Queen of the Damned Page #8

MARIUS:

Careful.

(CONTINUED)

39.

55 CONTINUED:
(2) 55

LESTAT:

But why must we hide, Marius? We

are the powerful, we are theimmortal. We should walk fearless

in the open!

MARIUS:

Shhh. The life of a vampire is alife of discretion. We must sleepduring the day, when we arevulnerable to the sun. Mortals

must never know about us. It is

forbidden, for the sake of all our

kind.

LESTAT:

(gazing at violinplayer as it sinks in)

So I could never know her?

MARIUS:

Not unless you wanted to kill her.

LESTAT:

(beat, quietly,

intensely)

So I can never be known?

MARIUS:

You're known by me. I granted youthat. There are others of our

kind... though most are solitary

creatures.

Lestat's eyes fill with some existential realization.

LESTAT:

My God...

MARIUS:

Forget God. You're no longer inhis realm. Now we must leave.

Relenting, Lestat starts to follow. But the music

quickens. Lestat pauses, turns back. As if the music is

calling to him.

The girl still faces into the shadows towards him, andplays fast and wild, her fingers flying. Lestat stands

there frozen to the spot. The music pulses throughhim. He gazes at her fingers, studying their intricatemovements intensely...

(CONTINUED)

40.

55 CONTINUED:
(3) 55

Impulsively, Lestat goes back to them, hovers, his facestill somewhat obscured by the darkness. Lestat starts

clapping along to the music, exuberantly.

The girl and Father smile, nod to him as they play.

Marius, in the shadows, is fuming. Lestat's eyes fillwith the moment, the girl's vitality. He notices that

sitting on the ground by the girl are severalinstruments. Impulsively, he reaches over, picks up aviolin. He studies the girl's playing again, then withhis new powers, as if by osmosis...

Begins to play with exactly her skill, exactly her

movements.

The girl and her Father laugh, delighted with this newmusician. Lestat plays along with them, joyful,

exhilarated. The girl's fingers fly. Lestat's fingerspick up speed. Faster. Faster. A glittering torrent ofnotes fly out of his violin as if made of gold.

Unconsciously, Lestat steps closer to the music, intofirelight. The Father and his daughter become lesscertain, as they gaze at Lestat's strange, pale, glowingskin, the luminous shine of eyes. But Lestat is

completely taken by the music, the moment. The Father

and the daughter, sensing something strange, stopplaying. Lestat looks up. Sees terror in their eyes.

The Father is slowly backing away, pointing inhorror at Lestat.

FATHER:

Fantasma!! Teras!!

Lightning fast, out of the shadows, steps Marius. He

grabs the Father. The girl drops her violin, turns, startsrunning down the beach to a bonfire in the distance.

MARIUS:

Stop her, Lestat!

Lestat turns to Marius, shaking his head no in horror.

MARIUS:

You must!

Lestat hesitates, then runs after the girl. She turns

back, sees him getting closer, starts to scream...

Lestat is suddenly in front of her with his hand over hermouth, covering her muffled scream. Her struggle is nouse against his strength. Reaching up to her neck, hetouches it. He looks into her terrified eyes...

CUT TO:

41.

56 EXT. ISLAND'S SOUTH SHORE - NIGHT 56

Marius kneels over the body of the Father on the island'sdeserted shoreline. Tosses him in a boat. Lestat gazesat the lifeless body of the girl. Marius turns to

Lestat, furious.

MARIUS:

I will not have you put everythingat risk! You will mind our laws!

Picking up Lestat's victim, Marius tosses her into theboat as well.

MARIUS:

We remain in the shadows.

otherwise is a road to

destruction...

To do

Marius turns to Lestat, who stands in silence, gazing atthe girl and her Father.

MARIUS:

(quietly)

I see you still have a fewlingering mortal emotions. Theywill serve you no good, Lestat.

Lestat turns to Marius, shaking his head, speaks in ahorrified whisper...

LESTAT:

My God, what have you done to me?

