72.

135       CONTINUED:

PANDORA
Lestat.

ARMAND
Lestat is the reason that Akasha
has woken. So Lestat must die.
When Akasha learns of Lestat's
death there will be no reason for
her to remain and she will return
to her slumber.

MARIUS
That is simple-minded logic.

ARMAND
Marius, in this, you voice does
not count.

MAHARET
Akasha bides her time until
Lestat's concert. She loves an
audience...

Khayman nods his agreement.

MARIUS
You think she means to punish him.

MAHARET
I don't know... I do know that she
is cruel, and takes pleasure in
destroying life. If she cannot be
stopped, I fear for the mortal
world.

As we remain on the Ancient Ones. Akasha's HEARTBEAT creeps back in over...

136       INT. LESTAT'S SOUND STUDIO - NIGHT

Loud, intense music as the band rehearse and we PULL BACK to reveal...

137       LESTAT

magically hanging upside down from the studio's ceiling creating a fantastic melody around the beat while below, his band plays along oblivious to his antics totally into their music.

73.

138       INT. SOUND STUDIO CONTROL ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION

While Lestat and the band continue playing on the other side of the glass, Roger talks on the phone, his finger stuck in his other ear cutting out the noise of the band.

ROGER
(down phone)
So just give me the numbers again
... Good.

Lestat finishes up the song with one last soul-quaking note.

139       INSIDE STUDIO

Lestat lets the note trail off, eyes closed, the reverb still ringing in the room...

LESTAT
I do love the Twenty-first
Century.

140       EXT. HOLLYWOOD HILLS

Meanwhile, Jesse makes the long climb up through the hills. In the distance she sees the Hollywood sign, and Lestat's sprawling mansion below it.

141       EXT. LESTAT'S MANSION - SOON AFTER

Jesse makes it to the cul-de-sac where Lestat's mansion sits, encompassed by a huge stone wall.

She walks over to the high, iron gates -- its top covered in spikes and barbed wire.

142       INT. LESTAT'S MANSION - SOUND STUDIO

Meanwhile, as the technicians pack up for the day, Roger and the band watch the TV in the corner.

143       ANGLE ON TV

TV REPORTER (V.O.)
Scalpers are making a killing on
the Lestat concert tickets,
selling for up to $500.

(CONTINUED)

74.

143       CONTINUED:

ANCHOR (V.O.)
Do we assume they'll be scheduling
more dates?

TV REPORTER (V.O.)
No, rumors have been flying, but I
heard directly from a Lestat
spokesperson that there will be
only one show.

Lestat reads an issue of Rolling Stone with himself on the cover.

LESTAT
What does 'Metal God' mean?

JAMES
Where?

LESTAT
In this newspaper, they're calling
me a 'Metal God.'

MAUDY
Ouch! That hurts, man.

JAMES
We're not head-bangers.

LESTAT
(delighted)
Head-bangers?

Maudy and James immediately start throwing their hair up and down and playing air guitar like a heavy metal act.

JAMES
This is a head-banger.

MAUDY
Head-bangers are boys with long,
greasy hair and no clothes sense.
It's not cool.

LESTAT
Yes, of course. We mustn't be
uncool.

Suddenly, Lestat looks around, like a cat sensing its prey.

75.

144       EXT. LESTAT'S MANSION - NIGHT

Jesse's leather jacket lands on top of the wire and she pulls herself up.

Jesse hoists herself up, gingerly trying to avoid the razor wire and embedded glass.

Finding her balance, she gets ready to jump down when...

Two GREAT BARKS break the night's silence...

Looking down, she sees Lestat's MASTIFFS staring up at her. The BARK again.

JESSE
(in a loud whisper)
Nice boys.

The dogs fall silent. Relieved, she smiles and turns to see...

Lestat staring right at her.

LESTAT
Boo.

Losing her balance, Jesse tumbles clear off the high wall, disappearing down its steep angle and...

Falls... disappearing down the steep incline towards the ground.

Jesse is about to hit the ground when Lestat swoops down saving her.

