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True Blood News - Issue #12
Week ending Saturday, September 12, 2009
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Very fun article from Fangoria:TRUE BLOOD - Bites from the CastIt’s a long night on the set of TRUE BLOOD, which marks its season finale this Sunday on HBO. This evening, a mob of angry Texas vampires is squaring off against a cult of anti-vamp Fellowship of the Sun humans in a church. Despite the conflict for the camera, the cast and crew seem like they couldn’t be happier. It’s a personally non-violent night for psychic heroine Sookie Stackhouse. Actress Anna Paquin doesn’t mind, but says she wouldn’t be opposed to having to mix it up for the camera, either. “On this show, I get beat up all the time. I mean, I’ve always been really active and I’ve done a decent amount of that [physical action] before. Not a lot, but that’s fun to me. I love that stuff.” Paquin is likewise pleased about TRUE BLOOD’s following. “You never really know how people are going to react, but even just from people who enjoyed the books and were fanatical about that, there was a pretty good indication that people might be pretty into the show and they were, and that was awesome.”
Actually, there’s one kind of vampire not on view—the almost burnt-up type that Moyer embodied last season when Bill ventured into the sun to save Sookie. This required a full body makeup. “When you first have to have a head mask cast,” Moyer says, “I’ve done that a few times, and that’s quite claustrophobic. All you’ve got is a nose hole and everything else is covered—literally, 360 degrees, everything goes, and sometimes they’ll leave it on for too long and they can’t get it off, and they’re literally manhandling you to try to get the thing off, and because you can’t hear anything, everything’s inside your head, and it’s very odd.” Worse, sometimes an actor can get stuck in there. “My sister was with me the last time I did it, and she videoed it. And they couldn’t get it undone and they had to go and get like a tire iron to get into the thing to pull it apart.” Moyer says he feels Bill is evolving as a character. “Every week, it changes—I think I add to it. The more that Alan [Ball, series creator and show runner] gives me—all of us—to do—it might be a twist on a character that you haven’t thought of, so you end up adding layers, rather than changing. It’s like, ‘Oh, right, here’s another facet of Bill’s character that we’ve only ever hinted at before.’ So in this season, we see him go back to the ’20s—we see a different Bill in the ’20s—and then we see a different Bill again in the ’30s. I think one of the great joys of playing a vampire is that you can flash back to any point in that person’s history and see things that they’ve done, which obviously people now will never see. So we’ll get to know more about him than perhaps Sookie ever will.”
Ed Quinn, who plays anti-human vampire deputy Stan, finds his vamp fangs interesting. “Last night, Anna and Stephen are so mean,” he laughs, albeit with affection. “We were at video village and it was a big crowd of about 20 people and Anna said, ‘So have you tried talking with your teeth yet?’ And Stephen looked over, and I went, ‘Oh, no’ and they’re like, ‘Oh, no, oh, no,’ and Brigette [Myrhe-Ellis], who does the makeup, brought my teeth over, and I hadn’t actually had them fitted. And it’s very interesting how you can go from being very articulate and sounding like I do to having the biggest lisp like that,” he says, snapping his fingers. “So they basically had 15 minutes of fun at my expense as I tried to learn to talk with my teeth. Not to mention bruising my lip. The first scene I actually shot, [Alexander] Skarsgard did, so I got to watch him [talk with fangs in his mouth]. They’re kind of tough to get in, but once you get them in, they’re amazing. They’re kind of scary. They feel dangerous. My lips are really bruised today, because I’m such a rookie with them, but yeah, last night, I had to do the whole, ‘Stop, fangs!’ ” This is a common shout on the TRUE BLOOD set, where action stops so that actors can insert their fangs mid-scene. “Trying to get them on and,” he makes a sound of unsuccessfully trying to speak, “so fortunately, they were rolling tape through that, so there’s probably some really good blooper stuff of me sort of trying to put in my teeth like a goofball. It’s almost like a retainer. They take about two weeks to make. You go and they take a mold and they build this retainer, and they fit up over your gums and they fit above your teeth and they’re really, really secure and they’re wickedly sharp. They actually have little holes—they’re actually hollow, I can actually suck through them—I could drink a bowl of soup through them. I mean, they look amazing, they feel amazing and they’re pretty fun. So, to be a fan of a show like this and then to get to work on it, to get to show fangs and get to run around at vamp speed, is pretty cool.” Vamp speed is the faster-than-lightning way the predators can get from point A to point B. Quinn explains how the actor accomplishes this feat. “You run just like a typical goofball and they speed it up,” he laughs. “They go, ‘Run’ and you go to a certain place, you stop, and then they say, ‘Reset and action,’ and you start again. So it’s all the magic of filmmaking that makes you run around real fast, but it’s nice to know that they’re going to cover me in post.” Alan Hyde, the Danish actor who plays Eric’s ancient-but-boyish-looking sire Godric, seems to be working tonight at vamp speed, as he is constantly being asked to appear at either end of the enormous church serving as the set. “I have never played a vampire, but it’s pretty cool,” he says affably. “I’ve never played anything but human, so it’s a new thing. The thing about my character is that—these vampires are extremely old, so it’s about getting that wisdom into the character and that experience, and also getting that rage in there.”
Wes Brown, who plays Fellowship of the Sun acolyte Luke, actually hails from Louisiana, where most of TRUE BLOOD takes place. As a self-proclaimed “avid watcher” of the series, he ponders whether it is realistic in its depiction of small-town life in that state. “That’s a good question. I want to say yes and no. I’m trying to figure out exactly why yes and no, though. It is pretty good. My family is from a really small town in south Louisiana and it actually has a bar right down the street from my uncle’s house that’s very similar to Merlotte’s. It’s on a bayou, it’s got the same surrounding moss trees and everything, so it is pretty good. Down in the South, where my family is from, they have pretty heavy Cajun accents, not so much the country, though.” Ironically, Brown’s character Luke is from Texas. “I’m laying on my Texas accent. I was actually born in Texas and when I go back and visit family, the accent starts to come out. I’ve been on the set before where I would have to withdraw the accent, but if I speak long enough, and especially if I speak with somebody who’s from that part of the country.” He says his cast mates are not coming to him for dialect tips. “I’m the new guy, so I’m the one asking the questions,” he laughs. “Especially [Australian] Ryan and [British] Stephen—to hear them speak out of character is just shocking and really makes you appreciate them—I know if it were vice-versa, it would be a lot tougher for me.”
This season, Skarsgard continues, “I have gotten to explore the character a little bit more and go deeper. I was just basically introduced in season one, so season two has been great for me. It’s been a lot of fun, because it’s involved a lot more, in many ways. It just keeps getting better and better. I’ve had some great, great moments that I’ve enjoyed tremendously.” Like Moyer, Skarsgard enjoys playing off Woll’s fledgling vamp. “She’s a fantastic actress. It’s fun to have as a contrast to these seasoned vampires, this teenage vampire who just has a completely different background and a completely different stage of being a vampire than the rest of us.” Although Skarsgard has starred in many European productions and the HBO miniseries GENERATION KILL, TRUE BLOOD is his first U.S. series. “I can’t compare it to other television shows that I’ve worked on. All I know is that it’s an amazing, amazing—the cast and the crew are fantastic and it’s like a family, it really is, so it’s a pleasure to come to work every single day. We’re just having a blast.” Boadicea | 09/11/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Los Angeles Times:Rutina Wesley hopes her 'True Blood' role is a stepping stone for other black actresses
For instance, there was the devotee at the cast's Comic-Con autograph session who wanted to "bite" Wesley, who plays the sharp-tongued bartender Tara Thornton, in the neck for a picture. Or the fan from Louisville, Ky., who almost collapsed into a quivering heap when she finally encountered Wesley at the San Diego event. Then there are all the "True Blood" fans who spot her in markets or on the street who call her Tara ("People think I'm her") and the Web message boards that she can't keep away from despite warnings: "My husband yells at me to stop reading them. It drives me crazy. People can be really mean -- they say the most vicious things." But despite those unsettling vibes from "True Blood" loyalists, the classically trained Wesley, who studied at Juilliard, is on "top of the world," simultaneously enjoying artistic satisfaction and popularity. As its second season comes to an end Sunday, "True Blood," with heavy doses of bloody violence and twisted sex accenting its tale of vampires living among humans in modern-day Louisiana, has become HBO's biggest hit since "The Sopranos."
