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Monday, November 17, 2008
Vampire fascination helps HBO to well-timed hit
Vampire fascination helps HBO to well-timed hit
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television
NEW YORK – 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 grown its Sunday night viewership by 66 percent since its debut in September.
The first season finale airs this Sunday, with a second season already in production.
"True Blood" casually imagines a world where vampires, telepathic women and "shape shifters" — people who can assume the shapes of animals — are a part of everyday life in a small Louisiana town. A steamy romance between Paquin's waitress and Bill the brooding vampire, portrayed by Stephen Moyer, stands at the show's center.
The HBO series also benefits from proximity to this week's much-anticipated release of the "Twilight" movie, another spooky drama about a girl and the vampire who loves her. Another parallel: "Twilight" is also based on a literary series.
Alan Ball, who produced HBO's "Six Feet Under," came to the network with the idea of adapting Harris' novels into escapist entertainment.
"After `Six Feet Under,' where as an artist and a person I got to explore my whole relationship with grief for about five years, I just felt, OK, I don't really need to spend any more time staring into the abyss," Ball said.
Ball's pitch was basically all it took to sell HBO's executives on the idea, said Michael Lombardo, HBO's chief of West Coast operations. Ball kept the foreboding darkness expected in vampire stories, spiced up the sex and violence, mixed in humor and explored the theme of outsiders in society, he said.
The novels are centered on Stackhouse, so Ball said he had to develop some of the characters around her to avoid overworking Paquin. Harris is unlikely to mind any artistic licenses; all seven of her Stackhouse novels currently rank in the top 30 of The New York Times paperback fiction bestsellers list.
The fictional genre of women and their supernatural beaus was something new to Ball. Surfing some chat rooms, he's noticed that many women are connecting to the story of Sookie and Bill.
The series averages 6.8 million viewers each week. As is typical for HBO, the viewership is scattered around in-demand viewing and reruns aired at different times during the week. But Lombardo said he's noticed that more people are tuning in for the Sunday episode premieres, a sign of anticipation among fans.
HBO usually spends a big promotion budget to get people to watch the first episode of a new series, and hope enough viewers are satisfied to come back is subsequent weeks. The "True Blood" promotion included some approaches unusual for the network, including setting up fake Web sites and advertising a fake drink called `Tru Blood."
But the series started relatively quietly and has built its audience week-to-week, Lombardo said. Even notable successes like "The Sopranos" grew more slowly, with a big jump coming at the start of the second season, he said.
"We haven't gone out and made a lot of noise about it because every week the numbers would come in and we'd say, `Wow, is this true? Will this sustain?'" Lombardo said.
The timing couldn't be better for HBO, a subscriber-based network that lost some of its hipness factor when it failed to develop shows that could match the critical and commercial highs of "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City."
The failure of series like "John from Cincinnati" and "Lucky Louie" left HBO suffering on Sundays, generally its showcase nights for original material.
"You start worrying," Lombardo admitted. "You see other networks putting on important programs on Sunday nights and you worry, `can you bring them back?' What has been fantastic is to see the subscribers have been waiting for a Sunday night show they can make appointment viewing again."
The series will return for its second season next summer, and HBO is looking to build anticipation by releasing a DVD of the first season before that — unusually early for the network.
Ball said that by the fourth season of "Six Feet Under," he and his team were having trouble coming up with new stories.
But he's optimistic about the future of "True Blood." The first season essentially followed Harris' first novel, and there are seven in the series with an eighth on the way. Ball said he's been impressed with how the stories keep surprising him, and how fresh the world created by Harris seems.
"If I wasn't making this show," he said, "I'd be watching it."
Friday, November 14, 2008
Revised Compton Family report
Descendants of Mr Compton
First Generation
1. Mr Compton was born about 1805 in Ukn.
Mr married Miss Loudermilk about 1829 in Ukn. Miss was born about 1810 in
Ukn.
Children from this marriage were:
+ 2 M i. Robert Compton was born about 1830 in Ukn, died in 1842 in Bon
Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana about age 12, and was buried
in Tall Pines Cemetery( Bon Temp Cemetery) Bon Temp, Renard
Parish, Louisiana.
+ 3 M ii. William Thomas Compton was born on 9 Apr 1840 in Ukn and died
Doesnt die in Made Vampire In 1868 (1865TB).
+ 4 F iii. Sarah Compton was born about 1842 in Ukn, died ukn in Bon Temp,
Renard Parish, Louisiana, and was buried in Tall Pines
Cemetery( Bon Temp Cemetery) Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana.
She never married and had no children
Second Generation (Children)
2. Robert Compton was born about 1830 in Ukn, died in 1842 in Bon Temp,
Renard Parish, Louisiana about age 12, and was buried in Tall Pines
Cemetery( Bon Temp Cemetery) Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana.
3. William Thomas Compton was born on 9 Apr 1840 in Ukn and died Doesnt die
in Made Vampire In 1868 (1865TB).
General Notes: In True Blood HBO series Bill is turned into a vampire by Lorena
on his way home from the Civil War in 1865. He tell Sookie he became a vampire
when he was "30 human years old" so that would have him born in 1835.
He also has a son, Lee after he returns home from the war in the books but in
TB he only seems to have the two children Thomas and Sarah as in the photo and
the flashback.
William Thomas married Caroline Isabelle Holliday about 1860 in Bon Temp,
Renard Parish, Louisiana. Caroline Isabelle was born about 1842 in Ukn.
Children from this marriage were:
+ 5 M i. Thomas Charles Compton was born in 1859 in Bon Temp, Renard
Parish, Louisiana.
+ 6 F ii. Sarah Isabelle Compton was born in 1861 in Bon Temp, Renard
Parish, Louisiana.
+ 7 M iii. Lee Davis Compton was born in 1866 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana and died in 1867 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana at age 1.
