. VAMPIRE BAR 125
The barman looks up at the sound of the DOOR SLAMMING.
He does a double-take and watches in awe as... Akasha
steps in. Everyone in the bar turns. She smiles at
all the undead staring at her.
AKASHA
Hello...
Her eyes sweep the room, taking in every inch, searching,
then she hears a Vampire Lestat VIDEO PLAYING. She
whirls around quickly to the TV -- gazes at the video
intensely. Her eyes narrow, focus on Lestat, speaks as
if to herself.
AKASHA
Hmmm... his scent is fading. He
was here too long ago...
The Vampire Lover slides up next to her.
VAMPIRE LOVER
You like him, love?
AKASHA
(still staring at TV)
He reminds me of someone I know.
VAMPIRE LOVER
All he's gonna remind you of soon
is a pile of bones. We're gonna
dismember him. Bleed him dry.
AKASHA
Really? Is that what you're
going to do?
(CONTINUED)
75.
125 CONTINUED: 125
She turns to Vampire Lover, takes him in.
As if with a new idea, smiles at him, moves to the
dance floor, moving to LESTAT'S MUSIC, her eyes closed,
swaying sensually, her hips gyrating. The dance is
seductive, slow, her head thrown back. The vampires
turn, stare at her, mesmerized, aroused by her
movements. They move to the dance floor, watching.
Akasha opens her eyes, smiles at them, then turns to
Vampire Lover, points to him, beckons. He smiles back,
happy to be chosen, moves onto the dance floor. She
dances a little farther away. A game. He laughs.
Moves closer.
CLOSE ON VAMPIRE LOVER
He hears a LAUGH.
BACK TO AKASHA
But she's disappeared. He turns. Akasha's behind him
now. He stares at her. Her hips are gyrating, her
body slithering. A moan escapes from him. Again, he
moves to her, reaches for her. She laughs.
CLOSE ON HIS PUZZLED FACE
He turns...
She's dancing across the floor now. Vampire Lover's
smile is not so friendly now. He steps toward her,
determined... She moves behind him. Her body pressed up
tight against his. He smiles, shudders with a rush of
desire. All the other vampires watch, envious. Her
lips brush his neck, her hands run up and down his
body pausing on his chest. He reaches for her. She
kisses him just as he kissed the mortal girl. On Vampire
Lover's face, pure pleasure...
AKASHA
Then again, you could always do
this...
Akasha sinks her fangs into his neck and at the same
time, plunges her hand down. We can't see where... We
STAY ON Vampire Lover's face as Akasha disappears FROM
FRAME. The sound of BONE SNAPPING, the SQUISH of RIPPING FLESH.
LOUD SUCKING. A look of horror appears on
Vampire Lover's face. Akasha REAPPEARS. In her hand,
she now holds...
(CONTINUED)
76.
125 CONTINUED: (2) 125
... his dripping heart. She brings it to her lips, sucks
again thirstily...
Vampire Lover gurgles as she sucks the heart to a dry
husk, then tosses it. She turns back to Vampire Lover,
his face frozen in a grotesque mask. She laughs, drops
him unceremoniously to the floor...
Akasha turns to face the rest of the horrified vampires.
They begin to back away. But the DOOR LOCKS itself
LOUDLY.
Akasha sways again to the music, moving faster now, as if
refreshed.
AKASHA
Turn up the music!
The terrified barman quickly COMPLIES.
AKASHA
(smiles, to herself)
Oh, I do love the 21st Century.
Akasha turns to the terrified barman again, pulls him
over the bar and attacks him as if she were just reaching
for a snack. He flails but is overwhelmed by her
strength...
The Vampire Girl who Jesse saw vanish with the Yuppie,
flies towards Akasha, knife raised, but Akasha just
turns... Suddenly there is an EXPLOSION of FLAMES. The
Vampire Girl screams as she is consumed. The piano
player and guitar player go up in flames...
All hell breaks loose as the other vampires run for the
door. The lock won't budge and it's too late anyway as
the flames overwhelm them...
And THROUGH the flames, we see Akasha smiling, now
sucking on the Punk Vampire's aorta like it's a straw.
She tosses his body, her long tongue slowly licks her
bloody, thirsty lips. She strides out through the flames.
In a whispery, sing-song voice.
AKASHA
Lesta-at... come out, come out
wherever you are.
77.
126 EXT. HOLLYWOOD SIGN - NIGHT 126
Marius stands in the hills by the Hollywood sign, gazing
down, his brow furrowed, at Lestat's fortress-like
mansion hidden in the canyon below. The WIND BLOWS the
trees, bushes. Marius turns, uneasy, sensing something,
peers into the shadows cast by the brightly-lit sign.
Marius stares as a figure emerges from the shadows.
It is Mael, a vampire, his face hidden in a cloak.
MAEL
Marius, you've broken your oath.
You were to watch over Akasha
and Khayman. You are a great
disappointment to me.
Marius looks up to see all the Ancients now stepping
from the shadows. KHAYMAN, the desert vampire, in
Egyptian dress along with PANDORA, the dark-haired
beauty in her sari, ARMAND, the boy sage, in his
Mesopotamian robes. Last, MAHARET steps from her
grand door. She is beautiful with long red hair,
alabaster skin.
MARIUS
Pandora, Armand, it's been a long
time. Khayman, Maharet, to what do
I owe this honor?
KHAYMAN
You have been summoned because of
your errant child...
Khayman crosses to the edge, peers menacingly into the
distance at Lestat's house.
PANDORA
(giving deep,
sexy laugh)
He's quite the devil, isn't he?
ARMAND
His music mocks us, Pandora!
PANDORA
His music moves my blood.
ARMAND
Keep your amorous thoughts to
yourself. His music is a threat
to all vampires. We will let the
covens dismember him at his
concert.
(CONTINUED)
78.
126 CONTINUED: 126
MAEL
Yes. It will set an example.
MARIUS
I don't see how this solves
things. This isn't thought
through.
KHAYMAN
Marius, we understand your
affection for Lestat, but your
duty is to us!
He gazes again down at Lestat's house with a threatening
glance. Turns to Marius with a look of warning.
KHAYMAN
We could always get rid of him
right now.
MAEL
No. We will contact the covens.
Let them know we condone the
slaying. It will be better for
all to see.
Marius, with a tortured expression, gazes at Mael.
Maharet steps up.
MAHARET
Wait. Never mind Lestat! We
have greater problems...
MARIUS
(stepping up)
Maharet is right. It is Akasha
we face now.
PANDORA
(joyous)
Is it true, Maharet? Has our
Queen really risen!
MAHARET
Don't be so happy, Pandora. I
knew Akasha when she walked this
earth. I was her slave. I am now
her enemy. I know what she is
capable of.
(CONTINUED)
79.
126 CONTINUED: (2) 126
ARMAND
Yes. We've all felt her presence,
even as she hides from us.
(as others nod,
acknowledging the
truth of this)
What does she want now?
MAHARET
She knows only one thing. Taking
pleasure in destroying life. She
is already killing the young ones
to build her strength.
MARIUS
She's sucked the life out of her
King like a praying mantis. I
sense she is getting closer.
MAHARET
She has come to destroy Lestat,
but he will only whet her thirst
more...
The Ancients look to each other, taking this in.
Pandora looks around, suddenly nervous.
MAHARET
If we act together, we have a
chance to destroy her.
They all gaze at Maharet, astonished.
MAHARET
Yes! We must destroy her
immediately! If she is not
stopped, I'm afraid of what will
happen to the entire mortal world.
MAEL
But can she be destroyed? I am
left to bear the scars of the last
attempt on her life. She was
dragged into the sun. She
survived. But we almost didn't...
Removing his hood, we see his terribly-burned face. They
all stare at him.
MARIUS
What happens to our Queen happens
to us. If Akasha dies, we die
as well.
(CONTINUED)
80.
126 CONTINUED: (3) 126
MAHARET
Then so be it! We must take that
chance.
She gazes at them all intensely, as the meaning of her
words sink in.
MAHARET
We must destroy Akasha. For the
sake of humanity! We must find
her. Now!
ARMAND
But perhaps she has come to kill
Lestat and then will go back to her
slumber. That is our only hope.
PANDORA
(eager)
Yes. That's right. She and the
covens will take care of that
brat. We must go to the concert
and pay our respects to our great
Queen.
MAHARET
How? With your own throat!
You've all been asleep too long!
You're still dreaming.
Marius steps up beside Maharet.
MARIUS
Maharet speaks the truth. It is
our only hope.
Marius then goes and stands beside Maharet and Khayman.
