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."

'True Blood' vs. 'Twilight': What's a Vampire Fan to Do?

'True Blood' vs. 'Twilight': What's a Vampire Fan to Do?

Wednesday, October 29, 2008
On Halloween night, HBO is airing an eight-hour marathon of their sexy
vampire series True Blood. The growing popularity of the show is proof that
vampires are once again having their pop culture moment. The creatures
stepped back into the spotlight last year with the CBS drama Moonlight,
which was canceled after one season despite having throngs of devoted fans.
True Blood followed in its footsteps, and it'll soon be joined by the big
screen adaptation of Twilight. The film, which is based on the book by
Stephanie Meyer, opens November 21, and offers a more romanticized brand of
bloodsuckers.

With both True Blood and Twilight dominating the pop culture landscape, how
does a vampire fan know where to turn? Neither tale is for everyone, so
read on to find out which one is for you.

True Blood

Plot: Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) is a small-town waitress with the power to read people's thoughts. Her ability makes her an outsider, but she finds comfort in the arms of a vampire named Bill (Stephen Moyer), who knows a thing or two about being removed from humanity. As Sookie and Bill grow closer, someone starts murdering people who are sympathetic toward vampires.

It's for: Anyone who doesn't mind a show filled with sex, brutal violence, morally reprehensible characters, drug use and tons of nudity. True Blood is R-rated in every way imaginable. It's also for anyone who loves a good murder mystery.

It's similar to: Season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

What are the vampires like? Some choose to drink a manufactured product
called Tru Blood instead of feeding on humans, but others aren't so kind.
Bill is romantic and deep, but the other vampires range from meek and
harmless to just plain evil.

Features plenty of: Southern accents, male and female nudity, blood,
metaphors, sex.

You can find it: On HBO every Sunday at 9pm. You can also find the story
in bookstores, as the show is based on a series of novels by Charlaine
Harris.

Twilight

Plot: Bella Swan is a normal girl who moves to Washington to live with her father. Her life is turned upside down when she meets the beautiful Edward Cullen, who just happens to be a vampire. The two fall in love, but their relationship is thrown into chaos when another vampire coven comes to town and decides to hunt Bella for sport. It's up to Edward and his fanged family to save her.

It's for: Anyone who dreams of falling in love with a gorgeous man who won't dare touch you until marriage. Despite some vampire action, Twilight is more about romance than bloodsucking. You'll find none of the wild sex
and rampant drug use present in True Blood.

It's similar to: The work of Nicholas Sparks and Anne Rice.

What are the vampires like? Edward is basically flawless and perfect in
every way imaginable, with nothing on his mind aside from protecting Bella.
His family is kind and refuses to drink human blood, but the rival coven led
by James enjoys hunting and feasting on people.

Features plenty of: Declarations of love, adjectives describing Edward's
beauty, brooding, pale skin, swooning.

You can find it: In theaters everywhere on November 21. You can also find
Stephanie Meyer's book series on the shelf of every teen girl in America.

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/true-blood/true-blood-vs-twilight-whats-a-24
040.aspx?pollid=3001038&answer=3003494#poll3001038

Bill's family photo

Anti-war Bill

Episode 2

“There is nothing glorious about dying in a war – a bunch of freezing starving boys killing each other so rich people can stay rich…madness”

Episode 3

“ Humans have killed millions upon millions in senseless wars and I do not hold you responsible for that “

Amazon talks to Charlaine Harris

True Blood: An Interview with Charlaine Harris

by Jeff VanderMeer on October 27, 2008

Since the first appearance of Sookie Stackhouse in Charlaine Harris's Dead Until Dark, readers have been addicted to this exciting and charming series set in the South. But that addiction has reached fever pitch with the debut of the new HBO series by Alan Ball, True Blood, based on Harris's "Southern Vampire Mysteries" series. Earlier this year I was lucky enough to meet Harris briefly at a convention in New York, and found her to be down-to-earth, approachable, and generous to her fans.

I recently interviewed Harris about both her books and the TV series via email. She answered my questions "sitting in my office, which is across the carport from the main house. It was intended as a mother-in-law apartment. It's one large room with a bathroom and a big closet that used to be the tool shed; I had the outside door blocked and an inside door cut. It was an inadequate tool shed, anyway. My office is "decorated" with photos of New Orleans tomb art, the usual awards and stuff, and some incredible mementos. Plus, a picture of our three children, all beautiful and talented. Of course."