The two stare at each other for a moment. Jesse stares into his entrancing grey eyes.

Lestat drinks her in with his eyes, marking the soft paleness of her skin, her long red hair.

JESSE
Hi.

LESTAT
I know you...

Remembers the nightclub.

LESTAT
It's you... You must be very keen
to die.

Jesse's heart pounds but she fights hard not to panic.

144       CONTINUED:

JESSE
That's supposed to scare me. If
you want to kill me, go ahead.

Lestat doesn't know what to make of this one. He drops her unceremoniously on the ground and watches as she brushes herself off.

LESTAT
Why are you following me? Are you
a fan? No...
(reading her mind)
Ah, you're Talamasca. Are they
still at it?

JESSE
You know about the Talamasca...?

LESTAT
Of course. I used to tease them
back in the last century; make the
odd appearance. You don't look
like Talamasca -- much too young
and much too pretty.

Jesse pushes her hair back self-consciously. Did Lestat really just say she was pretty? Lestat smiles, knows that he has her wrapped around his finger.

LESTAT
What have you got there?

Jesse gasps. Lestat is beside her. Reaches into her backpack and takes out his old journal as if Jesse were a coat rack.

LESTAT
Look at this, I had completely
forgotten about this old thing.

Flips through the pages.

LESTAT
You are a busy little thing,
aren't you.

JESSE
Oh, and you can talk...

Jesse falters, realising she might have gone too far. This is one of those rare moments when Lestat is speechless. He smiles, examines Jesse for the first time.

(CONTINUED)

77.

144       CONTINUED:    (2)

JESSE
I mean, you... you've, you know,
done so much.

Lestat turns back to the book.

LESTAT
(flipping)
I have a reasonable style, don't
you think? Perhaps a bit
florid...

JESSE
I think you write beautifully.

LESTAT
You do?

JESSE
You write from the heart. There's
no artifice. It's the same thing
in your songs. There's... truth
in them. That's what makes your
music so timeless.

Lestat blinks at Jesse.

LESTAT
Timeless -- that's good... Time...
less. Good title for the new
album? What do you think?

JESSE
I haven't heard the songs.

LESTAT
Yes, it's a pity I have to kill
you. I'd love you to hear them.

Jesse's heart jumps. She keeps her cool as Lestat circles her like a shark.

JESSE
You won't kill me.

LESTAT
You're so confident. Are you
brave or stupid?

JESSE
I think both. You already saved
me twice.

(CONTINUED)

78.

144       CONTINUED:    (3)

LESTAT
Doesn't mean a thing. I could
save your life one minute, snuff
it out the next.

JESSE
You enjoy this, don't you?

Lestat smiles, moves closer, trying to intimidate. Jesse holds her ground.

LESTAT
You're a curious one. Why have
you come here?

JESSE
I don't know...

LESTAT
Are you sure about that? You've
gone to a lot of trouble.

Now they are very close, Jesse is a deer caught in the headlights of his eyes.

JESSE
I... I can't explain, but I had to
meet you. I had to see you and...

LESTAT
... make sure I was real?

Jesse nods.

LESTAT
Well, what do you think? Am I the
real thing?

JESSE
It's weird. I feel like I know
you...

LESTAT
You read my journal.

JESSE
No... I know you.

LESTAT
Because you're special? Because
only you know the real me?

JESSE
Yes.

(CONTINUED)

79.

144       CONTINUED:    (4)

LESTAT
You think perhaps we're 'soul
mates'?

Jesse is almost defiant against his cynical tone.

JESSE
Yes...

LESTAT
And if you no longer have a soul?

He can't help himself -- he takes her face in his hands.

Jesse's eyes are wide in surprise, but she closes them and waits... Lestat smells her hair, brushes her neck with his mouth...

145       LESTAT'S POV

The PULSE of Jesse's HEART is LOUD in his ears. Jesse's soft white skin glows, and he can see the blood coursing through just under the surface.

146       BACK TO SCENE

Lestat can't help himself -- draws out his fangs. Jesse's eyes are shut tightly, expecting his teeth, grimacing but hoping for it at the same time...

