#David talbot

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hello!

Quick question here—Did Anne Rice explain her fascination with David Talbot? Respectfully, most of his sentiments should be spoken by Louis imho. Re-reading the VC during our downtime from the show, I had not realized how David Talbots is Louis-light. Hopefully Rolin will give Louis those lines and scenes that should have been his all along.

Love the books, love the series and so glad you’re here❤️

*hugs* Right back atcha :)))

... Mhhhh... I am not sure if she explained it in one of her Facebook posts, maybe, but ultimately...

She wanted another partner for Lestat.

I mean, I get it from her POV - Louis is the grieving stand-in for herself, which she quite deliberately! one can argue - left behind. Had to leave behind.

Lestat became her stand-in from book two on, and she... wanted him to have a mature relationship. Cue: David Talbot.

We have to thank the Facebook fans btw for pushing for Louis again and again (that I know^^), but her treatment of Louis has to be considered with context.

I do think Rolin will give most of David's ... parts to Louis, or at least I hope so. It would make sense to keep him as the general of the Talamasca, and give his story parts to Louis and Daniel respectively... more sense than coming up with something entirely new for Louis, imho.

But we'll see.

In any case the show has been very firm with their statements on Loustat. I would not worry too much, tbh. :)

[leliosinking]

“Marius and David not welcome” is sort of funny to me in the grand scheme of this series, like I get the basis of this argument is “well they’re both creeps” but to that point I’d recommend a reevaluation of the entire series, particularly its cast of characters.

They are all guilty of some manner of abuse. They all commit horrific atrocities. And they moralize over these atrocities. Like. That is the principle upon which the entire series is built. Can these literal monsters ever be redeemed?

When you read Interview with the Vampire did you feel some extreme discomfort with the father/lover dynamic between Louis and Claudia? (which was excised from the show I might add) That locked-door uneasiness is the essence of southern/gothic fiction. Read V.C. Andrews. Read Shirley Jackson. Read William Faulkner. The taboos, the ick if you will, is the foundation of gothic horror. You are meant to feel this. It is an essential function of the genre.

Like- every one of Anne��s books that followed IwtV had to essentially compete with the gothic genius that is the invention of Claudia and the sickness that is her story. It’s not all effective, but it’s there in almost every work. TVL has Lestat and Gabrielle’s incestuous relationship, QotD has Armand’s abuse (yes, abuse) of Daniel. For god’s sake, TTotBT features Lestat committing a rape, and I know that you all know this. Yet no matter how you try to headcanon that scene away, it will always be significant because its very function is to service the larger themes of bodily autonomy and consent within that specific novel.

Killing in fiction is benign. We are desensitized to it. And we know this. Killing means nothing, so the narrative must work harder to find a violence that can demonstrate evil to a desensitized audience. There is a reason that these books are shelved in fiction as opposed to genre. By design, their difficulty is inherently literary. You’re uncomfortable? Good. Then Anne achieved her goal.

But if you’re looking to proselytize and transform the work into something with a black and white morality system then you have come to the wrong series. You are gatekeeping yourself from a nuanced understanding of the material. David and Marius are as bad as everyone else. The main trio are not exempt from this reading. That was the point. They are all bad. They are all complex. It is meant to be difficult to parse. Engage with it or don’t, but you are deluding yourself if you think that these two main characters are somehow going to vanish from the tv show.

(And again, AMC is going to strip away the most challenging character traits anyway)

[roadkillvamp]

daniel molloy must have the most bomb pussy of all time bc why is every man in iwtv begging for him bruh

[sizeofyoursoul]

Anne Rice's Personal Fancasts for The Vampire Chronicles

(Important Disclaimer: I gathered this together as a curiosity, not as a comment on any past, current, or future actors playing these characters, and if you feel the need to use any of this to make anything other than positive comments on any past, current, or future actors playing any of these characters, I don't agree with you and I don't endorse it, and I hope Lestat comes and yells at you about it in your dreams)

Looking for her thoughts on a few things from her novels, I stumbled upon the weird fact that Anne Rice has a huge digital footprint of which actors she at some point had as her own mental image or ideal casting of her characters. I've collected as much as I could, and so, for fun, here they are! Unless otherwise specified, these were all posted on Facebook between 2009 and 2018.

