All Weres are Shifters but not all Shifters are Weres

"Do not call me a werewolf " Sam in True Blood

from Book 6

And to confuse the issue, all those who can change from human form to animal form call themselves shape-shifters, though very few possess Sam's versatility. Shifters who can change to only one animal are were-animals: weretigers (like Quinn), werebears, werewolves. The wolves are the only ones who call themselves simply Weres, and they consider themselves superior in toughness and culture to any of the other shape-shifters.

Weres are also the most numerous subset of shifters, though compared to the total vampire population, there are mighty few of them. There are several reasons for this. The Were birthrate is low, infant mortality is higher than in the general population of humans, and only the first child born of a pure Were couple becomes a full Were.

True Blood Fan Art

Dpauley - thanks

Stephen Moyer: True Blood's Vampire Hunk

A Stephen interview from TeenTelevision from last September

Mystery, horror, romance and humor combine in HBO's new vampire series "True Blood" based upon the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Sookie, played by Anna Paquin, is a telepathic waitress who is fascinated by vampires. In Sookie's world, they live among us and most drink a blood-like concoction called Tru-Blood rather than chowing down on humans. Sookie has her eye on Bill Compton. Almost 200 years old, the handsome "vamp" was roaming the South when there were plantations and Scarlett O'Hara belles.
Handsome, of course, brooding Bill is played by Brit born Stephen Moyer who co-starred with Debra Messing in "The Starter Wife". Picture tall, dark and, yeah, cute.

TeenTelevision: How did you get this job? Was it just a normal audition that your agent sent you to?
Stephen: I had come back from Australia, where I had been doing 'The Starter Wife', and, at the time, I was tan and blonde.

TeenTelevision: Whoa, not a good look for a vampire.
Stephen: I'd been away for a long time and I didn't want to come to America, straight away. But then, I saw 'True Blood'. I read it and I put myself on tape the next morning. They'd had trouble finding Bill. They'd been looking for about five months. Alan [Ball, series creator] saw it that afternoon, and I flew in the next morning. When Anna and I met and first had those initial meetings with Alan, I was tan and blonde, and she was white with black hair. We've kind of reversed [looks] completely.

TeenTelevision: Weird! Did you know the books?
Stephen: I hadn't heard of it ever before. But, as soon as I got the job, I started doing the research and reading the books. My character is from the American Civil War, so I went back to the Civil War and started reading about that.

TeenTelevision: Had you been a fan of the vampire genre before this?
Stephen: It's not the genre that I would have jumped at, to be honest. I'd read Anne Rice, but that is about it. I did play a vampire in '98, in a series called 'Ultraviolet'. I have these sharp canines [naturally], so we decided, in that show, not to even give me vampire teeth. But, in this, we have different teeth. I read the book and I could totally understand what Alan saw in it. Sookie is amazing, Bill is a fantastic character, and the world that [author] Charlaine [Harris] sets up is just unbelievable.

TeenTelevision: Can you talk about wearing the vampire teeth and how that works for you?
Stephen: As a kid, I had to wear a retainer to push my teeth straight, and it's kind of like having a retainer. You have to learn to talk with them in.

TeenTelevision: Ah, lisping vampires.
Stephen: [laughing] There's this hilarious thing where there's four vampires [actors] and we're all sitting around, chatting, and then there's a moment where we all have to have our teeth in, so everybody reaches down and sticks their teeth in and they start talking funny, and it's really not very cool at all. It's quite difficult, but we've all gotten much, much better at talking with them in. And, we've reduced the back plate on the teeth a little bit, so people have gotten better at talking with them.

TeenTelevision: Bill has a rival for Sookie, Eric played by Alexander Skarsgard. What is that relationship like?
Stephen: The relationship is one of respect, but mutual dislike. His character is 1,000 years old and my character is 170 years old and, in our story, the older you are, the stronger you are. So, Eric is very strong. Even though Bill can stand up to Eric and fight him, he ultimately has to kow-tow to what Eric wants him to do but, when a vampire has a partner, another vampire is not allowed to encroach on that turf. So, as much as Eric would like to, perhaps, he can't because it's against vampire law. That, of course, is a great lure to Eric and he wants to fight that.

TeenTelevision: Sounds juicy! Are you going to be doing any flashbacks through Bill's life?
Stephen: Yes. We go back to the American Civil War. It's in the books, so I'm not revealing anything. But, we go back to Bill, when he was turned. So, 140 years ago, in 1862, he went off to fight in the American Civil War and, three years later, he came back and that's when his life changed. He had a family, he had a wife, and we see him revisit that in his mind. And, that was a beautiful thing to do. It was very moving. And, it was amazing for me, doing the research into that period of time. I didn't really know that much about it. It's obviously not something that's taught in British schools. So, for me, coming here, it was great to use that as a reason to go and do research.

