***SEEKING EXTRAS 18 YEARS AND UP***
*** ALL RACES
***ALL ETHNICITIES
***and YOUR VEHICLES

** You will be paid and you have to be available for up to 12 hours each day you work. Filming July 6 – 10, 2009 IN BATON ROUGE.

For more info:
http://bamcastingla.com/Home_Page.php

Tags: Production, Season 2, True Blood

--- “After I was cast and I realized my body would be exposed all the time, I went out and bought some shorts — I owned none — to help me get used to it,” Paquin reveals.
Her scantily clad character has crept into her real life as well. “You stop thinking, Do I look weird at this angle? I’ve learned to feel comfortable wearing very little. It’s liberating!” she says. ---

Full Article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/06/16/2009-06-16_anna_paquin_beats_the_heat_in_style.html

Tags: Articles, Anna Paquin, True Blood

--- In the second-season premiere of True Blood, we pick up right where we left off, in the parking lot of Merlotte's where there's a dead body with painted toenails in Andy's car. We find out who it is, and what that discovery means for Lafayette's future on the show. Bill and Sookie squabble like old marrieds, except now they can also squabble with their surrogate teen daughter, Jessica. We learn how Sam and Maryann know each other, and why the heck Jason is joining an anti-vampire church. ---

Full Article:
http://www.tvguide.com/Episode-Recaps/true-blood/True-Blood-Episode-1006885.aspx

Tags: Articles, True Blood

--- PopWrap: The reveal of Eric last night with tinfoil in his hair was amazing. How did that come about?

Alexander Skarsgård: We had a lot of fun with that scene. I worked on that with the costume designer, wanting to find something weird or disturbing and flip flops was probably the weirdest outfit we could come up with for a badass vampire to wear while killing a guy.

PW: Was it hard looking scary in that outfit?

Alexander: That's what I loved about the scene; I could have come down in a long black leather cape, looking tough. But I came down with foil wrapped tips. Look, Eric's beauty session with Pam was interrupted. What can I say?

PW: And after a whole summer of wondering Lafayette was dead, you actually had him chained up in the basement!

Alexander: Nelsan [Ellis] who plays Lafayette is so amazing. He's created such an incredible character. I mean, you can not kill that guy! He's too good. We need him on the show! ---

Full Article:
http://blogs.nypost.com/popwrap/archives/2009/06/alexander_skarsgard_interview.html

Tags: Articles, Alexander Skarsgard, True Blood

--- Did you find it helpful to read Charlaine's novels to build a backstory for Eric, or did show runner Alan Ball discourage that, since the show isn't a literal adaptation?

Skarsgard: No. Before we started season one, I read the first five books just to give me some backstory and to help me dive into the world and understand the world that Charlaine created and my character of Eric. But once we started shooting season one, it was a little confusing reading the books and the scripts at the same time, because they are a little bit different. Actually, it was quite confusing to try and figure out what was from the books and the series. But it was great to have them as a backstory in creating the character.

Has Alan given you a lot of notes and direction for how he wants you to interpret Eric?

Skarsgard: Alan has given me a tremendous amount of freedom, and he really lets us go and explore our characters. It's given me a lot of confidence and energy and enthusiasm as an actor to have that from a show runner.

There's a sort of hilarious too-cool-to-exist vanity about Eric, with his foil highlights in the season premiere and his casual track suits. Do you invest a lot of your own time in creating Eric's look?

Skarsgard: Yes, it's a collaboration I have with Audrey Fisher, the costume designer. She's amazing. We have a fantastic relationship. We have fittings every week where we get together and talk to bounce around ideas. It's something we play around with and come up with together. ---

Full Article:
http://scifiwire.com/2009/06/what-secrets-does-true-bl.php

Tags: Articles, Alexander Skarsgard, True Blood

--- "Believe it or not, the show is sexier and gorier," Ball said about the new crop of episodes. "I think it's also funnier. I think it's also deeper. I just feel like the show is really finding its identity and delving into itself in a way that feels really organic. It definitely feels as if things are ramped up for season two." ---

Full Article:
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20090615_trueblood

Tags: Articles, Alan Ball, True Blood

--- You'd think all the stars of True Blood would have checked out Twilight by now.
"I haven't seen it," Sam Trammell, who plays bar owner Sam Merlotte on HBO's hit vampire series, tells me. "I haven't read the books. I should though, just so I can answer questions about it."
Not that True Blood's and Twilight's audiences completely overlap. "The sense I get is Twilight is PG and ours is bordering on NC-17," Trammell says. ---

Full Article:
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/marc_malkin/b129264_true_bloods_sam_trammell_i_should_see.html

Tags: Articles, Sam Trammell, True Blood

--- Sunday night played host to an anxiously-awaited television event on our newly all-digital TV signals (and we're not talking about the Lakers' victory). It was the premiere of the second season of True Blood, the vampiric HBO show that first catapulted into our collective consciousness with a series of extremely effective viral ads that had all of us doing double-takes when we caught our first glimpse of ads for the TruBlood energy drink. Viewership skyrocketed during the first season, so HBO was faced with the challenge to top the faux-blood beverage for Season Two. Did they? ---

Full Article:
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/alissa-walker/designerati/did-seasons-true-blood-campaign-achieve-immortality-or-just-plain-suc

Tags: Articles, Marketing, Viral Marketing, True Blood

--- WARNING: Stop reading if you have not watched the season premiere of True Blood. I mean it. Everyone else, onward and downward...

Now that you've seen the season 2 premiere of True Blood, join me in a chorus of, “Hallelujah, Lafayette lives!” Although last November’s cliffhanger seemed to suggest that series creator Alan Ball was remaining faithful to Charlaine Harris’ books and sending Nelsan Ellis’ fierce, flamboyant alter ego to an early grave, Sunday’s debut confirmed what many fans had hoped: Ball decided to spare the wildly popular character. But why? In this exclusive interview, Ellis has the surprising answer to that question, as well as scoop on another possible detour Ball has up his sleeve -- this one involving a deep connection between Lafayette and Alexander Skarsgard's Eric.

When you first signed on to the show, did Alan Ball assure you he would not be following the books when it came to this character?

NELSAN ELLIS: No, no no. When I first started it was only a one-year contract, so I thought I was a goner after the 12th episode. In fact, [Alan] didn’t tell me that he was bringing me back until after the table read for the [the season 1 finale]. He was like, ‘You know we’re not killing you, right?’ And I was like, “I didn’t know but thanks for telling me.

What was your reaction?

ELLIS: Thank you! I have a job for next season! That was my reaction. ---

Full Article:
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/06/true-blood-exclusive-lafayette-speaks.html

Tags: Articles, Nelsan Ellis, True Blood

The Globe And Mail’s R.M. Vaughan chats with Charlaine Harris about True Blood, gay rights, sucess and more:

--- The great thing about the vampire myth is that anybody who takes it on gets to reinvent the mythology. Yet, you must have had some core texts in your head.

CH: Right. Well, of course, I kind of ricocheted off Anne Rice. I don't write anything like she did, and I don't have the same content or anything, but some of my world is simply a reaction to hers.

And your books are far more political. The vampires' struggles for equal rights can be read as a stand-in for gay rights, or even a reflection on the integration battles of the last generation.

CH: I do have a political take, I definitely do. Yeah, they are stand-ins for gay people, and I didn't really care a lot if there was resistance to that. It was incredibly hard to sell – it took my agent two years to sell the first book. I didn't expect that, 'cause I thought editors were just gonna eat this up. Not. In fact, it was rejected often and with vehemence. Some people just hated it, and said, “How could we market this, where would we shelve it?” Maybe they're thinkin' twice now. ---

Full Article:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/behind-true-blood-a-fight-for-vampire-rights/article1177802/

Tags: Articles, Charlaine Harris, True Blood

Pop culture travel guide “Jaunted” has prepared an adventurous itinerary of popular vampire-oriented destinations in Louisiana...

Begin your journey, if you dare:
http://www.jaunted.com/maps/true-blood-map

Tags: Articles, True Blood

--- Vampires have taken over the Los Angeles Times.
Beneath the masthead of Friday print editions is a full front-page ad for the HBO's series "True Blood." A black-and-white close-up of star Stephen Moyer with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth dominates the page.
In news boxes around town, all that's visible is the close-up of actor's menacing gaze and the paper's banner splayed across the top. No other stories or photos appear on the cover, which is actually a separate four-page broadsheet touting Sunday's premiere of the show's second season. ---

Full Article:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gCN5lK6rXviUTebCoRD-Yp4W3ixAD98PD4900

Tags: Articles, Marketing, True Blood

/ True Blood's Carrie Preston gives RadarOnline.com exclusive all access to her house, her hubby (Michael Emerson of Lost), and the red hot premiere party preps.

Only RadarOnline.com cameras went behind the scenes with Carrie Tuesday night as she showed us what it takes to get red carpet ready....there's the perfectly coiffed blonde 'do, she's ditched the dark wig that Arlene's sassy single mom wears. Her digits are just plain devilish with a burst of bright red polish. And then there's her crimson-colored satin sheath. Carrie confessed just to us that she rarely wears red, she's more a fan of pink and black.

Even her husband, who normally is dressed in blood-stained shirts as Lost's diabolical Ben, got in the vampire spirit with a matching red tie. /

Full Article & Video:
http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/06/exclusive-celebrity-video-blog-true-bloods-carrie-preston-lost-hubby-michael

Tags: Articles, Carrie Preston, Video, True Blood

/ As promised, Movieline hit up the Young Hollywood Awards last night, a ceremony dedicated to honoring Tinseltown’s best and brightest (and youngest!). We witnessed heartfelt acceptance speeches and a knockout performance by Naturi Naughton from the upcoming Fame remake before moving on to a DJ AM-spun afterparty that Young Hollywood Artist of the Year Adam Lambert prefaced with, “I hope somebody buys me a drink.” No need, Adam — they were free! /

Full Article & Video:
http://www.movieline.com/2009/06/movieline-on-the-scene-evan-rachel-wood-on-true-blood-and-lesbian-lovers.php

Tags: Articles, Video, Evan Rachel Wood, True Blood

/ Sure, Twilight and True Blood are vampire stories that include romance, violence and the constant struggle between good and evil.
Even so, they're very different.
"They're completely different age groups that they're trying to appeal to," says Oscar winner Anna Paquin, who stars in HBO's True Blood as mind-reading Sookie Stackhouse. "It wouldn't be appropriate for teenagers to be watching our show. I wouldn't have been allowed to." /

Full Article:
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/marc_malkin/b128831_anna_paquin_true_blood_twilight_not_same.html

Additional:
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/marc_malkin/b128689_bite_this_true_blood_partying_in.html

Tags: Articles, Anna Paquin, True Blood

/ Sookie’s (Anna Paquin) world may have gotten a jolt once vampire Bill (Stephen Moyer) entered her diner, but she makes sure he knows she doesn’t need him to be her dashing savior prince, no matter how charming he may be. /

Full Article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31087539/

Tags: Articles, True Blood

/ IESB: How did you originally become a part of True Blood? Was it just through the regular auditioning process?

Deborah: Yeah. Well, I came on as a guest star, originally. I got sides, auditioned once and I don’t think I had a callback. Alan Ball was in the room, with the director and the writers, and I just did these two absolutely crazy scenes. One was at a junkyard and the other was in the woods, and I was really in an office. I remember that I was rolling around on the ground and just trying to be as generally weird as I could get. And then, three or four days later, I was on set filming. It was a really fast process. I had an audition and a table read, and that was it. It was great, though. It was a nice, low pressure way to get into it. It was a guest star audition, like any other, that ended up becoming something that has been really great, for the past couple of months.

IESB: For those who might not be familiar with the series yet, can you talk about who your character is and how she fits into the overall story?

Deborah: Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) is Sookie’s (Anna Paquin) boyfriend now, for good and for real. In order to save her life, he killed a vampire, so he went to a tribunal hearing and his punishment for taking a vampire life was to make a new vampire life. So, they kidnapped my character, Jessica, who’s this poor, innocent, little God-fearing child, and Bill turned her. Just when you think she’s going to be devastated by the turn of events, she’s actually thrilled because her life at home was not what she wanted. It was very oppressed, and she did not feel free to be who she was or express her feelings. Particularly being 17 and in that situation, I can only imagine when you already have to repress everything you’re thinking and saying, to have someone going further and telling you that what you’re thinking and feeling is wrong, is an incredibly difficult and lonely situation. As soon as she’s turned, there’s a freedom that comes with that, and a sense that maybe she will finally get to be herself. Never again is she going to let anybody tell her what to do or how to do it, or who she’s supposed to be. /

Full Article:
http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7007&Itemid=99

Tags: Articles, Deborah Ann Woll, True Blood

/ These interviews with actors Alexander Skarsgård, who plays Viking vampire Eric Northman, and Stephen Moyer, who plays Southern vampire Bill Compton, were conducted by E! News at the True Blood season-two premiere party at the Paramount lot in Hollywood on the evening of June 9, 2009. /

Full Article & Videos:
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b128607_true_blood_eric_bill_talk_season_two.html

Tags: Articles, Video, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgard, True Blood

Bill Keveney of USA Today has done a rather large article on True Blood that will, reportedly, be in the Thursday edition. It's already available online and features a couple small quotes from yours truly.

