Paquin: Not Exactly Bloodthirsty

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

“Alan Ball requested of us during the first season that any time Anna Paquin needs to drink ‘blood’ on set, we have to ensure that our special-effects blood is carb-free. So, for the second season of the show, we’re stocking up on carb-free blood—an item that’s not so easily found,” he says. It’s a good thing for Ms. Paquin that these aren’t the good old days of black-and-white productions, when Hershey’s chocolate syrup was the top choice for on-screen blood. The actress could not be reached for comment by deadline.

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

TV guide poll: Vote for Bill Compton for Sexiest Bad Ass

Vote for Bill Compton for sexiest Bad Ass










Vote here

"Theodore Newlin is an America hero , Amen, Amen !"

This a fun little factoid about the Tammy Faye look-alike wife of the husband / wife TV evangelists couple that we see interviewing Ted Newlin .

We see this clip in episode 3 when Jason is watching TV late at night . The actress is Kelli Maroney and she is a female B movie horror film star as well as Soap star ( Ryan's Hope ) .

Kelli Maroney is best known for her film roles were in the 1982 comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High as a cheerleader named Cindy, the 1984 science fiction movie Night of the Comet as Samantha Belmont; as well as two low-budget slasher films, The Zero Boys (1985) as Jamie, and Chopping Mall
(1986) as Alison.

In an interview with Maroney was featured in Jewel Shepard's Invasion of the B-Girls, a non-fiction book comprised of Q&A's with popular scream queens.






Kelli's web page http://www.kellimaroney.com/home.html
Cult Goddess Magazine HERE http://www.cultgoddessmagazine.com/

South Florida's underground vampires lust for more than your heart

By Michael J. Mooney Palm Beach News

Under any other circumstances, the girl sitting in the oversized red chair might be screaming for help or begging for mercy. A tall, pale young man — his eyes lined in black — inches toward her with a sharp blade in his hand. It's just after 1 a.m. on a recent Friday night, and an operatic trance song thumps through a North Miami Beach living room lit only by a series of white candles.

Nikolai, 23, wears black leather wristbands and the vest and pants of a powder-blue tuxedo. He's a thin kid with an emo haircut. He brandishes a medical scalpel in his right hand. He lifts Violetta's right leg into the air, rustling her burgundy, Elizabethan-style dress. The blade nears Violetta's exposed, fleshy thigh....

Nikolai is a vampire. He and his friends are all part of a South Florida community of vampires — they sometimes spell it vampyre to differentiate the living, human versions from the fictional, undead forms. They identify with the lonely, torn spirits in vampire stories, but these folks are not your typical goth kids. Nor are they role playing. Some of them claim to be psychic vampires with an ability to drain energy with their minds. And some are sanguine — vampires who lust after and feed on human blood.

Read article http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2009-02-05/news/south-florida-s-underground-vampires-lust-for-more-than-your-heart/

True Blood HBO Wiki gets praise from a husband!

We don't all have long suffering spouses -some of our husbands and boyfriends are very understanding and even happy that we have found something that we so enjoy!

So there I was watching HBO..and my wife's name flashes on the screen during a promo for the very popular HBO vampire show True Blood. The producers regularly scan the fan forum and quote the best comments from the super fans.

I thought I was a fanboy!

HBO Original Series turns out some of the most memorable, dark, and dramatic TV shows anywhere. There are fans of HBO and then there are FANS!
HBO hosts the True Blood Wiki, where the very devoted fanatics of the show, like my wife, come to bond and team-up in online cliques to discuss red wine, vampire affairs, human/ Vampire relations and Milano cookies.

The show is based on the very popular novels- the Sookie Stackhouse Series- by Charlaine Harris. My books have been banished to a lower shelf in place of these 'Sookie' novels.
And no, I'm not jealous of all of the giggling, school girl, fandom..like some of the other True Blood spouses apparently are. The show's creators apparently read the fan forums to get ideas and to gauge audience response, pretty cool.

Anyways..A shout out to the 'Bill on the brain', bunch over on the TB Wiki..and also to my fellow True Blood spouses, at least Entourage is great this season.

It's not TV, it's HBO.