4. Sarah Compton was born about 1842 in Ukn, died ukn in Bon Temp, Renard
Parish, Louisiana, and was buried in Tall Pines Cemetery( Bon Temp
Cemetery) Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana.
Third Generation (Grandchildren)
5. Thomas Charles Compton was born in 1859 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana.
Thomas Charles married someone
His child was:
+ 8 M i. Ukn Compton was born about 1895 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana.
6. Sarah Isabelle Compton was born in 1861 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana.
Sarah Isabelle married Ukn about 1881 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana.
Ukn was born about 1860 in Ukn.
Children from this marriage were:
+ 9 F i. Daughter 1 was born about 1882 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana.
+ 10 F ii. Daughter 2 was born about 1884 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana and died about 1884 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana.
+ 11 F iii. Daughter 3 was born about 1886 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana.
+ 12 F iv. Caroline was born about 1888 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana.
7. Lee Davis Compton was born in 1866 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
and died in 1867 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana at age 1.
Fourth Generation (Great-Grandchildren)
8. Ukn Compton was born about 1895 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana.
Ukn married someone
His child was:
+ 13 M i. Jesse Compton was born about 1920 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana, died in 2006 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana about age 86, and was buried in Tall Pines
Cemetery( Bon Temp Cemetery) Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana.
9. Daughter 1 was born about 1882 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana.
10. Daughter 2 was born about 1884 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana and
died about 1884 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana.
11. Daughter 3 was born about 1886 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana.
12. Caroline was born about 1888 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana.
Caroline married Mathew Phillip Holliday about 1910 in Bon Temp, Renard
Parish, Louisiana. Mathew Phillip was born about 1888 in Ukn.
Children from this marriage were:
+ 14 M i. Ukn Holliday was born about 1915 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana.
+ 15 F ii. Caroline Holliday was born about 1925 in Ukn.
Fifth Generation (Great Great-Grandchildren)
13. Jesse Compton was born about 1920 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana,
died in 2006 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana about age 86, and
was buried in Tall Pines Cemetery( Bon Temp Cemetery) Bon Temp, Renard
Parish, Louisiana.
General Notes: Jesse died with no heirs and the old Compton home reverted back
to his Great great grandfather the vampire Bill Compton.
14. Ukn Holliday was born about 1915 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana.
15. Caroline Holliday was born about 1925 in Ukn.
Caroline married Mr Bellefleur about 1940 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana. Mr was born about 1920 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
and died in Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana.
General Notes: He is a descendent of the young man who served in the 26th Louisiana Infantry
infantry during the Civil War with Bill and Tolliver Humphries and who Tolliver
tried to rescue. Bill tells the story at the Descendent of the Glorious Dead
meeting.
Children from this marriage were:
16 M i. Andy Bellefleur was born about 1950 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana.
17 F ii. Portia Bellefleur was born about 1955 in Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
Louisiana.
Descendants of Niall Brigant
Descendants of Niall Brigant
----------------------------
1-Niall Brigant b. ukn, Fairy
+Einin b. ukn, Human, m. Ukn, d. Bef 2005, Ukn
|--2-Fintan Brigant b. Abt 1300, 1/2 Fairy 1/2 Human
| +Adele Hale b. Abt 1920, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana, d. 2008(TB),
| Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana, par. Ukn Hale and Unknown
| |--3-Corbett Hale Stackhouse b. Abt 1950, Bon Temp, Renard Parish,
| | Louisiana, d. 1991, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| | +Ukn m. Abt 1975, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| | |--4-Jason Stackhouse b. Abt 1980(TB), Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| | |--4-Sookie Stackhouse b. Abt 1983(TB), Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| | |
| |--3-Linda Stackhouse b. Abt 1951, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| +Mr. Delahoussaye b. Abt 1950, Ukn, m. Abt 1970, Bon Temp, Renard
| Parish, Louisiana, d. , Ukn
| |--4-Hadley Delahoussaye b. Abt 1975, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| +Remy Savoy b. Abt 1975, Ukn, m. Abt 2003, Louisiana
| |--5-Hunter Savoy b. 2004, Louisiana
|--2-Dermont Brigant b. Abt 1300, 1/2 Fairy 1/2 Human
+Unknown
+Uknown b. ukn, Full Fairy, m. ukn
|--2-Unknown daughter Brigant b. , Fairy
+Mr. Crane b. ukn, Full Fairy, m. Ukn
|--3-Claude Crane b. ukn, Fairy
|--3-Claudia Crane d. , Deceased
|--3-Claudine Crane b. ukn, Fairy
----------------------------
Descendants of Jonas Stackhouse
Descendants of Jonas Stackhouse
-------------------------------
1-Jonas Stackhouse b. Abt 1825, Ukn, d. , Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
+Unknown
|--2-Ukn Stackhouse b. Abt 1865, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana, d. ukn,
| Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
+Unknown
|--3-Ukn Stackhouse b. Abt 1890, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana, d. ,
| Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
+Unknown
|--4-Earl Stackhouse b. Abt 1920, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana, d.
| ukn, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| +Adele Hale b. Abt 1920, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana, d.
| 2008(TB), Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
|--4-Francis Stackhouse b. Abt 1925, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana,
| d. ukn, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
-------------------------------
Descendants of William Thomas Compton
Descendants of William Thomas Compton
-------------------------------------
1-William Thomas Compton b. 9 Apr 1840, Ukn, d. didnt, Made Vampire In 1868
+Caroline Isabelle Holliday b. Abt 1842, Ukn
|--2-Thomas Charles Compton b. 1859, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| +Unknown
| |--3-Ukn Compton b. Abt 1895, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| +Unknown
| |--4-Jesse Compton b. Abt 1920, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana, d.
