First Word

Where are we going with this? Is the idea to kill off every character before the final episode? I'm beginning to think so. (Spoiler Alert) The demise of Alcide was anti-climatic and downright boring. Alcide, our beloved burly werewolf, finally met his end with a few quick gunshots and then bam! Dead! Well, except for one brief moment of Sookie having learned her lesson about sanctioning the creation of new vampires. The very first episode saw the demise of long-time character Tara who went through so much only to end up dead after all. Other long-time characters are biting it, too. What did we learn in this episode? Alcide loved Sookie more -- and that made her feel bad. Okay ... Sam had a gay vampire escort who got immediately shot down (we didn't have any investment anyway) so all right. Eric has Hep V and was ready (a la Godric) to just go on his 1,000-year-old way. Note: How many times do we have to see the retread scene of Pam begging Eric not to die? She loves him! Blah...

True Blood -- Season 7 Episode 1: Vulture I was hugely disappointed last season with the show's declining writing after creator Alan Ball changed directions and left the series in the hands of the other directors and writers. As this season opened I was also a little apprehensive with the prospects of the "zombie-vamp" mutation story. But as the show began with an explosive slaughter of humans, and the fates of some show favorites like Arlene and Holly on the line, I was quickly absorbed into it. I liked the way they got back to basics with Sookie being able to read the entire "accusing" citizens' minds as they blamed the "vampire whore" for inviting this havoc upon them. The show had deviated so far off her fairy powers in connection to citizens in recent years it lost a little of its humanity. The intensity of the opening scene though immediately invited you in for an absorbing episode where we find Andy and Vampire Bill on the hunt to fin...

Rating: ***1/2 Avid readers of my blog know I have a "thing" for Alexander Skarsgard of True Blood fame. So, pretty much any movie he stars in catches my attention. So I did a little research and looked up when What Maisie Knew was coming out (it passed right through the movie theaters). It got great reviews, so I figured putting down the $13 for the DVD would make a great evening of movie-watching. Down my money went and the DVD was popped into my trusty player. I already knew the storyline might be depressing, so I wasn't revved-up for some humorous foray into laughter land. Yes, readers this movie was a downer, but a really good downer (does that count?). Our small child Maisie is trapped in the tug-of-war between her two extremely damaged parents. The movie is told from her point-of-view, which gives the sadness a greater palpability. The squabbling adults don't seem to notice this child or regard her like any normal parent should. But the "moment...

Wow! Last night's True Blood Season Finale just kicked bad-ass. My two favorite enders: Andy Bellfleur become a new father four times over and Bill's final transformation into evil-doer for Season 6. It was absolutely intense to watch Bill's slow descent into villain, and the show delivered when he drank Lilith's blood, turned into a puddle of blood, and rose from the blood into the next evil-doer on the level of Russell Edgington, who by the way received his just ending. Yes, Russell just got a major ray zap of Faery power volts and that ended him nicely. Well done Alan Ball and crew -- you really did a masterful job to wrap up the season with a little pop, sludge and cry! Then we had poor Luna who had skin-walked her way right in front of the TV cameras only to face the mic, throw up blood, and keel over in what appears to be her untimely demise. And of course, Sam who flew into the mouth of the vile female chancellor only to take over her body and explode out -- yeah...

This week's episode finds the citizens of Bontemps all merging together in their story lines toward the Vampire Authority and the imminent Lilith Apocalypse. We have Sam and Luna as two white mice scurrying around the Authority to find Emma. We have Jessica being hauled off to turn Jason (as there is an edict to make as many vampires as possible). We Sookie's realization she's "betrothed" to some vampire spirit. Then we have Russell and Steve Newlin wreaking havoc all over the place and on a mission to find a faery. The convergence of the story lines was rather unexpected but a nice twist on the season that in some ways appeared to have each story locked in bubbles. The entire Authority story seemed to me to drag on much too long, with my favorite vamps all stuck in this government-like, sacred complex. Sticking Eric Northman in one place for too many episodes seemed much too boring to me. I wanted to see him do more this season. He is now finally on the loose wit...