Said Wesley, "I'm living a dream. I'm so crazy about this show and everything about it. I get so overwhelmed sometimes I cry." In the series, Tara is a strong and uncompromising woman battling not only the supernatural, but also her own demons that resulted from her growing up with an alcoholic mother. Though she frequently lashes out at those around her, her more vulnerable side often pierces her fiery nature. "When I auditioned for Tara, I immediately saw past her anger," Wesley said. "You can scream all day long. That would be the easy way to play her. I see Tara more as a flower, a broken woman. People want her to do well, and she doesn't know how. I try to make her softer. She is tortured, incredibly hard to play." Even more important for the young actress, she has unwittingly become something of a cultural pioneer. With her prominent multifaceted character on "True Blood," Wesley has become one of the rare accomplished African American actresses to escape being trapped in the role of the "BBF" or Black Best Friend that has become the trend for most black actresses working in television and film in recent years. [Continue reading...] Boadicea | 09/11/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From People Magazine:Stephen Moyer: Working with Anna Paquin a ‘GloriousLuxury’September 11, 2009
is a real “glorious luxury.” “We are very relaxed together on set, off set and that can only help with some of the things that we get asked to do,” Moyer says of their job, which often includes blood-sucking sex scenes. Now happily engaged, the costars previously kept their relationship a secret on the set of HBO’s supernatural hit. “We were very, very cagey,” says Moyer, 39. “We kept tabs on our own relationship, let alone telling anybody because we were very concerned about how it would play out given that anybody who signed up to do one of these series signs for seven years. So, you don’t take a decision like that lightly.” As the couple, who play Civil War veteran vampire Bill Compton and sweet clairvoyant waitress Sookie Stackhouse, realized there was something serious going, they decided to bring their relationship into the light of day. “If there is an inevitability to something and there is absolutely no way that that thing can be halted, then you have to go along with it,” Moyer says. “When we realized it wasn’t just some fickle infatuation or chemistry or whatever, we were able to, months later, tell everybody that we were working with.” There’s reason they’re called actors, apparently. “Everybody was shocked,” he said of sharing their news with the cast and crew, “so I think we’d done a good job of hiding it.” As for True Blood’s season 2 finale, which airs Sunday (9 p.m. EST) on HBO, Moyer says there will be blood — and cliffhangers and resolutions. “It’s everything that you would want from a season finale,” he says. “But I don’t even want to make a hint at something because it’s so f–ing crazy. I could tell you something that’s going to happen, but you just won’t believe me, so it’s almost pointless.” –Aaron Parsley HBO Boadicea | 09/11/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interview by iF Magazine:'TRUE BLOOD'S' DEBORAH ANN WOLL SETTLES INTO HER ROLE AS THE BABY VAMP JESSICA - PART ONE - Exclusive InterviewThe actress talks about playing a newbie vamp in her first series regular role
Although author Charlaine Harris created a set of indelible characters in her Sookie Stackhouse books, one of the most striking denizens of TRUE BLOOD,Alan Ball’s HBO series adaptation of the novels, doesn’t appear in the print version at all. Deborah Ann Woll as Jessica, the bratty yet vulnerable teen turned into a vampire by Stephen Moyer’s reluctant Bill last season, continues to be a riveting original. Jessica is Woll’s first role as a series regular, and by her own account, she’s having the time of her life. iF MAGAZINE: When you got the part, what did you know about Jessica? DEBORAH ANN WOLL: Almost nothing. I had a three-line description – she was a sheltered Christian girl who’d been kidnapped for sacrifice. I had the scene from [Season One’s] Episode Eleven, running through the woods with Bill, so I knew that she had a nice little twist for her right in the beginning there. And then I think they pushed me as far as they could into the bratty mode. I was a little reluctant at first, but I think it turned out better for that. I would say that [playing] the vulnerability is a little bit easier for me. Whenever you’re playing a side of a character that’s a little irritating or annoying, it’s a little bit of a worry that people will think that’s just how you are [laughs], so I think there’s a hesitation for me, which is why I was glad that they pushed me and said, ‘Keep going, we promise you this is right for the character.’ I had to trust the writer and the director a lot at that time. The vulnerable side is fun. It’s easy to play when you’re acting with someone like Jim Parrack – you just look in his eyes and it’s quite easy to fall in love [laughs]. That’s a really fun thing to play every day. It’s not a bad day at work when a cute boy makes love to you for hours. While I really enjoy the bratty side, and that’s the side you don’t get to explore very often, I like working with Jim and [playing] those scenes. iF: How do you feel about Jessica’s relationships with Bill and Sookie? WOLL: Well, honestly, for this season, they’ve kind of abandoned Jessica a little bit. They’ve had bigger problems to deal with and I think the redheaded stepchild was kind of pushed off into another room. I think it’s interesting that in the episode when Maxine Fortenberry accuses her of being an orphan vampire, she says, ‘Well, I was made against my will, I don’t have a family any more.’ I don’t think I’m quite to the point yet of considering Bill and Sookie to be my family or close in that sense. I hope that’s something we can explore and there’s certainly a scene or two coming up that I think is interesting in that regard, but with Jessica, we haven’t spent that much time with [those relationships] yet to make any kind of clear statement on that. iF: Most of your scenes this season have been certainly with Jim Parrack as Hoyt and with Dale Raoul, who plays his motherMaxine … WOLL: She is fantastic. She is so much fun to work with. iF: Were you surprised by Jessica’s ongoing problems with having her virginity physically regenerate after every time she has sex? WOLL: My father said, ‘You’re probably the very first actor that has ever had to portray that particular situation,’ so I am now the source material for the regenerating hymen. It’s great. I had dig real deep, it took a lot of imagination [laughs] to come up with what that would feel like. I think for me it has more to do with growing up, being a woman, trying to break away from whatever bonds my family had put on me and feeling like now, physically and because of the curse of being a vampire was put on me, I can’t do that. I’m again being restricted and caged in some way. [Continue reading...] Boadicea | 09/11/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Entertainment Weekly's Popwatch interview of Kristin Bauer:True Blood's Pam, Kristin Bauer, talks meeting her maker (and AlexanderSkarsgard)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: It’s not fair that we won’t see Pam in the finale! KRISTIN BAUER: It’s not fair! I’ve been asking fans to tell me what happens in the next books because I’ve been holding off on reading them ’cause I’m a fan of the show, too, and it’s more exciting if the scripts come and I don’t know what happens. I keep asking them, “What does Pam do next year?” I have no idea what Alan Ball is gonna do. None of us do. I talked to Alexander this week: “Do you have any idea about Season 3?” He said, “Nothing.” A very popular question: Do you have any input in what Pam wears? I haven’t had to give input because [costume designer] Audrey Fisher is so amazing. She sends me pictures of the zebra outfit or the red sequined jumpsuit, and I’m like, “YES!” It’s like having the best character consultant you’ve ever had. She puts so much thought into each scene. She’s responsible for Pam. She creates Pam.
Yeah, I think she told me that Pam is one of her favorites. I met the costumer who did the pilot and left to do another project at a party and he said, “This is my biggest regret, that I can’t dress Pam.” She’s such a diva. The red sequins, to us, was very ’80s. The first episode she was in last season was very Victorian, with the leather corset. One episode she was in J. Crew. That’s extremely fun for me, that you can show in somebody’s clothing so much about the person and how long they’ve been around. That brings us to another burning question: What’s the history between Pam and Eric? I know you’ve recorded a special feature for the season 2 DVD/Blu-ray that dives into that. It was 34 pages of writing, straight Pam. It gives you Pam’s viewpoint on everything that happens in the vampire world in season 2. It also fills in everything I’ve been wondering about Pam, Alexander was wondering about Pam….We kept asking producers what their relationship was. Why had they never told you before? Every time we’d ask, it was some night shoot, 2 a.m., we’re all giddy, and we would just start laughing and joking almost immediately, so we never got any details. When I saw the writers for the Blu-ray, I said, “This was wonderful. Thank you. It was really fun to find out about Pam,” and they said, “Us, too!” It feels like we’re all creating it as we go. Pam was turned about 100 years ago. It seems from this writing, Pam sought Eric out. She was living a very wealthy, upper-crust life and these little men were lining up to court her and she’d be married off to one of these people, and she’s a real feminist: She looked at what her life would be and said, “No.” She met Eric and he split her world apart and she never looked back. So she really went after him. And their relationship started off romantic? Yeah, it was. Alexander and I would always joke during the season, “Were they a couple?” “Well yeah, the first 100 years were very passionate but it’s sorta cooled.” [Laughs] I just decided to play it that way. She is extremely enamored and impressed and loyal to Eric. In the Blu-ray, she just thinks that being a maker is an incredible position to be in and that Eric is the best maker you could ever have. She was released by Eric — she is with him and at his side because she believes that this guy is one of a kind. One reader asked, if there’d been a scene written for Pam and Eric after Godric’s death, how would she have handled him? She comments on that in the Blu-ray. She says something along the line of she’s not at all surprised how Eric is reacting and how she wouldn’t have been able to keep it together as well as Eric did if something had happened to him. It was nice to see this side of Pam, she’s almost sentimental. If something happened to Eric, she’d be destroyed. We would all love to see their beginning in a flashback. How would you feel about filming it? It’d be great. I will play Pam anywhere, anytime, anyplace, and would love to be made, killing….I was so jealous of Alexander in this year’s season opener, when he’s ripping that body apart. I’m like, “Yeah! You lucky bastard!” I got to meet Charlaine Harris and have lunch with her, and she says in her latest book, she sends Pam on a real killing spree. I was drooling! Isn’t that terrible? [Continue reading...] Boadicea | 09/11/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alan Ball of True Blood: The TV Squad Interview - full transcript
Here's the full transcript of the interview I conducted with True Blood creator Alan Ball (comments can be left under the edited version): I asked my TV Squad readers what they wanted me to ask you, and one of their main questions involves the books. Some feel the show doesn't follow the books closely enough. Your thoughts on that? I think a book and a television show are two different mediums. If I were to follow the books, it would be all about Sookie, because Sookie narrates the story, and the other characters would rarely even show up. Jason would come into the bar and hug her in an attempt to make people think he loves his sister so he can pick somebody up. Tara wouldn't even have existed until this season, and she'd be white. Lafayette would be dead.
I talked to Stephen Moyer earlier this year, and he said pretty much the same thing. So what's your creative process to figure out which storylines and characters to follow? Well, Sookie narrates the books, so her story is basically figured out to a great degree already. At the beginning of each season, we go through the books, pick out the points we really love, and pick out the points we think would make a great cliffhanger moment at the end of an episode. Then we start to wrap the other characters in, because even though Anna is the star and Sookie is the central character, it's an ensemble show. That's part of what I love about it; there's so many characters, and there's somebody for everybody. Then sometimes we'll look at something that happens in the book, and we'll say, "Maybe it might work better if we just change this." For example, I love the books, and I think Charlaine is a fantastic writer. My hat's off to her, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. But in the first book, when Longshadow attacked Sookie, Eric staked him. There was some vague thing, like "Oh, Eric's in trouble. He had to go in front of some board." Well, it seemed more dramatic within the world of our television show to have Bill be the one who staked him. None of that was in the book and had it been Eric, at that point of Eric's place in the show, I don't think we would have followed him. Eric was introduced sort of into the periphery of Bill and Sookie, and now Eric's become a character in his own right. And you couldn't have picked a better punishment for Bill. Right, we came up with the worst possible punishment for Bill, which was having to make a vampire. Now, we have this crazy, formerly Christian, home-schooled, socially inept girl whose been turned into a vampire, which I think is a fantastic character. Jessica is awesome. And again, if we had followed the books, we wouldn't have that. So the people who love the books, more power to you. You will always have the books. We're not taking any of that away from you. Will Eric be a bigger part of the show in season three? Will he and Sookie get together? I can't tell you if they're going to get together, because that's going to ruin the anticipation. But, if you've been following season two, he's definitely been doing things to make her more vulnerable and more susceptible to him. And he does want her, he's just not sure why. I think it's deeper than just, "I want her because Bill Compton has her." Although that's part of it, because Eric is a total alpha-dog. Yeah, that opening scene in "Frenzy" [of Eric and Sookie in bed together] was cool, but it kind of made me feel bad for Bill. I'm as big a fan of Eric as the next girl, but between him and Bill, it would be a tough choice! They're both vampires, and they're both deadly, so there's that. It's the classic good boy/bad boy. The good boy, he's great, but the bad boy ... you can't stop thinking about him.
