The Paramount Theater in Los Angeles hosted the second season premiere party for "True Blood" on Tuesday, June 9th, 2009. Members of the cast and crew were in attendence, including Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin, Alan Ball, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Ryan Kwanten, Carrie Preston, Alexander Skarsgard, Nelsan Ellis, Todd Lowe and several others.

You can view video from the event at:
http://extratv.warnerbros.com/videos/channels/?channel=channels/79356

Forum member Beerwolf is posting numerous photos from the event in our forum:
http://thebluewhalepub.com/viewtopic.php?p=132501#p132501

Tags: Appearances, Cast, Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin, Alan Ball, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Ryan Kwanten, Carrie Preston, Alexander Skarsgard, Nelsan Ellis, Todd Lowe, True Blood

" JW: What's it like working with the actors on the set?
TL: It’s great and everyone on the set is very professional and I feel privileged to be among this talented group of people. They are all prettier than me and that makes me feel doubly flattered.

JW: You don’t think you’re a pretty person?
TL: I try to retain water. I work at it, but not as hard as I should.

Todd and I are laughing out loud as he lights his cigarette from a space heater that is keeping us warm while drinking Irish Cream coffees.

JW: What can the audience expect for Season 2 of TRUE BLOOD?
TL: I am contractually bound not to disclose any upcoming spoilers for Season 2. I’m dying to tell someone. I can’t even tell my mom who uses my cousins to get information out of me. I can tell you this much just based on last season that Terry’s coming back and appears to have a developing relationship with Arlene (played by Carrie Preston). "

Full Interview:
http://www.lasplash.com/publish/Celebrity_Talk_102/One-On-One_Interview_with_Actor_Todd_Lowe_-.php

Tags: Articles, Todd Lowe, True Blood

InsideView: Bruce Dunn, co-producer HBO series True Blood
Markee

"Bruce Dunn has co-produced Strange Love, Tell Me You Love Me, Local Color, Kingdom Hospital, and has associate produced Californication, The Path to 9/11, Desperation, Sleeper Cell, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, Rose Red, Storm of the Century, The Siege at Ruby Ridge, and Sophie & the Moonhanger.

Markee: HBO’s new hit series, True Blood, from Alan Ball, gives a new twist to the vampire legend. With the development of synthetic blood, vampires have come out of the coffin to be integrated with mortal culture in rural Louisiana. Did you shoot there at all?
Dunn: We shot in Shreveport to get big-value local exteriors: the town of Bon Temps, the trailer that a tornado supposedly hit surrounded by those mossy trees we love, the exterior of Jason’s and Bill’s houses. We’re definitely going back to block shoot for the second season – it’s important for Alan to be where Charlaine Harris set her Sookie Stackhouse books. Louisiana’s tax incentives are icing on the cake, and the crews supporting us there are top-notch.

Since the second book in the series is called Living Dead in Dallas, it’s likely we’ll do doing a bit of shooting in Dallas, too.

MARKEE: Right from the opening titles – a collage of images ranging from bayous and evangelicals to sexy dancers and road kill – the audience knows it’s in for a different viewing experience.
Dunn: Digital Kitchen did the title montage. They worked on the opening sequence for Six Feet Under so Alan had a relationship with them. Their storyboards for the initial presentation blew us away – they really caught the flavor of what we were looking for. One of the mandates was to sell Louisiana, to let viewers know they were going to see something quirky and visit locations they’d never been to before."

Full Article:
http://www.markeemag.com/site/MMdepartments1.php#inview


One-On-One Interview with Actor Todd Lowe
By Jerod Williams
Splash Magazines Worldwide

"JW: What can the audience expect for Season 2 of TRUE BLOOD?
TL: I am contractually bound not to disclose any upcoming spoilers for Season 2. I’m dying to tell someone. I can’t even tell my mom who uses my cousins to get information out of me. I can tell you this much just based on last season that Terry’s coming back and appears to have a developing relationship with Arlene (played by Carrie Preston).

JW: Does your theatre background work better for you in either television or film ?
TL: I would have to say television. Television is a medium that I prefer and I am able to improvise. There is a rhythm and an arc and a pace that feels comfortable. There is something about doing a television table read that feels like reading a stage play. I’m thankful for having a theatre background because as an actor, you can sense the pulse of your audience whether it is with the director, the writer, the studio heads, etc. At this point in my career, I haven’t done enough film to know if I am good at it. I’m more of a character actor and I put a lot of myself into playing oddballs. "

Full Article:
http://www.lasplash.com/publish/Celebrity_Talk_102/One-On-One_Interview_with_Actor_Todd_Lowe_-.php


True Blood grabs audiences by the jugular
By Erica Thompson
The 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.""

Full Article:
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25002140-7642,00.html


Paquin: Not Exactly Bloodthirsty
By Tom Gilbert
TV Week

"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...."

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


2009 MPSE Golden Reel Award Nominees: Television

"Best Sound Editing: Short Form Dialogue and ADR in Television

CALIFORNICATION “The Raw and the Cooked”
CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION “Bull”
CSI: NY “Hostage #421”
FRINGE “Safe”
LOST “Confirmed Dead #402”
MAD MEN “The Jet Set”
THE TUDORS “Episode 210”
TRUE BLOOD “The Fourth Man in the Fire"

The Awards will be presented February 21, 2009:
Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites
404 S. Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071

Full List Of Nominees:
http://www.mpse.org/goldenreels/2009awards/2009tvnominees.html


20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Nominees

"OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
The L Word (Showtime)
South of Nowhere (The N)
Torchwood (BBC America)
True Blood (HBO)"

Winners will be awarded their trophies during a trio of ceremonies in New York (March 28th), Los Angeles (April 18th) and San Francisco (May 9th).

Full list of nominees:
http://www.glaad.org/mediaawards/20thAnnual/nominees.php


HBO Asia Takes Personalisation To New Levels
by Daryl Tay
Unique-Frequency.com

"Earlier this year, I got an email from Yin Qi from HBO Asia, who I met at a Social Media Breakfast, asking me if I was back from exchange and that HBO had a little something to send me for the new year. I replied yes and provided them with my address. When the package came, I was pleasantly surprised to find not one, but two True Blood calendars..."

Full Article:
http://uniquefrequency.com/2009/01/22/hbo-asia-takes-personalisation-to-new-levels/


Ad-On: 'Q' Score May Suggest Better TV Performance
by Wayne Friedman
Media Post News

"Emotionally bonded to your TV show? That may mean more to advertisers than just pure TV viewership.
Marketing Evaluations' Q Scores says high emotional bonding to TV shows is a better indication of future TV performance. In a recent study with its new metric, "Emotional Bonding Q scores," a number of scripted cable dramas posted better emotional levels than broadcast TV shows among women viewers.

Showtime's "Dexter," Sci-Fi Channel's "Sanctuary," ABC Family's "The Middleman" and HBO's "True Blood" bested all top broadcast TV shows. With a 100 index being average, "Dexter" hit a 174 index with females 18-49, the highest of any TV show. "Sanctuary" had a 171, "Middleman" was at 168 and "True Blood" earned a 157."

Full Article:
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=98834

Tags: Articles, Stephen Moyer, Todd Lowe, Tru Blood