True Blood: it's not the only drink in town

There are other brands of synthetic blood that the vampires drink in the Sookie Stackhouse books beside True Blood.

The four others that come to mind are:
Life Flow from Bk 2
Life Support from Bk 3
Red Stuff from Bk 5
Royalty Blend from Bk 8

Others ? Anyone remember what makes Royalty Blend different ?

True Blood in Poland : promotional videos

The cheese that goes crunch!

In the books who likes to eat these these ?

True Blood actors adopt Southern Accents : They speak American

I am not one of the people that has had a problem with the accents of any of the actors, I think the Canadian/Kiwi , Brits, Swedish and Australian actors are doing a pretty good job with their American southern accents and I have lived in the South all my life.

I especially love Bill's kind of old fashioned Southern accent almost like " Gone with the Wind". Some of the cast, like Sam and Arlene ( Sam and Carrie ) really were born in the South and Alan Ball seems to just be content with letting them have their own natural accent which are derived from their own home states of South Carolina ( Sam was born in NOLA ) and Georgia respectively.

TELEVISION | Actors from across the pond learn fine points of Yankee slang as they assimilate for sake of characters
BY MARY HOULIHAN from Chicago Sun Times

A growing number of television actors are not only studying scripts, they're also studying American vowels and consonants. Popular actors from England, Australia and New Zealand have found a home on the small screen playing American characters.But just how well are they doing with their adoptive American accents? For some perspective, we checked in with Cecilie O'Reilly, a busy Chicago dialect coach, who most recently worked with American actors and Irish accents for Steppenwolf Theatre's production of "The Seafarer."

Anna Paquin, New Zealand

Role: Sookie Stackhouse ("True Blood"), a Louisiana barmaid who hears voices and falls in love with a vampire.

Accent: Paquin's Southern accent is "right on target. I pretty much couldn't see any problem with it."

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/television/1409938,CST-FTR-accent03.article

The 100 Best Fantasy Books

Fantasy books and movie dot com came up with their list of the 100 best fantasy books .

The best fantasy books take you on the adventure of a lifetime, through fantastic worlds full of magical creatures and endless possibilities.

16. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (2001)
A psychic barmaid from a small town finds her life turned upside down when a handsome vampire takes an interest in her. This is the first book in The Southern Vampire Mysteries series.





47. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris (2002)
A psychic barmaid must solve the murder of a co-worker and find a missing vampire in this, the second book in The Southern Vampire Mysteries series.



Of note , Dracula is 22 - entire list can be found here

22. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)
A British solicitor recounts his encounter with the mysterious Count Dracula, who takes an unnatural interest in his beloved fiancé.

True Blood grabs audiences by the jugular

From Australian Courier Mail

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

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

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

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

Moyer, a father of two, will have to get used to spending time in dark places.

True Blood, based on the novels by Charlaine Harris and reimagined for the small screen by Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball, has grabbed TV audiences by the jugular.

See our gallery of screen vampires
With its graphic mix of sex, gore and black humour, it's not for the feint-hearted, but received critical kudos at last month's Golden Globes, with star Anna Paquin collecting the award for best actress and the series nominated for best drama.

"You can't say it too many times that Alan is a clever man," Moyer says of the Oscar-winning writer and director.

"You've got this classic love story, which he gives a modern twist to . . . you've got the funny, you've got the sexy, you've got the downright dirty, but you've also got the drama of it."

In True Blood, vampires have come out of the coffin, so to speak. They live alongside humans thanks to the invention of synthetic blood called "True Blood", which can be bought like a six-pack of beer and supposedly quenches the vamps' thirst for mortals.

But their integration into society is fraught with prejudice and violence.

Telepathic Louisiana waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Paquin) is one of the few willing to give the undead a chance, particularly when the brooding Bill Compton (Moyer) arrives.

"Alan creates this outsider who comes into the town and is immediately looked at with suspicion," Moyer says of his character.

"So he's kind of a metaphor for any minority group you can think of, whether it be the idea of blacks in the South or homosexuality or any outsider group, really.

"That's the sort of deeper level that I find very interesting. I couldn't believe it when I read it. I was just blown away by the idea of him."

