OCTOBER
31. October, 2000
Fantastic casting news today!!!
Yes, it's the news we've all been
waiting for! With very special thanks to an 'anonomous' source, I can finally announce who
will be playing the roles of Armand, Khayman, Mael and Enkil!!! As far as I know, these
details have not yet been officially announced. Since WB consider them to be 'minor'
roles, they have decided to keep these details quiet, as my 'anonomous' source explains:
"...the minor roles have been kept quiet as
some are local and they try to save them the hassling they may encounter, as they play
only minor roles they do not get all the security benefits that Stuart and Aaliyah get so
that's one reason. Another
is they re-casted a few and they have just started shooting the scenes with the minor
characters and they have to be sure they are remaining in the film or whether they are
being recasted. This isn't something that always happens but it is possible. I will say
however so far so good."
As always, until there is an official announcement, there is a possibility that the following details could change. However, as we know, WB are hoping to stick to a tight shooting schedule and re-casting of characters takes time. Since scenes involving minor characters have only just begun, I will treat these casting details as 'official' for the time being... The characters and actors are as follows:
Armand - Matthew Newton
On 14th October, two 'mystery' cast members were announced, and it
was discovered that Matthew had an unknown role in the film... I made a guess that he
would be Armand, and my prediction was right!!! :)
Khayman - Bruce Spence
Born in 1945 in New Zealand, Bruce will portray Mouth of Sauron in
the first installment of 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. Science-fiction fans may
remember him as Mr Wall in the film 'Dark City'.
Mael - Christian Manon
Christian has starred in several Australian-made films. He was most
recently seen with Tom Cruise in 'Mission Impossible 2' as Dr Gradsky.
Enkil - Peter
Olsen
No information yet on the Internet Movie Database.
David Talbot - To be announced...
Mekare - ???
My anonomous source has not heard
anything about this character... Mekare is featured in my version of the script only in a
flashback sequence. We do not see her at any other time, and it is Maharet who fulfils
Mekare's role at the end of the film... I suppose they could possibly use Lena Olin to
double for both roles, or it might be the case that Mekare has been removed from the movie
altogether.
If anyone finds any pictures or further information concerning the above actors, please e-mail me!
My anonomous source was also able to confirm the following:
- As has been previously speculated, there has been amendments to the script. As a result, while my version may be viewed as a guide, it should not be considered as entirely accurate...
- Filming will take place in Los Angeles. However, they will only be filming locations. No acting scenes will be filmed there - all primary shooting will take place here in Australia. You see, although 'Queen of the Damned' is being filmed in Melbourne, the entire movie is actually set in LA! Therefore, they will obviously have to film some location shots there to make it believable...
For example, the limo scene that
was filmed on the 16th October outside Storey Hall in Melbourne (see previous updates and script pages 7-12) will be visually altered for the film. The scene
takes place at the Tower Records store on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Film makers will
shoot exterior shots of the store, and then superimpose these images with the actual
footage shot in Melbourne. This will create the illusion that the entire scene was filmed
in LA itself. Yes, that's movie magic for you!!!
(I figured all this out just the other
night! These are my speculative thoughts only, but it will work something like that! And
no, it isn't Warner Brothers Records in London after all - it's all Hollywood!)
More casting news today thanks to Craig Hindman. Yesterday, local Melbourne newspaper 'The Herald Sun' reported an article
entitled 'Tasty Role in Vamp Flick'. Australian bartender Renee Quast will play a
"sucking girl vampire" in the film. I'm guessing that she'll probably be
featured in one of the vampire nightclub scenes (see script pages 26-30).
Click here to read the scanned acticle! Also, for more
speculative casting choices, feel free to check out Cody Walton's 'Lestat and The Vampire Chronicles'
website. Check out the 'Characters' section for some
great speculative images of all the vampires!
Further movie tidbits of information:
- It is now official that filming will continue in Melbourne until mid-December.
- The budget is set at US $30 million. (approx. AUS $55 million)
- Filming continues to take place at various locations around Melbourne. Sianoir reports that, on the 25th, they were filming inside the Albert Rd
Barracks...
- Things are also still happening over at the St Albans warehouse. Ezza
reports:
"I live 2 mins away from that old building they are filming in
St Albans, I went past and I saw that they have set up some sort of an old grave yard or
something, it is small and looks very old, with a tree next to it that only has the trunk,
and the inside cut out. I couldn't stay there long, cause some old car come out from the
building watching me, so I left. Also on the other side of the building there was a huge
tent set up like the ones they use for circus's, and heaps of caravan and trucks, and even
2 sails where sitting there.."
As always, anyone living in Melbourne who would like to
contribute filming news or location pics, please e-mail
me!
