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Clip Bonanza -- Tonight on HBO, Wanda Sykes is More "Wanda Sykes" Than Ever

The first time I saw Wanda Sykes was in a VH1 Stand Up Spotlight episode in the late 80s, long before VH1 found the winning formula for the skankiest dating shows the world would ever see. Then, the next time I saw her, it was a standup special on Comedy Central was in 1998 when she was Wanda Sykes Hall, because she was married at the time to David Hall.

The marriage was over for her the same year. No more "Hall," just Wanda Sykes.

Now, Wanda Sykes is more herself than ever in her new HBO special I'ma Be Me. She's remarried to a woman (they are two of the fortunate Californians who jumped at the offer early as most of the rest of us didn't think there was a sunset date on full civil rights for all Americans), they have twins and Wanda talks about it all tonight at 10 eastern.

The special was recorded at the Warner Theatre in DC. The last time Wanda was in DC with a big gig was the White House Correspondents Dinner this past year which she'll talk about a bit tonight. Karl Rove called her performance there nasty, vicious, mean and ugly.

I think he was just looking in a mirror myself, but then I agree with her. Rush Limbaugh should get kidney failure and die. I would dance on his grave, in fact.

Funny thing is I wouldn't be alone, I can name 50 people from my personal life in about two minutes who would carry me, a sizeable man, on their backs to do that dance from anywhere in the country. In fact, it's the only time I am permitted by California law to dance.

That's how not pretty it is.

(Just 'cause he has a radio show and friends who can get on Fox News to spout off about his enemies doesn't mean he shouldn't die of kidney failure ... though I imagine it would be easier to protest if he weren't a fat fuck with a radio show who took so much OxyContin that he endangered those kidneys and rendered himself deaf.)

So if the reviews are such from Karl Rove, don't you think you should see her? Watch two clips after the jump (including some interview footage), watch the show tonight at 10 eastern, watch it again on HBO on Demand starting tomorrow and then buy the DVD when it comes out.

Because doing so just might prevent another fat fuck who lies on the radio for a living from destroying his body and ruining his hearing.

It's up to you, America. You never know when Mark Levin might discover pudding and hillbilly heroin.

The third clip is from the White House Correspondents Dinner. Eat it up, gang.

Ironically, Wanda's next project is a late night show, at Fox (not the news channel but their more creative, free thinking brother in the entertainment division that's unencumbered by ideology).

The weekly talk show will start Saturday, November 7 at 11 eastern. More on that at this Fox.com link.

2 Clips -- Breaking: Roman Polanski Arrested at Zurich Airport, Could Face Extradition

He was on his way to the Zurich Film Festival where he was to receive an award and a tribute to his career was to take place.

Festival homepage says:

The planned "A Tribute to ..." Award that was to be presented to film maker Roman Polanski tonight has been postponed to an indefinite future date. Roman Polanski, one of the greatest film directors of our time would have received an award for his life's achievement at the Zurich Film Festival. However, he was detained by the police upon his entry at Zurich Airport. His detention is linked to the demand by US-authorities to a warrant for his arrest in 1978.

The festival directors have received this news with great consternation and shock. They have decided that the "A Tribute to ... Roman Polanski" night will take place as planned.

NY Times:

Assuming Mr. Polanski does not waive his right to appeal, he can challenge both the arrest warrant and any eventual extradition order, Mr. (Guido) Balmer (spokesman for the Swiss Federal Justice Department) said, and appeal both issues in the Swiss federal penal court of justice. If he were to lose those appeals, he could then get a final hearing on both issues at the Federal Court of Justice.

It was 31 years ago when Polanski was convicted in abstentia of luring a 13-year-old girl back to the home of Jack Nicholson and engaging in sexual acts with her.

The events surrounding the arrest and trial of Polanski on these charges were detailed in the HBO documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired. It one two primetime Emmys this month, for writing and direction.

Trailer and interview with director Marina Zenovich after the jump.

Depeche Mode/True Blood Music Video -- Season Finale Sunday at 9

I was not one of those disaffected, alienated teenage boys who found solace in Depeche Mode when I was younger.

Not that I claim to have superior taste in music. I'm quite sure my taste is shit, or at least what a majority of my contemporaries would say borders on elevator music. In the 90s I was big into movie soundtracks from Dave Grusin and James Newton Howard and ... I remember buying the Marky Mark album at some point and I was big into C & C Music Factory.

Sad, huh?

Then again, in prep for Saturday nights out on the prowl at local bars I would listen to the Long Beach metal station KNAC while looking for parking near the Silver Lake leather/levi bars.