Seriously? Oh yeah. He wore a wig on season one, and we thought it looked ridiculous. I got a lot of e-mails saying, "Oh, I wish they'd take that wig off of him," so we did. We came up with the haircut just to get that ridiculous wig off of him. I think he looks so much better, and it's certainly loosened him up as an actor. It's like the wig came off, and he blossomed. Everyone is just fantastic on the show. I don't know how you got all these people together who are just perfect for their roles. Did you have certain actors in mind ahead of time? Not at all. I don't work that way. For me, the character is enough when I'm writing, and also, at that point, I'd read six books of Charlaine's that made it pretty clear who the characters were. For me, what's most important is finding the person who can inhabit that role spiritually, personality wise, and who fulfills the essence of the character, as opposed to whether they're a complete match for how the character is described in the books. I'm lucky because when you work with HBO, you don't have a committee of casting people weighing in on every decision. You don't have people thinking, "Oh, we have to cast people we recognize, because otherwise nobody's going to watch this show." So I'm not forced to cast all the familiar faces, which I love because then you're able to really get to know the characters without going, "Oh, it's that guy from that show." Granted, we all knew who Anna [Paquin] was, but I think she sort of reinvented herself. She has totally reinvented herself. I mean, now I can't think of her as anyone other than Sookie. I always say in my reviews that in every episode, you have love and lust and sex and tender moments and heartbreak. My hat's off to you for just bringing it in every episode. There's no slack there at all. Well, thank you very much. We work very hard, so that's really, really gratifying to hear. I really appreciate it. Is it just total team work that brings it all together every episode? What's interesting about this show as opposed to Six Feet Under, is that this show is just fun. It's so much fun. I've never worked on a genre show before, so I think that's kind of new to me. Certainly, as a story teller, I have so many different doors to open than I had with Six Feet Under. We really LIKE to go to work. You can tell. These last few weeks, I've been working with the writers on breaking episodes for season three, but these people want to write scripts over their vacation, which is great, because I like to be really, really organized. We're usually four or five scripts ahead of the game, and I don't know how to work any other way. I know a lot of shows are like, "here's the pages," right before they start filming. I'd have a heart attack. The anxiety would be way too much for me. I don't have as strong a backbone as those other show writers. I absolutely fell in love with Six Feet Under, but I practically cried my way through every episode, especially as you got towards the end of the series. Yes. I mean, it's about grief and living with grief, whereas True Blood is just escapism. We really try to root the relationships and the characters and make them understandable and psychologically valid with behavior that we can recognize. But, you know, it's vampires and guys that turn into dogs. I'm always prepared to be shocked and awed every episode, and I am. Can you tell us anything about season three? Well, the book is out there, so I'm not giving anything away when I say that we'll meet the Vampire King of Mississippi, Russell Edgington. And we'll encounter werewolves for the first time in the flesh; we've heard about them, but we'll meet them. I'm very excited about the character of Debbie Pelt. She's bad news. Since I haven't read the books, who is that? Debbie Pelt is the ex-girlfriend of a guy who's helping Sookie try to find Bill, and she is just hard ass, white trash bitch on wheels. She's so much fun. But there are other great characters, too. Everybody is struggling with identity in season three – What am I? Who am I? What is my life? Is it what I want it to be? How do I make it what I want it to be? What are my real values? And some people are like, "Am I human? I always thought I was, but maybe I was wrong." In one particular case, its like, "Yes, honey, you were wrong." Is that Sookie? Is she part faerie? Can you tell me that? I can tell you that Sookie is not 100 percent human. She is now aware of that. After the white-light thing with Maryann. Yes. She doesn't know what she is, but she knows that it's not totally human. And people just love the story line with Sam and Andy and Jason. They're like, "Oh, they need their own spin- off show. Just put them on the road." Are Sam and Andy related at all? They are not related; however, Andy is related to somebody in the show. He doesn't know it, but he'll be shocked when he finds out who it is. Andy seems to be immune to Maryann's spells. Can you tell us why? I would say he's been immune up until this point. Ok. And Godric, is he really dead? He is really dead. That was such a tender scene at the end of "I Will Rise Up" between Godric and Eric and Sookie. Yes, I loved that scene. However, Godric and Eric have a thousand years of flashback territory to be mined. People haven't really been liking the Maryann storyline. What's your reaction to that? I'm baffled because I think she's a fantastic character and a fantastic actress. I also know a lot of people who really love her. I think people are impatient, you know what I mean? When her story pays off, it is really, really gratifying. Will she be in season three? Maryann is not going to be in season three. When I watch True Blood, I'm sort of prepared to be freaked out, and I usually am, but in a good way. When you're researching a lot of this stuff, is it kind of freaky to think about and write about, or is it just fun for you? You mean researching people who eat other people's hearts? Yeah, supernatural stuff. Well, my approach for the show is to make the supernatural something that is a deeper manifestation than nature, than perhaps we are equipped to perceive. But in my own life, I think legends of supernatural, mythic things are really just a manifestation of the collective unconscious. So I don't really get freaked out. I mean certainly, you read about things people did to each other in the pursuit of some mystical or occult goal, and it's horrifying. But that's just human nature. That's just psychology. Psychopaths exist everywhere, and have existed all throughout history. Do you believe in the supernatural? I certainly believe that what we perceive as humans is just the tip of the iceberg. I don't necessarily believe in vampires or werewolves or that kind of thing, but I believe there is definitely a realm we don't necessarily have access to. I don't know what it is, and I hesitate to articulate it further than that, because I have no idea what it is, but I know it's there. Why do you think people are so big on vampires right now? Well, honestly, I think it's a bit of a coincidence that several vampire movies, TV shows, and books all happened at the same time, but I also think vampires are hot. Vampires are sexy. It's a very primal depiction of sexuality. It's also fun to fantasize about this creature that's stronger than we are, taking us against our will in a very sexual and savage way, whereas it's not fun to fantasize about a human doing that. It makes a certain sort of fantasy about surrender and being ravaged safe, because you know that a vampire is never going to come after you. Right, and they're protective, like Bill is of Sookie. Well, some of them are anyway. That's appealing. We're going to meet a vampire in season three who's not very protective at all. Those who've read the books will recognize the name -- Franklin Mott. Can't wait for season three! Thanks so much for all your time, Alan. Absolutely. My pleasure. Boadicea | 09/11/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From Bullz-Eye Television:A chat with Sam Trammell of True Blood
If you’re going to play Sam Merlotte, the resident shapeshifter of Bon Temps, Louisiana, then you’ve quickly got to get over any issues of modesty that you may have. Fortunately, when it comes to getting naked, Sam Trammell is a professional: before getting his gig on “True Blood,” Trammell’s work as a stage actor had already found him undressing in front of an audience. Whether or not he’ll be back in his birthday suit for the second-season finale of “True Blood” remains to be seen, however, as Trammell was understandably hesitant to divulge any spoilers, but we did discuss quite a few other things about his time on the HBO series, as well as several other items on his resume, including “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Alien vs. Predator: Requiem,” and his surprising connection to alligators in his various projects. First, though, we had to chat about the last time we saw each other…and what the topic of conversation had been. [Read entire article...]
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Very good interview of 'Alex' - From Newsweek Magazine:Alexander Skarsgard Is a Neck Man
There are thousands, maybe millions, of women out there who are smitten with Alex (as I like to call him). He also charms the pants off men, like his costar Nelsan Ellis. "He's very humble, extremely talented, and so freaking Mount Olympus good-looking that sometimes I just want to be him," says Ellis, who plays another True Blood fan favorite, Lafayette, a gay, cross-dressing, short-order cook. "But, I want to say, 'Brother, please don't stand next to me.' " In that case, Alex, could you stand next to me instead? Skargard's take on Eric is a little bit Gordon Gekko from Wall Street (he's so mean) mixed with a little Mr. Darcy (he's so misunderstood). His character lurked in the shadows in season one—"I was a glorified extra," he says—but he's quickly become a pivotal part of the show. Eric is the hunk trying to woo away Sookie (Paquin) from her vampiric main squeeze (Stephen Moyer), in a love triangle inspired by the Charlaine Harris books, that could get extra heated in the show's season finale this weekend. As True Blood has become HBO's biggest hit since The Sopranos, averaging about 5 million viewers a week, Skarsgard is the vampire of the hour. Paquin might have won the Golden Globe, but Skarsgard won over the blogosphere. "The real truth is, I was in Europe when season two started, and I had no idea how big the thing had gotten," Skarsgard says. "I landed in L.A., went to Comic-Con and it was absolutely crazy. [Continue reading...] Boadicea | 09/11/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From Blood Copy:MAEN-IACS
It’s a pity nobody came to me sooner, as I happen to be an expert, a foremost authority, perhaps the greatest single wealth of knowledge ever to exist on the Maenad. And because I’m in a good mood, I’m going to share everything I know: …. Again, in Spanish: …. WHAT THE HELL IS A MAENAD?! I’m sorry to lose my composure like that, but this thing has gotten way way way under my cold skin lately. To be honest, I wasn’t thrilled when my maker called me here from NYC. But I dealt with it. I figured, hey, it’s pretty there. It’s quiet. It’s a nice small town where I can relax. Now there’s some beast with a name I apparently can’t even pronounce correctly living square in the middle of town. I’ve tried to do online research to learn more, but that’s the beauty of the internet: everyone’s free to contribute. Conjecture, rumor and outright fantasy are welcome, making it fairly difficult to even begin to separate fact from fiction. In the absence of any other options, I’ve decided to construct an open letter to the Maenad. If anyone associated with it (or is it a he or she?) could manage to pass it along and translate it into whatever manner of communication appropriate to the Maenad, I’d be most appreciative: Dear Sir/Madam/Powerful Flesh-Consuming Creature: Welcome to Bon Temps! I’m so glad you’ve taken residence in this town, as things were so so so dull before your arrival. Frankly, if it were up to me, I’d have you stay for the natural duration of your lifespan, or eternity, if that should be the case. Unfortunately, I’m not in charge, and I have it on high authority from whatever being or God you answer to that you’re needed in North Dakota immediately. Please make all necessary arrangements and conduct your journey post-haste, releasing all humans under your control in the process. All the best, Andrew P.S. If before you release your humans you could instruct them to clean up the giant mess they made, that would be capitol! Boadicea | 09/11/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finale exclusive from Meredith Woerner at io9:Vampire Eric, Steve, Sam And Charlaine Harris Say Bye-Bye True Blood By Meredith Woerner, 9:00 AM on Fri Sep 11 2009 [View video interviews...] We've been holding onto these interviews we snagged for the momentous True Blood finale. Find out why Steve and Jason were so handsy, Eric raises an eye and talks wigs and Stackhouse author Charlaine Harris blushes about sex. Enjoy seeing Vampire Eric as a REAL PERSON? I know, so jarring. But take a little time out with the creators before we cross the river of bloody vampire tears into this weekend and watch our final True Blood for months.
