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From Alexander-Skarsgard.com and US Weekly:
| US Weekly - July 13, 2009 |  |
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07/04/2009 ~ http://www.alexander-skarsgard.com/images/Magazines/USWeeklyJuly13.htm |
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From Fangoria Entertainment:
Uncle Same Wants You Dead
Since it's the 4th of July, it's our duty to warn you that UNCLE SAM WANTS YOU DEAD!
So said the tagline for the 1997 film UNCLE SAM, from MANIAC COP director William Lustig. There's only one day a year when this becomes appropriate, so watch this modern-vintage trailer below.
Have a Safe and Happy 4th of July - from all of your friends here at FANGORIA ENTERTAINMENT!
07/04/2009 ~ http://www.fangoria.com/home/news/9-film-news/3122-happy-4th-of-july-from-fangoria.html |
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From Eonline.com:
Photo Gallery: TV's Most Memorable Vampires
Today 5:30 PM PDT by Kirstin Benson
5:30 PM PDT by Kirstin Benson
There's no denying it. Vampires are hot.
Fan fangs are sharp, and audiences are out for blood. Forget the garlic and the holy water, we relish the thought of Bill (Stephen Moyer, True Blood) or Damon (Ian Somerhalder, Vampire Diaries) taking a bite out of us. Even Buffy would put down her wooden stake for these vampire hotties.
But lest we forget, vamps have been making our blood boil for decades. (You vampiredie-hards may remember Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins in the '60s classic Dark Shadows.)
Click on the thumbnails below to check out our gallery of TV's hottest vampires.
07/03/2009 ~ http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b132097_photo_gallery_tvs_most_memorable.html |
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***SPOILERS***
| **SPOILERS*** | **SPOILERS*** |
From TrueBloodGuide.com:
 Text is hidden - to read, highlight from this point--->2.04 - Shake and Fingerpop
With Jessica in tow, Bill and Sookie head to Dallas to carry out Eric’s vampire-reconnaissance mission - but a surprise awaits them at the airport. At the Light of Day Institute, Jason falls victim to a practical joke, but has the last laugh when the Newlins anoint him for a higher calling. Maryann throws a birthday party for Tara, attracting much of Bon Temps to its Bacchanalian revelry. Sam postpones his departure from town to attend the bash, connecting with Daphne in the process.
2.05 - Never Let Me Go
In Dallas, Sookie connects with one of her own, then joins Bill and Eric for a strategic summit at the lair of the missing vampire, Godric, attended by his lieutenants, Stan and Isabel. Meanwhile, Jason shows his mettle at a Light of Day boot camp, and is rewarded for his hard work with a gift from Sarah. Rebuffed by Tara in her relocation efforts, Maryann decides to cast her spell on the Merlotte’s staff, softening Tara up towards her new “family.” Eric shares a little-known secret about his past with Bill, and Sookie makes a decision that might solve the Godric mystery – or get herself killed. 2.06 - Hard-Hearted Hannah
Accompanied by Isabel’s human boyfriend Hugo, Sookie embarks on a dangerous mission to locate Godric. Meanwhile, Bill is shocked when a vampire from his distant, more violent past resurfaces in Dallas. In Bon Temps, Daphne presses Sam to get comfortable in his own skin(s); Hoyt continues his unlikely courtship of Jessica; and Tara and Eggs take a detour while on a road trip for supplies. At the Light of Day camp, Jason finds himself faced with difficult emotional and physical choices.
2.07 - Release Me
Betrayed by Daphne, Sam finds himself in an unenviable predicament at the hands of Maryann and her zombie minions. Imprisoned with Hugo at the Light of Day camp, Sookie uses her telepathic powers to reach out to Bill, who?s being detained at the hotel by a stubbornly obsessive Lorena. After crossing a church line, a fearful Jason tries to sever his ties with the Fellowship of the Sun, but gets plenty of resistance from Steve and his lackey, Gabe.
2.08 - Timebomb
Sookie’s captivity takes an unexpected turn when Eric arrives t912o do his master’s bidding. In Bon Temps, Sam finds himself in hot water after making a gruesome discovery at Merlotte’s. Sent home by Bill, Jessica and Hoyt learn that when it comes to sex, every time is the first time. Tara and Eggs get physical after partaking in a “Hunter soufflé” prepared by Maryann. After Jason pays off his debt to the vampires, Godric looks to enlighten his more single-minded followers.
2.09 - I Will Rise Up
A wounded Eric plays Sookie for a sucker, to Bill’s dismay. Later, Sookie and Jason reflect on their recent adventure, and end up bonding. Blaming Eggs for Tara’s bruises and bizarre behavior, Lafayette and Lettie Mae try to figure out a way to pry their kin from Maryann’s clutches. Hoyt defends his relationship with Jessica. In Dallas, Eric and the vampires defend their recent actions to Nan Flanagan, and are shocked when Godric decides to take the fall for their PR disaster.
2.10 - New World in My View
Sookie, Bill and Jason return to a Bon Temps turned upside down by Maryann. Bill discovers that traditional vampire techniques don’t work on Maryann; Hoyt and Jessica try to keep a lid on Maxine’s madness; Sookie tries to push through the darkness consuming Tara. With all hell breaking loose, Jason takes the bull by the horns to rescue Sam, at least for the moment. 2.11 - Frenzy
With the crisis in Bon Temps careening out of control, Bill seeks out the advice of Sophie-Anne, the Vampire Queen of Louisiana, but must exercise patience before she gives him critical information. Meanwhile, Sookie and Lafayette find that protecting Tara from herself is more difficult than they anticipated; a desperate Sam turns to an unlikely source for assistance; and Hoyt’s allegiance to Maxine is put to the test by Jessica.
07/03/2009 ~ http://truebloodguide.com/2009/07/03/season-2-episode-descriptions/ |
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True Blood Fans Speak Out
07/02/2009 |
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***SPOILERS***
| ***SPOILERS*** | ***SPOILERS*** |
Teaser for episode 2.04 - Eric's story ?:
07/03/2009 ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNqjoZjazsU&feature= |
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Commentary from HecklerSpray.com regarding True Blood / Twilight / Blood:
Blood: The Last Vampire Trailer -
Vampires + Kung Fu = Win
By Stuart Heritage on Friday, July 3, 2009 at 10:00am
Hello, and welcome to another edition of Things About Vampires That Clearly Stomp All Over Twilight.
So far this week we’ve shown you a trailer for True Blood, which is what Twilight would be like if all the vampires weren’t such godawful namby-pambies, and now here’s the trailer for Blood: The Last Vampire, which is what Twilight would be like if all the vampires were kickass Asian schoolgirl kung-fu ninjas.
And if the phrase ‘kickass Asian schoolgirl kung-fu ninjas’ gets you as giddy as it does us, you really have to watch the Blood: The Last Vampire trailer after the jump. It’s epic…
07/03/2004 ~ http://www.hecklerspray.com/blood-the-last-vampire-trailer-vampires-kung-fu-win/200936610.php |
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A new necklace design from TheFrisky.com:
Crave: Steven Shein Fangs Necklace
 Posted by: Annika Harris | Filed in: Style
4:00PM, Thursday July 02nd 2009
Keep this hush-hush. A few years ago, we wanted grillz. Not overly iced-out ones, but some fear-evoking metal fangs to go against our girly-girl exterior. We came to our senses, though, realizing that grillz would be one fashion faux pas we’d never be able to live down. But we recently found this Fangs Necklace, and not only does it satisfy our grillz fascination, but it also makes us feel a little like Sookie Stackhouse in ”True Blood”—you know, because she doesn’t have fangs of her own. [$64, 80’s Purple]
07/02/2009 ~ http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-crave-steven-shein-fangs-necklace/ |
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From NYMag.com:
Bloody Good Show HBO supplies the season’s guiltiest pleasure, in addition to plain old guilt.
By Emily Nussbaum
Published Jul 2, 2009
True Blood is damned entertaining—and isn’t that the main thing? Alan Ball’s vampire soap opera may be set in a particularly unclothed corner of Louisiana (steam practically pours out from the TiVo), but it’s really located at that dirty crossroads HBO discovered long ago, smart enough to be uninsulting, but obsessed enough (and graphic enough about) sex and wildness that it is addictively watchable, not so much a guilty pleasure as a binge food. Cable catnip, in other words.
Now, I was a doubter last season, an early opter-out: I loved the first two episodes, but by the fifth, I got bored with the greasy sex-drug montages, which felt too voyeuristic to be fun. But I gave up too soon, before I could be seduced by the show’s gleeful inconsistency, which is not its flaw but its charm. On True Blood, vampirism slips from one metaphorical mooring to another: It’s negritude, it’s heroin—it’s kink, evil, religion, and/or love! But most provocatively, vampirism is gayness: It’s both an appetite and an identity, an outsider status that transforms a mere human into a force for seduction. The show is riddled with political references, from a sexy fundamentalist wearing a NO SPECIAL RIGHTS FOR DEAD PEOPLE apron to a Time magazine cover reading VAMP MARRIAGE—a savvy satirical extension of the right-wing notion (indistinguishable from the right-wing fantasy) that same-sex desire is so appealing it might sway anyone with their defenses down. In less freewheeling hands, this idea might feel offensive, but here it’s stinging and bold, pouring ambiguity back into desire—and tweaking the goody-goods from every angle.
Show-runner Alan Ball has described the series as being about intimacy, and that’s here, too: Sad-angry makeup sex with teeth clamped into your neck is pretty much his vision of freedom, and while it might be possible to blather about what we think about this abstractly, the truth of the matter is that the show is also, quite simply, an incredible, multivalent turn-on. In part, this is due to the funny-serious performance of Stephen Moyer as Bill, the gentlemanly (yet forceful!) vampire who seduces the virgin Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), but the orgy that spins around them is just as compelling.
This season generally features one such wild party a week, mostly instigated by the marvelous Michelle Forbes, who plays a Dionysian hostess–social worker. The character has a supernatural secret, but really she’s just a catalyst, providing a visual excuse for Bada Bing! levels of breasts and booty. There’s also fantastic stuff involving Jessica, the sulky redhead sired by Bill, who glows as an adolescent vamp at once thrilled and ashamed every time her pretty fangs pop out. Meanwhile, Sam, the Xander to Bill’s Angel, skinny-dips with a mystery chick; Tara is seduced by a New Age faux family; and the queenly Lafayette escapes from vampires who chain his naked black body to a basement work wheel—slave imagery almost no other show could get away with.
And that’s not even mentioning some of the best parts of the season, which revolve around Jason Stackhouse, the dumb, horny golden boy the show’s cameras love to linger on. Jason’s joined something called the Fellowship of the Sun, whose fundamentalist anti-vampire camp features homoerotic capture the flag and chitchat about whether Jesus was the first vampire. (“Evil is making the premeditated choice to be a dick,” argues Jason in one such theological conversation.) During a dinner with the preacher and his purty wife, the air of seduction rivals that of any vampire dungeon. “My wife must see something special in you,” says the man of God over dessert. “Sarah doesn’t whip out her pudding for just anybody.” True Blood, you have no shame.
Continue reading...
07/02/2009 ~ http://nymag.com/arts/tv/reviews/57732/ |
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From The Oregonian - song to be used in True Blood:
Cool bluesy Americana by Jason Simms, Special to The Oregonian Thursday July 02, 2009, 3:26 PM
Kevin Gordon hated the first 15 minutes he saw of HBO's vampire soap opera, "True Blood." As a native of northern Louisiana, where the show is set, he could immediately tell they got the accents all wrong.
But it grew on him. "In a weird way," he says, "they're getting at something that exists down there through this metaphor of the vampire." The songwriter, who will play three shows in Portland this week -- including the big annual favorite Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival -- says that "True Blood" captures the "feeling of a wild provincial place where there's still mystery."
The same could be said of Gordon's breed of bluesy Americana. His songs are as informed by the porches of his youth as they are by his background as a poet (he graduated from the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1989). The latter experience dissects the former to make new discoveries in a familiar organism.
Take "Watching the Sun Go Down" -- a song Gordon has licensed to "True Blood" though it hasn't appeared in an episode yet. It opens with the line, "O come look at the burning," which is also the title of Gordon's most recent album. Now, sunset as fire is an ancient metaphor, but couching it in an invitation, that's new. There's something simultaneously sinister and celebratory about making a party of a burning sunset. By a near adherence to convention, Gordon is able to subtly evoke the intangible "intense living" quality he appreciates in "True Blood" -- and he doesn't need a race of mythical monsters to do it.
"Watching the Sun Go Down" is one of a very few Kevin Gordon tunes that includes a solo. "I'm not really about hot licks," he explains, "I'm more into a cool song with a cool groove." With the virtuosity restrained, it's easier for both the listener and the songwriter to get lost in the music.
Continue reading...
07/02/2009 ~ http://www.oregonlive.com/music/index.ssf/2009/07/cool_bluesy_americana.html |
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Bon Temps gets a nod from io9.com:
The Worst Fake Cities On Earth
By Meredith Woerner, 3:47 PM on Thu Jul 2 2009
Fantasy versions of urban life are on the rise, from a backwater, vamp-infested Louisiana town to Robert Rodiguez's new privately-owned Black Falls. It's time to check out our gallery of the worst fake cities on the planet.
Bon Temps
Location: Northern Louisiana, above Alexandria
Where does it appear? True Blood and the Sookie Stackhouse series
Locals: Blue collar Southern types. People who have lived in the same place for years, centuries even. Bon Temps, home to Sookie Stackhouse and her many supernatural friends has a pretty steady fatality rate. While it's nowhere near Sunnydale or Gotham City numbers, there are still a fair number of citizens getting snacked on by the lush supernatural life that populates the woods nearby.