| | 2006, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
|--2-Sarah Isabelle Compton b. 1861, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| +Ukn b. Abt 1860, Ukn
| |--3-Daughter 1 b. Abt 1882, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| |--3-Daughter 2 b. Abt 1884, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana, d. Abt
| | 1884, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| |--3-Daughter 3 b. Abt 1886, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| |--3-Caroline b. Abt 1888, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| +Mathew Phillip Holliday b. Abt 1888, Ukn
| |--4-Ukn Holliday b. Abt 1915, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| |--4-Caroline Holliday b. Abt 1925, Ukn
| +Mr Bellefleur b. Abt 1920, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana, d. ,
| Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| |--5-Andy Bellefleur b. Abt 1950, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
| |--5-Portia Bellefleur b. Abt 1955, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
|--2-Lee Davis Compton b. 1866, Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana, d. 1867,
| Bon Temp, Renard Parish, Louisiana
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Genealogy of families in the Stookie Stackhouse books
I have created a family report for each one of the main families in the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries.
I have the Stackhouse, Niall Brigant and Compton families.
I also have them in a gedcom file if you would like them in that format email me. truebloodindallas@gmail.com
Stackhouse
http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/5679325/258seqqfpsy9u762yzrf
Compton
http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/5679389/1bgyiauo6rtwdhl89i0b
Brigant
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9467326/Niall-Brigant-Family-Tree
Monday, November 10, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Alan Ball on Making True Blood
| Alan Ball on Making True Blood |
| Sunday, 02 November 2008 | |||
| By Christina Radish Best known as the creator and executive producer of the critically acclaimed television series Six Feet Under, which aired for five seasons on HBO, the 51-year-old Georgia native tells MediaBlvd Magazine that he is having a great time making the, at times, explicit and violent True Blood. MediaBlvd Magazine> How did you go about taking these books and turning them into a series? How do you decide what the focus is going to be, episode to episode? Alan Ball> The great thing about Charlaine’s books and the world that she’s created is that it’s so rich and there are so many different characters, and she opens so many doors. I don’t really know ahead of time what the series will be. I don’t map things out that far in advance. I rely on the four other writers that I work with to help instigate the out-chemical that you hope to make happen, when you’re mapping out a series. The other great thing about Charlaine’s books is that the stories work. However, the books really center on Sookie’s story, so unless the other characters are in the room with her, they don’t really appear that much in the books. So, I feel like we have the best of both worlds, in that we have a really elaborate story that works, and then we have a lot of other characters, and we can devise stories for them that remain true to Charlaine’s world. There will be something in there, for the people who are fans of the books, that will be surprising as well. In terms of the week-to-week, it’s just these characters that, hopefully, everyone will grow to love and care about, and seeing them deal with living their lives and trying to make a place for themselves in the world, with lots of sex and violence. MediaBlvd> How closely are you going to adhere to the books, for the duration of the series? Alan> We stuck really, really close to the first book. The first book is the basis for the first season, although by Episode 11 and 12, we started to veer into Book Two, just to set things up for the next season. We’re going to stick to the Sookie and Bill story very closely, and then we’re going to experiment with the other characters, but it’s going to remain very true to the spirit of Charlaine’s world. MediaBlvd> Why did you choose HBO for this series? Alan> First of all, I had a great experience with HBO, so why would I go anywhere else? Second of all, HBO allows you the freedom. My experience with the broadcast networks is that it’s all about flattening and making things plastic and making things resemble things that have already been successful. You have too many people giving you too many notes, and most of them don’t know what they’re doing. I will never do anything for broadcast network TV again. I’m only going to work in cable, and HBO is the best place to work. MediaBlvd> Did you intentionally write the first three episodes of the series yourself, so that you could set the tone that you wanted for the duration? Alan> What happened was that I had signed a deal with HBO, and then I went off to direct this movie, Towelhead. I felt guilty that I had a development deal, and I wasn’t really doing anything because I was focusing on this other thing. So, I basically wrote the second and third episode out of guilt. It did end up actually being helpful in setting the tone, but that wasn’t my initial motivation. MediaBlvd> Can you talk about the difference between adapting someone else’s work for TV versus creating your own world? What are some of the challenges of that? And, are there any benefits to coming into something that’s already been set up for you? Alan> Absolutely, there are benefits! You have a built-in fanbase. In this case, Charlaine’s books work. The world is complete. In a lot of ways, she’s done a lot of the heavy lifting, and I’m really, really indebted to her for that. The challenges are to remain true enough to the material, so that you don’t lose what it was that attracted you to it, in the first place. But, at the same time, you have to open it up and make changes, when you feel like they would improve it. Luckily for me, Charlaine has been a complete sweetheart about it, and she really understands that the medium of television is completely different from the media of the printed page. She’s been really onboard and she’s really enjoying the process, which is not always the case with writers, when their work is taken over by somebody else. MediaBlvd> How complex is it when you’re adding elements to an existing story? Alan> It’s all instinctive for me. I work with five writers. They’re really smart and gifted, and they’ll pitch things, and I just instinctively go, “That works. That doesn’t. This makes sense. This is not true to the spirit of Charlaine’s world.” I can’t really say how complex it is because I don’t think in those terms. I think, “Is this fun? Is this keeping my interest? Am I learning something new about this character?” I just trust my instincts and do the show that I would watch. MediaBlvd> How much fun can you have with vampires in our world? Alan> You can have a lot of fun! And, when you have actors this talented, you can really have a lot of fun, especially when you put them in this small town. This is the most fun I’ve ever had doing television. MediaBlvd> What do you feel is the essential thing