The script update has been completed! I have now posted the first
54 pages for all to see. The next script update is scheduled in just over a week, the day
after my final exam! My degree is nearly completed, and so next month I will finally have
time to do some major updates to this site...At this stage, I'm planning the following: A
chat room (all going well!), an 'About Me' page, and a whole load of updates to existing
pages!
24. October, 2000
Corona's Coming Attractions has posted some great location pics of the scene
filmed outside RMIT last week. You may recall that Storey Hall was supposed to be designed
as the entrance to Warner Brothers Records in London, but these pics aren't exactly how I
imagined it to be...hmmm, take a look and see what you think! Also, feel free to scroll
down to my 17. October update to read through the accounts of people who were actually
there, and see if you can recognise the 'lime green' resemblances!
Click here to view larger images!
More
location news today from Sianoir, one of the extras from the RMIT scene! (her account is featured in my last update) She writes:
"Yesterday (23rd) I went past Fawkner Park and saw the crew setting up for filming. Then, on the way home I saw the vans again, but they were outside Luna Park in St. Kilda. But wait there's more-- On the way home again tonight going down Albert Rd. (South Melbourne), I saw them filming again! They were filming something in front of the army barracks (?) which are in Albert Park. I wish I could have stopped but we were driving home. The vans were there again, and the lights were trained on the front of the building where they were filming. I didn't see who was set though, which is a bit disappointing..."
The production of this movie sure does get around! I'm not sure why they would have chosen any of these locations - especially Luna Park (!) However, they seem to be hurrying the production along, and are using plenty of different locations around the city. Remember, if you're in Melbourne and see any filming action taking place, please feel free to e-mail me! Pictures are always especially welcome! ;)
As promised, the next script
update has now been posted. I have created a brand new section (Section Four), and another update is scheduled for this Sunday...
20. October, 2000
Major extras news has been
announced!
Extras are needed for an all-night concert to be filmed on December 1st!!!
Yes, it's the news all aspiring
extras have been waiting for! This all-night concert will serve as a substitute for
Lestat's 'Death Valley' concert! As reported in earlier updates, Lestat's rock concert
scenes will be filmed in two parts, with extras in the audience being filmed separately
from the band's actual performance. This means people attending the concert will not be
seeing Lestat and the band, but can instead look forward to "a night of goth music,
performance acts and deejays all through the support of Abyss..."
NIGHT OF THE DAMNED
Warner Brothers and Village Roadshow Pictures are
currently filming QUEEN OF THE DAMNED on location in and around Melbourne. Based on the
novel by Anne Rice, this is the sequel to INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. In the near future
we will be filming a Death Valley concert scene for the film. If you've read the book you
know this will be the climax action scene of the movie and you can be a part of it!
All Vampire lovers are invited to attend this night for a peek at the look of the newest
Vampire film. We promise you a night to remember! We will be filming the audience
throughout the night - and this is your opportunity (but no guarantee) for cinematic
immortality.
This will be a night of live goth music, alternative performance acts and deejays, all
with the support of the Abyss. There will be giveaways and prizes to be won all through
the night. Best of all, we're going to give someone a trip to Los Angeles to attend a
special screening of the film.
Entry to the concert is free and food and beverage will be provided.
The location and dates of this major event will be kept secret and everything you need to
know to attend will be announced over the next few weeks, so keep checking this site and
local street press.
If you want to be in the audience and to get updates send us an email.
This will be a night you will never forget.
All goths wanting to register as an extra for the
film, go to www.screenfaces.com or send a photo to:
P.O. Box 1191, St. Albans, 3021.
The above information can be found at the Goth Night Out website. Extras registration is still the same through Screenfaces.com. I have mentioned this site several times before and, as many of you know, they have been taking online extras applications for many weeks. The application process has not changed. If you are already registered, there is no reason to register again. However, there is now yet another postal address you can send a photo too. Even if you've sent in a postal application before, I say try and try again!
Screenfaces.com has now updated it's QotD page (accessible from the homepage) with the following information: 'Extras are needed for an all night Goth Concert Scene to be filmed Friday 1 December 6pm-6am More details are yet to be announced'.
Goth Night Out is also obviously a site to watch in the future and, as promised, concert details are gradually being released. The goth concert looks set to be a great night - especially with that amazing door prize - a trip to LA to see the film!!! And Goth Night Out is now being widely promoted! On Wednesday night, the website was featured on the popular Channel 10 TV program, 'The Panel'. I did not see the show myself, but I heard from plenty of people who did! One of these people was rock boy, who said it was about a 10-15 second piece. The show's movie man, Lawrie Zion, mentioned a goth extras call up for Queen of the Damned. He then provided the Goth Night Out site address and a phone number:
If you're in Australia,
the number to call is (03) 9356 0843
(I have not called yet, but I plan to first thing Monday morning...)
