Queen of the Damned
I'd like to give a special thanks to Anne Rice, Scott Abbott, Michael Petroni and Warner Bros. Also, to Margaret Mc Kinnon for providing this wonderful dialogue script.


LESTAT:
There comes a time for every vampire when the idea of eternity becomes momentarily unbearable. Living in the shadows, feeding in the darkness with only your own company to keep, rots into a solitary, hollow existence. Immortality seems like a good idea, until you realize you're going to spend it alone. So I went to sleep, hoping that the sounds of the passing eras would fade, and a sort of death might happen. But as I lay there, the world didn't sound like the place I had left, but something different. Better. It became worthwhile to rise again as new gods were born and worshipped. Night and day they were never alone. I would become one of them. Whether it was that first meal or the hundred years of rest, I'm not sure but suddenly I was feeling better than ever. My senses so high, they led me straight to the instrument of my resurrection, playing in my old house.

BANDMEMBER:
Jesus.

BANDMEMBER 2:
Your voice...

BAND MEMBER 3:
Who the hell are you man?

LESTAT:
The question provoked an irresistible urge. I am the vampire Lestat. It just rolled out of my mouth. With one simple sentence I had betrayed everything about my kind. Betrayed our code of secrecy.

BAND MEMBER 2:
Vampire. That's funny.

LESTAT:
Indeed. Hilarious. You're all...so beautiful.

BAND MEMBER 2:
Your hand...

LESTAT:
Cold as death.

BAND MEMBER 4:
You're gonna kill us?

LESTAT:
No. All that you've ever dreamed of, I'm going to make yours. This is your lucky day. It was a bold move, I admit, but from that moment on they were my friends, my children, my band. Giving the world a new god...me.

JOURNALIST:
OK. So why here in London?

BAND MEMBER 3:
C'mon man, we go where we're told to go just like you do.

JOURNALIST 2:
So how would you sum up your music?

BAND MEMBER 2:
Sex, blood, and rock n roll.

ROGER:
It's time. May I present, the vampire Lestat.

LESTAT:
Good evening. Sorry I'm late, I was just trying to catch my breakfast.

JOURNALIST 3:
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but what I remember about vampires is that you guys generally keep your identity secret.

LESTAT:
Yes, 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.

JOURNALIST 3:
Could you prove it? You know, give us a demonstration of your powers.

LESTAT:
If you like, I can give you a private demonstration in your hotel room tonight.

JOURNALIST 2:
Lestat, your first and only concert's in Death Valley, just days away. Why just the one?

LESTAT:
I don't like repeating myself.

JOURNALIST 4:
There are lots of rumours flying around the internet about the hidden meaning in your lyrics. That you're giving away vampire secrets. Something in all that?

LESTAT:
Maybe I'm trying to resurrect a few old friends. Daring them to come out.

JOURNALIST:
These other vampires, aren't they gonna be pissed off that you're giving away their secrets?

LESTAT:
Mmm, I imagine they are. Yes.

JOURNALIST 2:
Do you have anything else to say to the other vampires listening out there?

LESTAT:
As a matter of fact, I do. Come out, come out, wherever you are. See you all in death valley.

GROUPIE:
I heard that Lestat keeps all these girls in his cellar and it's really nice and they give you food and cable and weed.

GROUPIE 2:
Oh please.

GROUPIE:
That's what I heard. But you have to let him suck you on your neck whenever he wants. Doesn't sound too bad?

GROUPIE 2:
Done worse.

GROUPIE:
I'll say.

ROGER:
This way girls.

GROUPIE 2:
So this is Lestat's house?

ROGER:
It is this week. We move around a lot.

GROUPIE:
Why's that?

ROGER:
What can I say? The guy's just... Boss. I didn't see you there.

LESTAT:
No. You wouldn't, would you?

ROGER:
These are the girls that you asked for.

LESTAT:
Ahh yes.

ROGER:
Do you want me to take the girls home...later?

LESTAT:
No thank you Roger. I'll make sure they're taken care of.

GROUPIE 2:
You want some:

GROUPIE:
Want me?

GROUPIE 2:
You hungry? You hungry for something else? C'mon. Don't you want to have some fun?