that you have to have, in a series dealing with vampires, and how far can you play with the vampire theme to put your own twist on it to make it an Alan Ball production? Alan> I don’t know. The one thing I feel like you have to have is a character. You have to have a specific person that you’re invested in. You have to feel for them. If it’s just a story device with fangs, then I’m just not that interested. I’m not that interested in special effects. We’re trying to really focus on who Bill is. What is his history? What’s the curse of being immortal? How is that a bad thing? What’s it like to be immortal and still yearn to be human? To lose everything that meant something to you? To meet somebody and feel like you have a second beginning? Those are the things that are important to me. In terms of putting my own spin on things, I’m not really that concerned about that. Charlaine created this world and I just responded to it. Certainly, anything that will put my spin on it has to be shared with the other writers I’m working with. I’m not doing this in a room by myself. Also, it comes more from a motivation of, “Yeah, that works. That’s funny. That entertains us.” I get more invested, emotionally, by that. MediaBlvd> Does not being familiar with things like Buffy and the Twilight book series give you a better perspective, in bringing this show to non-genre fans? Alan> Theoretically, that makes sense to me. I can’t really answer that because I don’t know. It’s great when you’re working on a TV show and you hire a writer who has never written TV. It’s actually somebody coming in with a fresher perspective that’s not quite as defined. I thought, “This is fun. This is a show I would watch.” I’m really having a good time doing it. MediaBlvd> Six Feet Under explored life and death, as this show does, although in a very different way. Was that an appealing element that attracted you to the books? Alan> I don’t think I sat down and thought, “Okay, how can I continue to explore life and death, but from a different angle?” But, when I was 13 years old, my sister was killed in a car accident, in front of me, and death became a big part of my life, on that day, and has always been in the room with me. I’m constantly aware of how short life is and how it can go away, at any moment. So, that’s obviously a resonant theme for me. I do feel like Six Feet Under, in a way, made me more comfortable with the concept of grief. I’m not sure when can ever become 100% comfortable with death, but especially as one gets older, as I’m in the process of doing, it becomes a more real element. I’m sure that had something to do with how Charlaine’s books resonated for me, but I don’t think it’s the most important thing. The most important thing is just the sheer fun, pulpy storytelling nature of it. It’s a big, rollicking yarn. It’s just really, really fun to be a part of something like that. MediaBlvd> Will there be any explanation as to how history has evolved along this alternative timeline, to get to this point of the wide acceptance and population of vampires? Alan> A lot of that was done as part of the viral marketing campaign, and that was one of the things we were trying to accomplish through that, in addition to raising awareness about the show. Ultimately, once the show started, I wanted to be able to just jump in and hit the ground running. There is a website, called Blood Copy, that traces the vampires’ decision to make their presence known to humans. And, there is a comic book, which is available online, that traces how the discovery of the synthetic Tru Blood led to the vampires deciding to make their presence known to humans. I preferred just to tell that story in those media because, once we got into the show, I just really wanted it to be about the characters and their relationships, and the serial killer and all that stuff. MediaBlvd> Vampires are very popular at the moment, with the success of True Blood and then Twilight coming out on November 21st. Why now? Is it just a coincidence? Alan> As Freud said, there are no coincidences. That being said, I don’t really know what the deeper meaning is. I have not read Twilight, so I don’t really know about it, other than there are vampires, and it’s for young adults. Vampires are obviously a timeless, powerful archetype that really can tap into people’s psyches. They’ve been around forever, even before the redefinition of vampires in the 19th Century with Bram Stoker’s Dracula. A lot of world mythologies, all over the globe, have creatures, like the succubus, who feeds on the essence of other people. I don’t really know why there’s so much interest right now, but there seems to be a convergence. I’m just glad it’s happening. I hope it’s going to lead more people to our show. It does seem to be the moment of the vampire. MediaBlvd> In both True Blood and Twilight, the vampires are somewhat more domesticated than they have been in the past. They seem to be trying to fit into society. Why do you think that might be? Alan> As far as what the more domesticated vampire means, maybe it means that, as our society becomes more and more multi-cultural, and the new terrain of multi-culturalism is no longer the cities, but it’s the suburban streets in the small towns, it’s a reflection of that. I don’t know. I wish I was more educated in that regard, but unfortunately, I’m just not. MediaBlvd> True Blood really sets itself up as a parable about these marginalized members of society, and it has echoes of the sensationalist tendencies of our culture. Was that something that you brought to the forefront, or was that present in the books? Alan> It’s present in the books, in the very beginning. How easy it is to read the vampires as a metaphor for this or that is the least interesting for me. It’s texture, but it’s not what the series is about. When I first pitched this to HBO and somebody asked me what it was about, I said, “It’s about the terrors of intimacy.” At the time, I thought, “Who knows what that means, but it sounds good!” Over time, I’ve really started to believe that that is the deeper meaning of the show, and I would venture to say a lot of horror movies, and is a lot of the reason why the vampire is such a powerful archetype. As far as the sensationalism goes, it was just really fun to do something that was less subdued. Six Feet Under had been all about subduing one’s emotions and being afraid of the primal feelings that we all have, that are the byproduct of being creatures with souls, and having to deal with the fact that we all know we’re going to die. It felt liberating just to get a little crazy. The books had that energy, and I just really responded to that. And, I wanted to do something different, obviously. MediaBlvd> You’ve said that it’s a mistake to think of vampire culture as stand-ins for the gay community or immigrants, or anybody who is trying to establish a foothold in society, so that they are better accepted. So, what do you want people to see in vampires then? Alan> I’m not an expert on the symbolism of vampires and what it means. They’re outsiders. I’m an outsider. I’ve always felt like an outsider, my entire life, so I feel a sympathy for them. They’re rock stars. They’re romantic heroes. I don’t think it’s necessarily a mistake to view them as stand-ins for immigrants, or gay and lesbian