147       CLOSE ON LESTAT

... as he catches himself. His head flails as he tries to stop his natural impulse.

Jesse slowly opens her eyes. Lestat is gone.

148       INT. LESTAT'S MANSION - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Roger comes through the entrance hall, whistling and humming a "Vampire Lestat" tune. He goes into the kitchen and comes out with a bag of rice crackers on his way downstairs to the studio, when he stops.

Jesse lies curled up on the rug. Mouth full, Roger gives Jesse a nudge with his foot.

ROGER
Hey, sleeping beauty. How'd you
get in here?

(CONTINUED)

80.

148       CONTINUED:

Jesse sits up groggy, interrupted in her sleep.

JESSE
Where am I?

ROGER
You're in the Vampire Lestat's
living room is where you are. And
if he finds you here, you'll be
leaving nine pints lighter if you
know what I mean.

JESSE
He already found me.

ROGER
He... saw you in here?

Jesse nods.

ROGER
You were here with... with Lestat?

JESSE
Uh huh.

Roger edges over, tries to get a not-too-discreet gander at her neck.

JESSE
Lestat told me to stay.

ROGER
He told you?

JESSE
He said I should wait for him
here.

ROGER
(squinting)
You're sure 'bout that?

Jesse shrugs, looks nonchalant.

JESSE
S'what he said.

ROGER
All right, you'd better come with
me...

81.

149       INT. LESTAT'S MANSION - STUDIO - SOON AFTER

The band sit around jamming half-heartedly. Roger enters, followed by Jesse who stays in the control booth, while Roger comes in all business handing out envelopes.

ROGER
I don't hear any practicing.
C'mon, get to it... Here's your
advances. Much more generous than
you deserve but that's not up to
me.

MAUDY
Roger, grow a dick.

ROGER
Don't have to, Maudy. You got
enough for both of us.

Roger remembers Jesse who is standing looking out of place. Roger gestures for Jesse to come in.

ROGER
Oh, and this is...

JESSE
Jesse...

ROGER
Right, Jesse is Lestat's... she's
a house guest.

He pulls a face on his way out.

ROGER
Keep an eye on her will ya...

Roger is gone.

JAMES
What an asshole...

ROGER (O.S.)
I heard that!

Awkward silences as they stare at her, trying to figure it out.

JAMES
You're... with Lestat?

JESSE
Yeah.

(CONTINUED)

82.

149       CONTINUED:

Maudy approaches, examines her, tries to get a look at her neck -- she looks normal.

MAUDY
You sure?

Jesse shrugs. Maudy, James, Alex and Louisa exchange looks.

JESSE
So... you know? You all know?

They catch her meaning.

MAUDY
I knew.

ALEX
I'm pretty sure I knew.

They all look stupefied.

JAMES
The weird thing is... it doesn't
bother us. It's like having a
bunch of Hell's Angels for
friends. As long as they're on
your side, you're cool.

ALEX
He needs us to play.
(thinks about it)
Doesn't he?

150       EXT. LOS ANGELES - TIME LAPSE

The sun spins across the sky... the L.A. freeways flow with light.

151        INT. LESTAT'S MANSION CRYPT - NIGHT

Lestat rises.

152       INT. LESTAT'S MANSION - LIVING ROOM

Lestat emerges from the stairwell.

(CONTINUED)

83.

152       CONTINUED:

He stops in surprise as he sees Jesse standing waiting for him.

LESTAT
You're still here.

Jesse nods.

LESTAT
I'm glad.

JESSE
You are?

LESTAT
I'm surprised about that myself.
Strange, last night...

JESSE
What?

LESTAT
I haven't felt that comfortable in
centuries.

Jesse smiles.

JESSE
Me neither.

LESTAT
As tempting as it is, you must
leave.

JESSE
But you just said...

LESTAT
We have no future.

JESSE
You're kidding me... what are you
frightened of?

LESTAT
Me? Frightened?

Lestat is amused.

LESTAT
Jesse, you think you know what you
want. You're so passionate that I
could almost believe you know what
you're saying...