(Dead Until Dark, original cover and "True Blood" cover)

Amazon.com: Vampire novels have been around for a long time, obviously. It's a subject that takes particular ingenuity to make fresh. What do you think makes your books unique? And do you think of them as "vampire" novels, or something else?
Charlaine Harris: Hmmm. I think of them as adventure novels. Maybe the difference in my approach is the humor, and the fact that my protagonist has no increasing supernatural powers and has trouble paying her bills. (The telepathy? It's up in the air in the books as to where that came from.)

Amazon.com: What has surprised you about fan reaction to the books? Has that reaction made you see the books in a different way?
Charlaine Harris: I'm pleased, startled, and often taken aback by the intense fan involvement in Sookie's life and travails. That's pretty much what every writer hopes for, I think, but it's always kind of shocking when you get what you wish for. It's made me wonder how responsible I am for peoples' reaction to the material in the books.

Amazon.com: Which book is your own personal favorite, and why?
Charlaine Harris: Oooooh. Well, I like a few things very much in each book; every now and then I hit the goal I set for myself. Sometimes this extends to more of the book, rather than less.

Amazon.com: When you have a series like this, how do you stop inertia from setting in? How do you keep the books fresh for you as a writer?
Charlaine Harris: I have a large cast of characters, Sookie has a wide range of activities, and I kill people off regularly.

Amazon.com: I'm assuming you've seen the HBO series. How, in your opinion, does it differ from the books?
Charlaine Harris: There are lots of differences. The books are all told in the first person. The series can't be shot that way, for obvious reasons. So we're seeing the activities of some of the other characters that were never shown in the books. Sometimes, what they were off doing (while Sookie was front and center in my world) has really surprised me. And of course some characters have been changed to suit the needs of the show. I'm never bored when I'm watching "True Blood," because I really don't know what's going to happen.

Amazon.com: Has the HBO series given you any ideas for future books?
Charlaine Harris: I love the way "True Blood" LOOKS. It's incredibly rich visually. And I love Anna Paquin's little square-shouldered walk. But ideas for future books, no. There are some characters I'm increasing inclined not to kill because I know the actors! But I hope I can "woman up" and do the deed when it's time.

Amazon.com: Did you have a chance to meet with or talk to Alan Ball about adapting your books? What was it that drew him to your books in the first place?
Charlaine Harris: I did talk to Alan, though not exhaustively, about the books and what I intended when I wrote them. I knew after one conversation that he understood what I was doing, and that that was why he wanted to adapt the books: he too likes a mixture of blood, horror, humor, and romance.

Amazon.com: And, in closing: What are you excited about right now?
Charlaine Harris: I'm excited about my daughter graduating from high school in May.

Preview "Plaisir d'Amour" episode 9 aired Nov 2

Descendents of the Glorious Dead: Tipsy Cake

Ingredients
For custard frosting
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 teaspoons cornstarch

For cake layers
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising) • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened • 1/2 cup sugar • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla • 2 large eggs • 1 large egg yolk • 3/4 cup whole milk


• 8 tablespoons sweet Sherry, brandy, or dessert wine • 9 tablespoons strawberry jam
• Accompaniment: lightly sweetened whipped cream

Preparation
Make frosting:
Bring milk and cream just to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and remove
from heat. Whisk together yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt in a
bowl and add hot milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour
custard into pan and boil, whisking, until thick and smooth, about 1 minute.
Force custard through a fine sieve into a bowl. Set bowl of custard frosting
in a larger bowl of ice and cold water, then cool, stirring occasionally,
until cold. Chill frosting, its surface covered with plastic wrap to prevent
a skin from forming, 2 hours.
Make cake layers:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 (8- by 2-inch) round cake pans and line
bottoms with wax paper. Butter paper and dust with flour, knocking out
excess. Sift together 1 1/2 cups cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat
together butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer
until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, then yolk, beating well after
each addition. With mixer on low speed, alternately add milk and flour
mixture in 4 batches, beginning and ending with milk (mixture will look
curdled; do not overbeat).
Divide batter between cake pans, smoothing tops. Bake in middle of oven
until pale and a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Run a thin knife
around edges of pans and invert layers onto a rack. Carefully remove wax
paper and cool layers completely.

Assemble cake:
Halve cake layers horizontally with a long serrated knife. Arrange 1 cake
half, cut side up, on a plate and brush with 2 tablespoons Sherry. Spread
evenly with 3 tablespoons jam. Repeat with remaining 3 layers, ending with a
layer cut side down. Brush top with Sherry. Frost cake with custard.
Cooks' notes: · Custard frosting may be made 1 day ahead and kept chilled,
covered.
· Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well individually in
plastic wrap, at room temperature.
· Assembled cake keeps, covered and chilled, 2 days. Bring to room
temperature before serving.