Dangers: Unruly vampire nests, bull people with poison talons, werewolves, werepuppies - it's basically an all-the-time party for anything unnatural. Living here is a dangerous balancing act of being aware of the dangers in front of you, so you know how to respond, but not being so infatuated that you're putting yourself in harms way. Plus there's the fact that the law enforcement is pretty lax, so should you get murdered it may be weeks until they find your body.
The local Louisiana Tourist Board has set up a Welcome To Bon Temps site - "everyone wants a taste."
Continue reading...
07/02/2009 ~ http://io9.com/5305971/the-worst-fake-cities-on-earth |
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From Television.AOL.com:
'True Blood' Star Anna Paquin on Stephen Moyer, Nude Scenes and Dating Vampires
 Sexier, tougher, naked-er. That just about sums up the second season of HBO's vampire drama 'True Blood.' (Yeah, this definitely isn't 'Twilight.') Star Anna Paquin loves that "anything is possible" on her show -- even if it involves a lot of nudity.
She talks to AOL TV about filming steamy sex scenes with her on- and off-screen boyfriend Stephen Moyer, that other vampire franchise and whether she'll return to the 'X-Men' movies. -- By Kelly Woo
Creator Alan Ball told us this season would be sexier. How sexy can it get?
Other things happen in the plot, you know what I mean? It's not as much as people may think ... There's actual plot. But yes, it's a sexy vampire show and yes, there's more getting it on, so to speak.
How do you feel about filming all those nude scenes?
I feel fine. Although the way that people ask me about it all the time, I feel like maybe I should feel uptight about it. But I really don't [laughs].
You never pipe up and say, "Wow, this is a lot of me being naked"?
I wouldn't do it if it was too much. Everyone's very respectful of the boundaries of whichever actor is doing stuff like that on set. So it's not cameras being thrown anywhere and anything can happen, you know? It's quite choreographed.
Your partner on and off screen, Stephen Moyer, recently said your personal relationship helps the sex scenes. Would you agree?
Obviously, if you're already with that person then you're not having to sort of get over the "Wow, I'm naked with someone that I don't even know the middle name of!" [laughs]. I think that regardless of what kind of scene you're doing, the better you know the person you're working with and the more comfortable you are with them, the more open and real your performance can be. And that goes for stunt scenes and heavy emotional scenes and sex scenes. OK, so I have a little bit of a leg up in that particular area with my on-screen [partner].
Continue reading...
07/02/2009 ~ http://television.aol.com/insidetv/2009/07/02/true-blood-anna-paquin-interview-stephen-moyer-nude-scenes/ |
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From BloodCopy:
RED, WHITE, AND BLOOD
 I think it’s time we take a moment to remember exactly what principles this country was founded on: tolerance, liberty, and equality. I mention this not because of a sudden patriotic fever, but because it seems so evidently lacking lately. Vampires may not be “normal people” in the narrow definition of some, but we are unquestionably an ever-growing segment of the population. Put simply, even if we don’t breathe or sunbathe, that doesn’t mean we don’t deserve the same rights and protections as others.
As if this needed further demonstration, I’d like to point out that the American War for Independence was not fought by daywalkers alone. Vampires served a number of key positions and played no small part in the eventual outcome of the war that led the English to abandon our shores in the first place. This country is ours as much as anyone else’s and to treat us differently would be, well, un-American.
Okay, it’s not just that upcoming holiday that’s led me to point all this out. Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, recently-elected Senator David Finch has thrown his support behind State Senator Adams’ bigoted Prop 188 bill, which would require vampires to register their blood with the state and face criminal repercussions is that blood is sold (even if it’s stolen by drainers, for example). It’s a bad idea from a misguided leader.
07/02/2009 ~ http://bloodcopy.com/?p=912 |
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American Vampire League state, "We're all Americans."
The American Vampire League is proud to release this new television advertisement, urging Americans to "Accept the Truth."
07/02/2009 ~ http://www.americanvampireleague.com/news/index.html#psa |
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***SPOILERS***
| ***SPOILERS*** | ***SPOILERS*** |
'True Blood' Vampire Valerie Cruz: 'The Coolest Shows Are on Cable'
 Text is hidden - to read, highlight from this point--->There's a chance you don't yet recognize the name Valerie Cruz, but if you have a cable box, you've probably seen her face. The unreasonably lovely actress has had pivotal roles in some of cable TV's most groundbreaking series, like 'Nip/Tuck' and 'Dexter.' Cruz appears next in Alan Ball's Showtime drama 'True Blood' as compassionate vampire Isabel. She took a few rare minutes of free time - during a vacation, even - to chat with us about her exciting work.
When are we going to see you on 'True Blood'? "I don't know if it's this Sunday or the following Sunday." [Editor's note: It's the next new episode.]
That's how you know you've succeeded - when you're not 100% sure when you're appearing on TV. If I'm on the local news, everyone I've ever met knows when to see me.
"I should know! I just wasn't sure how far along they are. I'm really excited. I loved it, I loved working on it. I don't know, sometimes it's just hard to watch yourself. You kind of shy away from knowing exactly when - and then you surprise yourself - oh, there I am!" How did you prepare for the role of Isabel?
"I read the second novel, which is what the season is based on. It was actually really beneficial to me. They don't really deal with [some of the finer details] directly in the script, so I had to make a lot of those decisions for myself."
Continue reading...
07/02/2009 ~ http://www.popeater.com/television/article/valerie-cruz-true-blood-dexter/550483 |
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Hey, Is That Statue in Maryann's House from the Brooklyn Museum?
July 2, 2009 | 12:54 p.m
A replica of a piece of Egyptianart from the Brooklyn Museum's collection made a recentcameo onHBO's saucy vampire drama True Blood, andthe museum's online community helpedadministrators take notice.
During thesecond season premiere of the show,Sam Merlotte, the puppy-dog-eyed roadhouse restaurantowner,pays a visit to mystery woman Maryann Forrester's house. On her coffee table, he sees a statue that looks like a series of Ancient Egyptian sculptures calledBird Ladyfigurines.He is struck with a flashback of breaking into Maryann's house when he was a teen and having wild, um, relations with her.With itswomanly shape, birdlike face and limbs curling toward the sky, the original BirdLady statues are thought by scholars to depict a goddess.The Brooklyn Museum included two Bird Lady figurines ina recent exhibition calledThe Fertile Goddess.
Continue reading...
07/02/2009 ~ http://www.observer.com/2009/media/brooklyn-museum-statue-appears-hbos-true-blood |
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From USA Today:
In vampire world, the rules keep changing
By Jayme Deerwester, USA TODAY
On HBO's True Blood (Sundays, 9 ET/PT), Lafayette asked vampire sheriff Eric to turn him. And Twilight found Bella Swan begging immortal beloved Edward Cullen to make her a vampire. Before folks swear off sunlight, they should know the basics, which would be easier if the rules didn't change in every film, book and TV show.
USA TODAY offers a guide to life (and after).
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| 'True Blood' | 'Twilight' | 'Angel' | | | What just happened to me? | A vampire drained your blood and replaced it with some of his own; the two of you were buried together for a day to transfer his vampire's "essence" to you. Then you rose as a vampire. | A vampire bit you in several places, injecting venom that coursed through your veins, incinerating your organs and finally stopping your heart. | You got dialysis, vampire style -- you were drained and buried, and then drank from your sire. | | | This is like puberty all over again. What's going on? | It's an apt description. You've grown fangs, which pop out when you're aroused. You're also hungry all the time. And then there are those impulses. As Bill describes his new "daughter": "She has no humanity. She's in the grips of an overwhelming number of transformations. There will be times when she cannot control even a single impulse. … She is a loaded gun." Just like a teenager. | You won't grow fangs, but your eyes have changed from their old color to red. The hungrier you are, the redder they'll be. After feeding, they'll look brown. And because your hunger will be uncontrollable and because vampires are not out in the open, you must stay away from humans for the short term, especially family and friends. | Your fangs will pop and your forehead will bulge when it's time to feed or fight. | | | Besides immortality, what's in it for me? | Superhuman speed, lightning-quick reflexes, rapid healing of wounds and heightened senses of hearing and smell. Some vamps can fly, but not all. (In the books, Eric can but Bill can't.) | Everything the True Blood vamps get. Plus, many Twilight vamps assume a special power, like mind-reading or clairvoyance. | The usual speed, strength and sense enhancements. And say goodbye to your soul; you won't need it anymore. Just don't tick off any Gypsies, or they may give it back to you. That's no fun. | | | Am I locked into this look forever? | Your body will remain as it was when you were turned, so hit the gym beforehand. Also, physical problems will need to be healed by drinking vamp blood while human, or you're stuck with them. | Actually, you'll become even better looking. All four Twilight books are rife with descriptions of how gorgeous vampires are. | For the most part, but you can do things like cut your hair. Otherwise, Angel would still have the ponytail from his aristocratic youth in 18th-century Ireland. | | | Who'll teach me how to be a vampire? | Your sire (the vampire who turned you) is responsible for your instruction, which includes feeding, glamoring and controlling those pesky impulses. | Your sire is responsible for your guidance, and your level of assimilation with humans depends on him. | Angel adhered to the "you drain 'em, you train 'em" rule. Before Gypsies cursed him and took all the fun out of being a vampire, Angel (then Angelus) was quite hedonistic, a lousy role model. | | | Who's for dinner? | The synthetic TruBlood means you don't have to hunt humans for food. Blood banks are another option. But many vampires still prefer the real thing, at least part of the time. | If you join the Cullen coven, that means becoming a "vegetarian vampire." They hunt animals rather than people. But the hunger for the real thing never totally goes away. | Try pig blood. You'll like it. | | | Will I ever see the sun again? | Not if you want to live. Even a little bit of exposure will weaken you and cause your skin to blister. The longer you stay out, the more you risk burning to death. | You can go out in daylight, but unless you want everyone to see you sparkle like the counter at Tiffany, save your public outings for rainy or overcast days. | Yes, but don't go out without a heavy coat or hoodie and definitely don't look at the sun. | | | Can I be killed or commit suicide? | Beware of wooden stakes, sunshine and fire, all of which are deadly to the undead. For jaded vamps, the most common method of suicide is "meeting the dawn." And stay away from silver -- it burns vampire skin and can immobilize you. | You are still susceptible to decapitation and burning, as James found out the hard way in the first book and film. You may not kill yourself, but you can petition the Vulturi, a sort of Vampire Supreme Court based in Italy, to do it for you. | There's no coming back from staking, decapitation and burning. Sorry. |
07/02/2009 ~ http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-07-01-vampire-rules_N.htm |
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Interview with True Blood's Carrie Preston
Actress plays on hit show 'True Blood'
Samir abdel-aziz Issue date: 7/2/09 Section: Life
 Actress Carrie Preston did not know what to think when producer Alan Ball approached her about playing the role of Arlene Fowler in the TV series "True Blood."
"I was cast in this movie of his called 'Towel Head;' and while we were shooting, he said he was doing a pilot for HBO about vampires, which I thought was a little surprising because I knew what he had done before, and it was kind of a departure," Preston said.
"True Blood" is a show based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries novels by Charlaine Harris. The show was created by Alan Ball and tells the story of vampires and humans trying to coexist together in Bon Temps, a fictional Louisana town.
Arlene Fowler is a multiple divorced mother of two children who waitresses with main character Sookie Stackhouse, played by Anna Paquin. Fowler played a somewhat pivotal role when her fiancée was revealed as a serial killer.
"I got a hold of the script and read it and at first I didn't know what character he was talking about," Preston said. "It's not like you look at the description of Arlene and you immediately think 'Carrie Preston.' He really likes to cast actors that he wants to work with. But he lets us find the character."
07/02/2009 ~ http://media.www.marshallparthenon.com/media/storage/paper534/news/2009/07/02/Life/Actress.Plays.On.Hit.Show.true.Blood-3750303.shtml |
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British are getting ready for True Blood
Sink your teeth into True Blood
Thursday, 02 Jul 2009 10:41  True Blood begins on FX on July 17th
Read on for a look at the sleek and sexy vampiric drama True Blood, one of the biggest shows in the US and heading our way.
From Bram Stoker's original novel via Hammer House of Horror's Christopher Lee to last year's teen hit Twilight, our bloodlust for the vampire genre shows no sign of abating after 300 years.
Cult Swedish movie Let the Right One In is being hailed by many critics as the greatest film of 2009 so far and Guillermo del Toro, the director of Pan's Labyrinth is currently writing The Strain, a trilogy of books about a vampiric virus that invades New York.
In a similar vein comes True Blood, a new HBO drama by Alan Ball, the man behind American Beauty and Six Feet Under.
Already one of the biggest shows in the States, grabbing bigger ratings than Sex in the City or The Sopranos, True Blood is a black comedy set in small town America in the not too distant future. Thanks to the invention of a synthetic form of blood, vampires now no longer need to feed on humans to survive so have 'come out of their coffins' and uneasily co exist alongside humans in society.
True Blood stars Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic Louisiana barmaid who falls for blood-sucking Bill Compton – played by real-life boyfriend Stephen Moyer.
"Cursed" with the ability to listen in on people's thoughts, Sookie's also open-minded about the integration of vampires — particularly when it comes to Bill, a handsome 173-year-old living up the road. But at the service of Bill's less virtuous vampire associates, Sookie is drawn into a series of catastrophes that will put their love to the test.
Based on on the The Southern Vampire series of novels by bestselling author Charlaine Harris, True Blood premieres on FX on Friday 17th July at 22:00 BST.