LESTAT:
Don't do that.

GROUPIE:
Are you ticklish?

LESTAT:
I'm very ticklish. Come out, come out, whoever you are.

JESSE:
A voice. Calling to me. In my dream. Same dream I've had since I was 6. Of a family of my own. Not a strange dream really, whatever a orphan has.

MAHARET:
I'm sorry but you must go.

JESSE:
Why can't I stay with you? Please Aunt Maharet.

MAHARET:
I don't want you to go. But you must.

JESSE:
Aunt, you're bleeding.

MAHARET:
You must be with your own.

JESSE:
I knew things were not as they were with other families

MAHARET:
This isn't the life I wanted for you.

JESSE:
I only knew I was part of them at being cast out. Was I bad? Had I done something wrong?

MAHARET:
I'll always be watching over you.

JESSE:
I want to stay with you forever.

MAHARET:
You can't.

SERENA ALTO:
Hi I'm Serena Alto with MTV News. Vampire turned rocker Lestat has returned. The new CD called Forsaken. Although his band hails from New Orleans, Lestat claims to be an 18 century French nobleman, who's been asleep for over a hundred years. Here's a sneak look at the new video, the third single from the monster's debut album, Redeemer.

LESTAT SINGING:
Take a walk down the aisle at the end of the mile. Give your life to my charms in the Admiral's Arms.

JESSE:
Like everyone else, I assumed Lestat was a joke. A rock star with a gimmick. But then one of the phrases in one of his lyrics caught my attention. 'Take a walk down the aisle at the end of the mile. Give your life to my charms in the Admiral's Arms.' That rang a bell. I tracked down old leases in London. It turns out in the late 16 hundreds there was a pub in the back streets of mile end called the Admiral's Arms, and had a reputation for dealing with black magic and reports of people being lured there and vanishing. Now here is where you could find the Admiral's Arms in old London. That part of London is mostly old warehouses, meat packing plants, and a private club in the same location. I think that it's a vampire coven and Lestat is leading us to it.

TALAMASCAN:
Who took this picture?

JESSE:
I did.

TALAMASCAN:
You're still an apprentice; you don't do field work.

TALAMASCAN 2:
Jesse, the Talamasca has a code.

JESSE:
I know. 'Observe the dark realm but be not of it.'

TALAMASCAN 3:
Well it held good for 12 centuries. We record and observe, but never interfere.

JESSE:
I had to see it for myself.

TALAMASCAN 4:
Is David aware of this?

DAVID:
Jesse...

JESSE:
Hello David. I was just explaining to...

DAVID:
Why don't you come see me in my office?

JESSE:
This is a real vampire coven, David and it's right in the middle of London.

DAVID:
All the more reason to have told me first. Listen Jesse, we know about Lestat. What he's doing is unpreseted.

JESSE:
So why is he doing it? I mean aren't you curious? Don't you think we should find out?

DAVID:
C'mere, let me show you something. What do you see?

JESSE:
Mid 1500's, Florence.

DAVID:
Mmhmm. Let's see.

JESSE:
This man is in both.

DAVID:
Yes. All the different paint samples, all authentic, each one painted at the time of that particular time. His name is Marius. I've been tracing him for years. My little obsession. The closest we've come to the original vampire. Marius himself dates back to 400 BC.

JESSE:
So he's older than Lestat.

DAVID:
He made Lestat.

JESSE:
How do you know that?

DAVID:
Because I have Lestat's journal.

JESSE:
I wanna see it.

DAVID:
Promise me you'll never go back to that place.

JESSE:
Je suis le vampire Lestat.

LESTAT:
Twas the winter of 1788 and I was brought to a Mediterranean island by the man who made me...if a man is what you'd call him.

MARIUS:
Lestat, welcome.

LESTAT:
Who are you? Do I know you?

MARIUS:
I am a noble by nature but you may call me Marius.

LESTAT:
I am the lord of a great manor. They'll send an army out to look for me.

MARIUS:
I doubt they'll find you, Lord de Lioncourt. You're a long way from home. You're weak, near passing. I can barely hear your heartbeat. The future hastens, an age beyond my antique reason. You will help me understand these times. That's why I chose you.