The others gaze at the three standing together now.
MAEL
No. Armand is right. We will go
to the concert and first see what
she does. There may be no need
for action.
Pandora and Armand nod their assent. The two groups face
each other. Maharet gazes at their faces, spits out
the words.
(CONTINUED)
81.
126 CONTINUED: (4) 126
MAHARET
Then you go to the concert and you
shall see!
(shakes her head)
And I thought the Ancients became
wise with their years.
As we REMAIN ON the Ancient Ones, AKASHA'S HEARTBEAT
creeps back in over... Marius gazes again down at
Lestat's house, anguish on his face.
INT. MERCEDES - CLOSER ON ROGER - NIGHT
cruising the Hollywood streets, wearing sunglasses,
hat. He sees something.
ROGER'S POV
A Goth girl on the street in front of a record store.
BACK TO ROGER
He sighs, pulls over. Gets out.
EXT. HOLLYWOOD STREET - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Behind him now we see a cab pull over. It's Jesse,
trailing Roger. She gazes at him intently.
JESSE'S POV
Roger's back is TO us as he talks to a Goth girl in a
whisper.
BACK TO JESSE
Jesse pays the driver. Gets out. Gazes at Roger.
127 INT. LESTAT'S HOUSE (LOS ANGELES) - SOUND STUDIO - NIGHT 127
LOUD, intense MUSIC as the band rehearses. Lestat
creates a fantastic melody around the beat. He lets
the note trail off, eyes closed, smiling, the
REVERB still RINGING in the room. Lestat hears
something, turns. Outside, in the Hollywood Hills,
DOGS are HOWLING across the canyons like wolves.
Lestat crosses to the huge glass doors, goes outside...
82.
128 EXT. HOUSE - CONTINUOUS ACTION 128
Lestat stares out at the ominous night. As Maudy and the
band continue to play, the wolflike HOWLS in the night
get LOUDER. And beneath it all, a DEEP PULSE BEATS. The
song comes to an end. Lestat turns, gazes back at the
band THROUGH the window, at their excitement. He comes
back inside.
129 INT. HOUSE - CONTINUOUS ACTION 129
Roger now stands there, a nervous look on his face.
ROGER
The... girls you asked for, Lestat.
They're here, in the guest wing.
LESTAT
Ah. Yes.
Lestat gazes in that direction, pensive.
ROGER
I was uh... just gonna go catch a
movie at the Chinese. I don't
suppose you'd all want to...
Lestat smiles at the clumsy attempt to protect the girls.
LESTAT
No, thank you, Roger. We'll
entertain ourselves.
As Roger leads Lestat to the guest room, he can hear
FAINT GIGGLING. Lestat turns back to the night. The
PULSE of Akasha still ECHOES in his ears.
130 INT. GUEST WING - JUST AFTER 130
Roger and Lestat walk in. A young GROUPIE giggles
nervously.
GROUPIE #3
Oh my God, it's him! It's really
him...
She turns in paroxysm of excitement to the girl next to
her. Lestat stares, taken aback. It is Jesse. Dressed
in Goth gear. Jesse stares back at Lestat brazenly. A
long moment.
LESTAT
Perhaps you would like a tour
of the place... first.
(CONTINUED)
83.
130 CONTINUED: 130
GROUPIE #3
Oh yeah, wow, we'd love that.
LESTAT
Roger... would you be so kind?
ROGER
(surprised, relieved)
Sure. Right this way, girls.
As they start off, Lestat puts up his hand, points to
Jesse.
LESTAT
Roger. Not that one. Leave her
to me...
The other groupie pouts, disappointed. She goes out
with Roger. Lestat turns to Jesse... considers her...
LESTAT
You must be very keen to die.
Jesse's heart pounds with terror.
LESTAT
The Talamascans have become quite
stealthy. I didn't know
infiltration was quite their style.
JESSE
It's not. I... I came on my own.
He stares at her, taking her in.
LESTAT
How did you find me?
JESSE
I've been tracking your manager
for days...
(gesturing to her
Goth outfit)
Then I figured out you simply
have to look the part.
LESTAT
Clever librarian... You should
know, based on all your research,
that groupies don't ever find
their way out of here again.
(CONTINUED)
84.
130 CONTINUED: (2) 130
JESSE
I'm not a groupie...
Lestat gazes at Jesse's pulsing jugular. He steps
closer.
LESTAT
Then why are you following me?
What do you want?
JESSE
(terrified, in
a whisper)
Are you granting wishes?
LESTAT
(smiles, in a whisper
playing with her)
Last wishes. What's yours?
JESSE
Show me what it's like to be you.
That's my last wish. Grant it,
Lestat.
He stares at her, feeling some connection with this
strange mortal girl. She stares at him with penetrating
eyes. He again finds himself drawn to her. Tries to
fight it.
LESTAT
(turning away)
I don't have time for this.
JESSE
All a vampire has is time.
LESTAT
Maybe not.
JESSE
(softly)
Right. The covens are coming for
you.
(softly)
I understand why you're doing it.
You have to be who you are, no
matter what happens.
He turns, gazes at her. She steps forward.
(CONTINUED)
85.
130 CONTINUED: (3) 130
JESSE
But how are you spending what may
be your last night on Earth,
Lestat? As you always have...
Alone.
Jesse takes a breath, crosses to him, stands very close,
stares up into his eyes. He stares down at her, amazed,
his heart pounding. He breathes in her hair, the scent
of her skin.
JESSE
Don't kill me yet. Let's spend
our last nights together. Share
it with me. Show me what it's
like to be you.
LESTAT
You don't know what you're asking!
I don't know what's in that
librarian's head of yours, but it's
not what you think.
JESSE
That's right. You don't know
what's in my head, Lestat. Do
you want to?
LESTAT
I'll know when I kill you.
JESSE
Gee, Lestat, that's a great way to
get to know someone. Here. I'll
give you a preview. Coming
attractions. This is what you'll
find.
She crosses to him, stands close.
JESSE
I have this recurring dream that
I'm a child and I'm living in
this big house filled with
vampires. And every night when I
go to sleep, I wish to God the
same thing... you know what that
is, Lestat?
He gazes at her. She leans forward.
(CONTINUED)
86.
130 CONTINUED: (4) 130
JESSE
That I will have the dream again...
Because in the dream I'm happy.
And the dream is more real than my
life... I don't know how, but I
know you, Lestat... My life is a
big mystery and you, you have the
answer...
He gazes at her, being taken in, tries to resist it.
Jesse moves even closer. He stares down at her, the
softness of her skin, her penetrating gaze, the heat
of her body.
JESSE
I can't go on pretending this life
of mine is real. I can't live a
lie... I'm just like you Lestat.
We're the same...
LESTAT
(softly)
Are we? I seek the light. You
seek the shadows.
JESSE
No. We're looking for exactly the
same thing. You know it...
Please. Show me.
He stares at her. Her eyes gazing directly into
his... Suddenly...
LESTAT
Alright!
Jesse breaks into a smile.
LESTAT
This may be painful for a mortal.
You're still attached to your skin.
JESSE
(an excited whisper)
I don't care.
LESTAT
Close your eyes. Don't breathe.
Her heart pounding, fluttering her eyes closed, Jesse
holds one deep, hesitant breath and... Flash -- with
preternatural speed --
87.
131 LESTAT AND JESSE 131
whisk through the night, flashing past trees and
houses. Opening her eyes for a moment, Jesse watches
the world whiz past her at incredible speed and
suddenly -- they stop on a dime.
Jesse gasps, catching her breath to find herself at
Hollywood's highest peak overlooking the city laying
out before her like a glimmering blanket.
132 EXT. GRIFFITH PARK OBSERVATORY - NIGHT 132
Looking out over the observatory's ledge, Jesse can't
believe what's just happened. She laughs, intoxicated by
the experience.
JESSE
Do that again!
Lestat laughs, impressed by her bravado. Her trust. For
a moment she laughs like a child. Then they look at each
other deeply, feeling something. He wants to kiss her.
She knows it. He turns away.
LESTAT
And now for my next trick.
Lestat pulls out a knife, quickly slices his arm open.
Jesse gazes at his blood dripping down his arm, something
stirring in her. Magically, the wound heals up. She
stares, impressed.
JESSE
Did it hurt?
LESTAT
Yes. For just a moment. But as
the pain is more intense for us,
so is ecstacy.
(gazes at her)
You see, we love our victims.
JESSE
Love? I thought it was the blood.
LESTAT
No, although the taste is so rich
and sweet. Love is the essence of
the dark gift. The connection is
so much more satisfying, brief as
it is, than anything else.