Take a look below ahead of the hit show's UK premiere:
The latest hit series from Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball, 'True Blood' delves into the meticulously-crafted world of novelist Charlaine Harris. Described by the Emmy-winning Ball as "popcorn for smart people," the first season of True Blood caused an overnight sensation — and the new installments only build on his colourful cast of supernatural misfits.
07/02/2009 ~ http://www.inthenews.co.uk/infocus/entertainment/tv/sink-your-teeth-into-true-blood-$1308423.htm |
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EOnline Tater Tops Ballot
Vote for True Blood & vote often!
Did You Vote?
Get the Complete 2009 Tater Tops Ballot
Today 8:30 AM PDT by Team WWK
Allison in Columbus, Ohio: Why can't we vote for all the Tater Tops in one ballot like in previous years? I've voted ever since the Tops were first created, and I miss the old format.
You want it, you got it. The Tater Top awards are all about you TV fans, so from now until voting closes this Tuesday, July 7, you can vote in every single Tater Tops category all in one place: right here! That said, if you've gotten attached to the blog post for Best Genre Show or Best Romantic Chemistry, you're welcome to vote from there as well?all of the votes for each category from any location go into the same pot of ballots.
Still, you'd better click in just to check that you didn't miss one of our 30 fabulous categories. Make sure your vote counts and that some other show or star doesn't get away with the trophy when it clearly belongs to your favorite show or star!
Go here to vote: Complete Ballot
07/01/2009 ~ http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b130681_did_you_vote_get_complete_2009_tater.html |
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Ratings: True Blood Stakes New High, Hung Bows Big, More
Some recent ratings highlights:
• HBO's True Blood on Sunday hit a new all-time high, drawing 3.7 million total viewers. Lead-out Hung, in turn, enjoyed a premiere audience of 2.8 mil, making it the pay channel's most-watched series debut in two years (since John from Cincinnati).
• America's Got Talent was Tuesday's most-watched program with 12.9 million viewers, a 14 percent increase from its season opener.
• ABC's The Superstars scored 4 mil in its second week, dipping 340K. Lead-out Better Off Ted slipped to 1.78 mil.
• During Tuesday's 10 o'clock hour, CBS' 48 Hours Mystery special about the death of Michael Jackson was No. 1 with 8.15 mil.
07/01/2009 ~ http://www.tvguide.com/News/Ratings-Blood-Hung-1007620.aspx |
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TMZ: Alexander Skarsgard - Twilight vs True Blood
07/01/2009 ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZccGUCUGSSY&feature=player_embedded |
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Nashville recording artist, Eilen Jewell, to have new song in upcoming True Blood episode:
Eilen Jewell's Third Record 'Sea Of Tears' Released To Critical Acclaim
Nashville, TN (Top40 Charts/ Lotos Nile Media) - Since the April 21st release of Sea of Tears, critics have taken note of Eilen Jewell's third album and are celebrating her alluring vocals and intimate song choices. From The Boston Globe to Magnet, the album has been featured on top ten lists and highlighted for its extraordinary blend of blues, folk, and rockabilly. Maverick bestowed a perfect 5-star review for the album and Blurt declares, "Jewell and her razor-sharp backing band put the jumper cables on classic rock."
Sea of Tears has a smooth sliding pace that is punctuated by a chill of sharp guitar. The tone can be summarized in the words of "Shakin' All Over," a cover of Johnny Kidd & The Pirates' recording, where Jewell expertly explains the album's sound in the lyrics, "Quivers down the back bone...shakin' all over." The slow syncopation on the record hits the listener like ice water on a hot sunny day, unexpected but appreciated - evidently, a feeling valued by music supervisors at the HBO series "True Blood," who have slated "Shakin'" to appear in a forthcoming episode this season.
Continue reading...
07/01/2009 ~ http://top40-charts.com/news/Country/Eilen-Jewells-Third-Record-Sea-Of-Tears-Released-To-Critical-Acclaim/49802.html |
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Interview with Alexander Skarsgard on 'Generation Kill' and 'True Blood'News from the Philippines - ShowbizAndStyle.Inquirer.net::
Ex-child actor plays vampire and soldier
By Oliver Pulumbarit
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:17:00 07/01/2009
 MANILA, Philippines—At 13, Alexander Skarsgard was a child actor in Sweden who wasn’t comfortable with the limelight. So the son of veteran character actor Stellan Skarsgard quit and spent seven years as a “normal” youngster. But he missed acting, so he eventually moved to New York for theater studies.
Alexander recently appeared as Sgt. Brad “Iceman” Colbert in the HBO miniseries “Generation Kill” and as enigmatic vampire Eric Northman in HBO’s ongoing series “True Blood.” Following are excerpts from a roundtable phone interview with the actor, arranged by HBO Asia.
How open to interpretation is your vampire character? Did you look at screen vampires for inspiration?
Yeah, when I did my research, I re-watched movies that I’ve seen, like the old “Nosferatu” with Max Schreck from the ’20s, Bela Lugosi’s “Dracula,” and Werner Herzog’s “Nosferatu” from the ’70s. Obviously, Eric Northman’s quite a different character. But diving into that old culture of vampirism was to get my creativity and inspiration going, basically. When you create a world with vampires, it’s up to you if you wanna do the whole thing with crosses or garlic or what happens when a vampire meets the sun. We hung on to a couple of those, but some of them we just dismissed. So it’s very open to interpretation.
How much did playing “Iceman” Colbert affect the way you looked at war and the US Marines?
My take on the war in general didn’t change much. My opinion was, it was a mistake to go into Iraq. That has not changed at all. What you see in the media is very polarized, very censored in a way, what’s going on in Iraq or Afghanistan. So for me at least, this was the first experience where I actually got to see it from the perspective of the boots on the ground, what the soldiers went through on a daily basis out there. But some of them are just kids, with dreams and hopes, and families back home. Also, a guy like Colbert, one of the senior guys, he really believes in what he’s doing and coming into Iraq. He has a mission, he knows how to execute it … and he really believes this is a good cause. Being Colbert the leader, he had to stay focused and keep his guys motivated. And for me, as an actor, it’s a very interesting thing to play on.
Describe your bond with your “Generation Kill” costars, and how it developed.
We were so isolated. Being out in the Namibian desert was so surreal. It felt like you’re stuck on a different planet … Suddenly, you embark on this journey; you’re gonna be out there for seven months with people that you’ve never met before. You’ve got a huge script in your hands with tons of words that you don’t even understand and you have two days to make them your own and be this character. Then you see all these big Marine guys, “All right, get ready for boot camp!” Then you’re out running and, “What’s going on?” It was scary and you felt like a little kid.
People would really open up when they’re bored. In just a few weeks, I knew more about these guys’ family lives than I knew some of my friends’ that I’ve known for years!
And that made acting much easier?
It really did. In a way, I think it was good that we were that isolated because the guys we portrayed were also isolated and in an environment that was new to them. If we had shot this in California, in the desert outside of Los Angeles, they could just drive back to their families. It would have been a completely different experience.
“Generation Kill” is currently airing every Sunday on Max. The first season of “True Blood” recently aired on Max, and reruns will air starting July 11.
07/01/2009 ~ http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view/20090701-213373/Ex-child-actor-plays-vampire-and-soldier |
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BloodCopy
REAL DEAD MEN WEAR PLAID
I went to the mall the other day, and can’t believe what I saw. For as long as I’ve been a vampire, stores have been offering “authentic vampire wear.” Lace, leather, 14 shades of midnight black, with the occasional touch of red velvet now and then to add a bit more color. Because being undead obviously makes you a Goth, too- just ask that nice lady whose bar has been doing so well since our revelation.
Well guess what? Retailers are finally getting the hint. Fashion bigwigs have introduced a new line of clothing that reflects the latest trend in vampire wear. This “prepster chic” as it’s being labeled, seems an odd choice- more college co-ed than nightwalker, and I believe that’s exactly the point. To further avoid stereotypes, vampires have ditched the skull rings and black leather for plaid skirts, khakis, and yes, even polo shirts. 
Personally, I hope this is one trend that lasts, not only because it’ll help broaden horizons about vampires, but because, frankly, not all of us can pull off that all night rocker look.
So breathers beware, if you really want to emulate the vampire look, it may be time to track in those combat boots for docksiders.
07/01/2009 ~ http://bloodcopy.com/?p=903 |
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| ***SPOILERS*** | ***SPOILERS*** | ***SPOILERS*** |
Kristen at EOnline - Spoilers
Jerry in New Orleans: What's coming up on True Blood?
Text is hidden - to read, highlight from this point--->In the next episode, Sookie (Anna Paquin), Bill (Stephen Moyer) and Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) encounter trouble when they arrive in Dallas and find out that someone from the Fellowship of the Sun was sent to abduct Sookie. The plan fails. And believe it or not, Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) invites Eric (Alexander Skarsgård) into his home and feeds off his blood to recover from the wounds suffered when Eric abducted him. Strange bedfellows, indeed.
07/01/2009 ~ http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b131858_Spoiler_Chat__Will_Brooke_and_Julian_Make_It_on__lt_i_gt_One_Tree_Hill_lt__i_gt__.html |
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From ExtraTV.WarnerBros.com:
Ten Things You Didn't Know about the 'True Blood' Cast
Meat Free Anna Paquin ranked #50 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2008 list and is also a vegetarian. | Moyer Voyeur Sexy Stephen Moyer has a daughter named Lilac and a son named Billy and is also dating co-star Anna Paquin. | Southern Gent Sam Trammell was born in New Orleans and earned a Tony nomination in 1998 for his role in the comedic play “Ah, Wilderness!” | Animal Lover Australian-born Ryan Kwanten has two pets. He has a poodle named PK and a cat named Sweeny Todd. |
| Native Nevadan Rutina Wesley’s mother was a Las Vegas showgirl and her father is a tap dancer and musician. | Lone Star State Stud Jim Parrack grew up in Dallas suburb Allen, Texas and is president of Beverly Hills-based 120 Productions, Inc. |
| Cajun Man Sam Trammell didn’t have to move far for “True Blood” — the actor is a native of Louisiana, where the bloodsucking series takes place. | Aussie Buff Ryan Kwanten is originally from Sydney, Australia, where the actor is a fitness buff and currently trains with some of the best Ironman competitors down under. | Oscar Must-See Anna Paquin was one of the youngest people to ever win an Academy Award for “The Piano” — but still hasn’t seen the flick from start to finish! | Julliard Gem Rutina Wesley graduated from the prestigious performing arts school Julliard, where she studied acting. |
07/01/2009 ~ http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2009/06/10_things_about_the_stars_of_t.php#meat_free |
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From ExtraTV.WarnerBros.com:
'True' Love in the Ring!
Posted by ExtraTV Staff on July 1, 2009 6:32 AM
When Stephen Moyer isn't steaming up the screen with real-life love Anna Paquin on "True Blood," the vampire and his leading lady are duking it out in the ring!
"When I was a boy I loved boxing, and I've got Anna into it," Moyer reveals in the July issue of Access DirecTV magazine.
Although Stephen is the star that plays vampire Bill Compton, he insists that it is Paquin who has a taste for blood! "I like the sport and she likes the blood. I'm like, 'Stop the fight, people are getting hurt, I can't bear it!' and she's going, 'Go on, hit 'em!' She loves it. She boxes too," Moyer says.
Stephen insists that there is no beating Anna in the ring. "No way!" he says. "She won't stop until she's gnawed your stumps off. I tell you, my girl is hardcore."
07/01/2009 ~ http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2009/07/true_love_in_the_ring.php |
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*Spoiler ?*
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Funny review - Minor Spoiler ? - from CreativeLoafing.com:
"True Blood' season 2, episode 3
June 30, 2009 at 5:17 pm by Debbie Michaud in movies & tv
What the …?! Did you see that thing? That was some Guillermo del Toro shit that sprung out of the misty shadows and ran down poor ol’ Sookie like she was dragging a red cape behind her. All libidos point toward Maryann, of course, who’s known for wandering the streets naked next to wild hogs in the middle of the night, not to mention the giant mural of the Greek god Pan in her poolhouse, but we’ll get to that in a little bit. For now, let’s recap.
Bill zips to Sookie’s side after the attack and reveals her wounds — a set of three deep gouges left by the creature’s claws. When Bill tries to feed her his blood, her body rejects the antidote and she starts seizuring and foaming at the mouth. Bill rushes her to Fangtasia, of all places, where Eric has called the small-in-stature-but-not-in-attitude Dr. Ludwig. (Sookie: “What kind of doctor are you?” Dr. Ludwig: “The healing kind.”) The crusty old lady, as well as Eric and Bill, are mystified by the whole thing: Dr. Ludwig likens the scenario to a Komodo dragon attack, referencing the poison embedded in the wounds to slowly cripple the prey. Sookie is likewise poisoned, which Dr. Ludwig treats by dousing with some sort of potion before scooping out bad stuff with her knotty fingers. Sookie can now accept Bill’s blood and does so, passing out soon after. With her job done, Dr. Ludwig heads out with a heartfelt “Fuck off!” to Eric. I’d have liked to see the look on Bill’s face when she said that.
Over at the Light of Day Institute, Jason’s fraught with nightmares about Eddie, the softspoken vampire Amy staked in the basement in season one. Later, we see him in some sort of prayer circle led by Sarah Newlin, where a weepy woman remarks about her ex-boyfriend, “I thought he loved me, but I was just his livin’, breathin’ snack machine.” Shortly after, Jason has a brief moment of clarity and realizes that he’s surrounded by a bunch of crazies. He storms out and Sarah follows him and convinces him to stay after falling to her knees to, uh, pray with him. In my opinion, it’s only a matter of time before these two hit the sack together. Take it from Mr. Newlin himself at dinner that evening: “Sarah doesn’t whip out her banana pudding for just anybody.” There you have it.
