Film School Rejects » Festival Shenanigans

Exclusive: Charlaine Harris Talks ‘True Blood’

FSR Staff — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:44:56 +0000

Charlaine Harris who? You may not think you know her, but if it wasn’t for Charlaine Harris and her creation of Sookie Stackhouse, we wouldn’t have HBO’s True Blood. Charlaine sat down with us at Dragon*Con in Atlanta, Georgia this past weekend to answer a few questions that we were dying to know.

“Well of course, Sookie is my favorite,” Charlaine told us when we asked her favorite character, but she quickly added, “I like writing all of them because they’re all part of me.”

When asked who her favorite character was other than Sookie, she replied gleefully that it was Amelia Broadway and Vampire Pam played by Kristin Bauer. Amelia Broadway is a novice witch in the Sookie Stackhouse novels that has yet to be introduced on True Blood. So when can viewers see this character on True Blood? Well, that’s not a definite yet.

As Charlaine explained, HBO’s Alan Ball is initially aiming to shoot one Sookie Stackhouse novel per HBO Season. “That was the basic plan,” she said. “But he has said that eventually the show will take on a life of its own.” Alan Ball explained to her that because Sookie wouldn’t be able to carry the entire series on her own, other characters would have to become more developed. Hence Lafayette not being killed in season one, even though he was killed in the first novel Dead Until Dark. This also explains why the character Jessica Hamby played by Deborah Ann Woll was created and why Tara Thorton played by Rutina Wesley has become a main character in the True Blood series.

When asked who her favorite character in True Blood was, Charlaine praised the entire cast. “I know all the actors, with a few exceptions,” she said. “It would be really hard to pick when you know them personally. It’s really hard to separate them from the characters.”

However, she eventually settled on Nelsan Ellis. “He’s just brilliant as Lafayatte,” she said. Charlaine went on to say that she felt Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin were a perfect fit for their characters William Compton and Sookie Stackhouse. Charlaine had mentioned in a panel earlier in the weekend that she couldn’t believe how tall Alexander Skarsgård was who plays Eric Northman. Alexander Skarsgård, who stood at 6’4”, towered over Charlaine Harris. She said that he was one of the nicest actors she’d met. Charlaine also went on to say that she didn’t think that Stephen and Anna’s relationship outside of True Blood would affect the characters storyline in the series.

Charlaine didn’t name or suggest anyone who should be cast as future characters on True Blood, but did say that she was very excited to see who would be cast as Debbie Pelt, a central character that is introduced in the third book, Club Dead. She also went on to say that she can’t wait to see what Alan Ball does with Club Dead and that the book was one of her favorites. When Charlaine was asked if the third season of True Blood would be closer to Club Dead than the second season had been to her books, she replied that she wasn’t sure.

“In the third season, we’ll see the introduction of the werewolves,” she said. “And I am looking forward to that very much.”

Unlike Stephenie Meyer with the Twilight series, Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball do not regularly consult with each other about the True Blood series. However, when asked if she and Alan Ball had a communication method available to them, she advised that they do communicate occasionally via email. Charlaine also went on to say that she is OK with the liberties that Alan Ball has taken with the True Blood series because she looks at True Blood as its own entity.

“I have been fascinated with what he’s done,” Charlaine said. “It’s like a separate experience, and that can be a lot of fun for everyone.”

The differences between the books and the series may explain any confusion that Charlaine’s fans are having with HBO’s True Blood. For example, when we asked Charlaine about what the “egg” was in True Blood, Charlaine said with a smile “I have no idea.”

One thing that fans of Charlaine Harris will be very excited to know about, is her upcoming appearance in a True Blood episode. Charlaine will appear in Season Two’s final episode on Sunday, September 13th as a patron in the bar Merlotte’s. Look for her talking to Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell).

Charlaine appeared at several other panels during the Dragon*Con weekend and we asked a question to Charlaine Harris for all of her avid fans of the Sookie Stackhouse series. Charlaine had mentioned on her website that Sookie would not become a vampire, so when we asked her which vampire she would end up with (implying Eric Northman or William Compton), Charlaine replied with a devilish smile “Who says it’s going to be a vampire?”

To learn more about Charlaine Harris, and her other novels and appearances, visit her personal web site at CharlaineHarris.com.

For more information on True Blood, visit HBO’s True Blood web site.

Special thanks to our roving Dragon*Con correspondents, Kelly Carr and April Cloud, who conducted the interview and were so kind as to send it in to us.

