True Blood Wins A Golden Reel Award

True Blood won a Golden Reel Award by the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) for their work in Episode 2.12 “Beyond Here Lies Nothing” for Best Sound Editing: Short Form Dialogue and ADR in Television last night at the award ceremony held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in Los Angeles, California.

True Blood came out on top for its fantastic work on this episode against:

CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION “Mascara”
CSI: MIAMI “Point of Impact ”
CSI: NY ”
Manhattanhenge – #609″
ER “I Feel Good”
FLASH FORWARD “Riptide”
FRINGE “Unleashed”
LOST “The Little Prince – #504″
TRUE BLOOD “Beyond Here Lies Nothin – #212” – WINNER

Congratulations to True Blood and to Supervising Sound Editor: John Benson; Supervising Dialogue/ADR Editor: John Benson; and Sound Editors: Christian Buenaventura, and Jason Krane for the well deserved award and recognition for the fantastic work done on True Blood!

SOURCE:  hollywoodreporter.com

(Photo credit:  HBO Inc.)

True Blood Composer Nathan Barr Scores Third Place in Chili Cook Off

Most of us know Nathan Barr as the award-winning musical composer for True Blood.  But did you know that he can also compose award-winning chili?

On Valentine Day’s weekend, 2010, Nathan Barr attended the Mackinac Island 17th Annual Chili Cook Off.  Nathan and several of his friends from Los Angeles, have been flying in to Mackinac Island in northern Michigan for the past six seasons to enter their chili for the annual cook-off which draws in some of the greatest chili makers in the entire country. This year’s contest was the largest ever, according to contest officials.

Nathan Barr’s chili, which he calls, “The Headsmacker” came in third place. The name of Nathan’s chili came after an incident he had with a local chili legend, Big Ray.  Apparently, after an evening of socialization between the legend and the composer, Big Ray stumbled and smacked his head.  Nathan felt it only appropriate to name his new chili after a memorable Big Ray moment.

Nathan Barr’s chili was the first one to run out in the competition and was described in the following way,

“Their chili was really traditional in the southwestern way…shredded beef, brown chili sauce, absolutely tender, delicious and what one would find in southwest America. Great flavor and texture.”

Sounds absolutely delicious and mouth-watering.  As reported many loved it and it would have scored more points perhaps if they didn’t run out and had more to go around for sampling.

Nathan Barr’s chili exploits are just another fine example of the many talents of True Blood’s cast and crew.

SOURCE:  Mackinac Island Blog

Photo credit:  nathanbarr.com

PHOTOS: True Blood Cast Attend the HBO Post Golden Globe Party

Many of the True Blood cast also attended the HBO’s Post Golden Globe Awards Party along with Stephen and Anna which was held at Circa 55 Restaurant at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 17, 2010. The genius behind True Blood, Alan Ball attended the event along with Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Nelsan Ellis, Deborah Ann Woll, Todd Lowe and Michelle Forbes.  Both the men and women of True Blood all looked absolutely fabulous.  Enjoy the photos!

True Blood’s Grammy Nominees “OUT 4 BLOOD” Concert

The OUT 4 BLOOD concert will be held Friday, January 29, 2010 at 9:00 pm at the Echoplex and will feature artists from HBO’S True Blood: CC Adcock & The Lafayette Marquis, John Doe, Jace Everett, and others.

The Grammy-nominated “True Blood” soundtrack will come alive in a night of music from HBO’s acclaimed series at the Echoplex on January 29. Reflecting the present-day Southern Gothic atmosphere portrayed onscreen, the soundtrack’s haunting song selections lean toward a large helping of roots-oriented, swamp-flooded, Louisiana-influenced sounds; performed by contemporary and classic practitioners of the genre.

Gary Calamar, music supervisor for ‘True Blood,’ says “I am thrilled that we are able to pull together some of the amazing artists who are on the ‘True Blood’ soundtrack for this very special show. And….we are trying to secure some surprise guests as well. It’s going to be badass !”