Sookie awakens at Fangtasia, stunned but nonetheless cured. Ginger’s the only one there to greet Sookie, and the skittish barmaid’s mind starts racing about some guy chained up in the basement … she thinks his name’s Lafayette. Sookie zeros in on Ginger who takes her downstairs to the dungeon, where Sookie promises not to leave without Lafayette. Eric still wants Sookie’s help tracking down Godric, which she agrees to do for $10,000 plus Bill’s courteous company plus Lafayette’s release. Done.
Jessica stops by Merlotte’s, where she runs into Hoyt. Hoyt’s immediately smitten with the vampiress in the yellow sundress and joins her at her booth. Ever the gentleman, Hoyt recommends his favorite dish on the menu: “You hungry? You should try the chicken-fried steak. It’s like a chicken and a steak got together and had a baby — a delicious, crispy baby.” Thank you, Hoyt, for that kind suggestion. Jessica invites him back to Bill’s, where Hoyt’s excited to discover “You got a Wii!” (This guy would probably bat around a ball of yarn if given the chance.) The two quickly get to necking, and Jessica’s fangs pop out. “”This is so embarassin,’” she says. “I’d die if I wasn’t already dead.”
Come nightfall, the scene at Casa de Maryann is bumpin. Boobies (or “buhbies” as the RHNJ would say) abound, as do fat-ass party joints, champagne cocktails and some mysterious-looking soup that spent all day bubbling in the kitchen. (Was it just me or did it look like a stewing cauldron of blood and offal?) Andy Bellefleur arrives to address a noise complaint and discovers a giant hog hanging out in a backyard playhouse. Before he can register what’s going on, Maryann swoops in with a glass of champagne to charm the detective out of him. When he mentions the pig, wanting to know if she has a livestock permit of all things, Maryann quickly laughs it off. Meanwhile, Eggs and Tara are enjoying some time hot-tubbin’ when a topless “licensed massage therapist” slides in behind Eggs to demonstrate. Tara, all of a sudden realizing that she’s surrounded by a bunch of crazies, high tails it inside past the the black-eyed and bewitched party people.
Besides vampires and mind readers and shape-shifters, there’s an obvious theme of Greek mythology, too, centered around Maryann. Now, I’m no expert, but a quick Google search on “Greek god pig” turns up Circe, who, according to www.theoi.com:
was a goddess pharmakeia (witch or sorceress) who lived with her nymph attendants on the mythical island of Aiaia. She was skilled in the magic of metamorphosis, the power of illusion, and the dark art of necromancy. When Odysseus landed on her island she transformed his men into animals, but with the help of the god Hermes, he overcame the goddess and forced her to release his men from her spell.
Basically she gets folks all drunk and worked up and turns them into animals, namely pigs. Why? For pure pleasure? To teach them a lesson? That’s yet to be seen. I wonder if Sam and Sookie could be beyond her transformative powers because of the powers they already possess? Obviously the bull-headed creature that attacked Sookie is connected to Maryann. At first I thought it might even be Maryann, but now I’m thinking that she’d probably have someone else do her dirty work for her. Perhaps the manservant she’s always berating around the house?
07/01/2009 ~ http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/culturesurfing/2009/06/30/true-blood-season-2-espisode-3/ |
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From BostonHerald.com:
Michelle Forbes stays ‘True’ to rebellious nature as mysterious Maryann
By Amy Amatangelo
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
 Michelle Forbes isn’t playing a villain on “True Blood.”
At least, that’s what she says.
Forbes joined the cast of the HBO vampire drama (Sunday at 9 p.m.) at the end of last season as the mysterious Maryann Forrester. This season, Maryann is poised to wreak some serious havoc.
“She is a woman who is all about appetite,” Forbes said in a recent telephone interview from Los Angeles.
“She’s not human. She has a definite myopic quest that she is on. And she is going to have one hell of a time achieving that quest. Maryann is definitely a character that’s about perspective in the sense that she sees her goal as beautiful and blissful and of the divine and pure, so she doesn’t consider what she is doing as being bad at all. It’s quite a beautiful thing, and she’s graciously allowing everyone to come with her. I don’t perceive her as a villain.”
07/01/2009 ~ http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/general/view/20090701michelle_forbes_stays_true_to_rebellious_nature_as_mysterious_maryann/srvc=home |
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From TheDartmouth.com:
Arts staff shares summer TV picks
Editor’s Note: We asked our Arts writers to share their favorite summer TV shows — both new and returning. The result: an eclectic mix of shows to get you through your weeknights.
‘True Blood’: Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO Not since “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” (1994) has campy been done quite as well as on “True Blood,” the Alan Ball masterpiece which entered its second season this summer. In the hands of anyone but Ball, the show might have resorted to a cliched light-versus-dark duality, thanks to the abundance of creepy-sexy vampires and naive, moralistic human antagonists. Steering clear of these pitfalls, Ball decides to make everything in his show dark: disturbing creatures and mysterious deaths lay behind every ominous shadow, so there is never a clear villain. This summer promises more graphic sex and violence, as well as a mystifying succubus-like witch lady. —Evan Lambert
Read more of the picks: [cont]
07/01/2009 ~ http://thedartmouth.com/2009/07/01/arts/Staff/ |
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From People Magazine:
True Blood's Stephen Moyer on Anna Paquin:
'My Girl is Hardcore!'
By Janet Mock Originally posted Wednesday July 01, 2009 08:30 AM EDT Stephen Moyer Photo by: Matt Sayles / AP
 At least, according to True Blood's Stephen Moyer – the brooding Brit who plays Southern vampire Bill Compton and throws punches with costar and real-life love Anna Paquin.
"When I was a boy I loved boxing," he tells Access DirecTV magazine in its July issue of his off-screen pastime. "And I've got Anna into it."
Of their love for the brutal hobby, Moyer adds, "I like the sport and she likes the blood. I'm like, 'Stop the fight, people are getting hurt, I can't bear it!' and she's going, 'Go on, hit 'em!' She loves it. She boxes too."
But can chivalrous vampire Bill beat telepathic cutie Sookie in the ring?
"No way!" he says. "She won't stop until she's gnawed your stumps off. I tell you, my girl is hardcore."
07/01/2009 ~ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20288676,00.html |
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The United Kingdom gets ready for True Blood
Premieres Friday, July 17, 2009 - From FXUK.com:
True Blood gets down and dirty and sexy
07/01/2009 |
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From the UK - HeckerSpray.com:
(Includes all the reasons why we like True Blood.)
Goodness, True Blood Looks FILTHY
 By Stuart Heritage on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 10:00am
If you’ve seen Twilight, you’ll know that vampires are scrawny and sensitive and have big sad puppy eyes and are about as dangerous as a cotton wool statue of a kitten.
But judging by this new trailer for the forthcoming series of True Blood, that’s all a lot of rubbish. If this trailer is any indication, True Blood is a vampire show full of boobs, bottoms, bikinis, sexy dancing, orgasms, pelvic grinding, spanking, face-licking, nudity, masturbation, bestiality and enough sex scenes to literally turn you blind. In that order.
Honestly, it’s quite a trailer. It’s after the jump…
07/01/2009 ~ http://www.hecklerspray.com/goodness-true-blood-looks-filthy/200936519.php |
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Commentary from Institute for Emerging Technologies & Ethics by Ben Scarlato:
(Ben Scarlato is an IEET intern and a transhumanist student living in Hartford Connecticut.)
Ethical Technology
Posted: Jun 30, 2009
True Blood is a fascinating HBO series about vampires living with humans, now in its second season. It follows Sookie Stackhouse, a human that has fallen in love with the vampire Bill Compton. While the vampires’ fight for marriage rights and the intense religious opposition reflects the gay rights struggle, True Blood’s depiction of an ageless species with several enhanced powers also provides an exploration of how society might deal with transhumans, and perhaps more importantly how society views such possibilities.  The darker side of human-vampire relations has really come into play this season. Even while Sookie gets deeper into her relationship with Bill, her brother Jason Stackhouse has become a passionate member of the vampire-hating Fellowship of the Sun and lies to her about attending their Light of Day Institute leadership conference. Vampire blood dealer Lafayette was tortured in a basement for his crimes against vampires, and even some of the most powerful vampires have gone missing, presumably taken by humans who do not want to live or work alongside vampires.
The Fellowship of the Sun has strong anti-immortality rhetoric, saying that “one of the most difficult truths for humans to accept is that our time in this world is limited,” and “extremism in confronting eternal darkness is no vice.”
Terrors of Intimacy Although it is sometimes overlooked, one of the more intriguing elements of the series is Sookie’s telepathy. Her ability to hear what everyone’s thinking, from rumors to dark secrets, disgusting to twisted, can be very distressing to her. It prevented Sookie from being in a relationship with a man until she met Bill, whose thoughts she could not hear. Series creator Alan Ball has said that True Blood is about “the terrors of intimacy,” and the first time Sookie was able to endure some of those terrors it was only by not having to deal with her partner’s. While horror at others’ thoughts has a parallel in the possibility of developing some form of technological telepathy, a more immediate concern is whether we will able accept each others’ true selves in an increasingly transparent society, or some form of participatory panopticon.
Read more: [cont]
07/01/2009 ~ http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/scarlato20090630/ |
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True Blood Season 2, Episode 4 "Shake and Fingerpop" Promo:
06/30/2009 ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux4eZ1TlUqE |
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From Out.com:
 Queen of the Night True Blood's Anna Paquin chats about playing metaphorically gay roles, dating her co-star, and her character's newfound love of S&M.
By Parker Anderson
Bleeding into a highly anticipated second season, True Blood, Alan Ball’s dark and drawling Southern vamp drama returns, riddled with thinly veiled metaphors for LGBT rights. On and off-screen the show’s lead vampire lover, Sookie Stackhouse, played by X-Men’s Anna Paquin, aches for the bite of her vampire lover, solves mysteries telepathically…and waits tables. The Canadian-born, New Zealand raised Oscar winner (she won Best Supporting Actress at the ripe age of 11 for The Piano), recently chatted with Out about the new season, her uncanny ability to play metaphorically gay roles, her off-screen romance with co-star Stephen Moyer, and sweet Sookie’s newfound love of S&M. Out: How did you get involved with True Blood?Anna Paquin: Well, I read the pilot script and completely fell in love with it and then pursued it incredibly hard, auditioned 100 times -- I mean four or five times -- until they said yes. Sookie initially comes across as a innocent and incredibly virtuous girl. What drew you to the role: was it that sweet nature or was it her darker moments?Well, it’s the fact that she’s all of it [rolled into] one, because I feel like that’s real. You can be someone who’s gone through a lot of crap in your life and who has survived a lot of ups and downs and whatevers and still be someone with a positive outlook. You can be sweet and kind and treat people the way you want to be treated even if that’s not the way you’ve been treated. She’s not a victim. I love that about her, and she’s really tough -- mostly she just kicks ass. Both of your recent roles in X-Men and True Blood, have centered around storylines involving metaphors for minority rights. Is that a coincidence? It is a coincidence, but kind of a nice coincidence. Cause when is it not a good time for those sorts of messages to be put out there into the world in a sort of non-threatening, non-beat-you-over-the-head with it kind of way? In the last episode of the first season there is a scene featuring a state legalizing vampire-human marriages. Have you noticed Alan Ball pushing the current LGBT struggle through the show?I mean pushed sort of sounds like it’s being forced. I think those ideas were in the books already. The metaphor that is used is coming out of the coffin; I don’t think it takes a genius to turn that into a pretty good metaphor for gay rights. Obviously the big issue now is legalizing marriages, that’s been in the works for a very long time. Yeah, I think it was a very good way to put it in there. I think a major indicator of that is the character Lafayette who, obviously, is pretty interesting as an LGBT character.Of course, does anyone not find him interesting? That’s true, I think it’s also fascinating because there’s that overlying metaphor for vampire rights, and then there’s Lafayette who’s the literal interpretation of all that. What exactly would Sookie’s opinion of Lafayette be?Sookie’s a little more prim when we first meet her so she’s more easily shocked but he’s family, you know, as Tara’s cousin and someone she’s brought up with -- he’s an important part of her life. I don’t think it would occur to her to be in any way judgy -- it’s just not in her nature. She really doesn’t judge. And, frankly, he’s the first person she goes to when she has crazy, kinky, vampire-biting sex. He’s the person she goes to and is like, “blah, blah, blah, blah, blah -- I did this.” Finally she cannot be the big old prude in his eyes, which I find very sweet. Speaking of kinky sex, the first episode definitely heated up for Bill (Stephen Moyer) and Sookie. There’s been talk about the second season’s focus on their S & M. Does it feel like a major shift?Well, part of vampire-human sex is biting, I mean that’s part of how they express their desire and it’s just part of the relationship. And, it’s exciting and dangerous and sort of scary at first for Sookie, but you know it’s part of how they make love. It becomes her normal. And, she likes it. It doesn’t seem like she’s in any sort of pain at all.Yes. Well -- not any bad pain. Continue Reading...06/30/2009 ~ http://www.out.com/detail.asp?page=1&id=25483 |
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| ***SPOILERS*** | ***SPOILERS*** | ***SPOILERS*** |
From Fangoria.com:
FANGORIA #285 Hits the Streets!
TRUE BLOOD's new blood: 2nd season secrets
Fango Fiends hitting bookstores this weekend started finding a familiar face staring at them from the newsstands and magazine racks, as FANGORIA #285 has arrived. While the official street date is this Tuesday, June 30th - many subscribers started seeing Michael Myers in their mailboxes last week.
