Tag Archives: Gianna Sobol

Behind the Scenes, News

Inside True Blood Answers Third Fan Question

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Blogger Gianna Sobol Answers:

Patricia Bethune as Jane BodehouseThe third fan question on the Inside True Blood Blog was: “What is the strangest thing you have encountered on set?”

“I walked over to the commissary to grab lunch one day, and the woman in line in front of me handed me the salad tongs when she was finished with them. When I looked up at her, there was Jane Bodehouse looking like she just stepped out of a Bon Temps bacchanal – hair disheveled, black eyes, and a big smile on her face. I totally freaked out, nearly dropped my plate. Patricia Bethune, forgetting what she looked like, had no idea why. I had to apologize and remind her that she looked like a crazy person. Oh, the Maryann days…”

What do you think, Truebies? Would you freak out if you saw a crazed Jane Bodehouse? What would you ask Gianna?

Source:  Inside True Blood Blog – Third Fan Question Answered…

(Photo credit: HBO, Inc.)

Cast, Characters, Interviews, News, Supporting Cast, Supporting Characters

True Blood’s Jessica Tuck Opens Up About Nan Flanagan

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True Blood's Jessica Tuck talks about her alter ego Nan Flanagan

Inside True Blood Interviewed Tuck on April 1

Jessica Tuck plays Nan Flanagan, the never speechless (well, unless you pull a King of Mississippi and you wrench someone’s heart out of their chest on live TV) and always fearless spokesperson for the American Vampire League on HBO‘s hit drama True Blood. Flanagan is one of those characters that you don’t always see much of, but when you do, her scenes always stand out. Tuck sat down with Inside True Blood blog‘s writer Gianna Sobol and talked about the fans, life as Nan,and Team Eric vs. Team Bill.

Best Fan Reaction:

“It was very early on in the show, I was at home visiting my family in New York. And New Yorkers don’t really react to actors; I’ve never gotten recognized in the city. People don’t care, they walk around minding their own business. But this guy walked up to me and said “Oh my god! You’re Nan! I love you, man!” And he gave me this huge hug, then kept on walking. And I thought that was so much fun, he dug Nan and that was really nice.”

The Upside of Playing Nan:

“The fact that she has two sides – that upscale, sophisticated Diane Sawyer spokesperson-y side, and then her crass, bitchy…side. I love that I get to play the two extremes.”

Cons of Being Out of the Coffin:

“As the spokesperson for the American Vampire League, I have to behave myself, and that is so boring. I have to tow the party line, though like many of my kind, I fall off the wagon every once in a while.”

Favorite True Blood scene?

“I had a couple of scenes with Alexander Skarsgård, where I got to say things like, “Listen, you whiny little bitch.” It just makes me laugh that he’s ten feet tall and could take me out with the flick of his finger, and I get to scream and yell and threaten him. I had a good time, giving him a piece of my mind.”

Team Eric or Team Bill?

“What do you mean? Where’s the option of Team Nan? I’m not on anyone’s team. They’re on mine… if they’re lucky.”

To read Tuck’s interview in its entirety, please click here.

What do you think Nan will be up to in season four, Truebies? More of the same? Or will we maybe see a different side to the spokesperson?

Source: Inside True Blood – Nan Flanagan: Both Sides of the Issue

(Photo Credit: Wikia)

Behind the Scenes, Cast, Characters, News, Sam Merlotte, Sam Trammell, Supporting Cast, Supporting Characters

Inside True Blood Season 4: On Set with Sam Trammell

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On Location

The Inside True Blood blog posted another season 4 update written by Gianna Sobol assistant to True Blood creator Alan Ball. This post talks about Sam Trammell who plays Sam Merlotte. Gianna took us behind the scenes of season 4 and got a report from Sam, who was shooting on location with Chris Bauer (Andy Bellefleur). Sam was quoted as saying about the picture:

“It was too cold to sit that day.  We were standing by the heaters.”

Source: Inside True Blood Blog – Sam Trammell’s Location Report

(Photo credit: Inside True Blood Blog/HBO, Inc.)

Edited by: Shanea O’Connor

Behind the Scenes, Crew, News

Inside True Blood Season 4: The Casting Session

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The Process of Casting for True Blood

true blood logoHave you ever wondered what it takes to get cast on True Blood? Gianna Sobol tackled the casting process in this latest installment of the Inside True Blood blog. Those who have been following the blog will recognize this post as part of the series Sobol is doing on the episode creation process and each step that is involved along the way.

Casting sessions take place in show creator Alan Ball’s office for every single role cast on the show. This includes every character from the ones who have no lines and appear in only one episode to those characters that have many lines and have multiple episode arcs.

Present in every casting session are casting directors Libby Goldstein and Junie Lowry-Johnson, casting associate Lisa Soltau, the writer for the episode, and the director for the episode. The actors are given “sides” or pages from the script to read.

So what makes True Blood’s casting process different from others in television? Alan Ball of course! He is present for every casting session no matter how big or small the role. After all, there are no small parts only small actors, right truebies?

Now that you have insight into the casting process, what do you think about it? Is it different than you originally imagined? Tell me in the comment section below!

Source: Inside True Blood Blog- Casting

(Image Credit: HBO, Inc.)

Behind the Scenes, Lafayette Reynolds, News

On the Set of True Blood: Lafayette’s Bathroom

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True Blood Blogs About Plumbing on Set

Lafayette's ToiletThe Inside True Blood Blog has posted about Lafayette’s (Nelsan Ellis) bathroom. When toilets are used in a scene they do not work typically. Gianna Sobol, writer of the blog says about the plumbing situation on set:

“The plumbing is so bad at this location, that if the crew were to use the toilet, it would overflow and damage the set.  When we build toilets into the sets on our stages, we do not plumb them unless we need to for a specific scene.  If that’s the case, our Special Effects Coordinator Michael Gaspar will rig a water system.  But sometimes even the fake toilets have these warning signs posted to ward off confused extras in search of a toilet”

Let’s hope for the show’s sake the signs work and there are not any accidents to stop the filming of the show!

Sources: Inside True Blood Blog– Lafayette’s Bathroom

Photo Credit: Gianna Sobol/HBO, Inc.

Edited by Shanea O’Connor