Promotion continued on Wednesday night at The Cure concert in Melbourne. They were handing out flyers to the audience inviting people to the concert. These flyers featured the site address and phone number, and also mentioned that door prizes on the night will include a trip to the film's LA premiere... (special thanks to Craig Hindman for this news!)
Of course, all this news quickly spread onto the internet over at Dark Horizons, Countingdown and IGN Coming Soon! These sites provided even more details than 'The Panel'. Here's the snippets of news from two of the sites:
IGN Coming Soon: (Wednesday)
Be An Extra In 'Queen Of The Damned'!
Gothnightout.com is offering people to be extras as fans of Lestat's band in "Queen
of the Damned" shooting in Melbourne. Here's a clip:
Warner Brothers is currently filming QUEEN OF THE DAMNED on location in and around
Melbourne. Based on the novel by Anne Rice, this is the sequel to INTERVIEW WITH THE
VAMPIRE. In the near future we will be filming a Death Valley concert scene for the film,
and all Vampire lovers are invited to attend a night of live goth music, performance acts
and deejays all through the support of the Abyss. This is your opportunity for cinematic
immortality. Entry to the concert is free and food and drink will be provided all night.
Dark Horizons: (Thursday)
Queen of the Damned: Are you a Goth living in Melbourne? If so then
listen up. Last night on TV's "The Panel", film critic Lawrie Zion (one of the
best writer/reporters in the biz) mentioned a website for those who want to take part in
this sequel to 'Interview with a Vampire'. The scene itself is a "Death Valley
concert" sequence which will be shot on the night of December 1st and requires
"Goths of all shapes and sizes" - preferably young but still aged over 15.
They're also after 'Gypsy Types' and "Vampire Types - Pale, thin, exquisite with
great bone structure. Eurotrash. Ideally with dance or movement training. We also want
people with bondage apparel". To enter your name, go to GothNightOut and follow the
links.
Hopefully, there should be more extras updates real soon! ;)
Some inside news from the "press conference scene" featured
in my last update! Several people were observers of the scenes, but I have now received an
account from Sianoir who was one of the actual extras
involved in the shoot. She was one of the youths in the crowd, and says the night was
great fun. Here's her run-down of events:
"There were two groups of extras; those to get there at 4:30,
and those to get there at 6pm. I was in the 6pm group. We signed in and went to wardrobe
and all that and then finally walked over to where the shoot was going to be. It was in
front of Storey Hall, an RMIT building which was supposed to be the Warner Brothers
Records HQ in London. The 4:30pm people were all waiting there, shooting hadn't started,
props had just been handed around. There were lots of props like signs, fake mobile
phones, Lestat CD's and posters, Coffin handbags etc. They didn't let us keep any of the
props or I would've scanned in my
poster for your site.
It's a really great logo they've used. It has black predatory looking eyes and mouth with
little fangs at the top, as though the person on the poster's looking down at you; and at
the top there's red blood running down which has been made to look like a fringe or
something. The background is limey green, but changes colour. The word Lestat is in a
white font which made me think of fangs, or squarish scimitar blades and the text as a
whole reads <Lestat: Live and Undead.
All hallows eve. Death Valley> It's a really striking design and I'm quite put out that
I couldn't keep my poster.
Anyway what was filmed was basically the band entering the building; for some reason
without Lestat. Rob Farnham is a definite member of the band and it appears by what the
band were wearing that leather pants are the order of the day.
They filmed the crowd mobbing the limo from the outside and also from the inside of the
limo (when the crowd was miming). They also filmed the band going through the crowd to the
door and also the crowd from the band's perspective as they went through the
crowd..."
The props sound promising. The posters were fictitious ones for the band (an official QotD poster is yet to be released.) But I wonder what's happened to Lestat? In my version of the script, he is definitely in those scenes - he is arriving at the press conference with his band. Why wasn't he there? Sianoir has told me the crowd had to yell "Where's Lestat?" during the take. It seems their shouts were for real! In fact, I am yet to hear from anyone who has seen Stuart Townsend in Melbourne at all. This seems kind of strange, as people have seen Akasha and Jesse, but not Lestat - not yet, anyways...
More
information about the "press conference" scenes comes from Craig Hindman. He has informed me that the blonde-haired, Daniel Johns lookalike member
of Satans Night Out is, in fact, John Farnham's son! This rumour has been floating around
for weeks, but now it has been confirmed. The young actor was also spotted playing in the
band in the shooting of the opening scene, so he must be Alex or James. His real name is
Rob Farnham, and he is a member of the band 'Noah's Army'.
