TheWrap is reporting that Josh Boone is close to signing on to write and direct THE VAMPIRE LESTAT for Universal. The film will be a the first in a new series of film adaptations based on Anne Rice's THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES, and will be an adaption of LESTAT and THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED, the second and third books in the series.Uni has tapped Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer to produce.