Paley Fest 09

I of course was not able to go and see True Blood at Paley Fest but thanks to The people over at The Vault and Loving TB in Dallas, here are a few cool things to watch and read on what went on there. I can not wait until June 14th!!!

Videos

Q&A

During the Q & A panel, series Creator Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) told the story of how he first came across the Charlaine Harris book series. He was waiting around for a dentist appointment, and had about 20 minutes to kill when the first novel, Dead Until Dark, caught his eye. He was hooked from the beginning. He then said that he went through to following books in the series “like crack.” “This wasn’t a book I would normally read, but I couldn’t put them down,” Ball confessed. Ball has a strong desire to stay true to Harris’ vision and spirit, but also added that it was important to flesh out the supporting characters from the book, and add extra stories in order to transform it into a viable TV series. The books are only told from Sookie Stackhouse’s (Anna Paquin) perspective, so there was some work to be done. One of the big changes was adding in the character of Tara, who doesn’t even appear until Book 2, as a main character in Season 1.

“There are some things from the books that aren’t going to make it onto the screen,” said Ball, “but there will also be things not from the books that are on the show that when you see them, your jaws will be on the floor.” Heading into Season 2, we’re also going to be experiencing the character of Maryanne (Battlestar’s Michelle Forbes), the mysterious and seemingly generous “naked with a pig” lady, even more. Without giving too much away, Ball stated that “she is trouble. She’s more trouble than anyone ever thought she’d be.” He also seemed to relish in the fact that her character “celebrates chaos and destruction” and will somehow play a part in “opening up a doorway to hell for everyone to get sucked into.”

What else do we know about Season 2? Well, as they did with Season 1, the writers will somewhat follow the corresponding Harris novel – this time around being book 2, Living Dead in Dallas. We know that it will incorporate a ton of the book, but also leave out some stuff in order to provide more of an overall story for each of the characters. Sookie and Bill (Stephen Moyer) are heading down to Dallas at the behest of their Vampire Sherriff, Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) to help a vampire named Stan (Ed Quinn) find a missing bloodsucker. The rest of the characters will stay back home and deal with new hellacious creatures of the night. Werewolves perhaps?

Sookie’s brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten) will have a separate story from the rest of them, at least for the first six episodes or so. His character has joined up with the anti-vampire church, The Fellowship of the Sun, which is sort of a story that’s downplayed a bit in the book itself. Eventually, after their dealings in Dallas, Sookie returns back home and will find everything turned upside down and in a state of ruin and it will piss her off, leading her to try and set things straight. The cast is busy filming episode 7 at the moment, and Ball himself said that he will be writing episode 11.

During the Q & A, the entire cast seems to express their love for their job and their roles. Carrie Preston loved how her character Arlene always speaks her mind. Rutina Wesley, for whom this is her first real acting gig, loves Tara’s loyalty and good nature. Alexander Skarsgard says that he thinks Eric is a “sweetheart” to those he’s friends with, but that he’s just not friends with many people. Sam Trammell, who plays Sam on the show, admitted that his least favorite scene to shoot was the “running naked through the woods” scene. “It’s tough to watch yourself naked. But running? That’s tough to watch,” laughed Trammel. “And it was tough to do because I was running naked in beige colored jazz shoes.”

Paquin herself loved the scene when Sam wakes up naked on Sookie’s bed, and the whole “shapeshifter” story. She also made a joking reference to the men’s “sock,” or “sack of destiny” as they refer to it on the set – which is the cover-up apparatus that the men dawn when they’re in the buff. She also admitted to really loving getting the sh*t kicked out of her. Or being projectile vomited on by a vampire. Stephan Moyer really enjoyed the history behind Bill and the backstory that he got to shoot which took place during The Civil War. “As an English schoolboy, you don’t learn about The American Civil War. Or Independence Day. I never knew what that was for.”

Carrie Preston’s husband, Lost’s Michael Emerson, was also in attendance, and I even got to hear him, on my way out, speaking to another gentlemen about his own desire to get a role on True Blood, possibly after Lost concludes. I would assume, since he has expressed his longing to be back home with his family in interviews, that he would love to share the screen with his wife.

Thanks to The Vault and Loving TB in Dallas