Over at HBO’s Inside True Blood blog,Gianna Sobol explains a bit about a meeting that happens before production starts on an episode of True Blood. She writes about the meeting:
THE MEETING: The Tone Meeting
WHERE IT TAKES PLACE: Alan’s office
WHO ATTENDS: Alan Ball, Executive Producer Gregg Fienberg, the writer of each episode, the first Assistant Director, and the cinematographer
WHAT IT’S ABOUT (according to writer/producer Alexander Woo): The tone meeting is the first opportunity for the director to sit with Alan, Gregg, and the writer and talk about the episode scene by scene. For new directors to our show, it’s an especially valuable time to clarify any issues about story, style, or tone. If it’s Michael Lehmann, it’s his first chance during the episode to make puns before a captive audience.
Michael Lehmann, a punny guy?
Interesting eh? But as I was reading this, one line struck out at me… yeah, you’re right, it’s the one about director Michael Lehmann and the puns. The dude must be famous for these and I was wondering if any appeared in the True Blood episodes that he directed. Below are the episodes directed by Mr. Lehmann. Does anyone remember if there were any puns* that made it into the episodes?
Escape From Dragon House 1:04 – We learn from Vampire Bill that vampires love puns, Fangtasia!
The Fourth Man in the Fire 1:07
Keep This Party Going 2:02
Shake and Fingerpop 2:04
Hard-Hearted Hannah 2: 06
It Hurts Me Too 3:03
I Got A Right to Sing The Blues 3:06
I Small A Rat 3:10
*Wait, what exactly is a pun? From Webster: “The humorous use of a word, or of words which are formed or sounded alike but have different meanings, in such a way as to play on two or more of the possible applications; a play on words.”
I know this can be considered “old news” but if you are like me, you like any news about True Blood that you can get. Life Story magazine put out an issue mostly about Twilight, but there are 6 pages of an episode guide to Season 2, complete with comments by Alan Ball.
Alan Ball’s comments about episode 209: “I Will Rise Up”. “My favorite episode of [the] season. I love the whole story between Eric and Godric, and Sookie gets to see Eric’s human side. Then there’s the whole choice by Godric to move on; his attitude of, ‘I’m done and I want to embrace whatever is going to happen to me now, even if it means oblivion, even if it means the end.’ That last sequence was tough to shoot, because we shot part of it on a building rooftop in Los Angeles – where we basically had 20 minutes to get it because of the light – and then we shot part of it on a stage with green screen, then we went to Dallas and shot background plates so that you would have recognizable landmarks. Then there were all the special effects technology questions of how we were going to have Godric go up in flames. So it was tough, but I thought it paid off.”
The True Blood episode, “Hard-Hearted Hannah has been nominated for an ACE (American Cinema Editors) Eddy Award. The Awards will be presented on February 14th at the Beverly Hilton.
BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION: True Blood: “Hard-Hearted Hannah”
Louise Innes
This week on True Blood, a rescue squad of superheroes is clearly needed, Eric plays not so nice, Eggs is mildly interesting for a change, Jason tries abstinence on and finds it don’t fit right, poor old Bill is now Lorena’s bitch and Jessica is too distracted by Hoyt to notice. Plus more naked, gross people. How could they do that to Terry Bellefleur?
Oh, women do love them a bastard. The bad man that would sell his granny for a hot ass car, the unspeakable cad that would rip your clothes to ribbons and shag you across the coffee table while your husband dozes in front of the football, the antihero who fights dirty and commits wanton acts of crime and sauciness. Hot right? I think so. Anyway, with True Blood, I make an unusual exception. Underneath this writer’s layers of cigarette smoke, ennui and smutty thoughts beats the squishy, pink heart of a closeted romantic. And so anything or anyone that messes with Bill and Sookie earns my instant wrath. Oh Eric, tut tut, you are an unredeemable bastard for making that call and if I hear you say you’re 1000 years old one more time, I shall completely lose my shit.
That rant out of the way, on to the show. After dismissing a vapid blood hooker in the Dallas hotel bar, the sneaky Viking has a plotting session with Lorena, essentially handing her Bill to play with so he can go after Sookie without any pesky competition. Um, aren’t you supposed to be concerned with finding your beloved maker and avoiding an all out war with the nerd church at this very moment? Not chasing girlies who think cancer is a better bet? Meanwhile upstairs, the blissfully ignorant couple are in a state of post- orgasm happy vibes when there’s yet another knock at the door. It’s the awesomely dressed Isabel and her human Hugo, and she turns out to be the only not-nasty vamp we’ve met since that sweetie Eddie. She offers her man as an escort for Sook’s visit to the Fellowship of the Crazy church in the daytime and Sookie happily agrees, but Suspicious Bill is suspicious. He obviously ranks church folk somewhere among cops and child molesters, and besides, Hugo looks like a lawyer and you should never, ever trust a lawyer. Read More »
Want to replay awesome scene from Bill Compton’s flashback in Season 2 ep6 “Hard-Hearted Hannah”? Stephen Moyer sings the song that gives name to the Episode, and he also plays the piano. This song was mostly popularized by Ella Fitzgerald.
Over at HBO’s Inside True Blood blog, Gianna Sobol explains a bit about a meeting that happens before production starts on an episode of True Blood. She writes about the meeting:
