Nerdist in Audio

THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Film Would Have Skipped the Rock Star AngleDirector Neil Jordan revealed to Nerdist details about his never-produced script for The Vampire Lestat, the planned sequel to his 1994 Interview with the Vampire (Tom Cruise ultimately passed on returning). Jordan said he was never interested in portraying Lestat as a David Lee Roth-style rock star; instead, his script focused on Lestat's 18th-century life in France — his vampiric transformation at the Commedia dell'arte in Paris — with flash-forwards to a road trip driving Daniel Molloy (Christian Slater) from New Orleans to Los Angeles. This framing device would have built on the film's ending, where Lestat resurfaces in Molloy's car and the two drive off across the Golden Gate Bridge (an event not in the books and unconnected to the unrelated 2002 Queen of the Damned film).Visit  https://nerdist.com/article/the-vampire-lestat-film-neil-jordan-skip-rock-star-road-trip/  to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player)

An INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Director's Cut Is Sadly Lost to TimeAhead of the film's September 22 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release, Neil Jordan told Nerdist he tried to deliver a director's cut but couldn't locate his original theatrical/test-audience cut in Warner Bros.' vaults, nor had he kept a personal copy. Instead, the disc includes surviving deleted scenes, the most notable being a conversation between Louis and Claudia about why she's never allowed to watch him kill, and a scene (from the book) of Louis going to confession and killing the priest. Jordan called these "the best of the deleted scenes," noting most other cut material wasn't worth keeping.Visit  https://nerdist.com/article/interview-with-the-vampire-directors-cut-lost-to-time/  to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player)

Neil Jordan on INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE'S Immortal LegacyIn this extended Nerdist interview timed to the film's 4K Blu-ray release, Neil Jordan reflects on adapting Anne Rice's novel after its infamous 18-year development odyssey (which once considered Cher as Louis), casting Tom Cruise despite public backlash, working with makeup effects legend Stan Winston (who was inspired by veins on Jordan's newborn son's face), and the media firestorm around the film compared to today's social media age. He also discusses the unsuccessful, unused Paris-set deleted footage of Cruise's Lestat, his admiration for John Boorman's Excalibur as his personal film school, his surprise that Kirsten Dunst wasn't Oscar-nominated, and his limited but positive view of AMC's ongoing TV adaptation. He again describes his unproduced The Vampire Lestat script as skipping the rock star persona in favor of Lestat's 18th-century backstory.Visit  https://nerdist.com/article/neil-jordan-on-interview-with-the-vampires-30th-anniversary/  to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player)

Matthew Lillard Is 'Ashamed' of SCREAM 7 Role After Barrera FiringDuring a 30th-anniversary Scream interview, Matthew Lillard admitted feeling "embarrassed" about returning for Scream 7 given Melissa Barrera's firing from the franchise over her comments supporting Palestine. Lillard said Barrera was "on the right side of history" and that the industry should have defended her. Nerdist's take criticizes the sentiment as "too little, too late" since Lillard already collected his paycheck and could have simply declined the role, especially since his character (Stu Macher) wasn't essential to the film.Visit  https://nerdist.com/article/matthew-lillard-ashamed-of-scream-7-role-after-melissa-barrera-firing/  to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player)

Greta Gerwig's First NARNIA Movie Is a Bowie-Inspired 'Rock Opera'Greta Gerwig told Empire that her upcoming Narnia: The Magician's Nephew is a "rock opera" — though not literally a musical — drawing visual and tonal inspiration from David Bowie, The Who, Pink Floyd, and other glam-rock icons. She's shifting the story's setting to 1950s Britain, with fantastical Narnia sequences styled after '60s-'70s British glam rock. Meryl Streep will voice Aslan. The film arrives in theaters February 12, 2027, and the author expresses uncertainty about whether the unconventional approach will resonate with audiences.Visit  https://nerdist.com/article/greta-gerwig-first-narnia-movie-bowie-inspired-rock-opera-not-a-musical/  to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player)

Could CASINO ROYALE Movie Theater Re-Release Signal New James Bond Announcement?Amazon MGM Studios is re-releasing Casino Royale in theaters worldwide in October to mark its 20th anniversary (the film turns 20 on November 17). The author speculates this could be a strategic prelude to finally announcing the next actor to play James Bond, a decision reportedly being led by director Denis Villeneuve, tying nostalgia for Daniel Craig's acclaimed debut to generating buzz for his eventual successor.Visit  https://nerdist.com/article/could-casino-royale-theatrical-rerelease-signal-new-james-bond-announcement/  to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player)

Who Is Mads Mikkelsen's CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 4 Villain? Trailer Offers HintsThe new trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 introduces Mads Mikkelsen as "The Archer," a menacing new villain seeking an unknown, catastrophic weapon amid a Korean Peninsula conflict and the manhunt for a rogue John Price (following the events of Modern Warfare 3). The article recaps Mikkelsen's history of iconic villain roles (Le Chiffre, Hannibal, Kaecillius, Death Stranding's Cliff Unger) and notes this role seems grittier and more grounded than his typically more surreal antagonists. The game releases October 23, 2026.Visit  https://nerdist.com/article/who-is-mads-mikkelsen-villain-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-4/  to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player)

Could MCU Rogue Start X-MEN as a Villain?With Inde Navarrette set to play Rogue in Marvel Studios' upcoming X-Men reboot, this article explores rumors that she may debut as an adversary rather than a hero — mirroring her rarely-adapted comics origin. Created by Chris Claremont and Michael Golden, Rogue first appeared in 1981's Avengers Annual #10 as a villainous member of Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, where she put Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) into a coma by permanently absorbing her powers and personality through her touch-based ability. Rogue went on to battle Dazzler and the X-Men before eventually seeking out Professor X's help to control her powers in 1983's Uncanny X-Men #172, slowly earning the team's trust and officially joining a few issues later. The article notes that nearly every prior adaptation — including X-Men: The Animated Series and Anna Paquin's Fox film version — downplayed or removed this villainous origin and her connection to Mystique. The author speculates the MCU could finally do a faithful take, possibly having Rogue start as a student at a rival school run by Emma Frost (similar to Jean Grey's antagonistic introduction in Spider-Man: Brand New Day) before eventually switching sides to join Xavier's X-Men by the film's end.Visit  https://nerdist.com/article/could-mcu-rogue-start-x-men-as-a-villain/  to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player)