Out 4 Blood is made possible in part with generous support from Louisiana Entertainment and proudly recognizes Louisiana’s Year of the Song, celebrating the historic contribution of the state’s songs and songwriters.

The Echoplex is located at 1154 Glendale Blvd., in Echo Park, Los Angeles, California. Info: 213.413.8200. Tickets $10.00 plus applicable service charges available in advance at www.ticketweb.com, $12.00 at the door. 18 and over show.

SOURCE: jaceeverett.com

(Photo credit:  jaceeverett.com)

True Blood Writer Alexander Woo Nominated for NAACP Image Award

Awards season is here in full force, and True Blood is being recognized for several different things. Alexander Woo, one of the show’s very talented writers, has been nominated for an NAACP Image award for writing the Season two finale,”Beyond Here Lies Nothin‘”. His category is Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series, which includes nominees from Grey’s Anatomy, House, and Lincoln Heights.

• Alexander Woo – “True Blood” – Beyond Here Lies Nothin (HBO)
• Kathleen McGhee-Anderson – “Lincoln Heights” – Home Again (ABC Family)
• Sara Hess – “House” – The Greater Good (FOX)
• Shonda Rhimes – “Grey’s Anatomy” – What a Difference A Day Makes (ABC)
• Zoanne Clack – “Grey’s Anatomy” – Stand By Me (ABC)

The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was founded in 1909 to promote equal rights for all, and to eliminate race prejudice. For 41 years, the Image Awards have been “celebrating outstanding achievements and performances by people of color in the arts.” Those who lead the industry in television, music, literature, and film, are all honored on this special night.

Alexander has been a writer and producer on True Blood since Season one. He has penned the episodes “Sparks Fly Out,” “Fourth Man in the Fire,” “Nothing but the Blood,” “Timebomb,” and “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’.” He was nominated along with the rest of the writers for a WGA award in 2009, but this NAACP award is his first solo nomination. We wish him the best of luck! He did a great job writing the finale, and he certainly deserves the honor.

The ceremony will be broadcast live on February 26, 2010, from 8-10pm ET on FOX.

SOURCE: naacp.org

(Photo credit: naacp.org)

True Blood Nominated for an ADG Award

The Art Directors Guild have announced their nominees for the Excellence in Production Design Awards and Production Designer Suzuki Ingerslev from Alan Ball’s hit HBO TV vampire series “True Blood” has been nominated. Suzuki Ingerslev has been nominated for Season 2, Episode 5 of “True Blood — Never Let Me Go” in the category of One hour Single-Camera Television Series. The other nominees in the category are:

• GLEE – Episode Pilot – MARK HUTMAN

• MAD MEN – Episode: SOUVENIR – DAN BISHOP

• PUSHING DAISIES – Episode: KERPLUNK – MICHAEL WYLIE

• TRUE BLOOD – Episode: NEVER LET ME GO – SUZUKI INGERSLEV

• UGLY BETTY – Episode: THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE MODE – MARK WORTHINGTON

The Excellence in Production Design Award are awarded to members of the Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) to recognize the highest achievement from within their own ranks in the area of art direction. The awards ceremonies will be held on Saturday, February 13, 2010 at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, California. Also this year Warren Beatty is the recipient of the ADG’s Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award. Terence Marsh earns the Lifetime Achievement Award and production designer Michael Baugh earns the Creative Leadership Award. The ADG is also inducting several acclaimed production designers into its Hall of Fame including Malcolm F. Brown, Bob Keene and Ferdinando Scarfiotti.

Suzuki Ingerslev a graduate from U.C. Berkeley with a B.A. in Architecture, she turned her attention to film and television and worked as an Assistant Art on various projects such as “Saved by the Bell,” “The Replacement Killers,” “Teaching Mrs. Tingle,” “Mad TV” and “Days of Our Lives: Winter Heat.” Later on she became Art Director for “State of Grace,” “Tracey Takes On” and “Six Feet Under” and has had the pleasure of working with Alan Ball, Mark Wahlberg and Brian Grazer. Suzuki’s workmanship has been recognized by the Academy earning her 7 nominations for an Emmy for her various works including HBO’s “Six Feet Under”, “Shark,” and “Tracy Takes On.”

