Lestat de Lioncourt

The Vampire Lestat (1985) is a Vampire novel by Anne Rice, and the second in her Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Vampire. Set in the late 18th century to the late 1980s, the story follows the 200-year-long life of the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, and his rise from humble beginnings as impoverished nobility in the countryside of the Auvergne in France, to the cosmopolitan city of Paris, to become transformed by the Dark Gift into a vampire.

Lestat (portrayed by Tom Cruise and Stuart Townsend)

According to Rice, the character of Lestat was largely inspired by her husband, the poet and artist Stan Rice, and shared his blond hair and birth date of November 7. The name "Lestat" was a misspelling of "Lestan," which Rice believed to be an old French name.

Because of his boldness, enthusiasm, and defiance, Lestat's seniors refer to him affectionately as "The Brat Prince", a title of which he is very fond. He is very vain and concerned with fashion, and will pause mid-narrative to remind the reader what he is wearing. Lestat is portrayed in the books as being bisexual, and has male and female lovers as both a vampire and a mortal. He enjoys performing on stage, which he does as both a mortal actor in Paris, France and a vampire in his rock band called The Vampire Lestat (of course), that he forms with a group of humans in the 1980s. Yet despite his charisma, Lestat is often portrayed as a lonesome individual plagued by common philosophical questions, such as "Are my actions good or bad?", "Is there a God?", and "Am I in His plan?"

Lestat appears as a major character in both motion picture adaptations of The Vampire Chronicles novels. In Neil Jordan's 1994 film adaptation of Interview with the Vampire, he is portrayed by Tom Cruise. In the 2002 film adaptation of Queen of the Damned, he is played by Stuart Townsend. On stage, Lestat was portrayed by Hugh Panaro in the short-lived Broadway show Lestat: The Musical (which thankfully, I missed out on) composed by Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

 Let the bloodbath begin! Celebrate Halloween all October long
with a new vampire post every day! Who's your favorite?

Gary Oldman

Bram Stoker's Dracula is a 1992 American horror fantasy erotic drama film directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. It stars Gary Oldman as Count Dracula, Winona Ryder as Mina Harker, Anthony Hopkins as Professor Abraham Van Helsing, and Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker.

Count Dracula (portrayed by Gary Oldman)

"I am the monster that breathing men would kill. I am Dracula."

 
Gary Oldman's Dracula brought to the the screen an elegant mixture of man and monster. He was ruthless, powerful, ancient and vengeful. Yet beneath all of that armor, he was still just a man who longed for and had lost everything (including his soul) for his one true love. Like Frank Langella's Dracula, Oldman was a seductive and charismatic aristocrat. His chivalry was as disarming as it was dangerous, for he was no less a monster regardless the form he wore. Which, by the way, was one of my favorite aspects of this film—Dracula was shown in all his glory. He was a rat, a bat, mist, a wolfman, and a creepy old woman in a red satin gown.

Perhaps one of the most brilliant parodies, ever...
Gary Oldman's Dracula (portrayed my Charles Montgomery Burns)

The Simpsons: Tapped Out ~ Mr. Burns as Count Dracula

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Frank Langella

Frank A. Langella, Jr. (born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won three Tony Awards, two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in the play Frost/Nixon and for the role of Leslie in Edward Albee's Seascape. Additionally, Langella has won two Obie Awards and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in the film production of Frost/Nixon (2008).

Frank Langella is an important figure in the history of Count Dracula’s evolution. At the time of Dracula's (1979) release, he was very much the antithesis of what you would expect the Count to look, sound, or even act like. He was young, attractive and a very sexually appealing Dracula, which upset many the fans of the original novel, but delighted film critics and female viewers. Frank Langella transformed Dracula from a predator... into a seducer. He introduced the 'sexy' to the vampire genre and, without question, helped turn it into what it is today.

Dracula (portrayed by Frank Langella)

 Let the bloodbath begin! Celebrate Halloween all October long
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Bela Lugosi

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (20 October 1882 – 16 August 1956), better known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian-American actor, famous for portraying Count Dracula in the original 1931 film, his roles in various other horror films, and in Ed Wood's low-budget movies.