Lestat

General Comments:

He is a "man", not a "boy"

He's a "big guy, quite tall and strong" (she emphasized this a lot)

He should be a guy in his late 20's so the actor doesn't change too much and can play a 250 year old immortal

He could be played by an unknown

He should not have dark hair or a five o'clock shadow

He should be good looking, because "Lestat's beauty is part of him, part of his self-assurance, his arrogance, his confidence and his seductive power"

First actor she thought looked like Lestat: a young Rutgar Hauer

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Chris Hemsworth (Mentioned at least x 3, said when she watched movies with him she could only see him as Lestat)

Richard Armitage (Mentioned at least x 3)

Anson Mount (Mentioned at least x 2)

Stephen Amell (Mentioned at least x 2)

Charlie Hunnam

Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ

Leonardo Dicaprio (late 90's, mentioned at least x 2)

Actors She Responded Positively to Being Suggested

Travis Fimmel

Harry Lloyd

Wes Bently (2000, was apparently considered for Queen of the Damned)

Louis

General Comments

Mentioned the idea of Louis and Nicholas being played by the same actor

Originally inspired by actor Alain Delon

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Matt Bomer (Mentioned at least x 7, mentioned a lot outside of fancasting, she was really in love with Matt Bomer)

Richard Armitage

Hugh Dancy

Marius

General Comments

"At least 40"

She did not care if he wasn't blonde (see her suggestions below for why)

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Matthew MacFayden (Mentioned a least x 7 but I eventually stopped counting)

Gary Oldman (late 90's)

Actors She Responded Positively to Being Suggested

Paul Bettany

Armand

General Comments

Has to be someone in his 20's (also specified 25 or 30), a "baby faced man, a boyish man"

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Simon Woods (Mentioned at least x 2)

Johnny Depp (Late 90's)

Gabrielle

General Comments

Past 40, closer to 50

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Cher (Mentioned at least x 2, was a suggestion for Louis in the 80's when the idea of gender swapping the character was in the mix for IWTV)

Judy Davis (late 90's)

Eva Green

Actors She Responded Positively to Being Suggested

Claire Danes

Evan Rachel Wood

Kirsten Dunst

Akasha

General Comments

Should be played by a black actress in tribute to Aaliyah's performance in Queen of the Damned being such an entry point for black fans of the series

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Lupita Nyong'o

Tiana Benjamin

Memnoch

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Russell Crowe

Pandora

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Eva Green

David Talbot

General Comments

Should be British

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Jeremy Irons

Anthony Hopkins

[zatsydrawings]

Drama queen.

[they-stole-my-shmunguss]

"Armand envies you and spies on you far more than you might think."

“I hear Armand and I see him and I ignore him,” I said.

[foolforlover]

let's hear it for lesvid everyone (crickets)

[miraculan-draws]

The more I learn about David Talbot TVC, the more positive I am that AMC is going to split his narrative/plot points between Daniel and Louis. And to be honest...I hope that is indeed the case. David feels very out-of-left-field, like introducing a stranger and just expecting devotion when LOUIS is right there. Give Daniel his Talamasca plots, and give Louis his Lestat companionship plots.

[hekateinhell]

@monstersinthecosmos and I were talking and she dug up this exchange Anne had with someone on Fanpop back in the day, concerning vampires' love and sexuality. There were quite a few fascinating tidbits but these are my favorites:

I see them [vampires] as transcending matters of gender or age. Lestat loves Louis. Louis loves Claudia. Armand loves Lestat. Lestat loves Gabrielle. There is no distinct difference in the quality of any of these loves. This has also been described as polymorphous sensuality.