"The series appeals to John Folden, who runs the true-blood.tv fan website, partly because it doesn't overemphasize the vampires' differences. "Its vampire characters don't hate who they are, they're living openly among society," Folden says. "The show doesn't really turn them into heroes or demonize them. They're just like everyone else, and some of the most horrific events are actually acted out by the mortal characters."

Full Article:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-06-10-true-blood_N.htm

Tags: Articles, John T. Folden, True Blood

The weekend-long event debuts August 14th –16th, 2009 in Hollywood, CA. Vampire-Con kicks off on Friday and Saturday with a Vampire Film Festival at the New Beverly Cinema featuring special guests and prizes.

On Sunday, Vampire-Con moves to The Music Box Theatre @ Fonda for a day of celebrity panel discussions, vampire merchandise and contests. Topics of discussion will include TRUE BLOOD, TWILIGHT and more!

More Info:
http://www.vampire-con.com/

Tags: Convention

/ Undead bloodsuckers have never been more appealing.
Or more human.
Sure, vampires still troll the night, feed on blood and keep secrets from all but the most remarkable of human beings.
But when the vampires of HBO rise again Sunday for a second helping of the horror romance True Blood, they will also find themselves mired in the more mundane realities of mortality.
They will fight with — and make up with — their girlfriends, highlight their hair and worry about ruining their favorite pumps.
It’s the price of revealing themselves to the world, or at least the fictional Louisiana town of Bon Temps, where the action is centered.
“I think the vampires are like humans in many ways,” True Blood executive producer Alan Ball said in a conference-call press conference last week. “There are a lot of law-abiding peaceful vampires … and then there are those who just want everything.”
And by everything, Ball means power, money and blood. /

Full Article:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/features/6467425.html

Tags: Articles, True Blood

Looks like Vampire Bill needs your helps, folks!

/ Robert Pattinson heats up the big screen as Edward Cullen in "Twilight," while Stephen Moyer displays his dark side as vampire Bill Compton in HBO's "True Blood."

Both of the bloodsuckers have denied the dark side of feeding off humans -- and both have a smoldering human love interest to share the screen!

Tell "Extra" -- Which vampire gets your blood rushing? /

Vote: http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2009/06/vote_who_is_the_hottest_vampir.php

Tags: Articles, Stephen Moyer, True Blood

/ If BMW says it, it must be true: vampires are among us.

BMW’s MINI Cooper is just one of the real products being marketed in a faux campaign for vampires, coinciding with the second-season premiere of HBO’s vampire drama -- “True Blood.”

The MINI ads feature blood-red versions of the MINI Cooper and the MINI Clubman with headlines like “Feel the Wind in Your Fangs” and “Type GO.” /

Full Article:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/uptospeed/2009/06/the-trueblood-mini-convertible-exclusively-for-vampires.html

Bill Gorman at TV By The Numbers talks about the second week sales figure for the True Blood Season 1 DVD set:

/ In it’s second week in DVD release, HBO’s True Blood piled on another nearly $7 million in DVD sales for a total of $26 million after 2 weeks to continue to lead all TV shows in DVD sales for the week ending May 31, 2009, and fell just 2 spots to #6 overall among all DVD sales. /

Full Article:
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/06/08/true-blood-dvd-sales-dwarf-those-of-the-closer/20326

Tags: Articles, DVD, True Blood

Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin took part in an article and a dazzling cover shoot for the June 15th, 2009 issue of TV Guide.

/ Unless you’ve been locked in a coffin lately, you know the hit HBO vampire drama True Blood helped ignite a true romance between stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer. As telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse and Civil War–era bloodsucker Bill Compton, their sizzle is undeniable. “Our characters have had f---ing lust, romantic sex, emotional sex...” Moyer says. But as the show returns for Season 2, “it’s more like a normal relationship. They argue. But there’s a yang to that yin. There’s makeup sex.” Phew. Who wants to see these hot supernaturals paying bills and shopping at Wal-Mart? /

Full Article:
http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/feature/bloody-valentines-1373.html

...and here’s a video of the True Blood cast on the set of their cover shoot for TV Guide:


For more with Anna, Stephen and the rest of the cast, pick up the June 15 issue of TV Guide Magazine, on stands now!

Tags: Articles, Video, Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin, True Blood

The just released True Blood Season 1 DVD set has sold a massive number of copies n it’s initial days of availability. Bill and Robert over at tvbythenumbers.com have noted just how amssive they really are...

/ Our first look at the list finds HBO’s True Blood leading TV shows with a huge first week of over $17 million in sales for the week ending May 24, 2009, and at #4 overall among all DVD sales. Three other TV shows identified, at least somewhat, with cult followings, 24, WWE:Wrestlemania XXV and Friday Night Lights are also in the top 30 DVD sellers for the week.
...
...there is definitely a story to be told. Those numbers are higher than the estimates for the first week of sales for the second season of Heroes, and MASSIVELY higher than first week sales of shows like Weeds, Dexter, Entourage and Burn Notice (by like 4x-8x!). They are not far behind first week sales for shows like LOST (which is definitely a DVD hit)... /

Full Article:
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/06/07/true-blood/20229
Sales source: http://www.the-numbers.com/

Tags: Articles, DVD, True Blood

/ "I'm gonna ask everyone to clear the set who is not actually dying on it," yells Scottie Gissel, a first assistant director for HBO's hit vampire series " True Blood," which launches into its second season of sensational Gothic gore and lusty, undead romance next Sunday. (Viewers will see the scene of explosive destruction that Gissel is stage-managing late in the season.) /

Full Article:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-true-blood7-2009jun07,0,4462352.story

Tags: Articles, True Blood

/ BuddyTV spoke to William Sanderson about his career and the new season of True Blood. Sanderson talked about vampires, his guest appearance on this season of Lost, and an upcoming Starz documentary about character actors he'll be appearing in.
...
If you get one of these new scripts do you pour through it right away and say, "Uh oh. Am I gonna die in this episode?"

WS: Absolutely. I hate to admit it. Some of these wonderful actors admitted they wanted to see how long their characters' survived. But one stays ready for the inevitable and in spite of having nightmares of inadequacy I'll be alright. I worked with Tommy Lee Jones a lot - six jobs I survived . He said "We'll be alright if we die tomorrow." He also said I had a lot to be humble about.


Well at least if you died on this show, theoretically you could come back as a vampire. Would you want to play a vampire on the show?

WS: I'll do anything to be on TV, John. My wife should get a residual either way. I just love working for HBO. I think they hire good people - especially the writers and creators - and stay out of their way. They've certainly been good to me. /

Full Article:
http://www.buddytv.com/articles/true-blood/exclusive-interview-with-true-29151.aspx

Tags: Articles, William Sanderson, True Blood

/ Romance will also be in the air - and in the swamps of Louisiana - on "True Blood." HBO will kick off the show's second season on June 14 with the episode "Nothing But the Blood," which will herald the arrival of Jones as Daphne, who lands a job as a waitress at Merlotte's, working alongside the telepathic waitress Sookie (Anna Paquin) and their boss, Sam (Sam Trammell).

"Daphne is a very interesting character," Jones said. "She's introduced as a really lovely country girl. I see her living probably in someone's garage apartment or in the back of a trailer. She's kind of a gypsy and needs a job, so she wants to waitress at Merlotte's.

"She's not the best waitress. She's a very flawed character, and within those flaws she's charming and she definitely charms the pants off of Sam." /

Full Article:
http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=141609

Tags: Articles, Ashley Jones, True Blood

/ This season, Jason gets involved with anti-vampire sect Fellowship of the Sun, which he later discovers has a really dark side. In this exclusive interview, Ryan Kwanten spoke about his character’s new storyline, along with his role as an animated character in Zack Snyder’s(Watchmen) upcoming film, Guardians of Ga’Hoole.

IESB: Without giving anything away, what can viewers expect from Season 2 of True Blood?

Ryan: The tone will still be True Blood, in its essence, but the series has expanded enormously. If we opened the door in the first season, we’ve kicked it down this year. There are more characters and more worlds. This show has moved into Dallas, so it’s cutting back and forth between Dallas and Bon Temps. And, the madness will and does ensue.

IESB: Is Season 2 a more emotional, vulnerable, soul-searching season for Jason Stackhouse?

Ryan: Absolutely! You couldn’t have put it better, actually. He’s looking for a real sense of who he is, of belonging and his purpose in the world. In Season 2, he thinks he’s found it, until cracks start appearing. But, he’s definitely trying to mend his wayward ways. Anything that he does is always out of a sense of innocence. When he hit Sookie in the first season, and a bunch of other things that he did that would not be considered right or good, just because of his innocence and his childlike nature, he can be forgiven. There’s redeeming qualities in there. /

Full Article:
http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_ezine&task=read&page=1&category=2&article=6971

Tags: Articles, Ryan Kwanten, True Blood

/ We just spoke exclusively with True Blood's leading man, Stephen Moyer, aka Bill Compton himself, to find out what's in store for the vampires of the dirty, dirty South in season two. He told us that while there will be just as many near-pornographic sex scenes, his character is still primarily driven by an overiding morality and an abiding passion for Sookie Stackhouse.

Read on to find out what he told us about sex scenes, his "hideous" vampire daughter and falling in love with Anna Paquin, onscreen and off...

Is True Blood going to stay as explicitly sexual this season or will you dial that back a bit?

Stephen: The show is ridiculously f--king sexy…I think Alan Ball and the writers do very well in pushing the envelope. I think one of the things that drives me nuts about society is that you can watch hours about terrorists but you can't look at a human nipple. What the f--k is that about? Sex is part of our lives. It's part of our existence. So I kind of embrace the fact that we hit it full on the head. /

Full Article:
http://au.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b127160_true_blood_shes_given_him_reason_live.html

Tags: Articles, Stephen Moyer, True Blood

/ What's coming up on season two? Is it based a lot on the books?

Stephen Moyer: We follow the skeleton of the books. We follow the same patterns and ideas of the book. But there's a new character, Jessica. There are new things in the story. Yes, we follow the skeleton of the book, but Alan and this team of writers are taking it to a place that I certainly didn't know existed. It is insane. I can't describe it but I don't think there has ever been anything like it before on television. I'm very proud of it.

More insane than season one? That's going to be tough.

Stephen Moyer: You are in for a ride. We've seen up to episode three and I came out thoroughly moved by it, and shocked at how brilliant it is. It seems like every episode is getting better, better, and better. I really do think this season is going to be a very difficult one to beat.

What about Bill and Sookie?

Stephen Moyer: Well, I know what happens in book three. There is in book three and at the end of book two a triangle developing between Bill, Sookie, and Eric. That is definitely present on our show, and rightly so, because you can't watch two people be incredibly happy for 12 episodes. You might as well be making a sitcom. That is not our show. There has to be conflict. I think the show works, Alan puts characters in conflict. He puts little obstacles in their way and sees how they deal with them, and their loved ones, to see how their partners react when they are given those. I think that is really interesting to watch as an audience. /

Full Article:
http://www.daemonstv.com/2009/06/01/stephen-moyer-from-true-blood-exclusive-interview/

Tags: Articles, Stephen Moyer, True Blood

" The formula of small-town life regularly disrupted by the supernatural world — and some mind-blowing sex with vampires — has propelled Ms. Harris through nine Sookie novels. For her latest three-book contract, of which “Dead and Gone” is the second, Ms. Harris was paid a seven-figure advance.

The books have also spawned “True Blood,” the HBO adaptation created by Alan Ball, the maestro of “Six Feet Under.” The first season of the series, which roughly followed “Dead Until Dark,” concluded last fall as the cable network’s most popular show since “The Sopranos” and “Sex and the City.” The new season, based on the second novel in the series, “Living Dead in Dallas,” begins on June 14.

This heady brew of success has allowed Ms. Harris, 57, some luxuries: earlier this year she hired her longtime best friend as her personal assistant. She bought a diamond ring. And this year, because of Julia’s graduation, she could afford the ultimate indulgence: she refused to go on a book tour.

“It was just a huge relief that I finally hit on the right character and the right publisher,” said Ms. Harris, who had previously written two mystery series that never quite took off. Or, as she put it more succinctly, with a cackle that evoked a paranormal creature: “I had this real neener-neener-neener moment.” "

Full Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/books/20sook.html?_r=1&ref=arts

Tags: Articles, Charlaine Harris, True Blood

"TT: Throughout the first season of True Blood, your character -- though we didn't see an awful lot of him -- seemed to evolve from a character a bit like your "Larry" character in Newhart, to someone who's a lot more wise and competent than we were first led to believe. Was there talk of developing the character as the season wore on?

WS: I'm grateful for the time I got on it, and not to be arrogant but I'm keeping the money. I think the second season will even be better with some new vampires and more craziness, if you will.

But, no, that was all on a need to know basis, and I'm still learning. When I get to work with Alan Ball, the creator, I really try to be a sponge, but, for me it was a thrill to play what was -- at least ostensibly -- a normal person: I'm clean shaven and I don't wear dirty clothes. But if you read the books, there's not a lot on Sheriff Dearborne, but people have told me he's a voice of reason (and that's another irony with me). But it's fun to play a normal person.