Lestat turns again toward the bodies of the dead girl andher Father, his face filled with pain, enormous sadness.

LESTAT:

(whisper)

She's just a child... forgive me.

57 EXTREME CLOSEUP - LESTAT 57

closes his eyes.

to see...

A violent VIOLIN STRAIN as we PULL BACK

Lestat standing alone in the bedroom, in a deep reverie,

playing the girl's violin with incredible passion. His

playing picks up speed as he works himself into a Pagnanifuror...

(CONTINUED)

42.

57 CONTINUED:

LESTAT (V.O.)

The faces of my victims hauntedme, rising behind my eyes,

reminding me of my fate... Iplayed for days trying to expelthe last bit of my humanfeelings... and face the cold,

dark wasteland of eternity...

The violin dissolves into Lestat's ROCK MUSIC.

57

58 BACK TO JESSE (PRESENT)

Reading the journal, listening to LESTAT'S MUSIC. She

hears the lyrics... "Mine eyes dazzle, she died soyoung..." She looks up, her eyes fill with tears, movedby Lestat's loneliness. She gazes into the dark night...

then turns, sees her camera...

58

59 EXT. STREET (LONDON) - LATER THAT NIGHT

Jesse moves steadily along the street past darkenedwarehouses. Several bonfires line the lane, illuminatingrows of prone bodies, cardboard shelters, empty bottles.

The drunks look up at her with dead eyes.

59

60 EXT. ALLEY - LATER

Jesse goes deeper into a labyrinth of alleys, the streetbecoming darker with every step. In the distance she

sees the blue light. Figures moving through the fog.

Jesse moves slowly along a wall in the shadows trying toget a better look... Suddenly, out of the shadows, aBOTTLE SMASHES... She starts, quickens her pace...

Runs straight into a bulky figure. A primal scream risesfrom her stomach. The figure is a homeless drunk, morescared than she is, who scuttles off quickly into thenight. Jesse presses her back against the wall.

Breathes. She inches around the corner...

60

61 EXT. WAVERLY ARMS - CONTINUOUS ACTION

... and from the shadows, gazes at figures knocking onthe solitary door in the wall up ahead, with the dullblue light mounted above. The slot in the door slides

open. A moment later, the figures vanish inside.

A moment later, two couples approach, dressed in black.

Jesse takes a deep breath, then...

(CONTINUED)

61

43.

61 CONTINUED:
61

... falls into step behind them. One knocks on the door.

A face peers out at the group. Steps back. The door

opens. Jesse follows the couples in. The door shuts

behind her.

62 INT. CLUB - NIGHT 62

The music is part blues, part Kurt Weil, part Gothic,

dark and ominous as if the pianist knew exactly the sortof trouble Jesse was in. The bar is comprised ofelaborately-carved Chinese dragons, a TV mountedincongruously in the corner showing a silent VampireLestat video.

Couples dance cheek to cheek, rotating like figures on amusic box. Another couple is necking hot and heavy inthe corner. Jesse stares at the patrons of this vampire

coven. Many of the faces are unnaturally pale, gaunt.

Their eyes shine with a strange, reflective light. Jesse

moves through the tables, passing a mortal YUPPIE-TYPEsitting with a VAMPIRE GIRL he's obviously just met thatnight.

YUPPIE:

Wow. This is the coolest after

hours club ever. You sure youdon't want a drink?

Soon.

VAMPIRE GIRL:

The Vampire Girl smiles, glances up at Jesse as she

passes. Jesse looks away quickly, moves on... Thepianist watches as she passes by. The couple necking inthe corner begins to get even more aroused. A mortal

girl sips on her drink while her lover, a vampire, kissesher shoulder, her throat...

63 UNKNOWN POV 63

Unaware that she is being watched, Jesse continues hercircuit.

64 BACK TO SCENE 64

as Jesse approaches the bar where three PUNK VAMPIRESslouch, looking up at Lestat on the video.

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