LESTAT:
Chose me for what?

MARIUS:
Drink and live. You've been brave enough for one night,my son. Drink and learn. Good, is it not? No more, no more Lestat. No more! Don't be afraid. It's only your body that dies.

LESTAT:
More. I impressed my maker with my...thirst for things. He set out to educate me in the unknown; taught me all about the world. It's hidden history, and about myself.

MARIUS:
That's enough my son. When you feed, you must hold back from the moment of death; you must never take their last drop or it will draw you in and you will die. Appreciate your prey. Their blood that we take into us, carries with it life. Their life, their knowledge, their complexity.

LESTAT:
My senses run amuck. Like a new-born child, and as for my new powers, I was beside myself with the pleasure of it all.

MARIUS:
C'mon, we have stayed long enough.

LESTAT:
But we have spoken to noone.

MARIUS:
A vampire's life is the life of discretion.

LESTAT:
Discretion? Why must we hide Marius? We are the powerful, we are the immortal. We should walk fearless in the open, no?

MARIUS:
That cannot be. We're vulnerable during the day, no (?) Trolls (?) must never know about us, for the sake of all our kind.

LESTAT:
What, so I could never know her?

MARIUS:
Not unless you wanted to kill her.

LESTAT:
So I could never be known?

MARIUS:
You must be dead to the world. C'mon. We've got to leave.

GYPSY:
Sofia, run! Run! Go!

MARIUS:
Lestat! Stop her! You must!

MARIUS:
We must remain in the shadows. You still have a few lingering mortal emotions; they'll serve you no good my friend.

LESTAT:
The faces of my victims haunted me. Reminding me of my fate. Nights and days, I played furious that I will never again partake of the simple joys of the world. I was meant for more than this. Marius? Marius? Would you like me to play for you?

MARIUS:
What have you done, Lestat?

LESTAT:
More!

MARIUS:
I don't think so my...lord.

LESTAT:
Let me go.

MARIUS:
You've drank the purest bloods in the oldest of things. Far too much for one as young as you.

LESTAT:
Her blood is like liquid fire. Who is she?

MARIUS:
She's your mother. She's my mother. Akasha;the Queen of all who are Damned. And he's her king. Akasha and Enkil nearly drank this earth dry when they ruled over Egypt. They drank until Enkil lost his will to drink. Without her mate beside her, she also lost hers; they became living statues. She has no respect for anything except for the taste of blood, human and immortal alike.

LESTAT:
No! Release me.

MARIUS:
She made you quite powerful.

LESTAT:
You'll not stop me!

MARIUS:
I can 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.

MARIUS:
I chose you.

LESTAT:
Where are you going? Marius! Marius? Marius? MARIUS!? Many times since, I have called to Marius, but there was no answer. Just the endless precession of days, months, years. My teacher left me to my darkest lesson: that in the end we are alone and there is nothing but the cold, dark wasteland of eternity.

JESSE:
David thought the journal would satisfy my curiosity,but it only made me want to know more.I had to go back to the Admiral's Arms. I had no choice.

MAN:
This is a fantastic place. I love it. Would you like anything to drink?

VAMPIRE:
Soon.

VAMPIRE 2:
Hi.

JESSE:
Hi.

VAMPIRE 2:
Come here often?

JESSE:
All the time.

VAMPIRE 2:
I don't see any marks.

JESSE:
Well you haven't seen the rest of my body.

VAMPIRE 3:
Is that an invitation?

JESSE:
Sorry, I'm taken.

VAMPIRE 4:
And, where is your host?

JESSE:
Oh, he's here somewhere.

VAMPIRE 3:
This host...what's his name?

JESSE:
Marius.

VAMPIRE 2:
Sorry. Don't know the guy.

JESSE:
Of course you wouldn't...he's an ancient.

VAMPIRE 4:
There aren't any ancients left.

VAMPIRE 3:
They are turned to dust.

VAMPIRE 2:
So unless you've got him in a bottle somewhere...

JESSE:
You know you're brave joking like that. I wish you could meet him.

VAMPIRE 2:
And why is that?

JESSE:
Cause you might learn something. Excuse me.

