Thursday, October 29, 2009

‘Vampire’ Law Prof Takes Academic Look at Zombie Litigation

From the American Bar Association Journal ( not kidding)

Just in time for Halloween, a Canadian law professor has put together a round-up of vampire and zombie references in legal jurisprudence.

There have been more than 200 such mentions during the past 50 years, with the vast majority in the United States rather than her own country, found Sharon Sutherland of the University of British Columbia. A teacher of theater as well as law classes, she has long been interested in the fictional world of the undead as portrayed in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and other popular television programs, according to the Ubyssey.

Sometimes judges use silly vampire references to make clear to everyone that they're not taking a frivolous case seriously, Sutherland tells UBC Reports.

"But they’re also clearly drawing on things their audience is going to understand and connect with, which is why we found a lot of references in case law that track popular culture," Sutherland continues. "Zombies are in, so it would be very surprising if judges didn’t make some kinds of references to them. It communicates well and it’s definitely a dramatic metaphor that captures people’s attention."

Her latest article, Corporate Zombies and the Perils of ‘Zombie Litigation,’ has been submitted for publication, the UBC article notes. It is co-authored by Sarah Swan, a fellow UBC law graduate.

http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2009/10/01/more-than-just-bloodsucking-lawyers/

Anna Paquin's 'weird' vampire show nudity

From NZ Herald

Former child actress Anna Paquin admits it is "weird for people" seeing her naked as an adult in True Blood.

The former child actress - who won an Oscar aged 11 for her part in The Piano – doesn't mind baring all for scenes in her steamy US drama series True Blood but understands it is difficult for people to stop thinking of her as a "sweet" young star.

She said: "It's been a gradual evolution for me. It's probably weird for people to watch it and if they have this image of me as a sweet little child, but it's not weird for me.

"My wardrobe is awesome. I'm practically naked the entire time - what's not to love?"

New Zealand-born Anna – who is dating her co-star, Stephen Moyer, who plays vampire Bill Compton in the show – also explained that casting good-looking actors in the show was essential to explain the allure which vampires have.

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'Being Human' Vampire Series Coming To U.S.

YIPPEEE! From MTV
Following the success of series like 'The Vampire Diaries' and 'True Blood,' Syfy network to air American version of BBC TV series in 2010.You could be excused for thinking there wasn't possibly room in the pop culture ether for another vampire, what with the blood-loving folks from "Twilight," "True Blood," "The Vampire Diaries," "The Vampire's Assistant" and others jostling for space.

Well, Britain made an early-ish entry in the genre in February 2008 with "Being Human," a TV show about a vampire and his supernatural pals struggling to fit into society, and now the United States — vampire saturation be damned — is getting its own version of the show.

The Syfy television network plans to bring 13 episodes of the show to the small screen in the summer or fall of next year, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "Being Human" follows the aforementioned vampire, along with a ghost and a werewolf — all in their 20s — as they live together and attempt to conceal their true identities.

True Blood: "Bill and Sookie Have a Connection That Will Never Die"

From TV Guide

Temps is going to be very crowded for True Blood's third season, what with all the new vampires walking around. Executive producer Alan Ball, and several of True Blood's writers and producers, sat down with fans of the show Wednesday at the Paley Center for Media to discuss the new residents of Bon Temps, Bill and Sookie's future and a naked Alexander Skårsgard.

Watch full episodes of True Blood in our Online Video Guide

So where does the action pick up at the beginning of Season 3? "I believe [Eric] appears without most of his clothes in the very first episode," jokes Ball. (But seriously, he says, fans of Eric's amnesia story line from the books will have to wait until Season 4.)

"Sookie [Anna Paquin] is going to go off in search of Bill [Stephen Moyer], and she will find him," Ball tells TVGuide.com. But Sookie is in search of much more than just Bill. "There will be more conjecture about what she is and she will be more driven to discover what she is," said Ball. "She will get closer to the answer."