We have had the pleasure of interviewing Suzuki where she explained, in detail the complexity involved in creating the scenes and making the world of Bon Temps come alive for audiences each week on True Blood.

You can enjoy reading our exclusive, two-part interview with Suzuki by clicking here for part 1 and here for part 2. You can also view photos of the set of True Blood that Suzuki was so kind to provide for us by clicking the following links:

True Blood Nominated for Excellence in Production Design Awards Update with Comments and Photos (2009)

Behind the Scenes on True Blood with Suzuki Ingerslev

True Blood: More Exclusive Behind the Scene Photos

Congratulations to your well deserved nomination Suzuki!

SOURCES:

theenvelope.latimes.com

artdirectors.org

(Photo credit: Suzuki Ingerslev)

True Blood Season 3 and 4 from Alan Ball

Although Alan Ball remains tight-lipped about the specifics of what True Blood’s third season will bring, he sheds some light on what goes into producing the vampire show that has become a huge success for HBO. In addition to sharing interesting stories about the casting of some of the characters, he also describes the process of adapting Charlaine Harris‘ bestselling Sookie Stackhouse books and of keeping a supernatural series grounded in reality.

Coming from the award-winning HBO show Six Feet Under, Alan was probably used to fans appreciating the emotion and meaning of his work, but True Blood has brought a different kind of response. People are incredibly enthusiastic about the show, and their obsession has at times made Alan feel like a rock star. He says that having such passionate fans makes it really fun and exciting for those who work on the show.

HBO seems thrilled by the reaction towards the series and has already made a deal with Alan to be the showrunner for the next two years. That makes season four all but guaranteed. Beyond that, we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

It’s clear how much Alan loves Charlaine’s books, or he wouldn’t have wanted to make a television show out of them. There are inevitable deviations from the source material in order to develop supporting characters like Tara and Lafayette, but he always tries to stay true to the spirit of the books. As for Season three and fans who might be concerned that Eric won’t be featured as prominently on screen as he is on the page, Alan assures us that his role will increase because he is such a big part of Sookie’s life in the next couple of books. Some things will definitely be different, though, especially given the way they have changed things in the first two seasons and how future storylines will build on those changes:

“I think we’re always going to use the books as sort of a foundation, but I just don’t see how, as time goes on, you can’t diverge from them a little bit more each season. I don’t know, though. We’re starting to work on Season Three and we actually are really, really sticking to the books, at the beginning at least.”

Some people who have read the series might have been initially shocked by the sex and violence shown on True Blood, but Alan notes that those things are present in the books–it’s just different to actually see them come to life, and it’s never been so graphic that HBO had to prevent them from showing something.

Working on a show that has a supernatural element, Alan knows that they will need to use special effects to achieve certain things, but he never wants to use those cliche CGI techniques seen in past vampire and monster stories. He also doesn’t want the effects to detract from the characters:

“The effects are just the shorthand to get us from one stage to another. But we will never be about the effects. I mean, it’s less interesting to me how [Bill's] face might change or what exactly are the mechanics of the fangs coming down–although we have really thought about that–than the fact that he’s been alive for a hundred and seventy years, most of them as a vampire, and his wife and children, whom he loved deeply, he outlived them. He’s outlived everybody. He’s in a changing world and he’s given up on the idea of having any sort of love in his life until he meets this girl. That to me is way more interesting than what [growing fangs] looks like.”