(CONTINUED)
88.
132 CONTINUED: 132
Lestat again becomes aware of Jesse's pulsing jugular,
the white flesh of her neck. He reaches out, touches her
neck, strokes it. Jesse shivers under his touch,
terrified, but wanting more. Lestat brushes his lips
against her hair, her neck. Runs his hands down her
arms. She closes her eyes, lost in the gentle rhythm
of his voice.
LESTAT
As you drink, you feel the heart
weakening... it struggles even
though there's no hope. You feel
the life slipping away, the flash
of those brief years. The taste
of mortality you can no longer
experience... and it is
beautiful...
(pulls away sharply)
No 'relationship,' no commingling
can ever reach the heights of that
experience.
But Jesse steps forward. Lestat turns, stares at her.
Her eyes burn with an urge that will not be silenced.
One button at a time, her fingers quivering, she opens
her blouse down to her navel.
Lestat stares as Jesse removes a long, silver hairpin
from the mane of her red locks which then cascade about
her shoulders. Her face remains aimed unwavering at
Lestat's as she brings the hairpin down to her breast.
With her eyes moored to his, she draws a line with the
point across her breast. She inhales through clenched
teeth... then settles as we see:
The long incision go from pink to red; then the blood,
like a hot spring pouring over the brim and dripping
down her chest.
Lestat staggers. Breaking their stare, he accepts her
gift, lapping up the overspill and then onto the wound
itself. Lestat closes her eyes... He comes up to her
face, brushing his lips against her cheek. She
shivers...
LESTAT
(groans)
Your blood...
JESSE
(murmurs)
Do you like it?
(CONTINUED)
89.
132 CONTINUED: (2) 132
LESTAT
(losing himself)
Yes...
He comes down to her slender neck. Stares at the soft,
pulsing skin. He bares his fangs.
JESSE
(whispering, overcome)
Do it to me... Please... With your
blood I'll know you...
133 CLOSE ON LESTAT 133
He can't help himself. He moves to Jesse's white neck...
closer... closer...
JESSE
I'll know everything...
But suddenly her words catch him... His head flails as he
tries to stop his natural impulse. Lestat lets out a
desperate cry and throws her aside. Jesse gazes at him,
surprised. He looms over her, angry.
LESTAT
You want to know everything. You
want to see what it's like. Then
come! I'll show you.
134 EXT. GRIFFITH PARK - NIGHT 134
Lestat and Jesse quietly move among the trees. Lestat
stops on a dime -- senses tuned. He looks into the dark.
Jesse is about to speak when Lestat raises his finger to
her lips and then points at... A couple of lovers moving
across the meadow. They sit on a park bench. The woman
giggles drunkenly. Jesse watches and gasps as she
realizes the male lover is a vampire. Lestat moves
forward. Jesse gingerly follows.
Taking his lover in his arms the vampire begins to bite
her neck... Lestat looks over at Jesse who watches,
fascinated and disturbed. The vampire senses another's
presence -- stops and turns to reveal his vampire eyes
shining in the dark. Lestat steps into the halo of a
street lamp and hisses. Sensing Lestat's power, the
vampire hisses and instantly -- the vampire is gone.
Jesse turns to Lestat but he has disappeared, too.
Spinning around again she sees... Lestat hovering over
the mortal woman who is still in a swoon. Checking to
see that the vampire is gone, Jesse moves closer to the
bench.
(CONTINUED)
90.
134 CONTINUED: 134
JESSE
Is she alright?
Lestat looks up to face her, revealing his blood-stained
lips. Jesse reflexively looks away.
LESTAT
Come closer, Jesse. You want to
see? You want to know?
JESSE
Lestat, no!
Lestat's expression turns cold as ice -- he arches his
back like a great cat and goes in for the kill. The
woman's body convulses... Jesse watches in horror as...
the woman's hands clutch at Lestat, her back stiffens...
finally her legs relax in an obscene parody of orgasm.
Jesse gasps, backs away. Lestat finishes and, wiping his
mouth, approaches Jesse.
LESTAT
You see now? Are you ready? Now
do you want it?!
He gazes into her eyes, finding himself desperately
wanting her to say yes. The horror, the revulsion in
Jesse's face says it all.
LESTAT
No. Of course you don't.
She backs away from him, now terrified. Something's
changed in his eyes. They are cold, blank.
LESTAT
Well I didn't grant your final
wish.
(shakes his head)
It was an impossible wish to begin
with. You see, I am unknowable.
His eyes still as death, he starts moving away.
JESSE
Lestat! Wait!
Lestat turns toward her suddenly, grabs her forcefully,
pulls her into his arms, gazes into her eyes.
LESTAT
Good-bye, Talamascan.
(CONTINUED)
91.
134 CONTINUED: (2) 134
Jesse closes her eyes in terror, knowing her life is
about to be over.
Then Jesse reaches for her mouth as if she were touched
by something when... the IMAGE of Lestat's lips kissing
her lips flashes by in VAMPIRE TIME as... Jesse's face is
completely still in HUMAN TIME. As her hand drops, she
realizes what just happened. And with that, Lestat
disappears. She stares into the night. There's a SWISH
and the sound of RUSHING AIR. Jesse turns, screams,
backs away. It's not Lestat standing there at all but
Mael, the Druid vampire. With great speed he glides
towards her, envelops Jesse in his cloak, muffling her
cries... WHOOSH.
CUT TO:
135 OMITTED 135
& &
136 136
137 STARING EYE 137
PULL BACK to reveal a porcelain doll, beautiful, perfect
but unsettling. We TRACK ACROSS rows and rows of dolls
from different eras. TRACK PAST the billowing floor-to-
ceiling curtains to reveal Jesse -- still an adult, but
lying awake in bed just as she had as a little girl.
Jesse gets out of bed, trapped in her own childhood
memory. Is she dreaming now?
138 INT. DESERT MANSION - HALLWAY - NIGHT 138
Making her way down a long hall she passes an amazing
array of medieval tapestries.
139 FLASHBACK - INT. HALLWAY 139
Jesse as a child picking at the thread of a wall-hanging
in a large room.
140 BACK TO SCENE (PRESENT) 140
She stands wondering -- eyes moving back and forth with
rapid thoughts when... She sees a door at the end of the
hall. Walking a little faster now, she draws toward it
as...
92.
141 FLASHBACK - INT. HALLWAY 141
Jesse as a little girl, wanders down a similar hall
toward what sounds like a COCKTAIL PARTY. Reaching the
thick wooden door she peeps through to see...
142 BACK TO SCENE (PRESENT) 142
Jesse stares up at an enormous mural dominating the far
wall -- a mural of names, a family tree -- extending up
onto the ceiling and down to the floor.
143 FLASHBACK - MURAL 143
Jesse, as a little girl, walking beside Maharet, looks up
at the mural.
YOUNG JESSE
(furious)
Why can't I stay with you?!
Please, Auntie Maharet!
MAHARET
I don't want you to go, but you
must.
A tear of blood trickles down Maharet's cheek.
YOUNG JESSE
Auntie, you're bleeding...
Jesse takes the tear and goes to put it to her mouth but
Maharet violently grabs her hand. Young Jesse is
frightened.
MAHARET
You must be with your own, my
sweetest girl. I'll always be
watching over you.
YOUNG JESSE
I want to stay with you forever.
144 BACK TO SCENE (PRESENT) 144
Jesse stares into nothingness. Again the voice, but much
gentler.
MAHARET
Forever is a very long time.
Jesse looks up out of her memory to see in the doorway
down the end of the hall...
(CONTINUED)
93.
144 CONTINUED: 144
MAHARET
Hello, my princess.
JESSE
Aunt Maharet?
Jesse rushes to her. Stops. Stares at her aunt's
glowing eyes, the strange pallor of her skin.
JESSE
You're a...?
MAHARET
Yes. Oh, Jesse, I've missed you
so much, but I had to keep this
from you.
Jesse stands there, soaking it in. Maharet takes her
hands gently.
JESSE
Oh my God, this is why... I knew I
was different. I knew --
MAHARET
(strongly)
Come...
Jesse follows Maharet to the mural of the family tree.
MAHARET
You are the most precious of my
great family...
JESSE
Am I...?
MAHARET
(strongly)
No. You are not. I was once
mortal, too. My sister died
before her child was one year old.
I took care of that child, and her
children, and her children's
children...
Pointing up to the huge family tree...
MAHARET
This is our family -- my way of
coping with eternity. The
labyrinth of life. The family
teaches me the rhythms and
passions of each age.
(CONTINUED)
94.