Will her brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten) help her? Not likely, as Ball explains that he doesn't share his sister's magical gifts. "It's a DNA thing, it's a genetic thing and skips some people and gets in some others," he says. "Jason has vestiges of it, in that he's such a fantastic athlete and he's a perfect shot, but he's still human, whereas Sookie is definitely a half-human, half-something else that we're waiting to reveal."

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TV Throwdown: True Blood Vs. The Vampire Diaries

From Film.com

Which vampire show do we love to feast upon?

Ten years ago, when a kid dressed up as a vampire for Halloween, you could safely assume he or she might be posing as Dracula.

But today, there's no telling which blood-sucker might show up on doorsteps and at costume parties. Thanks to a host of television shows, books and movies, vampires are enjoying some time in the spotlight -- and not just on Oct. 31.

The latest vamps to join the TV viewer bloodlust are Stefan and Damon Salvatore, of The Vampire Diaries.

So how do the newest small screen vampires stack up to their predecessors on True Blood? We pitted them against each other in a TV Throwdown:

MAIN VAMPS
As vampires go, Bill Compton and Stefan Salvatore are both the "nice guys" of their species. TB's Bill is a gentleman, retaining his chivalrous nature from his human life nearly 200 years prior. For his love, Sookie, Bill opens car doors, plans romantic dinners and refuses to stray, even when women throw themselves at him.
Stefan has been trapped in a teenage body for nearly 150 years. And he's willing to go to the mat for his main squeeze, Elena, even if that means trying to kill his evil vampire brother, Damon. But Stefan also has a complex history/love triangle an ex-girlfriend and his brother, and it appears another one is forming. With sibling rivalry in the mix, Stefan has a more complex history and situation than Bill.
True Blood: 0
The Vampire Diaries: 1

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True Blood Making of and Featurette by DIGITALKITCHEN

True Blood Making of and Featurette from DIGITALKITCHEN on Vimeo.

'True Blood' Season 3 Teases: Alexander Skarsgard (Almost) Naked, Godric Returns, No Snoop Dogg

from MTV

Sookie Stackhouse's telepathic abilities sure would come in handy to discern the fate of Bon Temps' residents in the third season of "True Blood." Unfortunately for us, mind reading isn't our forte, but we've got the next best thing. The people who pen the titillating series (creator Alan Ball, Elizabeth Finch, Kate Barnow, Brian Buckner, Nancy Oliver, Alexander Woo and Raelle Tucker) converged last night at a Paley Media Center panel in Beverly Hills and gladly spilled more than a few spoilers. We've combed through the scene reports to bring you the three juiciest, sexiest and tantalizing morsels, which we share below. (For more news from the event, check out "True Blood"'s official Twitter feed (@TrueBloodHBO) .

1. Alexander Skarsgård sans clothes

From the mouth of he who brings glorious visions to thine eyes (a.k.a Alan Ball): "Alexander Skarsgård appears without most of his clothes in the very first episode of season 3." There's really no further explanation needed here, right? I mean, whether it's strip Yahtzee or a half-naked highlight touch-up, I'm all eyes.

2. Godric returns

Just to clarify, the ancient undead doesn't become, well, undead. He'll return in a series of flashbacks, which we assume will most likely involve A. Skars. After Allan Hyde's exquisite, heart-wrenching turn as Eric's forlorn maker, I'm betting many a "True Blood" fan is eager to see the gracious actor on the series once again.

3. Snoop Dogg will not be in the third season

After name-checking "True Blood" in his song "Gangsta Luv," rapper Snoop Dogg admitted to MTV News that he'd like a part on the vampire series. "I love that show," he said. "I wish I could be on it. I'd be a hell of a vampire, don't you think? So what's happenin'? 'True Blood,' get at me — Snoop Dogg wants to be a vampire." But it looks like the only canines visiting Bon Temps next season will be the werewolves, according to Digital Spy. "Any time you bring in celebrities, like 'Hey! Look! It's Snoop Dog!', I feel like it's going to take us out of the story and it becomes something else so my guess is [it's] not going to happen," Alan Ball said.