culture. I just think it’s a little too easy. And, I don’t think it’s the only thing they can be seen as metaphors for, especially in this world. That’s one of the things I really liked about it. It’s a very fluid metaphor. On the one hand, it’s a metaphor for any disenfranchised group, wanting to assimilate and wanting equal rights and power. On the other hand, it’s a terrific metaphor for a shadowy, secret organization that is all about amassing power and, if you get in their way, they will get rid of you. That’s certainly at work in our culture as well. What I like about the vampires-as-metaphor aspect of the show is that it can be different things, at different times, which makes it a much more interesting metaphor. In terms of the appeal, maybe immortality is a part of it. They don’t have to die, in addition to being outsiders and rock stars, and all that stuff. MediaBlvd> How did Anna Paquin get involved with this show? Alan> Anna pursued the role. I got a lot of calls from agents, telling me that someone was available, but they would say, “Of course, it would have to be an offer.” And, I’m so sequestered in my world of making television and avoiding the entertainment industry, and living between those two polarities, that I wouldn’t even know who they were talking about. I need to see somebody read because I need to see if the character lives when they act. So, everybody came in and read. We took everybody to the network and they read again. At the beginning, my casting director called me and said, “Are you interested in Anna Paquin?,” and I thought, “Why would Anna want to do TV? She’s got a movie career.” I’m used to American actors especially, who work in movies, thinking that television is beneath them. And then, I thought about it and realized, “Of course she’d like to do this. It’s a fantastic role! Nobody has cast her like this in a movie.” She came in and read, and I worked with her twice, before we went to the network. I was a little worried that she wouldn’t be willing to dye her hair blonde, but she was actually very willing. She said, “It’s something that I would never do, in my real life, because I would think it was superficial, but you gave me an excuse to do it.” I do feel a certain responsibility to be as true as I can be to the nature and the spirit of the books, as long as we strike that balance. There are such legions of fans for these books that you have to strike the balance of being close enough so that they don’t feel like, “It doesn’t make any sense!,” but then also, when you’re casting, physical type is really not the most important thing. The important thing is, “Can this person bring this character to life in a way that is compelling, and makes me care about what happens to them?” I think I just have an instinct for when that happens, and I trust my gut. Luckily, I’m working at HBO, where I’m not being pressured to just cast people with familiar faces. We have a great cast! MediaBlvd> How did you find Stephen Moyer, and why did you decide to cast him as Bill, the vampire? Alan> That was a particularly tough role to cast. We saw some really good actors, but for this reason or that reason, it just wasn’t right. I always saw Bill as a really tragic, haunted man, and he also had to really give you the sense that he was from another era. Stephen is British and he’s been through the whole British actor training thing. For whatever reason, he just really captured the right combination of feeling haunted, being able to convey the fact that he was 170 years old, and being really genteel, polite, cultured and refined while being ridiculously handsome, with those crazy blue eyes. The first time I saw him, it was on a tiny little postage stamp-size Quicktime movie that I downloaded from a website, from this casting director in MediaBlvd> Were you specifically looking abroad for Bill? Alan> No, but I was willing to go anywhere that we would get the right person who would bring each character alive. So, we’ve ended up with an international cast. Stephen is British, Anna is from MediaBlvd> Can you talk about casting Alexander Sarsgaard as the vampire, Eric? Alan> Eric is a really important role in the world of the show. It’s the one that Charlaine’s fans seemed to be most interested in, as far as who was going to get cast, even though they were all pitching professional wrestlers and models. I was very pleased to find Alex, and that he was willing to do the show. He’s been voted the sexiest man in MediaBlvd> How much of Eric are viewers going to get to see? Alan> Eric is a 1,000-year-old vampire who is from MediaBlvd> The series is very sexual and very violent. What’s appealing to you about making a show with so much sex and violence? Alan> It’s fun! I don’t know if it’s because the fantastic nature of the premise allows me enough of a remove, so that it’s not so upsetting. It’s like popcorn TV. It’s like an amusement park ride. Sexuality is a real window into somebody’s psyche, so I’m not as freaked out by characters being depicted in sexual situations than maybe some other people are. There’s a lot of sex and violence in Charlaine’s books. That’s part of what I responded to. And, I wanted to do something different. Six Feet Under was all about repression, and this seems to me to be about abandon. I find the show really entertaining to produce and to be a part of making, just because it’s escapist. That’s one of the joys of it. MediaBlvd> What do you think makes vampires so sexy? Alan> Obviously, the act of feeding is a very blatantly sexual metaphor. There’s penetration. There are bodily fluids exchanged. It is a cathartic, frenzied, physical moment. Also, a lot of people are attracted to the bad boy or the femme fatale -- the hot, sexy, dangerous person that you just know is really not good for you and your conscience mind is going, “Okay, move away. Walk away from that.” The person over here, in the corner, who is really well-adjusted, and has their life together, has a job, isn’t crazy and doesn’t have any substance abuse problem, and that you should want and you know you should want, doesn’t turn you on as much. I don’t know where that comes from. It’s probably a result of living in a world where we’re all socialized to hope to avoid danger, and to function in society and not be an outlaw. Creatures who are basically dangerous outlaws that function on the edges of society appeal to those of us who want to live a more civilized life. MediaBlvd> How much of the humor will run through the series? Alan> A lot. Part of what I enjoyed so much about the books, in addition to the romance, the adventure, the intrigue, the danger, the sex and the violence, was that they were funny. These characters were funny without trying to be funny, and that’s definitely something that we really want to keep. We’ve assembled a cast that’s really good at playing the humor straight. Jason is a really tough role because, usually when an actor is playing a character who’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer, a lot of times you have an actor who needs to let the audience know, “By the way, I’m not really this dumb, and I’m going to let you know that I’m not really this dumb,” and then, it becomes really not funny. Whereas, Ryan Kwanten is a really smart guy and he’s really secure in that, so he loves the fact that his character