Lettie Mae Thornton's Hoe Cakes

True Blood Recipes: Hoe Cakes ( Tara’s Mom )

Hoe cakes are a traditional Southern cornmeal pancake that are supposed to have been so-named because they were originally cooked on the blade of a hoe over an open fire.

Makes about 12 cakes
· 2 cups fine stone-ground cornmeal
· 2 teaspoons baking powder, preferably single-acting
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
· 2 cups whole milk, buttermilk, or yogurt
· Oil, melted butter, or lard, for the griddle

One: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 150°F. Mix together the meal, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and milk or yogurt and beat until they are smooth. Stir this quickly into the dry ingredients, using as few strokes as possible.
Two: Heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, brush it lightly with the fat. Using a large, pointed kitchen spoon, take up about 2 tablespoons of the batter and pour it onto the griddle from the pointed end of the spoon (this helps insure that a round cake will form). Repeat until the griddle is full, but not crowded.
Three: Cook the cakes until the bottoms are nicely browned and air holes form in the tops, about 4 minutes. Turn, and cook until the second side is browned, about 3 to
4 minutes longer.
Four: Transfer them to the warm oven and repeat with the remaining batter until all the cakes are cooked. Serve hot, with or without additional butter.

Anna Paquin enlivens HBO's "True Blood"

By TERRY MORROW, Scripps Howard News Service

"Come in here and show them your teeth," actress Anna Paquin yells into another room.

Actor Stephen Moyer walks in, a bit perplexed about why she wants him to open his mouth to a room of strangers. Then she giggles and asks him again to bare his fangs.

And he does.

"See," she says, smiling. "He does have them."

As the star of HBO's vampire drama "True Blood," airing 9 p.m. ET Sundays, Paquin thinks her co-star's pointy real-life canine teeth are cool. They are long and sharp like a vampire's would be. Strangers might find them a bit disconcerting, especially since Moyer plays a vampire on "Blood."

It's part of Paquin's charm to flirt. She can be playful and silly but rarely inappropriate or shameless.

She still loves to talk about acting, with the same vigor of a young artist although she's played the Hollywood game more than half her life.

Despite her world travels, she still comes across as a bit of an innocent.

At 26, she's no longer the little girl audiences discovered in 1993's "The Piano," for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. After a few high-profile period pieces (such as HBO's "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee") and a big movie franchise (Rogue in the "X-Men" movies), she's grown up. Unlike many actresses who had careers as children, Paquin doesn't feel a need to declare to the world she's an adult.

"I never did kids films," she says. "I was a kid in (serious) films most of my life. It wasn't as if I had to overcome this cute-kid-with-dimples thing."

Paquin has come of age while working. Today, she is engaged by talking of her work. She doesn't do the Hollywood party scene much. She lives quietly.

Paquin has little pretense for an actress with an Oscar on her mantle. She isn't interested in being the star. She wants to be one of the gang.

As Southern barmaid Sookie Stackhouse on "True Blood," Paquin says she's found an unconventional woman.

Sookie is intrigued by and attracted to the town's first resident vampire, a Civil War veteran named Bill (played by Moyer).

She doesn't fear his sharp teeth. In fact, she loves to look at them. Her flirting with this mystery man causes her neighbors' jaws to drop.

"I love how hopeful she is. I love how, despite whatever happens to her, she's still an optimist and a romantic," she says. "She has hadn't the easiest life, but she's still open to new things. She still sees the bright side."

Paquin uses those attributes when approaching her work. She doesn't want to know what's ahead for Sookie, preferring to stay in the moment.

"What you do as an actor is to explain why people are the way they are," she says. "You spend every waking hour trying to figure out that person or, at least, I do."

Sookie has invaded Paquin's life in more ways than one. She's dyed her hair blond and gotten used to wearing tight T-shirts and jeans. Sookie represents a sexuality that Paquin has never displayed before on screen.

In many ways, Sookie is the type of role that Paquin strives for.

"I would be thrilled if people watched the whole ('True Blood') pilot and couldn't figure out who I was," she says.

"My favorite actors are people you can't recognized when you're walking down the street. ... She's a completely different character than what I am used to playing.

"Very few (producers) are going to cast you sight unseen for a role unlike anything you've done before. If you don't audition, how do you know you're right for the part?

"I'd rather know I'm right for the part than have someone cast me based on how they think they know me."

(Terry Morrow writes for the Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee)

Preview "The Fourth Man in the Fire" Episode 8 aired October 26