Futon Critic has great run down of the discussion

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20091028_trueblood

T4: True Blood Coffin Chat with Stephen Moyer

How vampires rose from myth to modern obsession


From USA Today

Compared with the neck-biting ecstacies of Twilight and True Blood, the vampires of Hollywood's past are downright chaste. Not a drop of blood was shown in the original Dracula of 1931, and it wasn't until the Hammer studio films of the 1950s that the screen flowed crimson.

Now two of horror's top film historians take a look at the cinematic roots of the vampire phenomenom.

In Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff: The Expanded Story of a Haunting Collaboration (McFarland, 688 pp., $75, Nov. 9), a revision of a 1990 title, author Gregory William Mank explodes many of the myths about the Hungarian-born Lugosi, the screen's first Dracula.

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True Blood's Jason bares all to OK!


From OK magazine

OK! sinks its teeth into the former Home And Away hotty, who's got the ladies drooling - despite likening getting married to buying a sandwich!

It’s the vampire show with extra sexy bite and he’s the show hunk who’s sent drooling fans batty with lust.

Since getting his shirt off as lifeguard Vinnie Patterson in Home And Away, Ryan Kwanten has emerged to flex even more muscle as Jason Stackhouse in True Blood.

Fans of the blood-sucking Channel 4 series will be more than familiar with the sexy Louisiana slur and the buff body of sex-crazed Jason, who spends his time getting into trouble – mostly stark naked – and defending his vampire-dating telepathic sister Sookie (Anna Paquin) in darkest Mississippi.

Having moved to the States six years ago, Aussie Ryan has landed roles in Law And Order: Special Victims Unit and alongside Mischa Barton in the movie Don’t Fade Away.

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True Blood Season 3 Episode 1: 'Pack of Wolves ' Casting call and more from Spoiler TV

TRUE BLOOD, Episode 301 "Pack of Wolves"

TOMMY MICKENS: 18 to 25 years old, dirty but good-looking, with a scar on his face from ear to cheek, he is Sam's (Sam Trammell) long lost younger brother who works at a Tire Depot in Arkansas. Tommy's family has a bad reputation for skipping out on their rent and owing money all over town. When Sam approaches him, Tommy hides his identity and claims to be someone else. He's unaware who Sam is. BACKSIDE NUDITY...SERIES REGULAR

  • Backside nudity, eh? That's not a big surprise considering the amazing plenty of risqée nudity Alan Ball has exposed us to in seasons one and two! More shapeshifter man butt! This part will surely reveal even more of Sam's past and personality. Perhaps Sookie book fans will be upset that Alan Ball deviates from the book plot even more here, as Sam does not have a brother in the books.

TALBOT: Male, 20s - 30s. This "intensely beautiful" male vampire has the buff good looks of an underwear model and an acerbic and sarcastic manner. Full of dishy sarcasm and cheerful prattle, he shows Bill around a magnificent mansion where Bill has been "invited" to stay for a spell...STRONG RECURRING

  • An intensely beautiful vampire? Wow who would've thought of that - big surprise there! The "magnificent mansion" reference may perhaps reveal where Bill has been taken after his abrupt kidnapping in the second season finale. Team Bill members may breathe a sigh of relief to know their favorite southern vampire is alive, but his fate is still unknown!

JESUS VELASQUEZ: An attractive Latino orderly in his 20s to 30s. We come to learn he is a gay, Latino, attractive orderly! He's feeding Ruby Jean at her care facility. As good-natured as he is handsome, he takes his demented patient's racist gibes in stride...VERY STRONG RECURRING POSSIBLE OPTION FOR SERIES REGULAR NEXT SEASON

  • Sookie book fans - any idea as to which book character (if any) this show character is based off of?