is kind of a dingbat. Everybody really, really believes in this world and commits to it, and that allows the humor that was inherent in Charlaine’s books, and also the stuff that we’ve added to it, to breathe. I still laugh, when I watch episodes that I’ve seen five or six times. MediaBlvd> How do you see the good vampires and evil vampires playing out? Alan> It’s like humans. There are people who want to work together to make a better world, and there are people who, forgive my French, want to fuck whoever they can fuck, to get the most that they can get. Vampires are no different. MediaBlvd> How much will viewers continue to see Alan> You’ll see him a lot. The guy who is playing MediaBlvd> Will viewers ever see Bubba on the show? Alan> We’re not going to see Bubba. There is no way to do it, if it’s not Elvis. There’s just no way to do it without it being lame, so we’re not going to do it. The only way I thought about it was to have a guy who we never saw the face of, but then it felt like that guy from Home Improvement. MediaBlvd> When the writers’ strike interrupted production of the show, did you take time to rethink things? Alan> No, because we did not work during the strike. We shut the show down. If anything, all it did was delay the momentum that was building, and it took us a little while to get it back. During the strike, we were on the picket lines. I was one of those people who was very, very adamant about not working. I really believe in labor, and I really think that the big media consolidation giants are squeezing labor, and I wanted to do whatever I could do. I believed in the strike, and I was not going to be one of those people who was on the picket lines, but then secretly went to work. MediaBlvd> 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. MediaBlvd> 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, MediaBlvd> Did you get a chance to meet some of the voodoo people, or anybody who really thought they were a vampire, in the towns that you went to in Alan> I have not gotten into that community. Basically, the only people I met when we went to MediaBlvd> Did you ever watch Dark Shadows? Was that ever an inspiration for you, at any point? Alan> When Dark Shadows came on, I was in elementary school. I think it came on at 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon, and my next door neighbors and I would come home from school, and we would rush into either their house, or they’d come over to my house, and we would sit there and, when the theme music came on, we would hold our throats, like we couldn’t breathe. We would sit there and pretend that we were choking until the title sequence was over, and then we would go outside and play. We didn’t really watch it. To an 8-year-old, Dark Shadows was really slow, but certainly the fact that it was a show about vampires was something exciting to us, to make us do this weird little psycho drama, every day, just while that organ music played and those waves crashed against the rocks. I have no idea where that came from, but I remember it very vividly. MediaBlvd> Do you think kids will have that reaction to True Blood? Alan> I hope kids don’t watch this show. Frankly, I hope parents know better than to let kids watch this show. MediaBlvd> Having grown up in Marietta, George, did the Southern Gothic atmosphere of this world intimidate you at all? Alan> I wasn’t consciously intimidated by it. In fact, because I grew up in the South, I certainly saw a lot of it. My family had some real deep, gothic roots, so I felt like I knew what it was. Having actually grown up in the South, I’m very aware when MediaBlvd> With the success of things like Buffy and the Twilight book series, the vampire fan community is clearly fanatic. Were you prepared for how dedicated those fans are? Are you affected by what the fans feel? Alan> I try not to really let that stuff affect me. I feel a responsibility to be true to the spirit of the books, and yet turn it into its own television show. I don’t mean this with any disrespect at all, but the fans are not writing the show. I’m not going to go on the boards and make sure that everybody is happy with what’s being done because I have to trust my own instincts. That feels so narcissistic. When I first started working, I would Google myself, but it got really boring, really fast. I’m a person who works so many hours of the day that, the days when I’m not working, I just really want to get away from my job, so I don’t go on the boards. It’s no coincidence that I stopped going on the boards, as people started writing more and more negative things about me. If I start feeling like I have to please the fans, that’s just like having to please a committee of suits at a studio, and then it becomes a show that is created by committee, and that’s just not the kind of show I’m interested in working on. That being said, I’m a huge fan of Charlaine’s books. I really think that the fans of her books are fans of the show. And, I really hope that the people who come to the show without being aware of her books will pick up the books and read them. But, they are two different things. I have to make sure that I come up with new things to put in the show, otherwise everybody is going to know exactly what’s going to happen because it’s all been published. She has eight books out in the series, and there’s a ninth one coming out, so I have to walk that line. My job is to produce television and work on a show that, in my opinion, and the opinion of the people on my staff whose judgement I trust, is really the best show that we can make. Those are the people I’m going to listen to. I can’t make myself beholden to the fans because they don’t own the material. But, Charlaine, herself, really likes the show. Charlaine owns it, and now HBO owns the rights to create the show. At some point, you just have to make the show that you believe is the best show, and have faith in it. MediaBlvd> Has your writing process changed in the last 10 years? Alan> Oh yeah. Ten years ago, I was working on a sitcom. It was all about the jokes. Now, I love the people I work with. I’m having a blast, so it’s terrific. MediaBlvd> Are you a Alan> I’m more a MediaBlvd> But, you’re regimented? Alan> Yeah. I’m not a big believer in wasting time. If we’re done by three, we go home. Well, the staff goes home, and I go to the stage. MediaBlvd> Are there any other genres you want to explore in your career? Alan> Yes. I’d love to do a romantic comedy. I’d love to do a screwball comedy. I’d love to do a mystery thriller. I don’t want to do a comic book movie. And, I don’t really want to do a movie where people get tortured. | |||
I like to watch from Salon:The sexy vampires of HBO's "True Blood" charm our mortal pants off
I like to watch from Salon: Nov 3 2008
Narmed to the teeth
No matter what that slut says, the only new show I never miss is "True
Blood" (9 p.m. Sundays on HBO). Admittedly, Alan Ball's kooky vampire
mystery baffled me at first. I guess I half-expected those small-town
vampires to seduce the mortals in their midst with vitriolic psychoanalysis
and ultra-witty complaints about the pretensions of art school, then adopt
scrappy, adorable foster children, indulge in illicit affairs with relative
strangers, and finally, fall down dead from scary brain infections out of
the blue. (Narm!)
