The Vault – TrueBlood-Online.com

True Blood’s second season showed us an interesting variety of sets. The most sinister of them all is without a doubt the eerie Fangtasia dungeon where Eric locks up his human prisoners.

I asked True Blood Production Designer Suzuki Ingerslev, about this set that she designed. “It was definitely the writers who inspired the design of the Fangtasia basement with their grisly depiction of what they called the “Saw” room”, Suzuki answered.

The writer of the episode Alexander Woo explains how they came up with the idea of the dungeon: “Since we decided that Lafayette was going to survive into season two, we obviously needed to address where he had been during the two weeks after his abduction. Alan Ball came up with the idea of having him in a sort of horror-movie room where he would be suffering the consequences of dealing vampire blood. From there it was a matter of coming up with the bleakest, darkest place we could imagine. Suzuki Ingerslev and our Art Director Cat Smith were the ones who brought it to life.”

According to Woo the dungeon he created represents “the secrets that all of us prefer to keep hidden and buried. The vampires in our world have come out of the coffin, but that room is a concrete representation of the darker side of vampire-human relations.”

Suzuki explains how the oppressing atmosphere of the Fangtasia basement was created on set: “Ordinarily it would have been any kind of basement or storage room but in the hands of Eric it became a grisly prison where the worst kind of atrocity is practiced. It was built entirely on stage. All the blood, rust, gore and decrepitude were created by our fantastic painters and plasterers. The wheel itself was built by our prop makers and is actually all made out of wood to look like metal. The wheel was dreamed up by Alexander Woo, as a device Eric rigged to torture people. It is a complete view into his utter lack of compassion. “

The significance and purpose of the wheel to which the prisoners are chained were discussed and speculated upon to great length on the True Blood message boards. Sometimes we try so hard to see symbolism in every scene that we overlook the obvious and simple explanation. Alexander Woo explains that the purpose of the wheel is surprisingly connected to one of the primary human bodily functions.

“I thought it would be funny to find a very complicated solution to a very simple problem, namely how do you let the prisoners go to the bathroom while still keeping them far enough apart so they don’t kill each other? I suppose you could chain them all to the wall and give everyone their own bucket, but that’s a lot of buckets to empty. Why not have a single bucket that only one prisoner can reach at a time? That’s where the idea for the wheel began. I also thought it was funny that any time one prisoner needed to use the bucket, it would inconvenience everyone else. In the end, the wheel became a great visual representation of the hopelessness of everyone’s fate in the dungeon, but it all started as a way for the prisoners to use the toilet.”

In the show it was Eric who came up with both the concept of the vampire bar Fangtasia and the torture dungeon that lies beneath it. What does this tell us about Eric’s character according to Woo?

“Eric has no insecurities about who he is. He understands that there’s a side to vampires that would make humans very uncomfortable, so he’s shrewd in keeping that side hidden away. The upstairs of Fangtasia is Eric’s public face. The downstairs is the darker side that humans don’t need to know about – unless they’ve crossed him. I think the bar and the dungeon are both equally Fangtasia, just as the roles of club owner and vampire sheriff are both equally Eric.”

The True Blood vampires obviously all have a very dark side to them, but so do many human inhabitants of Bon Temps. The dungeon shows us the cruelty of vampire nature, I asked Alex Woo if this is really so different from the cruelty Eddie suffered in Jason’s basement?

Woo: “You’re right – they’re very much the same. Jason’s basement in season one was a place for two of our humans to indulge their savage side, much to Jason’s disgust, eventually. The Fangtasia dungeon was one of our first glimpses into the parallel underside in the vampire world. Basements are never pretty, are they?”

Finally I asked if he thinks that humans and vampires will ever be able to live in a somewhat peaceful coexistence.

“Probably not for the life of the show. What fun would it be to watch then?” answers Woo. And I think we can all agree with that. Keep the drama coming!

Photos courtesy of Suzuki Ingerslev.
Video property of HBO.

Thanks to Billsbabe “lisafemmeacadienne” for this wonderful article about the 28th Regiment.

The 28th Louisiana Regiment is not mentioned in the history texts, but it had a very important role in the Civil War in Louisiana, thanks to Colonel Henry Gray of Bienville Parish, and Lieutenant General Richard Taylor (son of President Zachary Taylor).

In the True Blood storyline, the character William T. Compton served in this particular regiment, so I put together some information for the fans. The history of these volunteers has been reconstructed through journal entries and the few military documents that survived the chaos of the final days of the war.

The 28th consisted of ten independent companies from different parishes, which were organized and trained in Monroe by Colonel Gray.

These volunteers joined with a deeply ingrained sense of southern honor, which dictated that they protect their homes and families from the encroaching Union armies. Some of the volunteers were former slaves, eager to defend their freedom. Both of these reasons kept these soldiers from leaving the regiments, even when conditions became unbearable. Early in the war, the 28th Regiment faced terrible sickness; at one point, 2/3 of the men were sick with malaria, yellow fever, and cholera due to living in the swamps along the railroad where they were stationed, yet they refused to abandon their regiment.

After a year of service, the men finally saw action at Camp Bisland (pronounced biz-lend) / Bayou Teche (pronounced bye-yoo-tesh) when the Yankee gunboat, the Diana, ventured too far into the Atchafalaya, (pronounced ah-chaff-ah-lie-yah) which is a network of rivers that branch off of the Mississippi River. A division of the 28th, on reconnaissance, spotted the gunboat and alerted Gray. As the boat pushed further up the channel, a Confederate ambush was lying in wait for them. This began the 28th’s involvement in repelling the Union’s Red River Campaign.

The Union army had three goals at the start of the Red River Campaign in Louisiana: to destroy the Confederate Army commanded by Taylor, thus controlling Shreveport, Louisiana; to control the Red River to the north and occupy east Texas; and to confiscate as much as a hundred thousand bales of cotton from the plantations along the Red River.

“The Confederates sprang the ambush on the ship and for three hours poured volley after volley of rifle and cannon fire into it. To the men penned up in the Diana it was a nightmarish hell. The decks were slippery with blood, and the groans of the wounded drifted through the darkened, smoke-filled ship. The roar of the Rebel guns, the splat of minie balls against the sides of the ship, and the crash of artillery shells splintering the decks helped create an unforgettable scene.

The Diana’s commander, after seeing one crewman after another fall to the deck from the Rebels accurate fire, finally raised the white flag. The Confederates then removed the 150 sailors, 30 of whom were dead or seriously wounded, and took over the vessel. The Winn Parish men of Company K moved the ship up the Teche to help cover Camp Bisland.”

To break the stronghold at Camp Bisland, the Union forces tried to send 12,000 Union troops by boat to land north of the area, and another 4,000 to land to the south, trapping the Confederate forces in the middle. When the 28th discovered this plan, the Rebel soldiers were split into two groups; one to prevent the northern landing, one to prevent the southern. On a third front, the Winn Parish soldiers of Company K stayed on the Diana to fight the Union directly on Bayou Teche.

The Union army boats beat the Confederates to the landing sites, and bombarded the Rebel forces and the Diana for two days. The Diana was severely damaged, and had to retreat for repairs. However, each time the Union forces tried to land on the banks of the Bayou, they were successfully repelled by the 28th on the southern end. On the northern end, Union forces made landfall and began their march south. The 28th had no choice but to engage the forces at Irish Bend, where they surprised the Union army with their ferocity and determination. With only a 1,000 men, they charged.

“The screaming Rebels came bursting out of a strip of woods they had been hiding in and ran across a muddy cane field towards the startled Yankees. The forward enemy regiments, taking cover in shallow ditches, tried to make a stand, but were soon outflanked and caught in a terrible crossfire. The Federals later recalled that the Louisiana men used “buck and ball,” a type of musket round that included one rifle ball and three buckshot. This was a deadly load at close range, proven by the fact that the 159th New York Regiment, that faced the 28th, lost 115 men our of a total of 375 in the fight!”