144 CONTINUED: (2) 144
Her finger trails down the great line to a name --
"Jessica Reeves"...
MAHARET
You are my most prized light. You
are what keeps me connected to the
world of the living.
Jesse stares at Maharet, amazed.
MAHARET
When your parents died I took you
to India to take care of you.
JESSE
And something happened there.
MAHARET
I stopped it from happening. And
I will again.
Maharet stands close, gazes at her.
MAHARET
Jesse, you must stay away from
Lestat. You must forget all about
him.
Jesse looks at her, surprised. Maharet smiles.
MAHARET
Yes, I know about your new friend.
You think you love him, but it's
not as you thought it would be.
Jesse stares at Maharet, surprised she understands so
well.
JESSE
I thought I was like him.
MAHARET
I know, but it is not who you are,
not who you are meant to be. You
have found that out now.
Jesse sits on a stone bench, confused. Maharet smiles
sadly, feeling Jesse's inner turmoil.
JESSE
Lestat's all I can think about...
I felt like I belonged with him.
Now I know why...
(CONTINUED)
95.
144 CONTINUED: (3) 144
Maharet sits beside her, speaks emphatically.
MAHARET
Jesse, you must forget about him.
You must trust me...
JESSE
(gazes up at her
a long moment)
I missed you so much, Aunt
Maharet.
MAHARET
Me too.
Just then the gloom of the pre-dawn's light begins to
illuminate the windows of the great hall.
MAHARET
You will go home to London in the
morning.
Jesse holds Maharet's eyes.
JESSE
But this is my home. This is
where I belong. Why do you want
to get rid of me so quickly?
Maharet touches her face gently.
MAHARET
Now is not the time to be here...
The light is getting brighter. Maharet stands.
MAHARET
You were seeking answers. Now
you have found them. The family
is who you are.
Maharet goes to Jesse, wraps her arms tight around Jesse.
Despite the coldness of her skin, Jesse warms to the
embrace, closes her eyes, holds her tight. Then, beaten
by the sun, Maharet stands, exits into the shadows, turns
back to Jesse, gazes at her.
MAHARET
You will go home to London
tomorrow.
96.
145 INT. LESTAT'S ROOM - NIGHT 145
Lestat stands by his bed, playing the ancient violin... a
long mournful note. He stops a moment, lost in his
thoughts. A flash of the first morning light reflects
off the ancient wood. Lestat puts the violin away. A
tear of blood trickles down his cheek. His face is
filled with sadness at what will never be. A word
escapes from his lips.
LESTAT
(whisper)
Jesse.
Lestat draws the curtains and enters his sanctum where
his coffin sits in the safety of darkness.
146 EXT. MAHARET'S DESERT MANSION - DAY 146
The sun breaks through the date palms.
147 INT. MANSION - JUST AFTER 147
Jesse moves down the hallway past paintings of vampires.
She pauses at one of Maharet. As Jesse shifts, the glass
over the painting catches Jesse's reflection. Jesse
moves slowly until her face just covers Maharet's. In
the reflection, Jesse's eyes now glow with Maharet's
luminescence. Jesse stares a long, long moment.
148 INT. MANSION - JUST AFTER 148
Jesse sits at a desk, writing a note, torment, confusion
on her face.
JESSE (V.O.)
Dear Aunt Maharet, my whole life,
I've felt... kind of crazy I
guess, different from everyone,
and now I know why... You say I
now know who I am meant to be...
I have found my answers. You are
right...
She takes a deep breath.
149 EXT. MAHARET'S DESERT MANSION - FRONT ENTRANCE - 149
CONTINUOUS ACTION
Jesse moves to the front entrance, gazes at the walls
surrounding the front gate.
(CONTINUED)
97.
149 CONTINUED: 149
JESSE (V.O.)
I know you want me to be a regular
human girl... but I'm not. I
can't be...
She looks back at the house, then quickly slips out the
gate.
150 EXT. MAHARET'S DESERT MANSION - DAY 150
Maharet's sprawling compound sits alone in the empty
desert. Nothing for as far as the eye can see.
JESSE (V.O.)
Lestat is my destiny... I know
that now. I love you, Aunt
Maharet. Good-bye.
Jesse walks away from the house. Coming to a highway,
she reads a sign -- "DEATH VALLEY 120 miles." Just then,
a VW minibus barrels down the road in Jesse's direction.
She sticks out her thumb... The minibus pulls to a stop
on the shoulder in a cloud of dust. A VAMPIRE DRIVER
leans out the window -- not a real vampire, just a kid
with white face-paint and fake fangs.
VAMPIRE DRIVER
Need a ride?
Jesse peers past the driver to a crowd of Goths and fake
vampires. THE VAMPIRE LESTAT BLARES FROM the SPEAKERS.
JESSE
(smiles)
Yeah.
151 EXT. DEATH VALLEY - FROM HIGH ABOVE - DUSK 151
We see a line of traffic snake out along a desert road
toward a strange red glow rising into the dark night sky.
A distant sound of DRUMS BEATING chaotic rhythms is
heard. As we FLY CLOSER, the DRUMMING becomes LOUDER and
clearer. Until we are RIGHT ABOVE an incredible scene...
A mass of people (30,000) gather in a valley of red rock.
CUT TO:
152 EXT. CONCERT ENTRANCE - NIGHT 152
Looking at the scene, Jesse is bedazzled. Pushing
through people, she disappears into the throng as...
(CONTINUED)
98.
152 CONTINUED: 152
DAVID (O.S.)
Jesse!
153 ANGLE ON DAVID TALBOT 153
as he pushes through the sea of white paint and plastic
vampire teeth. But she has disappeared. Talbot is
jostled, dropping his glasses on the ground.
VOICE (O.S.)
Sorry, Grandpa!
Talbot crouches down and finds his glasses. Reemerging,
he senses something and looks up.
154 FULL SHOT - MARIUS 154
watching him at a distance. Next to the real thing, all
these fake vampires look ridiculous.
MARIUS
(quietly)
Hello, David.
155 ON TALBOT 155
Speechless.
MARIUS
I must show you my new paintings
sometime.
Marius smiles. Talbot is awestruck -- the goal of a
lifetime's searching. He tries to say something, but
it's too late. Flash. Marius is moving through the
crowd at unnatural speed. Enormous pipes spout flames
high into the sky, run like a corridor of red light
along the crowd, leading to two enormous Egyptian
effigies of Akasha and Enkil flanking a stage at the
top end. And before the stage stretches a mass of
human bacchanalian debauchery... Woodstock on mescaline.
Naked bodies, pierced and tattooed, mingle with the
strangest of fashions as crowds gather in circles
around their own lit fires, drumming out awesome rhythms.
The whole place is an enormous flaming mosh pit -- naked
bodies walk across heads of people while others get
tossed and thrown. This crowd is determined to get
what they were promised... Nothing like they've ever
seen.
(CONTINUED)
99.
155 CONTINUED: 155
A new world, a world of the initiated who have somehow
managed to include themselves in the select number of
attendees to a sacred rite. And among the mortals are
the immortals. Amidst them we see the tattooed Vampires,
the Armani Vampire, the others, now dressed in cloaks
which they use to hide their knives and sickles.
156 HIGH ABOVE VALLEY 156
Standing on the strange rocks are the Ancient vampires,
except for Maharet. Some of whom can't help but smile
at the scene below. Marius is now with them.
PANDORA
(wistful, to Mael)
It's just like Nero's day.
They scan the horizon, the darkening sky.
MAHARET
Akasha will not be able to resist
this...
The CROWD begins to CLAP -- DRUMS from different circles
begin to impatiently BEAT into one deafening rhythm.
157 INT. BACKSTAGE - NIGHT 157
Backstage is all abuzz with pre-show energy; press
everywhere. Roger still worrying and sweating. James,
Alex and Maudy sit in their own circle, jamming with
their unplugged instruments, psyching themselves up for
the biggest night of their lives.
158 INT. LESTAT'S HONEY-WAGON - NIGHT 158
Lestat stretches out with his eyes closed as the sounds
of the DRUMMING crowd begin to make the whole van
shudder. Roger pops his head in.
ROGER
They're getting pretty worked up
out there.
159 INT. BACKSTAGE - NIGHT 159
Lestat emerges from his honey-wagon, splendid in his
concert costume. He looks ready for business, whatever
may happen. The band look at each other, then look to
Lestat. This is the moment. He smiles like a father
at them.
(CONTINUED)
100.
159 CONTINUED: 159
LESTAT
Come on, children.
Alex, Maudy and James start beating out the rhythm with
the crowd as they move through backstage. The DRUM BEATS
RISE to a CRESCENDO.