Fantastic website news today! The
official site is on its way!!! Finally,
the official QotD website looks set to become operational. As I reported several months
ago, Warner Brothers has bought the rights to both www.queenofthedamned.com
and www.queenofthedamned.net. Yesterday I
was informed by SIMONREXs that the .com site address is now leading back to the
Warner Brothers Online main page
(where there is still no mention of the movie). I have checked several times tonight, and
this is definitely where it leads. However, when I checked out the address last
night, a strange thing occurred. I typed in the the .com address, and it immediately
changed into http://queenofthedamned.warnerbros.com/,
indicating that a QotD page does exist in association with Warner Brothers. However, all I
got was a white screen. I tried again about 15 minutes later only to be lead back to the
WB main page. The second address was completely bypassed! This has lead me to believe that
work is definitely underway on the official site, and the above addresses are definitely
ones to watch!!!
17. October, 2000
Anne Rice has spoken out about the
film in more detail than ever before! In her latest phone message, she confirms several
details, and reveals a couple of new ones! The message is actually dated a couple of weeks
ago, but the transcript was not posted on her official
site until a few days ago, hence the lateness of my posting it here. Special thanks go
to Debbie Campbell, Tina Gilbert, Jennifer Hoover and Dru
for the notification! The following is a transcript of Anne's message concerning the
production of QotD. The entire transcript can be found here.
"Hello Guys, this is Anne Rice. It is October
2, 2000 and I have news about THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED. The movie has begun. They began
principal photography today in Australia. And I have the names of the key crew members and
cast members. I want to give that to you.
I got a very nice letter from Warner Bros. with this information. The young man who is
playing the Vampire Lestat is Stuart Townsend. Jesse is going to be played by Marguerite
Moreau. Akasha is played by Aaliyah. Maharet is played by Lena Olin. Marius is played by
Vincent Perez. I don't know a whole lot about all of these people. I can tell you that
Stuart Townsend is very highly praised for a stage production that he did in London. He
got wonderful praise from the New Yorker Magazine. Also, one person I know, who saw the
production, said he was fabulous. I don't, let's see, about the others, I do know about
Vincent Perez. I have seen him in a wonderful movie called QUEEN MARGOT. He was absolutely
terrific. I think he will make a very interesting Marius. I haven't seen Stuart Townsend,
but from all I have heard, I think he will make a very interesting Lestat. If I knew more
about the others, I would tell you. Oh, I have seen Lena Olin in a movie. She was very
impressive. I have seen her in two movies. She has quite a presence.
Now, the only other information I have here that I want to pass on is that the director of
photography is Ian Baker. The production designer is Graham "Grace" Walker and
the costume designer is Angus Strathie. That is all I have right now.
The movie is definitely happening, there is no question about that. The cameras are
apparently rolling. I can say now that I have seen some versions of the script - - over
the last, I guess would be over the past two years now, but not quite. I have given
comments back to Warner Bros. and frankly in my opinion, I think they have been sensitive
to my views and I appreciate that very, very much. I didn't speak about that before
because I felt that was confidential. That if you are looking at a script for a studio and
the studio was asking you for your opinion, you were obligated to give your comments back
in a professional way and not to make it public.
Let me say that I think they have worked very, very hard on the script and they have been
very nice inquiring about my reactions to it. So, I am finally able to say all of that.
And I am finally able to say that I hope this will be a wonderful production. I hope it
will be fantastic and I hope that the actors will really capture the personalities of the
characters in the books. That is really the extent of everything I know right now about
it. The letter from Warner's doesn't mention the director, but the director was Michael
Rymer and I am assuming that Michael Rymer is still the director. If I find out that it is
not the case, I will pass that on in the days to come."
Anne has now officially confirmed the casting of Stuart, Marguerite, Aaliyah, Lena and Vincent. Her message is dated too early for her to know about Claudia as Pandora, but I'm sure she'll find out soon enough! She also confirms that Ian Baker is the director of photography. However, interestingly, it appears that Angus Strathie is the costume designer. She has been credited on several sites, but the IMDb had former 'Interview With The Vampire' costume designers Sandy Powell and Deborah Lynn Scott listed instead. However, I'm going to go with Anne here, and Angus it is! Also, we now know that Graham "Grace" Walker is the production designer. As always, I have added all these details to the Movie Info page along with their respective IMDb links for further infromation about the crew.
A
major scene was filmed on Monday night outside RMIT at
the entrance to Storey Hall! It seems that many Melbournians saw the filming take place,
and several have decided to share their sightings. First of all, two accounts have been
posted over at Corona's
Coming Attractions. They are as follows:
October 16, 2000... "I live in Melbourne,
Australia, where Queen of the Damned is filming. This evening - about 7:30 - I passed the
production while taking the tram home. They were filming in front of one of RMIT
University's ornate facades; the scene was, apparently, the exterior of a Lestat concert.