Alan also discusses a few of the casting choices that were made and how perfectly the actors have worked as their characters. Anna Paquin put herself into consideration for the role of Sookie, which surprised Alan because he didn’t expect an established film actress and Academy-Award winner like her to be interested in working in television. Luckily, she was, and she has gone on to embody Sookie, winning a Golden Globe for her portrayal. Bill Compton was a difficult part to cast because there were a couple of guys that Alan thought might be good that HBO didn’t really agree with, and it wasn’t until a London casting director sent him the tape of Stephen Moyer that he knew he had found the right man to play the Southern gentleman vampire.

The character of flamboyant Merlotte’s cook Lafayette survived past his book life because of the extraordinary talent of Nelsan Ellis and the impression he made on Alan:

“[He] channeled something from somewhere that is kind of amazing. I definitely knew Jason had to be a great character actor [Ryan Kwanten plays the role]. I think all the major characters I knew were going to be really, really strong and really, really compelling, but I think Nelsan is the one [who was most surprising]–I had no idea that would happen.”

Alan also describes how excited he was about casting Lois Smith as Gran:

“I love Lois Smith. That’s one of those things where when I’m talking to the casting director, I say, ‘I’d like someone like Lois Smith.’ ‘Let’s get Lois Smith!’ ‘You think she’s do this, she’d be willing?’ ‘Yes.’ I was so happy to have her. Anna was, too–Anna was like,” Ball does an impression of Paquin bursting into song, ” ‘Lois Smith!’ “

Those are just a few examples of how great the casting has worked out on True Blood. It even won an Emmy for it. We fans have seen all the actors create very dynamic, engaging characters under Alan’s very capable leadership. We can’t wait to see how the new characters and stories will play out in Season three!

SOURCE: blog.buzzymultimedia.com

(Photo credit: life.com)

True Blood’s Score Listed on Top 20 Soundtracks of 2009

True Blood has done it again! The beautiful score by Nathan Barr has been placed on a Top 20 list for soundtracks from movies, TV, and video games for 2009 and takes the #11 spot. The Examiner.com, written by Mark Morton (whom we must thank very much for sending the information to us), so eloquently described Nathan’s music that it must be read as it was written.

11. TRUE BLOOD (Nathan Barr) – Minimalist soundtracks have never been more heartfelt and moving than when Nathan Barr took on the True Blood project. And the score itself (no offense, Lisbeth) is beautiful enough to be released as an independent folk music album. Barr never ceases to amaze his audience with forward-thinking, compositional dexterity and an unending supply of esoteric instruments. Fingers are firmly crossed that Varese Sarabande releases a score for Season Two!

Once again, a special thank you to Mark Morton for sharing this with us.  You can read our in-depth, exclusive interview with Nathan Barr and Lisbeth Scott here as they discuss the complexity that goes into creating soundtracks for Alan Ball’s phenomenal HBO TV vampire series True Blood.

SOURCE: Examiner.com

(Photo credit: Isis Nocturne)

Alan Ball One Of the Decade’s Most Influential Figures in Horror

Alan Ball has been named one of the decade’s 25 most influential figures in the horror genre who made an impact and made people take notice of his accomplishments.  Of course we are referring to what Blood-Disgusting.com is classifying as his most defining work, True Blood on HBO. Blood-Disgusting.com explains why they feel Alan Ball made their list,

“Why he’s on the list: Ball had dabbled (more like rubbed our faces) in death before, particularly with his hit HBO series Six Feet Under, but True Blood marked the first time he crossed over fully into the realm of the supernatural. By doing so he managed to tap into the Twilight zeitgeist and spawn a genuine pop cultural phenomenon. Of course, his show’s so good it probably didn’t need Stephanie Meyer to succeed.”

Alan’s capability to draw record number of viewers each week during season 2 with his incredible story-telling based around the supernatural world of Bon Temps featuring vampires, shapeshifter and a cute, little telepathic waitress named Sookie Stackhouse is another reason why his inclusion in this list of the greatest movers and shakers of the decade is well deserved.