VAMPIRE 2:
Going somewhere? Now this'll only hurt for a little bit. In fact...you might even enjoy it.

LESTAT:
Boo. That was quite the performance. You should be more careful.

JESSE:
Thanks.

LESTAT:
For what?

JESSE:
You saved me.

LESTAT:
How presumptuous. So...you know Marius?

JESSE:
Well, I know a lot of things.

LESTAT:
Not how to stay alive, apparently.

JESSE:
Well, I guess we have that in common...although I think I'm a little ahead of the race here.

LESTAT:
Well...I can fix that.

JESSE:
Your song Redeemer, it's about the girl with the violin, isn't it? Yeah.

LESTAT:
Is it? And what else do you think you know?

JESSE:
I, uh...

LESTAT:
You're, uh...shaking.

JESSE:
Cold.

LESTAT:
Still cold? So..go on. Tell me more about me.

JESSE:
You want...

LESTAT:
What do I want?

JESSE:
You yearn...

LESTAT:
What do I yearn? For what do I yearn?

JESSE:
To walk with the living. Out of the cold, dark wasteland of eternity.

LESTAT:
Well. That makes you a very clever librarian. Talamascan. I knew I left that journal somewhere. So is it a good read?

JESSE:
It touched me.

LESTAT:
Did it now? Don't worry Jesse. Your kind never satisfies my thirst.

JESSE:
Lestat, I know something that's not in your journal.

LESTAT:
What?

JESSE:
You still have the violin,don't you? No, I understand. After all, it's only human.

LESTAT:
Clever librarian.

JESSE:
David, listen, I'm going to Los Angeles for the concert. I met him, David. I talked to him, I talked to Lestat.

DAVID:
Wh...Jesse, Jesse. Listen to me very, very carefully now. You are no longer seeing things clearly. Lestat has told the world that there are vampires among us, they are furious. They'll all be at the concert trying to kill him. You've become obsessed with him. I'm worried about you Jesse.

JESSE:
Can you please not worry about me, please. And I'm going to be OK, and I'll check in and, I'm sorry, I have to go.

DAVID:
N..Jesse, Je...

LESTAT:
City of Lost Angels already fed on the blood of youth. My presence here barely stirred a ripple. We are three days till the concert. I could feel something was coming, I just couldn't figure out what. Marius?

MARIUS:
Lestat. 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 50's in...red velvet?

MARIUS:
I slept.

LESTAT:
Don't think you missed much.

MARIUS:
Elvis?

LESTAT:
Elvis. Yes.

MARIUS:
You're bigger than he is now.

LESTAT:
So, after all this time. What's the occasion?

MARIUS:
You've just become very hard to avoid these days. A distant conversation. What are you trying to prove, Lestat?

LESTAT:
Oh please. It's a little too late to come over all paternal now Marius. 200 years and not a word from you.

MARIUS:
You almost cost me everything...and now you've done it again. This isn't the time to settle old scores.

LESTAT:
Vampires don't settle old scores. We harbour them. So how did you find me?

MARIUS:
I made you...I've always known where you are. Besides, I just had to look for the most gauche house on the block.

LESTAT:
Come. Let me show you what it means to live in the light.

MARIUS:
Impressive. Reminds me of old Madrid, running around, chanting in the forest. I returned to the primitive.

LESTAT:
Out there, my fans...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?

LESTAT:
I only have myself. You taught me that.

MARIUS:
It may be time to get ready for some company.

LESTAT:
And what's that supposed to mean?

MARIUS:
Your music's woken a very old friend. Can't you hear it? (?)I'll still belong so we can hear now(?)

LESTAT:
Akasha!

MARIUS:
Arisen. She has taken the king's blood. Absorbed his power.

LESTAT:
Good. Let her come.

MARIUS:
Cancel the concert.

LESTAT:
Never.

MARIUS:
You're no match for her Lestat, you're not a god! We were once mortals too. It is our heritage, we protect.

LESTAT:
Such reverence for mortals. Then you should have left me as one.

AKASHA:
Mm. Satisfying. He was here not too long ago.

VAMPIRE 2:
You like him, do you?

AKASHA:
He reminds me of someone.