Bring on the Cannes Photos, Round 1

Neil Miller — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:58:48 +0000

As I mentioned before, we are not in the South of France this year to cover the Cannes Film Festival. But as I also mentioned before, that doesn’t mean we can’t give it a little coverage. In fact, we’ve decided that we would like to oogle some celebrity photos and live vicariously through some of our friends around the web. Let’s take a look:

Juror Natalie Portman… Hot

Sean Penn Looks Enthused

Jack Black, a Few Pandas, Probably Some Scatting

OMG, Is That Panda Having Twins?

George “Frakking” Lucas — Wonder Why He’s There…

A few movie posters, one that involves a Ninja, courtesy of JoBlo:

And a few movie banners, also courtesy of JoBlo:

We Aren’t at Cannes, But We Know People Who Are

Neil Miller — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:00:57 +0000

Since you and I know that when FSR covers a festival we cover it like it’s nobody’s business, you are probably wondering why you haven’t seen a “Live Drunkenness from Cannes” post of some kind. It’s simple — we aren’t there. It’s not that we don’t want to be there, we don’t have anything against the French or anything, we just can’t get press passes. Alright, that is a lie. In reality, we are just working on a small budget — have to pay for all of Kevin’s trips to the “gentleman’s club”. On top of that, we are saving up all of our pesos for our mega-huge San Diego Comic Con trip in July.

But while we can’t be at Cannes this year, we do know a few sites that are covering the damn thing. They are braving all of the really good food, the fine women and the universal healthcare to bring us word from the place where many cool flicks such as Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, Vicky Christina Barcelona and Kung Fu Panda will make the debuts. With that in mind, we don’t think you should miss any of the action, even if we are. Therefore we would like to submit these great sites as solid places to read all about the Cannes Film Fest. Just remember to come back when it’s all over.

Thompson on Hollywood
Variety’s Anne Thompson is one supercool lamestream journo that gets it — thats because she has accepted the role of blogging into her heart, and she once acknowledged our existence at Sundance. She’s a nice lady and she knows her shit, so take notes.

Cinematical
Cinematical’s Kim Voynar and James Rocchi are also rep’in film blogging in the South of France. While Rocchi and I absolutely never agree… on anything, I am of the belief that Kim has a good head on her shoulders. On top of that, they’ve been taking some pretty pictures thus far.

JoBlo
You might think that someone like JoBlo seems out of place at Cannes, but someone has to crash the snoot-fest. The coverage is so-so, but the pictures are great and JoBlo is always on the lookout for hot French women… And Natalie Portman.

Hollywood Elsewhere
Personally, I am a fairly avid reader of Jeff Wells’ site, though he probably isn’t suitable for all of our readers. Not that he’s vulgar or anything — he’s just a little highbrow, and I know that some of you really like your movie news mixed with some lowbrow comedy — that’s why you’re here.

Jean Claude Van Damme to Kick Ass in Cannes

Neil Miller — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:46:03 +0000

When I think of le Festival de Cannes, I normally think of a festival atmosphere unlike anything I’ve ever seen — a marketplace for the best independent films from all over the world. I also think about the height of arthouse quality indies, the best of the best — the illustrious festival would have it no other way. It also brings to mind the fact that as a movie blogger, my chances of getting a press pass are slim, bordering on never going to f’ing happen.

No worries though, because it appears that the tides are changing in the south of France. The auteur of auteurs, action star Jean Claude Van Damme is premiering his film JCVD at Cannes this year. I picked this hot little tidbit up off of Steven Zeitchik’s blog post over at THR’s Risky Biz Blog. Allegedly, Van Damme’s crazy existentialist French film isn’t the oddest of the Cannes oddities though, as there is one wartime romance called The Baby Doll Night in which the question of whether “a night of pleasure can mend sixty years of pain” is finally answered. That was worth a chuckle, almost as much as the Van Damme bit.

And speaking of JCVD, it appears to be all sorts of whacked out. If you like Jean Claude Van Damme and can speak French, this might just be “movie of the year” material. Or not. For more, check out the French trailer below or visit the film’s official site jcvd-lefilm.com, which is also coincidentally, in French. JCVD is scheduled for release in France on June 4th. Here in the US, our best chance is bootleg.

Film School Rejects » Festival Shenanigans

Exclusive: Charlaine Harris Talks ‘True Blood’

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Bring on the Cannes Photos, Round 1

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