Since the new mag is making it's way across the country, let's take another look at what readers can expect to find inside...
Click the links below:
06/30/2009 ~ http://www.fangoria.com/home/news/1-latest-news/3045-fangoria-285-hits-the-streets.html |
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From the Charleston Daily Mail:
'True Blood' actor has W.Va. ties Daily Mail Capitol Reporter   CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Modern gothic literature played out on television and the silver screen often includes a familiar scenario where the heroine is torn between a vampire and a human. Or a werewolf. Or a shape-shifter. On HBO's True Blood, former Charleston resident Sam Trammell plays Sam Merlotte, a shape-shifting bar owner who often turns into a collie dog. And Trammell is fairly certain who has the upper hand in the romance department. "Of course the heroine should choose the shape-shifter, for sure," Trammell said in a recent telephone interview. "I'm not dead," Trammell added with a laugh, "which is an advantage, you know. I'm not cold to the touch. So I'd have to say I think I'm a better match for Sookie." Sookie, of course, is waitress Sookie Stackhouse, the central character in Charlaine Harris' novels set in Bon Temps, La. Sookie, played by Golden Globe-winner Anna Paquin, is dating vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and also is loved by Sam. Trammell, who grew up in Charleston, is in Los Angeles while the show shoots its last couple episodes for the second season, which now airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO. "This season is really crazy and really fun," Trammell said. "Everything is just amped up and kind of scarier, sexier. The dial is just turned way up this year." True Blood's main characters are somewhat split up this season, with various interweaving storylines. Sookie and Bill have some vampire business in Dallas and Sookie's brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten) is becoming involved with the anti-vampire church, the Fellowship of the Sun. More will be revealed about Trammell's character and his relationship with the mysterious Maryann (Michelle Forbes). "Her whole character is really intense and very dangerous, and my character is very much wrapped up with hers this year," Trammell said. "He kind of understands Maryann in a way that other people don't in town. "He's really a magnet for punishment and abuse this year, Sam - the writers were very sadistic," he joked. Continue reading...
06/30/2009 ~ http://www.dailymail.com/Entertainment/200906290465 |
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From Britain's TechWatch:
FX signs up US hit “True Blood”
June 30, 2009
by David Allen
The next big thing from the US is “True Blood” and the first couple episodes have already been shown at the Edinburgh Festival, on the big screen.
In fact, this series is about Vampires that live amongst the human race, but only feed on artificial blood. This is smooth series that is giving the producer, HBO, its highest figures since the Sopranos, although in the early days there were doubts that the show would make it.
The True Blood experience is about to be shown on the satellite and digital TV channel FX sometime in July, where it is being given the essential adult viewing tag.
Terrestrial viewers need not worry about missing out on this show, because it will also be shown on Channel Four, but there is no information as to when that is likely to be.
06/30/2009 ~ http://www.techwatch.co.uk/2009/06/30/fx-signs-up-us-hit-true-blood/ |
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The weekly blog from Camp Blood.org:
Blood Work "True Blood" video blog (2.3): "Scratches"
06/30/2009 ~ http://campblood.org/2009/06/blood-work-true-blood-video-blog-23.html |
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From the RedEye - ChicagoTribune.com:
Undead beauty contest
By Kyra Kyles RedEye Published June 30 2009 Who’s the hottest? “Twilight” vamp Edward Cullen would win hands down if you ask the teen scene, but there are plenty of other smoking-hot nightwalkers roaming the pop culture landscape. Go to redeyechicago.com/kylesfiles to tell Kyra whether you agree or disagree with her picks. May the best vamp win. Bill, “True Blood” Sexy and exuding Southern charm, the only way Bill could get any hotter is if he stood out in the sun. But he shouldn’t test that theory. Last time he did, he almost burned to cinders and had to hide out in a grave. Eric, “True Blood” He’s definitely got that Kurt Cobain thing going on, and oh, those heavenly highlights. Eric shows off his ability to glamor (hypnotize) his prey, but this Viking hottie had us at “Hello.” Edward, “Twilight” Kinda looks more emo-boy than bloodsucker, but whatev. This fangtastic specimen makes the girls scream when he’s on screen. Spike, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”Spike brought the Billy Idol look back with a vengeance—and with a sexy British accent. The “Slayer” character went from enemy to love interest for the titular star.
Angel, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” This tormented but good-hearted guy was the greatest love of Buffy’s life, but he had to leave her hanging when he scored his own show and an investigation agency to boot. Vampire Brides “Van Helsing” Screechy, whiny and obnoxious, yes, but definitely hot. And talk about fly … these ladies even had wings. Blade, “Blade” film series This ice-cold half-vamp turned the tables on the genre by exterminating his own kind. But the muscular, leather-loving Blade and his oft-featured fangs looked damn good doing it. Santanico Pandemonium, “From Dusk Till Dawn” An exotic dancer, played by Salma Hayek, who got tipped in blood, not singles. This beautiful vamp spent mere minutes on screen but steamed up theaters the entire time.
06/30/2009 ~ http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/red-063009-fangtasia-side1,0,628752.story |
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From Britain's Guardian:
True Blood is biting into the Buffy effect  With its sanguine exploration of teen and twentysomething sexuality, the urban fantasy genre is going from strength to strength – a certain cheerleader would be proud. It's six years since the final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was first transmitted. That, you might have thought, was that. After seven seasons, we'd surely had enough of bloodsuckers. Except it hasn't turned out that way. It's not just that, in 2007, Dark Horse Comics unleashed "season eight" of Buffy, a direct continuation from the series, partly written by Buffy's creator, Joss Whedon. Now vamps, vamp companions and eldritch folk in general are suddenly everywhere. In July, F/X will screen True Blood, an HBO series produced by Alan Ball. Instead of residing Six Feet Under, this time a sizeable percentage of its characters are the walking undead, vampires who have revealed themselves to humans and apparently want to join our wider community. Anna Paquin stars as Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress attracted to bloodsucker Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) in part because she can't hear his thoughts. It's appropriate the show is based on a series of novels, the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. Even as Buffy ended, writers and publishers had already spotted an opportunity. Continue reading...
06/30/2009 ~ http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/tvandradioblog/2009/jun/30/true-blood-buffy-urban-fantasy |
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Bill Moyer is #1 - From ITNExtreme:
Sexiest vampires ever - the Fangtastic Five
06/30/2009 ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28ghMSZOLnY |
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An older video - but a good one:
TV Guide Magazine: True Blood Cover Shoot
with Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer
06/30/2009 ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xkbCQlfLhs |
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*Spoilers*
| *Spoilers* | *Spoilers* |
• Clues • Clues • Clues •
• Clues • Clues • Clues •
What secrets and clues are hidden on the HBO web site for True Blood?
Can you find them all?
To start - try this:
• Go to HBO - True Blood - Season 2
• On bottom of page, select 'Characters'
• Select Sookie's image.
• • Roll your mouse over the flowers - they will highlight - and click.
• Select Bill's image.
• • Roll your mouse over the 'Ancient Civilizations' book - it will highlight - and click.
• • Roll your mouse over the sheet music - it will highlight - and click.
• Select Eric's image.
• • Roll your mouse over the neck shackle - it will highlight - and click.
• • Roll your mouse over the ax - it will highlight - and click.
• Now try the other characters.
Make your comments, theories, findings here: Speculation and Theories About Season 2
Boadicea ~
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From EOnline.com:
 Kelly in Amsterdam, Netherlands: Please give us some scoop on Alexander Skarsgård from True Blood!
Not only is Alex the show's leading eye candy, but he also serves as the show's official Swedish-English translator. Costar Kristin Bauer, who plays Eric's "serial killer baby" Pam, tells us, "They keep writing me lines [to read in] Swedish, and Alexander calls and says the Swedish on my phone. Hopefully he's not lying to me about what I'm saying. That's what my boyfriend does?he's from Africa, and he's teaching me Afrikaans, and I don't know what I'm saying, but he laughs."
Steven Lippman/HBO
06/29/2009 ~ http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b131858_spoiler_chat_will_brooke_julian_make_it.html |
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From Tulsa World:
Fans of Fang
Kristin Bauer, Alexander Skarsgard and Patrick Gallagher
By KIM BROWN World Scene Writer
Published: 6/29/20092:18 AM
Last Modified: 6/29/20095:26 AM
It seems as if the whole world's been bitten. From Buffy to Bella to Sookie Stackhouse, vampire stories have never been hotter. Why are vampire stories so in demand? Maybe it's the notion of never dying, or it's the idea of regular folks opening their eyes to a secret coven among them. Nevertheless, vamps haven't finished leaving their marks anytime soon. On the small screen From a plucky cheerleader to a sultry cocktail waitress, TV heroines can't stop swooning over vampires. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997) Creator Joss Whedon's cult-classic series gave us seven seasons to get to know Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar). She wanders into Sunnydale, Calif., and soon finds out it's not your normal suburban town. Whedon's series marries humor, camp, drama and some serious butt-kicking. "Angel" (1999) The "Buffy" spin-off starring David Boreanaz is all about redemption, as this once very bad vampire tries to make up for all the chaos he has caused over his hundreds of years. "Blade: The Series" (2006) This short-lived series (only lasted 12 episodes) was based on the Marvel Comics character, who along with his sister, Krista, try to tame their inner vampire predatory instincts. "Moonlight" (2007) Although it only lasted 16 episodes (it got caught in the cross hairs of the 2007-08 writers strike), many fans loved the story about a private detective who was turned into a vampire on his wedding night. It also starred Tulsa native Amber Valletta. "Blood Ties" (2007) This Toronto-based series aired on Lifetime and only lasted two seasons. It focused on a former cop who is losing her eyesight and the 480-year-old vampire she meets, who claims to be an illegitimate son of Henry VIII. "True Blood" (2008) This summer the hottest HBO show is, of course, about vampires. Season two is heating up with Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic Louisiana waitress who meets a dreamy 178-year-old vamp. On the big screen Everybody has their favorite vampire movie. Here are just a few notable ones. Continue reading...
06/29/2009 ~ http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=244&articleid=20090629_275_D1_Kristi510979&allcom=1 |
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Beautiful picture of Deborah Ann Woll by Tyler Shields:
Deborah Ann Woll is really an amazing actress if you watch True Blood which I would guess most of you do she is the new young vampire and she is amazing on the show This is one of many crazy photos I have of her and we also did an amazing video portrait! If you have yet to see True Blood check it out Deborah is a true artist.
06/29/2009 ~ http://www.tylershields.com/2009/06/29/deborah-ann-woll/ |
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From BloodCopy:
TO PROTECT AND SERVE?
 I like cops. They risk their lives to do a great service and by and large are among the most heroic breathers out there. But we’re all aware of the one bad apple theory, and sadly, today’s subject is slowly rotting to the core.
Ladies and gentlemen, submitted for your approval, one Detective Andy Bellefleur.
Once a proud member of Bon Temps’ finest, Andy’s fallen in a bit of a bad spell lately, what with a body being found in his squad car, numerous (unofficial) citations for public drunkenness, and an unsolved murder caseload that seems to be growing by the moment. But it doesn’t end there. Apparently now Detective Bellefleur can’t even handle a simple noise complaint.
This evening (last night for those of you reading this in daylight), I was enjoying a quiet evening at home when I couldn’t help but overhear a nearby party. Like it was in my living room. I’ve never met this neighbor (I believe her name is Maryann), and without a standing invitation I was powerless to enter the home to ask for quiet. My only alternative was to call the police, and learned I wasn’t the first to issue a complaint. But they assured me Detective Bellefleur was hot on the case.
Apparently Andy didn’t get the memo, because after several hours it had only gotten louder. Another call to Bon Temps police led to the revelation that Andy had arrived some time earlier and the noise would go away ‘any moment now.’ If by ‘any moment now’ they meant right up until I crawled into my coffin at daybreak then yes, the detective’s task was completed in full. Nice work, Andy. Real nice.
06/29/2009 ~ http://bloodcopy.com/?p=892 |
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Top 10 reasons "Scratches" is super - from AfterElton.com:
IMHO "True Blood" (2.3): Scratches
The second season of HBO's True Blood continues to impress with another superior episode that features Sookie chased through the forest by a horny creature (no, not Bill), Tara finally starting to pull the wool from her eyes concerning Maryann, and will cellar dweller Lafayette finally leave his shackles behind? Join us below for the top ten reasons why this episode earns an up arrow, but beware of spoilers! 10. It looks as though Tara is starting to get wise to Maryann's "Plato's Bayou Retreat". Hopefully Eggs will remain shirtlessly oblivious. 9. Okay, what the hell was that creature that attacked Sookie? It had twirly horns, poisonous talons, and a nasty disposition. At first I thought it was Bill O'Reilly, but many people are saying it was some kind of minotaur. What do you think? 8. Poor Sookie. She's still banged up from last season's altercations, and now this! She has three deep scratches down her back, and drinking Bill's blood just makes her foam at the mouth. 7. Bill takes her to Fangtasia and there's a splendid Grand Guignol moment when the doctor tries to drive the poison out of the scratches. She pours an elixir on the wounds and Sookie starts screaming as it bubbles and foams, and the doctor runs her fingers inside the scratches to remove the globs of poison. Unfortunately, I was eating dinner at the time, and it was almost enough to turn me off my "poison puss glob" casserole. 6. I love Pam! She and Terry (my other favorite secondary character) both had nice scenes this week, with Pam and her pumps, and Terry and his general instability. 5. Lafayette is finally released from the dungeon thanks to Sookie, who trades his freedom in exchange for helping Erik solve the "Dallas Mystery". But where will he go from here? According to the previews, Erik is not exactly finished with our favorite gay fry cook. 4. Are Jessica and Hoyt going to hook up? I liked their scenes together, and Jessica used a line that only a teenage vampire could get away with ... "This is so embarrassing. I'd die if I wasn't already dead!". 3. What is the deal with new girl Daphne? When she shows up as Sam is skinny dipping (and damn that murky water!), she disrobes to reveal ... three deep scratches on her back. Hmm ... what do you think it means? Was she attacked by the bull-creature, and is under its control? Or could she possibly by the bull-creature? 2. Jason and Steve are having dinner when the reverend starts railing about vampires and then motions outside, saying "there's a war going on out there", prompting Jason to ... turn around and look. Oh Jason, how I love you and your head full of rocks. 1. "Sarah doesn't whip out her pudding for just anybody". What did you think of this week's episode? And are you as pissed as I am that HBO is giving us reruns next week after just three shows? I know it's the Fourth of July but still...