I couldn't hum a Depeche Mode song for you if you offered up Alex Skarsgard as a reward. Still, watch the video after the jump and it may quench some of that "thirst" you have before Sunday's finale.

It's after the jump.

True Blood Recap/Preview Video & What Are You Doing Instead of Watching Open Thread

So, what are you doing? Still laughing at Marc Malkin's blog post at E! asking where he dares to write the names Ryan Kwanten and Jon Gosselin in the same sentence?

(Marc, it's like comparing bread dough to sculpture, off-label to top shelf, Yugo to Maserati. Kwanten: UPGRADE! And of course Ryan, left, deserves an underwear modeling campaign, or he and I could work something out privately without you and the rest of the world that just involves bedding and maybe those restraints.)

Are you watching the Lady Gaga video featuring Alexander Skarsgard (above) again?

Checking out the NY Times article on the upcoming series Durham County on ION that features Michelle Forbes starting episode seven as a whacked out forensic psychologist with murder on her mind?

The only thing I can tell you for sure is that if you click this link you'll find out more about Eggs' (Mehcad Brooks, right) destiny than you might want to, damned if I didn't just ruin another plot point writing this damn blog.

Recap and preview clips from HBO after the jump. The second season ends next Sunday at 9.

All the abs in this post? Well, it's almost Labor Day and all those crunches must be laborious.

Video -- Alexander Skarsgard's New Costar, Lady Gaga (and a True Blood Preview Clip)

I know, the video for Paparazzi is almost three months old, but I'm not part of the pop music zeitgeist, I'm a True Blood fan.

MTV:

The 1940s romantic-epic-style video, directed by controversial video auteur Jonas Äkerlund (Madonna, Prodigy), proves once and for all that Gaga is a true original with a unique vision. It opens with the camera focusing on what appears to be an elegant seaside estate surrounded by roses and Greek statues. Seagulls cry in the background amid tinkling piano notes.

And then things get really weird.

Really weird indeed. Skarsgard plays a lothario who seems intent on getting ingenue Gaga on the balcony and in front of the prying mechanical eyes of the paps, someone goes over the rail and then there's a lot of dancing around an ambulance, dancing on crutches, writhing around on lovely antique settees while singing ... and then?

Muhr-dehr!

After the jumperoo, watch the clip and tonight's True Blood preview.

In that clip, Tara starts making plans to retrieve her man Eggs from the clutches of Maryann, but I would bet you any amount of money that's not gonna go well.

And, though she's in the "next week on" trailer that ran last week after the episode, I betcha we see just enough of Queen Sophie-Ann (left, see the fangs?) to get us excited, but not much more.

Still, the way I see it, the residents of Bon Temps might just be exchanging the devil they know for the devil they don't.

I mean, Maryann has skills, but this one's a Queen. Queen beats Maenad, right? Anyone? Card Players? Bueller?

Only two episodes left, and no episode next week for the Labor Day holiday. Which means you have time to watch tonight's ep twice and prepare for the quiz tomorrow.

Tonight at 9, just before a new episode of Hung. HBO.

TV.com Readers Have Their Way With True Blood Creator Alan Ball

And there's so much more in this post, including this image above from the Fangtasia 2009 calendar that I know you're just drooling over.

Speaking of Eric, Mandi Bierly wrote her love/lurve/lust letter to the owner of Fangtasia and all around hottie Eric at Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch blog Monday at this link.

Wipe up your computer keyboard before it craps out on you. We're still in a recession, take care of your stuff.

This image comes to my via the wonderful Liz in Albuquerque, who seems to love everything I love. Like Eric Northam. She got it from the True Blood wiki, and you can find more than the January page at this link.

The Alan Ball fan questions clip is at TV.com, at this link. Some nice insight by the creator of the series and no spoilers.

Next, I have a photo feature with interview with Ryan Kwanten, everyone's favorite Bon Temps boytoy Jason Stackhouse, at this link. It includes:

Kwanten may play a dim womanizer on-screen, but offscreen he's smart enough to suffer the indignities of his nude scenes with a smile. While other TV networks are struggling to keep the lights on, True Blood's viewership has doubled, easing HBO out of its post-Sopranos slump and assuring Kwanten that he'll remain taken care of through the global meltdown.

Hat tip to Towleroad.

About those ratings ... when you read where last week's episode garnered an audience of 4.5 million viewers remember that HBO has only 30 million subscribers nationwide, so it starts behind the broadcast networks. Even at that it's a huge success for the pay cable channel, the biggest show they've had since The Sopranos went off the air.

