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Wednesday, September 10, 2008

True Blood! True Ike! True Writer's Block, but not really

I saw True Blood this week. I don't have HBO, but I managed to see it on youtube.com. I love youtube. If not for youtube, I would miss out on a lot of cool shows from overseas, and in this case, a show from a channel I refuse to subscribe to. (Seriously, why can't they let you just order one show?)

I've been jonesing to see True Blood since I first heard about the series based on Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire novels. I thought Anna Paquin as Sookie was a great choice when I heard the news and after seeing the show, I definitely think she is perfect casting. So is the actor who plays the vampire named Bill (his name cracks me up as much as it does Sookie). He looks almost exactly how I imagined Bill when I read the novel. The show is uncanny in its representation of the locations in the book because it almost matches my imagination perfectly. I am impressed. And now I have to find a friend who has HBO so I can continue to watch the series or hope youtube will save me again.

What I really enjoyed about the show was that the characters, sets, and vibe were so much like the books. It made me wonder what As The World Dies would be like as a show or mini-series (pipe dream, yep, I know..but a girl can dream). I remember some of the fans offering up their ideas for actors for the characters. Nathan Fillion and Clive Owen were suggested for Travis. Mira Furlan (of Lost and Babylon 5) and Helen Mirren were suggested for Nerit. Kristina Loken (the Terminator in T:3) was tossed out there for Katie. Jennifer Connelly was often mentioned for Jenni. And though I saw Juan as looking more like the tall, handsome Robert Rodriguez (the Austin-based director who I have seen in real life), people suggested John Leguizamo. I'm not saying any of these interpretations of the characters are wrong. They don't exactly match my idea, but it makes me wonder how fans of the story would cast a series or mini-series.

I admit I have my own personal "casting" in my head, but I won't share it here. I'd rather people have their own ideas.

Meanwhile, I have mapped out the bungled mess that sits in Fighting to Survive (I have tossed out the Struggling to Survive title). I have it all sorted out and now...err...I have writer's block. Not really bad, but just enough to make me moody. I have managed to write a few pages on the bus in the morning, but its not as much as it should be. My proof readers are waiting for the novel and I know I need to punch through. I hope I can this weekend.

If Ike doesn't blow us all away...

Ike is going to hit Texas and it's going to affect Austin one way or the other. One scenario has it coming over Austin as a tropical storm, but that seems unlikely. We will have massive storms and high winds even if it does hit further down the coast, so I hope the electricity stays on and lets me get more work done.

Oh, yes. Fearfest is canceled until February. I will be at the show in February and as soon as the details are released, I'll post them here. The Zombie Ball did not work out for me like I hoped. A sponsor is a publisher, so..bah. But my books may make it into the gift bags they are putting together for winners of the contest. I hope to attend and hand out flyers with the book info if that is cool with the organizer.

I also plan to make two appearances at Nightmare on Grayson, the big haunted house festival in downtown San Antonio. I'll be at the Creepy Classics booth and that will be a ton of fun. I always enjoy seeing the monsters out on the street terrifying the people waiting to enter the haunted house. One year a group of teenage boys (probably around age 16) ran screaming past our booth. I looked up to see Michael Meyers walking calmly behind them. It was hilarious. Not so funny are the scary clowns. One year a teenage girl fainted dead away in the tent when she turned and saw one of those evil suckers right behind her. Ugh! I hate clowns!!! Anyway, when I confirm the dates I'll be there, I'll post the information.

Edit: I would love to hear who you would cast as your favorite characters in the novel. The first comment on this post mentioned Gillian Anderson as Katie. I had never even thought of her!

9 comments:

  1. I personally thought of Katie as Gillian Anderson myself. But that's just me...:)

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  2. That is a NEW one. Wow! I never thought of that, but cool.

    Who did you imagine for Travis?

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  3. Hey, Nice blog. You should do two things. Come up and check out the Haunted Houses in Austin including The Mansion of Terror where I work and check out this Blog all about the Haunted House industry. www.hauntedreport.com.

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  4. i know this may sound funny, but a quiet Matt McConaughey...you need to have Texan!

    Also, I do think of Juan as a Robert Rodriguez type...

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  5. Hehehehe...Matt..that would be funny. Could you get him to be quiet? I don't know! He is blazingly handsome though, isn't he?

    BTW..I was rendered speechless by Robert Rodriguez. I ended up standing next to him at the movie theater. When I looked over and saw him, I couldn't talk. But then again, he was with one of his kids and it would have been rude to intrude on his time.

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  6. I think that, if Michelle Rodriguiz were still in the country, she could play a good Jenni. Milla Jovovich could play Katie, but she's REALLY short (like, five foot one,) so that might not work out, lol.

    Just a thought... I only mention Jovovich because she kicks ass in any action movie she plays in.

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  7. Michelle Rodriguez? I love that girl in tough roles, but she comes across as too harsh to be Jenni. But that is an interesting idea.

    Now, Mila, I just love her period.

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  8. True Blood resembles the show Heroes at first glance (just rented the first episode from Blockbuster), though it still feels mostly original... for some reason this show makes me want to eat Cajun food and drink cheap beer

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  9. Hey surfing through the internet by accident I found this web page and as you said that you cannot watch it because you don't have HBO and as I really love this show I will give you a hint. there is a web site: www.ninjavideo.net

    where you can watch all the episodes of true blood and much other series. And I would if I was you I just watched the last episode and wow I can't wait till the new season!

    Hope have helped!

    Rodrigo

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Thanks for commenting!