The Vault – TrueBlood-Online.com

Article on broadcastingcable.com by Melissa Grego

WHO: Sue Naegle, President of Entertainment, HBO

WHERE: Le Pain Quotidien, Studio City, Calif.

WHEN: April 2009

Mike Lombardo, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sue Naegle and Alan Ball at the True Blood Premiere - Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images

THE DISH: It’s just a few weeks shy of a year since Sue Naegle made her big career shift when we meet for breakfast at the casual, quiet Le Pain Quotidien in Studio City. She left her 16-year stint at talent agency UTA to become president of entertainment at HBO on May 1, 2008, and the results of her first bit of development for the pay-TV network are now rolling in. At the same time, she’s also entering her second period of pilot production.

“After going through it in the fall, I feel better about doing it,” she tells me over breakfast in early April.

But the pressure is on. The executive trio of CEO Bill Nelson and HBO co-Presidents Richard Plepler and Eric Kessler took over the network in 2007 after former chairman Chris Albrecht was ousted. Michael Lombardo took over the programming group at that time. They took a gamble by installing an agent with no programming or development jobs on her resume to rejuvenate the programming lineup.

Her bar is as high as that of any executive, as success at HBO is measured by much loftier standards after hits like The Sopranos and Sex and the City made it one of the top creative places in television. Naegle hopes pouring more time and money into more pilots than ever will help HBO get its mojo back.

VIDEO: More on what Naegle is looking for at HBO.

Mel’s Diner: HBO’s Sue Naegle from Broadcasting & Cable on Vimeo.

Naegle is taking a, pardon the expression, big shot with the first series developed entirely under her aegis, dramatic comedy Hung, about an unusually well-endowed schoolteacher-turned-male prostitute. Call it the former agent’s debut HBO “package.” It premieres in July alongside new seasons of sophomore True Blood and veteran Entourage. Her second and third entries, comedies Bored to Death and How to Make It in America, are slated to debut in the fall and 2010, respectively.

After slugging out the often-frustrating broadcast development cycle for years as an agent, Naegle quickly employed a process at HBO for creating series that diverges both from how the broadcast networks do it and how HBO has developed in the past.

“I did have the feeling what the company needed to do to right the ship required money,” she says. “There hadn’t been enough in the pipeline, and there wasn’t enough choice. So [failed series] John From Cincinnati comes along, and you just have to put it on the air. That went right to series; they didn’t even pilot it.”

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Entertainment Weekly includes Ryan Kwanten in their list of 26 Superhot Australian Exports.

Ryan Kwanten

As the dim-witted but lovable hunk Jason Stackhouse on HBO’s True Blood, Kwanten bared it all in some steamy, drug-fueled sex scenes. The racy role is a far cry from the easygoing surfer he played on The WB’s Summerland, though his sculpted abs would suit any character just fine. Especially if said character was required to spend as much time as possible shirtless.

See the complete list on Entertainment Weekly

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Nelsan Ellis attended “Heroes for Autism” charity event on April 19 in L.A.

more photos in the Photo Gallery

Nelsan Ellis - Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images

At the “Heroes for Autism”, the cast from NBC’s hit show HEROES and the celebrity band ‘Band From TV’ teamed up to increase autism awareness and help raise funds for autism research at the first ever HEROES for Autism fundraiser. The one-night only star-studded event kicked-off with a VIP cocktail reception and silent auction featuring art work designed and created by the cast and crew of HEROES.

Sponsored in part by HBO, with in-kind donations from NBC Universal, HFA raised over 75,000 dollars for Autism Speaks, with additional funds expected from both an online auction and the sale of the Heroes for Autism online fan photo book.

Heroes for Autism website

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Alexander Skarsgård - Photo: Kevin Parry/The Paley Center for Media

Alexander is listed as one of the 12 actors to watch in 2009 according to About.com. It wasn’t easy to narrow down the field to just one dozen of hot and upcoming actors in Hollywood, but the decision process was made somewhat easier when the criteria was narrowed down to the actors who’ve generated the most buzz and/or have films coming up in 2009 that are impossible to ignore.

