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| A panel that definitely doesn't suck. Photo credit: HBO |
Stay tuned as we live blog the True Blood Comic Con panel!
Kicking things off is Alan Ball, executive producer. He introduces a trailer that includes Season 5 sneak peeks!
(Spoiler: Definitely haven't seen the last of Russell Edgington. And Pam found a crimper.
Moderating the panel is Tim Stack.
Intro: Joe Mangniello, Ryan Kwanten, Deborah Ann Woll, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Christopher Meloni, Alexander Skaarsgard, Kristen Bauer, Stephen Moyer, and a pregnant Anna Paquin, and Exec Producer Alan Ball.
The whole cast!!!
4:42 p.m. Mod: So the Vampire Diaries was just here. Do you have a beef with these guys? /Ball: We don't talk about them. (Laughs)
4:45 p.m. Mod: You guys have been at odds for 4 or 5 seasons. Is it fun to be allies? (To Skarsgard and Moyer) /Skarsgard: We've been struggling with that the whole season. We've had a lot of fun with that. We find a common enemy. /Moyer: There's this... we can't do this apart... we have to do this together. I feel like there's something there in the past that we haven't seen yet... /Skarsgard: Oooh, something we haven't seen yet?
4:47 p.m. Mod: Kristen, I want to talk about Pam's wardrobe. It's been much more of a conversation piece. Particularly your WalMart sweat suit. /Bauer: There's one in the front row, actually... wait, there's three? It was like urine yellow.
4:50 p.m. Mod: Rutina, I feel like Tara has raided Pam's closet because she's discovered boobs. Is it fair to say that she's exploring her more leathery side maybe? /Wesley: I think Pam raided her closet and said... naw, we've got to dress this up.
4:51 p.m. Mod: Joe, did you give her any tips on stripping? /Mangniello: (Starts to fake strip on stage to HUGE female applause)
4:53 p.m. Paquin: But nobody's ever really dressed on this show.
4:54 p.m. Mod: Is there any more Luna? /Trammell: I can't tell you that. But he finds out that Emma isn't a shifter... he saw her turn into... something else. A wolf. And that's something that he has to deal with.
4:55 p.m. Mod: Are you guys that good at Rock Band? /Kwaaten: I practiced the wrong version of Cherry Bomb. /Woll: I felt like we shouldn't have been good anyway. We should have been kids playing Rock Band.
4:57 p.m. Mod: How does this compare to SVU? /Meloni: Trying to figure out what's a sex crime on this show is... is difficult. It's a different world to inhabit. I mean, I've never heard of a werepanther.
5:00 p.m. Audience member screams: We love you, Chris! /Meloni: Aww!! Thank you.
5:00 p.m. Mod: Sookie has gotten more kick ass. Is she going to continue? Are there any fairie throwdowns? /Paquin: I can't tell you that. But yeah... she gets into trouble.
5:01 p.m. Mod: Will we see more of the Stackhouse parents? Dream sequences? Flashbacks? /Ball: Yes. We're going to see the effects of what happened to them on Sookie and particularly on Jason.
5:04 p.m. Mod: Are we going to get any crazy sex scenes? I don't feel like we've gotten any real, balls to the wall scenes yet... Joe? (Huge applause) /Mangniello: I sexually eviscerate one of the cast members in one of the episodes coming up. /Ball: There are definitely some great sex scenes and a really ... what the f@ck scene. I think it will satisfy all tastes.
5:07 p.m. Mod: Can you tease about what's in the episode you directed? (Episode 8) /Moyer: I adore Sam Trammell. He had... one of the toughest jobs anyone's had. To do what he did with an understanding of what we needed to get out of him... we had a blast, didn't we? /Trammell: I had a total blast and it was a hard episode for me, but you made it totally comfortable.
5:10 p.m. Mod: Alex, a lot of people want you to be in 50 Shades of Gray. Have you heard that? /Skarsgard: There's a book... I've got to read that book. I haven't read the book. I haven't seen a script. /Moyer: He lives the life. (Huge applause)
5:13 p.m. Mod: Rutina, how have you felt playing such a different Tara? /Wesley: It's been awesome. I've been able to recreate Tara, but keep the essence of Tara. She's a little off... she's been shot in the head... but she's got Pam as a maker and I think it warms her heart to have someone care about her. I've had a great time. I never would have thought she would have ever been turned.
5:16 p.m. Mod: When did you decide when she was going to be turned? End of Season 4? /Ball; We thought... we already have Deborah as a young vampire. But what if you turned someone who really, really hated vampires? It looked like this would open up a lot more stories... for Tara.
5:19 p.m. Mod: Do you ever get grossed out? /Bauer: I don't know if we do anymore. /Trammell: Stephen, remember at the end of Season 1 when you got burned... and you asked me to have lunch with you. And I said no. I couldn't look at you. (Laughs)
5:20 p.m. Bauer: I probably should tell you that I still have pieces of Pam in my office. A piece of lip.
5:21 p.m. Fan: At the end of book 5, they introduce the were-tiger. /Ball: At the present there is no plan for that.
5:23 p.m. Fan: Would you be willing to return for the SVU finale? /Meloni: (awkward smile) There's no bad blood there. We'll see what comes. It's still doing okay, I guess...?
5:23 p.m. Fan: Are there any new romances and can I get your name card? /Skarsgard: Sure. (Signs card and brings it to her.) /Ball: Yes... to answer your question... there are 3. Three new romances.
5:25 p.m. Fan: What kind of music are you listening to? /Meloni: Tool. /Wesley: I like Death Cab for Cutie. /Moyer: We've been listening to Eddie Vedder.
5:26 p.m. Fan: You're bringing the fairies back in. What are the chances of seeing the fairie war? /Ball: There are two... three seasons left... maybe more. I won't be involved in making those decisions, but I'd say there's a chance for that.
5:29 p.m. Ryan Kwaaten does a hand stand on stage. (Everyone cheers)
5:30 p.m. (Last question) Fan: You guys are by far the sexiest cast on television. What has been the most memorable scene for you?
/Manganiello: Valentine's Day at the lake, making a Sookie sandwich with Anna.
/Woll: This season, episode 10, so look forward to it.
/Kwaaten: Probably wearing the He-Man one-sie. Growing up, I was a huge fan of He-Man. And there I was wearing the one-sie.
/Paquin: The last scene of this season. But obviously I can't say anything about. Very, very crazy scene at the end of Episode 12 this year. So stay tuned.
/Skarsgard: The Godrick death scene.
/Bauer: I had so much fun in our scenes last year (to Stephen). Where I pulled my lip off. My most memorable scene.. most emotional... is being released.
/Moyer: Alan never makes you do the same thing again. The episode tomorrow is an Alan Ball episode and episode 12 is the last Alan Ball episode. And it would be a fitting end to this panel to say thank you for making it happen.
(Applause, standing ovation)
/Ball: If i wasn't so old, or so tired, or so beat up, I would do eleventy hundred more episodes of this show. Thank you.