Several battles ensued over many days, and eventually the 28th retreated northward as the Union army pursued them. Colonel Arthur W. Hyatt, a member of the 28th’s Brigade, described the forced march in his journal:

“A regular race from the enemy. Feet sore, dust intolerable . . . . When we halt ‘ we squat ourselves down, no matter where–in the sand, in the mud, anywhere–and our only hope is that the halt will last fifteen minutes. At night you fall down too tired to be careful of selections, and go to sleep . . . without taking off clothes, shoes or cap…”

The 28th made it to the Rebel stronghold in Alexandria, and the Union forces ceased pursuit. After a few months, they were able to return to Bayou Teche/ Camp Bisland. They were called upon as reinforcements for various skirmishes in southeast and south central Louisiana. They also helped to successfully capture 400 Union soldiers at Bayou Fordoche near Morganza.

Finally, the men were called back to the Monroe area to help protect a shipment of arms. On the way there, they crossed the Red River at Pineville (near Alexandria) in December, and were immediately hit by foul weather, as described by Felix Poche (pronounced po-shay), a member of Gray’s staff:

“The thunder roared, lightening struck all around us and immense pines … fell by the hundreds… I learned several persons had been hurt.
Soon the ground was covered with water . . . The wagons . . . were unable to pass. . .Thus those poor soldiers were drenched to the skin, shivering with cold, starving and dog tired after a march of fifteen miles, having nothing with which to cover themselves, and spent a miserable night near to the fire, as best they could.

Conditions did not improve at dawn. The supply wagons could not pass over the flooded roads, so the 28th had to endure growling stomachs until the train pulled into camp 24 hours later.

As the army marched through Winn Parish, occasional shrieks of joy could be heard as a bystanding woman recognized a son or husband in the muddy, shuffling crowd of soldiers that were strung out five miles on’ the Winnfield to Vernon road. In some instances, tearful pleading would get one of the 28th’s soldiers an overnight pass to spend some time with the family he had not seen for nearly two years. These scenes were repeated as the regiment continued the march to Monroe.

Christmas Day was spent marching on to the Ouachita River (pronounced wah-chi-tah), which was crossed on the 27th under a cold, winter sky. It is not difficult to understand why more men died from sickness during the Civil War than from battle, when they had to live under such harsh conditions as the 28th did in the winter of 1863-64. Poche entered in his journal on Dec. 31 the following: “The weather was extreme, in the morning it rained and later it snowed,’ and the ground froze. One can well understand the misery and suffering of our poor soldiers without tents, and practically no fire…”

Hyatt’s New Year’s Day entry adds to the description. “The ponds frozen and the boys sliding on ice . . . The ground too cold to lie down. Pitiable at night to see them nodding around campfires with only one blanket. This is soldiering, this is.”

The regiment did not get to the arms shipment in time; all the marching had been in vain. They retreated to the Rebel stronghold in Pineville.

When the Yankees started their three-pronged Red River Campaign, Fort de Russey, just below Alexandria, fell to the Union army. The 28th began retreating north, and made their last stand in a field southeast of Mansfield called Pleasant Hill, along with the 18th and the Consolidated Crescents Regiments. There were 9,000 Confederates to stop 30,000 Union soldiers.

It was a slaughter. They were literally fighting an uphill battle on a steep slope, exposed every time they made a forward advance. The Union army would cut them down every time they stood up to shoot or run. One Major, W.F. Blackman, tried to lead the charge by grabbing the Confederate flag and riding up the hill. His soldiers bravely followed, many taken down by the accurate fire of the Union soldiers. They were able to scatter the Union soldiers with their advance and take the hill, but at the terrible price of 800 Confederate soldiers losing their lives.

This began a series of battles and retreats, with the Union on the defensive. They would try to rest, and the 28th would attack, again and again. The final battle for the 28th was at Yellow Bayou, when both sides ran out of ammo, and began hand-to-hand combat. This time, Union numbers prevailed, and the 28th had to retreat as far north as Arkansas.

Military organization started to fall apart, and soldiers began slipping away in the night to return home as they realized the war was lost. When surrender terms were accepted on May 26, 1865, many went to Shreveport or Monroe to be pardoned for their role in the war and pick up what was left of their lives and homes.

Bibliography

• Moneyhon, Carl and Roberts, Bobby; Portraits of Conflict – A Photographic History of Louisiana in the Civil War, Univ. of Arkansas Press, 1990, pgs. 157-158, 184, 267-271.
• Bergeron Jr., Arthur W., Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units 1861-1865, Louisiana State University Press, 1989, pgs. 138-139.
• Spedale, W.A., Battle of Baton Rouge 1862, Land and Land Publishing, Baton Rouge, LA ,1985, drawing pg. 19.
• http://www.penandsaber.com/grays28th/Jones28th.html (quotes from this site in bold type)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_Campaign
• Photo of William T. Compton, “True Blood”, HBO

“The True Blood set is the best place to be”, says Jim Parrack via Skype from his LA home. He smiles and leans back into his chair as I watch his dogs Stella and Jack getting comfy on the couch behind him. Jim is happy to be back on the True Blood set again, but he didn’t let the hiatus between the two seasons go by idle. The shooting of the sci-fi action movie “Battle: Los Angeles” brought him to Louisiana and he wrote and directed his first independent movie called “Post” starring his wife Ciera Parrack and his own family as lead actors.

I learned that Jim is not a very technical guy, but he did manage to make the webcam work. Not too bad because until last August he didn’t even know what Skype was, it was Stephen Moyer who pointed out to him that it was a great way to talk to his wife Ciera while apart.

Jim says about himself that he talks too much. “Keep on talking”, I answered him and he did. The 3-parter that I joked about to him became reality. In this first article Jim talks about True Blood, the parts about “Battle: Los Angeles” and his directing debut will be published at a later date.

Jim loves the American theater and attends lessons of Robert Carnegie at Playhouse West in North Hollywood. The approach of acting taught at this institute seems to work best for him. He explains that he works from a personal place within himself in order to understand the situation the script has given him. That means that in an emotional scene he wants to feel and experience the emotion. “I want to have a real experience up there”, Jim explains. “And that unfortunately involves feelings and when the experience the writers give you is “your mother betrayed you the same day your girlfriend leaves you”, you have to go find some pain within yourself and it has to be real. I try to wake something up inside me, pay attention to my partner and let their behavior affect how I am going to say a line, the same way as we do in real life. It sounds easy enough but unfortunately it has taken years of training [laughs].

But that is what I like about acting, the emotional story you tell.”

Jim’s True Blood alter ego Hoyt Fortenberry didn’t play a prominent role in the first season but when the storyline of the cute momma’s boy took a few very interesting and unexpected turns in the sophomore season the fans’ interest was suddenly raised. Torn between his vampire girlfriend Jessica and his selfish and overprotective mother, Hoyt finds himself caught between a rock and hard place and it is painfully clear that life as he knew it is no more.

Shadaliza: How do you look back on Season 2 of True Blood? Are you happy with the result?

Jim Parrack: “I actually am. It’s probably the first time professionally I feel like I was able to tell the stories the writers have given me. Of course I am always thinking about how I could have done better but overall I was able to get into that story and live it out.”

“That to me is kind of the measure of did I get it or not, was I able to experience it instead of showing, and it’s not to say that I did that perfectly, but Deborah [Deborah Ann Woll who plays Jessica] and Dale [Dale Raoul who plays Hoyt’s mother, Maxine] make it all very, very easy to go in there and experience something. They gave us about as good a story as you can get to act and I am super grateful for it; it’s the most satisfying thing I have done professionally and I actually feel ok about what I did.”

Hoyt Fortenberry is a young man with very little life experience and to my surprise that was exactly the thing that presented the biggest challenge to Jim in his portrayal of Hoyt.

