03/28/1997

Dear Readers:

As we answer the website questions, which is very exciting, and very gratifying, we realize that a great many questions have to do with information that is already on the web page. For example, if you want information about the fan club; if you want information about how to get "Cuvée Lestat," the wine; all of this is already on the website, and if you search, the answers are there. We try now, with our answers, to be very personal with the questions that have not been addressed in the general website. Let me also mention that this year, the fan club will be having their great big Halloween Ball probably the Saturday after Halloween, rather than the Saturday before, because Halloween falls on a Friday night. But they will be in touch with you about that. They will have written material going out to you about that.

We are also contemplating a dedicated page to THE MUMMY, because I understand that the vast majority of your questions are about THE MUMMY. Well, let me bring you up to date, first of all, on THE MUMMY and Hollywood. James Cameron, the director who is going to do THE MUMMY, has just wrapped on THE TITANIC, which means he is finished his film version of THE TITANIC, and I understand that they have a script being written by Stephen Katz, and that they are going to move along very, very rapidly into THE MUMMY, so I have very high hopes that we'll see that movie soon.

I am a great admirer of James Cameron, as I mentioned in the past. I really thought THE ABYSS, especially the Director's Cut, was just an astonishing film, and of course, I thought THE TERMINATOR changed films forever. I also very much admire Kate Bigelow, who made STRANGE DAYS, which I believe was...I believe she is married to a very good friend of Cameron's...in any event, her films have a wonderful originality to them, and a terrific impact. I only mention that in passing, because I was so impressed with STRANGE DAYS, which starred Ralph Fiennes, who was recently nominated for the Academy Awards. And, by the way, I wonder what you all thought of the Academy Awards? I am beginning to think, in this country, that if you make a magnificent movie...like THE RESTORATION or INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, or HAMLET, you're most likely, from the Academy, to get an award for costume, or set direction, and that seems to be the end of it. I wonder if there isn't an anti-scope movement in Hollywood...a rebellion against movies that take on good and evil, God and the Devil, and questions of great philosophical import that echo through the ages. But, maybe I'm only expressing my own prejudice. I certainly admire the Coen brothers, and was very amused and pleased to see FARGO score so high. I enjoyed FARGO. I just didn't think it had the scope of HAMLET or EVITA. I don't think it attempted as much as HAMLET or EVITA, and I hated to see those movies passed over.

Well, now, we'll go to your questions. We're going to eventually get to all of your questions, but we're taking them one by one.