Making the cut this year are (in alphabetical order): Emily Blunt, Bradley Cooper, Kat Dennings, Rachel McAdams, Robert Pattinson, Chris Pine, Alexander Skarsgard, Kristen Stewart, Jim Sturgess, Channing Tatum, Sam Worthington, and Anton Yelchin.

Why Alexander Skarsgård is One to Watch:
Alexander Skarsgård developed quite a following in his native Sweden, but it took two starring roles in HBO series’ to catapult the handsome Swede to fame in America. The son of actor Stellan Skarsgård (Mamma Mia!), Alexander’s considered one of the sexiest men in Sweden. But that’s not why he’s one to watch. No, Skarsgård’s got the acting chops to make it big internationally as long as he chooses the right roles. He could be Marvel’s next big hero as his name’s being tossed around as in serious contention for the lead in Thor, but his dramatic skills also need to be showcased in a studio-backed serious film in order to show what he’s really got going on.

And an interesting bit of trivia: Out of the eight years of covering red carpets where Rebecca Murray, the writer of this article, has conducted over a thousand interviews with celebs, no interview has received as much attention or generated as much feedback as the lengthy one she did with Alexander Skarsgard at the 2009 Independent Spirit Awards. Skarsgard fans are definitely passionate about their favorite actor. (link to the video interview)

source: About.com by Rebecca Murry

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HBO On Demand, in a first, will offer fans of vampire series True Blood, a look at its first season DVD, with enhanced Blu-Ray features.

Beginning May 4 and accessible throughout the month on HBO On Demand, viewers will be able to watch the entire first episode from the show starring Anna Pacquin in “True Blood Enhanced Viewing” mode, amplifying their experience with four types of original, interactive picture-in-picture, pop-up features that will be showcased on the DVD:

*Lafayette – viewers can get the scoop on everyone in Bon Temps with True Blood’s flamboyant and outspoken Lafayette, who dishes up everything from secrets about Tara’s crush on Jason to the history of the Stackhouse family;
*Vampire History – viewers intrigued by the vampire characters can learn more about how their favorites were “made”;
*Hints and FYIs – viewers get to unravel the mysteries surrounding the entire series through helpful hints and FYI pop-ups; and
*Animated Maps – viewers get to explore colorful locations in Bon Temps through animated maps.

Available in stores May 19, True Blood: The Complete First Season Blu-Ray DVD will offer all 12 installments in true HD 1080p video and DTS-HD master audio, allowing viewers to engage with storylines, characters and themes of the show on a higher level through the “enhanced viewing” mode.
Along with the exclusive aforementioned features listed above, Blu-ray bonus materials include a documentary that chronicles the integration of vampires, “Tru Blood” beverage ads that market the synthetic blood to “out of the coffin” vampires, and “Vampire Rights” PSAs.

You can pre-order the DVD and the Blu-Ray on Amazon.com

Watch the Blu-Ray Promo video

source: Multichannel News

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Recently rebranded Malaysian channel Max (Cinemax) has enjoyed its highest-rated premiere for the series True Blood across the Astro’s Movies Package with 736,000 viewers, 78% of which are male.

The achievement was in line with the channel’s new positioning as a male-skewed channel that indulges viewers with genre-driven action, sci-fi and suspense programs.

The premiere achieved a cumulative reach of 315,000 viewers on the evening of its premier recently, while the following week attracted 34% more viewers.

“True Blood has done exceptionally well in Malaysia and the high ratings have proved that there is a real interest in award-winning, ground breaking and quality HBO Original Series on our channels,” says Jonathan Spink, CEO of HBO Asia.

source: Marketing Interactive

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William Sanderson

William Sanderson, Bon Temps sheriff Bud Dearborne, doesn’t for how long he will be part of the True Blood cast. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll survive. To be honest, there’s not much on Bud in the books,” he says, referring to the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. Sanderson admits: “I’m too timid to ask, ‘Am I getting killed off?’ One producer I’d worked with before on ‘Deadwood’ told me, though, ‘Not before the eleventh episode,’ because he was directing that one.’”