It's the shocker of the decade ... I actually missed last Sunday's episode of True Blood and didn't see it until last night. A day before the next episode. I was traveling without access to HBO! Oh man! Total withdrawal ;). All right so let's get down to business here. What did I think of episode 7? Well, I am loving the vampire storyline for sure. The "V" trip on Lilith's blood was excellent. The vampire feeding frenzy in the New Orleans club where the betrothed sang "You Light Up My Life" absolutely priceless. Just hearing that awful song -- perfect -- and then Russell Edgington jumping on stage just rocked it. The rest of the episode I have to sadly say whatever. Sookie realizing she can deplete her magic to be human ... whatever. Sam chasing criminals ... whatever. Werewolf wars ... whatever. I did like Tara's humanity showing with her relationship with her mother, and Pam's coaxing that in 100 years she wouldn't even remember th...

How is it I missed the chance to comment on my favorite show's last episode? First, I have a lot on my mind. Second, I just forgot LOL. OK, back to Bon Tempe and the myriad story lines going forward in a season that got off to a fantastic start and veered a little and then for some reason kind of started losing me a bit. Now as a publisher and writer, I try to review the show from the writing and storytelling angles. I have enjoyed the Bill and Eric storyline and the romp with the Authority. I especially appreciated that finally they showed Eric still wants Sookie when he glamoured our resident werewolf Alcide into not having romantic feelings for her. Go Eric! And I must say, the "heat" between Sookie and Alcide ... not there! Sorry! The other favorite storyline is Tara's rising into her vampiric skin. She's going to come round just you wait and see. We've had hints of her settling in, so to speak. Then we have poor Hoyt's personal self-desctruction. What...

I am telling you, Season 5 of True Blood is hitting them right out of the ballpark. Finally! Instead of focusing on non-vampire-related story lines, Alan Ball reigned it back in. Now we're cooking with bloody good, silver-infused torture! Oh yeah baby rock that storyline with the Authority and torture no less. What creative and demented minds came up with the silver concoction to torture vamps into submission? Yeah, you writers knock yourselves out. I am duly impressed. Now add the nice touch of finally filling in the blank of how Pam and Eric Northman met in San Francisco, 1905, and you've just got this one being hit out of the ballpark. Anything Pam and Eric ... all good. Now follow this up with Tara's insane outrage at having been turned against her will, and you've just got the makings for a fantastic, hyper-fueled romp into True Blood land. I had driven home last night after nearly eight hours in the car and not feeling well, but I tell you this episode managed t...

Last night the long-anticipated True Blood Season 5 started with some fantastic and fast storytelling. Alan Ball, who is still at the helm of the campy vampire show, pushed every single story forward from the conclusion of Season 4. I don't think the season opener missed a single beat. From the pick-up where Sookie shoots Debbie and Eric and Bill go on the lamb from the Vampire Authority, it moved from scene to scene and from continuation to continuation. I have to say I think it was the best season opener I've seen so far. The only story line not ringing true is the Eric-Bill sudden alliance and friendship. Eric's sudden loyalty to Bill ... huh? Eric hates Bill. He's normally very cool toward him and the "not without Bill" statement just fell on the side of ... huh? The animosity disappeared when exactly? Additionally, Eric's blithe reaction to Sookie's fear and his statement that "she dumped both of us" and his ignoring her peril ... not r...

I read yesterday on my Google Alerts that the popcorn flick Battleship tanked. The $200-million budget coupled with the reality that it did not soar to no. #1 on the box office charts makes it one of those movies that I'm sure executives pray DVD and Blu Ray sales will help recoup some losses. Now no offense to  my favorite Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard, who plays the more solid brother to the wayward rogue brother, but I just have to say a movie about battleships and aliens isn't exactly how I might have envisioned this "board game" turned movie. The only reason I will eventually see it is because I am a Skarsgard fan and will support his work. Otherwise, I would never have bothered. I really don't know why there was a need to deviate from a traditional story about "sinking battleships" to aliens vs. ships. Right from the get-go, I thought the premise was sort of an odd combination kind of like popcorn and steak. So it comes as no surprise that tha...

