Interview with Anne Rice: 'Vampire' writer talks about creating characters and stories you can sink your teeth into | NJ.com

Check out the full NJ.com interview with Anne Rice here.


Q. It is complicated, which is why I have such mixed feelings about “Twilight.” It’s so sanitized.
A. It’s based on a really silly premise: that immortals would go to high school. It’s a failure of imagination, but at the same time, that silly premise has provided Stephenie Meyer with huge success. It’s almost like a stroke of genius to put vampires in high school. They just graduate over and over again.

Q. I hated high school.
A. Doesn’t everyone? The idea that if you are immortal you would go to high school instead of Katmandu or Paris or Venice, it’s the vampire dumbed down for kids. But it’s worked. It’s successful. It makes kids really happy.

Q. It seems those books are sanitized whereas in the rest of pop culture, you’ll see very young girls dressed in an overtly sexual manner. The vampires are wholesome compared with the rest of what’s out there.
A. I don’t think vampires are very wholesome. They’re fantasy characters, and we have to keep reminding ourselves of this. They don’t exist. I get e-mails from people who are outraged that I watch “True Blood.” They say, “How can you condone the evil of ‘True Blood.’” I say, “Are you kidding? Vampires aren’t real. Keep that in mind.”