Several nicely designed posters were visible,featuring lots of green, a vampiric face, and
the words 'The Vampire Lestat - Live and Undead', along with a very large banner with
Lestat's name. There was a crowd of extras, and a great deal of high-pitched 'excited
fans'-style screaming." [By Tennant Reed]
October 17, 2000... More sightings? Yup. "I happenned to wander past the set for
Queen of the Damned yesterday. They were filming outside R.M.I.T. (a large Melbourne
university). I didn't get a chance to see much, as I didn't have time to stop, but I guess
they were filming the entrance to a nightclub, or concert. They were filming at the
entrance to one of the buildings, (I think it is called Storey Hall), which is very
unusual. The entrance to this building is a sort of cave, which is painted in bright green
and purple, and it fits with a nightclub. There were posters up, covering up all signs of
the university, advertising that 'The Vampire Lestat' would be appearing that night. I was
only there when they were setting up, so I have no idea of what they actually
filmed." [Liam Merlot]
~~Personally, I received this sighting from Sarah Patrick:
"A friend of mine saw a crew setting up for filming on monday night outside storey hall at RMIT (a big, modern, abstract purple and green facade, really weird looking). There was a limo surrounded by all sorts of goths, police in english/european uniforms, and there was signs on the walls saying "Lestat live tonight" or things to that effect! very interesting!"
~~But the biggest and most detailed description of the scene came from Chris Short! He writes:
"The filming I happened to come across last
night (Monday night) was in a very prominent location - outside RMIT opposite Central
station. Half Swanston street was closed off - and it's often so busy there. Basically
they were using it for that artistic "geometric" entrance that does look vaguely
Gothic. Even though I was watching for hours, I'm sure the scene that was being filmed
would only take a few seconds in the movie. Basically a long stretch limo pulls up outside
that RMIT entrance which has now has a blue neon sign saying "WARNER BROS.
RECORDS" and is covered with slick rock posters coloured green, red and white that
say:
THE VAMPIRE LESTAT
LIVE AND UNDEAD
all hallows eve
death valley
As the limo pulls up it is mobbed by a crowd of adoring fans all clad in various
interpretations of gothic dress who are waving the identical posters and "CDs"
with the same image on them, as well as a variety of banners. Some of the banner messages:
"SUCK ME LESTAT"... "LESTAT 4 EVIL" ... "BLOOD LOVE BABY"...
"VAMPIRES ROCK"... "MAUDY"...
They all swarm around and press themselves over all the car windows as a handful of
British police (the guys wearing bobby hats) in flack jackets try to hold them back. I
guess that scene is set in London.
Interestingly enough in most of the takes of that part of the scene, the hyped up crowd
were totally silent, waving their banners and screaming and everything in total silence.
Cute.
The occupants of the car then dashed in to the RMIT entrance, through a jubilant crowd.
First there went a handful of people who were probably "band members" who
appeared as tho they were supposed to look extremely gothic, but they just looked more
punk than gothic to me. One chap was probably having the devil of a time in the icy
breezes as his head was shaved bald and his only top was made of chain links.
The other 4 more "main" people in the car were: 2 "young rocker"
looking types one looking quite like silverchair's Daniel Johns, and the other with a dark
brown floppy mop of hair looking more oasis-ish. Sitting opposite them in the car was a
goth girl with pink hair overacting the "gee I'm just so so totally goth like I find
everything boring you know?" and acting as a freaked out suit (possibly their
manager) was Tiriel Moira (Marty in Frontline, the crap lawyer in The Castle).
He rocks.
Not much else to say about it all. One of the workers was rather chatty and told us about
how most of the filming will be in Melbourne, and that the title was "Queen of The
Damned". Apparently just the other night they were filming in another street of the
CBD and a vampire was getting staked. The worker enthused about the vampire's screaming
and writhing..."
~~This means Tiriel Mora's character has been confirmed!!! Yes, I was right in my prediction!!! He will play the cheesy business manager Roger Smythe! This news was confirmed by Chris' sighting...and ya heard it here first, folks! ;)
Also, anyone familiar with the script will have probably recognised the information above...Yes, the scene has already been posted over at my Unofficial Script section! (pages 7-9) It is the scene where Lestat and his band (Satan's Night Out) arrive at Warner Brothers Records in London for a press conference. Inside, Lestat toys with the journalists as he answers all their questions about his rising fame. I'm guessing the interior scenes will probably be shot at another location...but it seems that Storey Hall has been chosen as a substitute for Warner Brothers Music in London! LOL!
Obviously, the people in the limo were Roger Smythe and the three members of Satan's Night Out (it seems Louisa has definitely been scrubbed from the script, leaving only Maudy, James and Alex). Lestat should have been in there somewhere too...(?) But what's this about them being Daniel Johns and Neil Gallagher lookalikes? And Maudy with pink hair?!? Hmmm...can't wait to see this!!!