TT:And this is on a series filled with vampires and, as we later learn, other sorts of beasts, and Bud Dearborne seems to somehow ground the whole series in reality, while everyone else is interacting with the supernatural. Is this your first role in this kind of show?

WS: No... but it's the first one anybody will see without staying up 'til 4am, I guess. The supernatural [element], it's set in the near future, if you can imagine, where the vampires have "come out of the coffin." But, I can't recall -- I've done a number of sci-fi projects, and one was a great thrill and still a cult film. But I've never done anything like this. I look at it as providential, or a gift from God. I'm a greybeard, and lucky to get this job. "

Full Interview:
http://www.the-trades.com/article.php?id=11117

Tags: Articles, William Sanderson, True Blood

" JW: What's it like working with the actors on the set?
TL: It’s great and everyone on the set is very professional and I feel privileged to be among this talented group of people. They are all prettier than me and that makes me feel doubly flattered.

JW: You don’t think you’re a pretty person?
TL: I try to retain water. I work at it, but not as hard as I should.

Todd and I are laughing out loud as he lights his cigarette from a space heater that is keeping us warm while drinking Irish Cream coffees.

JW: What can the audience expect for Season 2 of TRUE BLOOD?
TL: I am contractually bound not to disclose any upcoming spoilers for Season 2. I’m dying to tell someone. I can’t even tell my mom who uses my cousins to get information out of me. I can tell you this much just based on last season that Terry’s coming back and appears to have a developing relationship with Arlene (played by Carrie Preston). "

Full Interview:
http://www.lasplash.com/publish/Celebrity_Talk_102/One-On-One_Interview_with_Actor_Todd_Lowe_-.php

Tags: Articles, Todd Lowe, True Blood

InsideView: Bruce Dunn, co-producer HBO series True Blood
Markee

"Bruce Dunn has co-produced Strange Love, Tell Me You Love Me, Local Color, Kingdom Hospital, and has associate produced Californication, The Path to 9/11, Desperation, Sleeper Cell, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, Rose Red, Storm of the Century, The Siege at Ruby Ridge, and Sophie & the Moonhanger.

Markee: HBO’s new hit series, True Blood, from Alan Ball, gives a new twist to the vampire legend. With the development of synthetic blood, vampires have come out of the coffin to be integrated with mortal culture in rural Louisiana. Did you shoot there at all?
Dunn: We shot in Shreveport to get big-value local exteriors: the town of Bon Temps, the trailer that a tornado supposedly hit surrounded by those mossy trees we love, the exterior of Jason’s and Bill’s houses. We’re definitely going back to block shoot for the second season – it’s important for Alan to be where Charlaine Harris set her Sookie Stackhouse books. Louisiana’s tax incentives are icing on the cake, and the crews supporting us there are top-notch.

Since the second book in the series is called Living Dead in Dallas, it’s likely we’ll do doing a bit of shooting in Dallas, too.

MARKEE: Right from the opening titles – a collage of images ranging from bayous and evangelicals to sexy dancers and road kill – the audience knows it’s in for a different viewing experience.
Dunn: Digital Kitchen did the title montage. They worked on the opening sequence for Six Feet Under so Alan had a relationship with them. Their storyboards for the initial presentation blew us away – they really caught the flavor of what we were looking for. One of the mandates was to sell Louisiana, to let viewers know they were going to see something quirky and visit locations they’d never been to before."

Full Article:
http://www.markeemag.com/site/MMdepartments1.php#inview


One-On-One Interview with Actor Todd Lowe
By Jerod Williams
Splash Magazines Worldwide

"JW: What can the audience expect for Season 2 of TRUE BLOOD?
TL: I am contractually bound not to disclose any upcoming spoilers for Season 2. I’m dying to tell someone. I can’t even tell my mom who uses my cousins to get information out of me. I can tell you this much just based on last season that Terry’s coming back and appears to have a developing relationship with Arlene (played by Carrie Preston).

JW: Does your theatre background work better for you in either television or film ?
TL: I would have to say television. Television is a medium that I prefer and I am able to improvise. There is a rhythm and an arc and a pace that feels comfortable. There is something about doing a television table read that feels like reading a stage play. I’m thankful for having a theatre background because as an actor, you can sense the pulse of your audience whether it is with the director, the writer, the studio heads, etc. At this point in my career, I haven’t done enough film to know if I am good at it. I’m more of a character actor and I put a lot of myself into playing oddballs. "

Full Article:
http://www.lasplash.com/publish/Celebrity_Talk_102/One-On-One_Interview_with_Actor_Todd_Lowe_-.php


True Blood grabs audiences by the jugular
By Erica Thompson
The Courier-Mail

"THERE'S one major drawback to being a vampire in Los Angeles.

"I wasn't allowed to go into the sun because my character's white," laments British actor Stephen Moyer, who plays a 173-year-old blood sucker in raunchy US drama True Blood.

"After a while I was like, 'Come on, guys. I'm in LA! I live by the beach. Let me play'.

"Then of course I started getting the LA permatan and got in big trouble.""

Full Article:
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25002140-7642,00.html


Paquin: Not Exactly Bloodthirsty
By Tom Gilbert
TV Week

"Blink has heard of low-carb diets, but this borders on the extreme. According to Dan Rebert, a creature and prosthetics make-up artist with MastersFX, which just signed on to do effects for a second season of HBO’s “True Blood,” star Anna Paquin is way conscientious about what she consumes on the set, even in character.

“Alan Ball requested of us during the first season that any time Anna Paquin needs to drink ‘blood’ on set, we have to ensure that our special-effects blood is carb-free...."

Full Article:
http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/blink/2009/01/paquin_not_exactly_bloodthirst.php


2009 MPSE Golden Reel Award Nominees: Television

"Best Sound Editing: Short Form Dialogue and ADR in Television

CALIFORNICATION “The Raw and the Cooked”
CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION “Bull”
CSI: NY “Hostage #421”
FRINGE “Safe”
LOST “Confirmed Dead #402”
MAD MEN “The Jet Set”
THE TUDORS “Episode 210”
TRUE BLOOD “The Fourth Man in the Fire"

The Awards will be presented February 21, 2009:
Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites
404 S. Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071

Full List Of Nominees:
http://www.mpse.org/goldenreels/2009awards/2009tvnominees.html


20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Nominees

"OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
The L Word (Showtime)
South of Nowhere (The N)
Torchwood (BBC America)
True Blood (HBO)"

Winners will be awarded their trophies during a trio of ceremonies in New York (March 28th), Los Angeles (April 18th) and San Francisco (May 9th).

Full list of nominees:
http://www.glaad.org/mediaawards/20thAnnual/nominees.php


HBO Asia Takes Personalisation To New Levels
by Daryl Tay
Unique-Frequency.com

"Earlier this year, I got an email from Yin Qi from HBO Asia, who I met at a Social Media Breakfast, asking me if I was back from exchange and that HBO had a little something to send me for the new year. I replied yes and provided them with my address. When the package came, I was pleasantly surprised to find not one, but two True Blood calendars..."

Full Article:
http://uniquefrequency.com/2009/01/22/hbo-asia-takes-personalisation-to-new-levels/


Ad-On: 'Q' Score May Suggest Better TV Performance
by Wayne Friedman
Media Post News

"Emotionally bonded to your TV show? That may mean more to advertisers than just pure TV viewership.
Marketing Evaluations' Q Scores says high emotional bonding to TV shows is a better indication of future TV performance. In a recent study with its new metric, "Emotional Bonding Q scores," a number of scripted cable dramas posted better emotional levels than broadcast TV shows among women viewers.

Showtime's "Dexter," Sci-Fi Channel's "Sanctuary," ABC Family's "The Middleman" and HBO's "True Blood" bested all top broadcast TV shows. With a 100 index being average, "Dexter" hit a 174 index with females 18-49, the highest of any TV show. "Sanctuary" had a 171, "Middleman" was at 168 and "True Blood" earned a 157."

Full Article:
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=98834

Tags: Articles, Stephen Moyer, Todd Lowe, Tru Blood

Press Release – for immediate release:

Brentwood Theatre congratulates ANNA PAQUIN - best known for winning an Oscar at the age of 11 for her role in THE PIANO and for playing Rogue in X-MEN – on her winning the 2009 Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Drama, HBO’s TRUE BLOOD. Ms. Paquin plays Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic Louisiana waitress who falls for a vampire with a conscience.

And playing that vampire is Essex’s own STEPHEN MOYER, Patron of Brentwood Theatre!

Attending the ceremony with Ms. Paquin, Stephen commented, “I am so pleased for Anna. This series has been so well received in America, and it is great that the critics recognise its impact. Last week, we started filming Season Two, which takes us through until July. I am hoping to return to Brentwood in April when TRUE BLOOD launches in the UK on The FX Channel.”

TRUE BLOOD is a rather raunchy, utterly captivating story of vampires freely “living” among humans, thanks to the discovery of synthetic blood. Alan Ball – writer and creator of HBO’s acclaimed SIX FEET UNDER and Academy Award winning AMERICAN BEAUTY – dramatically adapted the popular Southern Vampire books written by Charlaine Harris, whose heroine’s supernatural abilities make her a target by all manner of night creatures.

Through Steve's Patronage of Brentwood Theatre, TRUE BLOOD fans have donated nearly four thousand pounds in two months - including a generous donation from author Charlaine Harris. These kind gifts to “STEPHEN’s FUND” will be invested in the completion of the community facilities at the Theatre. The final fitting-out, including a new multi-purpose community room, should be completed by Easter.

Before hitting the big-time, Steve was directed by Gaynor Wilson, who now runs youth group BOSSY, the first group to perform after the rebuilding with “FAME” -- which Stephen came along to see in November.

When asked about his protégé’s success, Gaynor said, “BOSSY are delighted for Steve on the success of TRUE BLOOD and send all of their good wishes for Season Two. The students can't wait to see it! Also, many congratulations to Steve’s co-star Anna Paquin on winning the Golden Globe!”

“The fantastic responses from their American fans and supporters is quite overwhelming. 'Stephen's Fund' will make such a difference to companies like BOSSY, who will be putting the new community room to such good use during production week for 'Ain't Life Good!' at the end of April… which we hope with any luck will coincide with Steve's return for the UK's 'True Blood' launch, so that he can see the show.”

BOSSY is the youth acting section of the Brentwood Operatic Society, comprised of boys and girls between the ages of 11-16 years who audition for participation. They are among forty-plus non-professional organizations that call Brentwood Theatre home.

Naming a brick and/or obtaining a signed certificate from Stephen are still options! For more information, please contact mark@brentwood-theatre.org or Jean, Volunteer Fundraising Coordinator for Brentwood Theatre, at laprov@optonline.net

Tags: Stephen Moyer, True Blood

MastersFX Signed to Create Creature & Monster FX for Second Season of “True Blood”
By D West
Digital Content Producer

"Creature & prosthetics makeup FX artist Dan Rebert and the team at Todd Masters’ MastersFX — considered by many film and TV producers to be Hollywood’s leading “Creature and Monster Makers”—have been signed to continue their work on HBO’s “True Blood” for that hit TV series’ second season.

In the afterlife of MastersFX’s Emmy Award winning work during the entire run of an earlier HBO original series, “Six Feet Under,” the company rejoined that show’s creator / executive producer, Alan Ball, by producing creature and prosthetic FX for the first season of Ball’s popular new series “True Blood.” For the second season of “True Blood,” MastersFX will continue to create the original characters and special makeup effects featured in the show."

Ful Article:
http://blog.digitalcontentproducer.com/briefingroom/2009/01/19/mastersfx-signed-to-create-creature-monster-fx-for-second-season-of-true-blood/


Is double counting Nielsen numbers the new black? It seems to be for cable shows
By Robert Seidman
TV By The Numbers

"I keep seeing stories about how the premiere of The Beast on Thursday drew 3.6 million viewers. And while it’s true, it took two episodes to do it. The actual premiere at 10pm averaged 2.4 million and a re-broadcast of the premiere immediately following the premiere averaged 1.2 million. I’ve seen this method of counting used for other cable shows from Damages to HBO’s True Blood and Showtime’s Dexter.
I don’t really have a problem with the accounting for shows like The Beast and Damages, as it seems to be the case that the advertising is sold across the multiple airings. But it is misleading in terms of actual viewership. It also begs the question of opportunity cost."