06/29/2009 ~ http://www.afterelton.com/blog/snicks/imho-true-blood-(2.3)-scratches |
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Edinburgh International Film Festival & British commentary about True Blood (and Twilight) from TheSkinny :
EIFF: Some people have fangs. Get over it!
Posted by Scotty McKellar, Mon 29 Jun 2009  Vampires proudly come out of the coffin in Alan Ball's hit new series
True Blood which shows as part of the Cinematic Television strand at EIFF 2009.
Based on Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse Vampire Mysteries, the central premise is that after the discovery of an artificial blood substitute known as True Blood, vampires have “outed” themselves to the world at large and exist as a new minority in society. Law abiding vampires feed only on artificial blood and ‘mainstream’, becoming part of everyday lives but facing prejudice from humans and vampire extremists alike. In the first two episodes we’re introduced to Sookie Stackhouse, (Anna Pacquin) a telepathic waitress working in a bar in a small Louisiana town who falls in love with the newest resident, the mysterious vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and gradually finds herself drawn into the dangerous world of the undead. The chemistry between them is electric but there’s a rival for Sookie’s attentions in the shape of her boss, Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell) a sweet guy with more than a few secrets of his own.
Continue reading...
06/29/2009 ~ http://www.theskinny.co.uk/article/46307-eiff-some-people-have-fangs-get-over-it |
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From BuddyTV.com:
Predicting the Future for 'True Blood' Romances
Monday, June 29, 2009 
Season 2 of True Blood is full of new characters and new romances. Some relationships like the one between Bill and Sookie are evolving while others are starting out fresh, like Hoyt and Jessica's unexpected fang-sucking session on the couch.
But where will these relationships go? Last season proved quite traumatic, with Jason's girlfriend dying and Arlene's fiance being the serial killer. Let's examine six of the primary relationships and try to predict where they will go this season.
Tara and Eggs: I don't trust this guy. It's not that he has a severe criminal past or that he's under Maryann's spell, he just seems too good to be true for Tara, and when that means he probably is. Sadly Tara's past makes it likely that she will continue to go back to Eggs, no matter how many times she tries to stop herself, but in the end, I believe Eggs will prove more dangerous than we first thought. Is Maryann controlling him, or is he even more powerful than her?
Sam and Daphne: For nearly three whole episodes, Daphne seemed to be a wasted character, bumbling around and screwing up. Then we saw the giant scratches on her back, identical to the ones the bull/man creature left on Sookie's back. I'm not sure what her connection to the creature is, or if she's good or bad, but three simple scratches managed to make her an infinitely more interesting characters. I doubt she's flirting with Sam just because he's cute, but I'm also beginning to suspect she might be on the side of good.
Hoyt and Jessica: This could be the sweetest relationship ever, and it gives True Blood the perfect opportunity to explore the themes of first love of teen abstinence in a light but sensitive way. I also think Jessica having someone to love will help her to start making the right decisions.
Jason and Sarah: I refuse to believe this storyline will turn out as simply as the reverend's wife offering Jason her delicious banana pudding. There's something not right about the Jesus Camp, and given the satiric way religion has been portrayed so far, I can only assume creator Alan Ball is using the Ted Haggard example for a man of God who secretly does crystal meth with gay prostitutes. Only here, his wife lures men like Jason into her web for Reverend Steve Newlin to enjoy while taking V.
Terry and Arlene: She's a single lady raising two kids with a serial killer for an ex-fiance, and he's a slightly disturbed war veteran with a penchant for sniffing Arlene's hair when she's not looking. They haven't paired up yet, but they will, and unless one of them turns out to be some type of demon or monster, one of them will have to die to keep them interesting.
Bill and Sookie: They don't want to be one of those couples that's always fighting and getting back together, but they've had more fights than episodes this season and are still together. However, it's a very interesting dynamic because, after dating for such a short time, they now have a kid, a teenager no less, and Jessica is a brilliant way to enhance this relationship by bringing a child into it without having to work around the science of a dead man being unable to father a baby.
Which couple do you find most fascinating? Take the poll here.
06/29/2009 ~ http://www.buddytv.com/articles/true-blood/predicting-the-future-for-true-29661.aspx |
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From The Deadbolt News:
Twilight, New Moon and True Blood:
The Vampire Feud is On!
by Troy Rogers
 When you’re at the top of the heap you can only enjoy your exclusivity for so long before the up and comers start taking shots trying to chip away at your position above the crowd. Currently the top dog of the vampire world is Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga and the upcoming sequel New Moon, starring Robert Pattinson, Kristin Stewart, and Taylor Lautner, but with Twilight’s phenomenal success it was bound to attract some competition and a rivalry aside from the Buffy comparisons.
The inevitable Twilight Saga spark over Twilight, New Moon and True Blood was bound to ignite, as the HBO vampire series, True Blood, is the first to draw ... true blood. According to a report by MTV, True Blood star, Stephen Moyer, who plays Texas vampire Bill Compton, had choice but colorful Twilight words for the big screen New Moon competition, namely the Robert Pattinson embodied Edward Cullen of Twilight and New Moon fame.
MTV reveals that during a True Blood interview, Stephen Moyer bared his fangs and went for the Twilight Saga jugular of Robert Pattinson, attempting to verbally tear Edward Cullen to shreds with comments like, "He's a pu---!" That could mean one of two different Twilight Saga related slang, but Moyer added, "He's the Slim-Fast, Diet Coke of vampires."
 Whether Stephen Moyer is Twilight right or New Moon wrong about Edward Cullen (Pattinson), it doesn't matter. Will the Twilight and New Moon cast, which includes Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, take the high road on True Blood and not respond to the comments made by Moyer of True Blood? What about Twilight fan video mashups of Compton versus Cullen? How will the True Blood Twilight shot over the bow of the New Moon ship affect viewership of True Blood on HBO? There are so many Twilight and True Blood questions surrounding the comments of Stephen Moyer that we’re kicking back and see how this plays out in Twilight Saga and True Blood real time.
Good call on Moyer's part. It's about time someone shook things up.
For more on True Blood here at TheDeadbolt, check out True Blood with Alan Ball, Anna Paquin, and Stephen Moyer . -- Troy Rogers
06/29/2009 ~ http://www.thedeadbolt.com/news/105850/twilight_new_moon_true_blood_news.php |
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YouTube Highlight Episode 2.03:
True Blood - Sookie Confronts Eric
and Frees Lafayette
06/28/2009 ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk_tWv7KTtQ |
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Canadian vamps - From ExpressNightOut.com:
Fanged Fiction: Lifetime's 'Blood Ties' FANS OF FANGED FICTION may have noticed a cable-TV entry in the genre. It's that hourlong show about a mortal female with vision issues, a smoking-hot male vampire with a strict no-kill policy an the supernatural shenanigans that bring them together to save their town. The town, of course, is Toronto - oh, wait. We're not talking about "True Blood," HBO's complex, fraught and fascinating series that returned for season two in June. The series of interest here is "Blood Ties," a Canadian crime-and-romance romp aired on Lifetime that flies under the radar on its stylish bat wings.
Viewers can be forgiven for missing "Blood Ties" during its season one run. After "True Blood" elbowed aside CBS's execrable "Moonlight" for supremacy, that seemed to be the definitive end to TV's vampire wars. But Eagle Rock Entertainment has released "Blood Ties'" first 13 episodes, so the dog days of reruns and no-brainer viewing are a good time to check out this nifty serial thriller.
The unabashedly Canadian show based on Blood Books" series stars Christina Cox as Vicky Nelson, a cop turned private investigator after her deteriorating vision got her kicked off the force. Her old partner and sometime lover Mike Celluci (Dylan Neal) is still sporting a badge and clenching his jaw righteously, and he might want to watch that jaw, because his clenching is zipped into overdrive thanks to the appearance of Henry Fitzroy (Kyle Schmid), vampire and hottie.
Vicky wants Henry, Henry wants Vicky, Vicky kind of still wants Mike and they all want to stop the windagos, voodoo queens, gorgons etc. plaguing modern-day Toronto, eh?
"Blood Ties" isn't the chicest piece of small-screen filmmaking around; the scripts have some loose ends (Mike and Vicky lose a lot of innocent lives along the way) and some of the acting is cringeworthy. But it's as addictive as that first Dorito, and the love triangle, as well as charming performances by minor characters —- Nimet Kanji as a coroner unsurprised, even amused, by everything that ends up on her metal tables, and Gina Holden as Vicky's MacGuyer-like teenage Goth assistant, Coreen — are ridiculously appealing.
It's not the mind-bending parallel universe over on that pay channel, but with a pint of ice cream and a few summer hours to spare, "Blood Ties" makes delicious viewing.
06/29/2009 ~ http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2009/06/fanged_fiction_lifetimes_blood_ties.php |
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And what kind of pudding is it? From the HuffingtonPost.com:
True Blood Sucker Punch: Episode Three document.write('Your request is being processed...'); Your request is being processed...  Pop Culture Critic Posted: June 29, 2009 12:26 AM Welcome to Sucker Punch, the only blog post that ranks the gaudiest moments on this week's episode of True Blood. To introduce this week's installment, "Scratches," let me quote my favorite line: "Sarah doesn't whip out her pudding for just anybody."
Yes, that's what Reverend Steve Newlin says after his wife gives Jason Stackhouse a dish of sweetness. There's so much to unpack there. For one thing, the quote comes right after Sarah and Steve kiss in front of Jason for a really long time. Like... long enough that somebody should light a cigarette. And then there's the fact that earlier in the day, Jason and Sarah share a kneeling prayer over their mutual past as vampire sympathizers. It's very tender, and it wins Jason a dinner invitation. He's clearly the golden boy. But when Steve praises Sarah's "pudding," he's not just talking dessert. Like... what does it mean to be chosen by the Fellowship? Does it mean Jason's been " chosen" to hold the camera or " chosen" to wear the costume? The sexy shenanigans would be gauche enough if the Newlins were tax collectors, but since they're religious leaders, their come-ons are delicious. And I think the Newlins know how sexual they sound. In True Blood, power always comes with devious wisdom. I can't declare Pudding Time this week's Sucker Punch, however, because it's clear the Newlins have something crazier in store. Meanwhile, their dynamic with Jason parallels Maryann's relationship with Tara: In both cases, powerful figures are reaching out to guilty souls, and their succor has strings. Both Tara and Jason are so hungry to belong somewhere that they overlook warning signs. Except that Tara's waking up. It's a relief to see her notice what a Bacchanal Maryann's party has become, and Sucker Punch Honorable Mention goes to the return of the witch's pig, relaxing in its own little playhouse. My quibble with this episode, however, is that Maryann's arc is repetitive. Yes, Tara gets suspicious and the carousing intensifies, but we saw the black-eyed boogie last week in Merlotte's. We need more information about what the revelry means. For all the ways Maryann stands still, however, Jessica zooms forward. She's currently my favorite character on the show because her stories expertly balance Gothic excess and relatable emotion. Those romantic scenes with Hoyt are just so sweetly, truthfully awkward, and they remind us that no matter what the Fellowship says, certain vampires are more vulnerable than menacing. Ten points to Deborah Ann Woll for conveying Jessica's swirl of deadly bloodlust and teenage jitters. Equal points to Jim Parrack, since he has to invent Hoyt's tender side in two scenes. We have no reason to expect that Hoyt can be romantic, but the writing and the performance make it seem plausible right away. Romance doesn't equal a Sucker Punch, of course, but I'll tell you what does: Minotaur scratches. Not the ones that Daphne (Sam's new waitress) has on her back, but the ones Sookie gets from the man-bull who attacks her in the woods. The Sucker Punch comes when Sookie gets healed. While she's naked. In the back of Fangtasia. Being ministered by a little person with a remarkable knowledge of supernatural poisons. Watching Baby Doc shove her finger into Sookie's back wounds is totally gross, but it's awesome because the doctor is so casual that she might as well be fishing an earring out of her couch. And then we see Eric lurking in the background, popping a fang-on and looking so turned on he could pounce. Any scene that blends horniness, an odd doctor, and Sookie's foaming mouth deserves to be our Sucker Punch of the Week. On that note: I just made a video arguing that True Blood deserves to be nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. (Nominations are announced next month.) Whether you agree with me or think I'm crazy, you should totally watch me plead my case.
06/29/2009 ~ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-blankenship/itrue-bloodi-sucker-punch_b_222085.html |
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Funny review of 2.03 from TVFodder.com:
True Blood: Scratches
 We pick up tonight's ep moments after last week's ep ends. Bill's driving Sookie's car ("Don't drive angry!"), and boy is he in a full-on 19th Century Man Tara (the plantation, not the waitress)-sized snit. Sookie tries to apologize for her complete and utter lack of good judgment. Jessica just hates Bill for being the Billest Bill that ever Billed. Sookie gives Bill the Quiet Man treatment, and decides to walk the twenty miles home because it's a "nice stretch of the legs." Woe comes to she who walks through Bon Temps at night. A minotaur-looking creature gives Sookie a bit of a back-scratch, a three-fingered back scratch that goes all the way to Sookie's front. That's gonna leave a mark.