We now have more location pics thanks to Duane Fernando! He took these in Flinders Lane while they were shooting there last
week. The images are not too clear, but have a look to see what you can find! It seems to
me that the trucks are filled with equipment used to block off the road for
filming...Click for larger images to check them out yourself! (Warning - pics may take a while to load!)
And remember, if anyone in Melbourne sees anything interesting happening around the city, feel free to e-mail me! :)
14. October, 2000
Lots of cast pictures today!
Firstly, photos of the two 'mystery' cast members have been found! These seem to be the
only two on the internet but, hopefully, this will soon change. There is still no news on
what characters they will play. For the time being, I have decided to make my own cast
speculations, and assign them characters myself! Remember that these are my personal guesses only!!! Official character announcements are yet to be made!
Matthew Newton
Tieriel Mora
Armand (?)
Roger Smythe (?)
Two cast members that we are certain of are Claudia Black and Vincent Perez. Once
again, Debbie Campbell has contributed speculative pictures of what they
might look like as their respective characters. Debbie is actually working on her own QotD
cast website which should be up-and-running real soon so, if you like her pics, you'll
love her site! I'll be sure to mention it right here as soon as it's operational...In the
meantime, here are some great pics of Pandora and Marius:
=
= 
For larger images, check out the photos in my Movie Info section!
Speaking of Pandora, I have become aware of another great Claudia Black website. It is
beautifully designed, and packed with info about the talented Aussie actress. I definitely
recommend it for those who'd like to find out more about our new Pandora! :)
Another website worth checking out right now is Cinescape Online,
where they are running an amusing little movie poll. The question? Which of the following
do you wish was out for Halloween? The choices include Queen of the Damned, which is
currently in second place with 23% of the votes! Click here to check out the poll, and cast
your votes! :) (Special thanks to
Debbie for all the info!)
More location details today from Craig
Hindman. It seems he saw the same scenes as Ritz (see last
update) being filmed at Flinders Lane...Here's what he had to say:
"...was in Flinders lane on Monday night for a friends
album launch - watched them film a scene described on your page which involves a long
haired girl strolling down a street while in the background a BMW picks up a young guy
after negotiating through the passenger window - the girl strolls past this as an old
style Taxi pulls away (both cars with European number plates) and two other guys start
perving on her as she walks past - they did this take about 4 times while I was watching -
as I proceeded down to the dead alleys near honkey tonks a guy was practising running out
of the bar on fire - had the protective clothing on and all - then as we left the venue
they were fimling scenes with some old homeless people in an alley sitting around a small
fire - the Words "Rhythm City" were chalked onto the footpath."
He went on to confirm that the 'girl' was indeed
Jesse/Marguerite Moreau!
Craig also confirmed details of
the movie soundtrack...
"I tried to submit a song for the soundtrack as I work
with a fairly well known Australian recording artist - we spoke to the Director and
Musical Director and were told the entire sound track was "stitched up" months
ago and basically consisted of Limp Biskit and Korn tunes..."
Despite rumours that there would be a
variety of musical artists featured in the film, it seems only Korn and Limp Biskit are
contributing. However, you never know, an Aaliyah tune may creep in there somewhere too...
And news from a friend about the
opening scene!
"An engineer friend of mine was present at filming of
the opening scene in which Lestat hears the band rehearsing and goes to meet them - they
spent the day miming to a Korn tune and my friends job was to hide all the in ear monitors
and provide mixes for the actors in the band. This shot took the entire day apparently but
the set was "awesome" according to my friend."
Special thanks to Craig for all this great location info! :) As always, if you live in Melbourne and would like to contribute to this site, just e-mail me!
11. October, 2000
Two 'mystery' cast members have been announced!!!
The Internet Movie Database has
recently added two brand new actors to their QotD 'Cast' list - but not the characters
they are set to play! (It seems they have a habit of doing this, as Vincent Perez and Lena
Olin are yet to be credited as Marius and Maharet.) As soon as I discovered this news (special thanks to Dru for the notification!), I searched all over the internet for further
information, but found nothing! So, it seems we have a guessing game on our hands!!!
The two Australian actors are Tiriel Mora and Matthew Newton. Tiriel Mora is probably best remembered as Dennis Denuto, the underqualified (but amusing!) lawyer in the Aussie comedy film, 'The Castle'. He also played a prominent role as Martin DiStasio in the Aussie TV series, 'Frontline' (also called 'Breaking News' in the US). Matthew Newton is the 23-year-old son of Australian television personality, Bert Newton. According to the IMDb, he was actually born in America, but has presumably spent most of his life here. Matthew is relatively new to the acting scene, and is probably best known for his role as John Barton in the recent Aussie film, 'Looking for Alibrandi'.
