Alan Ball Talks ‘True Blood’
Director Alan Ball spoke with Moviehole about the reaction to his adaptation of True Blood, now about halfway through its first season on HBO.
He was drawn to the book series because it “seems like such an original mix. There’s so much in there that I really enjoyed. There’s a gothic-romance element, and I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it if that’s all it had been about, but there was also sex, violence and this serial murderer, all set in this crazy world where vampires are struggling for equal rights. And then there’s this cliffhanger old Saturday-afternoon matinee feel. It’s just really, really fun to work on.”
The show, recently picked up for a second season, stars Anna Paquin as a telepath in a small southern town who develops a relationship with a vampire who recently moved in nearby.
“She’s good casting,” he said. “Thank god she wanted to do TV! When the casting director said ‘Are you interested in Anna Paquin?’ I shot back ‘Well, yeah, but is she interested in this?’ She says ‘Yeah, she is’. Anna pursued this role, and thank god she did because… she really gives the show heart… soul. It’s a great cast, lets not discount anyone else in the cast, but playing someone whose been hearing someone else’s thoughts their entire life isn’t easy – and she makes it look easy.”
His adaptation of Towelhead is currently in theaters, having received largely negative reviews and he’s now at work on the second season. “I’m working with the writers on Monday. And I have two screenplays that I’ve written over the years, both original, that I may do. I think I’d like to direct one and I think I’d like to produce one. I’m playing with the idea of becoming a production company. But there’s nothing definite on the horizon besides True Blood.”
He added that actors he’s worked with elsewhere will be found on the series including Towelhead’s Lena Collins and Six Feet Under’s Chris Messina. “I tend to do that – work with actors again, especially if I feel they’re really good and are a pleasure to work with. If something is right for them, I’ll look them up.”
As for the future, he said, “I’ve found that after Six Feet Under, and now Towelhead, that the things I’m not drawn to seem to be genre – which was never the case for me before. I certainly have ideas for films that seem to be more science-fiction – that’s the label that best describes them – even though these two new scripts I’ve written both take place in the real world, one being a period piece. In terms of what I’m reading, and are interested in though, I sort of feel like I’ve had my fill of angst.”
Okay. I have watched about half the first episode and the opening of the second. Kate has watched both in full.I won't be watching any more. I doubt she will.For a man born in Atlanta, Ball has very little concept of the South.Ironically, the best Southern accent in the two episodes is that of a French-Canadian who was raised in New Zealand; Paquin seems to be making a career of Southern girls.Most of the characters ar miscast and misdirected, particularly Sookie's grandmother and Bill.And there's way too much of Sookie's brother.The in-your-face sex is part of an over-all tone that is just *wrong*.Sue Grafton says that, having worked in Hollywood herself, she will never sell the rights to Kinsey Milhone.I hope Harris got well-paid.
I have watched all 7 episodes that have aired so far and all I can say is that any writer who sells their product to Hollywood should retain some kind of right to edit scripts. This show has so much promise but is turning into a big disappointment. I'm not from the South but I have visited several times and I believe the feel is all wrong. As far as the cast, I have to say that Anna Pacquin is not a good match for Sookie, in fact every time that she talks I want to scream because her accent and attitude are all wrong. I think that the show has time to turn it around but it needs to do it pretty fast as the first season is almost over, I know it was renewed for a 2nd season but I don't see a long future unless changes are made.
This show is great!! After the first two episodes I was hooked. What more could you want? Sexy telepath in a small town meets sexy as all get out vampire. The stories are getting more complex all the time. I do wish that there was less Jason and more of Sookie and Bill. I feel those two get lost in the story sometimes because there is too much going on elsewhere. All in all a great show and I am hooked and it seems so is most of the rest of the population. I read book one of The Southern Vampire series and just couldn't get into it. The style is all wrong for me, but I do love the way Allan has done this. Rock on True Blood!! I can't wait for next season.
This is the best show I have ever seen on HBO. The show eats the book up. I hope there are may more seasons to come.
This show is amazing, and I am from the south. It's an exaggeration. It's supposed to be. It's a show about vampires!