“I had a tough time getting to a place where all of this would have been brand new”, explains Jim. “The thing that I had a really tough time with was imagining myself as someone who had never had a relationship because I am 28 and I have probably lived about 55 years in those 28 [laughs]. So that was a real challenge, how do I, a 28 year old person with plenty of experience in heartache and falling in love, get to a place where it is all brand new and fresh. But I found a way…  I found a way… [stops talking and laughs].”

Do you care to explain or is it a big secret?

“No, it’s not a secret, but it would lose its potency for me if I would talk about it. I promise it is not a secret; I just keep it to myself. “

video property of HBO

I love the scene in Merlotte’s when Jessica and Hoyt meet; it is one of my favorite scenes from season 2.

“Yes, it’s my favorite too”,  Jim says.  ” At Merlotte’s and later at vampire Bill’s house, those two are my favorites. That was the first day that I ever felt ok about my acting on True Blood. I thought that Raelle [Tucker] wrote the best scene, that’s my favorite scene of the whole series, if I wasn’t in it, it would still be my favorite scene.”

Jim continues to explain what makes the “Hoyt meets Jessica scene” so special for him. “More than anything that I’ve shot that most directly was the moment of Hoyt coming in contact with the one thing that he’d love his whole life and hopes of. Hoyt is a person who really wanted real, true love and have someone appreciate him and like him, but also someone he can be there for and Jessica was kind of a combination of all those things and she walked right into his life. The excitement any time you have a character that so badly desires one thing and then has the opportunity to have that or lose out on it when it comes along, then you have a good situation to act.”

Hoyt was hanging out in Merlotte’s with no place to go, he doesn’t want to go home and in walks this beautiful girl….

“Right. Right!

I was thinking you don’t want to go home because mom’s there; one of your best friends died two weeks ago, your other best friend has disappeared to run off to live with a group of religious fanatics. There is nobody else in town for him, he was completely alone.”

“I thought I am going to play it as if I were sitting in that booth praying to God “please give me a girl, I’ll be a good boyfriend, I’ll treat her the best I can and than bam she walks in the door. That way something very real started to happen inside and it carried over to the scene. For the rest of the season I was able to say that it’s not just a girl I like, but the girl God sent to me.”

Jessica is obviously a girl with a few extras… can Hoyt handle a girl like that?

“Yes, there are going to be a lot of problems, but I know for certain that Hoyt is the kind of person who believes that love and going through something together will smooth out all the rough spots. In the end there will just be little bumps in the road, but I don’t believe that there being a difference of that kind makes it impossible. Just because Hoyt is new to all this doesn’t mean that he is not made of the stuff a person needs to be to have a relationship. Hoyt is probably more capable of having a real relationship than people who have been doing it for a long time. He is made of the stuff that you need to have good relationships: tenderness, lovingness and selflessness. He is the perfect guy to be in a real relationship. “

“But Hoyt has been deceived all along about whom his mother is. He picked his mom over his girlfriend and he picked the wrong person. Hoyt made a mistake when he sided up with his mother. She wasn’t the one out of those two who really loves him. She is not. But I never thought that was the kind of thing that couldn’t be reconciled; I never thought that what he said to Jessica made a relationship impossible from that moment forward. He was hoping that if he would show up with flowers, they could pick back up where they left off and he could apologize properly, but Jessica is not there…”

How would you describe the relationship between Hoyt and his mother?

“Unfortunately I think it’s a pretty realistic relationship. I know there is a lot of humor in it and there is a lot of things that jump out as being bit extreme, but I know quite a few people, man and women, that have that kind of relationship with some kind of matriarch that has convinced themselves that so long as they are a mother they are a good person. They have to keep their children as babies so that they can continue to be a mother. It’s made funny when you take a big giant person like myself and put him in a situation like that because it is so clear that he is not baby. “

“It’s a selfish relationship on her part and selfish relationships can never be real relationships. That is the thing I came to realize in the last couple of episodes of season 2. I don’t know what they are going to do but personally I would be ok for Hoyt to not speak with her until she makes some kind of change in her life.”

Hoyt’s mom is of course played by Dale Raoul and Jim has nothing but praise for her.

“Dale is just such a wonderful gal. From the beginning I really liked her a lot and felt very comfortable with her. She is fun; she is supportive, gentle and encouraging. I count myself so blessed to have the kind of two-fold way the story went last year, on one side there is Dale and on the other side there is Deborah and in both cases generous, patient and just wonderful people who are so encouraging.”

How do you look at yourself onscreen?

[laughs] “Cautiously. At that point there is nothing than be done. If I like it, I don’t get too excited about it, but if I don’t like it, I get really down on myself because it is there for good now. The curse of film is that once it’s there, it’s there. “

“I am beginning to feel more comfortable in front of the camera, which you think by now should be easy, but it really isn’t for me. Deborah actually helped me out a lot. She taught me to think of the camera in a certain way that made it more familiar and comfortable to me. She told me to treat it the way I would treat an audience when I do theatre, which is that you don’t pretend that they are not there, you are glad that they are there, you just don’t let them worry you. She is a lot smarter than I am [laughs]. And it was good because in theatre the only thing I have ever concerned myself with is having an experience. That means that if you had the experience, and it went well the audience relates to it, but with the camera people relate to an image and I have always felt a little uncomfortable about the image. There is suddenly another thing to think about and it prevents, in my case, the experience from happening. So Deborah said not to worry about it and not to be afraid of it. It snapped me out of something and it’s been something that I was able to take over to “Battle: Los Angeles” as well. I am very grateful that she taught me that little lesson.”

So it is safe to say that it’s been a pleasure working with Deborah?

“Absolutely. It’s been absolutely a pleasure, she is a dear friend now and of the people I’ve got to really work with professionally, I enjoy working with her best.

Dear friend or not…. Jim did bruise Deborah’s arms while shooting a scene.

“I felt horrible in that scene where I have to pull Jessica off of my mother, we shot that so many times and I had to pick that girl up and move her and I felt terrible because at the end of the day she had a bruise on her. A couple of days later there was the season 2 premiere and EJ [E.J. Scott Deborah’s boyfriend] was there and he said: “Thanks man, you fucked her up.” [laughs].

How did you prepare for the intimate scenes, did you rehearse those?

“Not so much, because I am married and Deborah  is in a serious committed relationship with EJ. We  know that we’d be fooling ourselves if we said we have to go practice kissing. You don’t need to work on that [laughs].. . or she and I don’t need to work on that, there might be people who need to practice but….”

You both have mastered the technique…

“Yes, yes [laughs]. So when we would rehearse, we would look for the essence of a scene, the behavior and the emotion of the scene, we would try different things and when we get to the physical aspects of it we would just pull back because what happens next is that you kiss and you don’t need to practice that.

“You really have to trust the other person especially when you are in a relationship or when you are married, you have to trust that the other person is doing this for the story you are telling, not to get some kind of kick out of it. Deborah and I have that trust and we maintain that trust and when the time comes to do it you really open yourself up to the other person and what you feel for them and let yourself feel as much as you can for the other person and that usually takes care of the intimacy. “

“Ciera and EJ are both in interesting positions, my wife’s husband and EJ’s girlfriend are in a love story together. I tried to reach out to him early on and let him know that I have no other intention than to tell that story with his girlfriend. Ciera and Deborah have become friends and it’s a better way to handle the feelings of everybody to consider them first. And it frees Deborah and me up a lot too not to have to worry about how they feel because we know that we are doing the right thing in terms of taking them into consideration.”

“If I were to act out killing somebody, you don’t really do it, but when you act kissing somebody, you do. Of course it’s still acting and it’s an imaginary circumstance but it’s kind of the one place where you can’t fudge it and you can’t fake it, you really have to do it and that’s where trust comes in.”

How do you feel about onscreen nudity? How far would you go for a scene?