Like New Zealand's Paquin and Australia's Ryan Kwanten, who plays Sookie's sex-mad brother Jason, Moyer had to disguise his native accent with some convincing Southern dialects. He says the fact half the lead cast have foreign passports is a coincidence.

"I truly don't believe that actors in America don't exist to have been able to play these parts," he says. "Alan just sees things in people and he'll wait until he finds what he wants.

"Anna, obviously, we all know, is a pale brunette and she's playing this tanned blonde girl, but she had to go through the whole audition process. It wasn't offered to her. She ended up reading with five blonde actresses, with her still dark and pale, and Alan just believed that she could do it."

While he is begrudgingly avoiding UV rays ahead of filming True Blood's second series, Moyer says it's nice to have finally found a place in the sun career-wise. "A couple of other offers have come in that I haven't taken because my kids live in England and I didn't want to leave them unless it was something fantastic," he says.

"I've been in a very nice position for the first time in my life to say,'You know what? I don't need to do that at the moment'."

True Blood, Showcase, Tuesday, 7.30pm
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25002140-5003422,00.html

True Blood Music Video of the Day

After Dark by by Tito & Tarantula [lyrics]

Loving True Blood in Dallas Blogtalk Radio: Season 2 Spoilers Let's look at Eps 1 and 2 (Episode 9)

Tonight we talk spoilers !!

What do we know about True Blood Season 2 from the spoilers we've seen ?

What have we found out about Episodes 1 & 2 ?

Loving True Blood in Dallas Blogtalk radio tonight 9 pm central chatroom will open here at 8:45pm



http://www.blogtalkradio.com/True-Blood-in-Dallas call in (646) 929-0825

***
Thanks to everyone who joined us live, the podcast should be up in a hour or so and the show will be available on iTunes tomorrow -
Here are the links we talked about:

Spoiler TV HERE

Season Two HERE

Episode one HERE

Episode two HERE

Zydeco flows in Curley Taylor's blood

Curley Taylor is a man who has had Louisiana music flowing through his veins since he was born.
"It's always been my passion," Taylor said. "Anyone who knows me knows will tell you 'he's always singing, he never shuts up' or I'm always just making a little beat to myself."
As the lead vocalist and accordion player for the band "Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble" - who played the Night of Louisiana show at Finch Fieldhouse on Saturday night - Curley grew up around music and got his start touring with his father's band, "Jude Taylor and the Burning Flames."
At the age of 16, he began playing the drums and touring with the 'Burning Flames.' Taylor said the drums were one of his childhood toys.
Taylor said he incorporated some of the style of his father's band into "Zydeco Trouble."
"He had a real bluesy sound to his," he said. "I sound bluesy, but with more R&B."
Taylor said one of his favorite parts playing Zydeco is the fact that it is a new music style to most people.
"I love just traveling and exposing the music to people, watching people enjoy themselves. After it's over I get to say to myself, 'Whoa, I made those people have a good time,'" he said. "Then everybody goes, 'What is this you're playing?
What is this kind of music? ... To me I just want it to be a good introduction to the music and for them to look forward to seeing me again."
Taylor also said he loves to play Zydeco music because it has been constantly evolving.
"We are bringing a new movement that is happening in Louisiana with Zydeco. It has gone from something that was sort of hillbillyish - some sort of folk music - to now sounding more up to date," he said. "More like more polished, something on the radio or TV."
Taylor also recently appeared in HBO's "True Blood."
"It was filmed out in LA, but was taking place in Louisiana. I was playing accordion in a band and singing. It was a good experience, I couldn't wait to see myself on HBO," he said.
The Zydeco that Taylor has been trying to popularize has gained fans throughout America and around the world.

"I went to Holland, to do a festival," he said. "Zydeco has grown so much that there is Zydeco bands in Japan, in Turkey - all over the place."

HERE

Check him out here with C.C. Adcock

Things I've learned while watching True Blood (5)

that it's okay to send vampire remains down your garbage disposal...while wearing your white tee shirt.

that I'm going to miss Eddie and strangely, even Amy.

that Sam and Sookie can't swing by Tara's mother's house on the way to the pie shop if they were all that concerned about Tara.