(CONTINUED)

84.

152       CONTINUED:     (2)

JESSE
I'm the only one who understands
how alone you are.

LESTAT
Ah, now I'm lonely...

JESSE
You can sneer all you want. But
that's what this concert's about
isn't it? You hoped being famous
would fill the emptiness inside
you.

Lestat's smile fades -- he doesn't like his inner life being probed.

JESSE
You know it won't work -- to feel
whole, you need someone to love.
Someone who will love you for who
you really are.

LESTAT
What could you know about
loneliness. You're a child. I
have lived since before your
grandfather's grandfather.

JESSE
And look at where that's got you.

LESTAT
Don't push your luck.

JESSE
Maybe I haven't lived three-
hundred years. But I know about
loneliness. The kind that's
inside you, even when you're
surrounded by people.

LESTAT
And you're here to save me from
this terrible fate.

JESSE
We can save each other.

Again, Lestat is taken by her frankness.

LESTAT
Jesse it's not what you think.

(CONTINUED)

85.

152       CONTINUED:     (3)

But now Jesse smiles, knowing that he has given in...

JESSE
It's not?

LESTAT
Not at all. It's like possessing
great talent, like a genius for
music or art -- and yet you can
never really share it with anyone.

JESSE
Show me. Show me what it's like
to be you.

Lestat smiles, admiring her courage, admiring the way she looks into his eyes. He wraps his arms around her.

LESTAT
(murmuring)
All right. This may be a little
painful for a mortal -- you're
still attached to your skin.

JESSE
I don't care.

LESTAT
Do you trust me?

JESSE
Close your eyes. Don't breathe.

Fluttering her eyes closed, Jesse holds one deep, hesitant breath and...

Flash -- with preternatural speed Lestat and Jesse whisk thorough the night, flashing past trees and houses -- down roads...

Opening her eyes for a moment Jesse watches the world whiz past her at incredible speed and suddenly --

They stop on a dime.

Jesse gasps, catching her breath to find herself at Hollywood's highest peak overlooking the city laying out before her like a glimmering blanket.

86.

153       EXT. GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY - NIGHT

Looking out over the observatory's ledge, Jesse can't believe what's just happened. She laughs intoxicated by the experience.

JESSE
Do that again.

Lestat laughs, impressed by her bravado. He comes up behind her -- leaning close to her neck.

LESTAT
Don't move. Don't turn.

Lestat leans into her neck and then slides down it, past her back and waist. Jesse shudders with a rush of desire, when suddenly...

She rises off the ground.

Looking down she sees...

Lestat lifting her up by her foot with...

One finger.

JESSE
What are you doing now?

LESTAT
Helping you see the view better.

Lestat lifts Jesse even farther up and...

Over the precipice as she literally stands in mid-air...

Balanced on Lestat's finger.

LESTAT
Do you still trust me?

Jesse steels herself as she looks at the death-drop below.

JESSE
Yes.

LESTAT
How's the view?

JESSE
I can't see you.

Gathering her nerves she turns her foot around on Lestat's finger to face him.

(CONTINUED)

87.

153       CONTINUED:

Lestat gets slightly unnerved at her daring and keeps her balanced with all his skill until finally...

Jesse faces him full-on, still balancing on his finger.

JESSE
There. That's much better.

Lestat lowers her back down.

They both look at each other deeply.

Lestat wants to kiss her.

Jesse knows he does, moves closer...

Lestat hesitates, a little perturbed by her willingness...

Closing his eyes, his lips hover close to her skin...

JESSE
I know you want me. I can feel
it.

LESTAT
There is still trouble for me... I can't protect you.

JESSE
I can look after myself.

Lestat smiles.

JESSE
I want you.

LESTAT
You want the dark gift.

JESSE
If that's what it takes. I don't
care. For the first time in my
life I know where I belong.

LESTAT
You still have no idea...

Jesse's eyes flash in anger.

JESSE
I know!

(CONTINUED)

88.

153       CONTINUED:    (2)

She move into his arms. Lestat doesn't move. Allows himself to be embraced.