TeenTelevision: What about more flashbacks, to show other time periods?
Stephen: Not in the first season, but it's something that we're talking about.

TeenTelevision: What about the backstory of Bill since he became a vampire? Did anybody give you any info on that?
Stephen: I've got ideas. I know that the character who turns him is somebody that he's attached to. In our world, when you're turned from a human into a vampire, the person who turns you has power over you. You're linked to them and they're linked to you. There's nothing you can do about it. I know that my history totally goes with that character, all the way through until just recently, where I broke away from her.

TeenTelevision: Oooo, her, huh? Interesting. How hard was it to learn the Louisiana accent?
Stephen: It's one of the best things about the job. We went for something that was a very specific sound, that's different from everybody else's, and I hope that comes across. I wanted to make him 100 years different from everybody else. But, instead of being a very Reese Witherspoon sound, that is very modern Southern, he's the only one who's got a different sound. It's Scarlett O'Hara-ish.

TeenTelevision: Perfect. Did you do much vampire research, like watching movies or reading
books?
Stephen: No. I knew of stuff. I read the books. Bill is such a complex character and he's so unlike any other vampire because he's got morals. He's a very ethical man and he wants to be a decent undead being. I think that's a fantastic thing, and so, I didn't feel like I needed to do the research. I wanted to make him precise and still and slow and different from how you would ordinarily perceive a vampire.

TeenTelevision: Other than the fact that she's hot, what is Bill's attraction to Sookie?
Stephen: She's naive, yet she's spunky, she's courageous, she's so open-minded, she's intelligent, she's funny. She is other. There is something about her that is different from everybody else that he's ever met. That's why he likes her. He can't work out what it is that's different about her, and he's just compelled by her 'otherness'.
***
Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.

http://www.teentelevision.com/d.asp?r=184663&c=1002

True Blood Music Video of the Day

Beautiful disaster by Kelly Clarkson

Vampire romance (but not a lovelorn teen in sight)

ChristchurchCity Library in Christchurch, New Zealand has posted a nice review of the Sookie books - they seem to be very proud of their own little kiwi, Miss Anna.

You’d have to be living in a box (or a coffin?) not to realise that vampires are hot right now. First there was the release of the first Twilight film (based on the Stephenie Meyer book), and more recently HBO series True Blood has garnered ex-pat Anna Paquin a Golden Globe for best actress in a TV series.

The show is based on Charlaine Harris’s Southern vampire series of novels and is less well know than the phenomenally successful Twilight but is much more to my tastes, being a bit more “adult” in nature. The man responsible for bringing True Blood to the TV screen is Alan Ball (better known as the creative force behind another death fixated series, namely Six Feet Under) and in doing so he has provided all those things that HBO does so well, sex, violence, swearing, substance abuse, dark humour, oh, and did I mention sex?

I’ve been reading the books upon which the series is based and they are saucy, humorous, seductive and are a fast, well-paced read. No delusions of literary grandeur here just good, old-fashioned blood-sucking fun. The books revolve around the character of Louisiana native Sookie Stackhouse: waitress, telepath, and one half of a pretty sexy human/vampire couple. The other half is one Civil War-vintage Bill Compton, who I’m pretty sure could kick Edward Cullen’s sulky butt (if he felt so inclined). The novels all take place in a world where the invention of synthetic blood (by the Japanese, natch) means that vampires no longer need to hide, but can “come out of the coffin” mainstreaming into human society, voting, buying blood at bars, etc. Though of course there is still deep-seated prejudice and suspicion from much of the human populace and Sookie finds that having a “pale and interesting” boyfriend isn’t without its complications (and dangers).

Read On http://cclblog.wordpress.com/2009/01/28/vampire-romance-but-not-a-lovelorn-teen-in-sight/

True Blood Season 2 Possible Title Song: Ep. 4a "Let's Take a Trip Together "

THIS IS NO LONGER THE TITLE OF EP 4 -go here

Episode 2.01 - Nothing but the Blood
Episode 2.02 - Keep this Party Going
Episode 2.03 - Changed to Scratches from Scratch My Back

All we know about Season 2 spoilers/casting calls etc can be found here

We know the amazing Gary Calamar puts great effort into musically curating True Blood !

Episode 2.04 - Let's Take a Trip Together , by the band, Morphine on the album Cure for Pain.