160 BACK TO CROWD 160
Jesse makes her way through the throng, trying to get
closer to the stage. Suddenly the torches go out sending
the place into utter darkness. A stunned moment. The
place goes berserk. We see the dim figures of the band
take their places. Jesse desperately tries to push
toward the front.
161 INT. BACKSTAGE - NIGHT 161
Lestat readies himself as he scans the valley from behind
a speaker, and sees...
162 LESTAT'S POV - VAMPIRES 162
wait here and there in the audience, set to attack.
163 BACK TO LESTAT 163
who smiles to himself.
164 BACK IN CROWD 164
BOOM, the torches relight and an enormous CHORD surges
through the crowd louder than a jet on takeoff. The mass
surges forward... The stage lights up in a huge halo of
blood-red light. The band plays a hypnotic tune that
would put the devil in a spell, as... We wait for Lestat.
The band keeps playing the pounding cadence, as...
The audience doesn't see Lestat anywhere and cheers over
the sound, and it seems as if the whole of Death Valley
is shaking, when... Lestat appears above the stage,
inhumanly levitating and...
LESTAT
I'm so glad I decided to rise...
(shouting)
After tonight, Death Valley will
live up to its name!
(CONTINUED)
101.
164 CONTINUED: 164
The place erupts into one solid scream as the band kicks
it in.
He swoops down through the air over the stage and into
their very midst. Jesse, in the crowd, screams up to
him... But her voice is lost in the thousands of screams
for him. Lestat takes the microphone and leans his lips
into it, letting his voice soar into an inhuman note,
filling the valley like a demon demanding heaven be
replaced with hell.
165 AT BACK OF CONCERT - MIXING BOARD 165
Two STUDIO ENGINEERS sit dazed.
ENGINEER #1
(Cockney accent)
Could we turn it down a tad?
The second Engineer looks to the mixing panel.
ENGINEER #2
His mic's not even up.
They stare, dumbfounded.
166 BACK TO CONCERT 166
The pulsing strain moves into a faster beat as the whole
place resonates with the most incredible harmonics, the
energy throbbing, the crowd almost genuflecting in front
of this papal devil. All move and sway except for...
Jesse, desperately squeezing through bodies trying to get
closer and closer to...
Lestat, who commands the place with his echoing voice.
Lestat holds the place in the palm of his hand. Lestat's
dark soul seems ready to burst as he moves his voice into
an even higher unworldly octave, and then...
167 LESTAT'S POV 167
The vampires move through the crowd. Goth girls in the
front row, weeping... Maudy, James and Alex off in the
clouds, playing the best music of their lives. The
place has gone wild, living off its own energy now as
waves of sound bounce through the valley band up into
the night sky.
102.
168 BACK TO SCENE 168
LESTAT
You want more?!
The crowd screams...
CROWD
Yes!
LESTAT
This one's for those who've come
for me!
All yell that they have, but the covens know it's for
them. Lestat launches the band into a new number that
makes the previous song seem like a lullaby. He eyes the
coven-assassins here and there and sings straight to
them. His lyrics challenging the assassins, flaunting
them with satire. Jesse whirls around, spying the
assassins in the crowd. She shakes her head no...
The covens need no more encouragement as they begin to
move through the crowd toward the stage. We RISE UP OVER
the crowd to see fifty assassins snaking at preternatural
speed, unseen to all except us in our inhuman vantage.
CUT TO:
169 ANCIENTS - NIGHT 169
Marius spies the covens slipping through the crowd at a
strange velocity. He looks to Lestat, worried...
170 BACK TO STAGE 170
The assassins approach closer -- Lestat assaults with
relentless lyrics... Reaching the stage, they are
suddenly on it -- roadies run in and are immediately
cast aside by inhuman powers. We speed into vampire
time as... (NOTE: In camera, no C.G.I.)
The assassins draw knives and lunge, determined to
dismember Lestat. Lestat does an acrobatic leap, dodging
the knives. He rips the microphone from the stand and
holds it up just in time... as an assassin is impaled.
The assassin squirms and convulses. The crowd goes
insane... Lestat snarls at the audience as if this
really were part of the performance... The assassins
attack again, this time hurtling massive light stands
like they were small spears. Lestat dodges them.
The assassins BREAK GLASS BOTTLES, lunge with the deadly shards.
(NOTE: Band should not be seen in this part of sequence.)
103.
171 MARIUS 171
can hold himself back no longer. He flies over equipment
and roadies, up into the air. The Ancients gaze after
him and...
172 ON STAGE 172
He lands square in the middle of the fray. Back to
mortal time. The crowd cheers at the sudden appearance
of the figure on stage, loving the show. Lestat grins at
Marius. The band keeps playing. Marius hurls a huge
LIGHT at the assassins. It EXPLODES as it hits them,
pinning one with shards. But an assassin hurls a sickle
at Lestat. Lestat is struck down, his singing stopped.
The assassins move in.
CUT TO:
173 ANCIENT VAMPIRES 173
watch from their rocks. Pandora's face, filled with
excitement.
PANDORA
There are too many of them!
They're going to dismember him.
Armand is enjoying the show.
ARMAND
Good!
174 BACK TO STAGE 174
Assassins corner Lestat and Marius -- blades, broken
bottles reflecting the spotlight. Lestat raises his arms
for the crowd. The crowd jeers. Lestat looks to Maudy
and the band.
LESTAT
Get out of here!
The band scampers off stage as the assassins fly past,
the reverb from their guitars whistle into a deafening
pitch.
Jesse joins the screaming crowds.
JESSE
Lestat! Lestat!
(CONTINUED)
104.
174 CONTINUED: 174
As the killer vampires make their final move, it looks
bleak for Lestat... But one after the other they
spontaneously combust, turning hot-white to black ash
and drift up into the air like strange supernatural
kites. The crowd hollers and screams, not quite
believing what they saw or how it was done, when...
Down in the throng, vampires also begin to combust -- hot
flashes of white exploding through the crowd, turning
into black paper dolls -- wafting up over the valley --
crumbling into fluttering puffs of soot. Panic takes
over the mass of people, running in all directions.
Jesse remains pinned to her spot.
175 LESTAT 175
stands in wonder as Marius stares up into the high
darkness.
MARIUS
(soft, to himself)
Akasha.
The valley fills with hundreds of burning "kites"
floating like black ghosts. Khayman, Pandora and
Armand gaze up at the sky.
MAHARET
She is here...
176 JESSE 176
stares in wonder and terror at the burning "kites." Then
seizes her chance. She pushes toward the stage against
the tide of bodies fleeing.
177 INT. BACKSTAGE - MEANWHILE 177
Roger is trying to manage the building chaos backstage as
the FIRE MARSHAL and several firemen follow after him.
FIRE MARSHAL
You don't have a permit for any of
these stunts!
ROGER
I told you I don't know anything
about it!
A WALKIE-TALKIE distracts the Fire Marshal long enough to
allow Roger to run.
(CONTINUED)
105.
177 CONTINUED: 177
ROGER
Last time I work for a bloody
vampire...
Looking up at the sky, he stares in awe... There is a low
powerful RUMBLE...
The mortal crowd looks around, distracted from their
panic, as they sense something truly awesome...
178 LESTAT 178
senses it too. He looks up, not knowing from which
direction the attack will come. The STAGE starts to
SHUDDER and SHAKE violently...
Jesse, now almost to the stage, screams to him.
JESSE
Lestat! Lestat!
Suddenly the wooden platform beneath Lestat begins to
buckle under his feet. Fragments of WOOD EXPLODE upwards
around Lestat. Marius loses his balance and staggers
backwards...
Fragments of sharp wood fly into the audience. Jesse
raises her hands to protect herself. She looks up.
Freezes. Akasha rises up through the stage. Beautiful
and terrifying. She grabs Lestat and the two of them
shoot up into the air. The crowd stares in awe. Jesse
is frozen.
Roger, the Fire Marshal, the band, everyone is frozen.
Talbot stares up at Akasha, his face white, unable to
believe his eyes. Even the Ancient Ones are stunned to
see their Queen come to life.
Scaffolds collapse in an EXPLOSION OF ELECTRICAL
SPARKS... (NOTE: Practical explosion.) The Ancient
Ones stare up into the sky as... Akasha and Lestat
vanish. Jesse stares in horror after them.
179 EXT. SKY - EVENING 179
BLACKNESS.
180 EXT. DEATH VALLEY PEAK - NIGHT 180
Lestat opens his eyes and finds himself high above the
desert, the tiny lights of the concert far below.
