April
26. April, 2000
Easter has come and gone, and all has been reasonably quiet on the movie front. However, the news has started to flow again with some fantastic updates coming my way...
EBay.com has posted The Queen of the Damned Movie Script online FOR SALE! I was shocked to discover this, and I'm still unsure just how genuine this *offer* really is. All seems legitimate enough on the site, but it seems very suspicious to me. How legal could it possibly be to sell a supposed script before a movie is even made? Check it out for yourself here. However, be warned that this link will not stay up for long. The bids apparently started at 17:53.02 (PDT) on 18. April, 2000 and will end at 17:53:02 (PDT) on 28. April, 2000.
Other relevant information from the auction page is as follows:
Queen of the Damned Script - Anne Rice
Item #312189274
Category: Books, Movies, Music: Memorabilia: Movies: Current
Currently: $16.51
Quantity: 1
First bid: $5.00
# of bids: 8
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Country: United States
Seller: bluesdiva9@aol.com
Description:
A true collectors item for any Anne Rice fan. "Queen of the Damned," is currently casting and is sure to be a hit. This draft was written by Scott Abbott and revised by Michael Rymer. Please note that the actual film may be slightly different that this draft. Shipping for all of my scripts is $4.00 in the United States. I will ship internationally at a higher cost. I will accept personal checks, but the item will only be shipped after the check has cleared. I prefer money orders, availiable from the U.S. Post Office. Happy Bidding!!!!!
Please e-mail
me if you know or hear anymore about this apparent *sale*!
And thanks to Lily and Kilanna for notifying me! J
Other major news was reported to me today by mmm_god from
Melbourne! He informed me that, during a Triple M radio interview with a casting agent for
the film, it was revealed that an unknown Australian actress is under consideration for a
lead role! Check out my Local News section for the full
update!
21. April, 2000
I added a new plot synopsis to my Local News page! It was discovered at Filmnet Daily Online, the free Australian and New Zealand film industry newsletter. The synopsis is definitely the most informative so far, and Filmnet Daily is now a place to watch!
20. April, 2000
Due to the severe lack of space on my old web server, today I decided to swap everything to another server. My site has now been transferred to Yahoo Geocities to provide some much-needed room for my ever-expanding pages!
The main address is still http://adelaide.net.au/~vampvan/. However, since I have transferred the majority of the pages, you might want to double check any other bookmarks you may have.
The change should not cause any disruption to the site. If you do happen to find any errors, please don't hesitate to e-mail me!
19. April, 2000
Corona's Coming
Attractions today reported that Melbourne radio station, Triple M, is holding a competition
in order to select the 10,000 extras needed for Lestat's rock concert scenes!!! The
station has also revealed that these scenes will be the "the setting for the
movie's chilling finale."
Now, in The Vampire Chronicles, the rock concert was actually near the end of The Vampire
Lestat. It wasn't in Queen of the Damned at all! So just how or why they're going
to make it at the end of the movie is beyond me...
The radio station also revealed that the movie budget is around 50 million dollars.
In music news:
Jae e-mailed me a link to a Korn audio interview where they
mention that they are currently working on The Queen of the Damned. Click here
to check it out. The reference to the movie is at approximately 2 minutes, 29 seconds.
17. April, 2000
All was quiet in overseas news today. I'm guessing everyone is still recovering from the major casting fiasco over the weekend...
**However, Australia FINALLY reported its own news about the film!**
Melbourne's leading newspaper, The
Age, today reported on the movie, and posted everything on its online internet site
(newly added to my Links Archive!)
Since I went searching close to midnight, I also managed to find two articles that will be
featured in tomorrow's edition! (18. April) J
The articles contain local news about the film, including
lots of production info, budget details and the fact that it will be a joint venture
between Warner Brothers and Village Roadshow Pictures. Also, 10,000 local Melbournians
will be cast as extras at Lestat's rock concert! For all this information and more, please
visit my newly updated Movie Info section.
16. April, 2000
Wes Bentley has definitely pulled out of the film!
Corona's Coming Attractions was right, he has definitely abandoned the project. Today, Upcoming Movies.com, Mr Showbiz News, Popcorn.co.uk, and 4 Filmakers all confirmed the news.
The reason? The Hollywood Reporter wrote that he needed to "take time off after a whirlwind year that included the unexpected success of and subsequent frenzy surrounding the Oscar-winning American Beauty as well as the completion of two other features, Artisan Entertainment's Soul Survivor and MGM's Kingdom Come." Of course, there's also a certain Spider Man project that he might be considering instead, but that's probably not news he'd like Warner Brother to know about right now! WB are obviously a little *annoyed* at his departure just weeks after agreeing to do the film.
Again, there are two different reports as to whether or not he signed an actual contract:
Mr Showbiz reported:
"Since Bentley did sign a Damned contract, Warners, according to the Reporter,
may ask him to sign an agreement that he would not accept any film work during the filming
of Damned, or they might make him cough up any overage that would need to be paid
to another actor at this late date."