Instead, Ball offered up a kitschy town full of oddballs and misfits with
seriously fake Southern accents. For someone who grew up in the South, these
exaggerated drawls couldn't be more chafing. Imagine a British guy attending
a production of "Hamlet" put on by a bunch of 8th graders in Texas, and you
get the idea. Tara (Rutina Wesley) is particularly awful at the Southern
drawl, and seriously needs to tone it down. That's the trick, see? You take
your idea of a Southern accent (hopefully not derived from watching "Gone
With the Wind" because, uh, those accents were fake, too) and then you cut
it in half. Otherwise, you sound like a space alien.
But there's something so tasty and irresistible about "True Blood." Even
when the dialogue is a little predictable, even when there are lots of
ignorant rednecks milling about, gossiping to each other (How many times
have we seen the same stereotypical Southern nosy neighbors and sugarcoated
snakes before?), even when the vampires other than Bill (Stephen Moyer)
really do seem like the scary perverts most of the townsfolk take them to
be, I'm always anxious for the next chapter in this story.
Why? Somehow I want to know how Sookie (Anna Paquin) and Bill fare as a
couple. He's brooding and intense, she's picky and untouchable: It's the
ultimate high-maintenance girl's fantasy of a passionate affair with a
libidinous artistic type. He's a little bit depressed and slightly creepy,
she's a little bit prudish and stubborn, plus she's a tease. They're made
for each other.
And I need to know what's going on with the creepy bartender, Sam (Sam
Trammel). He was easy to dislike even before he started sniffing dead
women's dirty sheets and dashing through the swamp naked as the day he was
born. (Didn't a character on the show actually use those words? See how this
Southern crap writes itself?) But wouldn't it be too obvious if Sam were the
killer?
Obviously it couldn't be Sookie's hapless whore of a brother, Jason (Ryan
Kwanten), either. But I did love the addition of the totally understanding,
drug-wieldin' new-age-hippie girlfriend, Amy. That character is pure Alan
Ball. She's the open-minded, affectionate, idealistic, gorgeous, utterly
perfect lover -- until she's not getting exactly what she wants, and then
she manipulates and twists the knife until she does. Amy proves once again
that Ball has a serious knack for modern archetypes. Think Lisa, Lilli
Taylor's character on "Six Feet Under," one of the most loathsome,
irritating humans ever to be depicted on the small screen. Ball drags Lisa
into Nate's life, turns him into a sniveling, soft-pedaling wuss in front of
our eyes, and then -- surprise! -- she's secretly rotten to the core. For
all of his very enlightened perspectives on life and death, Ball is clearly
a man who finds many, many people wildly distasteful -- and that makes him a
great writer.
OK, so "True Blood" isn't exactly a brilliant, layered narrative, heavy with
insights and thoughtful moments and weighty images. I almost wish Ball would
fly free of Charlaine Harris' "Sookie Stackhouse" series of novels more
often, and follow his own, seemingly less stereotypical instincts.
But I'm still hooked on this TV version of a page turner, with its quick fix
of goofy interactions, sexy vampire lovemaking and backwoods nastiness. It
may not be groundbreaking television, but I really do look forward to it
each week -- which is much more than I can say for most of the new shows to
air this fall.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
True Blood: Who's the Killer?
True Blood: Who's the Killer?
• Oct 31, 2008 08:15 PM ET
• by Mickey O'Connor
http://www.tvguide.com/News/True-Blood-Killer-35127.aspx
True Blood
With only four episodes left of the first season of True Blood (Sundays, 9
pm/ET, HBO; a marathon of Episodes 1 through 8 will air Halloween night), we
still aren't even close to solving the show's central mystery: Who's killing
all of Bon Temps' ladies? True, Alan Ball's vampire drama (HBO has already
green-lit a second season, by the way) is more elaborate romantic fantasy
than hard-boiled detective show, but we thought there'd be more clues at
this point.
All three victims — Maude Pickens, Dawn and Gran — had vampire sympathies,
sexual or otherwise. But we can't necessarily assume that the killer has
fangs — or an anti-vampire prejudice, for that matter. (Also: We know a
bunch of you have read the books, and thus might already have the answer,
but please don't suck the life out of it for the rest of us. THIS IS A
SPOILER-FREE ZONE.) So let's look at the likely suspects:
SAM MERLOTTE
FOR HIM Like most men in town, Sam has a crush on Sookie, who is currently
dating Bill, a vampire. He has been spotted streaking naked across a meadow,
and then lied about it. He very conveniently showed up at Sookie's house
just moments after she discovered Gran's body. Plus, there was that creepy
scene of him writhing around in Dawn's death bed. What was that all about?
AGAINST HIM His green-eyed-monster routine aside, Sam genuinely seems
protective of Sookie, perhaps with the help of his canine companion, with
whom he has "conversations." Sam definitely has a secret, but is it really
homicide?
LAFAYETTE
FOR HIM Lafayette is a bit of a shady entrepreneur who makes porn and might
be a prostitute. He also has ties with vampires through his drug-dealing
operation. He supplied Jason with his first taste of V (vampire blood).
AGAINST HIM His character often reminds us of the parallels between the gay
and vampire experiences. Bringing him down for murder would totally ruin
that metaphor.
HOYT
FOR HIM Not a whole lot, but wouldn't it be shocking if it turned out to be
him?
AGAINST HIM Even when Sookie reads his thoughts, Hoyt is still all aw-shucks
sweetness and light.
BILL COMPTON
FOR HIM Well, Bill is a 173-year-old vampire, and they like to suck people's
blood and stuff.
AGAINST HIM None of the bodies indicated death by fang. He's Sookie's
boyfriend. He had recently spoken at Gran's church to educate humans about
vampires; him being the killer would play into all the stereotypes he has
been trying so hard to erase.
TARA
FOR HER The voodoo priestess told Tara she had a demon inside her. And she
can definitely be a real crankypants, right?