I've been so busy working and keeping manuscripts running through 3L Publishing , I swear and not kidding, I've watched maybe 30 minutes of TV the past two weeks. I know some people would tell that is a good thing, but not necessarily when you're trying to work in the business and track what is going on. I realized I even missed the season finale of House , one of my top favorites. No worries though I will just buy the box set and have a marathon weekend. One thing, though, that I will not miss is True Blood Season 5 which starts June 24. Oh, be rest assured I will be eagerly propped on my sofa just in time for that one. The few trailers I've seen make it look like the season is shifting more toward action and explosions. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing for the campy dramaedy. With Alan Ball set to step down for Season 6, we might have quite a few shifts about to come into play. True Blood has in the past emphasized relationships and not the explosions so mu...

End of the week achieved! I have a media kit I have to write and put together today, but that's the only major pressure. My TV wouldn't work last night ... "no signal"? I don't watch too much television so it's the first time I noticed it all week. Let me just say this, though: when all you want is to sit and watch a mindless dump of your favorite reruns of Season 4 of True Blood , it sucks when it won't come on! Then I thought, "Oh crap! No I have to call Time Warner Cable ... that ought to be an experience." And then I thought, "What if it's something stupid like I sat on the wrong button?" The "skeezy" cable guy will think I'm a complete idiot. After I had those random musings, I realized perhaps I ought to try different buttons before I hit the actual panic "button" ... didn't work. I could have gone to my computer and surfed the Internet and watched some of my favorites like Eric and Sookie Lovers o...

Now HBO is releasing the trailers and glimpses into Season 5 of True Blood . The focus seems to mostly be on the release of the infamous, terrorizing and crazy Russell Edgington. This week's "Waiting Sucks" showed Eric questioning his progeny Pam's loyalty and her demand that if he doesn't trust her to release her. Yeah, this looked like pretty good stuff to me. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to Sunday nights again. The new season starts on June 24. Much like my all-time favorite shows which include Friends, Seinfeld, Sex in the City, Entourage and Sopranos , I will eagerly sit and watch new episodes. I haven't been addicted to a great comedy in the long time. Friends provided many great memories for me, too. I used to shut out the house and every Thursday night watch it mostly alone and crack up. You know what cracking up sounds really, really great right about now. I need a really fantastic, deep laugh. Believe it or not, True Blood d...

It's Friday morning ... I need something new to obsess over with ya-all. Seriously, I haven't been out networking much lately and just hanging with the masses typically gives me plenty of fodder to chew on.  I definitely have an itch to have some serious fun. Maybe it's time to call a girlfriend and go out and paint the town. I mean, I'm living in Marina del Rey after all. I can certainly find something I'm sure to entertain myself with. I hate it, too, when I'm not my cantankerous self. Lately, life has gotten much too serious. I need a big giggle-fest. You can't cage a butterfly for too long! Just saying!! I am also looking into starting a new writer's group down here, but I need to find a consistent venue where they don't charge. The joy of the group is the whole let's just get together and discuss our favorite topics. If you live in Southern California and you have a venue to offer, send me an email at info@3LPublishing.com. I did finish th...

So my favorite Swedish delight Alexander Skarsgard has repeatedly acknowledged that he could be unemployed as quickly as he has been employed (see Wet Paint article). He has said this in dozens of interviews in just different quotes and ways to acknowledge what happens in La La Land with the meteoric rise of stars and the often disappointing and unceremonious crash to "planet reality". Now here is what Skarsgard is doing right that will make it much less likely that he will find his career nothing but a crater pit. He has focused more on quality than quantity, having starred in some terrific indie flicks including Melancholia and the okay Straw Dogs .  Outside of the mega popcorn flick Battleship, he returns to smaller and more artistic fare with the release of What Maisie Knew , The East and Disconnect -- all of which sound immensely interesting. I even saw a picture where he padded up in an ugly "gut" suit for Disconnect , which demonstrates his complete lack ...