JESSE
You're a killer, but it's in your
nature. You need blood to
survive.

Lestat shakes his head.

LESTAT
No, it's not the blood, although
the taste is so rich and sweet...
It's the taking of the life that
feels so good. You feel the heart
strain and weaken. It struggles
even though there is no hope.

Jesse closes her eyes, lost in the gentle rhythm of his voice.

LESTAT
You feel the life slipping away,
the flicker of those brief years.
The taste of mortality you can no
longer experience. There is such
courage and innocence in that
moment, it always touches me...

Jesse kisses him on the lips.

JESSE
Please, give it to me. Let me be
with you.

Lestat smells her, begins to melt.

LESTAT
(groans)
I can smell your blood.

JESSE
(murmurs)
Uh huh... Do you like it?

LESTAT
(losing himself)
Yes...

JESSE
(whispering)
Do it...

(CONTINUED)

89.

153       CONTINUED:    (3)

Lestat lets out a desperate cry and throws her backwards sprawling on the ground. He looms over her, angry.

LESTAT
You want to be with me? All right
then, come...

154       EXT. GRIFFITH PARK - NIGHT

Lestat and Jesse quietly move among the trees. Lestat stops on a dime -- senses tuned. Jesse gasps.

JESSE
Don't...

LESTAT
Be quiet!

He looks into the dark.

Jesse is about to speak when Lestat raises his finger to her lips and points at...

A couple of lovers moving across the meadow. They sit on a park bench. The woman giggles drunkenly.

Jesse watches and gasps as she realises... the male lover is a vampire.

Lestat moves forward. Jesse gingerly follows.

Taking his lover in his arms the vampire begins to bite her neck...

Lestat looks over at Jesse who watches, fascinated and disturbed.

The vampire senses another's presence -- stops and turns to reveal his vampire eyes shining in the dark.

Lestat steps into the halo of a street lamp and hisses.

Sensing Lestat's power, the vampire hisses and instantly... the vampire is gone.

Jesse turns to Lestat but he has disappeared, too. Spinning around again she sees...

Lestat hovering over the mortal woman who is still in a swoon. Checking to see that the vampire is gones, Jesse moves closer to the bench.

(CONTINUED)

90.

154       CONTINUED:

JESSE
Is she alright?

Lestat looks up to her face revealing his blood-stained lips.

LESTAT
Come here, Jesse... I'll show you
how it's done.

Jesse reflexively looks away.

A beat as he marks her reaction.

LESTAT
What are you waiting for?

Jesse tries to be brave, but she can't help herself.

JESSE
No, stop...

LESTAT
This is what you want, isn't it?
This is what you begged me for.

JESSE
No...!

Lestat's expression turns cold as ice -- he arches his back like a great cat and goes in for the kill. The woman's body convulses...

Jesse watches in horror as...

... the woman's hands clutch at Lestat, her back stiffens... finally her legs relax in an obscene parady of orgasm.

Jesse gasps, backs away. Lestat finishes and, wiping his mouth, approaches Jesse.

LESTAT
Do you still want the dark gift?

They stand apart, wanting to move closer but stuck.

JESSE
No...

Lestat lowers his head, nods his acceptance. There's a great sadness between these two lovers -- stranded from each other by this insurmountable divide.

(CONTINUED)

154       CONTINUED:    (2)

LESTAT
Marius was right, but I never
understood until now.

JESSE
What?

LESTAT
You are beautiful to me, because
you are human... your frailty,
your short years, your heart even
as you think it's breaking -- all
that is suddenly more precious
than anything I have ever known.
(resolved but sad)
Good-bye, Jesse, I had a wonderful
evening.

Then Jesse reaches for her cheek as if she were touched by something when...

... the image of Lestat's lips kissing her cheek flashes by in vampire time as...

Jesse's face is completely still in human time.

As her hand drops from her cheek she realizes what just happened and smiles.

There's a SWISH and the sound of RUSHING AIR. Jesse turns, expecting Lestat...

Jesse screams, back away.