AGAINST HER Though she isn't a fan of Sookie and Bill dating, she's mostly
indifferent to vampires — and mostly everyone else too.
JASON STACKHOUSE
FOR HIM Morality isn't exactly Jason's strong suit. He likes to drink, get
high on V and bed as many women as possible, including two of the three
victims.
AGAINST HIM Mostly, it's just that he's as dumb as a box of hair.
TERRY BELLEFLEUR
FOR HIM The PTSD-afflicted vet and Merlotte's cook hasn't been the same
since he returned from Iraq, often complaining of "seeing things."
AGAINST HIM He is mostly portrayed as a simpleton: He shyly complimented
Arlene on her "really nice clavicles" and made a necklace out of a
two-pronged possum penis, for example.
AMY
FOR HER She did orchestrate that sneak attack and abduction of poor Eddie
the shy, suburban vampire, scary silver net and all.
AGAINST HER Despite having a violent streak when she's jonesing for V, Amy
is basically too much of a peacenik to be a serial killer. She's all about
"energy exchange" and Gaia, man.
RENE
FOR HIM Anyone else get a really ominous vibe out of his "I just put fresh
bat'ries in it" marriage proposal to Arlene?
AGAINST HIM He has defended Sookie against the taunts of unruly customers,
and has been generally pretty nice to Bill, even in the face of his
girlfriend's barely concealed bigotry. Plus, he's the only cast member with
a passable Bayou accent; they can't ship him off to jail!
ERIC
FOR HIM Eric, a 1,000-year-old Viking and vampire "sheriff" of the parish,
is super-creepy. Thus far, he hasn't exactly been straightforward about his
motives, often playing mind games with non-humans for sport.
AGAINST HIM While he does exhibit a sense of menace perched on his throne at
Fangtasia, he also takes his position of power very seriously, and killing a
bunch of humans isn't exactly going to help his cause, is it?
OFFICER ANDY BELLEFLEUR
FOR HIM Dude has some serious rage issues, especially if you forget to call
him Officer Bellefleur.
AGAINST HIM He's one of two men charged with finding the killer. Would he
really be working so hard if he knew he was the one responsible?
So we're stumped. Who do you think the killer is?
Flesh and Blood in a Town of Vampires
November 2, 2008
Flesh and Blood in a Town of Vampires
nyt
By MARGY ROCHLIN
IN her first scene in HBO's new vampire series, "True Blood," Tara Thornton
(Rutina Wesley) starts out reading while slumped on a patio chair at the
Super Save-a-Bunch store, where she works, and then proceeds to dress down a
petulant customer, slap her boss and warn him that her baby daddy would kick
his teeth in once he got out of jail. "I'm not serious, you pathetic
racist," she says when naked terror floods her boss's doughy face. "I know
y'all are stupid. But do you have to be that stupid?" Then she makes her
exit.
It isn't a moment that cries out for subtlety. But Ms. Wesley manages to
infuse it with some.
"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.
When Mr. Ball was casting the part, he used Tara-loses-her-job as an
audition scene because it acted as a tricky two-fer, meant to establish her
as the smartest citizen of the fictional backwater town of Bon Temps, La.,
but also as a hot-tempered, curse-happy person who doesn't suffer fools.
"Other actresses played it for laughs, like something on the CW," Mr. Ball
said. "But Rutina was the first person who showed her vulnerable side."
As fun as it is to watch Ms. Wesley furiously storm around, some of her most
memorable "True Blood" moments involve her brushes with Jason Stackhouse
(Ryan Kwanten), Sookie's womanizing nitwit brother, whom Tara idolizes. "I
think she really in her heart believes that one day they'll be together,
married, with, like, five kids — that's where the starry-eyed thing comes
from," said Ms. Wesley, who seems to have created an entire vocabulary of
micro-reactions — moony, crestfallen, no-you-didn't! — just for the scenes
in which Jason disappointingly treats her like a pal.
If Ms. Wesley's reedy voice and crackling energy don't quite ring a bell,
it's because her credits are few. She's a recent Juilliard graduate in her
20s who appeared on Broadway in David Hare's "Vertical Hour" and portrayed a
brainy, impoverished dancer in the feature film "How She Move" (2007), but
she has never worked in television.
Still, judging from her own biography, show business is encoded in her DNA.
She grew up just 10 minutes from the Strip in Las Vegas; her mother,
Cassandra Wesley, was a feather-bedecked showgirl, and her father, Ivery
Wheeler, is a professional tap dancer. After graduating from the Las Vegas
Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts high school,
Ms. Wesley received a full scholarship to University of Evansville in
Indiana. "Huge culture shock" was how she described her freshman year, where
she felt that everything from her race — she was the only black female in
the theater performance department — to her hometown set her apart.
"It was like Get to Know the Girl From Vegas Week," said Ms. Wesley, who is
now married to the actor Jacob Fishel and splits her time between Los
Angeles and Astoria, Queens. "People would say: 'Is Vegas a real place? Do
you live in a hotel?' "
Being considered alien for coming from Vegas is one thing, but on "True
Blood," vampirism is another sort of prejudice. It's not lost on Ms. Wesley
that the theme of outsiders is taken up in "True Blood," which makes clear
that most of the folks in Bon Temps, Tara included, are unapologetically
vocal about their distrust of vampires.
"Not everyone is as open-minded as you," Tara tells Sookie in a recent
episode as the two sprawl like teenagers across a bed. There's something
about the way Ms. Wesley quietly gazes at Ms. Paquin that makes her prickly
character appear to be the only one in town who really understands
compassion and friendship.
"I get to create this girl and make her not the stereotypical — for lack of
a better phrase — black woman with an attitude," Ms. Wesley said of moments
like these. "We see a lot of that. But with Tara we're also going to see a
woman who has been through a lot of things."
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