VAMPIRE 2:
All he's going to remind you of soon is a pile of bones. We're going to dismember him. Bleed him dry.

AKASHA:
Really? Is that what you're going to do?

LESTAT:
Old gods on new streets. Not only had the concert sold out among the living, it seemed all the undead were coming too. I knew that there would be a lot of angry vampires out there, frightened of the light I was directing on all our kind.

JOURNALIST 2:
'Do you have anything else to say to the other vampires listening out there?

LESTAT:
Yes. As a matter of fact, I do. Come out, come out, wherever you are.' They wanted me dead. Let them try, bring it on. Better dead than alone.

TICKET SELLER:
Hey honey. Would you like some tickets for tomorrow.

JESSE:
Ahh...

TICKET SELLER:
Are you going to the show?

JESSE:
Ahh...no thank you.

TICKET SELLER:
C'mon, I got em for 200 bucks.

JESSE:
200 bucks? I don't think so.

TICKETSELLER:
Ok. 50.

JESSE:
Oh and 50, you're going to cut me a deal?

ROGER:
Gorgeous. So listen, I only have 2 girls, so how old are you again? Check it out. Champagne?

GROUPIE 3:
Ooh, yeah. Huh, oh. Oh my god, I can't believe it's really you. I'm your biggest fan.

JESSE:
Boo.

LESTAT:
Boo back.

GROUPIE 3:
Lestat, I came all the way from Tarzana.

LESTAT:
Really? And you?

JESSE:
London.

LESTAT:
A London Goth. I see. It's funny, I would've pegged you for a Talamascan.

JESSE:
Maybe in another life.

GROUPIE 3:
I'm an Episcopalian.

ROGER:
And I'm a freakin Buddhist. Uh, Lestat...

LESTAT:
Roger, would you take our little Episcopalian back to church?

ROGER:
Just one tonight?

LESTAT:
Sure.

ROGER:
Ah, sweetheart...

GROUPIE 3:
What?

ROGER:
Come on. Come on.

GROUPIE 3:
But...

ROGER:
Don't worry. It's a good thing, believe me.

GROUPIE 3:
Do I still get to go backstage?

LESTAT:
Why are you following me? What do you want? So you've come all this way, just to return this to me out of the goodness of your heart.

JESSE:
I want you to show me what it's like.

LESTAT:
What what is like exactly?

JESSE:
To be like you.

LESTAT:
I don't have time for this.

JESSE:
All a vampire has is time.

LESTAT:
Not this one.

JESSE:
Right. The covens are coming for you. How are you going to spend what may be your last night on earth Lestat, as you always have, alone?

LESTAT:
Why not?

JESSE:
Why not share it with me?

LESTAT:
All right. This may be painful for a mortal. You're still attached to your skin.

JESSE:
I don't care.

LESTAT:
Do you trust me?

JESSE:
...Yes.

LESTAT:
Then close your eyes. Marius was right, but I never understood until I met you.

JESSE:
What do you mean?

LESTAT:
You're beautiful to me because you're human. Your frailty, your short years, your heart. Even as you think it's breaking. All that suddenly seems more precious than anything I've ever known.

JESSE:
I'm not as precious as you think. Do it. Please. Let me be with you. Let me know everything.

LESTAT:
You want to know everything? Come then. I'll show you.

JESSE:
What is it? What are we doing?

LESTAT:
Shhh.

JESSE:
Is she all right?

VICTIM:
Get away! Get off me!

LESTAT:
Now you see? Are you ready? Now do you want it? No, of course you don't. Come children.

DAVID:
Jesse? Jesse!

MARIUS:
Hello David. I must show you my new paintings sometime.

MAHARET:
Find Jesse.

LESTAT:
Want more? This one's for those who've come for me.

MAHARET:
Akasha.

LESTAT:
Akasha...

AKASHA:
Why so surprised my love? You called, I've come.

LESTAT:
My love?

AKASHA:
Never fear me Lestat. All your wishes have come true.

LESTAT:
My wishes?

AKASHA:
For a companion...to share eternity. You're bold...like your music. 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. Now you are my consort. That's why I kept you safe...alive.

LESTAT:
You?