FRANKLIN MOTT: Male, 25-mid 40's and sexy, sexy, sexy. This tall, dark and handsome vampire seems to have an immediate and torrid connection to Tara, whom he meets in the local bar. He later rushes to Tara's aid when she faces down a couple of racist rednecks...VERY STRONG RECURRING

  • This character is directly based off of a Sookie book character we first met in Club Dead, the third book in the series. In the book Mott is a vampire and Tara's boyfriend of sorts. He is portrayed as having gray hair and a mustache. Sookie believes him to be an older man in his fifties or early sixties when he turned a vampire. She describes him as being “vigorous and very masculine” and having an Italian accent.

COOTER AKA "COOT": In his 30s, menacing, the ringleader of the F*ck You Crew, he and his biker thugs take turns stabbing Bill and feeding on him. Coot hates being told what to do...VERY STRONG RECURRING

  • Oh no! Bill is alive but certainly not well! However will he get out of this horrible mess? Will Sookie save Bill? Will Bill get out alive? More importantly - what will his hair look like in season 3??

JEN AND MISSY: These impressive young women in their early 20s, recent NYU grads who are both studying to become vets, wind up spending the night with Jason (Ryan Kwanten). Despite their attempts to get him in the mood, including making out with each other and agreeing to a threesome, they grow irritated by Jason's lack of enthusiasm, and then downright disturbed by his admission that when he looks at them, he sees bullet holes in their heads...GUEST STAR ROLES. Above the waist nudity required.

  • Ut oh - is Jason PTSDing all over Lafayette's clam chowder? Holy smokes!

YVETTA: Female, 20's, gorgeously hot Eastern European is Eric's (Alex Skaarsgard) new dancer at Fangtasia. She speaks Czechoslovakian with subtitles and knows how to work a stripper pole. She and Eric have a sexual relationship...2 lines, 3 scenes /POSSIBLE RECUR Actress must be able to dance and be comfortable with nudity.

  • Love scenes with Eric? I'm sure that right at this very moment plenty of actresses in Los Angeles are studying Czechoslovakian and figuring out how to work a stripper pole.

REVEREND DANIELS: Male, African American. The pastor at Lettie Mae's church, he tries to offer comfort to Tara, and suggests that all her hardships are part of God's plan to bring her back to her mother. He's a bit uncomfortable when Lettie Mae's hug goes on too long...GUEST STAR

  • Lettie Mae's hug going on too long? Perhaps what Lettie Mae said in season one episode seven still stands: "There may be snow on the mountaintop, but there's fire in the valley!"

OLIVIA This elderly woman in her 80s, who moves with the aid of a walker and also uses an oxygen tank, lives in a house in the middle of nowhere. She mistakes Bill for her son...GUEST STAR

  • Who could this be? The only elderly person from the Sookie books with a known relation to Bill was Caroline Bellefleur (Andy and Portia's grandmother). This doesn't sound like it could be Caroline.
http://www.spoilertv.com/2009/10/exclusive-true-blood-episode-301-pack.html

Charlaine Harris and coffee with a canine

From Coffee with a canine blog!

Who is in the photo at right?

I’m Charlaine Harris, writer, and my dogs are Oscar, an aged male dachshund, Rocky, a male boxer-spaniel crossbreed, and Scrunch, female, a sort of terrier. Of course, all our dogs are neutered.

What's the occasion for Coffee with a Canine?

Every day is Take Your Dog to W ork Day at my house. They’re my constant companions in my office, and the dogs and a cup of coffee are the way I start my day.

What's brewing?

Folgers Dark.

Any goodies to go with the coffee?

Not this morning.

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True Blood Music Video of the Day: True Blood Funny Motivational Posters


True Blood Funny Motivational Posters


Thanks wrekincollegeL6

OK, Dallas is back- Baby!

OK almost 24 hours without internet! We are back up!

Loving True Blood in Dallas with no Internet Sorry!!