Full Article:
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/01/18/is-double-counting-nielsen-numbers-the-new-black-it-seems-to-be-for-cable-shows/11070

Tags: Articles, True Blood

Does a 'True Blood' win signal an HBO comeback?
By Scott Collins
LA Times

"Anna Paquin's win as the telepath Sookie Stackhouse in "True Blood" therefore stood out. She wasn't a shoo-in (although two of her competitors, Kyra Sedgwick and Mariska Hargitay, have already won Globes for their roles), and the series itself has earned mixed critical reaction and so-so ratings. (As in so many other ways, cable seems to be topping network TV when it comes to quality of material available for female actors; a network show hasn't taken home the best actress award since Geena Davis for 2005's "Commander in Chief." )

Full Article:
http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/globes/env-et-globestv12-2009jan12,0,2933145.story


Why Are Vampires So Damn Sexy?
By Annalee Newitz
io9

"the HBO series True Blood, based on a series of novels about the adventures of a psychic detective and her vampire lover who died during the Civil War. Though the show may be corny at times, and the whole vampire rights/gay rights subplot is clumsy at best, it's still red-hot sexy. There's gay vampire action, plus straight vampires having sex and sucking blood at the same time in a graveyard. I dare you to watch main character Sookie in her see-through nightgown being sucked on by loverboy Bill, without getting a little fanged out yourself."

Full Article:
http://io9.com/5124225/why-are-vampires-so-damn-sexy


Daemon’s TV™ Top 10 TV Shows of 2008
Daemon's TV

"#1 True Blood

If you have been a regular reader (first off thanks!), you probably guessed this would be our #1 favorite show. It had been a while since I was looking forward to episodes of a TV show week after week so impatiently, but True Blood did that for me. I actually got quite a few people into the show, oh no wait let me rephrase that, I got quite a few people obsessed with the show."

Full Article:
http://www.daemonstv.com/2009/01/07/daemons-tv™-top-10-tv-shows-of-2008/

Tags: Articles, True Blood

Hello everyone, I hope all of you had a terrific holiday season. Only a few days into the new year and there's already a juicy backlog of True Blood related news. Here are some of the highlights:

Anna Paquin and Nelsan Ellis Win 2008 13th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards

The Award for "TV/ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION" goes to True Blood's Nelsan Ellis for his wonderful portrayal of Lafayette!

The award for "TV/ACTRESS IN A SERIES, DRAMA" goes to True Blood's Anna Paquin in the role of Sookie!

Congratulations!

Full Listing:
http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2008.shtml


THE FUN-DEAD: ALAN BALL, HBO AND AUTHOR CHARLAINE HARRIS HAVE MADE US ALL WANT TO BE VAMPIRES AGAIN WITH TRUE BLOOD.
by Mr. Norman Maine
SOHO Journal

"So you think Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) and HBO have made vampires cool again? Wrong. They may have brought it to your attention but it’s the eight great books by author Charlaine Harris that’s really brought vampires back and
made us all want to be one…again. It’s the continuing saga of the adorable Sookie Stackhouse, with her ‘disability’ (she can read minds), her merry band of Southern-fried friends and family, of course, vampires.

These books are so much fun that you’ll want to go from one to the next right away and honestly, you should."

Full Article:
http://www.sohojournal.com/?p=1600


Best Shows Of 2008: True Blood
TV Guide

"Alan Ball read our minds, Sookie Stackhouse-style: We didn't know we were looking for a love story/true-crime mystery about Southern gothic vampires, but now that we have it, we're in true love."

Full Article:
http://www.tvguide.com/special/best-of-year-2008/galleries.aspx?gallery=Best-Shows-1000372&page=10


A West Virginia werewolf in L.A.: Charleston product talks about life as a shapeshifter in HBO's 'True Blood'
By Bill Lynch
The Charleston Gazette

"Trammell has been a very busy guy, with guest appearances on other television shows, such as "Law and Order," as well as the occasional daytime talk show. He's busy, but not too busy to talk to the gazz to let people back home know he's doing just fine, even if the crowd he's been seen running with lately are a bunch of bloodsuckers.
"'True Blood' is definitely the biggest thing I've ever done," he said. "I love working with Alan Ball. He's one of the best writers for television, and it's fun. The show is set in an edgy, swampy gothic world. It's scary and bloody, but there's a lot of dark comedy."

That's not even the best part.

He laughed, "The studio where we shoot 'True Blood' is less than a mile from where I live.""

Full Article:
http://wvgazette.com/Entertainment/television/200812170603


Best was worst ... and worst even worse in fall TV season
By Ted Cox
Daily Herald

"1) "True Blood" - HBO's vampire drama came on at first like a soft-core-porn "Dark Shadows," but it found writer-creator Alan Ball, formerly of "Six Feet Under," developing a new set of expressions for his old obsessions. Late in the season it also developed a sense of itself and, even more important, a sense of self-deprecating humor reminiscent of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." It's easily the best of a bad bunch."

Full Article:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=258492


Top 100 People of 2008
By Whitney Matheson
USA Today

"17. Nelsan Ellis. As gay, drug-dealing chef Lafayette on HBO's True Blood, he's the show's most complex and compelling character. (He's also one of the few actors on the series who doesn't speak with a mangled Southern accent, so he gets extra points there.)"

Full Article:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2008/12/20-rob-pattinso.html


Ryan Kwanten on Guardians of Ga'Hoole
The Daily Telegraph

"Ryan Kwanten is back home to voice a character in the animated feature Guardians of Ga'Hoole. Kwanten arrived in Australia a week ago and went straight to work in a sound booth at Sydney-based production firm Animal Logic, the masterminds behind the Academy Award-winning hit Happy Feet."

Full Article:
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24842348-5006002,00.html


Trueblood: Internet Marketing Story of the Year
Posted By Matt O'Hern
Marketing Shift

"Jason Dowdell wrote the first Trueblood plost after he received an unusual package containing a vial full of red liquid along with a small card with Japanese writing on it and a URL. Eventually, Jason realized it was HBO's creative media pack to promote the new series, Trueblood.

Before we knew it, readers were hooked on the HBO hit series about modern vampires."

Full Article:
http://www.marketingshift.com/2009/1/trueblood-internet-marketing-story-year.cfm

Tags: Articles, Anna Paquin, Nelsan Ellis, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell, Marketing, True Blood

Courtesy of James Hibbard at The Live Feed/The Hollywood Reporter:

"With HBO's vampire thriller "True Blood" earning a Golden Globes nomination today for outstanding drama series (take that, Buffy!), creator Alan Ball dropped a few hints about what fans can expect in Season 2.

(Spoilers here for those who haven't finished the first season yet).

"Jason goes into the Fellowship of the Sun church in a big way and is surprised by what he finds there. There's a new creature in town that is unlike any other. Nobody knows what this creature is, I’m not sure if it will be entirely explained in the show -- it’s not a werewolf. There are new romances for Tara, Jason and Sara. Bill and Sookie have a lot of issues to sort out -- including having made a new teenage vampire that’s living in their house. Bill and Sookie also go to Dallas to find one of their own who has gone missing.""

Full Article:
http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/12/true-blood-seco.html

Tags: Articles, Spoiler, S02E01, True Blood

Alexander Skarsgard Takes Your Questions
Uinterview

"Q: There’s a lot of sex and violence on the show. I was wondering what your feelings are regarding this. Have there been any scenes that made you pause at all?
-Micah, Boston
A: No, Micah, I did not hesitate at all. I’m Scandinavian, damn it. We love to be naked! It was kind of liberating. I’ve worked on movies before when people come with contracts–20 pages–if you show this nipple from this angle, but not that one. I did not grow up in that kind of movie climate. It’s quite different in Sweden. I don’t mind it all. Nudity is great!"



Full Article:
http://www.uinterview.com/videos.php?i=40


'True Blood' actor Nelsan Ellis credits Thornridge teachers with on- and off-screen success
By Andrew Herrmann
Sun Times News Group

"When actor Nelsan Ellis is on the set of HBO's vampire saga "True Blood," show producer Alan Ball says, "We all just stand back and point the camera in his direction.''

Ellis, Ball has said, "channels from his own planet.''

Ellis is, of course, from this planet. He grew up in the south suburbs -- metamorphosing from troublemaker to an artist commanding critical acclaim and expanding parts.

For that, he credits two of his teachers at Thornridge High School in Dolton. Without their support, he figures, he would have ended up just another statistic."

Full Article:
http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/people/1294133,CST-NWS-blood23.article


Music man sets the mood
By Geoff Boucher
LA Times

"Meet Gary Calamar, a man whose hilltop home has a garage with sliding shelves three-deep to handle just the old stuff in his CD library. Calamar is a sort of Mr. Sunday Night when it comes to handpicked music; there's his KCRW-FM (89.9) show "The Open Road," and it's also the night HBO airs " True Blood," the vampire show that has music in the, uh, spooky vein but also songs speaking to the Louisiana setting.

"True Blood," which has its season finale tonight and has been renewed for a second season, is part of a string of shows Calamar has worked on, along with " House, M.D.," "Six Feet Under," " Weeds," "Dexter" and " Entourage.""

Full Article:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-ca-newcalamar23-2008nov23,0,7559819.story


Taste For 'Blood': HBO's vampire series has slowly built an audience
By David Bauder
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS / Winston-Salem Journal

"Catching the wave of a public fascination with vampires, HBO's True Blood has steadily increased in stature to become the cable network's most popular series since The Sopranos and Sex and the City.
Based on the series of Sookie Stackhouse novels written by Charlaine Harris and starring Anna Paquin in the lead character's role, True Blood has increased its Sunday-night viewership by 66 percent since its debut in September."

Full Article:
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/nov/23/taste-for-blood-hbos-vampire-series-has-slowly-bui/


HBO Draws 2.4 Million For `Blood’ Finale
By R. Thomas Umstead
Multichannel News

"More than 2 million viewers sampled the Nov. 23 finale of HBO’s vampire-tinged True Blood drama series.

The series, based on Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels with Anna Paquin in that role, averaged 2.4 million viewers in its finale, nearly double the 1.4 million viewers for the show’s Sept. 7 premiere, according to the network. Overall the series, which also stars, which also stars as Stephen Moyer as Sookie’s vampire love interest Bill Compton, sucked up an average of 2.2 million viewers during its 13-episosde run.

HBO is hoping the cume showings of the finale will exceed the 7 million viewers the show is averaging thus far."

Full Article:
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6617782.html


Exclusive: FEARnet talks Vampires with 'True Blood's' Michelle Forbes!
FEARnet

"FN: You’re known for playing quite strong women, and your character on True Blood is pretty much in that vein.

MF: She is, indeed. I have yet to see where it’s going to go. But when it starts off, yes, she really has her own strength. But I have to say, having done In Treatment, it was really nice to play a repressed woman, a housewife, with no self esteem. That was actually a great luxury and gift to me. It was really fantastic to play someone who was not leading everyone and knew what was best, it was nice to be a woman who was like every person, who, you know, doesn’t know all the answers. You’re in a muddle, and you make wrong decisions. And she was all sort of elbows and knee joints emotionally. It was great fun to play, because I normally play very smart, together people, which I’m not."

Full Article:
http://www.fearnet.com/news/b13886_exclusive_fearnet_talks_vampires_with.html


Talking HBO's True Blood with One of Its Writers - Raelle Tucker
By Mary Borsellino
Sequential Tart

"Sequential Tart: The attitudes writers take in adapting a story from one medium to another vary quite widely. How does the True Blood team approach the task?

Raelle Tucker: We’re extremely lucky — Charlaine Harris has created such a cool, cinematic world, with so many unique characters ... and managed to keep them fresh and entertaining for eight novels, that it’s really an embarrassment of riches.

Obviously there are certain challenges in translating something so beloved to the screen. It was hugely important to honor Charlaine and the fans of the books, but it was equally important to allow the show to take on its own life."

Full Article:
http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=1156


Int'l Press Academy announces nominations Satellite Awards to be presented Dec. 14
By Gregg Kilday
Hollywood Reporter

"Actress in a Series, Drama

ANNA PAQUIN True Blood (HBO)
HOLLY HUNTER Saving Grace (TNT / Fox Televsion)
GLENN CLOSE Damages (FX)
KATHRYN ERBE LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT (NBC / USA)
KYRA SEDGWICK The Closer (TNT)
SALLY FIELD Brothers & Sisters (ABC)

Actor in a supporting role in a series, mini-series or motion picture made for television.

JIMMY SMITS Dexter (Showtime)
ZELJKO IVANEK Damages (FX)
JOHN SLATTERY Mad Men (Lionsgate, AMC)
JOHN NOBLE Fringe (FOX)
NELSAN ELLIS True Blood (HBO)
HARVEY KEITEL Life On Mars (ABC / Twentieth Century-Fox)"

Full Article:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/world/news/e3i4fc2c2322d54edacc0e7fd33aff21998


True Blood's Nelsan Ellis On Sexy Season Two & His Dad Hating His Character
By Jen Smith
Fancast

"Before heading inside to attend the Junior Hollywood Radio & Television Society holiday party Wednesday night in Hollywood, Ellis chatted about True Blood and his character's possible departure.

Will we see Lafayette on Season Two? "Naturally I love working on the show, so I want to come back," he said. "But it's up to the powers that be. So we'll see.""