Morphine was an alternative rock group formed by Mark Sandman and Dana Colley in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1989. The band ceased to be in 1999 after frontman Mark Sandman died of a heart attack.

Morphine combined blues and jazz elements with more traditional rock arrangements, giving the band a very unusual sound. Sandman's distinctive singing was described as a "deep, laid-back croon,"and his songwriting featured a prominent beat influence. Wikipedia

Cure For Pain was the second album released by Morphine, put out on the Rykodisc label in 1993. The tracks "Sheila" and "In Spite of Me" were prominently featured on the soundtrack of the 1994 independent film Spanking the Monkey. The video for "Thursday" also appeared on an episode of 'Beavis and Butt-head.'

Here is the band's MySpace and they include many audio and video clips to other songs but i dont see " Lets Take "

http://www.myspace.com/morphinejazz

Two of the member are now: http://www.twinemen.com/

Another member is : http://www.akacod.com/

If anyone know of a link to the song send it to me ! here is 30 seconds

Lyrics

Let's take a trip together
Headlong into the irresistible orbit
Breathing the cold black space
With the glistening edges
Let's take a trip me and you
Let's go the scenic route
Get to finally (x3)
Get to know each other
Just to be alone (x2)
Just to be alone with thee
Somewhere there's no distracting breeze of information
Leaking through the windows dripping from the trees
Somewhere there's no earthquakes
Of other people's anxious questions
No nervous wrecks going down (x2)
Let's take a trip together
Headlong into the irresistible orbit

Here is another song from the album

L.A. Rag Mag discovers the Sookie books

The enthusiasm caught me, but the photo made me laugh out loud. Now admit it, every single one of us looked like this during some part of reading 'Dead to the World' -hahahahahha


A: Wha-WHAT! I’m totally glamoured by Sookie Stackhouse’s latest mystery, Dead To The World (Book 4), but this time it doesn’t involve her vampire boyfriend Bill. Instead she finds Eric the vampire stud lost and confused on the side of the road. I just ran to Borders last night and have been working so I’m only on page 50 but it’s already sucking the life out of my VH1 watching. I read book 3, Club Dead, a while ago, because honestly the books are so good you can pick up any one and Charlaine Harris will fill you in.

http://laragmag.com/2009/01/27/rag-mag-readers-club-dead-to-the-world/

Killer Curves: Rutina Wesley

Wow, hotcha-cha-cha Tara !

Surrounded by frisky vampires on HBO’s True Blood, Rutina Wesley is no stranger to thirsty dudes who stay up all night. Meaning we’ll get along just fine

So you think you can dance? Try stomping it out with actress Rutina Wesley. Owning the screen as leading lady in this year’s critically acclaimed street-stepping film, How She Move, Wesley left competitors served with her combustible routines. But the slender starlet is quick to note that her lifelong passion isn’t her sole meal ticket. “I definitely don’t want to [get pigeonholed] as the dance-movie girl,” says the Tinseltown newbie. “I get bored.”

Switching lanes like a tardy soccer mom, the Las Vegas native has used the role as a major, uh, stepping stone, bagging her latest gig on HBO’s ultra-explicit vampire series, True Blood. Armed with a potty mouth and thick bayou accent, Wesley plays the hotheaded Tara, resisting her small town’s newly integrated, undead citizens. But before you think about sinking your own teeth into the dark-chocolate delight, peep the wedding ring and promptly lay off like Lehman Brothers. Yes, reality bites.

Your first KING shoot couldn’t have been scarier than the bloodsuckers on True Blood. What attracted you to the show?
It was definitely [director] Alan Ball [creator of HBO’s Six Feet Under]. You see his name and it perks your ears up. It wasn’t a hard transition, because the character that I play on True Blood is very close to me in real life. When I read that script, I knew that character fit me. I understand her.

Were you comfortable signing on for such a graphic series?
I did go into it a little nervous, but everyone is very open, because it’s not about me taking my clothes off; it’s about the story we’re trying to tell. I’m one of those actresses who believe there’s no need to be taking your clothes off unless it’s absolutely necessary. As a culture, we’ve stopped using our imagination. It’s like we’ve got to see everything.

Tell us about it. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this is not.
[The show’s] been tasteful. It is very sexual, and the times when it’s nasty, it needs to be because that’s a plot point. My favorite thing about the show is that anything can happen at any moment.

Even a sexy scene starring yourself?
[Laughs] I plead the Fifth! I don’t know. The readers will have to keep watching.

