FOR EXPANDED NATPE COVERAGE, CLICK HERENEW ORLEANS -- Ensconced in a rocking chair on a set that looked like the Cryptkeeper's backyard, Anne Rice expressed great pleasure with the cast and crew of her in-production CBS series "Rag and Bone."
The author spoke at length about her books past and future at Tuesday's sparsely attended NATPE at Nite, moderated by Claremont McKenna College film and literature professor Michael Riley.
Rice, a self-confessed non-reader, admitted to watching at least two movies a day on her laserdisc player. But she pleased the NATPEgoers even more by declaring, "I've always loved television. It's Dickensian; Dickens would have loved it. When we do something really exciting in TV, such as 'Roots' or 'Shogun,' it's a wonderful event. TV rings even louder than the movies."
The black-clad Rice added, "All of our contacts in the television world have been infinitely more rewarding than anything we've done with the studio world."
On the TV front, in addition to the CBS series starring Dean Cain (which recently completed shooting its pilot in New Orleans), Rice has two books in development as Showtime movies, "Servant of the Bones" and "The Feast of All Saints."
Asked about the prognosis for future feature films, Rice explained that Warner Bros. owns the rights to the existing "Vampire Chronicles" novels, but has so far not made "The Vampire Lestat," "for whatever reason."
In her unusual contract, Rice said, after three more years, "All rights (to the books) revert to me, even 'Interview With the Vampire,' which means I can make it again," which drew a ripple of applause from the crowd.
Rice said there has been talk of "The Witching Hour," which WB also owns, becoming a TV movie or miniseries, if the studio would agree.
Apparently fed up with the movie business, Rice said she's planning to film her latest novel, "Violin," herself; her 19-year-old son Christopher, an NYU student, is working on a script.
And she said she is pursuing a syndicated radio show that would mix a call-in format with talk of current events and the odd Brahms symphony.
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