It's not Lestat at all but Mael, the Druid vampire. With great speed he glides towards her, envelops Jesse in his cloak, muffling her cries...

155       BLACKNESS

The sound of WIND and the CLICK of the FREEWAY SEAMS causes Jesse's eyes to open...

156       INT. LIMOUSINE - NIGHT

Jesse sits up and looks around -- she's in a limousine -- the older kind with mahogany paneling and fresh-cut flowers. The CRYSTAL GLASSES TINKLE with the rhythm of the road. Jesse scrambles to the front and raps on the glass partition.

(CONTINUED)

92.

156       CONTINUED:

JESSE
Hello?

The driver ignores her. She taps more insistently.

JESSE
Hello!

Slowly the driver turns his head -- it's Mael -- he smiles and turns back to the road. Jesse recoils and goes back to her original seat. Frightened, confused.

157       JESSE'S POV - FREEWAY SIGN

flashes by -- "PALM DESERT." A high-tech windmill, like an airplane propeller, flashes by.

158       EXT. DESERT MANSION - NIGHT

A sprawling adobe mansion sits under the stars of the California desert.

CUT TO:

159       STARING EYE

PULL BACK to reveal a porcelain doll, beautiful, perfect but with those staring, unsettling eyes. We TRACK ACROSS rows and rows of dolls from different eras, all exquisite detail. TRACK PAST the billowing floor-to-ceiling curtains to reveal Jesse -- still an adult, but lying awake in bed just as she had as a little girl.

Jesse gets out of bed, trapped in her own childhood memory. Is she dreaming now?

160       INT. DESERT MANSION -- HALLWAY - NIGHT

Making her way down a long hall she passes an amazing array of medieval tapestries.

161       FLASHBACK - INT. HALLWAY

Jesse as a child picking at the thread of a wall-hanging in a large room.

93.

162       BACK TO SCENE (PRESENT)

She stands wondering -- eyes moving back and forth with rapid thoughts when...

She sees a door at the end of the hall.

Walking a little faster now she draws toward it as...

163       FLASHBACK - INT. HALLWAY

Jesse as a little girl, wanders down a similar hall toward what sounds like a COCKTAIL PARTY. Reaching the thick wooden door she peeps through to see...

166       BACK TO SCENE (PRESENT)

Jesse stares up at an enormous mural dominating the far wall -- a mural of names, a family tree -- extending up onto the ceiling and down to the floor.

165       FLASHBACK - MURAL

Jesse, as a little girl, looks up at the mural.

YOUNG JESSE
I don't want to go...

Maharet walks beside her.

MAHARET
I know, darling. I don't want you
to go either but you must.

YOUNG JESSE
(furious)
Why? Why can't I stay with you!
Please, Auntie Maharet!

A tear of blood trickles down Maharet's cheek.

YOUNG JESSE
Auntie, you're bleeding.

Jesse takes the tear and goes to put it to her mouth but Maharet violently grabs her hand. Young Jesse is frightened.

MAHARET
You must be with your own, my
sweetest girl. I'll always be
watching over you.

YOUNG JESSE
I want to stay with you forever.

94.

166       BACK TO SCENE (PRESENT)

Jesse stares into nothingness. Again the voice, but much gentler.

MAHARET
Forever is a very long time.

Jesse looks up out of her memory to see in the doorway down the end of the hall... Maharet.

MAHARET
Hello, my princess.

JESSE
Maharet...

Maharet approaches.

JESSE
You haven't aged... you haven't
changed at all...

Now we see Jesse's aunt's eyes glow with that vampiric greyness, her skin that strange pallor.

JESSE
You're a...?

Maharet nods.

Jesse stands there soaking it in.

MAHARET
Your life has been an instant in
mine.

Maharet smiles at Jesse's full realisation.

JESSE
(mind is blown)
All these years.

MAHARET
Come...

Jesse follows Maharet to the mural of the family tree.

MAHARET
You are the most precious of my
great family...

JESSE
What family? Am I...?

(CONTINUED)

95.