There's been a lot of deviations from the books. How do you feel about what they've done this year to branch out from your books? Charlaine: Well I think it provides two forms of entertainment instead of one; I'm all for it, I love the differences. I like to be surprised - Sam: And she is! Charlaine: And I am! What's been the biggest surprise, the biggest change that you were happiest about in the series? Charlaine: Oh, Jessica. Without a doubt I thought, "Oh, I wish i had done that." She's brilliant, it's brilliant to give Bill a child. Sam keeps trying to leave town; is he ever going to get out of town? Sam: He tries. He tries to get out of town. He's very loyal to Bon Temps, he's a very protective person and I think that ultimately he knows that he can't leave people hanging. And that's basically where he's at right now. So Sam's ... sticking around. I don't think it can get any sexier, but it always manages to surprise me. What are we in store for, how do you blow our legs off? Sam: Charlaine's like, "I don't know if I want to hear the answer to that!" But you wrote it! Charlaine:That's true, that's true. Sam: Yes she did, she created the whoooole thing. Charlaine: Some days I go, "Ohh!" Sam: That's right your family watches this. And you created this. It gets really crazy. True Blood has really hit its stride this year. ... Are you guys a little intimidated by all the other vampire copycats that have come out of the woodwork, like Vampire Diaries or I Heart Vampires? Sam: No. We wish them the best but - Charlaine: No. This is an excellent show and I think quality will always rise. Steve Newlin (Michael McMillian):
People seem to love Steve Newlin. I've been told I'm creepy and hateable but out on the floor at Comic Con there's been nothing but love, I have to say. I think people are just so excited, thankfully, by the characters on the show. I think it's the kind of show where the bad guys are just as fun to watch as the good guys. And who's to say that Steven is really a bad guy. What's up with you and Jason, I feel like there was a lot of unnecessary touching going between you two? You think so? Well Jason is a very magnetic personality. Obviously he caught the eye of Mrs. Newlin. I just think Steve is so infatuated with how popular and capable Jason is. I think well we'll see where it goes. I think it's a lot of fun. I like flirting with danger as an actor for lack of a better term. And it became really apparent to me really quickly that there really is something about Jason that Steve is drawn to. If you are familiar with the books and you know the future to Jason's character, it's sort of a subtle wink to an aspect about he and Sookie.
One of the favorite fan things was you coming down the stairs with the highlights in. Whose idea was that to put your hair in highlights? It was Alan Ball's. And how'd he tell you to go with that whole scene? Well, I was wearing a wig ... and we all felt that maybe it was time to get rid of it. And they kinda needed a way to get rid of it, and came up with that, and I just kinda loved it; I thought it was a great idea. We finally saw a little bit of your backstory, with Godric. Are we going to get more flashbacks with you? I truly hope so. We have like ... I wanted more stuff with me and Godric, I thought that would be fun. Because Allan Hyde, the guy that plays Godric, is really good, a really fun guy, and he'd be fun to ... I mean Eric and Godric hung around for almost a thousand years together and had a lot of fun together so I think there's definitely a possibility for more flashbacks. Tell us more about Eric. He seems so fed up with humanity and yet constantly finds himself in the throes between vampire and human conflicts. I think he's kind of in general over humanity, he's kind of like, they're not very interesting to him. He's kind of like, whatever, they're kind of naive and that interaction doesn't give him anything at all. But Sookie's obviously different; there's something interesting about her and he doesn't really know what it is and I think that kind of triggers him. Boadicea | 09/11/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vampire Diaries star talks about her obsession with True Blood - from Entertainment Weekly:Nina Dobrev of 'Vampire Diaries' on getting advice from the 'True Blood'cast[Read entire article...]
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Remembering today...Boadicea | 09/11/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Boston Globe:Women hold the power on ‘True Blood,’ ‘Hung’
Played with awesome hauteur by Michelle Forbes, who deserves lots of awards love for this role, Maryann is the queen of every scene she’s in. Whether she’s feeding heart pot pie to her minions or casually shrugging off the death of her manservant, she is creepy, campy, forceful, and irresistible. Alongside the Michigan women of “Hung,’’ who have found liberation with a male escort named Ray, Maryann has helped create a group portrait of women accessing power by shredding inhibition. It’s HBO Animus. [Continue reading...] Boadicea | 09/11/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nice article about Carrie Preston - from Macon.com:College Hill Alliance has plenty on tap for residents this weekend
The festivities begin today with the Downtown Look-Around scavenger hunt designed to help new students at Mercer University learn about Macon’s downtown. The scavenger hunt is followed by a concert at 6:30 p.m. at Cherry Street Plaza in front of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Macon-born actress Carrie Preston of the HBO series “True Blood” will be in town Saturday to offer insight into Hollywood for aspiring actors before hosting a screening of the independent movie, “Lovely By Surprise.” “It’s just a really interesting, beautiful, haunting, quirky little film,” Preston said. “It just came out on DVD.” [Continue reading...] Boadicea | 09/11/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Variety reports on Sam Trammell:Sam Trammell gets into 'Details'
Written and directed by Jacob Estes, the film centers on modern relationships and a couple's disagreement over how to handle a raccoon infestation. Mark Gordon, Bryan Zuriff and Hagai Shaham are producing. Trammell's a Broadway veteran, earning a Tony nom for "Ah, Wilderness!" Film credits include "Undermind," "Aliens vs. Predator -- Requiem" and "Autumn in New York." Trammell is repped by Innovative Artists. Boadicea | 09/11/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From People Magazine:True Blood’s Sam Trammell Talks Shape-Shifting NudeScenesSeptember 10, 2009
What does Maryann have against your character? She needs Sam [Merlotte] for her own personal spiritual satisfaction. There’s also a resentment that she has towards him and this idea that she actually had me at one point and I got away from her and I stole some stuff from her. I’m an annoyance to her and I’m something she can’t control. How has life changed since True Blood took off? Towards the end of the first season, I definitely started getting recognized a little bit here and there … but this season it’s every single day and it’s really cool. People are just really passionate. They’re like, “I love the show,” or “I love your character.” It feels so good. Were you familiar with the Sookie Stackhouse books? I was not familiar with them at all … I’d heard about this vampire show and it was set in Louisiana and I just thought that’d be perfect for me because I’m originally from Louisiana. And certainly know that rural world pretty well having lived also in West Virginia. You thought you’d be perfect as a shape-shifter? I didn’t really know about the shape-shifting aspect until [creator] Alan Ball … told me, “You’re going to be a shape-shifter.” And it was at that point that I bought some of the books and started reading just to see if I could get any information about Sam and shape-shifting. Have you met Charlaine Harris (whose 10th book about Sookie Stackhouse is due out May 2010)? She’s got a cameo in the last episode. She shows up at Comic Con and some of the other things. She’s very familiar to me because she’s from Arkansas and lives in Arkansas. She’s had three kids and she’s like a regular mom, but she writes these crazy books. And she’s got a massive following. She’s really smart and savvy … very well spoken and very articulate. Will you talk about working with Anna Paquin? We have a really funny relationship. We mess around a lot. She likes to hit me because she knows I can’t hit her back. She’s very much somebody you can joke around with a give a hard time and she’ll give you a hard time right back so it’s a very comfortable and fun relationship … When the cameras roll, there’s something that happens with her that she is just able to show such a vulnerable side of herself. You just see her. It’s beautiful to watch because she just channels her inner self out with such ease. Is it difficult doing all those nude scenes? I did full frontal nudity three or four times on stage, which is more than what I’m doing on this show. But it’s a little more awkward for me than everyone [on True Blood] else because most everybody else, when they’re naked it’s because they’re having sex and they’re in … a closed set. For me, it’s because I was just an animal and I turned into a human and I could be anywhere … It’s always like I’m in the middle of outside in front of everyone and I’m standing there or running. Seeing yourself run while you’re naked is the worst. What can we expect from the finale? You can expect a major character — I’m not going to give it a way and say if someone dies or not — but there’s somebody that’s in major, big, big trouble. Also, I’ll say it’s going to be very surprising and it’s going to set up some cliffhangers for next year. Boadicea | 09/11/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Canwest News ServiceMusic to boil your blood: True Blood wants to do bad things to you.Fangbangers, take note: True Blood brings down the curtain on its hellraising’ second season this weekend, on HBO. And make no mistake about it. This has been a hell of a season – pun intended – for what is suddenly TV’s most addictive, adrenalin-fuelled serial thriller. There are so many reasons to admire Alan Ball’s allegory about life, love and timeless longing, it’s hard to know where to begin. So why not start with the music? I finally got a chance to catch up on unwatched episodes the other night – True Blood is a show that must be seen at night to be truly appreciated – when it suddenly occurred to me. The so-called exit songs – the songs that play over the end credits at the end of each episode – are absolutely brilliant. They’re brilliantly chosen, and they often have a lot to say about the episode we’ve just seen. As chosen by Ball and his music supervisor, Gary Calamar, they’re like end scenes in-and-of themselves. The one that jumped out at me – or got under my skin, if you prefer – was New World in My View, as performed by Sister Gertrude Morgan and King Britt, which closed the Aug. 23 episode.  That is clever on so many levels, and not just because the episode in question was called The World in My View – for the song, no doubt. Sister Gertrude Morgan died in 1980, which seems entirely appropriate for a show about spiritual redemption and the undead. The good Sister was a folk art painter, singer, poet, street preacher and much-admired servant of the Good Lord who once made her home in New Orleans’s famous – for all the wrong reasons – Lower Ninth Ward. True Blood is set in Louisiana. Professional sound mixer and album producer King Britt remixed Sister Morgan’s music into a trippy, soulful album in 2005 and named it King Britt Presents: Sister Gertrude Morgan. (Both Britt’s remix and Sister Gertrude’s original recording Let’s Make a Record are available on Amazon.com, among other places.) Calamar and Ball issued a (seriously) abridged collection of True Blood’s music on CD in May, featuring the title tune Bad Things by Jace Everett, as well as hip toe-tappers by Lucinda Williams, Lee Dorsey, Cobra Verde, Ryan Adams, Slim Harpo, John Doe, Dr. John, Allen Toussant and The Flying Burrito Brothers, among others. Bayou music, for the soul.Another CD is imminent – duh! – of a series that set a post-Sopranos ratings record for HBO. In the meantime, HBO has assembled a nifty companion website at www.hbo.com/ trueblood/season2, which – get this – not only lists the music track for every song in every episode of the second season but also provides automatic sampling links to the iTunes store. There’s no obligation to buy – the sample simply gives you 30 seconds of the song. You can then decide how and where to get the complete song.  For the record, other songs to play over the end titles in recent – read: second season – episodes include Frenzy, by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins; I Will Rise Up, by Lyle Lovett; Scratches, by Debbie Davies; Timebomb, by Beck; Death Trip, by the country band Bad Livers; a scratchy period recording of Hardhearted Hannah, by Dolly Kay; the bluesy jazz stylings of Never Let Me Go, by two- fisted mama Katie Webster; and, of course, The World In My View.In my view, True Blood has the most hypnotic, coolly conceived song score since, well, Life. Or The Sopranos. Take your pick. Either way, this song score rocks. Boadicea | 09/10/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ryan Kwanten on Jimmy Kimmell 09/09/2009:Boadicea | 09/10/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From MTV's Splashpage:SECRET IDENTITY: Who Should Play Green Arrow In 'Super Max'?
