Cruise And Pitt Questionable For Vampire Follow-Up

Mon., Feb. 6, 1995

From Wire Reports

With a domestic box-office take of more than $102 million, the inevitable has happened: director Neil Jordan and Geffen Films are already at work on a sequel to “Interview With the Vampire,” sources confirmed Tuesday. But despite much press speculation, the participation of stars Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt remains in doubt.

Jordan is working on the script for the project, “The Vampire Lestat,” an adaptation of Anne Rice’s followup to “Interview.”

Sources said it was not yet clear whether Jordan would direct. He is about to start work on the Irishthemed “Michael Collins,” also for Geffen Films, which starts shooting in May. The “Interview” sequel would not start shooting until 1996.

Contrary to published reports, agency sources told The Hollywood Reporter that neither Pitt nor Cruise is contractually committed to appear in the follow-up.

Cruise is working on a film version of the TV series “Mission: Impossible,” which starts shooting in March. Pitt, sources said, is “looking for a contemporary action movie” following “Legends of the Fall.”

`Lion King’ sequel

A direct-to-video sequel to “The Lion King” and a second sequel to “Aladdin” are being prepared by Walt Disney Home Video, according to sources.

The new sequels will be in the mold of “The Return of Jafar,” last year’s enormously successful and groundbreaking video sequel to “Aladdin.”

Three writers have been hired to develop storylines for “The Lion King” project, which Disney intends to put on a fast track to development, according to the sources. The studio plans to choose the storyline it likes best and then go ahead with a screenplay.

The second “Aladdin” sequel will be the next direct-to-video project from Disney but will not be released until 1996, according to sources at Disney. “The Lion King” sequel would follow.

The projects are inevitable followups both to the success of “The Lion King” and “Jafar.”

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