Friday, February 11, 2011

VAMPIRE DIARIES Author L. J. Smith Fired

Over the past few days, rumors have been flying that author L. J. Smith has been fired from writing the Vampire Diaries series. Now, Smith has seemingly confirmed those rumors in a blog post that mentions she’s going through “a difficult time.” Later in the post Smith says she “wanted and still want more than anything to be able to continue The Vampire Diaries series myself.”
So how can an author be fired from writing her own books? The way I understand it is that Smith signed a contract with Alloy Entertainment back in 1990 and they, therefore, own the rights to the Vampire Diaries books. Allegedly, Alloy and HarperTeen were not happy with the direction Smith was taking the series (SPOILER ALERT: she wanted to focus on Damon and Elena while the publishers were more interested in a Stefan and Elena pairing) and she was fired from writing future books.
The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Midnight is due out on March 15, 2011. According to Smith, all the writing in Midnight is her own. The next book in the series, Phantom, will be a mix of her writing and that of a ghostwriter.
So, Vampire Diaries fans, are you saddened by this news? Will you continue to read the books even if they aren’t written by L. J. Smith?

True Blood Question for TV Guide

Any chance that Sookie and Alcide will get together this season on True Blood? — Danielle
NATALIE:
"Timing is everything and the timing between those two could not have been worse, so we'll see where the time goes in Season 4," Joe Manganiello says. But factor this in: We're hearing that Alcide's loyalties might be split. His work for Eric is done, but Alcide has a new boss, and his interests diverge from those of Sookie.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Mega-Buzz-Bones-1029015.aspx 

Andy Swist's fantastic new Valentine's Day cards

Check them all out here !

Thanks Andy !

http://andyswist.com/TrueBlood/e-cards

Charlaine Harris' Dying for Daylight PC Game Available for Download This Week!

Late last year we told you about Dying for Daylight, a PC game created by I-play in collaboration with Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels that inspired HBO’s "True Blood". On this Friday, February 11th, you'll be able to download Dying for Daylight and play as Harris' popular vampire character Dahlia.
While Charlaine’s ability to tell gripping, edge-of-your-seat, supernatural stories has transcended several types of media already, Dying for Daylight marks her foray into the world of interactive games.
"Taking a character into the world of games is great fun and allows us to tell stories and bring characters to life in a whole new way," says Harris. "Just like Sookie, Dahlia is a unique and multi-faceted character. Working with I-play to present her in this new way has been an amazing experience, and I can't wait to hear what fans think of the results."
"Charlaine's stories and characters are a huge contributor to the phenomenon surrounding all things supernatural right now," says Tony Leamer, VP Marketing at I-play. "Her writing is so vivid and her characters so interesting that they are a natural fit for a game. Dahlia is already beloved by a legion of fans, and we hope they will love this new story and the way we're telling it."
Check out a trailer for the game below, and be sure to visit the Dying for Daylight website for more. To learn a bit about Dahlia, order a copy of one or more of the short story collections in which she can be found from the Evilshop below.

read on

Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way Retelling 'Dracula' As 'Harker'

Finally, a new Dracula film for vampire fans to sink their teeth into. With sexy, angsty teen vampires infiltrating our pop culture, it seems like it's been a while since there's been some hardcore stake and holy water style vamp films released.
Well, no longer. According to Deadline, Leonardo DiCaprio's production company Appian Way will produce an upcoming adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel called "Harker" for Warner Bros.
Unlike previous incarnations of the book, "Harker" will focus on Scotland Yard detective Jonathan Harker who is tracking Dracula. The script sets him up as a potential new franchise character. And no, before you ask, DiCaprio is not planning to star in the film.

In the 1897 novel, Harker is actually a solicitor who travels to Transylvania to act as a real estate agent for a foreign client named Count Dracula. While there, he finds himself a prisoner of Dracula, who reveals himself as a vampire. After a traumatic experience with Dracula's three vampire brides, Harker manages to escape and finds refuge at a mental hospital, where he suffers a breakdown. His fiancée, Mina Murray, finds him and nurses him back to help, and he successfully joins forces with vampire hunter Van Helsing to kill Dracula once and for all.

read on

Series Creator Alan Ball Answers 3 Questions for True Blood's New Production Blog

  The Russian film suggestions are interesting!!'


Gianna: What are you most excited about this season?
Alan: I really love the Eric storyline.

Gianna: What's going to shock the fans?
Alan: What happens to Jason...throughout the whole season.

Gianna: Got any advice for fans that are chomping at the bit?
Alan: We're working as fast as we can! In the meantime, I recommend watching the Swedish film Let the Right One In and the Russian films Day Watch and Night Watch.

read on

 


HBO Inside True Blood blog

HBO is about to unveil a new way for fans to keep up with True Blood.
The network will announce on Friday a production blog called “Inside True Blood” that will give fans behind-the-scenes details of production on season four. The idea was prompted by the success of the network’s production blog on Game of Thrones.
The blog will have real-time contributions from Gianna Sobol, assistant to series creator Alan Ball, straight from the set.
The first post goes live tomorrow at 9 a.m. at http://inside-true-blood-blog.com and all I know is it contains this sentence: “Today’s call sheet includes the words ‘hostage,’ ‘bites,’ ‘dinner,’ and ‘Eric.’”

read it here 

http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/11/true.blood.blog.ew/