For this reason, I identified "Green Arrow" as one of the top five franchises that DC Entertainment needs to prioritize as they go forth with their movie plans. Of course, "Super Max" can't happen without an Emerald Archer—certainly not in its current script form—so here are a few actors that would deliver a bullseye as Oliver Queen.  BRADLEY COOPER: As one of the top contenders for "Green Lantern," actor Bradley Cooper must have exuded some superheroic quality in the eyes of the WB, even if he himself isn't so proud of his audition. Part of that might be Cooper's tendency to play comedic roles, a type that certainly isn't synonymous with Hal Jordan. But the actor has proven himself as both a sympathetic lead on "Alias" and as an unapologetic jerk in "The Hangover," both of which are qualities exhibited by Oliver Queen. For those reasons and more, Cooper could be well at home in Ollie's green duds.
JOSH HOLLOWAY: One of the most bittersweet moments of 2010 will undoubtedly be the end of "Lost," but one benefit of the cult classic's conclusion is Josh Holloway's newly-freed schedule. The occasional James Ford has all the physicality and self-assuredness required to play a comic book hero, and was even attached to play Gambit at one point. With Taylor Kitsch securing that mutant role, Holloway has to look elsewhere for his superhero fix—and with the right mixture of toughness, snark and bravery proven in his role as Sawyer, Green Arrow might be right on target for the "Lost" star.
RYAN KWANTEN: If you're a fan of the HBO vampire series "True Blood," then you already know that Ryan Kwanten has exactly what it takes to play a younger version of Green Arrow. The actor is a perfect physical match with Queen thanks to his small but muscular build—but more importantly, Kwanten can act. Say what you will about the HBO series, but when you match up the actor's natural Australian voice to his onscreen southern drawl, there's no doubt that Ryan Kwanten is a gifted actor—he sells the dramatic and comedic moments equally well, which is an important requirement for Green Arrow. [Continue reading...] Boadicea | 09/10/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From Entertainment Weekly's Shelf Life:Ever tempted to skip around in a book series like 'TrueBlood'?by Mandi Bierly
I took the question to Twitter, and Harris fans talked me down (SPOILER ALERT!): “Do NOT by any means skip book 2!!! Eric at the orgy is hilarious!” “Book 2: pink spandex bodysuit… Book 3: he, um, makes 1st ‘contact’ w/Sookie. Plus many many other essential things.” “Nooo! You can’t skip them! Besides there is an awesome Sookie/Eric scene on a hood of a car in book 3. You gotta have build up.” What book series have you been tempted to skip around in? And if you jumped ahead, did you regret the decision later? Boadicea | 09/10/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From Popeater:'True Blood' Accents: True to Form or Bloody Bad?[Read entire article]
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From IGN TV:True Blood: Our Favorite MomentsSex, violence...and violent sex. The best of the bite. September 9, 2009 - Even though we're only two seasons into the bawdy sex/gore fest that is HBO's True Blood, we thought it would be a great time to reflect on our favorite moments. With the Season 2 finale (Click and check out new pics from "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'") set to rock our worlds this Sunday, it's time to take stock and look at how far we've come with our lovable gaggle of straight talkin', sass-givin', endearingly dumb-s*** Southern sexpots. Will Marryann's menacing Maenad send all of Bon Temps spiraling into madness, or will the Stackhouse siblings save the day? Well, chances are…they will. It's TV. The only real question is "Will all of our regulars live to see Season 3?" Lafayette is already on borrowed time (if you consider his original demise in the Charlaine Harris book series that is). Now keep in mind, we could have turned this entire piece in to a giant Kama Sutra guidebook. When we talk about a lot of the appeal of True Blood, you have to give the rampant "sexin'" its due. There're tons of boobies and tushies and things that make us all giggle and blush – and it has to be said; extensive nudity is refreshing considering the watered-down vampire tales that have been recently popularized. Hell, if we wanted to we could do a countdown of just "Bill and Sookie Hit the Sheets." In fact, there was an entire episode where that's pretty much all they did ("Never Let Me Go"). So we tried to restrain ourselves here and only give the nakedness an LLC partner's share of the content. Without further ado, we give you the greatest moments of vampires, monsters, serial killers and…waitresses. SPOILER ALERT! - to all you sillies who like to read features about shows that you've never seen or haven't caught up on all the way. COUPLE OF THE YEAR  Let's face it. A show like True Blood doesn't need any help providing slash-fiction fodder. The vampires on this show are often portrayed as being both hyper-sexual and bored to tears. They finished pushing the erotic envelope as far as it could go ages ago and now they've reached a point where, for lack of a flowery term, there's no one left to bang. Enter Bill and Eric – the southern gentleman and the euro-hipster in a tracksuit. You wouldn't know it to look at them, buy they're currently vying for the affections of the same girl. It only took but a few moments before the saleswoman at the clothing shop realized that these two were perfect for each other. What other reason would Bill have for refusing to go feel her up in the dressing room? Bill's soft-spoken prudishness and Eric's metro-Sprokets get-up was enough to give them both away as gay lovers. Amazing and hilarious. EDDIE'S END  Speaking of sexually ravenous vampires, Eddie was not one of them. Sure, he had urges – that Lafayette was more than happy to help him with in exchange for his blood – but he was a tender and shy man…pire. Stephen Root's Eddie was a great character because he gave us the "everyman" vampire. The vampire that wasn't eternally young, fit or happy. The vampire who was just as sad and pathetic as he was before he got turned into a vampire. Eddie was also great because he was able to humanize Jason, who up until this point was almost too dumb for words. Jason was a bafflingly thickheaded cartoon character until he and his girlfriend Amy (Lizzy Caplan) decided to kidnap Eddie for use as their own private "V" bank. Not only were Jason's scenes with Eddie touching, but they showed us how quiet and successfully emotional this show could be when it tried to. Eddie's death was, well, as to be expected however – since nothing on this show stays understated for too long. It was a violent and gloppy mess. The vampire who was a soulful whisper of a gentleman exploded into a pile of foul gack after getting staked. BILL'S BEGINNING  Vampire origins are always fun, and to see Bill fall for the old "take in a wandering Civil War soldier" routine was no exception. The scenario actually reminded us a bit of Minghella's Cold Mountain, where Natalie Portman's character takes in Jude Law and desperately clings to him as the new "man of the house." Who would have expected this time-honored, much recounted set-up, of Civil war wives providing meals and shelter to weary men in blue and grey, to turn into a giant trap? Certainly not Bill Compton, who chose to take a "short cut home by way of these trails" to his family. It was great watching Bill be "human" Bill. His mannerisms and speech were totally different – yes, even despite the fact that it was hundreds of years ago. Dude even chewed with his mouth open. Becoming a vampire was kind of like a male Finishing School for him. Bill, however, was always a more enlightened breed of male – refusing to sleep with Lorena to "appease her loneliness". That sense of marital commitment more than likely saved his life, even though it did wind up turning him into a demon of the night. Seeing Bill watch his family from a distance, and ultimately say goodbye with a blood tear, was heartbreaking. AIDS BURGER  True Blood characters don't really make great first impressions. They're often loud, rude and abrasively dim. Tara. Jason. Lafayette. Sookie certainly picked a great crowd to grow up with. She would have never had to read their minds. They would have just come right out and said whatever fool thing popped into their head. Knowing all this made it all the better when Lafayette decided to rage against homophobia in its most base form. The s***faced redneck. Perhaps having had to grow up with dumbasses like this is what wound up giving Lafayette his angelic demeanor. Perhaps having someone tell you that the burger you're preparing for them might have AIDS is what gave Lafayette his sunny disposition. This was a great scene in which someone other than a damn vampire, who are the allegorically persecuted "minorities" in this series, took a stand against bigotry and hate. SEX AND CANDY  Again, repeating ourselves here…True Blood characters don't always start off on the right foot. This show has a way of taking bitter poignancy and transforming it, almost immediately, into a showcase of caricatures. As bad as we all felt about Jessica being turned into a vampire, it was nothing compared to the annoyance we felt when after she actually arose from her shallow grave. All of a sudden Bill and Sookie's romance was invaded by a shrieking sitcom teenager. But before we actually gave up on Jessica and her incessant whining, we discovered that she did have a bit of her old sweet self still inside of her. We began to feel a bit of empathy for she when she tried to go home to see her folks, but we really loved the scene when she entered Mertlotte's with the worst of intentions and met up with a young man with the best of intentions. Hoyt. And sick as we are of the song "Sex and Candy," which is still inexplicably in a holding pattern on FM radio 12 years later, it totally worked in this scene. The scene in which Jessica got swept off her feet. By a guy named Hoyt. THE OTHER WHITE MEAT  OMG ZMOFG LOLWUT ROFL!! It's Eric and Sookie! Aaaaaaahhhh! It's happening! Well, sort of. Yes, the nudie pillow talk scene between Sookie and Eric turned out to be a crazy vampire-blood infused dream, but it still a stepping stone. Right? We're not sure how closely this TV series is going to stick to the book series as far as the whole Bill/Eric/Sookie thing plays out, but we know that something's gotta give at some point. The TV show has already provided more "leading man" content for Bill than exists in the Harris novels, just to justify the role itself and provide a core coupling for billboards. So with that in mind, they've already chosen to turn Bill into a more formidable adversary for Eric, despite the fact that he'll always be a few rungs down on the vampire power ladder than the Viking. So nothing's happening just yet, but we have a feeling that the Season finale is going to change this dynamic in a big big way. So for now we just have the dream. The only place where we'll get to see Eric smile and act cuddly. ZOMFG LOL WOOT R U SRIUS? THREE DOG NIGHT  Sam would have had to know that he'd wake up all "nekkid" next to Sookie, right? I know he meant well – looking after her in dog form so that she wouldn't actually know he was looking after her. But we all saw how this one was going to end. With Sookie waking up next to a curled up nude Sam Merlotte. This was a great moment that wound up tying Sam and Sookie together in an interesting way. Sookie will always see Sam as "just a friend," but at least now he could find a secret solace with her as the one other Bon Temps resident with supernatural powers. They'll always have a special kinship with each other, even if they're not kin. Plus, by the end of Season 1, it was Sam and his own special abilities that helped save Sookie. KABLAMMO!  