“I am open to it. If somebody could convince me that it was a better way to do it than without, I mean somebody I trust like Alan [Ball], than yeah I’d do it.
I just directed my first movie with my wife and my family and I’ve written other things and most of the time I think if there is anything else you want to say in a scene and you put nudity in the scene that other thing will get missed [laughs]. If you have just the sex scene and that is all… then yes, when people are having sex they are generally naked one way or another. But if you want to reveal someone’s heart while they lay in bed smoking a cigarette naked and they’re topless, than, at least from a male point of view, everything goes away except for the nudity so you miss storytelling in favor of sensationalism and that I am not for. In just purely sex scenes there is nothing that you would miss by having nudity but I don’t know if a ton is gained by it either. So somebody would have to build a good case for me in order to convince me. “

Besides Deborah can you tell me what have you learned from your other True Blood colleagues?

“Yes, I can try, but people are going to get left out, I learned something from all of them.
What I learned from Ryan Kwanten is to enjoy myself and not put so much pressure on myself to perform, that I can trust myself and enjoy my work.
What I learned from Stephen Moyer is that this thing has a dignity and has to be taken serious, but that doesn’t mean that you have to take yourself seriously.
What I learned from Anna Paquin is that we actors have an endurance that we probably have not tapped into and she proves it day in and day out.
Chris Bauer and I have a lot of philosophical discussions about acting and we approach it in different ways but we are after the same thing.”

“I am amazed that there is nobody on this show that comes at acting the same way, none of us have the same approach. But my God, look at the work on this show. I learned so much just spending time watching other actors work; it is an education in itself. By maintaining what is my approach now, but staying open to the way everybody else approaches their work, I am bound to learn something because these people are too good.”

“It is such a generous group of people. We don’t fight, there are no egos, and there is none of that nastiness that you get on almost every other set that I have ever been on. There is a willingness to help the person across from you with the scene and help them to do the best they can do, you share in their joy when they do it well and you encourage them if they feel bad about and it’s a pretty ideal place for this type of creativity.”

“The True Blood set is the best place to be and I mean that.”

We are all dying to know some more about season 3, but although Jim has read the scripts of the first four episodes, he is not allowed to reveal anything about the storylines. But what he did say is : “In my personal opinion season 3 is even more exciting than season 2 because it’s more active. There is more adventure.”

I would say that season 2 was pretty active…

“Yes it was, but I would say that this is even more … dynamic is a better word.”

Ok, that’s a good description, because I don’t want to know yet what will happen in season 3.

“I do. I’d like to know where we are headed.”

Stay tuned for part 2 of the Jim Parrack interview where he talks about his new film “Battle: Los Angeles”.

What will the Bellefleur home look like in Season 3? Will it be Greek or Gothic Revival style, Victorian, or French Creole? Here is a sampling of each.  Please note that French Creole architecture is mostly found in southeast Louisiana. The fictional town of Bon Temps is located in north central Louisiana.

The Plantations of St. Francisville

“English Plantation Land” / “Spanish West Florida”

West Feliciana Parish

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parishes_in_Louisiana

THE COTTAGE

It was built by Civil War Captain, Congressman and Judge Thomas Butler in 1824. Visitors to the house included such notables as Jefferson Davis, Henry Clay, Zachary Taylor, and the Marquis de Lafayette. Andrew Jackson slept here after the Battle of New Orleans on his way to Natchez.

Life, after the beginning of the Civil War, changed forever. The Union Army took over the Cottage and removed everything that could be found of value, from horses to furniture to jewelry to even the clothing of the children. The troops occupied the plantation and held the family prisoner.

After the troops left, the family abandoned the house and it was taken over and used as a hospital for Union soldiers with yellow fever. In the years that followed, this is probably what saved it from being destroyed by vandals. Many had died from the disease in the house and were buried on the grounds…. the fear that the sickness lingered kept many people away. Rumors of ghosts kept the house empty for many years to come, until it was restored in the 1920’s.

Cottage Plantation house, built with Doric columns
Courtesy of Lagniappe Tours, Foundation for Historical Louisiana

Sources: http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/louisiana/cot.htm
http://www.cottageplantation.com/
http://www.prairieghosts.com/cottplan.html

ROSEDOWN

Daniel Turnbull (1799–1861) and his wife Martha (1809–1896) began construction on the main house at Rosedown, supposedly named for a play they saw on their honeymoon to the East Coast and Europe. The 1835 Federal-Greek revival style great house, complete with Grecian style wings, is at the head of a 660-foot long oak alley. Eighteen acres of ornamental pleasure gardens illustrate a combination of the Baroque style and the winding paths of the picturesque tradition.

Most of the flowering plants are the original ones transplanted in 1835, lovingly tended to for 175 years. The fragrance of the flowers, when in bloom, is said to travel for a mile or more.

View of Rosedown Plantation gardens
Photo from National Historic Landmarks collection
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/louisiana/ros.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosedown_Plantation

GREENWOOD

It’s an enormous Greek Revival temple set deep in the Feliciana Woods. It was originally constructed in 1834 by Daniel and Martha Turnbull.

Greenwood is not one of the more exciting plantation homes, but it does possess a surreal, majestic beauty. It is the stereotypical plantation home, complete with original antiques. It is believed to be haunted, and is listed on many paranormal websites.  The movies “North and South, Book 1 & 2″ and “Louisiana” were filmed here.

Photo Credit: Kunio Owaki                                                                      “North and South, Book 1″

http://www.greenwoodplantation.com/history.html
http://www.paranormalknowledge.com/articles/rosedown-plilsantation.html

AUDUBON-OAKLEY

Built in 1813, it was the forest home and employment of naturalist John James Audubon and his pupil Eliza Pirrie. Audubon’s stay at Oakley lasted only four months, but he painted 32 of his famous bird pictures here and developed a love for the beautiful West Feliciana Parish. Audubon returned at a later date to join his wife, then teaching there, and his son. He wrote, “Numerous pupils desired lessons in music, French and drawing…the dancing speculation fetched two thousand dollars; and with this capital and my wife’s savings I was now able to foresee a successful issue to my great ornithological work.” This work was later to become Audubon’s famous Birds of America.

This is a lovely, shaded area to spend a day; some of Audubon’s original artwork is on display, and the entire area is a bird paradise with a multitude of birdhouses. The nature trails on the property are clear, shaded pathways, and there are picnic tables under the large magnolia trees for a scenic lunch.

http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/louisiana/OKL.HTM

http://audubon1821.com/
http://stfrancisvillefestivals.com/monthly_articles/mar2009/images/woodpecker_oakley.jpg

CATALPA

Catalpa Plantation is one of numerous late Victorian cottages found across Louisiana, significant for the beautiful gardens that surround it. The oak trees lining the grounds were planted in 1814, and Catalpa’s oak alley is thought to be the only one in Louisiana which has an elliptical shape. Primarily a cotton plantation in the antebellum period, Catalpa’s grounds were devastated during the Civil War, and the plantation house burned. Mr. Fort, the owner, died during the Civil War. In 1885, his son, William J. Fort, rebuilt Catalpa and it is this house that still stands.

Catalpa Plantation House, surrounded by large oak trees
Courtesy of Lagniappe Tours, Foundation for Historical Louisiana
http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/louisiana/cat.htm

Butler-Greenwood

Begun in the 1790’s by members of the same family that still occupies it today, Butler Greenwood Plantation exemplifies the early cultural influences of this unique corner of Louisiana. The earliest settlers in the Feliciana parishes, like the family at Butler Greenwood, were Anglo-Saxons and came down from the East Coast soon after the American Revolution.  From the wilderness they carved great plantations on grants of land offered by the Spanish crown, for this area was not part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase from France, instead remaining with Spanish West Florida until 1810. The area continues to exhibit strong evidence of English traditions and culture.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/
http://www.butlergreenwood.com/history.html

THE MYRTLES, a.k.a “The Dark Lady”

Called “America’s Most Haunted House”, it was built in 1794 by General David Bradford, and was called Laurel Grove at the time. General Bradford lived there alone for several years, until being pardoned for his role in the Whiskey Rebellion in 1799.