Fair enough. But some viewers are more focused on the seemingly stereotypical black characters. How is your part unlike Omarosa?
I’m trying to make sure I always play a human being with a range of emotions, not this screaming robot. It’s funny—there are people who think I’m hilarious on the show and people who are offended, both black and white. They’re like, “I don’t talk like that. She’s ghetto.” I love hearing the differences, because there are people exactly like Tara—don’t lie and tell me there aren’t.

You should meet some of our ex-girlfriends.
It’s good that [Tara] offends you. She’s very offensive and very angry. If you watch for a minute, you’ll see why she’s so angry, and maybe you’ll realize that’s her mouth. That’s her.

Your onscreen cousin, LaFayette, is a drug dealer. Coincidence?
It’s a shame people get stuck on things. Everyone is quick to say it’s offensive. It’s not like a bunch of white people sat around and were like, “We’re going to make the black character cuss all the time, because that’s all black people do.” That’s not what it’s about. Alan has done a great job of creating real-life characters that aren’t these stock ones we’ve seen in the past.–John Kennedy

http://www.king-mag.com/online/?p=10224

True Blood - Episode 2.04 - Let's Take a Trip Together - Plotline and Casting Call

STORY LINE
Jason's promotion to soldier is not without strings, and while in Texas with Bill and Jessica, Sookie discovers that she's not the only one who can read minds...

[DRIVER]
30 to 45, this suspiciously pushy driver, whose thoughts are violent and dark, is sent by Fellowship of the Sun to abduct Sookie when she arrives at the airport. Instead, he is glamored (hypnotized) by Bill and Jessica, and experiences a wide spectrum of emotions and outbursts, from fear, to relief, to embarrassment as his will is usurped and his behavior is dictated. He is ultimately released to return to his superiors and tell them that Sookie "never showed up" (which is what he now believes)...GUEST STAR (33)

[DESK CLERK]
This sleek, female, European desk clerk at a Texas hotel prepares a room for Sookie, Jessica and Bill according to their specifications...CO-STAR (40)

[BELLBOY / BARRY]
This uniformed, 19-year-old bellboy at a Texas hotel brings Sookie and Jessica room service (a handsome guy to feed off of). To Sookie's surprise, Barry can read her mind, and he grows increasingly freaked out as they communicate silently sptv050769...CO-STAR / RECUR(?) (54)

[CHAUFFEUR]
50ish, very handsome, well-groomed and surprisingly country, he picks up Jessica and Bill's travel coffins to take to the airport...CO-STAR (24)

[YOUNG MAN / TRAVIS]
21 years old and very handsome in his hotel bathrobe, he is Jessica's polite, barely legal "room service" (B negative blood)...CO-STAR (54)

Source: SpoilerTV

Time to let all the characters come out and play in social media

Tris Hussey at Media2 is talking about "character blogging " and after our fantastic , ground breaking radio show last night, we are oh -so-very interested in it. If you missed the show it it's archived on the right " Role Playing " we interviewed by twitterboth Sookie and Eric and it was a great show!

I’m sure there are still people who might disagree with me, that “blogging” needs to be personal, real, authentic to be “true blogging”, but I think we’ve finally reached a point where we see social media for what is it: writing, storytelling, and sharing.

The main argument against character blogs was the lack of authenticity. How could a “character” be real? Hmm, we could ask Stephen King about Richard Bachman, I’d ask Samuel Clemens about Mark Twain, but well he’s dead. Literature and storytelling has a long history of pen names and characters. Sometimes you need to assume a pen name, or alter ego, to have the freedom to write and express what you’d like.

If I write anonymously, or as a character, is that not being true to me or am I just expressing another aspect of my personality more openly?

What got me thinking about this is True Blood. You see recently Sookie, Pam, Eric, and other characters from True Blood have been on Twitter (Bill was on there, but I guess he’s gone into hiding). No one has been up in arms. Fans of True Blood, like me, have been chatting with them. I know I’m not really chatting with Sookie (now if Anna Paquin were chatting with me, that would send a shiver down my spine!), and I don’t care because it’s fun.

I don’t know, or care, who is behind the accounts. Interns at HBO? Dedicated fans? PR group? Doesn’t matter. Not a social media fail, social media coup. Because True Blood is off air right now, and we’re dying for Season Two to start, getting a little reminder of the cast and characters keeps the fans going. Keeps us craving more shows. Reminds us how much we dig the show and how much we miss it.

Maybe now I don’t miss it as much now, because I can chat with Sookie (I’d like to chat with Bill again). I haven’t seen anything like they are going to pimp a DVD set. They are in character. Their world and ours is intersecting so why would we buy a DVD set of Season One of their real lives?

