Vampires and the People who Love ThemAlan Ball Vamps
Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com
At the Paley Center panel for HBO’s True Blood, show producer Alan Ball bit into topics such as creating the show, why it is different in some ways from the books and what he’s planning in S2.
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Part I of our True Blood Panel coverage: Cracking the Coffin
Part III of our True Blood Panel coverage: Sneak Peek
[photo: Kevin Parry/The Paley Center for Media]
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At the Paley Center panel for HBO’s True Blood, show producer Alan Ball bit into topics such as creating the show, why it is different in some ways from the books and what he’s planning in S2.
ReplyDeleteHOW DID YOU DECIDE TO MAKE TRUE BLOOD INTO A TV SERIES?
I bought the first book on impulse because I was 20 minutes early for the dentist’s office. I was in Barnes & Noble, saw the tagline and bought it. I could not put it down. I bought the others and went through them like crack. This was so not the kind of book I would normally read, but I got so sucked into the world and saw how it would make a really good TV show.
I tried to buy the rights myself from Charlaine Harris, but she had sold them to a movie company where the option was about to run out. I called HBO and told my idea and they said, “OK.” (He did, eventually, buy the rights from Harris.)
I thought I wasn’t interested in going back to TV, but then I realized — from the viewpoint of a writer — TV is a more welcoming environment. You can explore more there than in movies. And TV happens immediately.
WHY DOES THE SHOW HAVE DIFFERENCES FROM THE BOOK?
I try to stay true to the spirit of the books. The books are from Sookie’s point of view. The challenge is to flesh out the other characters so that Anna Paquin (Sookie) isn’t working 18 hours a day every day, then collapsing. As writers, we take liberties. We’re not stenographers. Then there are no surprises. We want people who read the books to have surprises too. But I stay true to points in the book too.
When I was first writing the pilot, I realized that Tara doesn’t show up until book two. But Sookie needed a girlfriend. I didn’t want the show to be “Sookie and the Hot Guys.” Plus, this is rural Louisiana, I needed some African-American characters and the book only had Lafayette (Tara is white in the books). I liked the idea of these two little girls (Sookie and Tara) who have reasons to be outcasts to have bonded.
DID YOU HAVE ACTORS IN MIND? HAD YOU SEEN ANYONE BEFORE CASTING?
This is such a international cast. Anna (Sookie) is from New Zealand, Ryan Kwanten (Jason, Sookie’s brother) is from Australia. Stephen Moyer (Sookie’s vampire boyfriend, Bill) is from England and Alexander Skarsgard (Eric, the head vampire) is from Sweden. I looked for people who came into the room and brought the characters to life. I had seen Ryan in “Flicka,” where he was a sweet brother of an innocent girl and I thought he was kind Jason, only the PG version.
THE MUSIC SEEMS TO BE INTEGRAL TO THE ACTION. WHY IS THAT?
Music is my biggest way of procrastinating as a writer. I ask myself what’s the perfect song to be playing in this scene? Two hours later and $150 on iTunes… I’m from the South, but I never was into Country Western music. But from the first time I wrote the script until I shot it, I did a lot of research. For instance, Bill’s music is from another time with an Appalachian feel to it.
WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH MICHELLE FORBES’ CHARACTER (Maryann) THIS SEASON?
Her character has been enriched in the writer’s room since we started. It’s been a journey for her. She’s trouble and she’s going to cause more trouble, more than anyone thought she would be. She thinks she’s doing a good thing by opening the doorway to hell and sticking everyone in it.
WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN IN S2?
The great thing about this world is that there are so many different characters. This season (2) is really hitting its stride and showing what speculative fiction do by mirroring our own culture. This season (with Jason joining a vampire-hating cult), it shows how many people are looking for others to make decisions for them because they don’t want to.
That’s one of the reasons this show could last a long time. Charlaine Harris publishes a book a year and Season 2 is based on only the second book. I’m not directing any episodes this year because I’m burnt out (on directing). I directed a movie and play during the break. But I love to write and produce.