When I visited several years ago, I took the haunted tour. My favorite story was of the ladies of the house taking in an injured Confederate soldier during the Civil War, (“It’s one of OUR boys!”) nursing him back to health, and then hanging him when they found out he had run away from the regiment. His ghost supposedly haunts the main house.

There are many such stories that you can hear on the tour of this home, including the Creole mistress Chloe who poisoned the family in revenge, a grand piano that plays itself, a bizarre portrait, and a spooky mirror. I personally can certify it as the creepiest place I have ever visited! (See the hauntedamericatours.com site below for photos of various phenomenon.)

Courtesy of Lagniappe Tours, Foundation for Historical Louisiana Is this Chloe?
Sources: http://www.myrtlesplantation.com/
http://www.nps.gov/history/nR/travel/louisiana/myr.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrtles_Plantation
http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/ghosts/MyrtlesPlantation.php

French-Creole Plantation Country

Oak Alley

Sometime in the early 1700’s, a settler claimed land from an original royal grant for his dwelling and defined its entrance with an alley of live oaks in two rows leading to the river. Native to the area, they thrived and by 1722, when the early Capuchin Fathers arrived at St. Jacques de Cabahanoce to establish the settlement of St. James Parish, the young trees had already attained a stature which hinted at the magnificence that was to be theirs.

Interview with a Vampire
The film featured Oak Alley as Louis’ home place. Some graveyard scenes and the loading dock scenes were filmed here as well in October 1993.

Other filming here includes: Beyoncé’s “Déjà Vu” Music Video and “B’Day” CD – June 2006, “Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte” with Bette Davis, “Days of Our Lives” – August 1984, “Ghost Hunters” – August 2008, “Primary Colors” with John Travolta -1998, “The Long Hot Summer” – August 1985, and “Midnight Bayou” (based on the Nora Roberts bestseller) – October 2008.

http://oakalleyplantation.com/

St. Charles Parish
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parishes_in_Louisiana

Destrehan Plantation

Jean Noël Destrehan descended from a long line of noble French families and purchased the property that became Destrehan Plantation from his father-in-law’s estate in 1787. During Jean Noël’s lifetime, he was a cornerstone of Louisiana History. Jean Noël helped shape the economic situation of the South when he and his brother-in-law, Etienne de Bore, perfected the granulation of sugar. Jean Noël was active in the political arena all his life and was well respected for his fairness and intelligence. He and his wife Céleste had 14 children.

Within the walls of Destrehan Plantation, there is a climate controlled room displaying an original document signed by Thomas Jefferson. The document dated 1804, assigns four men, one of whom is Jean Noël Destrehan, to the Orleans Territorial Council. This document is considered one of the most important in Louisiana history and is known as the “Jefferson Document.”

One precedent established from this Council that continues today is the sub-dividing of Louisiana into parishes as opposed to counties, as in the rest of the nation.

Destrehan Plantation is an excellent example of the French Creole architectural style
Photograph from the National Historic Landmarks collection
http://destrehanplantation.org/

I hope that I have given you a small glimpse into the many beautiful, historic homes of Louisiana. So, what type of home do you think the Bellefleurs will have? My guess would be late Victorian style, similar to Catalpa or Butler-Greenwood, which is prevalent around the area of “Bon Temps.”

Thanks for reading!

-Lisafemmeacadienne

Billsbabe, Lisafemmeacadienne has written an account of what it was like in Bill Compton’s time in Louisiana.  Since we may be having some flashbacks from the post-Civil War period in Season 3, she thought some background would be helpful in order to better understand this time in Louisiana’s history. Thanks for this look into Louisiana’s past, Lisa!

Lavish ball gowns adorning doe-eyed maidens, fanning themselves on a sweltering Louisiana night, waiting for a dance with a suitor as minstrels play a lively waltz. Couples strolling arm in arm along a meandering bayou as the wind gently blows the Spanish moss draped from the ancient oaks…

The Antebellum period: a romanticized view of Louisiana before the Civil War. Everything changed when Louisiana seceded from the Union in 1861, and brought the War of Northern Aggression to Louisiana’s rivers and bayous.

After the Civil War came Reconstruction. It was a time of division, poverty, disease, starvation, and death. The phrase “brother against brother” held true during this time, as families divided over allegiances to the Union (The US Government) or “The Cause” (State’s Rights).

After the men were released from the Louisiana Regiments, they made their way home. Some did not make it due to lack of transportation, (horses were rare after the war, having been stolen, eaten, or confiscated,) disease, or injury. Oftentimes, these men were desperate for food, comfort, and shelter, and simply took what they needed to survive. Widows would try to coax the men to stay as they passed through; the amount of young, able-bodied men in Louisiana had significantly decreased, and a woman without the protection of a man was extremely vulnerable to the whims of passers-by.

Reconstruction was a very violent time, more so than during the war itself. Families divided over loyalties to the Union or to the Confederacy, and it was common to see public hatred and prejudice from both sides that would erupt suddenly, often with deadly results. Riots would occur with very little warning; for example, many by-standers were killed at the Cabildo Riots in New Orleans. The military and local police did what they could, but it was a very volatile, chaotic time in Louisiana’s history.

As part of Louisiana’s lot for successfully repelling the Union army during the war, food stores and crops were confiscated after the war for troop use, making food scarce and diets monotonous. Hot sauce was created in Louisiana due to the bland diets the survivors faced from lack of crops and livestock that were decimated in the war. The South was the breadbasket of the United States at that time, and with that depletion, the entire country was suffering from shortages, so no post-war aid was available. After slavery was abolished, there were simply not enough workers to maintain the giant plantations, and no money to pay workers.

The lack of proper diet also brought a resurgence of disease in the area from the suppressed immune systems of Louisianans, almost doubling the current mortality rate. Epidemics, such as the dreaded Yellow Fever, became more prevalent in the state, closing down entire towns and stranding barges of supplies on the Mississippi River, the main transportation route in Louisiana. Shreveport was all but abandoned from August to December, 1873 as people fled to adjoining areas to escape the scourge. Trains that finally arrived, loaded with relief supplies, were unable to come into Shreveport due to the quarantine, and many people died from lack of medicine.

Reconstruction was a dark time in Louisiana’s history, but even facing war time conditions, the people persevered, making the state a unique center of culture and commerce for the United States. Mardi Gras made a comeback during this period, as well as theatre, music and dance halls, giving a distraction from the bleak conditions.

The Treme area of New Orleans gave birth to some of the most iconic music, such as the stereotypical marching brass band playing “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In”.

These distractions evolved into modern-day jazz, American theatre, and the Mardi Gras celebrations that we continue to enjoy today.

If you have any other Louisiana topics that pertain to “True Blood” that you would like to read about, please post in the comments section, and I will do my best to put something together for you.
Thanks!

Lisafemmeacadienne

Bibliography

Our Louisiana Legacy, Dethloff, Henry C., Steck-Vaughn Company, Austin, TX, copyright 1980, pp. 48-52.
Source

Source

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I like to think of Gary Calamar as “the Man Behind the Curtain” providing the music for many of the successful shows on TV these days.  Gary is a DJ, Music Supervisor and has managed to do what many of us only dream of, that of turning something that he truly loves into a successful career.

Right now he is working on several hot projects, in addition to True Blood, such as Men of A Certain Age, Dexter, House, I Love You Phillip Morris and is also doing his DJ gig, “The Open Road” on KCRW 89.9 in Los Angeles.  Additionally he can be credited on many other shows such as Swingtown, Entourage, Weeds, Six Feet Under, Las Vegas, Varsity Blues, just to name a few.