At Merlotte's, Sam is pensive and pouty, trying to decide between Less Filling and Tastes Great. Daphne's short a whole bunch of cash, and Tara comes in spouting Maryann-isms. Just what the doctor ordered.
Bill gets Sookie to Fangtasia and summons medical help. The crusty little old woman doctor says Sookie's been poisoned by a komodo dragon-like creature. Eric sends his fang-posse Pam and Chow into the woods to find the unknown creature that did the deed with Sookie. No, not Bill, the other creature. Pam doesn't want to ruin her eff-me pumps but goes tra-la-ing off anyway. Eric's new haircut simply does not take no for an answer.
Jason catching some z's in the Fellowship of the Sun (FotS) bunkhouse. All of a sudden, dead vampire Eddie crawls into bed with Jason and commences to spoon. Jason wakes from this horrific nightmare, and prays to God for another sign. Morning wood doesn't count.
The crusty little old doctor woman pours a gallon of hydrogen peroxide onto Sookie's gaping wounds and slaps a Hello Kitty bandage on. She digs around in there and finds a remnant of maybe fingernail. The poison has been defeated, and Sookie is better now. Those Hello Kitty bandages do work wonders. Pam and Chow return from their recce empty-handed. Pam's pumps are predictably ruined. Eric wonders if he'll be able to come up with some way for Sookie to repay him for saving her life. Oh whatever might it be?
Maryann is taste-testing the marinara sauce for tonight's shin-dig. Needs a touch more eye of newt and a skoche more toe of frog. And she's rolling splibs Bob Marley would've been proud of.
Sam's loading up his truck with his worldly possessions. Terry the cook shows up and Sam asks him if he's be willing to watch the bar for a while cuz Sam's gotta get gone to destinations unknown for who knows how long no nothing's wrong why do you ask?
At the FotS group hug, the pod people are taking turns sharing their tales of woe. When it comes to Jason's turn, he's got nothing. Apparently, he missed all of Season 1. But it comes back to him slowly, as does readin', writin', and rithmatickin', and he leaves the group. Sarah runs after him, and after stroking his ego (ego is what I wrote and ego is what I meant), they both kneel and pray. Vampires are seductive, Sarah tells Jason. And so am I, her eyes and tight sweater say.
Sookie's up and around at Fangtasia. She's in a large red t-shirt she doesn't remember putting on. She turns her back to a mirror (why there's a mirror in a vamp bar I don't know but there is), and lifts up her shirt. At first I thought she was checking out her own ass (B+), but no, she was looking at her unscarred back. The Lafayette-shooting bartender chick comes in. Sookie reads her mind and discovers that Lafayette is being held captive in the basement. Bill's happy to see Sookie healthy and practically under-garment-less. Sookie is righteously pissed at Eric. They haggle, and Sookie barters Lafayette's freedom for ten grand and an all expenses paid trip with Bill to Dallas to try to find Godric.
Jessica crawls out of her cellar hole in Bill's house. She sees her own shadow, and it's six more weeks of winter. She's scared and lonely so she does what other scared and lonely people do: She goes to a bar, Merlotte's. There she sees Hoyt, and makes with the goo goo eyes, and he offers to buy her a drink. She is, after all, seventeen, and ripe for getting liquored up. When she asks for a bottle of Trü Blood (B+), he deducts (watch out Sherlock) that she's a vampire.
At Maryann's, the party is full Go mode. The Cult-flavored Kool-Aid is flowing, the girls are topless, and Detective Andy Bellefleur finds a pig, a real pig, not just a really ugly girl. But the pig pulls a Doug Henning-esque disappearing act. This confuses Andy because he's a good cop who knows a pig when he sees one. I'm not sure if that was some kind of a put-down, if Andy was merely looking in a mirror, or if there's some kind of Circe thing going on.
The Reverend Newlin and Jason are having breakfast. Jason's in a shirt and tie, and completely bewildered by which fork to use. The Rev throws a bit of quick math at Jason. Hating Evil = Loving Good, and Sarah's Pudding = Heaven. I'm not quite sure if that last one was a metaphor, but Sarah is dee-lish.
Jessica and Hoyt make it to Bill's Swinging Make-up Sex Bachelor Pad and Piano Bar. The two crazy kids get to setting on the couch. Hoyt tries to explain the Wii to Jessica, but she's got something a little more exchange-of-bodily-fluids in mind.
Lafayette gets dropped off by Bill and Sookie at his house. He stumbles in, curls up in his favorite banky and pee-yoe, and has a good cry.
At Maryann's, Tara and Eggs are joined in the hot tub by a topless chick. By topless, I don't mean to say she doesn't have a head. I mean to say that her boobs are enjoying the night air. Topless Girl is a massage therapist, and it's not long before her magic fingers start working their magic on Eggs. Tara looks around and sees that the party has Gotten Started with a Capital G and a Capital S, and is closing in on a full-blown (pun fully intended) Bacchanalian orgy, complete with shirtless fat guy toting a jug of wine. Tara's peeved that she's not getting the free massage from topless girl and snits out of the hot tub.
Bill and Sookie are driving along and they have a good old-fashioned heart-to heart. Must be time for more make-up sex. They get home to Bill's, and find Jessica and Hoyt on the couch doing what teen-agers have been doing for centuries on couches. Playing the Wii. I mean, necking. Dangerous thing that, to be necking with a vampire, but they seem to be enjoying themselves.
Sam is about to get gone, but he sees his old friend Collie Dog lifting a leg on a lamppost. They go for a long run off a short pier. Well, Sam does. The collie has sense enough to know not to go swimming in gator-infested waters. Sam's dog-paddling around when Daphne the tray-dropper shows up. This time, instead of dropping a tray, she drops her clothes and joins Sam in the water. But as she drops her shirt, we see three large long deep Sookie-like scratches etched in her back. Dum dum dum...
Next week, True Blood is in rerun mode. HBO is re-running the first three episodes of Season 2. The following week, July 12 True Blood returns with an all new episode.
06/29/2009 ~ http://www.tvfodder.com/true_blood/archives/2009/06/true_blood_scratches.shtml |
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The 'True Blood' actors and the books (NO spoilers - cute):
06/29/2009 |
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From BuddyTV.com:
'True Blood' Recap: Minotaur on the Loose
Sunday, June 28, 2009
 With the third episode of the season, True Blood continues to be the most disgusting show on TV with the help of a new beast that causes some major damage on Sookie's back. There's also the return of Maryann's pig and a new and rather unexpected romance.
Picking up where we left off, Bill glamors Jessica's family to make them forget all about the drama, allowing Bill, Sookie and Jessica to drive home. Bill and Sookie get into the expected fight about what she was doing, and despite their claims that they don't want to be one of "those" couples, they totally are. Sookie throws a hissy fit and chooses to walk home to Bon Temps, which is one of those idiotic horror movie decisions like investigating a noise or being the black guy.
Walking alone in the woods, Sookie hears some scary noises and pauses to look around. She sees a giant shadowy creature with horns. It's a new kind of monster, and if you've ever seen the movie Legend with Tom Cruise, it looks kind of like the Devil in that movie. I included a picture of this below to help support my claim.
The monster chases her and uses its three claws to scratch into her back. She screams and Bill comes running to save her. He finds her, but she's paralyzed, and when he tries to heal her with his blood, she has a bad reaction to it. She thinks she was attacked by some sort of half-bull/half-man. There's a minotaur on the loose!
 Bill takes her to Eric's for help from the world's creepiest doctor ever who is essentially that old lady from Poltergeist. The doctor compares it to a Komodo dragon that paralyzes its victims and waits for them to slow down before devouring them. Eric has no idea what a bull/man is, which is surprising since he's been around for 1,000 years. Wow, he doesn't look a day over 568.
While Eric's minions go out to search for the bull/man, the doctor pours something seriously painful onto Sookie's giant claw wounds, causing her to scream out in pain. Bill holds her down while the doctor digs into the open wounds and pulls out the poison monster claws.
The Stackhouses must share an emotional connection, because Jason is also screaming, but only because he's having a nightmare at Jesus Camp. He wakes up only to find himself being spooned by Eddie, the vampire he and Amy killed last season. It's a double nightmare, and Jason wakes up to pray to God for guidance. The Lukenator tells him to shut up, and when Jason leans back to go to sleep, he bangs his noggin on the headboard. I'm hopelessly loving how cartoonishly dumb the writers are making Jason this season.
(1) (2) (3)
06/28/2009 ~ http://www.buddytv.com/articles/true-blood/true-blood-recap-minotaur-on-t-29641.aspx |
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From Film.com:
 Stephen Moyer as the vampire Bill and Anna Paquin as Sookie in HBO's 'True Blood' - HBO Related Content Stories More Info Drake Lelane, Jun 28, 2009 If the first two episodes helped set up the season, "Scratches" puts the pedal down and hurtles it forward -- to Dallas, to be exact. While the wheels are in motion on several fronts, they also managed to slip in a theme of control -- makers controlling the vampires they've turned, Steve and Sarah controlling Jason, and MaryAnn trying to control just about everybody else.
We start off with the scene that was previewed at PaleyFest, with Sookie stomping off into the forest after a fight with controlling Bill (they really like make-up sex,) and meeting up with that bullhead beast.
 Bullhead (who may or may not be MaryAnn) takes off running with her fingernails like Flo-Jo and gives Sookie some cat-scratch fever. This attack was probably meant to take Sookie out of the picture, but instead sets off a chain of events that leads to a pair of ruined pumps (poor Pam), the release of Lafayette and a road trip to Dallas, where much of this season is set to take place.
Meanwhile, in crazy Christ cult, Jason's haunted by thoughts of Eddie (Stephen Root, back ever so briefly) casting some doubt in his involvement with the vampire hate group. But as it is with much of religion, Sarah knows the way to control Jason is through both guilt and sex -- guilt about not protecting his loved ones, and sex via some serious flirtations. As Rev. Steve points out, "Sarah doesn't just whip out her pudding for anybody."
 Speaking of control and sex, Bacchus Babe MaryAnn is throwing a party and has slipped her guests a roofie, or whatever it is that she's calling "juniper." Before you know it, shirts are off, pupils are mydriatic and some sort of orgy* is going on. Tara finally notices things are off, but MaryAnn still has some sort of control over Eggs, and uses his sculpted body to keep her from straying too far. *For being an orgy of sorts, though, the scene didn't feel very sexy. Call me crazy, but I like my sexy without blown pupils, thank you very much.
Another one MaryAnn might just have some control over is Daphne, who, by no coincidence, shows up the moment that Sam is getting ready to blow out of town. Does the poison from the scratches give control to MaryAnn, and if so, do we assume that was MaryAnn's endgame with Sookie via bullhead?
Eric has his sights on Sookie as well, and one wonders if and when either realizes they're not alone in their goal. Regardless, the shot of Daphne's scratches provides a great cut to the title song "Scratches," by blues diva Debbie Davies, who delivers the lines, "Who been making those scratches, all over your back?" Bullhead, that's who!
One final thought: Just how sweet are Jessica and Hoyt together? You have to give Alan Ball credit as he started to set them up last season, with Hoyt asking Sookie if she knew a vampire he could date. She's led a sheltered life and he still lives with his mom ... heck, even Bill, ever the over-protective father figure, seems to cave in to the idea of them dating by the end.
06/28/2009 ~ http://www.film.com/tv/true-blood/story/true-blood-scratches-control-issues/28874719 |
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From DigitalSpy.com:
Moyer 'not allowed out' for 'True Blood'
Sunday, June 28 2009, 2:51pm EDT By Adam Silverstein
Stephen Moyer has admitted that the producers of True Blood forced him to stay indoors while shooting the US series' first season.
The actor, who plays the character of vampire Bill Compton, told The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien that he found it extremely frustrating having to pale down for the role.
"When we began shooting it they said I wasn't allowed to go out in the sun. I'd just got here and all English people when they come here, they go and live by the beach," he said.
"So I was down by the beach but I wasn't allowed to go outside. I'd brought my dog with me over from London, and we just literally had to stay inside the whole time, apart from the odd midnight walk."
However, following six months of filming, Moyer was eventually allowed to work on a tan.
"Finally they said, 'Oh, don't worry about it, we've been shooting for so long'. I finally got out there, doing this slow-motion run to the water like Bo Derek. Well, more like Dudley Moore to be honest!" he added. "Now I can't get enough of it, I'm there every day."
True Blood co-star Anna Paquin recently said that she plans to bare all during the show's second season, currently airing on HBO in the US.
The vampire drama premieres on FX next month and will be shown on Channel 4 later this year.
06/28/2009 ~ http://www.digitalspy.com/ustv/a162464/moyer-not-allowed-out-for-true-blood.html |
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From RopeOfSilicon.com:
Trailer for the Vampire Thriller 'Daybreakers'
Yup, more cinematic bloodsuckers after your money
The trailer for the Lionsgate vampire feature Daybreakers has just made its online debut prior to its January 8, 2010 release. The film stars Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill and Willem Dafoe and is set in the year 2017, and a plague has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the dominant plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher (Hawke) works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save the human race.
Check out the trailer directly below and take a peek at our gallery of three images, including the newly released poster, right here.