(CONTINUED)
106.
180 CONTINUED: 180
Lestat whirls around to suddenly see behind him Akasha in
an extravagant Egyptian robe, its sheer cloth of gold
draping her godly form. Lestat is awestruck. Akasha
comes to life...
LESTAT
Akasha...
Akasha still says nothing -- she advances with a
luscious, curling smile.
AKASHA
Why so surprised, my love? You
called, and I have come.
Lestat is awestruck. There is such an unearthly power in
Akasha's voice. Everything seems to hum and vibrate with
her breath.
AKASHA
Never fear me, Lestat. Your
wishes have all come true.
LESTAT
My wishes...?
AKASHA
You have yearned for a companion
to share eternity. You have cried
out to the world. I have answered
your call.
Akasha spreads her arms, moving ever closer to Lestat.
AKASHA
You are so bold, like your music.
It woke me. You live your life in
the open, like I did long ago,
when I had a King.
LESTAT
Had a King?
AKASHA
He's no more. You are my consort.
I've kept you safe -- alive.
LESTAT
You?
(CONTINUED)
107.
180 CONTINUED: (2) 180
AKASHA
You thought it was all you?
(laughing)
You have the ego of a king as
well. I know you, Lestat. I know
that you crave to have the world
at your feet. I have come to give
it to you.
Akasha bites her own lip. Blood trickles slightly across
her chin. Lestat stares at the blood, yearns towards it,
as the pulse of her blood increases... Lestat looks at
it, both wanting and fearful. Wrapping her arms around
Lestat, she braces him, licks his face.
AKASHA
Has your tongue lost its taste for
blood?
LESTAT
(melting)
Never.
AKASHA
But you didn't kill the mortal
girl.
Lestat looks caught.
AKASHA
Instead you kissed her. Now kiss
me.
(NOTE: Shoot as practical, actor against plain night
sky, as much as possible.) Akasha rises above him,
hovers over Lestat, letting a single drop of blood spill
into his mouth. Lestat levitates above the ground to
meet her as...
Akasha hovers higher, drawing him into the sky until
their mouths finally meet and her blood flows freely into
him. Lestat pulls away as a great surge of power gathers
in him and floods his body with an electric rush.
AKASHA
Be my King. Forget about
everything else.
Lestat looks straight at Akasha, his face flushed. His
eyes are empty of everything except her blood.
AKASHA
What's your answer?
(CONTINUED)
108.
180 CONTINUED: (3) 180
Lestat looks at her and then smiles. Akasha's mouth
spreads into a smile. Flashes of brilliant light strobe
over them as Lestat moves to her, sucks again. There's a
powerful rush of WIND that engulfs them as they spin
together, detached from time and space.
181 FLASH CUTS - STOCK FOOTAGE 181
All INTERCUT WITH Akasha's skin, her body taut and arching.
Lestat falls back in ecstasy. He shakes out his body and
lets out a howl of pleasure -- feels his arms, his chest,
his groin as Akasha's blood courses through his veins.
Akasha watches and waits. Finally Lestat grins boyishly
through bloody teeth and wipes his lips with the back of
his hand.
LESTAT
Can we try that again?
Akasha smiles at him, then laughs a strange laugh, a
kind of purr/growl. Lestat gazes at her as the sensual
hissing seems to surround him. It is seductive and
scary. Lestat steps up, puts a finger to her lips.
LESTAT
Show me the world...
Akasha's mouth spreads into a smile and she yanks him up
into the air and off into the night.
182 INT. MAHARET DESERT MANSION - NIGHT 182
Mael leads Jesse down the hall. She stares ahead at what
looks like statues standing in the shadows. Her eyes
widen as the statues come to life: Armand, Pandora,
Khayman, Marius are talking in hushed tones, gathered
before Maharet's "Great Family Tree." CAMERA SWEEPS
OVER the endless lines, the rows of names that stretch
down the stone wall -- ACROSS the floor, filling room
after room. The Ancients all stare, deeply moved.
Maharet turns to them.
MAHARET
We see now what Akasha means to
do. Rule as Queen again.
(pointing to the
great family)
This is why we must fight Akasha!
Maharet looks around, determined, challenging each of the
immortals.
(CONTINUED)
109.
182 CONTINUED: 182
MAHARET
For the sake of all mortals. She
must be stopped, or the mortal
world will end.
The Ancients fall silent as they take this in. They gaze
again at Maharet's Great Family, humbled for a moment by
her life's passion.
MAEL
But is there a way? We don't
know.
KHAYMAN
When she opens herself to give her
blood, she is vulnerable.
MARIUS
Then we weaken her. Drain her of
almost all her blood, but leave
her just one drop.
MAHARET
We can't take that chance. We
must finish her.
ARMAND
If she dies, we all die.
PANDORA
We're damned no matter what
happens.
MAHARET
Perhaps.
Maharet gazes at them, her mind working... Pandora,
Khayman, Mael gaze at each other, still uncertain.
JESSE
And what about Lestat?
MAHARET
Lestat has joined with Akasha. He
is lost to us now. He is never
coming back.
JESSE
I don't believe that.
CUT TO:
110.
183 LESTAT 183
Beaming with a possessed look, his eyes brimming with
visions.
Lestat opens his eyes and sees an island approaching. In
the distance lights sparkle as an enormous plantation
villa is revealed, nestled into the far shore.
CUT TO:
184 EXT. AKASHA'S PLANTATION VILLA - NIGHT 184
Lestat and Akasha stand on a cliff-top. WIND rips
through the trees. Everywhere, there are torches, and a
million candles light the vast house. Lestat and Akasha
glide past the forest of exotic flowers... Past the
fountains and statues -- up the steps to the open French
doors. Long white curtains billow in the sea wind.
LESTAT
Where are we?
AKASHA
We are home.
LESTAT
You live here?
AKASHA
We live everywhere and anywhere we
choose. The world is our garden.
185 INT. AKASHA'S PLANTATION VILLA - NIGHT 185
Lestat steps in through billowing curtains, stops...
There are three West Indian girls, young, voluptuous,
beautiful, dressed in simple working clothes and
traditional head-wraps. They stare at Lestat, nervous,
yet fascinated. They move towards him. Lestat finds
himself surrounded by hands, touching him, reaching
beneath his shirt, pulling his clothes from his body. He
swoons, closes his eyes, smiles.
LESTAT
So warm...
(sniffs their skin)
... their blood...
AKASHA
... yes...
LESTAT
... they're mortal...
(CONTINUED)
111.
185 CONTINUED: 185
AKASHA
... of course. They serve the
living goddess, and her consort.
They find you beautiful. You are
a god in their eyes.
DISSOLVE TO:
186 SERIES OF SHOTS 186
... golden dark hands pull clothes away from Lestat's
white skin... breasts strain through white linen as they
press themselves closer to him... the surface of water,
scented with red rose petals. Lestat's white skin breaks
the surface. Lestat is lowered into the bath, his skin
alive with the dancing candles reflected in the water...
the water laps gently -- strange sighs of pleasure as
girls' hands caress Lestat's torso... their hands reach
down lower and lower through the water... Lestat's eyes
remain closed but his mouth opens... Now it's Akasha
kissing him. Lestat responds, but his eyes sneak a peek.
Akasha smiles -- takes his head in her hands -- she
kisses him, pushes him back -- he tries to resist -- he
can't, startled by her strength... Akasha kisses his
neck, his chest, bites... Lestat arches in ecstasy...
Akasha rises up from his breast, blood on her lips,
smiles, goes back down and drinks.
DISSOLVE TO:
187 AKASHA AND LESTAT - LATER 187
now moved to the bed, surrounded by the fine nets...
kissing, probing each other's bodies, floating above the
bed... Akasha rolls him over -- smiles down at him -- a
fang exposed... She draws her wrist across her mouth... a
globule of blood smacks Lestat's open lips... Flash --
A thousand images in a second. Lestat jolted as if by a
million volts. Blood smears their bodies -- they bathe
in it.
188 CLOSE ON LESTAT 188
The most lascivious smile spreading over his face, even
as the waves of pleasure still course through him,
causing his mouth to twitch and tremble. He closes his
eyes...
FADE TO BLACK.
112.
FADE IN:
189 SAME SCENE - LESTAT (LATER) 189
opens his eyes. He sits up alone in the canopied bed,
disoriented. Akasha is nowhere to be seen. He looks
toward the window. The sun is just about to disappear
below the horizon. Lestat stares, amazed, blinking...
