Michael Hogan reviews the first episode of the new vampire drama True Blood

The comforting sight of US cable channel HBO’s black and white logo – the one that precedes premium shows such as The Sopranos, Sex and the City and The Wire – signalled the terrestrial arrival of its latest eagerly awaited import, True Blood (Channel 4). This vampire drama’s already won a small but fanatical British following, having been tucked away on cable channel FX since summer, while smashing ratings records in the US. Last night the rest of us found out what the fuss is about.

As usual with HBO, the hype turned out to be justified. The first episode of True Blood was fangy, funny, stylishly shot and whip-smartly written by Alan Ball, the writer of American Beauty and creator of funeral parlour saga Six Feet Under, which was as fixated by death as True Blood and was also an HBO production. There was even a knowing scene where a mother told off her kids for watching horror on HBO.

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A bite-sized guide to 'True Blood' from Independent UK

A bite-sized guide to 'True Blood'

* True Blood, the latest HBO hit to reach the UK (C4, 10pm tonight), is named after synthetic blood, a substance which has allowed vampires to step out of the dark – not into the sun, mind.

* Bon Temps is the Louisiana town in which True Blood's action takes place. Its inhabitants are a heady mix of Cajun, American and Vampire.

* Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), our heroine, is one of the town's friendlier faces. Vampires aren't the only supernatural phenomenon in Bon Temps: Sookie can read minds...

* Merlotte's, the bar where Sookie works, is run by Sam Merlotte, Sookie's long-time admirer.

* Bill Compton is a charming 174-year-old vampire with whom Sookie becomes intimately involved after drinking his blood.

* Vampire blood, also known as "V", induces pleasurable hallucinations when drunk by humans – a highly illegal practice.

* "Fang-banger" is the insult for those who have sex with vamps, and "fang-banger" murders drive the plot of the series. There will be blood. And lots of shagging.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/hit-and-run/hit--run-real-men-dont-skirt-the-issue-1798603.html

'True Blood' Star Rutina Wesley Sees 'Grief' And 'More Darkness' For Tara In Season 3

From MTV

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

When we heard last month that "True Blood" hottie Mehcad Brooks had been cast as a lawyer on ABC's midseason replacement "The Deep End," we wondered whether his character Eggs would be scrambled by Maryann. Well, we were partially right. The 28-year-old fell victim to a bullet in the season finale, though it was at the hands of well-meaning Jason Stackhouse.

As sad as we are to see Mehcad (and his abs) depart "True Blood," we're sure gal pal Tara Thornton is even more torn up. MTV News caught up with the actress who portrays prickly Tara (Rutina Wesley) at the premiere of Jude Law's "Hamlet" (read our rundown of hot Hamlets here), and she talked about what's next for Tara.

"I'm sure she's going to have some grieving to do, losing Maryann and Eggs—the love of her life, I think," Rutina theorized. "I don't know how Tara is really going to react to that. I see some grief. I see some more darkness."

As evil as maenad Maryann was, it's easy to forget that Tara relied on her as a mother figure in place of her own often-drunk mom, making her death nearly as devastating as Eggs'. Though Rutina said that Tara will likely find solace in recently returned BFF Sookie (Anna Paquin), we're hoping there's a juicier resolution—namely Tara turning to one-time crush Jason (Ryan Kwanten). Wouldn't that be ironic?

What do you think will happen to Tara in the third season of "True Blood"?

'True Blood' boosts Charlaine Harris' starpower

From USA weekend

Even if you’ve faithfully watched both seasons of HBO’s hit vampire series True Blood, based on Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels, you’ve only seen a glimpse into the writer's colorful world. And keen TV watchers finally got to see the author on screen with her creations — she had a cameo in a bar scene during True Blood’s season finale last month. Long before Anna Paquin put on the Merlotte’s waitress uniform as the on-screen Sookie, Harris introduced the spunky Louisiana telepath in the 2001 novel Dead Until Dark. Many vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters and a fairy godmother later, her series is going strong, with a new short-story compilation A Touch of Dead in stores this week and the 11th Sookie novel, Dead in the Family, scheduled for a May release. In addition, the fourth book in her Harper Connelly Mysteries series, Grave Secret, comes out next month (read the first chapter here), and later this month Harris, 58, will be the official queen of New Orleans’ annual Vampire Ball. I caught up with the Arkansas-based author recently for an upcoming cover story about vampires, but read below about how Harris got into writing about the supernatural and what she thinks the next big thing involving the undead will be.

Your books were already popular by themselves, but they’ve seemed to have taken on a whole new life thanks to True Blood.
Yeah, I’ve gained a whole new group of readers, which has been of course wonderful. But the new readers seem to see the books in a different light than the readers I had before. They see the characters on television, and I think sometimes they wonder why the characters in the books aren’t cooperating more with the ones on the screen.

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Vampires are coming to Britain

True Blood is the US vampire series that's making its terrestrial premiere on Channel 4 on Wednesday night. The drama is based in the back-water Louisiana town of Bon Temps, where vampires have come out of the coffin and are demanding equal rights.

The lead actor is Brit, Stephen Moyer who plays an 173-year-old vampire, Bill Compton. The series has been HBO's most successful drama since The Sopranos.

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Would you like to be an extra on True Blood ? Got $8,000.00 ?