Despite extensive searching, I could not find a suitable picture for either actor to post on this page! If anyone finds some photos, or any dedicated sites, please e-mail me!
Back to the character guessing game! I predict that Tiriel has been cast as Lestat's band manager, Roger Smythe. If you've read the script and seen 'The Castle', you can see why I think he's suited to the role! Matthew Newton is a little harder to place. He could be Armand (?), or perhaps one of the male band members...Once we find some pics, you'll see what I mean!
Some
more clarification today about the much-anticipated concert scenes. As I stated in my last
update, they will definitely be filmed in December, despite earlier rumours concerning
October 16th. Today I received this information from an anonomous source:
"The concert isn't being filmed on the 16th. The
16th will actually be shooting for a press conference scene. Shooting also took place last
night on Exhibition Street/Flinders Lane..."
Also, the following news comes
from Ritz, a long-time reliable source who's helped out with location sightings in the
past!
"...went passed flinders lane around 6pm and they were
setting up filming and having dinner... around the streets trailers were parked... on the
trailers they had the character names on them... lestat, jesse and marius... i THINK i saw
jesse... she was short, red hair and a strong american accent... cos i dont really know
what they other characters look like its kinda hard to tell who is who in person... i
couldnt find that bar maybe its somewhere else but they were using the road to film a bmw
pulling over to pick someone up and around the corner nearby a london taxi was waiting...
they were still setting up cameras and lighting so i didnt know exactly how the scene was
played but my guess its spose to look like they are in london somewhere... i briefly
passed the street today and my guess is they could still be filming!!!"
As always, anyone with any further filming info, feel free to e-mail me!
8. October, 2000
The concert filming details have
now been confirmed! Special thanks go to
Nick for the following info:
"I was at Abyss last night (6.October), the
Melbourne "goth" nightclub, and they had big posters up advertising the concert
to attract interest for extras. It's going to be filmed in Werribee in December and
they're going to have shuttle buses going back and forth to get everybody down there.
Werribee is about half an hour out of Melbourne....
The concert will actually be a performance by the Baroness and Love Lies Bleeding (the
Baroness runs Abyss) and on this night, only crowd shots will be filmed with all The
Vampire Lestat band footage and action stuff being filmed at a later date. Jonathan Davies
will not be involved with this concert at all so anybody hoping to see some offshoot of
Korn play at the concert will be sadly disappointed."
The concert scenes are now definitely set to be filmed in December. However, it appears only crowd shots will be filmed using the extras. I'm sure many of you were hoping the Vampire Lestat himself would be acting out his 'performance' on the day, but concert-goers can now instead look forward to seeing the Baroness and Love Lies Bleeding. Hopefully, there'll be more details in the weeks to come!
The
script pages are now here! I've added five more pages to
finish off the third section of transcript. However, the next section will be delayed for
a couple of weeks. This month is a particularly hectic one for me as I'm in the final year
of a full-time University degree, and I only have a few weeks left to go! My primary focus
at the moment is regular movie news updates, and I will work hard in continuing to keep
this site as up-to-date as possible! J
7. October, 2000
My congratulations go
out to Claudia Black for two reasons. Firstly, for winning the role of Pandora, and
secondly, for being kind enough to let her fans know about it! Claudia publicly announced
her casting in QotD a few days ago. Of course, news quickly spread around the internet
and, quite suddenly, we discovered the identity of another movie vamp! :)
Claudia is a talented Australian actress who most recently starred in the Aussie-made action-thriller 'Pitch Black'. She is also a regular on the Aussie TV series, 'Farscape'. Personally, I think she looks the part and will do very well in the role. Best of luck to her!
Claudia made her casting announcement over at the scifi.com messageboards. (Special thanks go to Ian Bassett, Debbie Campbell, SimplyDelirious, Dania and Natalie Shamoradi for the notification!) A transcript can be found here. Her complete message was as follows:
TV : On Air Colony : Farscape : CLAUDIA BLACK SAYS
HEY
Date: 10/3/2000
From: chickwithgun
Hello there beautiful people!
We are all suffering from post Olympic syndrome after a surprisingly exciting fortnight of
sport and entertainment.I am officially very proud to be an aussie (aussie aussie,
oi,oi,oi!!!)
My reason for posting today is to let you know that I have been cast to play Vampire
Pandora in the sequel to Interview
With a Vampire.
For those of you who have read Anne Rice's books,be prepared for some filmic licence and
adaptation, if you know what I mean.While being losely called the sequel,The Queen of the
Damned is not the book which directly follows interview and will not star Tom Cruise nor
Brad Pitt.
I do not post this bit of news to boast, rather to recognize the enormous support I have
received from you all on the BB and thank you for it as I feel You have instilled me with
a confidence which has pushed me forward.