Shielding his eyes, Lestat goes to window, gazes in awe
at the setting sun. As the last rays slice through the
sky, Lestat closes his eyes, stretches his arms out, feels
the warm sun on his skin. He smiles at this feeling he's
craved for so long. Still smiling, he opens his eyes,
blinking from the light. He turns, gazes towards the
bath and gasps. The dying light illuminates... The
servant girls' bodies, now grey with death, lying around
the edge of the bath. The roses are now black and the
water is colored a rich deep red...
190 INT. PLANTATION HOUSE - HALLWAY 190
Lestat steps into the hallway, stares at dead bodies
sprinkling the ground -- both servants formally dressed,
and guests in white tropical evening dress...
191 INT. PLANTATION HOUSE - DINING HALL - CONTINUOUS ACTION 191
The candles have all melted, forming pools that spread
across the lace cloth. Food sits uneaten on plates. The
last of the sun's rays strikes ten dead bodies sitting
around the table, some slumped onto their food, some
frozen in death. Lestat moves through the room, a
feeling of dread spreading. We FOLLOW as he moves...
192 EXT. BEACH - CONTINUOUS ACTION 192
... out the French windows onto the beach, bodies of
servants and villagers are scattered. Lestat's feet step
down the wooden stairs, onto the sand, through the
bodies...
Lestat, shielding his eyes, stares up in horror at the
pink sky.
AKASHA
Behold our Kingdom.
Lestat sees Akasha standing further down on the beach.
LESTAT
Why?
(CONTINUED)
113.
192 CONTINUED: 192
AKASHA
(puzzled)
Why not?
LESTAT
This is the reason you have risen?
AKASHA
They believed in nothing, now they
are nothing. But you and I will
change all that. We will give the
world something to believe in
again.
Akasha smiles, raises her hand, suddenly slices her wrist
with a knife. Lestat stares at her dripping blood.
She crosses to him, her eyes locked on his. She lifts
her wrist, drips her blood into Lestat's mouth. Lestat's
eyes glaze over again. He smiles, feeds hungrily, lost
again. Akasha smiles.
AKASHA
Come, my King. We have a score to
settle.
The Queen and her King swiftly fly up into the darkness.
193 INT. MAHARET'S MANSION - GRANDE HALL - NIGHT 193
The Ancients are still debating. Suddenly, the whole
place begins to shake. (NOTE: Practical shadows not
C.G.I.) A shadow passes over the Ancients' faces.
MARIUS
She comes...
The WINDOWS along one side of the hall EXPLODE with a
startling GUST. The Ancient Ones look up to see...
Akasha's silhouette looming, dark and foreboding.
AKASHA
My children. It warms my blood to
see you all gathered... plotting
against me.
They trade glances and begin to fan out around the room.
MAHARET
Akasha.
AKASHA
Maharet. You will address my
King first...
(CONTINUED)
114.
193 CONTINUED: 193
Lestat enters, his possessed eyes showing only evil now.
Unable to help herself...
JESSE
Lestat!
He turns slowly to the corner where she sits. They lock
eyes. Lestat's face stares cold and hard.
JESSE
What has she done to you?
LESTAT
Made me see.
Taking his arm, Akasha draws Lestat to her. The Ancient
Vampires subtly position themselves under the medieval
weapons hanging on the walls, as Marius moves toward his
son.
MARIUS
Lestat... step aside.
LESTAT
Never. She is my Queen.
Marius looks for some recognition in Lestat's eyes.
There is none. Maharet turns to Akasha.
MAHARET
Akasha. The world has changed
since you reigned.
AKASHA
Then we shall change it back.
Humans are animals, brute
creatures. Their destruction can
only make sense.
MAHARET
We've found other ways to co-
exist.
AKASHA
Yes. In the shadows. In silence.
In shame. For what? For respect
of mortals? They are nothing to
us. They are only... food.
She casts a dangerous eye towards Jesse. Maharet
instinctively moves forward to protect her.
(CONTINUED)
115.
193 CONTINUED: (2) 193
AKASHA
Poor Maharet. Still trying to
hold onto what I took from you.
Maharet doesn't even flinch.
MARIUS
Akasha, please...
AKASHA
(venomous)
You think you can change my will?
I'm tired of this discussion.
Join me, or die.
MAHARET
I will not.
MARIUS
I will not.
AKASHA
I want to hear it from every one
of you. What will it be?
Akasha scans the faces of the other Ancient Ones, staring
deep into their souls. Akasha sees Khayman glance at the
family tree. Akasha's eyes blaze with anger.
AKASHA
Don't tell me, you have feelings
for these ridiculous mortals!
She crosses to the family tree, traces the names down to
one. Jessica Reeves. Akasha is beyond fury, yet she
keeps her temper under control and turns to Lestat.
AKASHA
Do you love me?
Smiling, she bites her lip, letting a drop of blood
glisten there, tempting Lestat.
LESTAT
Yes...
He draws closer. Jesse stares, mortified. Akasha and
Lestat's mouths almost meet when Akasha pulls away.
Akasha slowly turns to Jesse.
AKASHA
Prove it. Kill her.
(CONTINUED)
116.
193 CONTINUED: (3) 193
LESTAT
She's nothing to me.
AKASHA
Just the same, I'd like you to
kill her. For me.
(to the Ancients)
I've had enough of this 'great
family.' It's time to end it.
Maharet steps between Lestat and Jesse.
MAHARET
You will not touch her!
Akasha flicks her wrist. Maharet is hurled against a
pillar, pinned by Akasha's hand.
AKASHA
You still think to challenge me,
Maharet?
MAHARET
I beg you, spare this child.
AKASHA
Now.
Maharet struggles but Akasha is too strong. Jesse gazes
at Lestat. Then steps forward.
JESSE
It's all right, Maharet.
Maharet stops, standing fixed with the sound of Jesse's
newly strong and calm voice. Jesse looks to Lestat,
straight into his dark irises, her gaze absolutely
unwavering.
JESSE
It's what I want. I am ready.
She reaches up, pulls aside her shirt, revealing the top
of her breast. A thin, red scar remains from where she
cut herself with the silver stick from the Chinese
barrette.
Lestat gazes at her, begins to advance. Jesse keeps her
gaze steady into Lestat's, risking everything.
AKASHA
(smirking)
How sweet...
(CONTINUED)
117.
193 CONTINUED: (4) 193
Lestat moves closer and closer to her, gazes into her
eyes, hesitates for a moment, then continues on...
Jesse watches him with absolute love. He reaches her.
Maharet flies across the room, but Akasha meets her
halfway. Grabs her by the hair. Maharet struggles but
Akasha is much more powerful. Jesse offers up her neck
to his bite. Maharet looks away and Akasha looks pleased
as...
Lestat sinks his teeth into Jesse's neck. Jesse gasps
with the bite, but puts her arm around Lestat as he draws
her into him, draining her of her very life-force as she
holds him.
With that Maharet's great family mural begins to weep
blood from every name. All the Ancients turn, stare at
the mural as...
Lestat drinks and drinks and Jesse sighs with intimacy,
clutching his neck and back, and drawing his bite deeper
into her flesh. She slowly crumples to the floor, being
drawn down until finally...
Jesse lies on the floor, eyes closed and pale. Dead.
AKASHA
Good-bye, great family.
She turns to the MURAL with a fierce gaze. Flash! It
EXPLODES, CRUMBLING to a million pieces on the ground.
Maharet stares in horror.
AKASHA
Now, my children, remember your
real family! Or else.
She turns to them with a killing smile.
LESTAT
But, My Queen, you've forgotten my
reward!
She turns to him.
AKASHA
That's right. My King, you've
just earned your crown.
Lestat smiles with a blood-stained mouth. Akasha
approaches Lestat and offers him her vein. She looks
scornfully at the others as he cradles her wrist...
(CONTINUED)
118.
193 CONTINUED: (5) 193
AKASHA
You see how he obeys. You will or
you will all die!
Lestat looks once at Marius, then sinks his teeth into
its original font. He drinks as Akasha gasps with
pleasure at giving so much pleasure to him. She keeps
smiling to the others. But Lestat doesn't stop drinking.
Akasha looks back to him, her face changing.
AKASHA
That's enough, Lestat.
Still Lestat doesn't stop.
AKASHA
Lestat. Enough. Stop!
(NOTE: Scene as scripted here is quite different from
what was analyzed in boards. Notable potential expense
or savings indicated with brackets. [])
But Lestat clamps down even harder. Akasha thrashes,
trying to release herself.
Maharet and Marius realize what he's doing, see the
chance Lestat has gained for them. A silent signal
passes between them as...