And if that’s not enough, he has now been nominated for a Grammy for the True Blood Soundtrack compilation CD.

His gift is that he takes the songs that he considers to be “under the radar” and highlights them in scenes of  TV shows and films and thus transforms the scene in the process.  Below are two examples of his music choices that show such a transformation.

Sia’s song “Breathe Me” became a huge hit after everyone saw this incredible last scene in Alan Ball’s wonderful series, Six Feet Under.

And here is a scene from True Blood Season 2, Episode 10, of Bill walking across the bridge to the Queen’s house.  I never would have guessed that this song would make any sense for True Blood, so, for me, what a surprise it was.  In my opinion, it was the most powerful scene in the whole series because of it.

Recently, Gary generously answered some questions for The Vault about his life and career that I know you will enjoy reading.

Interview with Gary Calamar

Early life

Lynnpd: I hear you were raised in Yonkers.  Tell us about your childhood growing up there? You say that you liked to listen to a transistor radio under your pillow as a kid.  Who were your favorites at the time?  What genre did you prefer as a child?

Gary: Growing up in Yonkers, NY was pretty normal. Steven Tallarico (Tyler) from Aerosmith is from Yonkers, Son of Sam too. Fortunately I had an older brother, Ronny, who was into music and The British Invasion, and he passed that love on to me. I loved The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, and The Small Faces. Every Sunday night was an adventure to see which bands would be on Ed Sullivan and Smothers Brothers shows. My transistor radio was on all night listening to WABeatleC and later WNEW FM.  As the Velvet Underground said, my life was changed by Rock and Roll. When The Monkees TV show started I immediately joined the fan club and watched every episode. My first real job was at the Gimbels Record Department in Yonkers and from there I was off and running.

Early LA

Lynnpd: Tell us about your journey of moving from New York to LA in the early 80’s.  What prompted you to make the move?  What was your first job when you got there? Tell us about The Balancing Act and your involvement with Licorice Pizza?  How did you get involved with them?

Gary: In 1978 some of my Yonkers buddies decided to move to Los Angeles to try and get work in the Television business. I decided to go along for the ride to see what happens. As it turns out I am the only one who stayed in here. My first job was at a great record store called Licorice Pizza. The store was super cool and laid back. We gave out free licorice to the shoppers. It was a great way to learn about LA and the local music scene. At Licorice Pizza I met Jeff Davis and Willie Aron who had a band called The Balancing Act. I eventually managed the band and we had 3 great releases on IRS.  I loved working in record stores. I also worked at Rhino Records and Moby Disc. Actually I have a book about that called Record Store Days coming in April from Sterling Publishing.

Lynnpd: You’ve been with KCRW since the early 90’s?  How did you get involved there? Can you tell us a bit about the Sunday night radio show and the shows name change? What do you try to convey with the music choices of the show? Even though you are now a Music Supervisor in both film and TV, you continue your stint on KCRW.  Is it a labor of love?

Gary: After I left The Rhino store I started to volunteer at KCRW. When then music director Chris Douridas casually mentioned there was going to be a Saturday overnight show opening. My instincts took over. I literally got on my knees and begged Chris to give me a shot. How could he say no ? I eventually settled into my current shift which is 9pm-midnight on Sunday nights, also on KCRW.com. Working at KCRW is a dream come true. It’s probably my favorite job as I can program the show my way and not by committee which is how most TV shows operate. My goal for the show is to play “adventurous pop music both timely and timeless”

Transition to Music Supervisor

Lynnpd: How did you transition from DJ to Music Supervisor? How would you describe the job of a Music Supervisor, exactly what is a Music Supervisor? How does the job differ from film to TV or does it? Tell us about some of the film/TV projects that you enjoyed? Why did you enjoy them? Tell us about some of the projects that were not so much fun or difficult and why? How did you first get to work with Alan Ball?  Do you enjoy collaborating with him? Does Alan Ball get involved in the music choices?

Gary: To put it simply the music supervisors role is to collaborate with the producers in creatively choosing songs for the show and then to negotiate the deal for licensing the songs. The music supervisor is also the communication hub between the producers, the composer, the studio, and the network.

At KCRW I met a couple of people pointed me towards music supervision. Chris Douridas who was a music supervisor who was doing some great work like American Beauty. I had also met another music supervisor G. Marq Roswell who had done The Commitments among many other things. Both of these guys were mentors and inspirations to me.

I loved working with Alan Ball on Six Feet Under and now True Blood. Working on SFU  (with my ex-partner Thomas Golubic) was like going to music supervision school. Learning the creative process as well as licensing songs. Alan is a great guy to collaborate with because he knows what he likes and he takes music very seriously in his projects. HBO is also great because they give us a proper music budget where we can do some nice work.
These days I also work on the shows House, Dexter, and the new Ray Romano show “Men Of A Certain Age”.

Also coming is the film I Love You Philip Morris with Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor.

Lynnpd: Talk a bit about Go Music?

Gary: GO Music Services is the company I started to encompass all of my music projects. Radio, TV & Film, Advertising, and Books.  It’s a small boutique company. My colleague and music coordinator Alyson Vidoli is a major part of the team as well. She is the “O” in GO Music.

Lynnpd: Who are some famous people that you have met in your career, and who did you enjoy meeting the most?

Gary: I’ve been fortunate to meet many of my musical heroes in my career of radio and music supervision and fortunately all of them were pretty cool. Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Elmer Bernstein, Thomas Newman, Wayne Coyne, Tom Jones, Little Richard, just to name a few. I just had Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller on my radio show. They wrote many amazing songs in the early days of rock and roll (Hound Dog, Stand By Me). They were a treat to meet and talk to.

Lynnpd: Would you consider your participation in Six Feet Under your biggest break so far?  If so, why?  If not, what was your biggest break?

Gary: Yes definitely.

Lynnpd: Have you won any awards?  If so, what are they and which do you prize the most?

Gary: I have been nominated twice for a Grammy for Six Feet Under soundtracks Vol 1 & 2. The True Blood soundtrack is currently up for a Grammy. Fingers crossed. Awards are at the end of January 2010. I have also won Best Music Supervisor TV from The Hollywood Music Awards.

True Blood

Lynnpd: I think one of the best things about True Blood’s music choices is the fact that, just like with the actors, most of the song choices are little known songs.  Is this because of budget or do you prefer to find “unrecognized” music? Budget wise, how do you manage with the funds your allowed?  Does HBO give you a big budget for True Blood?  If not, does it force you to be more creative?

Gary: I love to find songs that are under the radar to use in the show and help to bring them above the radar. This works both creatively and financially. At the same time we have also used bigger artists like Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. HBO gives us a nice budget but it isn’t unlimited. We always need to keep an eye on the finances. So far I think we have a nice balance.

Lynnpd: How do you interact with Nathan Barr on each episode?  How is it decided to use his music vs. other musician’s songs?

Gary: Nathan and I see each other at the music “spotting” sessions where we all talk about the music for a particular episode and decide what music goes where. After that he goes back to his studio and creates his beautiful score and I go back to mine to find the perfect songs.

Lynnpd: How did Bob Dylan’s song, “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’” get chosen?  Is Bob Dylan a fan of the show?  Did you or HBO approach him or did he approach you?  What is the story behind his and the song’s involvement with the show?

Gary: Bob and his manager had come to us when they had finished the album and gave us a sneak preview of this song to check out for the show. Alan and I really felt that the song worked nicely for True Blood so we decided to use it for the season 2 promo and Alan wrote it into the closing episode. It also coincided with the release of Dylan’s album “Together Through Life”, so it was nice way to introduce it. And of course Bob Dylan is a vampire, so it just made perfect sense.

Lynnpd: Have you started choosing the music for Season 3 yet?  If not, when will you begin the process?

Gary: Just getting started, not too much to report right now.

The Future

Lynnpd: As a successful music producer, what are your goals and aspirations at this point in your career?  Where would you like to be in 10 years?

Gary: I would love to write a song that the whole world sings. Perhaps produce a music film or documentary down the line.

Lynnpd: Is there anything about yourself and your experience with True Blood that you would like to share with the fans?  If so, please elaborate below.

Gary: Thanks for enjoying the show and all the nice feedback about the music.

A Masquerade Ball with Ashley Jones at EyeCon True Blood in Orlando November 13-15, 2009.
Written by co-founder of the Billsbabes and the StephenMoyerWebring Michael (aka SterlingSilverCharm)

We first met Ashley on Friday Night at the Cocktail Party. When you first see her – you stop in your tracks – she is absolutely stunning. Those eyes are amazing. I almost felt uncomfortable looking at her, trying to drink her all in at that moment; she probably felt my hesitation in meeting her. She is so much more than just another blonde bombshell. She is the epitome of a lady – sweet, kind, dainty, graceful and did I mention a fantastic actress.

She charmed us as Daphne – the sly, loving, sweet, cunning waitress of Merlotte’s in True Blood. I do hope that we get to see her reprise her role as Daphne on True Blood in Season 3. I think I am not the only one that saw an opening for Daphne’s return when we see Sam shedding a tear on the porch and a deer in the background watching him. They could easily bring her back as a shapeshifting vampire. (Vampires don’t need a heart after all, perhaps Bill & Sam made another deal before heading to kill Maryanne and this was part of the bargain – making Daphne a vampire).

I really loved her scenes with Sam, it gave a much needed boost to the love story and romance that (I felt) was lacking in Season 2 (comparing it to Season 1). I for one, miss the romance of Season One that Sookie/Bill brought to the screen and adored the Daphne/Sam romance that was brought forth in Season 2. Let’s hope they continue that! Sam needs a girlfriend and a bit of happiness in one corner of his life. So do we.

We had asked Ashley to sign a few shirts, DVD’s and BluRay Discs for our Billsbabes “Raffles for Charity” that will be held on The Vault – TrueBlood-Online.com in the coming weeks, and without hesitation, she happily obliged. We also made a new shirt for Ashley and her character, Daphne that will appear in the Billsbabes Shoppe. You can support Ashley, her character and the Brentwood Theatre by purchasing one her items.

At the Q&A, Ashley charmed the audience as she talked about her scene with Sam on top of the pool table, the lagoon swimming scene out at the Warner Brothers Ranch, the practical jokes that everyone plays on each other and how she got her role on True Blood.

The Babes had a great time at the Masquerade Party which was held after our supper. We were able to mix and mingle with the cast and people that we had seen and met all weekend long. What a nice way to wrap up the weekend with this wonderful party. With music in the background and snippets of scenes from True Blood projected up to the back of the room, the place was alight. People were dancing, some in costume (so many clever costumes) that it made the experience that much more enjoyable.

Allan Hyde and Nelsan Ellis jumped into a faux coffin that was set up in the corner of the room. They were very entertaining. Ashley joined them a few minutes later. A good time was had by all.

I want to personally thank Ashley for the kindness that she afforded the Billsbabes over the entire weekend. She was more than generous with the time that she spent with us. You can see Ashley in The Bold and The Beautiful. I hope she will be reprising he role as Daphne Landry in True Blood – Season 3. I hope they bring this young lady back to True Blood, even if it is in flashbacks. There is so much that can be done with her character. She is fan favorite.

We have added some Wallpapers of Daphne for your enjoyment. Click them to enlarge and right click to set them as your desktop wallpaper.

On November 15, Allan Hyde who portrays Godric on True Blood had breakfast with 5 Billsbabes, Michael (aka SterlingSilverCharm) co-founder of the Billsbabes and the StephenMoyerWebring  was one of them. Following her story about the event.

Allan Hyde’s mother asked him if he knew he was being auctioned away on eBay. LOL ! The funnier part of this story is “WHO” he was going to …… His mother probably never dreamed it would be a group of women equal to or older than her age – women that would treat her beautiful son like their own. He treated everyone with dignity, respect and sweetness. While we all spent time with Allan over the weekend, the breakfast was a DELIGHT!

When we sat down for breakfast I told Allan that I finally had my first night of sleep (4-5 hours) in the past 3 days. I was exhausted and it showed. I told him that the mattress in the hotel was so awful, that on that second night I was there, I had to go out to the store and buy one to bring in so that I could get a decent night’s sleep. I know, it’s a bit over-the-top and I think I got the same reaction from him that I’m sure some of you have on your face reading this …LOL! But I could not spend another night on that mattress. I would have rather been on a rack of nails.

When I met Allan on Friday night, the first words out of my mouth were “I’m sorry if I disappoint you and you were hoping for a 20 something year old with blonde hair, but you are stuck with me for breakfast”. He was very sweet and seemed generally excited to see that he would be having breakfast with some of Stephen Moyer’s Original Billsbabes and its Founder.

This young man was quite impressive for his scant 19 years. (He turns 20 next month) He must be an old soul. He was very mature, sweet, unassuming, savvy and smart. His onscreen level of maturity has surpassed the awkward; angst filled teenage boy type that one finds these days on TV in some of these teenage shows on the CW, FOX or Nickelodeon. I would prefer to see him in more adult roles. He can pull it off. When I watch him, I see James Dean, albeit a young James Dean. I think with proper directorial guidance he will be a powerhouse. What most impressed me about him was that he knows in which direction he wants his career path to take. He will be mature in his decisions and without haste. He has a plan and I hope that the people that surround him will help him achieve it. I have much faith and belief in him and his ability.

We had very many candid personal conversations with this brilliant young man – that of which I will not share, but most were pleasant stories about his role as Godric in Season 2 and his reoccurrence in Season 3. (Personal note: I do hope that we are not limited to just one or two episode(s) with Allan for S3).

All anyone has to do is watch this young phenom in action in (what I call the pinnacle of Season 2 which could have easily been the Season Ender) Episode 9, I Will Rise Up. This was HIS episode – he OWNED it. Actually, I felt that he owned Episode 8, Time bomb, as well. I could not take my eyes off of him. The brilliant writing and Allan’s commanding performance in Episode 9 left us wanting more, more Godric – more Allan.

He took direction and executed beautifully. I can see where this young man is unafraid of anything a director would throw his way. I bet he is a dream to work with – no fear – a director’s dream. This is evidenced by his past independent work. I believe the Godric character will end up as one of True Blood’s cult figures by the time they get to a Series Finale. It was THAT good. He was THAT good. I thank him for one of the most riveting scenes (the Rooftop Scene) on TV to date. His performance was stellar and award winning as was Anders Skarsgård’s performance.

I do hope that HBO will put this uber-talented young man in for consideration this award season – he deserves it and I think he will win. I made a bet with him that I will see him at the GG’s this coming January, statuette in hand.

We asked Allan to sign a few shirts and items for our Billsbabes “Raffles for Charities “, these items will be listed on Trueblood-Online.com – The Vault in the next few days /weeks. We also made a few shirts for his character, Godric (a fan favorite) and placed them in the Billsbabes Shoppe (www.cafepress.com/billsbabe) where you can purchase them and show support, not only for Allan, but for the Brentwood Theatre, in which Stephen Moyer is a patron.

It was an absolute pleasure to meet this young man and I wish him nothing but health , happiness and luck in all his endeavors and cannot wait to see him in other films and of course , True Blood when they start back up in June 2010.

The Vault’s co-admin Lynnpd made a few new wallpapers for Allan/Godric Fans. They are 1280×800, click them to enlarge and right click to set them as your desktop wallpaper.