Full Article:
http://thebiz.fancast.com/2008/12/nelsan_ellis_story.html


2009 Writers Guild Awards Television, Radio, News, Promotional Writing, and Graphic Animation Nominees Announced
WGA

"NEW SERIES

Breaking Bad, Written by Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Patty Lin, George Mastras, J Roberts; AMC

Fringe, Written by JJ Abrams, Jason Cahill, Julia Cho, David H. Goodman, Felicia Henderson, Brad Caleb Kane, Alex Kurtzman, Darin Morgan, J.R. Orci, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Zack Whedon; Fox

In Treatment, Written by Rodrigo Garcia, Bryan Goluboff, Davey Holmes, William Meritt Johnson, Amy Lippman, Sarah Treem; HBO

Life on Mars, Written by Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Scott Rosenberg, Becky Hartman Edwards, David Wilcox, Adele Lim, Bryan Oh, Tracy McMillan, Sonny Postiglione, Phil M. Rosenberg, Meredith Averill; ABC

True Blood, Written by Alan Ball, Brian Buckner, Raelle Tucker, Alexander Woo, Nancy Oliver, Chris Offutt; HBO"

Full Article:
http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=3410


True Blood's Harris Looks Ahead
By John Joseph Adams
Sci Fi Wire

"SFW: I'm sure you and your publishers expected to get a sales bump from the TV series, but I'm sure no one expected you to end up with seven New York Times best-sellers all at once--what was that like?

Harris: That's still ongoing, believe it or not. All the books have been on the extended or print list for the last five weeks, give or take a week. And the boxed set is a hugely popular Christmas gift, apparently. Thanks, Alan Ball! For me personally, it hasn't made that much difference. I'm still faced with the problems I had before: a looming deadline, a book that won't write itself. Being the prom queen for a season hasn't changed the work any."

Full Article:
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=62676


2009 Golden Globes Award Nominations
HFPA

"Best Television Series - Drama
Dexter (SHOWTIME)

House (FOX)
Heel and Toe Films, Shore Z Productions and Bad Hat Harry Productions in association with Universal Media Studios

In Treatment (HBO)
Sheleg, Closest to the Hole Productions in association with HBO Entertainment

Mad Men (AMC)
Lionsgate

True Blood (HBO)
Your Face Goes Here Productions in association with HBO Entertainment

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama
Sally Field – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)

Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order

January Jones – Mad Men (AMC)

Anna Paquin – True Blood (HBO)

Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer (TNT)"

Full Article:
http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/index.html

Tags: Articles, Anna Paquin, Alexander Skarsgard, Nelsan Ellis, Michelle Forbes, Charlaine Harris, True Blood

Fans of Stephen Moyer — star of HBO’s True Blood are supporting their favorite Vampire to ‘re-Vamp’ Brentwood Theatre!

The initial success of “Stephen’s Fund” – created to support Brentwood Theatre’s building renovations campaign – has brought hundreds of responses and more than £1500 in the first few days since launching!

More than 15 unofficial ‘True Blood’ related fan websites have posted the appeal – reaching fans in the USA, Canada, Italy, France, and Germany.

Author CHARLAINE HARRIS whose Southern Vampire-Sookie Stackhouse books inspired the hit HBO series, has also joined the effort!

This is a limited opportunity supporting the final phase of construction at Brentwood Theatre – Essex, UK’s vital, professional community theatre serving dozens of local non-professional performance groups – where Stephen is Patron. A great holiday gift for your fan!

Each £25 (appx $40) minimum donation gets a certificate personally SIGNED by STEPHEN MOYER as commemorative thank you! Each £50 (appx USD $80) donor will be able to name a Brick for the theatre’s donor wall and receive the certificate. One or two lines (16 total spaces/letters per line)
http://www.brentwood-theatre.org/donations.htm
(Note: If you have trouble with Internet Explorer as your browser; download Firefox, Safari or Google Chrome at no cost to make your donation easily.)

Other naming opportunities are available, as well as corporate sponsorships. Please contact Mark at mark@brentwood-theatre.org or Jean at LaProv@optonline.net for more information.

Tags: Stephen Moyer, True Blood

Ryan Kwanten's Blood Runs Cold
By Kat Angus
DOSE.CA

"The real-life Kwanten is a stark contrast to Jason Stackhouse, his character on True Blood, the HBO vampire drama from Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball. The actor agrees, admitting that he has very little in common with the "modern-day, redneck Casanova" he plays on the show.

"He has no willpower; he has an addiction complex; he has an insecurity complex," Kwanten says. "But I think everyone knows someone like Jason - well, maybe not to the full extreme of the trouble that he gets himself into."

Full Article:
http://www.dose.ca/tv/story.html?id=55b13e99-3ce0-4687-9f4e-2a3ae41958eb


"True Blood" Star (Rutine Wesley): "Things Are About To Get Real Krunk!"
by Jarett Wieselman
NY Post PopWrap

"PW: Will we see that start to happen in the last two episodes?
Rutina: You're going to see Tara come to the end of this journey with her anger demon. The car crash represents a fork in the road and now we need to watch and see if she goes left or right, because, let's face it - she's hit rock bottom. I mean, that dress and side ponytail alone is rock bottom! [laughs] Oh, I loved it, loved it!"

Full Article:
http://blogs.nypost.com/popwrap/archives/2008/11/true_blood_spoi.html


Ryan Kwanten: 'Jason's World Is Completely Shattered!"
by Jarett Wieselman
NY Post PopWrap

"PW: Rutina told me that not only has she avoided reading the books, but she actively tells fans of the show not to as well. What's your take?

Ryan: My take is quite similar to Rutina's in that I don't want to spend an abundance of time worrying what the fans of the book are thinking in terms of who or what Jason should be. I think Charlaine [Harris, the novel's author] has created such a great character but it's important to make it TV savvy. I'm responsible for making him real."

Full Article:
http://blogs.nypost.com/popwrap/archives/2008/11/true_blood_ryan.html


True Blood's Rutina Wesley Tells Io9 She's Not The Huxtables
By Meredith Woerner
io9

"io9:So tell me why do you like Tara? She's such a troubled character?

RW: It's just her character. It's nice to see an African American character that has so much depth, and is so smart, self educated, she didn't go to college or anything. She's not the Huxtables. She just has a good imagination, 'cause she had to learn it all herself. And just the fact that she uses language as her defense but underneath that is the little flower that you get to see on all of her, that's unveiled all along, and you kinda see her unveil all of that weight that she carries around with her."

Full Article:
http://io9.com/5095199/true-bloods-rutina-wesley-tells-io9-shes-not-the-huxtables


Graham Shiels Gets "True" With SOS
By Jennifer Snyder
Soap Opera Source

"True Blood pushed the envelope with the nudity and the language. Every episode there was somebody having sex. Liam’s sex scenes showed full backside nakedness. Was that something that was difficult for you to do? I mean some actors are not open to showing a lot of skin and True Blood is a series that shows a lot of skin every episode.

GS: I was very nervous when we shot that. As, I'm sure, my co-star was, too. Had it not been Alan Ball, Oscar award-winning writer, and HBO, I never would have done it. And it was just my butt. It wasn't full frontal. I'd never (never say never, Graham) do full frontal. I've done it onstage, though, in a Shakespeare play. But I knew in this case it served the story and that it would be handled with great taste seeing as it's Alan Ball. Blood taste.

There was even an episode that you were in bed with Sookie’s brother, Jason (Ryan Kwanten) during one his love scenes with a girl who had had sex with Liam. Was it uncomfortable for the two of you doing that scene together?

GS: Working with Ryan was not uncomfortable at all b/c we both knew this was a fun "bit," so to speak. It was very fun to shoot. Ryan had this great idea he should be holding my foot and that's how he notices it's me and not the girl--and in retrospect, I think we should have gone the whole way and he could have been sucking my toes, too!"

Full Article:
http://soapoperasource.com/features/interviews/interview-with-graham-shiels.html


Exclusive Interview: Sam Trammell of 'True Blood'
By Don WIlliams
BuddyTV

"How did the role on True Blood come about, and what was that audition process like for you?

Sam: Well, I had been hearing about it for a while from my agent, this script by Alan Ball that HBO was going to be doing. I got it and read it -- I was already interested even before I read it, but I read it and thought it was amazing. I basically went in and auditioned with one of the casting directors on tape. I think Alan was in New York, he was out of town, so they showed him the tape and then Alan decided he wanted to test me. I don't know if you know that word, but it's when you do your final audition in front of HBO. He decided he wanted to do that so that was great, and he wanted to meet with me beforehand. I went to his office and met with him, and kind of read the scenes with him and he gave me some notes. I think he showed me the first two scripts as well. Then I went and did the audition for HBO and I found out that I got it the same day. I was like screaming in the car, I was thrilled."

Full Article:
http://www.buddytv.com/articles/true-blood/exclusive-interview-sam-tramme-24734.aspx

Tags: Articles, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Graham Shiels, True Blood

For all Fans of True Blood, Southern Vampires, & Charlaine Harris! An opportunity to help complete backstage facilities at Brentwood Theatre and receive a certificate signed by your favorite vampire, Stephen Moyer!

HBO/True Blood’s own Stephen Moyer, born in Brentwood, Essex, UK, is Brentwood Theatre's first Patron. His initial effort as Patron is supporting their "Reaching Out, Building On" campaign to help fund the 2008 completion of the backstage facilities renovations. http://www.brentwood-theatre.org/

Inspired by the first gift from the USA in his honor, as heard in an interview with Stephen on the Opening night performance of “Fame” Nov 4th (click here)
http://www.phoenixfm.com/upload/Phoenix%20FM%20Interview%20with%20Stephen%20Moyer%20041108%20(Steve%20Mead).MP3
the idea to appeal to ALL FANS of Stephen or “True Blood” became a reality!

This limited opportunity supporting the final phase of construction gets each £25 minimum donation a signed certificate as commemorative thank you!

Campaign Purpose: In September 2005, Brentwood Theatre launched an appeal to raise £350,000 to replace existing temporary facilities with proper, accessible dressing rooms and backstage facilities. The works commenced in June 2008, and the Theatre re-opened at the end of October, but £75,000 is still needed to finish and open the Theatre office and the new ‘multi purpose room’ in 2009 for community use.

About the theatre: Brentwood Theatre aims to provide the people of Brentwood and the surrounding areas with a vibrant, artistically challenging, community theatre, which offers a wide-ranging program in the performing arts. Visitors to the theatre number over 15,000, who come to attend a wide variety of productions. More than forty non-professional drama and music companies consider BT their “home” – bringing their finished productions (rehearsed, costumed, and set elsewhere) to this professional venue for public presentation.

Several gift options are available, and no gift is too small!

It’s EASY to make your contribution by credit card, PayPal account, or eCheck with your PayPal account. Select the amount you wish to contribute and in the MEMO box, type in any comments or instructions. If you are buying a brick, type in the one or two lines (16 total spaces/letters per line) you want printed.
http://www.brentwood-theatre.org/direct.php?p=custom.php?n=Donations%20-%20Buy%20a%20Brick

If link doesn’t work, please copy and paste link into your browser.

GIVING OPTIONS INCLUDE:

*Buy-A-Brick Scheme: £50 (appx USD $80) or more – Donors at this level will be able to name a Brick for the theatre’s donor wall and receive a certificate signed by patron Stephen Moyer. One or two lines (16 total spaces/letters per line)

*Certificates: Donors at the £25 to £49 (appx $40 to $78) level will receive a certificate signed by patron Stephen Moyer.

*Friends: Donors with a minimum of £20 (or $32) and up will receive an honorary membership card in the Friends of Brentwood Theatre good for one year.

Tags: Stephen Moyer, True Blood

Cross-Media Case Study: Once Bitten
by Christine Champagne, November 2008 issue
OMMA

"A campaign to sink your teeth into

HBO consults with all of its show creators when it formulates marketing campaigns for its series, but Alan Ball stands out. When it came to marketing Ball's True Blood, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of American Beauty and mastermind of HBO's Six Feet Under challenged the network to go beyond simple show promotion and truly set the stage for the vampire series in advance of its premiere, "to allow people to come to the pilot episode a little bit more engaged," says Zach Enterlin, the cable network's vice president of advertising and promotions."

Full Article:
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=93575


HBO’s 'True Blood' Sucking Up More Viewers
Most Recent Installment, Continuing Trend, Garners Top Audience
Multichannel News, 11/4/2008 2:36:00 PM

"The series, based on the Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse book series and starring Anna Pacquin and Stephen Moyer, staked a season-high Sunday night, drawing 2.35 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research live + same-day data.

The show’s ninth installment continued the upward trend of the past few weeks that saw the seventh episode draw 2 million viewers, gauged on the aforementioned metric and the eighth installment count 2.1 million watchers.

The series premiere on Sept. 7 pulled in 1.4 million watchers, meaning the Nov. 2 installment posted a 63% rise from the debut."

Full Article:
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6611515.html


True Blood: What Supernatural Beings Will Pop Up Next?
Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
BuddyTV

"One of the most fascinating things about HBO's True Blood is the way it's slowly unveiled a world full of intriguing supernatural elements. Readers of Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels likely know what strange and unusual things lurk in the town of Bon Temps, but for those of us with no knowledge of the books, the show has provided one surprise after another. The series began with only vampires and a mind reader, but since then both evil demons and a weredog have been introduced. With the True Blood universe getting stranger by the episode, what supernatural creatures will Sookie (Anna Paquin) run into next? Check out our spoiler-free speculation below."