For those of you who out of loyalty went to support Pitch Black I can at least promise
this time that although Pandora is a small support role, she will not be knocked off
early!
Love and light to you all and thanks again for your continued support not only of Farscape
but also of all the people who are bringing it to you.
Your chick with gun,
Claudia
Melbournians keep watch!!! Filming action has
begun, and it looks set to continue in and around the city for a long time to come! Here's
a list of filming dates and details I've received so far:
1) An anonomous tipster
has reported:
"I've just had confirmation that scenes from Queen
of the damned are to be filmed Monday night, October 9th outside Honky Tonks bar near Flinders Lane in the city. The whole street
is being sealed off for the nights filming..."
Anyone who can get there, be sure to sneak a peak! And perhaps
bring a camera too? :)
2) Two 16-year-old teenagers - Jess and Nadine - have been cast as extras for the Lestat's concert and report that this all-important rock concert will be filmed OCTOBER 16th! I had previously believed these scenes were to be shot in December...Any Melbournians with further news, please e-mail me!
3) Some filming was reportedly done at the Melbourne University, RMIT, on Monday, October 5th! And Aaliyah was there!!! Special thanks go to 'speedy' for this info, and Ritz for sending it to me. Also, special commiserations go out to Ritz - the messenger who unfortunately missed the action herself after deciding to take the day off... (d'oh!)
4) Last, but by no means least, sianoir recently took a drive by the St Albans warehouse and saw...baskets! Lots and lots of them!!! Apart from that, the sight reportedly looked pretty bare...
More cast-related links have been found! Special
thanks go to Natalie Shamoradi and creator Kurt Moyst for sending me links to the Maruguerie Moreau Tribute. Also, specail thanks to
everyone who recommended Claudia
Black Online...
I have also become aware of two more Chronicles-related sites:
Anne Rice Central
By Natalie Shamoradi
Fantastic Anne Rice site with lots of great graphics! It's frequently updated, and also
features links to many other interesting vampiric sites...
Le
Jardin Sauvage
Beautifully designed site with comprehenisive info about the Chronicles and much more!
Recently posted on the bulletin board was this very clever parody poster of QotD. Please
note it's not official - it's only an amusing speculative
image! :) Click for a larger image to check out all the
details! I am currently working on a QotD Poster page. If you'd like to contribute any of
your own speculative images concerning the movie, please e-mail me!
6. October, 2000
PANDORA HAS BEEN CAST!
Australian actress Claudia Black will portray
the ancient vampire.
For more information on Claudia, check out Claudia Black Online.
LOTS of news to report today! In
fact, there's so much information to report that I've run out of time to post it all
today! Look out for massive updates coming tomorrow! These will
include lots and lots of location details from Melbournians, as well as links, piccies and
upcoming filming dates. I will also be updating my Movie Info page and the Links Archive,
along with more details on Pandora's casting! :)
2. October, 2000
The apparent 1. October deadline has now come and
gone. As a result, the movie rights have been officially secured by Warner Brothers. For
anyone still doubting the reality of this production, I can now assure you that this film
is definitely going ahead! Work has been going on throughout September over in eastern
Australia, with several test shoots being completed. The actors have all been cast and
assembled, and it seems that actual shooting will begin OCTOBER 3RD.
This is according to Prototype Casting, the Australian casting company involved with the
film. In yesterday's edition of 'ScreenBiz' - the company's online newsletter - the
following appeared:
"CASTING NEWS:
QUEEN of the DAMNED has just been completed in Melbourne - well casting is over, the shoot
starts October 3."
Yes, casting is finally over!!! However, I am yet to find any further information. The casting of major characters such as Khayman, Pandora, Armand, David Talbot, Mael, Enkil, Mekare and Roger Smythe are yet to be officially announced! However, October looks set to be a very exciting month concerning this film, and I'm sure the roles will be announced soon enough...
Former Lestat candidate, Anthony Kirkland Jr, is currently in Melbourne overseeing the
shoot. He has recently written to me, assuring us that the production is going along well,
and Stuart looks promising as Lestat. He writes:
"Well things are going great---I'm very excited about Stuart's portrayal of Lestat. The opening graveyard scene will knock your socks off. We just finished for the evening and I thought I would give you an update. For those people who are worrying about the movie and Townsend as Lestat, tell them to trust me. . .the film will be exciting, seductive, and horrifying all in one!"
If anyone has anymore inside info from the set, you know who to e-mail! :)
Over the last few days, I have been working on lots of changes to my
site. I've now updated just about every page, including Movie
Info, Script Info, and My
Opinions. I have also made some major updates to my Links
page which now looks a lot more user-friendly. I am still working on the script pages, which should be up sometime tomorrow. In the
meantime, enjoy the updates!