Today's reaction to once more celebrities and people in general who cannot keep anything at all to themselves is Rihanna's public confessions of "crushing" on both Liam Neeson and Alexander Skarsgard. I don't know about you but when I had a crush on people, I didn't tell everyone in the press (or my every friend). I find that kind of embarrassing. Why in the world do people famous or not need to verbally vomit their innermost thoughts all over the place. Can someone like Rihanna enjoy her crushes and keep it private? Or is it yet another publicity stunt to get press ... or both. I know I keep going on about this on the blog, but I am awed by the fact that so many people just don't keep their private thoughts private anymore. Isn't it kind of fun to have a little "secret" all your own? I mean, Rihanna might as well scream across the high school gymnasium, "Hey! Alexander you're hot!" And isn't that almost akin to a cat call b...

I just read in Play magazine some of Alexander Skarsgard's comments on the need for privacy. In this social media saturated world we now live in, our every thought, craving or idiosyncrasy can be revealed to the world. You don't have to be a famous movie star interviewed in major magazines to tell the entire world your inner-most private world. You can blog about it, post it on Twitter or Facebook, or heck just write a newsletter and send it out. It's easy enough to reveal your privacy to the world in this technology era where instant gratification takes on a whole new meaning. Let me caution you, though. Do you really want the entire world to know everything about you, including what you ate for breakfast? Do you really want a prospective employer to see you dancing drunk on tables? Does that leave a good impression? Probably not! Here is the deal, you don't need to tell the world everything! Keep some of it for yourself. Enjoy that you can still have a private life....

I love spoilers -- there I said it. I like to have at least some clue where my favorite shows are heading in the new season. Well, they just released the new trailers for True Blood, Season 5 and how lame! Come on now, let's see some better clues than your past catches up with you or doesn't stay buried ... or whatever. Let's see some hints with the actual actors and not the mundane set pieces we've all seen a hundred times over. I want some action here! Some clues! A spoiler or two or three. We already know that Bill and Eric are on the run and sharing some boo-hiss "bromance" time (yuck). Does Tara get turned into a vamp or zombie. I vote zombie, that's way more off-kilter and interesting. Mark my words, Tara isn't gone. Will we get to see any Eric-Sookie loving at all? I hope so. Here is an idea, let's send Bill off to meet the sun while Sookie and Eric make mad passionate love on Eric's Barbados estate (we know he has one from Season 4...

You all know I have nothing but "fandom" when it comes to my favorite actor Alexander Skarsgard, but this little picture ( click here ) resulted in him getting the "Tacky" award. First, if you're going to look maybe you ought to not do it while you're on a panel in front of a bizillion cameras! Maybe he didn't really calculate that move very well. Maybe his testosterone just took over his little head first and his big head second. Whatever the case maybe, it was bad form. To make matters worse, notice the comments (all from men) on the page where this is posted. Oh, yeah they're slapping him on the back, "You go boy!" You know maybe that actress doesn't care in the least or maybe she does. Maybe she, too, was ready to have a "Skarsgasm," but I for one would be really unhappy about someone quite obviously leering at me that way in public. I recently had a guy come up while we were doing a book signing, practically sit on top of...

Now I can't say which girlfriend sent me this message this morning, but it was pretty darned funny. She said she dreamt that she got caught in bed with Alexander Skarsgard by her husband. And she blamed me because it was all part of my diabolical plan to write about it in one of my books. Of course, I woke up for work this morning with this message in my in-box and started cracking up. Wow! I now apparently have set up my girlfriends to get caught cheating with the Swedish actor ... AND it's all part of my evil intentions to come up with good book material. Hmm ... now that's an interesting premise: I'll set up all of my girlfriends with miscellaneous hot guys to get caught cheating or maybe just to experiment to see what happens. Will they get caught? Maybe they'll fall in love ... ! Yes, that's it! I now have a grand master plan for endless amounts of book material all at the expense of my girlfriends' marriages. What divine genius! I must now thank my gir...