Full Article:
http://www.buddytv.com/articles/true-blood/true-blood-what-supernatural-b-24242.aspx


True Blood star Kwanten has bite
By BILL HARRIS -- Sun Media
Jam Television

" Ryan Kwanten must be used to wearing a modesty patch by now. And just to be clear, a modesty patch is not designed to cover an eye.

"It was different going into my trailer and not seeing a full wardrobe," said Kwanten, who plays Jason Stackhouse in True Blood. "All I had was a modesty patch." It's a good thing Kwanten, a 31-year-old native of Australia, is devoted to staying in shape. That comes in handy when he's playing the regularly shirtless-at-the-very-least horn-dog known as Jason."

Full Article:
http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/TV_Shows/T/True_Blood/2008/11/08/7350196-sun.html

Tags: Articles, True Blood

Media Blvd has posted the transcript of a teleconference with Alan Ball that took place in September. I had the luck to take part in this event and it includes some of my own questions, including:


"When you came back from the strike, did you look at anything differently?

Alan> I don’t remember there being a fresh look. We immediately jumped back into breaking stories because of how far we would have been, had their not been a strike. I’m a person who feels that I really need to be organized, and I really need to make sure that the director and the actors and all the department heads get a script, 10 days before we start shooting. I just think it’s really disrespectful not to do that. Also, I can’t deal with the stress of everything being at the last moment. I remember that we had to hit the ground running and jump right back into it, and we had to do some re-shoots because the production had gone on and continued to shoot episodes for which scripts had existed, while the writers who serve as the on-set producers were not on the set to make sure that everything was going the way it should be. It’s been such a crazy year. There may have been a moment where we were like, “Hey, during the strike, I thought of this. Maybe we should do that.” But, I don’t really remember.

Do you have a favorite character that you personally enjoy writing for?

Alan> I really enjoy writing for all of them, but I definitely enjoy Jason and Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis). I think they’re really funny, and I just find them so entertaining, for completely different reasons. Jason is such a little boy, trapped in a man’s body, and he does the stupidest things. And, Lafayette has created this reality for himself that is 100% his own. He’s part performance artist, part shaman. Words fail me with him. And, that has a lot to do with Nelsan and the way he approaches the role. Having said that, I really enjoy writing for all the characters."

Full Article:
http://www.mediablvd.com/magazine/the_news/celebrity/alan_ball_on_making_true_blood_200811021391.html

Tags: Articles, Alan Ball, True Blood

Margy Rochlin, of the New York Times, has posted an interesting an inciteful article about Rutina Wesley and her character (Tara Thornton) in True Blood.

““I saw through the darkness, I guess,” said Ms. Wesley, who won her part through an audition in which she navigated that tricky introductory scene. “For me, I have this tough exterior and these Angela Bassett arms, and people think, ‘Oh, my God, Rutina’s tough.’ But I’m just a little Juliet on the inside.”

Created by Alan Ball, “True Blood” is based on Charlaine Harris’s best-selling mystery novels. Of all the elements in the books, Tara is the one that Mr. Ball changed the most. She is still the best friend of a telepathic barmaid, Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), who was raised by an abusive, booze-sodden mother. But Ms. Harris’s Tara is white. (“It’s in Louisiana — it couldn’t be all about the Caucasians,” Mr. Ball explained.) And Ms. Harris’s Tara is not the truth-teller that Mr. Ball’s is.”

Full Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/arts/television/02roch.html

Tags: Articles, Rutina Wesley, True Blood

Christina Radish, of Media Blvd, has posted yet another True Blood cast interview. This time out it’s with Sam Trammell, known in the series as Sam Merlotte. They talk about how he got into acting, his role on True Blood, and future possibilities.

“MediaBlvd> What was it about Sam that you thought you could identify with?

Sam> The thing I like about him most is that he has all this stuff that he can’t talk about. He’s in the world with everybody else, but he’s not because he has this other side of himself that he can’t show. It’s so fun to play characters that have big secrets like that. It’s also great to just be a guy who’s taking care of a lot of other people. He’s such a great dude. He takes care of his waitresses, and he’s the protector of a lot of the people in town.

MediaBlvd> Were you aware of his background and what his secret is, when you were cast?

Sam> I was. I’m not talking about it just in case people don’t know, but anyone who reads the books can find out. That’s one of the great, fun things to work on, as an actor. You have to figure out what that means and how much of that you bring into your part. I read a few of the books before we did the show, so I was aware of his secret.”

Full Article:
http://www.mediablvd.com/magazine/the_news/celebrity/sam_trammell_in_true_blood_200810291387.html

Tags: Articles, Sam Trammell, True Blood

Christina Radish has posted an interview with Rutina Wesley, Tara in True Blood. Rutina talks about her career, True Blood, and more!

“MediaBlvd> As an actor, how do you play a character that’s so abrasive, but still make her so endearing, at the same time?

Rutina> Because she’s a human. As human beings, we have an array of emotions and, sometimes, you can see a character played on one note and you lose sympathy for them. I didn’t want Tara to just be this loud-mouthed, mean girl, throughout the entire season. I wanted her to have range, and I wanted her to be more like a human being would be. She feels, and it’s not always anger. I just tried to soften her, when those moments came up in the script, as best I could, and made sure that her vulnerability shines through more than her anger does, so that the audience can sympathize with her. The writing is great. They write these incredible things for her. She says some incredible stuff.”

Full Article:
http://www.mediablvd.com/magazine/the_news/celebrity/rutina_wesley_in_true_blood_200810261384.html

Tags: Articles, Rutina Wesley, True Blood

Brian Jeurgens of AfterElton.com has posted an interview with True Blood Actor Nelsan Ellis. Nelsan plays the wild and lovable Lafayette in the series.

“AE: What were your concerns in playing your first gay character on screen? Were you afraid of reactions from gay people or straight people or Southerners?
NE: I didn’t care what straight people thought. I cared what gay people thought, to be quite honest. Because Alan didn’t want a caricature. He said that quite early on, because I was a caricature the first audition. My concern was if I was going to offend anybody. I don’t want to offend nobody. So I had great concerns with black people and gay people. Black people are going to say this, gay people are going to say this .... My career is going to be over. People are going to hate my guts if I don’t do this right.

But then I was like, forget it. Now I don’t care, to be quite honest. I’m going to do the work and if people either like it or hate it, I can’t be concerned. I actually took on Alan’s – his thing. He’s goes, I can’t be concerned with what everybody wants or what they like or dislike. I can only be concerned with what I think is good and if I like it and if I’ll see it, so I’m like, okay, I’ll just do the work and hope for the best. Be true to the story and to the work. And I have him there to rein me in or let me loose, which he is good at doing.”


Full Article, with video clips:
http://www.afterelton.com/people/2008/10/nelsanellis

Tags: Articles, Nelsan Ellis, True Blood

Terry Morrow of Scripps News has posted an article on True Blood’s Anna Paquin. In it she talks about why she loves her character, other roles and... about Stephen Moyer’s teeth:

“"Come in here and show them your teeth," actress Anna Paquin yells into another room.

Actor Stephen Moyer walks in, a bit perplexed about why she wants him to open his mouth to a room of strangers. Then she giggles and asks him again to bare his fangs.

And he does.

"See," she says, smiling. "He does have them."

As the star of HBO's vampire drama "True Blood," airing 9 p.m. ET Sundays, Paquin thinks her co-star's pointy real-life canine teeth are cool. They are long and sharp like a vampire's would be. Strangers might find them a bit disconcerting, especially since Moyer plays a vampire on "Blood."

Full Article:
http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/37344

Tags: Articles, Anna Paquin, True Blood

The way in which people view TV shows is changing dramatically thanks to encore broadcasts, DVR, and On Demand among other alternatives. True Blood is no exception to this trend and, according to an article at thestar.com,

“HBO's new series True Blood has become a hit quietly this fall, in large part because only 23 per cent of the show's regular viewers watch each episode when it first appears.”

This is an interesting figure, if true.

Full article:
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/Television/article/519589

Tags: Ratings, True Blood

Alex Harvey of Everything Alabama has recently posted an interview with True Blood’s Ryan Kwanten (Jason Stackhouse).

“Tonight's episode will be the series' fifth, and HBO has already picked "True Blood" - based on Charlaine Harris' book series about Southern vampires going public and finding acceptance difficult - for a second season. "It was great news to get so early," Kwanten says. "It's a great vote of confidence from HBO." And despite some close calls already - both with the law and with his health - Jason will return in the second season, Kwanten says. "That much I can tell you," he says. "I'll be back. But Jason has a huge arc. He goes into the first episodes with tunnelvision views and hates the idea that these vampires represent change. He's in for a rollercoaster ride. He's just one of those guys that shoots from his hip pocket. Trouble constantly finds him, and he gets involved in the vampire world." “

Full Article:
http://blog.al.com/scene/2008/10/donning_an_accent_doffing_his.html

Scott Juba, of The Trades, recently talked with Lizzy Caplan about her role on True Blood and other upcoming projects:

“Expect more commanding performances from Caplan during her stint on True Blood. She reveals that she will play an original character that doesn’t feature in any of the Charlaine Harris books upon which the series is based. “I normally play a lot of characters that could be considered dark,” Caplan says. “This is a total departure from that. She’s still really twisted and screwed up, but she’s actually sort of a hippie. She loves nature and thinks everything is connected and that there is so much beauty in the world. But she’s actually kind of tweaked in the head.”

According to Caplan, her multi-layered character fits the show’s complex dynamic in which societal labels are not easily defined. “Within the vampire community, there are sort of old school vampires, and then there are progressive vampires,” she explains. “The humans can be just as evil as the vampires.” “

Full Article:
http://www.the-trades.com/article.php?id=10644

Tags: Articles, Cast, True Blood

Christina Radish of Media Blvd Magazine recently had the chance to talk to Ryan Kawnten, who portays Jason Stackhouse, about the series, his other roles and how he got into acting:

“MediaBlvd> Before you signed on to do the show, were you aware of how explicit some of your scenes would be? Do you laugh it off and just do it, or is it as awkward as one might expect?

Ryan> You never laugh it off. As much as I come from a country that’s very liberal and open-minded, in regard to one’s body, I feel like I’ve got myself in a position in my career where I should be careful when I’m being naked, as any actor should be. I think it’s important that it’s a relevant story point, and not just nudity for gratuity’s sake. It’s part and parcel of this character. It’s something he would do, so I feel totally justified. In terms of my comfortability with it, once I put on the hat of the character, I go into that mode. Normally, as myself, I’m not particularly open with my body, as much as I would like to be, and as much as Jason is. Once I don the Jason Stackhouse cap, it’s a lot easier.”

Full Article:
http://www.mediablvd.com/magazine/the_news/celebrity/ryan_kwanten%3a_true_blood_200810131359.html

Tags: Articles, Ryan Kwanten, True Blood

Christina Radish of Media Blvd recently had the chance to chat with Alexander Skarsgard, who plays Eric on HBO’s True Blood:

“MediaBlvd> What’s it like to play a character that’s so old? Do you create a backstory for that, or do you just try to play him in the present?

Alexander> He’s been around for a millennium, so there’s much to do. I play a lot with the thought of a guy who’s seen everything. He’s been around for 1,000 years, so he’s seen everything, and he doesn’t waste his time. He doesn’t play any games. He’s very straight-forward. He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it, basically. So, I just try to have fun with that directness to him. He’s very grounded and very confident, and he knows what he wants, all the time, and he doesn’t waste his time. Falling in love with humans, and all that kind of stuff -- some of the other vampires do that -- is just a waste of time to him.

MediaBlvd> What has it been like to work with Anna Paquin?

Alexander> She’s amazing! We’ve had so much fun. Most of my stuff is with her and Steve Moyer, who plays Bill, the other vampire. Eric is Bill’s boss, so he brings them there, all the time. And, I work a lot with Kristin Bauer, who plays Pam, Eric’s right-arm and sidekick. Eric turned Pam and made her a vampire, 200 years ago, so she’s always by his side. We’re having so much fun. We really are. And, Anna is very humble, down-to-earth, fun to work with and a very generous actor.”

Full Article:
http://www.mediablvd.com/magazine/the_news/celebrity/alexander_skarsgard_in_%22true_blood%22_200809251300.html

Tags: Articles, Alexander Skarsgard, True Blood

“Viewers of True Blood, HBO's Southern vampire gothic, may have noticed a politically loaded piece of background art this past weekend.
Prominently featured in a scene set at Fangtasia, a vampire bar, was a painting of George W. Bush sucking blood from the neck of the Statue of Liberty. (A version can be found here.) The image was created by comic book artist and illustrator Alex Ross and ran on the cover of The Village Voice in October 26, 2004 to accompany an article by Nixonland author Rick Perlstein. At the time, the image struck some on the right as offensive.’

Full Article:
http://www.observer.com/2008/media/2004-village-voice-cover-makes-cameo-hbo-vampire-series
Link To Image:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pantufla/114081011/

Tags: Articles, S01E04, True Blood

The leads of True Blood, Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, were recently interviewed by Media Blvd. Magazine. You can read these articles online.