06/28/2009 ~ http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/trailer-for-the-vampire-thriller-daybreakers |
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| Minor *Spoilers* | Minor *Spoilers* | Minor *Spoilers* |
HollywoodLife.com - Exclusive! 'True Blood's Deborah Ann Woll and William Sanderson
Thursday, June 25, 2009 3:45:28 PM
Hollywood Life just got back from Bon Temps and boy are our fangs tired. Behold, Q&As from "True Blood" stars Deborah Ann Woll and William Sanderson below!  A recent arrival to "True Blood," Deborah Ann Woll plays Jessica, the difficult, teenage "daughter" of Vampire Bill (Stephen Moyer), who's thirsty for blood and attention. Here, Deborah Ann talks about taking vampiric inspiration from Animal Planet, and plays coy about the ingredients of Tru Blood, and which celebrities have influenced her character.
You're from Brooklyn, born and raised. Was it hard to perfect a Southern accent?
It was a little bit difficult. As weird as this sounds, that kind of Yankee-Brooklyn sound is actually very similar to the Southern. We tend to both drop our "R's" and it's kind of an urban sound versus a Southern sound. So I would find, in the beginning, when I would try to do the Southern accent, that I would actually slip into my native Brooklyn accent, and that would be totally inappropriate. I had to be very conscious of it in the beginning and now it's gotten much easier. I feel much more comfortable, but for a while I couldn't quite tell where I was from.
Your character, Jessica, was a sheltered girl who transformed into an outspoken, bratty teenage vampire. Could you relate to any of that from your teenage years? What were you like?
I was nothing like Jessica. I was very shy. Very quiet. I was a hard worker and I really just did my own thing. I was very un-popular. I certainly was not in the in-crowd. I was a big nerd. I did not have the attitude or the sort of self confidence that Jessica has. And part of me wishes that I did, because I wouldn't have been such a doormat my whole life. She really doesn't let anybody tell her what to do or tell her she's inappropriate. And I think that's a great quality in a way. Jessica will learn to balance that out a little bit, I hope. But, no, I didn't really draw on my own experiences. I tended to watch a lot of specific celebrities who maybe had a similar feel to them, and I just thought a lot about what it would be like to have never been allowed to express yourself. To always have been told that what you thought and felt were wrong, your entire life. And what would it be like to finally be able to say 'Never again am I going to let someone marginalize me or make me feel less than.'
What celebrities did you study?
I don't think I should say. I think that part of the difficulty of being a celebrity is that you may have to hide what you're feeling and you aren't totally allowed to be yourself, because you're in the public eye. And I think the breakdowns that we tend to see sort of have to do with maybe finally trying to break free and say 'I am who I am, whether you like it or not.' It's an overwhelming experience.
Sookie (Anna Paquin) has been mothering to you. Do you think you're an opportunity for Sookie and Bill to test out their parenting skills or to sort of play house?
Yeah, if they get a moment to breathe. It's a pretty action-packed season, so I don't know how much house-playing time they'll even have. But I think it's an opportunity for Sookie, with Tara being so occupied, who has maybe lacking a little bit of female companionship. There was the loss of her grandmother. I think for her, the importance of being able to give guidance, and love, and support to another female, whether it be motherly, or sisterly, or whatever we end up finding in that relationship, will be an interesting growth for her as well.
Sex and sexuality are a big part of the show. When are we going to see Jessica have a relationship?
Well, you know, Jessica is a teenager and we all have romantic experiences at that age that shape us for the rest of our lives. I think about my first sort of serious boyfriend and how he became the man to which all others were compared. The rest of them have had to measure up to him and I think we'll see some experiences. You know, Jessica's never been kissed, or never been touched by a man, and not to get too graphic or anything, but I doubt that she's ever explored herself and that will be interesting to watch.
Let's talk about the scene from last season when Bill "turns" you. I read that you had watched some nature programs of animals hunting each other to prepare?
I watched a lot of documentaries and at one point I just went into my DVR and set up any shows like "When Animals Attack" and "Planet Earth" episodes, I would watch Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel constantly. What I think is interesting about the vampire, is that it's like living simultaneously with this human consciousness that has a sense of morality and decency, and then, simultaneously, living with this very primal, ancient brain, that really just has to do with fighting, feeding, and procreating. So [I] want[ed] to get into that side of this character and what those new impulses--and scary--impulses are. I mean, having lived as a human being my whole life, I've never looked at another human being and thought 'Lunch.' So to try and shift my perspective a little bit and see when you watch a crocodile attack a zebra, or a lion bring down an African deer, that look in their eye that comes over them. How do they grab onto that animal? What is it they're looking for? Why are they hunting? And just trying to shift my perspective into that different, primally-motivated existence.
And on your first appearance on "True Blood" you were lunch. You were Bill's prey.
I watched a lot of those animal attack videos when I first got the part. And I was watching the prey. And I remember the one that was this lion attacking an antelope. The antelope fought so hard to save its life and then in an instant, it wasn't dead yet, it just gave up. And it went limp. And it gave in. This was what was going to happen and the antelope couldn't escape anymore and allowed the lion to finish it off. I thought that was such an interesting response. But then coming around now, a couple months later, and being the other side of it, was so cool to go back and watch the same footage. But to watch it from the other side. Because that's what I think a lot of acting is about. It's really seeing all experiences from as many different perspective as you can.
And how do you film the biting scenes?
Let's see. You film them very carefully. We have all sorts of fake blood that we use, we have different types of teeth, depending on what kind of biting needs to occur. It's really incredible what the special effects and props department have come up with. It looks pretty real, it tastes terrible.
Is it hard to talk with the teeth in?
Yes, for about the first five to ten minutes, you sound like Cindy Brady. Of course, you're trying to be all immortal and cool and it's very difficult to sound that way when you have a lisp. Kristin Bauer [who plays "Pam"] said that the first time she had to talk with the teeth in, her line was something like, "Certainly nothing like your sister, " but it sounded like, "Thertainly nothing like your thister," and apparently everyone started laughing, because of the lisping. I had my own experiences with that the first couple of times, but you get used to them. The less you think about it, the easier it is. You've just got to kind of let them hit your bottom lip.
What's Tru Blood the drink made out of? What are you drinking in those scenes?
Well, I'll tell you, it tastes delicious and you can find it at your local supermarket. I won't tell you exactly what it is because I think that would be a good mystery to keep. But it is available to drink at your local supermarket, and I kind of love drinking it. It was a very hard scene when I had to pretend it was terrible, because it really tastes quite lovely.
It seems like in the past ten years with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and Twilight, and "True Blood," that vampires have a big presence in pop culture. Why do you think vampires are so big right now?
Vampires today are definitely sexy. The original vampires were not--Dracula and Nosferatu, and in all of the older stories these were ugly, scary creatures. More recently, in the past 50 years--well I guess more than 50 years with the Bela Lugosi Dracula because he was very dashing--it has become this sense of seduction and I think the idea that a vampire can control your mind, that they can glamor you, is attractive. That's essentially what a sexy person does. Like Lafayette had that line in the last episode 'I damn well glamor people already.' There is something very attractive about someone who can look at you and make you feel a certain way, and in way sort of control you. I think that fear and sexuality are very closely linked. I think things that scare us are a little bit sexy. Things that are unknown attract us. And blood, that deep, red, rich warm, life. There's something really beautiful about that, which we may have some trouble admitting to. There's something very beautiful about it flowing against the pale vampiric skin.
And you guys have some guest stars coming up this season.
Oh, lots of them. I've loved every single guest star that we've had. And then, of course, I'll be watching other shows and go 'Oh my goodness, that's the guy that came in and did that part.' They do such a good job and this is not an easy show to just jump right into. I know, I started as a guest star. I know how difficult it can be to just jump into a show that has such a specific perspective and outlook on their storytelling with a bunch of people that have sort of figured it all out already. But as it's been announced, we've got Evan Rachel Wood coming up. And I just saw her in Whatever Works and she was so funny and delightful and wonderful, and now I just cannot wait to see her episodes. I think that will be some of the greatest stuff ever. And then of course we've got a couple of new season regulars that have just come in. Michelle Forbes and Michael McMillian and I could go on and on.
Ryan Kwanten's abs could also be considered a guest star.
Exactly.
--Elizabeth Thompson and Louis Virtel
06/28/2009 ~ http://www.hollywoodlife.com/Article.aspx?articlepath=RSS\Gossip\20090625\Exclusive-True-Bloods-Deborah-Ann-Woll-and-William-Sander.xml&cat=Gossip&pcur=1&ipp=10&pageid=1 |
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HollywoodLife.Com - Exclusive! 'True Blood's Deborah Ann Woll and William Sanderson
 William Sanderson is now a sheriff on “True Blood,” but he also contributed Memphis twang as part of HBO’s dearly departed “Deadwood.” The 65-year-old actor has starred in film classics Coal Miner’s Daughter and Blade Runner, but his most intriguing showbiz encounters involve his childhoods in Tennessee, where he stalked a certain rock ‘n roll icon with a penchant for whiplash-inducing amusement park rides. All shook up, indeed.
What first appealed to you about “True Blood”?
Off the top of my head I loved that it was set in Louisiana, which to me is kind of romantic and mysterious, and has a lot of wonderful characters, rural ones. I looked at some Charlene Harris’ books, and they were fun to read, but I was shocked to get another regular job on HBO so soon after Deadwood.
The cast is stellar. What do you glean from them on set?
Especially Anna, she has this incredible energy. That’s probably my biggest talent is to keep up with them. They’re half my age or less. Or more, I should say. Or Stephen Moyer, a wonderful actor from England who plays her love interest. Anna never fumbles with her lines, she’s very professional. And inventive! It’s exciting anytime I get to work with an Academy Award winner. Well, I wouldn’t say always fun – but educational.
Really? Have you been around intimidating talents?
I think most of the great ones are intimidating. But most of them like other actors. They may have a problem with a producer or director. But intimidating? I survived six projects with Tommy Lee Jones. I watch anything he’s in. And Ian McCain I learned a lot from, he has a background with theater in England. But I’m easily intimidated, so I may be the wrong one to ask.
Who do you still want to play? You’ve said you’ve played mostly quirky characters.
Well, a romantic lead! The quirky characters are easier. It’s difficult to play a normal sheriff. A writer asked me if there’s something I haven’t played, and I said I just want to play as many characters as far from myself as I can. [Laughs.] I mean, who wants to see me play myself?
Is it uncomfortable when you feel like you’re playing yourself?
I never really see characters as myself. I try to play what the writer intended, but I’m lazy, and especially as I get older and I don’t do enough research, but then the ego creeps in and you say, “I’m pretty fascinating.” Now that’s a danger. I think personally I’m like the egomaniac with an inferiority complex, but I try to honor the writer’s intention. There’s people that would argue that.
Tell me about your childhood in Memphis and the regularity with which you saw Elvis Presley.
When I was a kid, I started to hang around a record shop owned by Elvis’s manager, before Colonel Parker, in the mid 50s before he dyed his hair. So I’d follow him. I saw him the record shop with these girls. As I got older, I rode out to a house one time with the owner of a clothing store on Beale Street, and Elvis was playing the piano. He didn’t know me from Adam. I’d be told “Sit over there,” and I’d hear him play. I’d sneak in the movies and drop the name – he’d rent a theater, you may have read – sometimes they didn’t let me in, but many times I’d get to sit in the back of theater and watch the movies. But really -- I kind of stalked him. There was an amusement park in Memphis, he would rent that at midnight, and it wasn’t that tight if you dropped the right name. You could get in and ride these rides free ‘til sun-up. I was just a great fan of his, and he was always friendly to the fans when he was young. But he did not know me, and got mad me for hitting him with the bumper cars head-on. I’m sure that I’m much, much older -- but to be around the highest paid entertainer in the world was a big, big thrill as a kid. It was a good time to be a kid in Memphis.
--Elizabeth Thompson and Louis Virtel
06/28/2009 ~ http://www.hollywoodlife.com/Article.aspx?articlepath=RSS\Gossip\20090625\Exclusive-True-Bloods-Deborah-Ann-Woll-and-William-Sander.xml&cat=Gossip&pcur=1&ipp=10&pageid=1 |
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Alexander Skarsgard interview: Future movie, Fawcett, Jackson, etc:
06/28/2009 ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyaLJhiY7gY |
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| ***SPOILERS*** | ***SPOILERS*** | ***SPOILERS*** |
Preview of 'True Blood' 2.04:
Shake and Fingerpop
June 29, 2009 03:40:05 GMT
Text is hidden - to read, highlight from this point---> Eric visits Lafayette for a favor, Sookie promises to have a proper birthday for Tara after she gets back from Dallas and the new waitress knows a lot more about Sam. 
Lafayette has an unpleasant surprise from Eric but having barely escaped Fangtasia, he finds himself reluctantly pulled back into Eric's orbit. "True Blood" will be back on July 12, with the fourth episode of season 2, titled "Shake and Fingerpop". The new waitress at Merlotte's which is played by Ashley Jones, will reveal what she knows about Sam.
"Eric makes people beholden to him," Nelsan Ellis who plays Lafayette previously explained his character's complicated relationship with Eric. "He did it to Sookie, and now he does force Lafayette to work for him to repay him for something he's done for him." Ellis added that Lafayette "stays with the vampires basically throughout the season."
Also on "Shake", Bill, Sookie and Jessica head to Dallas to carry out Eric's vampire-reconnaissance mission, but a surprise awaits them at the airport. At the Light of Day Institute, Jason falls victim to a practical joke, but has the last laugh when the Newlins anoint him for a higher calling.
Maryann throws Tara a birthday party at Sookie's, attracting much of Bon Temps to its Bacchanalian revelry. Sam postpones his departure from town to attend the bash, connecting with Daphne in the process.
06/29/2008 ~ http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00025341.html |
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