While Popcorn.co.uk reported:
"Although the actor hadn't signed anything, a specific package had been negotiated
for him to star as the Vampire Lestat in the film. His agent revealed that Bentley has
decided to take some time off following the media circus surrounding 'American Beauty' and
completion on two other films, 'Soul Survivor' and 'Kingdom Come'.
Warner is currently deciding what to do about the problem and is thought to be considering
several options including forcing Bentley to sign a contract saying he will not work
anywhere else while 'Damned' is being filmed, or getting him to cough up the difference in
cash needed to bring on another star."
Either way, it looks as if Wes isn't *completely* free of the project yet...
**Further updates:**
Aaliyah has definitely signed on to play Akasha. Just about every site has confirmed this now!
The rumour about Liv Tyler is most probably false. It is generally assumed that she will be too busy working on the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy to become involved.
Filming is now set to begin on 21. August, 2000 in Melbourne, Australia. While the location remains the same, the production has been pushed back by a massive three months!
If Warner Brothers don't get a move on and start production by October, the film rights will revert back to Anne Rice (as they were originally intended too!!!) For me, this is the best news I've heard all day! J
14. April, 2000
*Major news!*
Both Corona's Coming
Attractions and Dark Horizons announced today that Wes Bentley has pulled out
of the film!!!
However, their versions are slightly different:
CCA said that the info was confirmed in today's Variety magazine.
CCA also reported that this news ties in with another of their scoops in that Wes
is now considering taking the lead role in the upcoming Spider Man movie...
DH announced that rumours are circulating that Wes Bentley may no longer
play Lestat. They say this has not yet been confirmed. However, DH also offer
reasons for his wanting to drop out. The main one? Wes may not want to come all the way to
Australia to do the film - he may prefer to stay on home soil, closer to projects
like...Spider Man.
Expanding on my news form yesterday, today both Corona's Coming Attractions and Dark Horizons reported that Aaliyah is almost certain to play Akasha. But again, the reports differed:
CCA announced that
Aaliyah will play Akasha.
DH announced that she will appear as a vampire in the film - some say as
Akasha.
Until there is more definite
information made available,
I will continue to treat both of these as rumours...
I'm sure we'll learn if they're really true soon enough!
Additional info:
CCA wrote that an Australian reader has reported that Simon Baker Denny (an Australian actor) has a role in the film! This is the first I've heard of it...
CCA reported that 4filmakers.com lists Liv Tyler as a cast member. There is no further information available other than her name in the cast list. I haven't heard of this either!
13. April, 2000
Finally, some more music
news!
Today I discovered that R&B singer Aaliyah is working on a few songs for the Queen of
the Damned soundtrack. Craig
sent me an e-mail, and I discovered that several people heard her talking about it on a
Washington DC radio station.
Corona's Coming Attractions also reported the radio interview. A radio listener sent in the scoop, and I will post it here because this is basically what I've heard from other people:
"As I was going to work I happened to hear an interview with rap
singer Aaliyah on a local Washington DC radio station. The interviewers were telling her
how good and convincing she was in Romeo Must Die (yeah right) and asked her if she had
gotten any more scripts. Well, she said she had tons of scripts, but right now she was
getting ready for her next project, Queen of the Damned, and she said was she was going to
be playing a vampire (she didn't want to go into details). She also said that Wes Bentley
(American Beauty) was going to play the role of Lestat and that she was thrilled to share
the screen with him."
(D_C Ghost)
For more information on Aaliyah, check out MTV Online or Always Aaliyah!
And finally, some casting news!
In the radio interview (mentioned above), Aaliyah said that she will play a vampire in the
film, but didn't specify which one.
Today I also heard a rumour that Mena Suvari (American Beauty, American Pie) will star in
the movie! No official news yet, but hopefully we'll see something soon...
An update on production:
Apparently, filming will now begin in August/September. I thought this might happen. The
studio just doesn't seem to even be close to being organised enough to start next
month, as was earlier reported.
7. April, 2000
A few days ago, Corona's
Coming Attractions reported that Warner Brothers had bought the rights for www.queenofthedamned.com. Today it was
confirmed that they have also bought the rights for www.queenofthedamned.net. This means we may
possibly see *two* official sites?
However, it's probably going to take many months, a year even, for WB to start on their
website(s). At the moment, there's still only one site dedicated to the film right here!
I'm definitely going to keep an eye on those WB addresses though. It's good to know
they're thinking ahead, even if progress is rather *slow* right now...
5. April, 2000
The IMDb *finally* added my 'related movie' recommendation of 'Interview With The Vampire' to its QotD page as...(guess what?)...a recommended related movie!
E! News televised an interview with Wes (to promote another new film) where he personally confirmed that he will definitely play the role of Lestat. It was also stated that production is set to begin in Spring. The interview has not yet been mentioned on their website, but it should appear soon.
I received an e-mail containing a fabulous picture of Wes as what he might look like with blonde hair as Lestat. Quite impressive, I think! (minus the beard, of course!)
* Picture generously provided by Debbie Campbell from Scotland! *
2. April, 2000
The IMDb added the production company (Warner Brothers) to its QotD page.
I received an e-mail containing the address of a great site that contains inside information about the movie script. I have temporarily posted it under 'Updates' on my Main page. I have also added it to my Links Archive.