Anna Paquin’s Interview:
http://www.mediablvd.com/magazine/the_news/celebrity/anna_paquin_takes_the_lead_in_%22true_blood%22_200809071268.html

Stephen Moyer’s Interview:
http://www.mediablvd.com/magazine/the_news/celebrity/stephen_moyer__in_%22true_blood%22_200809191289.html

Tags: Articles, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, True Blood

Acording to The Hollywood Reporter four, non-main, cast members will be added as “regulars” in True Blood season 2.

“Guest stars Mehcad Brooks, Todd Lowe, Deborah Ann Woll and Michelle Forbes have been upped to regulars for the show's recently ordered second season.

All will appear in the first-season finale later this fall.”

Full Article:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i6d1955ff988810b839286b6d18a92428

Tags: Production, True Blood

HBO commissioned several velvet paintings from artist Jack Malebranche for use on set in True Blood. You can see pictures of these pieces here:
http://www.jackmalebranche.com/blog/?p=200

Tags: Production, True Blood

John Polly of New NextNow had a chat with the writer/director Alan Ball in Provincetown earlier this summer, where they discussed True Blood, Six Feet Under, Ball's feature directing debut, Towelhead, and more.

Video: http://www.afterelton.com/blog/brianjuergens/newnownext-interview-alan-ball-true-blood

Tags: Video, Alan Ball, True Blood

Lawrence Ferber of the Windy City Times has posted an interview with Nelsan Ellis, Lafayette on True Blood:

“Lawrence Ferber: What are the biggest differences between the Lafayette of the novels and the HBO series?

Nelsan Ellis: In the book I don't like him. Alan's Lafayette has dimensions-the book's doesn't. He's flamboyant and wears makeup in the book. That was a huge challenge for me because I came in originally trying to do my idea of what a drag queen was. The description is: He's a masculine man with lipstick and makeup on. I was like, "Huh? How you gonna do that?" I had to work on making him a real person because Alan wants to see a real person and not a stereotype. But we mixed it up so he's masculine and feminine and those colors can come out whenever.”

Full Article:
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=19358

Tags: Articles, Nelsan Ellis, True Blood

True Blood coverage by the media has been flying fast and furious around last weeks premiere of the series. Here are some link that may be of interest to fans.

HBO gets an infusion of Oh-positive 'Blood' - Robert Bianco, USA Today
“Sexy, witty and unabashedly peculiar, True Blood is a blood-drenched Southern Gothic romantic parable set in a world where vampires are out and about and campaigning for equal rights. Part mystery, part fantasy, part comedy, and all wildly imaginative exaggeration, Blood proves that there's still vibrant life — or death — left in the "star-crossed lovers" paradigm. You just have to know where to stake your romantic claim.”
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/reviews/2008-09-04-true-blood_N.htm

'True Blood': Undead On Arrival - Tom Shales, Washington Post
“To become a fan of "True Blood," viewers will have to call upon or develop a considerable case of sang-froid in the most literal sense. I felt my knees weaken a few times -- and heck, I made it through "Hostel" with little trouble. But then "True Blood" is not a horror film and is more likely to be after a knowing laugh than a cheap shudder. Paquin keeps her character teetering on a very provocative edge, so that even a simple line like "I'll get you some ketchup" seems wickedly witty in context.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/09/05/ST2008090504346.html

Vampires In Pop Culture: True Blood Debunks Myths And Legends - Anika Harris, The Frisky
“Vampires are making another resurgence in pop culture. HBO’s True Blood premiered on Sunday and Twilight the movie will be in theaters November 21. Also, the Southern vampire novels by Charlaine Harris, which True Blood is based on, remain extremely popular. Unlike other vampire entertainment, True Blood is debunking some of the vampire myths and legends, in order to make its world believable. And along the way, it may create some new ones.”
http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-vampires-in-pop-culture-true-blood-debunks-myths-and-legends/

Give HBO SOme Credit - Joshua Alston, Newsweek
“The credits for the new HBO series "True Blood" (from Alan Ball of "Six Feet Under" ) are the perfect amuse-bouche. The show is about vampires assimilating into rural Louisiana, and the credits are a flip book of Deep South postcards: images of hungry gators and modest homes, neon crosses and dirt roads. In the final shot, a woman is dunked for a river baptism and appears to emerge in hysterics. Either she's in rapture, or just a hairbreadth from drowning. This is the world of "True Blood," where quaint, romantic notions of the South are recast with dread.”
http://www.newsweek.com/id/158744

Tags: Articles, True Blood

Fresh Air host Terry Gross talks with Alan Ball on NPR radio about his new projects True Blood and Towelhead plus Ball's own fascination with "the intricacies of humans relating to each other."

Full Article and Streaming Radio:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94486732

(Thanks to forum member RubyRed for the heads up.)

Tags: Radio, Alan Ball, True Blood

HBO has set up a True Blood Fan Wiki as part of their official site. In case you aren’t familiar with “wiki” sites, they are essentially a database of info where the content is added by the visitors rather than the site owners...

You can see it here:
http://truebloodwiki.hbo.com/

Tags: HBO, Marketing, True Blood

The August 29th, 2008 entry of AfterAllen.com’s “Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever” touches upon the sexuality of the characters in True Blood, with the report that HBO says "all the vampire characters in the series are actually pansexual."

There’s, also, a direct quote from Alan Ball on the “lesbian energy” of vampire Pam:

“"There is a vampiress who works [at the vampire bar Fangtasia in Shreveport] who definitely exudes a certain lesbian energy in a really kind of entertaining and seductive way. Pam is a woman who was made vampire in Victorian England, and she dresses all goth when she's at work, but when she's not at work she basically wears Chanel."

Full Article:
http://www.afterellen.com/blwe/08-29-08

Tags: Articles, Alan Ball, True Blood

Allan Dart of Fangoria reviews “Strange Love”, episode 1 of True Blood:

“Book-to-screen adaptations have never been easy, and it has been said that it’s actually easier to translate a mediocre book to a good movie or TV show than it is to turn a great novel into an equally great film. JAWS is a good example of the former—and the strange thing is that Ball, who wrote and directed the pilot, “Strange Love,” and scripted the second episode, “The First Taste” (helmed by Scott Winant) is much more faithful to the source material (TRUE BLOOD’s first season supposedly only covers DEAD UNTIL DARK’s events) than Spielberg was with JAWS. And yet TRUE BLOOD works where DEAD UNTIL DARK didn’t, and I believe there’s one major reason for that. Ball doesn’t let Sookie narrate the series, and by cutting that out, he removes the novel’s greatest weakness.”

Full Article:
http://www.fangoria.com/ghastly_review.php?id=7183

Tags: Articles, S01E01, True Blood

Mike Szymanski of Sci Fi Wire has posted a fun list of 10 reasons why True Blood won’t suck:

“1. Oscar clout. Creator Ball has a golden statuette for writing American Beauty, not to mention intimate familiarity with the dead from his previous award-winning HBO undertaking, the brilliant Six Feet Under. Paquin, similarly, has her own Academy Award (won at age 11 for her role in 1993's The Piano) and brings the same snarky attitude she developed for X-Men's Rogue. This time, however, she's tanned, blond--and does have more fun.

2. Keeping it dark. Ball admitted that he's never read an Anne Rice book, but he isn't messing with vampire mythology to the point that his vampires will break some of the standard rules. There's no wandering out in daylight, and a lot of the show takes place at night. When asked about CBS' failed vampire show Moonlight, Ball said, "I think it's pretty lame when you let your vampire go out in the day just because you don't want to shoot at night. I personally have never seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel. I'm not really a big vampire fan. This was really my first." He does redeem himself by saying that Kathryn Bigelow's 1987 film Near Dark is one of the best vampire films ever made.

3. Missing mythology. Ball dispenses with some vampire mythology--crucifixes kill, mirrors don't reflect--by arguing that vampires themselves have generated them to fit in better among humans. Vampires created some of the more common myths, the argument goes, to prove that they're not walking dead. That's not to say Ball avoids mythology altogether: He invents some of his own, like the fact that vampire blood can heal humans or that they can be disabled with silver. Just don't tell anyone. “

For the complete list, read the Full Article:
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=59050

Tags: Articles, True Blood

Carrie Preston, who plays Arlene Fowler in the HBO series True Blood, was recently interviewed by Sheila Fraklin of StarPulse.com about her role in this series and other projects:

Carrie says “My character on the show couldn't be more different than me. I don't even look like myself. They have me in this redheaded wig. It's unusual to have the ability to transform because in the books they are very specific about what the characters look like. Because I worked with Alan before, he said he would give me a wig to look like her. So many would never do that, but he took a chance to make the actor into the character instead of the other way around. I will be very curious to see how that plays out. People on the set don't know who I am before I get into hair and makeup.”

Full Article:
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/08/21/carrie_preston_discusses_her_true_blood_

Tags: Articles, Carrie Preston, True Blood

Vanessa Lawrence of WWDLifestyle has posted a short interview with True Blood’s Anna Paquin:

“WWD: What attracted you to this part in the first place?

Anna Paquin: Well, this whole world is so kind of exciting and unusual as far as the supernatural elements but also has so much in it that’s really emotionally poignant and the characters are so strong and so well drawn out. My character is so tough but she’s sweet and she’s innocent, but she’s kind of worldly. There’s just so much to it that it does not get boring.

WWD: Vampire sex certainly doesn’t get boring. In fact, the show gets quite graphic.

A.P.: You know, there’s some pretty full-on stuff of that variety. And on the whole I think vampire fascination is so intertwined with the whole idea of dangerous sexuality and that sort of scary edge to it.”

Full Article:
http://www.wwd.com/lifestyle-news/eye/paquin-takes-on-the-vampires-1717893

Tags: Articles, Anna Paquin, True Blood

True Blood’s Anna Paquin discusses the series, her character Sookie Stackhouse, and more in a brief interview segment posted at Starpulse.com:

“Q: How did you get involved with 'True Blood?' Had you been considering getting into television?

Anna Paquin: I had been thinking that it would be really awesome to be a part of one of those really good HBO shows, and then this showed up. I thought, “There's no way in hell I'm gonna get this, but I'll give it my best.” There's nothing more exciting as an actor than getting to do something that you're not entirely sure that anyone would let you do, and getting to take a big jump in a completely different direction. The brightness of my character's personality is so refreshing; it doesn't mean she doesn't deal with heavy issues, or doesn't have hardship. It just means that she's not dealing with it by introverting and becoming this dark, tortured person, which I've done a lot of.”

Full Article:
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/08/11/anna_paquin_talks_about_new_hbo_series_t

Tags: Articles, Anna Paquin, True Blood

Geoff Boucher of that Los Angeles Times has seen the first too episodes of True Blood and thinks the series is “simple fantistic”:

“This show, like every great HBO series, tracks a complicated tribe beset by the world around it, be it a Jersey mafia family, Utah polygamists, a quartet of single women in Manhattan or Depression-era carnies in a Dust Bowl war of good vs. evil.

This time the tribe members are vampires and the people who love them, all living in the not-too-distant future. Instead of villagers with torches, this time around the hordes at the castle gate are from Jerry Springer's America where groupies (“fangbangers&rdquo covet vampires for their sexual prowess and cruel-eyed poachers try to catch them, drain their blood and sell it as the ultimate vitality drink.

Vampires have a fascinating jumble of roles here: They are pariahs, junkies and predators, but mostly they seem like disaffected rock stars, tired of the hunger they see in the eyes of “fans” and their own joyless need to feed their own appetites. What’s that line by U2? “You’re a vampire or a victim, it depends on who’s around…”

Full Article:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2008/08/true-blood-is-h.html

Tags: Articles, True Blood

Jeff Beer of Creativity-online.com has posted an article covering the impressive, and continually expanding, True Blood promotional efforts created by the advertising company Campfire.

“Zach Enterlin, HBO's vice president of advertising and promotion says when Ball issued the marketing challenge to immerse viewers into the world of True Blood before the first episode even aired, Campfire immediately came to mind. "I'd read a lot about some of the campaigns they had done over the past few years, most notably with Audi," he says. "When True Blood came about we thought it would be a great opportunity to flesh out this world further and deliver a really immersive experience. And I think that's Campfire's strong suit, the notion of storytelling through promotional content."

...

What makes the campaign behind True Blood intriguing is how it overlaps and embeds itself within the mythology of the show itself. To set the stage for the show's hemoglobin-heavy adventures in northern Louisiana, Campfire had to create a complex back story that would reveal how vampires have revealed their presence to the rest of the world, due in large part to the existence of a synthetic blood product manufactured by a mysterious Japanese company.”

Full Article:
http://creativity-online.com/?action=news:article&newsId=130134§ionName=behind_the_work

Tags: Articles, Marketing, Viral Marketing, True Blood

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

Tags: Articles, Alan Ball, True Blood

Kurt Loder, at MTV, saw an American Vampire League post and got roped into the True Blood universe. He seems to have a mostly positive optionion of the project:

“Anna Paquin, gone blonde for the occasion, plays Sookie Stackhouse as a live wire whose love life is short-circuited by her mind-reading abilities, over which she has little control. But she finds peace and unexpected heat with a much older man named Bill Compton, who’s actually been dead since the Civil War. Bill, played by Stephen Moyer (“Quills&rdquo, has an insinuating, sleepy-eyed charm that makes him the most sultry vampire in the annals of the undead.”