The Ancients make an instantaneous decision. Akasha
looks up, gasping, in time to see Maharet, Marius,
Khayman, Armand, Mael, Pandora flying towards her.
Akasha lets out a hiss...
Most of the Ancients are thrown to the ground while Mael
ignites in mid-air. Mael's skin bubbles. He screams,
the veins in his face rise up and explode as if his blood
were burning acid...
Pandora too bursts into flames. She falls to the ground.
But Lestat, strong with Akasha's blood, keeps his hold
and Khayman, Armand, Marius, Maharet fly at her again.
They swarm over Akasha. She rises into the air,
thrashing about, but they hang on, forming a flying mass
of flailing limbs.
The THUMP of Akasha's HEART ACCELERATES as they try to
drain her...
Akasha turns on [Khayman to incinerate him. Flash. He
screams as his blood boils, exploding out of his
fingertips -- But he doesn't ignite... His wounds quickly
heal. He moves in for another attack...]
(CONTINUED)
119.
193 CONTINUED: (6) 193
The Ancients are still flung around by Akasha's great
strength, but they all hold on, as the thrashing finally
begins to subside. The mass of bodies sinks to the
ground. The Ancients pull back to reveal that...
Akasha's skin is deathly blue white. In horror, she
manages to spit out her words.
AKASHA
You kill me, you kill yourselves.
The Ancient Ones look to each other, uncertain a moment.
Akasha gazes at them, then turns slowly, fixes her gaze
on Lestat. He gazes back at her.
Suddenly, Akasha takes her chance, rises, her eyes flare
green, marshalling the last of her wrath. Lestat cries
out in agony as smoke rises from his limbs.
Fiercely determined, Lestat bites into Akasha's throat,
this time for the kill. Akasha sinks her nails into his throat.
He hangs on, his teeth deep. They are locked in mortal combat.
Akasha slowly sinks to the ground, real
fear in her eyes as her strength finally vanishes.
MAHARET
Wait, Lestat! You must stop!
Lestat pulls away, leaving Akasha hanging in a twisted,
unnatural angle.
They all stare waiting to see what will happen...
... Maharet moves quickly. She strides over to Akasha
and sinks her fangs into Akasha's neck. Akasha struggles
but this time she cannot even rise up. Maharet does not
stop. A HOWLING sound as if from hell fills the room.
The Ancient Ones stare at Akasha, step back in awe.
Lestat sits up, burned but still alive to see...
Akasha's skin begins to grow horribly pale, to harden and
cake into a chalk. There's no blood left to flow from
the gaping holes in Akasha's flesh. She slowly begins to
transform back to her frozen statue state. Her skin
returning to MARBLE. CRACKS multiply, becoming fissures.
Finally, Akasha literally falls to pieces, SMASHING on
the stone floor like porcelain.
A silent moment. The Ancient Ones look at each other,
astonished, as they realize they're still "alive."
(CONTINUED)
120.
193 CONTINUED: (7) 193
KHAYMAN
(whisper)
We survived!
The Ancients let out relieved hisses.
But Lestat is only concerned about Jesse. He rushes to
her, picks up her lifeless head, takes a dagger from the
floor and slices his wrist. He brings the open vein to
Jesse's mouth, but she's not moving. Lestat bends down
to her ear and whispers.
LESTAT
I left you one drop, my love.
Drink deep and live.
Jesse's lips slightly move and quiver as she tastes the
blood. She begins to take the blood inside her and then
finally truly drink and revive as Lestat cradles her.
She pulls away, gasping. Lestat looks into her eyes.
JESSE
I thought I'd lost you...
LESTAT
Drink, my love.
Her lips move to his wrist. Lestat strokes her hair,
soothes her. Jesse gasps as pain courses through her.
Lestat holds her close. She looks up at him, their eyes
are locked together.
LESTAT
I will never leave you again.
He holds her tight in his arms.
All the Ancients gaze at Lestat, now understanding what
he did.
Slowly Jesse rises, gazes at Lestat, her face pale, her
eyes glowing. Then Jesse turns, stares at Maharet. All
the Ancients turn, follow her gaze.
A whiteness is spreading across Maharet's face and skin.
Maharet stares at her arms and legs, slowly turning to
stone. Jesse goes to her.
JESSE
Maharet...
(CONTINUED)
121.
193 CONTINUED: (8) 193
MAHARET
My child, let me look at you...
You are finally happy. It is as
it should be now... I will watch
over you always.
Maharet reaches out, embraces Jesse. Then Maharet sinks
into a chair and freezes into a statue.
ARMAND
(a reverent whisper)
She took Akasha's last drop, took
Akasha's death into herself.
Behold, our Queen... our new
mother...
The Ancients slowly bow to Maharet. Jesse slowly slips
from Maharet's arms. Goes into Lestat's arms.
JESSE
Is she... dead?
KHAYMAN
No, she will live forever. She
sleeps. She sleeps, and dreams of
us.
Jesse and Lestat hold onto each other, gazing at
Maharet's face. On Maharet's lips is the most content of
smiles. Jesse wipes away a tear.
Marius turns to Lestat. Their eyes meet. Then Marius
bows at Maharet's feet.
MARIUS
My Queen, I will watch over you
always.
DISSOLVE TO:
194 EXT. TALAMASCA HEADQUARTERS (LONDON) - EVENING 194
The sun has long disappeared as the darkness settles.
195 INT. TALAMASCA HEADQUARTERS - EVENING 195
The shadows creep up the doorway.
196 INT. TALBOT'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS ACTION 196
Talbot sits at his desk covered with news clippings.
122.
197 CLOSE ON CLIPPINGS 197
Images from the concert... "Mass Hysteria"... "Rock 'n'
Roll Nightmare"... "Drugs in Water Supply"... The
headline "Band starts World Tour but where is Lestat?"...
JESSE (O.S.)
Good question...
198 BACK TO SCENE 198
Talbot looks up to see Jesse and Lestat looking over his
shoulder. He leaps out of his seat. Sees the change in
her instantly.
TALBOT
Jesse. My God...
JESSE
(smiles)
David, this is Lestat.
He looks at Lestat, fear in his eyes.
TALBOT
How do you do?
LESTAT
Charmed, I'm sure.
JESSE
I told you I'd return with my
findings. Here they are.
David stares, shaken.
TALBOT
But please, sit down. You'll have
to excuse me... it's just so...
so...
LESTAT
Unexpected?
TALBOT
Strangely, no...
David looks sadly at Jesse.
JESSE
Please don't be sad. I'm where I
belong. I'm happy now.
(CONTINUED)
123.
198 CONTINUED: 198
Lestat, content for the first time since we've known him,
looks lovingly to Jesse. A flicker of curiosity crosses
David's face.
TALBOT
Excuse me for asking but...
JESSE
(smiles)
What's it like?
TALBOT
Yes.
JESSE
Do you want to find out?
TALBOT
Me?... No. I'm too old to live
forever.
JESSE
Well, if you ever should change
your mind... Oh. I have a present
for you. From an old friend.
She hands Talbot a canvas. It's a painting. He stares at
it. The painting shows Lestat's concert. And in the
crowd, Talbot finds Marius, now looking straight out at
the viewer, a smile on his lips. Talbot sees standing
beside Marius is Talbot himself, dancing with a young,
pretty Goth. Talbot smiles.
JESSE
And Marius sent a message. You
were right. He doesn't go to the
Dorchester. But he's gonna be at
Claridge's later...
Talbot stares at them.
JESSE
Well, I guess this is good-bye.
TALBOT
Yes. Take care of her, Lestat.
LESTAT
Always.
Talbot looks at Jesse, once his spiritual daughter.
TALBOT
Good-bye, Jesse.
(CONTINUED)
124.
198 CONTINUED: (2) 198
Talbot closes his eyes to shut out a tear, and Jesse is
at his side and leans down to whisper in his ear...
JESSE
Good-bye, dear friend.
Talbot opens his eyes to say something, but they're gone.
Talbot turns to the painting. Stares at Marius for a
long moment. Then stands, grabs his coat, heads for the
door.
199 EXT. LONDON STREET - NIGHT 199
Jesse and Lestat come out of the Talamascan headquarters.
He takes her hand and together they float up over the
wall and out to the street. Lestat pulls Jesse into his
arms.
They kiss. It's long, deep, romantic. They pull away,
gaze sweetly, lovingly, into each other's eyes...
And exchange happy, fanged smiles...
LESTAT
Shall we go get a drink, love?
She smiles, nods. Lestat and Jesse take each other's
hands, move into the crowd, zipping through the streets
at that STRANGE preternatural SPEED...
... and vanish into the night.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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