"--- Armand is desperately in love with Lestat but it has nothing to do with sex. Armand feels Marius failed him and Marius feels Armand failed him, and that part has nothing to do with sex. Marius and Pandora, that is a love affair, but again sex has nothing to do with it. So they are all capable of loving people of their own gender and the other gender; gender doesn't matter. It's the essence. Lestat loves David Talbot as a lover, a friend, a mentor, a father, etc. --- It goes on like that. The act of dominating and drinking blood can happen between any two characters regardless of gender. They cannot be pinned down. They see all life as potentially beautiful and all forms of love as rewarding."

X

I'm verklempt at the fact Anne mentioned Armand and Lestat in the same vein as Armand and Marius and Marius and Pandora, but also I love how much she emphasizes that they can cannot be pinned down and all that forms of love are rewarding!

It's just such a revolutionary way of thinking especially when you consider that she was a woman born in the 1940s in the American South. She may have missed the beat on some things but on others, she was right on the fucking money. 

[queenoftheimps]

The concert sequence of Queen of the Damned:

Lestat: WHAT’S UP SAN FRANCISCO CAN I GET A ‘I DESERVE TO BE MURDERED’ UP IN HERE

Khayman and Mael: -circling each other like wary cats-

Jesse: -having the most extreme fangirl moment of her life-

Armand: even though I look like an adolescent I think I might be the only adult here

Daniel: babe have you ever really LOOKED at human skin

Armand: Daniel bb I really need you to get it together ok

Akasha: MURDER MURDER MURDER MURDER

David Talbot and Aaron Lightner: hi we’re here to pick up our daughter?

[desertfangs]

I've been saddened forever that Armand is so short and cruel with his statements about Daniel in his book, but rereading it now, I think maybe Armand is just not in a very charitable place about any of the others.

He's been through a big trauma, obviously, and Lestat is still comatose on the floor of the church. Seeing him is the only reason Armand is willing to endure proximity to any of his kind, and even then, he's annoyed by the immortals flitting about and coming to see Lestat and hold vigil for him.

The only person he seems to have kind words for are Marius--with whom he's entrusted the safety of his mortal children--and even then he doesn't want Marius' company. He says repeatedly he only wants the company of mortals at this time, and basically wants to be left alone. Now that he's seen Lestat for himself, he's ready to take the kids somewhere private and spend time with only them for a bit.

And then he says this about Louis, as he's talking about how strong a fledgling David is:

Count on Lestat to make the most lethal of monsters, that is, after his initial seductive blunders-Nicolas, Louis, Claudia-not a single one of the three able to take care of themselves alone, and two perished, and one lingering and perhaps the weakest vampire yet walking in the great world.

Louis who is, at this point, by Armand's own account, coming to check on Lestat regularly and then returning to the Rue Royale flat, presumably to make sure it's ready and comfortable for Lestat when he does awaken. Louis, whom Akasha called the most vicious killer among their kind!

Y'all I think Armand is just maybe in a mood. David Talbot is lucky he doesn't tear out his throat and leave him in a burning building when he presses him to tell his story, tbh.

[vkylociferart]

Some sketches of my beloved David Talbot 🥰 💖

[chuck-the-goon]

Lestat is going to meet sassy Old Man Daniel and go 'I want one'.

Enter stage right, Lestat with an arm proudly around David Talbot's waist.

[suikamelon6]

This is my piece for the @tdvzine From the Tale of the Body Thief. After trauma with Akasha and the haunting of Claudia, Lestat failed to off himself at the Gobi desert, he flew to Talamasca London's motherhouse and lay face down in the library in pain til David found him.

[sizeofyoursoul]

"My point is simply that I love you, that we're linked in some way that none of the others is linked. Louis worships you. You're some sort of dark god to him, though he pretends to hate you for having made him. Armand envies you and spies on you far more than you might think." "I hear Armand and I see him and I ignore him," I said.

David and Lestat, Memnoch the Devil

[lesmandshooter]

Just got my period call that a memnoch the devil reference