In The Company of Nelsan Ellis …..  at EyeCon True Blood

Written by co-founder of the Billsbabes and the StephenMoyerWebring Michael (aka SterlingSilverCharm)

When we first met Nelsan Ellis at the Friday night Cocktail Party, he was very quiet and reserved and somewhat taken aback by all the people that surrounded him.  All the Billsbabes went up to him and introduced themselves.  He seemed (to me) very shy and bashful but very sweet.  I think he may have been overwhelmed as evidenced in his Q&A – he thought that other people from other shows would be there – not just complete focus on the 5 actors from True Blood.  As time passed, over the weekend, he seemed more at ease with his surroundings and the people that attended.

We asked Nelsan to sign a few items for the Billsbabes, “Raffles for Charity” that will take place on Trueblood-Online.com – The Vault in the coming weeks. He happily obliged us and signed a series of Shirts, DVD’s and BluRay discs. We also made him a Team Lafayette Shirt that is now available in the Billsbabes Shoppe (www.cafepress.com/billsbabe). You can support him, his character name and the Brentwood Theatre when you purchase one.

The Billsbabes were lucky enough to have supper with Nelsan. He regaled the Babes with tales of Stephen Moyer and what that man went thru to bring to us one of our favorite scenes – The Graveyard Scene …. God Bless Steve for loving his craft and being a dedicated actor. (I know 297 Babes that are currently applying for a makeup artist position with HBO LOLOL!!)

PER BILLSBABES CAMELOT: (who sat at Nelson’s Table)

During the supper, Nelsan also talked about the abuse he took from the horse while filming Secretariat. He said he had been bitten, kicked and stepped on and several times the horse walked off camera. (Was the horse Union I thought? LOL!) Nelsan wasn’t about to try to stop him. They couldn’t give the horse treats to control him, as he would then be looking for them while they were filming.

He also talked about how they hired actual homeless people for “The Soloist”; and how originally he was only going to be basically an extra, but they liked him so much they gave him more lines.

Nelsan was much more animated and FUNNNNY as time went by – the stories he told at the Q&A were hysterical. He had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand with stories of he & Rutina in New York City – had the crowd in a fit of laughter with the story of Mehcad Brooks and his “specially made sock” that would not stay on. LOL ! He has such a flair for funny, that he should try his hand at stand-up … he was hysterical!

Nelsan joined my table for a short while and talked about his favorite scenes – Season One – “Aids Burger Scene”. I loved that scene too. I thought he was fantastic in it. His sheer power and control in that scene was a showstopper for me. He makes his portrayal of the two sides of Lafayette seem so effortless. When I see him, I SEE Lafayette. I would love to see this young man (and he is a young man of 28 and I am old enough to be his mother! LOL! ) in some sort of role in the future that includes him as THE VILLIAN …. A real nasty one! Wouldn’t he make a divine Riddler in the next install of the Batman series? I can totally see him in that vicious, cunning, yet slightly offbeat/dark comedic role. I look forward to seeing him in whichever direction his career may take or forum he may land. I’m so glad that Alan Ball did not kill his character off in the first season of True Blood – he adds an element to the show that, if he were not there, would leave a gaping hole. He is truly an asset to the show and brilliant actor. I cannot wait to see what is in store for Lafayette in Season 3.

I want to personally thank Nelsan for being so affable and courteous to the Billsbabes during the convention. We were all mesmerized by his candor and wit. This is a young man to watch in the future. He will have a new film coming out in 2010 – Secretariat , in which he will be playing the role of Eddie Sweat and, of course , will reprise his role as Lafayette Reynolds in True Blood , June 2010.

The Billsbabes represented The StephenMoyerWebring.com which was a sponsor of the True Blood Eyecon Event in Orlando Florida – November 13-15, 2009.

Written by co-founder of the Billsbabes and the StephenMoyerWebring Michael (aka SterlingSilverCharm)

Sam Trammell …… What more can I say – this young man needs no introduction – He is a gentleman thru and thru. He’s charming, intelligent, bright, beautiful and quick witted – perhaps even more so than Stephen Moyer. Did I mention that he has the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever had the pleasure to look upon, besides a smile that would light up New York City? His gorgeousness is not the only aspect to this talented young man, he has “IT”. He is the complete package – beauty, brains, superb acting skills, and a penchant for our world’s oceans and our suffering Earth. What more could a girl ask for?

When I met Sam on Friday night at the Cocktail Party, he was engaging, forthright and direct. He was very personable and sweet, maybe a bit taken aback by me. We all introduced ourselves to him so that he knew whom we represented, Stephen Moyer’s Billsbabes. Yes, there are a lot of us worldwide, but as he was told, we do spread the love around and he has his own Forum on the Yuku board. I guess that would make Michael his Web mistress. We did leave early from that party as we were going to The Palm for dinner, but decided it was too late and headed for Fish Bones instead.

We saw Sam and spent quite a bit of time with him throughout the weekend, more so than the other actors. He was gracious enough to sign a few items for our Billsbabes “Raffles for Charity” on www.Trueblood-Online.com – The Vault.
We also had a few novelties from our Billsbabes Shoppe, (www.cafepress.com/billsbabe) that we carry as regular items, for Sam’s character Sam that we also had him sign for charity as well. We asked him his favorite charity and he told us Oceana. We are in contact with Oceana and will proceed with raffle items signed by Sam and the cast for this great organization in a few weeks. You can find more information at http://na.oceana.org on this wonderful charity.

At Saturday night’s supper with Sam, he could not have been more engaging. The entire table was charmed by him. The supper conversation was very personal and intimate and I will not discuss in detail what was said as that was private, but the entire table was enthralled with this young man’s wit and we had many laughs. (On a personal note: I do commend him for his choice of vehicle, it will offset my carbon footprint – which is HUGE! LOL! – I will try to do better …. ) As conversation flowed, I prompted him as to which director he would like to work with. Sam expressed his desire to work with director Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited). He also expressed a keen interest in helming behind the camera and directing. I would love to see this happen for him. We were talking about what genre he would like to start with and it was “horror “. I thought to myself ,hmmmm, Stephen King has a new book coming out called THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE…. (I am always thinking) I would love to see this young man direct , although I do hope he does not deny us his presence in front of the camera. I would also love to see this Tony Nominated actor back on Broadway again. Perhaps, in one of his breaks in filming True Blood, we will have the pleasure of seeing this diverse actor once again on the stage. That is a ticket I will not miss.

As I feel, Season One belonged to Anna and Steve and Season Two belonged to Anders Skarsgard and Michelle Forbes, I sure do hope that Season Three is the Year of the Dog, err, moreover the Year of Sam Merlotte and Sam Trammell. He is after all, the third top liner. I hope they feature this consummate professional all season long. He is a gifted, thoughtful actor that (to me) seemed to be on the back burner in Season 2. I wanted to see more of him. His performance in the Season Ender (Episode 12 – Beyond Here Lies Nothin’) from the moment Bill dragged him out of the crowd to the end was superb and award winning. I hope that HBO puts this multi talented, multi faceted actor in for consideration for the awards season this year. He deserves it for this performance alone. See you at the GG’s Sam.

On another note, I was a little dismayed when I picked up a copy of GQ and Sam was noticeably missing. He should have been there. I would love to see Sam in a few magazine or fashion shoots. It would give us girls something to talk about in between his projects. You can see Sam in his new film coming out in 2010 called “The Details” and of course in June 2010 in True Blood.

I want to personally thank Sam for his hospitality and graciousness that he showed to all the Billsbabes this past weekend – he was an absolute gem and a gentleman. They could not have selected a better ambassador to have brought to the public in a convention setting than this young man. He’s an absolute doll. I have made a new shirt that will debut in the Billsbabes Shoppe for this young man’s fans……Samsbabes…… I will be the first to order, as well as new Sam Wallpapers and YouTube Videos that will be debuting on The Vault in the next few days/weeks.

Sam Trammell Wallpapers (Artwork by Sanguinarium and Lynnpd respectively)