After All The Funerals, Auteur Digs Up The Undead - NY Times
August/02/08 23:52 Filed in: Off-Site
Joe Rhodes, of the New York Times, was recently involved in an interview with Alan Ball and has posted an article exploring what “True Blood” is really about”
“The advertising, she said, serves to familiarize viewers with the new show’s premise ahead of time. “True Blood,” like the books, is heavy on sex, violence and supernatural beings, all the bright-red forbidden-love metaphors that served Bram Stoker and Anne Rice so well. And the garishness of it all — the fangs penetrating flesh, the surprisingly graphic sex scenes, the sometimes-gory bloodletting — will surely cause a stir among some critics.
Which Mr. Ball doesn’t mind.
“We did a focus group,” he said, during a recent interview on the Hollywood soundstage where the show’s interior scenes are filmed (location shooting also takes place in Shreveport, La.), “and it was great because the women loved the romance and the relationships, and the men loved the sex and violence. And I thought, well, that’s kind of a cliché, but I’m glad. There’s something in there for everybody.”
But as much as he wants viewers to enjoy the visceral thrill of the show, it’s also clear that Mr. Ball sees “True Blood” as a way to engage larger cultural issues, the notion of how we respond to the presence and aspirations of those whose very existence is regarded by many as a threat.
“I love the fact that these creatures are struggling for assimilation. I can relate to that in certain ways,” said Mr. Ball, who is gay and grew up in Marietta, Ga. His work, including “Six Feet Under” and the screenplay for “American Beauty,” has often dealt with the notion that people are not always what they seem. He said he was intrigued by Ms. Harris’s premise that the humans in “True Blood” are at times more threatening than the vampires.”
Full Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/arts/television/03rhod.html?ex=1375329600&en=da2c241609cdd174&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
“The advertising, she said, serves to familiarize viewers with the new show’s premise ahead of time. “True Blood,” like the books, is heavy on sex, violence and supernatural beings, all the bright-red forbidden-love metaphors that served Bram Stoker and Anne Rice so well. And the garishness of it all — the fangs penetrating flesh, the surprisingly graphic sex scenes, the sometimes-gory bloodletting — will surely cause a stir among some critics.
Which Mr. Ball doesn’t mind.
“We did a focus group,” he said, during a recent interview on the Hollywood soundstage where the show’s interior scenes are filmed (location shooting also takes place in Shreveport, La.), “and it was great because the women loved the romance and the relationships, and the men loved the sex and violence. And I thought, well, that’s kind of a cliché, but I’m glad. There’s something in there for everybody.”
But as much as he wants viewers to enjoy the visceral thrill of the show, it’s also clear that Mr. Ball sees “True Blood” as a way to engage larger cultural issues, the notion of how we respond to the presence and aspirations of those whose very existence is regarded by many as a threat.
“I love the fact that these creatures are struggling for assimilation. I can relate to that in certain ways,” said Mr. Ball, who is gay and grew up in Marietta, Ga. His work, including “Six Feet Under” and the screenplay for “American Beauty,” has often dealt with the notion that people are not always what they seem. He said he was intrigued by Ms. Harris’s premise that the humans in “True Blood” are at times more threatening than the vampires.”
Full Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/arts/television/03rhod.html?ex=1375329600&en=da2c241609cdd174&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