Full Article:
http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/08/01/true-blood-our-vampire-neighbors-come-out-of-the-coffin-and-into-your-house-by-kurt-loder/

Tags: Articles, True Blood

Editor Michael Jensen looks are how vampires are portrayed in True Blood’s storylines and advertising in the August 1st edition of AferElton.com’s “Best. Gay. Week. Ever”:

“Included on the site (bloodcopy.com) are various clips of people protesting vampires rights (see picture at the very top), enraged citizens demanding vampires not be allowed to teach children, and folks expressing fear of vampires "recruiting" others into their lifestyle. Also found on the site are links to the AmericanVampireLeague, a vampire organization running ads supporting equality for all citizens that could've been whipped up by the Human Rights Campaign.

None of this is a problem, mind you. I'm just saying if True Blood isn't, in large part, a metaphor for being gay then I'm actually a straight guy totally into Pam Anderson.”

Full Article:
http://www.afterelton.com/bgwe/08-01-08

Tags: Articles, Vampires, True Blood

Lynette Rice at hollywoodinsider.ew.com has posted a brief article on the confusion among mainstream consumers due to HBO’s clever “Tru Blood” viral marketing. I myself continue to receive inquires on where the product can be purchased on a weekly basis:

“HBO’s inventive campaign to drum up interest for True Blood, the vampire series from Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball that debuts Sept. 7, may be a little too high concept for the average mortal. Outdoor ads and vending machines that tout a bottled drink called Tru Blood have driven consumers to the network website, where they’ve futilely tried to buy the product or locate a dealer.”

Full Article:
http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/07/tru-blood-campa.html

As a reminder, I am giving away free samples of Tru Blood in the forum.

Tags: Articles, Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, True Blood

Mark Whittington of AssociatedContent.com has written an article comparing True Blood to other modern vampire stories:

“Tru Blood, HBO's upcoming series, features a race of the closet vampires who are liberated from the need to snack on human blood by a synthetic variety known as tru blood. Naturally there is a Vampire Rights Amendment being debated to protect America's newest oppressed minority

A Vampire Rights Amendment? Next thing you know those blood suckers will be demanding to be called "Undead Americans" and terms like "Vampire", "Nosferatu", and the like will join the "N word" among the words we cannot say ever.”

Full Article:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/893099/a_vampire_rights_amendment.html?cat=2

Tags: Articles, True Blood

Discussion of Alexander Skarsgard’s current work for HBO, including True Blood, was recently covered by Hal Boedeker at Orlando Sentinel”

“He joins True Blood as Eric in the fourth episode. TV critics are raving over that series at their summer tour here.

"Eric is a really important role in the show," said Ball, who adapted the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. "It's the one that Charlaine's fans seem to be most interested in who they were going to cast, even though they were pitching professional wrestlers and models. I was very pleased to find Alex and that he was willing to do the show."

Eric is the boss of the Louisiana area where the story is set. Skarsgard tosses in a Swedish line every so often although the Nordic vampire has lived in this country almost a century.

"It's one of the main characters in the books," Skarsgard said. "He's probably going to be featured a while."”

Full Article:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/tv/orl-alexander2008jul20,0,6187116.story

Tags: Articles, Alexander Skarsgard, True Blood

TV Guide’s Matt Roush seems to really like what he’s seen of True Blood, so far:

“Vamp fans—and you know who you are (I hear from you often enough)—I know you’ve had a tough year, still mourning Moonlight and Blood Ties and all. Time to cheer up, and get ready for a wild ride this fall with HBO’s frightfully funky Southern Gothic ghoulash True Blood (premiering Sept. 7). With equal parts humor, horror and a sexuality that goes beyond the usual supernatural swooniness to graphic raunchiness, Alan Ball’s 12-episode adaptation of Charlaine Harris’s cheeky novels—the first season roughly follows her first book, “Dead Until Dark”—is one of the few buzzworthy shows to emerge in the new season.”


Full Article:
http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Roush-Dispatch/Fall-Tv-Schedule/800043010

Tags: Articles, True Blood

The Website Advertising Age has a new article covering HBO’s ever expanding promotion for True Blood. We’ve seen an expansive viral marketing campaign for the in-story Tru Blood beverage, along with ads for vampire friendly dating services and lawyers. Over the next few weeks it seems that HBO and Campfire will be continuing with the viral marketing but, also, offering more mainstream advertisements:

“Coming next: a mock public-service campaign supporting both sides of a "Vampire Rights Amendment" debate, with microsites for two different advocacy groups involved in the fray: the American Vampire League and the Fellowship of the Sun. A faux newsmagazine, "In Focus," covering the vampire story, will run on HBO and HBO on Demand. At the annual Comic-Con in San Diego, a large gathering of fans of comics and sci-fi, HBO will be distributing comic books that recap story elements, have Tru Blood sponsor a masquerade costume ball and seek signatures for both the Vampire League and the Fellowship.

The effort grows less subtle as the summer wears on: Traditional tune-in spots start to run July 27, as well as a "True Blood" website with episode guides and more. An online comic book debuts July 30, and will have two pages debut per week for eight weeks. Finally, when the series premieres Sept. 7, HBO.com will offer such things as a "True Blood" wiki, where fans and vampire enthusiasts can update and edit the bloodsuckers' mythology.”

Full Article:
http://adage.com/madisonandvine/article?article_id=129734

Tags: Articles, Advertising, Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, True Blood

Douglas Quenqua of The New York Times has posted a rather detailed article covering the creation of HBO’s exceedingly clever and continually expansive marketing efforts for True Blood.

“The campaign for the show, “True Blood,” based on a series of vampire books by Charlaine Harris, is shaping up to be the most extensive that HBO has ever undertaken.

By the time the program begins, the promotional effort will be four months old, having required the full-time attention of six Campfire employees who are monitoring message boards, maintaining a fake blog and coordinating the precisely timed release of new materials. In addition, 20 freelancers are working on other technical aspects of the campaign. HBO and Campfire began plotting the effort in February.”

Full Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/business/media/15adco.html?ex=1373860800&en=03669b67e2bcba83&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Tags: Articles, Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, True Blood

Jace at Televisionary Blog has written a rather lengthy opinion on the first two episodes of True Blood. Previously he had been quite critical of an early version of the pilot but after seeing a new edit, and the second episode, thinks HBO may be headed in the right direction.

“If there was a way to skip the first episode (which does, unfortunately, set up the series) and watch the second, I would definitely advise you to figure that out. The second episode is a clearer realization of Charlaine Harris' novels, blending together backwoods humor, underworld menaces, and homespun wisdom into a much more appealing package and we're given a much clearer sense of Sookie's world and how each of the characters interact.”

Full Article:
http://www.televisionaryblog.com/2008/07/second-bite-another-look-at-hbos-true.html

Tags: Articles, True Blood

Sean Daly of the NY Post had a chance to ask a few questions of True Blood’s Anna Paquin during the TCA Press Tour.

“Q: You have some sexy outfits on the show...

AP: My wardrobe is awesome! I am practically naked the entire time. What is not to love? [laugh] And they give me this nice spray tan, so I feel like I am sort of wearing an extra layer of clothing that is actually not really there. I feel quite naked actually. Or I did. I bought a lot of little tiny shorts to wear around on set.”

Full Interview:
http://blogs.nypost.com/tv/archives/2008/07/catching_up_wit.html

Tags: Articles, Anna Paquin, True Blood

The TCA related articles covering True Blood are starting to be published and here is a sampling.

TCA: Alan Ball: ‘True Blood’ is not a metaphor for gay people
Denise Martin / Los Angeles Times

“When asked if vampires stood in for some underlying message about gay rights, executive producer Alan Ball told reporters Thursday afternoon at the TV press tour no. “I really don’t look at the vampire as a metaphor for gays,” he said.

“For me, part of the fun of this whole series is that it’s about vampires, so it’s not that serious," he said. "However, they do work as a metaphor for gays . . . for anyone that’s misunderstood. At the same time it’s not a metaphor at all."”

Ball also comments on the effect used for the vampire teeth:

“We went to great pains to depict the fangs," Ball said. "They’re like rattlesnake ones that click forward."

Full Article:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2008/07/tca-alan-ball-t.html


'True Blood' vs. 'Moonlight'
James Hibbard / thrfeed.com (The Hollywood Reporter)

“A critic asks HBO president of entertainment Sue Naegle about whether she was hesitant to greenlight "True Blood" given "what happens when networks cancel a vampire show."

The room laughs knowingly. "Those people are crazy!" a random critic yells.

"I can appreciate that passion, I hope this show gets that kind of rise out of people as long as they don't send coffins to my office," Naegle says.”

Full Article:
http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/07/true-blood-vs-m.html


TCA PRESS TOUR: HBO's 'True Blood'
Diane Wertz / TV Worth Watching

“The pilot hour alone features gut-crunching fights and icky murders and graphic sex and "God hates fangs" debates on cable TV. (And every episode promises a kick-ass cliffhanger.) Ball gives us a world that's entirely distinct, believable and relatable, yet truly its own universe. "It's a world that isn't so media-saturated," Ball noted happily. "It's a world where people are actually interacting with each other rather than sitting at their computer reading blogs all the time."”

Full Article:
http://www.tvworthwatching.com/werts/2008/07/hbo-true-blood-generation-kill.shtml

Tags: Articles, Alan Ball, True Blood

True Blood has been garnering, mostly favorable, reviews recently and this should only increase in the coming days as the TV Critics Association press tour gets into full swing this week.

Here’s a sampling of recent reviews (Please note, for respect/copyright reasons we will NOT reproduce the full article here):


"True Blood": First taste of HBO's vampire drama from Alan Ball
Cynthia Littleton / Variety Weblogs

“Ball is definitely not Pasadena anymore. I am pretty much convinced that Anna Paquin (pictured) is the best thing about the show -- by far. She's adorable, and does a lot with material that could otherwise sound ridiculous, in the wrong hands. (I'll leave it others to decide if she nails the accent.)”

Full Article:
http://weblogs.variety.com/on_the_air/2008/06/true-blood-firs.html


'True Blood' could be 'True Love': A first look at HBO's vampire tale
Curt Wagner / Red Eye-Chicago Tribune

“Ball has said he wanted to ignore all the vampire clichés, and he has. The series is more Southern gothic tale than vampires attack thriller. Ball uses the vampire tale as a metaphor to hang a love story about prejudice and bigotry—and some viewers aren’t going to like that.”

Full Article:
http://weblogs.redeyechicago.com/showpatrol/2008/07/true-blood-coul.html


HBO vamps it up with "True Blood"
Joel Brown / Meevee

“Anyone who's seen "Buffy" knows what will happen next: ultraviolence, heavy breathing and the exchange of bodily fluids and risque double entendres. "True Blood" adds Backwoods redecks, vamp bashing, unrequited love of various kinds, racial and sexual politics, and some major, major kinkiness. Also, lots of long walks in the mossy, cricket-chirping bayou night.”

Full Article:
http://blog.meevee.com/my_weblog/2008/07/hbo-vamps-it-up.html

Tags: Articles, True Blood

It’s unclear whether it will actually be used at this point but a boarded concept for a title sequence for HBO/Alan Ball’s (ie. Six Feet Under, etc.) new show True Blood has been posted online. The concept is by Eric Anderson, designed by Frank Donnangelo, and done at Digital Kitchen.

See it at Frank’s website:
http://tobequitefrank.com/?p=17

Tags: Production, True Blood

This news is around 2 months old, but I found it an interesting tibit of “behind the scenes” information. As part of the production for an episode of True Blood in late April, a Shreveport house was partially burned and then later destroyed. Mayor Cedric Glover said it was on a list of homes already planned for demolition but local historians were, apparently, outraged.

Read more:
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080430/NEWS01/804300374

Tags: Articles, Production, True Blood

Kathryn Sparks of Starpulse writes:

“All around us are stories of the paranormal and fairytale worlds. Recent big-screen films have focused on hidden doorways to far off places (Chronicles of Narnia), talented wizards (Harry Potter) and even a crafty kid with an animal spirit sidekick (The Golden Compass). We've been inundated with ghosts, goblins and, yes, vampires.

The recent cancellation of "Moonlight" caused outrage in fanboys and fangirls everywhere. Thousands of viewers signed petitions urging CBS to change its mind. Rumors circulated that another network may pick up the show for a second season, but that didn't happen. "Moonlight" bit the dust for good.

But as one series ends, another rises in its place. Alan Ball's upcoming series "True Blood" will air next season on HBO. Based on Charlaine Harris' "Southern Vampire" novels, "True Blood" is set in a small town in Louisiana. It's a humorous and horrific look at vampires and humans who are somehow able to coexist. The protagonist is a human named Sookie Stackhouse (played by Anna Paquin) who winds up falling for a vampire named Bill (Stephen Moyer).

So what's the cause of our vampire obsession?”

To find out, follow this link:
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/07/03/vampires_why_the_obsession_

Tags: Articles, Vampires, True Blood