166       CONTINUED:

MAHARET
No.
(beat)
I haven't always been this... I
was once mortal, too. My sister
died before her child was one year
old. I took care of that child,
and her children, and her
children's children...

Pointing up to the huge family tree...

MAHARET
This is our family -- my way of
coping with eternity.

Her finger trails down the great line to one single name -- "Jessica Reeves"...

Jesse stares at Maharet, amazed.

MAHARET
When your parents dies I took care
of you...

167       FLASHBACK - BALCONY

Jesse as a girl sitting on the balcony with a vampire...

From across the balcony, Maharet yells --

MAHARET (O.S.)
Jesse!

168       BACK TO SCENE (PRESENT)

Jesse is putting the pieces together.

JESSE
You sent me away.

MAHARET
I stopped a terrible thing
happening. And I will again.
Jesse, Lestat is not for you.

Jesse blinks. Maharet smiles.

MAHARET
Yes, I know about your new friend.
You're in love with him.

(CONTINUED)

96.

168       CONTINUED:

JESSE
No, I'm...

Maharet waits. Jesse knows she can't lie.

JESSE
It's not what I thought it would
be.

MAHARET
You thought you could kill as he
does without remorse.

Jesse stares at Maharet, surprised that there is someone who can understand her so well.

JESSE
How do you know...?

Maharet smiles sadly, feeling Jesse's inner turmoil.

MAHARET
You want him.

JESSE
Yes...

Jesse sits on a stone bench, confused and miserable.

JESSE
I thought it would be easier.

MAHARET
You wanted to be like him.

JESSE
He offered me the dark gift. I
couldn't do it...

MAHARET
I know...

JESSE
Even now... I still want him.

Maharet shakes her head, disturbed. Just then the gloom of the pre-dawn's light begins to illuminate the windows of the great hall.

MAHARET
You should leave here in the
morning. Go home to London.

Jesse calmly holds Maharet's eyes.

(CONTINUED)

97.

168       CONTINUED:    (2)

JESSE
This is my home. This is where I
belong. You're not getting rid of
me that easily again.

MAHARET
Oh, Jesse...

Maharet melts, sits beside her, touches her face gently.

MAHARET
I never wanted to be rid of you.
You are my most precious child.
You are the reason I wish to go on
living. But there are things I
cannot tell you now.

JESSE
Is it Lestat?

MAHARET
Lestat is in terrible danger. You
will only make it worse.

JESSE
What danger?

MAHARET
You must trust me and do as I say.
Go back to London.

JESSE
What danger!?

Squinting, Maharet stands...

MAHARET
Promise me.

Jesse says nothing.

Beaten by the sun, Maharet exits into the shadows.

MAHARET
Promise me.

ON Jesse's reaction.

169       EXT. MAHARET'S DESERT MANSION - DAY

The sun breaks through the date palms, illuminating Maharet's spectacular garden -- a lush oasis of waterfalls and tropical flora.

Jesse moves though the garden.

98.

170       EXT. MAHARET'S DESERT MANSION - FRONT ENTRANCE - DAY

Jesse moves to the front entrance, past the expensive cars, the limousine that brought her here, to the walls surrounding the front gate.

She tries the driveway gates -- locked -- held by a type of electric lock.

She tries the smaller door -- locked.

Jesse stands back and studies the height of the adobe wall...

Looking around, she climbs the nearest tree to the top of the wall.

On top of the wall, Jesse tries to keep her balance, but it's a long way down, and nothing to climb on to. She leaps.

171       EXT. MAHARET'S DESERT MANSION - DAY

Maharet's sprawling compound sits alone in the empty desert canyon. Nothing for as far as the eye can see. Jesse walks away from the house.

Coming to a highway, she reads a sign -- "DEATH VALLEY 120 miles."

Just then, a VW minibus barrels down the road in Jesse's direction.

She sticks out her thumb...

The minibus pulls to a stop on the shoulder in a cloud of dust. A VAMPIRE DRIVER leans out the window -- not a real vampire, just a kid with white face-paint and fake fangs.

VAMPIRE DRIVER
Need a ride?

