Author Anne Rice adapted her novel and Jordan filtered it through his own dark fairy tale aesthetic, while the casting of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt as centuries-spanning vampires haunting New Orleans and then Europe cued both fan dissent and healthy box office. As pre-eminent Parisian vampire Armand, Banderas shakes things up for the pair and their protégée Kirsten Dunst, overseeing a bloodthirsty stage troupe whose “art” imitates (eternal) life.