Things played out a bit differently at the beginning of "I Will Rise Up" than they did in the book series, but the end effect was the same; with Eric tricking Sookie into drinking his blood. The human bomb effect was able to turn things a bit dark, without making it seem like a morbid high school shooting. It was a powerful and unexpectedly grim turn for the Fellowship of the Sun, who up until this point, thanks to its leadership, seemed like a bunch of soft, although impishly wicked, evangelical twits. Luke (Wes Brown) had only been part of a side story; almost a jealous schoolyard rivalry with Jason at the Fellowship's training camp. What a great moment it was to get surprised by a buffoonish peripheral character and watch him horrifically demonstrate just how serious he was about sacrifice. DIGGING THE GRAVE  If there's one character who just might be better than their surroundings on this show, it's Sookie. Anna Paquin plays Sookie with such a bullheaded earnestness that you sometimes have a hard time believing that she'd stick around Bon Temps and suffer fools as greatly as she does. Listen, we're not saying she's about to win the Rensselaer Polytechnic Math and Science Award or anything, but she still seems like the sharpest tool in her small town shed. Sookie seemed to play the simpering victim quite a bit in Season 1, and it didn't suit her. What did suit her was decapitating Rene with a freakin' shovel! Sookie, much as we're seeing in Season 2, is the guardian of her little two horse town and she's not going to let anyone mess with the status quo – which seems to be inspired delinquency marked with moments of sublime idiocy. Hell, we're pretty sure than none of us would ever want to visit a place like Bon Temps, but we'll still readily, and healthily, endorse anyone getting their head severed from their body by a round-point root slicer. MAKE UP SEX  Again, we could have turned this whole feature into a giant humpfest, but we decided, for once in our miserable lives, to be discreet. We know a lot of you might choose Sookie and Bill's inaugural bang as your number one, but we prefer the make-up sex they had at the end of the Season 2 opener "Nothing But the Blood." There was more passion, more positions and it really helped re-invest us in the show. Meaning that Anna Paquin's fully nude body reminded us of why we tune in every week. C'mon. We're not saying that the hardcore love scenes are the only thing this show has to offer, but it is a big part of the appeal. It's what we all want to see when we watch an adult show about vampires. Showing this particular scene to colleagues here at IGN made them actually begin to watch the show on a regular basis. They saw this scene and said, "This is a show I need to be watching." Besides' make-up sex is the best kind of sex anyway, right? SUNSPOTS  Who would have thought that we would care so much for a character after only two episodes? Wow. Godric blew us away. Maybe it's because he still looked like a teenage boy. Maybe because, as old as he was, peerless even, he was kinder than any of his vampire brood. Maybe because he wanted to be part of something so much that he was willing to offer himself up for incineration to The Fellowship. In Godric's tedium, we were able to see, for the first time since Eddie, vampirism as something that could be unwelcome malady. As something that didn't make you a god among men, but as something that separated you from the living world itself. So much so that, after a while, you yearn to die just to become one with something. What really got us though, and what really went a long way in showing us how potent Godric was as a character, was Eric's love for him. Yes, it took the tears of a tall, Nordic douchebag to fully demonstrate the relationship that a vampire has with his maker. And the fact that Eric couldn't be with Godric during his final moments made it even sadder. Boadicea | 09/09/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
True Blood's Michelle Forbes Spills Finale Secrets September 09, 2009 05:51 PM EST
Text is hidden - highlight to read>>> So, what was it like shooting the finale with your cast? Michelle: We were all out in the woods having so much fun. I kept losing focus because I was watching them do these hilarious and insane things. Anna Paquin (Sookie) and I were in stitches through most of it because we had some pretty loony things to do together. What’s up with that vibrating egg we saw in bed with Tara and Eggs in the last original episode? There’s gotta be a connection to Eggs’ name, right? Michelle: I’m going to pass on that one because I want people to be surprised as they go into it. Speaking of eggs, you’ve been doing about as much cooking this season as Meryl Streep does in Julie and Julia. Have you learned a few culinary tricks? Michelle: My cooking skills are not to be discussed. That’s what God provided restaurants for. I did however have a 5 a.m. flambé lesson to cook that heart. I thought I’d better have some coffee before I started. I was nervous I was going to burn the studio down, but it was pretty easy. I assume you weren’t cutting into an actual human heart. Please tell me you weren’t. Michelle: No, no. I’m not sure what it was, but we all got creeped out when I cut into it because it made the worst squishing sound in the world. The irony is that I’m a 30-year vegetarian. I’ve been an animal activist my entire life, so the role of Maryann has been a bit challenging – especially with the lovely meat tree – Di-meat-tree, as he became known. That tree is repulsive. Tell us about it. Michelle: It was filled with real meat and reeked as the weeks wore on. There are bobcats and coyotes roaming around that ranch where we shoot, so they had someone sit by the tree with a gun at night to protect it. That’s the worse job ever. Michelle: I know. So, we learned from Vampire Queen Sophie-Anne that Maryann is actually a maenad. What the heck is that? Michelle: A maenad is also known as the raving one or the wild one. They’re mythic creatures in Greek mythology who followed Dionysius and Bacchus and revel in chaos and destruction. They drink wine, have sex and have no boundaries. That excess is their quest for purity. As they sing their praises to their god, they hope that he comes. And how can she be destroyed? Michelle: Once she believes the god is finally coming, that will be her vulnerability. Or shall I say her Achilles’ Heel. The whole town of Bon Temps is gunning for Maryann. Should we be worried for her? Michelle: Sure. The whole town does want her gone. She has the whole town in her clutches except for a few stray ones like Sam and Sookie. Her final goal is to grab everyone so that she can achieve her goal. But she should have cause for caution. Boadicea | 09/09/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sarah Newlin moving from FotS to The Office - from Premium Hollywood:Who’s headed from “True Blood” to “The Office”?
There’s been a lot of buzz on the ‘net recently about how John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer were spotted together in Niagara Falls, filming sequences for Jim and Pam’s wedding on “The Office,” but when I talked to Oscar Nunez earlier today (I’ll post the whole interview in the near future) and the topic of the impending nuptial episode came up, he teased that there’d be a guest star turning up. He wouldn’t give any specific names, damn him, but he let slip that it was someone from the cast of “True Blood.” So who is it? After doing some digging and checking in with NBC, I was able to confirm that Anna Camp, who you may remember as Sarah Newlin – you know, Reverend Steve’s hot and sexy wife – will be playing Pam’s sister, Penny. Damn. There are some seriously good genes in the Beesly family. Boadicea | 09/09/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Meredith Woerner at io9 reports vamps in Playboy:Could Playboy's Vampire Issue Bring Back She-Vamp Power?
The October issue of Playboy is vamped out. Huzzah for supernatural nudity but here's hoping they turn down the coy and turn up the blood-bathing Elizabeth Báthory centerfolds. The latest Playboy will be all about vampires with an article detailing the sexification of the beast along with lots and lots of toothy pictures, naturally. Here's the thing...I'm actually pretty excited about any sort of female vampire especially since we're awash in a world of male vampires. Give me some bad girls who aren't secondary characters or crappy Louisiana Queens. I want Catherine Deneuve's Miriam from The Hunger and Carmilla back. But I'm sure my fantasies of photo shoots of virginal blood letting will probably swapped out for something more, sad and boring old naked lady Playboyish. But if this brings us one step closer to the return of the Power Lady vampire, then so be it. [Continue reading...] Boadicea | 09/09/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alexander Skarsgard (Guest DJ) for radio station KCRW:Alex Skarsgard WED SEP 9, 2009 | Host: Anne Litt
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From Blood Copy:WHAT’S NEXT, WOOD?
They are calling for a ban on silver. I find this ridiculous. It’s not that I don’t see the dangers of silver. It’s readily available in numerous forms. It requires no license or background check. And as Dallas showed, in the wrong hands it can be deadly. Ironically, that’s my biggest argument for why it shouldn’t be banned. Think of it this way: we vampires announce ourselves. It becomes clear that our bodies suffer very little damage, that we possess great strength and speed, and that we feed on blood. Sure, we’ve got a synthetic substitute, but that’s a pretty big leap of faith to expect from humans. We promise we won’t hurt you, even though we’re basically designed to prey on you. And guess what? By and large humans are willing to at least give us a chance. If we can’t respond in kind, what chance do we ever have of coexisting in peace? My second argument is one of practicality. Humans have used silver for thousands of years. It’s been a currency and precious metal, it’s used in photography, dental care, mirrors and optics, conductors, batteries, the list goes on. Would banning require all these inventions to halt? Are we expecting modern civilization to completely shift to accommodate our unique biology? How about wooden poles for fencing? Pencils? Why not ban tanning beds and UV lights while we’re at it? So humans, I say enjoy your earrings. Keep your fillings. Process your film. Any vampire who finds fault with it should take a long look in a (silver) mirror and ask what he’s really frightened of. Boadicea | 09/09/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interview of Nelson Ellis and Rutina Wesley - from Bay Windows:HBO’s ’True Blood’ stars spill the truth
Two of the stars of HBO’s hit series True Blood, Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette Reynolds) and Rutina Wesley (Tara Thornton), were at the Kings bowling alley and restaurant on Dalton St. Saturday night. By 10 pm the line was already out the door and down the block with fans dying for a peek at the stars. Bay Windows was there to ask them a few questions. BW: Nelsan Ellis’ character Lafayette is gay, even though Ellis isn’t. True Blood has garnered a huge queer following. How do you guys feel about that? Rutina Wesley: I think the fact is this audience is what is keeping us on the air...at the end of the day they’re moved by out stories. BW: What’s it like working with Alan Ball, the director/creator of the Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning series Six Feet Under? Rutina Wesley: Working with Alan Ball is an actor’s dream. He knows how to communication and not make you run into the corner crying. [He’s] an actor’s dream. I feel lucky to be part of the show. Nelsan Ellis: A god among men. He’s a terrific boss, terrific writer, terrific director, he’s great. BW: What is the most challenging part of playing your characters? Rutina Wesley: Her range of emotions. It’s like a Hamlet for me-I get to go through and go there deeply. After the season ends, it takes a couple of months to get Tara out of my body. Nelsan Ellis: [Lafayette] has no structure. No family issues...he’s the only character who is independent of everyone. It’s hard having nothing to go on. And kissing a man. BW: What is your favorite part about your character? Rutina Wesley: I get to play a black woman on TV who is not stereotypical, and it allows me to create my own Tara that is very different from the books. Nelsan Ellis: [Lafayette’s] strength and his willingness to be who he is despite what society says. And he does it with pizzazz. His defiance I love. BW: What do you think of the movie ’Twilight’? Rutina Wesley: I think ’Twilight’ is for the teens and True Blood is for the adults. It’s raw. Nelsan Ellis: I like ’Twilight.’ It’s a little PG for me but it opens it up to people like my kid who couldn’t watch True Blood. Boadicea | 09/09/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Finale: True Blood Season 2True Blood: Depeche Mode "Corrupt" Music Video (HBO)