JESSE
Where are you going?

VAMPIRE DRIVER
Where does it look like?

Jesse peers past the driver to a crowd of Goths and fake vampires. "THE VAMPIRE LESTAT" BLARES from the distorted SPEAKERS.

CUT TO:

99.

172       INT. VW MINIBUS - DAY

Packed with kids drinking, smoking pot and touching up each other's ghoul makeup. Jesse sits watching, completely fascinated by kids her own age. They offer her a joint but she shakes her head. A slutty GOTH GIRL moves over next to Jesse.

GOTH GIRL
You have great hair. You want me
to make you up?

JESSE
No thanks.

Jesse smiles, trying not to offend. But the Goth Girl is cool -- she takes the joint and sways to the MUSIC.

GOTH GIRL
I've been waiting for this so bad.
This is going to be the best night
of my life.

VAMPIRE DRIVER
I hear there's going to be real
vampires down there...

GOTH GIRL
Hey, maybe I'll get lucky.

The others laugh. Jesse settles down, feeling part of them and yet apart -- if only they knew...

173       EXT. DEATH VALLEY - FROM HIGH ABOVE - DUSK

we see a line of traffic snake out along a desert road toward a strange red glow rising into the dark night sky.

A distant sound of DRUMS BEATING chaotic rhythms is heard.

As we FLY CLOSER, the DRUMMING becomes LOUDER and clearer.

Until we are right ABOVE an incredible scene...

A mass of people (30,000) gather in a valley of red rock.

CUT TO:

174       EXT. CONCERT ENTRANCE - NIGHT

Jesse jumps out of the van...

(CONTINUED)

100.

174       CONTINUED:

VAMPIRE DRIVER
We'll be in the mosh pit up front
if you want to hang with us.

JESSE
Cool.

Looking at the scene, Jesse is bedazzled. Pushing through people, she disappears into the throng as...

MAN (O.S.)
Jesse!

175       ANGLE ON TALBOT

as he pushes through the sea of white paint and plastic vampire teeth.

TALBOT
Jesse! Jesse!

176       ANGLE - JESSE

sees Talbot. Shit! Not now. Now is a bad time -- she must get to Lestat. She turns away and pushes towards the stage.

177       TALBOT

struggles to follow.

TALBOT
Jesse!

Talbot is jostled, dropping his glasses on the ground.

VOICE (O.S.)
Sorry, Grandpa!

Talbot crouches down and finds his glasses. Reemerging, he senses something and looks up.

178       FULL SHOT - MARIUS

watching him at a distance. Next to the real thing, all these fake vampires look ridiculous.

MARIUS
(quietly)
Hello, David.

101.

179       ON TALBOT

Speechless.

MARIUS
I must show you my new paintings
sometime.

Marius smiles. Talbot is awestruck -- the goal of a lifetime's searching. He tries to say something, but it's too late.

FLASH. Marius is moving through the crowd at unnatural speed.

Enormous pipes spout flames high into the sky, run like a corridor of red light along the crowd, leading to two enormous Egyptian effigies, flanking a stage at the top end.

And before the stage stretches a mass of human bacchanalian debauchery...

Woodstock on mescaline.

Naked bodies, pierced and tattooed, mingle with the strangest of fashions as crowds gather in circles around their own lit fires, drumming out awesome rhythms.

People bleed themselves with knives, letting anyone drink their blood.

The whole place is an enormous flaming mosh pit -- naked bodies walk across heads of people while others get tossed and thrown. This crowd is determined to get what they were promised... nothing like they've ever seen.

A new world, it seems, a world of the initiated who have somehow managed to include themselves in the select number of attendees to a sacred rite.

And among the mortals move the immortals...

We sense them, moving through the crowd with a quieter confidence.

Admidst them we see the Punk Vampires and the Tatt Vampires, now dressed in cloaks which they use to hide their knives and sickles.

180       HIGH ABOVE VALLEY

Standing openly on the strange rocks are the Ancient vampires, some of whom can't help but smile at the scene below.

(CONTINUED)