I think social media is growing into a more mature form of media. We are accepting that media, art, writing, literature, has many forms. There are so many ways to express oneself. Maybe I’d like to become a character on a blog. Maybe the escape of being free to be another is healthy. I follow a few “character blogs” and love them. What is even more fun is knowing the people behind the characters. Seeing the different facets of their personalities come out is damn cool.

Now, let’s get some more characters out there telling their stories.

And if you’ll excuse me, there is a tall, pall woman in a cloak at the door…

Read entire article :

http://www.blogm2o.com/time-to-let-all-the-characters-come-out-and-play-on-in-social-media/

You know you've watched too much True Blood when...

When you go to your sister's house, she has Lafayette's gold thong scene queued up on the Tivo and while watching it, you both recite the dialogue and copy his moves.

You wish Lorena existed so you could stake her for Bill's sake.

You start writing fan fiction!!! Yikes!

You've tried to style your hair like cool Pam (casual Pam great but "Mistress of Fangtasia" is better).

Tuvan Throat Music starts to grow on you

'Fly Away Home,' starring Oscar-winner Anna Paquin will make their Blu-ray debut on April 7

Just how cute is that face ...? See previous post on Fly Away Home here

Sony Pictures has announced a pair of family adventure favorites for Blu-ray release this April, 'Fly Away Home' and 'Winged Migration.'

The fictional 'Fly Away Home,' starring Oscar-winner Anna Paquin, and the acclaimed nature documentary 'Winged Migration,' will make their Blu-ray debut on April 7 as separate, stand-alone releases. Both features will enjoy remastered 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video and high-res soundtracks in English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround.

Bonus features on 'Fly Away Home' include a director & cinematographer audio commentary, a trio of featurettes ("HBO Making Of: Leading The Flock," "Operation Migration: Birds Of A Feather," "The Ultra Geese") and the theatrical trailer.

Among the extras on 'Winged Migration' are audio commentary with director Jacques Perrin, two featurettes ("The Making of Winged Migration," "Creating the Music"), additional filmmaker interviews and a photo gallery.

Suggested list price for each Blu-ray has been set at $28.95 a pop.

You'll find the latest specs for 'Fly Away Home' and 'Winged Migration' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under April 7.

True Blood and Generation Kill to air on UK Channel 4

There will be lots of new fans for Alexander Skarsgard with both True Blood and Generation Kill !

C4 buys HBO dramas, lines up another with ABC

The UK's Channel 4 has struck a deal with HBO for terrestrial rights to drama series True Blood and Generation Kill and had greenlit a homegrown drama about the Queen, which will air on ABC in the US.

Vampire drama True Blood and Iraq war mini-series Generation Kill, which comes from the writer of The Wire, will both debut on C4 later this year, while casting is still underway for The Queen (working title) from Blast! Films.

True Blood and Generation Kill, both of which have already aired in the UK on diginet FX, mark C4's first major US acquisitions since saying it was scaling back spending in this area in favour of domestic documentaries.

True Blood goes to the movies : Stephen Moyers stars in Restraint

Two dangerous fugitives on the run from a murder scene take a hostage, who turns out to have a dark secret of his own.

Directed by David Denneen
Starring: Travis Fimmel, Teresa Palmer & Stephen Moyer

http://www.filmgraphics.com
http://www.restraint-movie.com/

Buy it on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Restraint-Phili...

Become a fan on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Restrai...

All Hail the Northman

Some lovely friends have started a great Eric Northman blog...

http://ericnorthman.blogspot.com/

Dead Until Dark new Spanish language edition

Spanish language edition of the the new True Blood version of 'Dead until Dark' or 'Dead Hearts' ?

El libro que ha inspirado la serie 'Trueblood', protagonizada por Anna Paquin y escrita por el creador de 'American Beauty' y 'A dos metros bajo tierra', Alan Ball.

Portada del libro 'Corazones Muertos' de Charlaine Harris. (La factoría de ideas).
Con la serie de Sookie Stackhouse, Charlaine Harris demuestra hasta qué punto su talento puede hacer que una casi imposible mezcla de vampiros, misterio, intriga y humor se convierta en una obra deliciosamente imprescindible.

Una autora avalada por más de dos décadas escribiendo y entreteniendo a miles de lectores de todo el mundo.

http://www.soitu.es/participacion/2009/01/27/u/books_1233059974.html

True Blood Music Video of the Day

Two Hearts by Kylie Minogue