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People Magazine interviews Ryan Kwanten:True Blood’s Ryan Kwanten On Playing JasonStackhouseSeptember 8, 2009
Congrats on the success of True Blood. How does it feel? It’s is not something that you set out expecting [because of] the amount of factors that have to fall into place for a show to even be picked up … True Blood was already a pretty tasty cake before and then now it’s just a nice little cherry on top. Do you notice a difference between when the first season aired and now? I’ve really noticed a difference in how people are aware of the show and of me. It’s certainly a new thing to me. Were you familiar with the Sookie Stackhouse books before you started playing her brother Jason? It was only after I got the role that I started reading the books to catch up with it, but even then [creator] Alan Ball made us aware that it wouldn’t be following word-for-word, story-for story with the books. How far into the books have you read? Two-and-half books. To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I’m particularly the demographic. It’s just not my thing. What do you like about Jason Stackhouse? He’s taught me not to think so much and not over analyze because he’s the type of guy who just sort of jumps into things without really thinking about them and obviously that gets him into trouble. How did you get the accent down? I wish I could say it was a long process of learning and arduous kind of hours. I obviously do my research of where it’s shooting and the various types of accents within Louisiana and in discussions with the director and with Alan you hang on something. They seemed to like what I had in the beginning so I stuck with that and refined it if need be. [Continue reading...] Boadicea | 09/08/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From MTV's Hollywood Crush - Interview with Jim Parrack (aka Hoyt):'True Blood' Star Jim Parrack (A.K.A. Hoyt) Talks: Season Finale, Alexander Skarsgard's Rising Fame & 'Twilight'
When Jim signed on to Alan Ball's sexy saga, he had no idea Hoyt would be getting a juicier storyline come season 2. In fact, he didn't know much about his character at all. The actor's never read the "Sookie Stackhouse" novels on which the series is based, mostly to keep his character original, so when it came time to embody Hoyt, Jim wasn't sure what to do. "In the beginning, I think the way it was going was a friend of Jason's that had a tough time with the girls, but I think more because he was sort of this dumbass jerk," Jim explained. "I wasn't certain, and when we shot the pilot I asked Alan who is it that I'm playing here. We didn't have a really clear idea, except that we had a few clues. I was spending some time with the Rattrays in the beginning. There was some reference to me buying weed from them or selling weed to them. It was kind of a different kind role, and I didn't know what to do with it. So finally in the pilot episode there's a scene where Sookie comes over and asks Hoyt what happened to her brother. And I said to Alan, maybe the reason this guy doesn't do so well is because he's innocent and shy. We tried it and everyone really liked it." Initially no ladies' man, Hoyt has become lucky in love thanks to teenage girl-turned adorably mischievous vampire Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll, pictured above). But if you've watched the second-to-last episode of the season, you know all is not well between the lovebirds after a livid Jessica took a bite out of Mama Fortenberry's neck. So what will become of the two in next week's season finale? Jim was—not surprisingly—tight-lipped, simply saying, "Something will happen. There will be a finale." Uh, hanks for the scoop, Jim. Though the pair has their problems, Jim said their unlikely romance is his favorite storyline this season on "True Blood" (and he assured us he'd still feel that way even if he weren't playing Hoyt). "As outrageous as it sounds to have, you know, a newly turned vampire fall in love with a 28-year-old guy who lives with his mother, it seems like it's one of the more grounded storylines," he said with a laugh. Something else Jim is enjoying is Eric's transition from rivaled baddie to fan favorite. "It kind of came out of nowhere," Jim marveled. "It was so stragegic. Starting the season off with getting the haircut so the Euro-weirdo vampire is more accessible right from the get-go. And he's such a good-looking guy, such a charming guy; it's hard when he does the littlest turn of kindness. It's hard not to want to get on board." Thanks to his mesmerizing performance as vampire Eric, actor Alexander Skarsgård has become a bit of a target for the paparazzi and was even asked a few months ago by TMZ what he thought of that other hit vampire franchise ("I think they're cute," was his response). Though Alex and costar Stephen Moyer have both taken playful jabs at "Twilight," Jim's stayed out of the kerfuffle, largely because he's never heard of the phenomenon! "I live in L.A. so I'm sure I've seen the bilboards and stuff for it," he surmised. "I guess I don't know quite what it is enough to draw a comparison [to 'True Blood']." Thankfully for Jim, many of Hollywood's heavy hitters are familiar with his vampire tale, making it a lot easier to catch casting's attention. In addition to "Battle: Los Angeles," Jim has written a script based on the biblical tale of the prodigal son that he'd like to produce with friends from his acting school Playhouse West and actress-wife Ciera Parrack. But in order to do that, Jim will have to find time between "True Blood" and the Hollywood roles that will be flying his way thanks to his portrayal of lovable loner Hoyt. Boadicea | 09/08/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From Blood Copy:DO VAMPIRES DREAM OF FANGED SHEEP?Come to think of it, do vampires dream at all? Normally you’d think I was quite capable of answering the question for myself. But even in my human days I could never recall my dreams. Sometimes I doubted I even had them. This hasn’t changed since I became undead, though it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the case for all vampires. I considered conducting an informal poll, but thought better of it. The very notion of dreaming is somewhat personal, and since no vampire has ever found fit to share their dreams (if they occur, that is), I can’t help but feel it would be somewhat poor form to ask. That and frankly, I don’t want to look like a complete idiot if it’s somehow common knowledge and my mere asking proves just how young a vampire I am. But let’s suppose vampires can dream. In some cases I can imagine them being quite similar to the ones humans have. Showing up to your nest without clothes; nightmares of sunlit rays poring around you; the horrific feeling that your fangs are falling out as a symbol of powerlessness. Where things get a bit trickier is in the realm of good dreams. Humans can fantasize increased power or sexual prowess. Their nightly rest can produce positive outcomes with work, great achievements and eternal glory. But what use are these to a vampire? Of course, we can find satisfaction in positive occurrences, but frankly, they are often well within our reach. Even great tasks aren’t insurmountable; we can well afford to take our time. The obvious counter is a dream of watching a sunset. A secret wish for the ability to exist during the day. But this isn’t nearly as big a deal as some humans might believe. After all, if we really missed the sun so much, why would we allow ourselves to be turned in the first place? So maybe the better question isn’t if vampires dream. It’s whether we ever stop dreaming. Man, I love being a vampire. Boadicea | 09/08/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ryan Kwanten to be presenter for VH1 Divas - from Rolling Stone Rock & Roll Daily:
In addition to the performers, VH1 also revealed that the evening’s presenters will include The Hills alums Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port, My Life on the D-List host Kathy Griffin, fellow diva Toni Braxton, the cast of the Fame remake and actor Ryan Kwanten, who plays Jason Stackhouse on HBO’s True Blood. [Continue reading...] Boadicea | 09/08/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From The New York Post:First Look: 'True Blood' Finale Cameo HBOSeptember 8, 2009 ι Jarett Wieselman
It must be a strange sensation for an author to step into the world she's created -- you know J.K. Rowling pottered in her pants walking into a real life Hogwarts back on the first movie set in 2001. Now Charlaine Harris -- who wrote "The Southern Vampire Mysteries," which inspired "True Blood" -- has bellied up to Merlotte's bar for Sunday's big season finale, which promises to leave all our jaws -- fanged or not -- on the peanut-shell covered floor! I also have to wonder if this pic acts as a spoiler of sorts. The last time we saw Merlotte's, it was getting busted up with bullets (thanks Terry!) while Sam and Tara (see her in the background?) were more interested in taking down Maryann, not drink orders. Perhaps the story jumps ahead in time following the Maenad's eventual (right?) destruction, where Charlaine patronizes Sam's joint, teasing season three's trouble? What's your dream "True Blood" season finale situation? Boadicea | 09/08/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TV Week's Vamp Issue - Courtesy of EricNorthman.net:Boadicea | 09/08/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday, September 13 is a nice day for a White Wedding:
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Extremely funny fan video - Article from Entertainment Weekly Popwatch:'True Blood': No one is anticipating the finale more than ... HitlerBoadicea | 09/08/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Are the Viking and the Queen dating? From Celebrity Mania:Evan Rachel Wood and Alexander Skarsgard Rumored Dating
A source told Lainey Gossip Evan and Alex have been secretly dating for several weeks. The rumored couple was said trying to keep their relationship under wrap and avoid being spotted by paparazzi. Lainey Gossip additionally claimed Evan and Alex's relationship is progressing well so far and they're having fun together. Evan Rachel Wood and Alexander Skarsgard have been said dating after meeting on the set of vampire TV series "True Blood". Since then, the two have been spotted hanging out together for several times, including their visit to FC Barcelona's training season on August 1. Boadicea | 09/08/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stephen Moyer on Regis & Kelly 9/7/09Boadicea | 09/08/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rutina and Nelson party in Boston:True Blood stars party at Kings
Once the stars did arrive, it was clear they weren’t prepared for their own popularity. A shy Ellis, who plays Lafayette on the show, seemed shellshocked by the number of young people who were desperate to get pictures with him. “I don’t know how to act,’’ he said. “This is my first appearance.’’ Wesley, who plays Tara on the show, told us during a break from posing with fans that she’s not shocked by the widespread appeal of “True Blood’’ or by the way vampires are taking over popular culture. “They’re romantic. There’s something mysterious about them. I think everybody partially wants to get bitten.’’