SOURCE:  Blood-Disgusting.com

(Photo credit:  Christina Radish/ Agency Photo via mediablvd.com)

MastersFX Launches New Digital Division

MastersFX, an organization founded in 1987 by Emmy Award winner Todd Masters, is renown in Hollywood for its creation of special and visual effects, has launched a Digital Division. The company has designed, created and produced prosthetics, animatronics, and character effects for many hundreds of motion pictures, television programs (including True Blood), and commercials.

Todd Masters, Founder of MastersFX, has announced that Andreé Bustanoby, formerly an FX artist with Stan Winston Studio and Digital Domain, will head up the new division as its Visual Effects Supervisor.

The new Digital Division will enable the company to integrate practical character effects with digital FX, consequently allowing for tailored effects for each shot design with regard to the specificities of the particular project budget, time constraints and production preferences.

Regarding the establishment of the new Digital Division, Masters said,

“Our new digital group allows our company to integrate the best of both worlds within special and visual effects. There will always be room for practical, on-set effects that include make-ups, prosthetics, puppets and other character gags. By enhancing these moments with our digital expertise, our company’s contributions to film, TV, commercials and multi-media projects lets us plan every FX design in advance, pre-visualization, so we can best determine the most dramatic—and efficient—element to deliver. We can ‘throw all the tools’ onto the table, and can then decide which to ultimately deliver to the director.”

André Bustanoby, the new Digital Division’s Visual Effects Supervisor, is a veteran of Visual Effects and comes with a solid portfolio of previous work. Prior to joining MastersFX, he worked at Brain Zoo Studios, where he supervised Visual Effects on such videogame projects as Lost Planet and Mercs2. Between 1995 and 2001, Bustanoby was at Digital Domain, where he contributed “performance capture” work to the projects The Island of Dr. Moreau, Michael Jackson’s Ghosts and the hit film, Titanic. After making his Visual Effects Supervisor feature debut on the feature film Lake Placid, he then moved over to Digital Domain’s commercial division. There, he worked on many projects, winning a 2001 Silver CLIO Award for client Iomega, in the category “Best Animation.” From 2001-05, Bustanboy helped build a new digital division at Stan Winston Studio, where he contributed digital FX work to feature films such as, for example, Terminator 3, The Cat in the Hat, The Fantastic Four, among others.

Earlier in his career, Bustanoby worked for Boss Film Studios as a Design Engineer. He has been involved with several movie projects. These include, for example, Alien 3, Batman Returns, Cliffhanger, Species and Multiplicity. His first job in the special effects industry was for MastersFX in l990, when he worked as an Animatronics Engineer. In that role, he was involved with the films The Howling: 6 and Tales from the Crypt.

The new Digital Division will undoubtedly consolidate and solidify MastersFX’s already highly regarded reputation in the industry. During this past year, MastersFX has provided prosthetic FX for feature films such as, for example, Marley and Me, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and for the television series Sanctuary, Dexter, Eureka, and Stargate Atlantis. Previously, the company has contributed to Star Trek: First Contact, Tales from the Crypt, Nightmare on Elm Street 5, The Horse Whisperer, Snakes on a Plane, Six Feet Under, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, among others.

In acknowledgment of its expertise, MastersFX won an Emmy Award in 2003 for its contributions to HBO’s Six Feet Under. The company is also the winner of a 2006 “Saturn” Award for its work on the feature film Slither. In addition, MastersFx has just won a 2009 “Gemini” Award for its contributions to the cable TV series Stargate: Atlantis. The company contributes FX to a number of high profile television and feature film projects. It is currently producing FX for Season 3 of HBO’s True Blood. MastersFX has also created FX for Twilight: New Moon, The Vampire Diaries, Fringe, Flash Forward, Eureka, Sanctuary, Big Love, Private Practice and Grey’s Anatomy, among others.

Now that Season 3 of True Blood has commenced shooting, I am sure I’m speaking for all True Blood fans when I say that we are all beside ourselves with excitement about the digital effects that will be deployed in the next season’s portrayal and characterization of vampires and werewolves.

SOURCE: digitalcontentproduer.com

Picture credit: HBO Inc.

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