AKASHA:
You thought it was all you? Ahh, the ego of a king as well. Yes. I know you Lestat. I know that you crave to have the world at your feet. And I've come to give it to you.

LESTAT:
Where are we?

AKASHA:
We are home. We live everywhere and anywhere we choose. The world is our garden.

JESSE:
All these years, I'd hoped this place was real. For the first time in my life, I feel like I am home. Strange that this journey should lead me here; this place that's haunted my dreams. 'Aunt, you're bleeding.'

MAHARET:
'You must be with your own. I'll always be watching over you.'

JESSE:
'I want to stay with you forever.'

MAHARET:
Forever is a very long time.

JESSE:
Aunt Maharet. You haven't aged, you haven't changed at all.

MAHARET:
I was once a mortal too. I boar a child before Akasha took me; I took care of that children and her children, and her children's children. This is our family...my way of coping with eternity. You are what keeps me connected to the world of the living. When your parents died, I brought you here to take care of you. Now is not the time. You were seeking answers and now you've found them. The family is who you are.

AKASHA:
Drinking my blood allows you to live in the light. And soon the sun will no longer sting your eyes. This is but a taste of what we shall share my love. My king. Behold, our kingdom.

LESTAT:
Kingdom of corpses? Why?

AKASHA:
Why not?

LESTAT:
This is why you have risen?

AKASHA:
They believed in nothing. Now they ARE nothing. But you and I, we will change all that. We will give the world something to believe in again. Now come my love. We have a score to settle.

MAHARET:
Since my mortal death, I have watched, I have guided and cared for my human family. Generations beyond memory.

MARIUS:
This is why we must fight Akasha. For the sake of your Great Family.

MAHARET:
The world we know is about to end. The only way to prevent this is through Akasha's destruction.

PANDORA:
But how?

MAHARET:
When she opens herself to give blood, she's vulnerable.

MARIUS:
Whoever takes the last of her blood will not survive it.

JESSE:
What about Lestat?

MAHARET:
Dearest, Lestat has joined with Akasha, he's lost to us now; forget him.

AKASHA:
My children. Warms my blood to see you all gathered. Plotting against me.

MAHARET:
Akasha...

AKASHA:
Maharet. You will address my king first.

JESSE:
Lestat, what has she done to you?

MARIUS:
Lestat, step aside.

LESTAT:
Never.

MAHARET:
The world has changed since you reigned.

AKASHA:
Then we shall change it back. Humans are animals. Brute creatures. Their destuction can only make sense.

MAHARET:
We've found other ways to co-exist.

AKASHA:
Ah yes. In silence, in shadows, in shame and for what? For respect of mortals? They are nothing to us. They are merely food.

MARIUS:
Akasha, please...

AKASHA:
You think you can change my will. I've had enough of this discussion. Join me or die.

MAHARET:
I will not.

PANDORA:
I will not.

ARMAND:
I will not.

MARIUS:
I will not.

AKASHA:
Do you love me?

LESTAT:
Yes.

AKASHA:
Then prove it. Kill her.

LESTAT:
She's nothing to me.

AKASHA:
Just the same. I'd like for you to kill her.

MAHARET:
You will not touch her.

AKASHA:
You still think to challenge me, Maharet. Now.

JESSE:
No, it's all right Aunt Maharet. It's what I want.

AKASHA:
How sweet.

JESSE:
I'm ready.

AKASHA:
See my children? Remember your real family. Or join hers.

LESTAT:
Now. Give me my crown.

AKASHA:
Spoken like a true king. Come. You see how he obeys. You will, or you will all die. That is enough Lestat. That is enough Lestat, stop! You kill me; you kill yourselves.

MAHARET:
Wait, Lestat. You must stop.

DAVID:
Hello? My god. Jesse...

JESSE:
Hello David. David, this is Lestat.

LESTAT:
Hello. I have something for you. I believe, that you wanted this back.

DAVID:
Yes, thank you. Thank you so much. Can I ask..

JESSE:
What's it like?

DAVID:
Yes.

JESSE:
Do you wanna find out?

DAVID:
Me? No, I'm too old to live forever.

JESSE:
Well, if you ever change your mind...so this is goodbye.

DAVID:
Yes.

MARIUS:
Hello David.