I've learned that no woman in Bon Temps can find a shirt that covers their bras straps properly.

that new born vampires wake up cranky & hungry.

that we are governed by criminals & hypocrites.

‘Blood Lite’ Horror Anthology

The Horror Writers Association presents Blood Lite, a collection of entertaining tales that puts the fun back into dark fiction, with ironic twists and tongue-in-cheek wit to temper the jagged edge.

Charlaine Harris reveals the dark side of going green, when a quartet of die-hard environmentalists hosts a fundraiser with a gory twist in “An Evening with Al Gore”…In an all-new Dresden Files story from Jim Butcher, when it comes to tracking deadly paranormal doings, there’s no such thing as a “Day Off” for the Chicago P.D.’s wizard detective, Harry Dresden…Sherrilyn Kenyon turns a cubicle-dwelling MBA with no life into a demon-fighting seraph with one hell of an afterlife in “Where Angels Fear to Tread”…Celebrity necromancer Jaime Vegas is headlining a sold-out séance tour, but behind the scenes, a disgruntled ghost has a bone to pick, in Kelley Armstrong’s “The Ungrateful Dead.” Plus tales guaranteed to get under your skin — in a good way — from:

Janet Berliner, Don D’Ammassa, Nancy Holder, Nancy Kilpatrick, J. A. Konrath, F. Paul Wilson, Joe R. Lansdale, Will Ludwigsen, Sharyn McCrumb, Mark Onspaugh, Mike Resnick, Steven Savile, D. L. Snell, Eric James Stone, Jeff Strand, Lucien Soulban, Matt Venne and Christopher Welch…
http://www.gabriellefaust.com/archives/1295

True Blood Behind the scenes : True Blood Opening credits compared to " Wrong Eyed Jesus"

I have read this a number of places on the web over the last few months. I am just infatuated with the opening and have even visited the real places and i think Digital Kitchen did a great job. Some of my many posts about the opening can be found here
I'll just let their response speak for itself.

Dear Enthusiasts -

DK chiming in. Thank you for the mostly kind words, heated dialogue and too harsh accusations. The accusations are not at all unfounded insofar as "Wrong Eyed Jesus" was one a myriad of other influences - features, docs, material found online, in print, somewhere in the deep recesses of our collective cobwebbed psyches. That's how creativity works - we put these pieces in the blender, press the eviscerate button and then see what comes out in the pour. Everyone in this forum knows that. So our remaining peace goes something like this:
You're picking on 5 shots. Out of over 65.
The tone of the "True Blood" title - in audio, coloration, dynamics, editorial style, etc - is so obviously different from the WEJ trailer as to make accusations of plagiarism obviously nitpicking. It's tantamount to claiming the opening of "The Sopranos" is ripped from "Night Court" - look it's New York!
3 of the 5 shots called out are standard southern bayou fare - car in the woods, evangelical church, honky tonk bar.
Chris Cunningham doesn't own nor did he invent undercranked nudes.
On the 5th shot we have to say good catch. There was no specific intent to match the shot from WEJ specifically. We knew we wanted a midnight baptism shot b/c the concept was so perfect for "True Blood" - midnight+baptism+vampires? Holla! It's like bacon+lettuce+tomato. We
researched the midnight baptism subject quite a bit and in this case one of several shots in that scene came out remarkably like the one in WEJ. A subconscious homage? Apparently. Plagiarism? Absolutely not. We're influenced by the work that's come before us. Everyone in this forum is, and sometimes elements share striking similarities because of it. This is fairly described as one of those cases.
Lastly, DK has received 10 of the last 36 Emmy nominations in the Outstanding Main Title category and been nominated therein 6 of the last 7 years. DK's made a name in main titles and beyond based on our originality and execution. We don't need to steal from anybody. Then, now, or ever.
Thanks for paying attention to our work and this thread and feel free to get in touch directly anytime. And by all means please have fun continuing to argue these points but if you do so try to mix in a little more humor. With all the election banter in the air this too serious tone is too much - design should be fun, people!
Dave Skaff
Executive Producer
skaff@d-kitchen.com
http://www.d-kitchen.com/


Discussion can be found here

View One Eyed

View True Blood Opening