The veteran character actor, remembered by TV fans as Larry of “Newhart’s” Larry, Darryl & Darryl — and for film roles including the Toymaker in “Bladerunner” — says he’s having a blast working on the series that stars Anna Paquin. Some days, he admits of his decades-younger cast mates, “If you’re shooting ’til 4 or 5 a.m., you think they may be joking when they talk about going home and making dinner or playing with their kids. But they’re not. I worry about them sapping their energy.” All that youthful vigor can be intimidating, he acknowledges, “but I’m not intimidated by anyone when it comes to talent. Not to sound conceited. Don’t ever get your talent mixed up with your salary — I hope I never forget that.”

source: Creators.com

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Italy will be the next European country to get a taste of True Blood. The first episode of season 1 will air tomorrow night at 11 pm on the Fox channel. The Italian True Blood website has been updated with new content and is looking pretty good.

Allthough I speak Italian fluently, I never really got used to seeing American movies and tv shows dubbed by Italian actors. It is strange watching the mouths move and hear a different voice and language come out. But I must admit that the mafia movies are much better dubbed in Italian, there is nothing like a mafioso with a real Sicilian accent!

The following clips give you a taste of Italian True Blood.

Sookie and Bill meet for the first time at Merlotte’s

Sookie and Bill talk outside Merlotte’s after she saved him

Thanks to TrueBlood Italia

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Carrie Preston (Arlene on True Blood) was spotted in Paris yesterday (April 25), where she and hubby Michael Emerson attended the showing of the first episode of Season 5 of LOST at the Jules Verne Film Festival at the Grand Rex theater. Michael Emerson (Ben Linus on LOST) and Evangeline Lilly (Kate on LOST) represented the cast at the “LOST in Paris” tribute. Executive Producers of LOST Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse received the Jules Verne Achievement Award.

Evangeline Lilly, Carrie Preston and Michael Emerson (Photo by Marc Susset-Lacroix/WireImage)

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Director Kenneth Lonergan shot the movie “Margaret” , starring Anna Paquin, in 2005 in less than three months. Three years later the film still hasn’t made it out of the editing room.

An article on the Los Angeles Times tells us why.

Kenneth Lonergan’s ‘Margaret’: post-production in a courtroom by John Horn

Scene from "Margaret" Anna Paquin and Allison Janney

“You Can Count on Me” was the kind of Hollywood arrival that every aspiring filmmaker dreams about.

Kenneth Lonergan’s 2000 directorial debut about two siblings’ splintered relationship was a solid art-house hit, the film helped launch the career of costar Mark Ruffalo and was nominated for two Academy Awards — lead actress for Laura Linney and original screenplay for Lonergan.

It was hardly surprising, then, that in early 2005 Fox Searchlight and financier Gary Gilbert (“Garden State”) were eager to back Lonergan’s second turn behind the camera, deciding to co-finance his complex account of a young girl’s grappling with guilt and adolescence, “Margaret.”

But although “You Can Count on Me” seemed blessed at almost every turn, “Margaret” has turned into a nightmarish production that has devolved into a bitter court fight. Despite “Margaret’s” initial promise, it is now uncertain when Lonergan’s movie, which was filmed more than three years ago, will ever make it to theaters.

Movie studio shelves are filled with troubled projects that have been put on hold for any number of reasons, but rarely do they involve someone of Lonergan’s standing working with such quality actors (“Margaret’s” cast includes Ruffalo, Matt Damon and Anna Paquin) and an all-star producing team of Oscar winners — Scott Rudin ( “No Country for Old Men”) and the late Sydney Pollack (“Out of Africa”).

More unusual still is why, according to one of the film’s two lawsuits, “Margaret” hasn’t come out: Lonergan can’t finish the film.

Because of the litigation and a confidentiality agreement among the lawyers, all of the principals central to the film declined to be interviewed for this story. But conversations with a dozen people close to or familiar with the production, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity, painted a picture of an endless post-production cycle that left Lonergan and Gilbert clashing and Fox Searchlight sitting on what might be an unreleasable movie.

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