Description

Includes: a non-speaking, featured "extra" walk-on role on HBO's hit series, TRUE BLOOD. Valid for one person however, the winner may bring a guest on set. Must be at least 18 years old. Availability is based on production schedule. Show tapes in LA. We can not guarentee that the scene the winner is in will make the final cut and be aired. The winner will be paid for their time (the minimum required to pay an extra or background artist) and therefore he or she should bring the paperwork necessary to complete the I-9 form.

Thanks to a Japanese scientist's invention of synthetic blood, vampires have progressed from legendary monsters to fellow citizens overnight. And while humans have been safely removed from the menu, many remain apprehensive about these creatures "coming out of the coffin." Religious leaders and government officials around the world have chosen their sides, but in the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps, the jury is still out.

Local waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), however, knows how it feels to be an outcast. "Cursed" with the ability to listen in on people's thoughts, she's also open-minded about the integration of vampires — particularly when it comes to Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), a handsome 173-year-old living up the road. But at the service of Bill's less virtuous vampire associates, Sookie is drawn into a series of catastrophes that will put their love to the test.

The latest hit series from 'Six Feet Under' creator Alan Ball, 'True Blood' delves into the meticulously-crafted world of novelist Charlaine Harris. Described by the Emmy®-winning Ball as "popcorn for smart people," the first season of ‘True Blood' caused an overnight sensation — and the new installments only build on his colorful cast of supernatural misfits.

Be a part of this amazing show and bid now on a featured walk-on role!

Donated by: HBO

Terms: Includes: a non-speaking, featured "extra" walk-on role on HBO's hit series, TRUE BLOOD. Valid for one person however, the winner may bring a guest on set. Must be at least 18 years old. Availability is based on production schedule. Show tapes in LA. We can not guarentee that the scene the winner is in will make the final cut and be aired. The winner will be paid for their time (the minimum required to pay an extra or background artist) and therefore he or she should bring the paperwork necessary to complete the I-9 form.
Benefits the GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network,

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Talking Shop: Stephen Moyer and the BIG 4-0

From BBC News

Stephen Moyer is the latest British actor to take US television by storm as vampire good guy Bill Compton in the hit show True Blood, which starts on Channel 4 later.
Stephen Moyer
Moyer has played a vampire once before for a BBC show

With his flawless southern-US drawl and chiselled Hollywood good looks, it is a surprise that the 39-year-old hails from Essex, far from the fictional swampy Louisiana town of Bon Temps.

In the show, vampires have been drawn into the open after the invention of a new synthetic human blood substitute called True Blood.

Moyer's character - an American civil war soldier who turned vamp in 1868 - begins a love affair with telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse, played by Anna Paquin.

He is now engaged to his co-star who, in 1994 at the age of 11, became one of the youngest Oscar winners in history for her performance in The Piano.

The show has been a huge hit in the US already. Are your American fans still surprised when they meet you and hear your English accent?

However much press that Hugh Laurie does and however many interviews they see him sounding English, when they meet him in the street, they still can't believe it and that's the reaction I get.

It's lovely for me, you know, I have dark hair in the show and I'm pale and I have the dark sideburns so it's like a whole costume by itself. It's very enjoyable.

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PopSugar tells you 6 Reason Why You Can't Live without Vampires !

Alan Ball on CNN

Ten reasons to guzzle 'True Blood'

From Digital Spy UK

Fresh from its run on FX UK, the superb True Blood finally arrives on Channel 4 and is sure to amass a legion of new fans with its tense yet funny storytelling and winning romantic intrigue. There will be skeptics out there no doubt grumbling 'oh no, not another vampire-themed show'. So here are ten reasons to sink your fangs into this superb slice of compelling drama set deep in Southern America.

1) The pedigree

The background of key figures behind and before the cameras is impressive. True Blood creator Alan Ball was behind the similarly morbid and hugely-lauded series Six Feet Under and scooped an Oscar for his American Beauty screenplay. The lead star Anna Paquin, who plays kooky waitress Sookie Stackhouse, also landed an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress at the tender age of 11 for her role in 1994 art flick The Piano, and won an army of fans playing Rogue in the X-Men movies. In addition, the source material for the series is The Southern Vampire Mysteries by award-winning novelist Charlaine Harris.

2) The naughtiness

Mainstream US television has some crazy censorship issues, whereby it’s fine to show numerous faceless characters being gunned to pieces in various action dramas, but the end of the world if there's a swear word or Janet Jackson has a wardrobe malfunction. Fortunately, True Blood is an HBO production and there’s an abundance of visual and verbal decadence to devour. The opening episode is quick to set its stall out by deploying the two 'c's very early on - 'c**t' and cunnilingus.

3) Whodunnit?

Evoking the compelling murder-mystery element of Twin Peaks, there’s a killer on the loose in the remote Louisiana town of Bon Temps. Video evidence suggests that Sookie’s decadent (and highly amusing) brother Jason is responsible, but several other suspects soon enter the fray. It’s great fun to do a bit of detective work of your own while watching the show, especially as the bumbling police officers in the show seem incapable of doing it themselves.

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Vampire Diaries flashback

I think that one of the coolest things about vampire shows/movies/books etc are the flashbacks to times earlier in the vampire's existence.

True Blood does lots of these ...don't know how many of you are watching CW's Vampire Diaries but this is cool

more here

True Blood Music Video of the Day: Blue by Angie Hart

Blue by Angie Hart LYRICS

Thanks, saroufim93