This was the first time both actors had been to Boston. Wesley admitted that not only has she never visited the Hub, she’s also a Yankees fan. What do you expect from a vampire sympathizer? Wesley is set to spend some of her down time voicing a character on “The Cleveland Show,’’ local guy Seth MacFarlane’s spinoff to “The Family Guy. Boadicea | 09/08/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Boston Herald talks with Rutina Wesley:‘True Blood’ star stakes claim
Tuesday, September 8, 2009 “True Blood” star Rutina Wesley says it’s not easy playing Tara Thornton, the orgy-attending, organ-devouring spellbound buddy in Alan Ball’s bloody good HBO vampire hit. “I open up the script and there’s orgies and things going on and I’m like, ‘You want me to do what? In the freezing cold? With the contact lenses again?’ But then I figure, it’s for the theater, it’s for the cause, and you just do it and the reward comes when you see the show and say, ‘Oh my gosh, it all comes together!’ ” Wesley was in town this past weekend - courtesy of the RCN cable company - to promote the “True Blood” season finale Sunday night and an RCN- Red Cross “True Blood” blood drive Sept. 17 at Boston University’s Hillel House . The Julliard-trained actress said she’s not sure how the second season of the vampires-gone-wild series will wrap up on Sunday - but she’s hoping for the best for Bon Temps! Tara, as all “True Blood” fans know, is in the thrall of the malevolent “maenad” Maryann - along with the rest of the town. The citizens of Bon Temps are sporting blacked-out eyeballs and acting like a gang of jacked-up frat boys on spring break in Cancun! “Tara doesn’t know if she’s coming or going - literally,” Wesley laughed. “Maryann is out of control, and it will be interesting to see if anyone can shut her down. I don’t even know for sure what’s gonna happen, but I hope someone figures it out, or Bon Temps is going down!” Based on the off-kilter novels of Charlaine Harris, “True Blood” follows the adventures of telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse, played by Anna Paquin, and her boyfriend, vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). Wesley plays Sookie’s best friend, tough bar gal Tara. In its second season, the show is a breakout hit for HBO, posting the cable station’s highest ratings for a scripted drama since “The Sopranos.” “It’s been amazing, absolutely amazing,” Wesley said. “And such a blessing in these times.” Wesley said fans of the show seem to connect with her character - as opposed to say the bloodthirsty vamps? “They come up to me in the grocery store and say, ‘Tara, get over here and give me a hug!’ While I’m shopping for bananas!” Boadicea | 09/08/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thanks Shadaliza for a great article! From The Vault:Posted by Shadaliza On September - 6 - 2009
The Choroideremia Research Foundation (CRF) however, has made enormous progress in developing a cure and with the proper funding they are potentially within two short years of human clinical trials to CURE Choroideremia. You can ensure that the Choroideremia Research Foundation will be able to continue their work by making a donation, no amount is too small. Many True Blood fans have already donated, join us…. so we can all say in a couple of years that the True Blood fans helped to cure blindness! [Continue reading...] Boadicea | 09/07/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The haunting music of Nathan Barr:Boadicea | 09/07/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Anna Paquin spills the dirt about what socks and patches are really used for on the set of True Blood. From Australia's News Week:Interview with Anna Paquin
It’s very high maintenance. It must be... Yeah it turns out my hair grows really fast and I have really dark hair naturally so, you know, this even the tiniest bit of roots, not okay. But now that we’re wrapped it’s okay because I’m not suppose to look like a natural blonde but not really a fan for sitting still for the hairdresser once every ten days for a couple hours. Makes me feel really vain and nutty. Do people treat you differently? It’s such a cliché but yes. I really didn’t think that was going to be the case, but people stare at blonde girls. It’s funny. It’s bright and shiny and it catches the light. Like a magpie. Do they think you’re less intelligent? I sometimes get that sense, yes. Why does the world like vampires so much right now? The honest answer is I don’t know. I mean they’re dangerous and sexy and most films and TV shows cast very good-looking people which probably helps! How is it working with your fiancé Stephen Moyer? He’s great. He’s really talented, and so is every other member of our cast and crew and writing staff and directors I mean, we have, we have such an amazing group of people and it’s a real treat. You’ve done a lot of racy scenes together. How is Alan Ball about directing those scenes? He’s not usually around when we’re shooting that stuff. I don’t know if he feels less awkward about asking you to do things with someone that you know, you would optionally do things with. I don’t know. Again, this is the only way I have experience with the show but, our whole cast is really comfortable with each other as far as t he sort of weird and emotionally scary and physically odd places that we go with it. There’s a comfort level with all of us that is really really good and really important and that goes for any kind of scene you know not just the sexy naked stuff, I don’t think that’s important. Did you have any worries about doing the raunchy material? I’ve done plenty of not particularly child-friendly work when I was less age-appropriate to do it. So maybe I’ve just never had conservative taste. Do you work out? Of course, you know, you do what you gotta do... What do you have to do? Okay well genetics were kind, so I’m not gonna say it’s the hardest thing in the world, but of course I work out. If you were going to do your job naked you would probably have very specific opinions about what you look like, as do most actors – particularly ones who take their clothes off on a regular basis or have little outfits that are this big at work. We keep hearing about the sock (to cover the male actors nudity)... But girls don’t have the sock. Girls have the patch. The patch, is that glued? No! (laughs) It’ s topstick, double-sided toupee tape. That’s like glue? No, that is not like glue. Glue would be messy and awkward. Topstick is also awkward but less messy. Yeah a modesty patch, or just the patch or the sock. I think they started calling it ‘the sock of destiny’ last season, I’m not entirely sure, I think that might have been a Ryan Kwanten coinage cause he was in little else for most of that season and if I’m not very much forsaken, I think he gave socks to all of the boys on the crew as a wrap gift. He had the wardrobe department make them which I thought was kind of hilarious. Boadicea | 09/07/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What size sock are you? From Australia's News Week:Interview with Stephen Moyer
I’m having a lovely time, thank you very much. Is it difficult to have an on/off screen relationship with Anna Paquin? Our relationship obviously started at the beginning of the show. We got together because we loved being together and created the thing in the first place. So I think this might be easier because the crew has grown up with us, watching us as a couple and we feel comfortable with them. So, we are able in some ways to explore an intimacy which maybe some people aren’t able to. Was it love at first sight? No, we both were absolutely single and we were doing this job and HBO puts us in the same hotel. We were the only two out of towners as everybody else lived in LA. And there’s nothing else to do, right? [Laughs.] That’s right. There was nothing else to do! No, we just had some time off so we started hanging out together and literally finished the pilot, went home and felt very strange not being together suddenly. And I think we were both really surprised about that. Really nicely surprised by that. Is it hard not to talk about work non-stop? That’s a good question. I’ve never thought about that. I don’t think we do. Certainly, I’ve got enough going on in my life that work is not my be -all-and-end-all and it certainly isn’t Anna’s. We do talk about that a lot. Of course we do, but it’s don’t think anymore excessively than any other couple. Are you comfortable with all the racy scenes? Happy with your sock? I love the sock! Everyone has got a different size sock, as you can imagine. What size is yours? I veer medium to extra large. No, it’s very funny, they brought in a selection of socks to try on and I don’t know whether they were doing it very sweetly, the costume department, like they brought in an extra-small one so that you feel really good. But I wasn’t the extra small which was very gratifying for me. There’s a fair bit of raunch on the show. I like the fact that sex is shown in our show, I like the fact it is shown to be true. We show lustful sex, we show loving sex, and then my character does the loving and lustful sex. We’re in a society where it’s ok at 7 o’clock in the evening to see 200 terrorists gunned down by Jack Bauer [on 24], but we can’t see one female nipple unless it’s on cable network and I think that’s ridiculous. People are scared of nipples? They can be quite scary can’t they? Especially of the very big ones that look like dustbin lids. But I’m very proud of our show, and that our show embraces it. It’s not a problem for me at all. Boadicea | 09/07/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From Daily Dragon Online:An Interview with Charlaine Harris
Daily Dragon (DD): Like Sookie Stackhouse, your character who is both a barmaid and friend-sometime-lover to vamps and other “supes,” you live something of a double life: writer of exciting, sexy books and mother of at least three kids with family and community obligations. Do these roles ever present conflicts? Charlaine Harris (CH): I think all writers live double lives. Not many of us can live up to the drama in our books (or down to it, as the case may be), and most of us don’t want to. I feel I have the best of all possible worlds; I have thrills and chills through the books, and I have the peace and pleasant chaos of my family life. DD: Your current home state of Arkansas is not generally known as a hotbed of liberal thinking. Do you ever get negative feedback locally (or otherwise) due to the titillating and/or horrific content of your books? CH: It’s been interesting. After True Blood debuted, I expected a lot of backlash . . . but that didn’t happen, for two reasons. One, some of the more sensational scenes in the series weren’t in the books. Two, people here are mostly too polite to upbraid me publicly, and they’re proud of my achievements. The local people who read my books simply dodge the Sookie novels and read the others, which are less . . . everything. [Continue reading...] Boadicea | 09/06/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From HBO:Boadicea | 09/06/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From Abu Dhabi The National:Drop dead gorgeous?
Sharpen that eyeliner and dust off your Rouge Noir nail varnish – the goth look is raising its morbid head this autumn. Have a quick scan of recent magazine covers and you’ll spot it. Kate Moss on the cover of US Vogue last month with thick black, winged eyeliner; Lindsay Lohan on the front of Elle kitted out in black leather; the vamp queen Ashley Olsen staring from the cover of Marie Claire. Prada’s autumn/winter 2009 show was packed with sombre, woollen suits, black dresses with velvet detailing and leather boots. Gareth Pugh models wore black theatrical costume as if in Victorian mourning. At the Christian Dior show, models sashayed down the catwalk with dark eyes and deep purple lips. It seems the Twilight books and film, along with HBO’s smash hit television series True Blood, have awakened bloodlust in many of us. So in demand is the look that Chanel has brought out a new gothic range of make-up, Noirs Obscurs. The eyeliner is called Demoniac, the deep shades of lipstick named Hysteria, Maniac and Obscure, and the deep maroon nail varnish called Diabolic. After the range landed on our desks last week, we became a divided team. Some reminisced enthusiastically about our teen-goth years (“My dad said I looked like I had angina”), some were more dubious. Was this really a wearable look? For a mature, responsible adult? [Continue reading...] Boadicea | 09/06/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Man from Memphis - from Memphis Vampire Examiner:The man from Memphis is a vampireSeptember 5, 5:45 PM  Memphis Vampire ExaminerRaelynn Coombs
One character that is in the books but has not been seen on True Blood is Bubba. Believe it or not, Bubba is a vampire. To be exact, he is introduced as "The Man from Memphis". His true name is never mentioned, but the fact that he is wearing a t-shirt that says "I've been to Graceland" and at one point is accidentally called "El-", makes it only obvious that Bubba is actually Elvis Presley.According to the books, Bubba died of a drug overdose and was taken to the morgue. The attendant on duty just happened to be a vampire and a huge Elvis fan. When the attendant discovered Elvis, aka Bubba, still had a spark of life left in him, he decided to turn him into a vampire.Given that Elvis had so many drugs in his system and was practically dead when he was changed,something went wrong during the cross over.Vampire Elvis is really notanything like human Elvis.Let's just say he's a little slow. He is now called Bubba because the mention of his true name causes him to become very agitated.Bubba is now somewhat of a bodyguard and does odd jobs for the other vampires of Louisiana. The fact that he is a vampire living amid humans explains a lot of the Elvis sightings! Elvis Presley being portrayed this way in the books has brought about some heated discussions. Some think that it is an insult to his family and fans. Others think that it would be great comedic entertainment if he were introduced in the television series. What's your opinion? Is portraying Elvis in this manner and insult or just playful humor? If you like vampire stories and haven't read the Sookie Stackhouse book series, you should give them a try. Along with the vampires,you are also given werewolves and shapeshifters too. Boadicea | 09/06/2009 | Post Comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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