He had been playing small parts on the stage in his native Hungary before making his first film in 1917. In 1927, he appeared as Count Dracula in a Broadway adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, where he was talent-spotted as a character actor for the new Hollywood talkies. He would appear in the classic 1931 Dracula talkie by Universal Pictures.

Dracula (portrayed by Bela Lugosi)

Through the 1930s, he occupied an important niche in popular horror films, with their East European setting, but his Hungarian accent limited his repertoire, and he tried unsuccessfully to avoid typecasting. He was often paired with Boris Karloff, who was able to demand top billing. To his frustration, Lugosi was increasingly restricted to minor parts, kept employed by the studio principally for the sake of his name on the posters. Among his pairings with Karloff, only in The Black Cat (1934), The Raven (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939) did he perform major roles again, although even in The Raven, Karloff received top billing despite Lugosi performing the lead role.

Let the bloodbath begin! Celebrate Halloween all October long
with a new vampire post every day! Who's your favorite?

LEGO: Lord Vampyre

Lord Vampyre is the evil ruler of the Monster Realms, along with his Bride. He originally planned to give his spooky moonstone to his beloved wife, but soon unearthed its true power, and built a contraption that would be able to eclipse the sun forever. Once he succeeds, all the monsters will be able to roam freely in throughout all the LEGO realms. With the power of his own moonstone, he was able to take control of all the other monsters, and made them retrieve the remaining 5 moonstones. Lord Vampyre owns a loyal zombie henchman, the Zombie Driver, and an army of man-sized bats who protect his castle. He owns a Hearse, as well as the Haunted House, which is home to his Monster Butler, the Zombie Chef, and 2 Ghosts. Lord Vampyre is constantly fighting the Monster Fighters, particularly Dr. Rodney Rathbone, for possession of the moonstones and will stop at nothing to complete his plan.

Lord Vampyre

 Let the bloodbath begin! Celebrate Halloween all October long
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RAW: natural born artists ALLURE Show

Come down and see me at RAW's ALLURE Show on September 18th. 

I'll be showcasing my "Simply Divine" series along with a few other treasures... 

RAW:natural born artists is an international independent arts organization that hand-selects and spotlights independent creatives in visual art, film, fashion, music, hair & makeup artistry, photography, models and performing art.

September 18th, 2014 at REIGN in Hoboken
(formerly known as BOA)

21+ | Fashionable Attire

$15 in Advance Online / $20 at the Door (cash only)

Tickets are available at: www.rawartists.org/thecubanwitch

YouTube Treasures: True Blood Season 7: After the Finale

...and so it ends. After seven fang-filled years of blood, sex and magic, True Blood has finally come to close. Although, most of the shows' storylines were tied up in some way or another (no spoilers), I hate to say I felt underwhelmed as the last set of credits scrolled up the screen. As an writer myself, I felt a little betrayed that the show's ending had strayed so far from the books, but it had become its own animal—True Blood had a life all its own, beyond what Charlaine Harris may have initially envisioned. That was its magic. I will truly miss my Sunday night vampire fix. No more Lafayette. No more Pam. No more Jessica. No more Bon Temps...

"Why Drag?" by Magnus Hastings

...took a stroll through the fantabulous "Why Drag?" exhibit by Magnus Hastings at The Out NYC Hotel. It's up until the 31st of August. If you haven't seen yet, or didn't know about it... make some time!

YouTube Treasures: Drops of Blood... The Minisodes

 

On April 24th, 2010, HBO began airing six mini-episodes teasers to lead up to
its season three premiere of True Blood.

Every Sunday, until the series' finale, I'll be posting a
True Blooded YouTube Treasure or two.

YouTube Treasures: True Blood: Jessica’s Blog: A Good Man is Hard to Find

Every Sunday, until the series' finale, I'll be posting a
True Blooded YouTube Treasure or two.

YouTube Treasures: True Blood Season 7: Episode #6 Preview & Jessica's Blog: Who is Bill Compton?

Every Sunday, until the series' finale, I'll be posting a
True Blooded YouTube Treasure or two.