And those numbers are climbing every week (LINK). Not only that but the season one DVD sets in standard and Blu-Ray continue to outperform all expectations.

Speaking of which ...

         

Click over the jump for the recap of Sunday's episode, a preview from this Sunday, and more of me kvelling over how much I love this show.

Clip Bonanza -- True Blood's New Blood: Maryann, Jessica & Godric; Michelle Forbes' New ION Series

Sookie who?

Seriously, all of a sudden True Blood is all about Maryann, Jessica and Godric. Especially Maryann, and for me that's all Michelle Forbes.

More on her later, but first Godric. Relax, I'll get to Jessica in a bit, I love her too. And I put Maryann at the end on purpose. Because no one can follow Maryann.

There are more clips attached to this post than any post I've written in the three years I've been blogging. They're all great clips, all after the jump and have at it, gang.

GODRIC

Allan Hyde is all of 20 years old yet he brings a lot of gravitas to his portrayal of Eric's "maker." He's a Danish actor, this being his first gig in the US, and maybe it's a certain detachment that feeds the resignation he brings to the character. 

(And maybe that has something to do with this being his first English-language role as well.)

The discussion with Eric about human-vampire relations said a lot about how the older vampire looks at the world after all these immortal years. There was a great sadness about him. And out of a 20-year-old? Remarkable.

And, this is certainly a much more adult role than he got in the Danish remake of Camp Rock. Yes, there's a Danish version of Camp Rock. Sad but true.

More about Hyde from TrueBlood-Online.com at this link. I don't know how much more we'll get of him on the show, what with Luke from the Fellowship about to set off his suicide vest inside "the nest," but I would hope we'll see him more. If not in this in other projects.

Now click over the jump for not only a bunch of clips, but more on the new women of Bon Temps.

HBO Hung Video -- About Ray's Damsel in Distress

So, what's up with this Jemma woman? Because she scares me a little. This could go very well or horribly wrong, horribly "I have a can of lighter fluid and a match" wrong.

Difference between your usual "John" and this woman? This woman wants it to be "real." No, I'm not even sure what "real" (in quotes) means.

When Jemma made that call to Tanya on the beach and then Tanya had to call Ray (just before the image above) I immediately thought to myself, "This is going to take a sour turn, a very sour turn." I'm not sure when it will happen, but I'm pretty sure it will and it's keeping me engaged.

(The other big event on the horizon I think will be Ray's son Damon revealing his secret. I think. I'm ... not sure. But, I do know that overweight high school gays are close with their sisters and have issues with their sisters' ex-boyfriends for all kinds of reasons, but sometime for one specific reason I won't reveal. Yet. How do I know? Stop prying.)

Of course, as usual, we can all stipulate that Natalie Zea as Jemma is fabulous and we would watch her read the phone book? Jemma's a hot hot mess with cash to spare and I hope some time as well, she'll be interesting to watch.

After the jump, another chapter in Tanya's video diary. As you'll remember Tanya's not thrilled that her role as procurer isn't being taken seriously at the end of the episode. Of course, I'm not sure that anyone could figure out what their role was at the end: Ray's at Jemma's home, Jemma just wants to hear someone say he loves her (even if she has to pay for it) and Tanya's rocked by Floyd's defensiveness after a perceived slight from her.

And that's why I think she breaks out the Emily Dickinson.

Should be interesting to see what measures Tanya's willing to take to regain control of the situation. Find out Sunday at 10 on HBO.

2 Clips -- HBO Premiere: Sundance Documentary Boy Interrupted Tonight

Tonight at midnight (earlier for you on the west coast who enjoy the benefits of the HBO east coast feed) there's a very sobering documentary about the life, bipolar illness and eventual death by suicide of a young New Yorker named Evan Perry.

(The film premieres tonight but you can catch airings of it throughout the month at HBO, schedule link here, and I imagine HBO on Demand as well, after tonight's first run.)

Certainly there are young people in cities and towns all over the country and world who suffer from bipolar illness. The difference in telling Evan's story tonight in the Sundance Festival documenatary Boy Interrupted is that his parents, Hart & Dana Perry, are documentary filmmakers who turned their cameras toward themselves in what turns out to be a very compelling and painfully personal film that talks to the issues of identifying the illness, getting treatment, family dynamics, genetic predisposition to the disease and most notably a mother's painful recognition that her ability to protect her child sometimes just isn't enough.

There's a lot of the latter. I'm not gonna try to fool you into thinking this is an easy film to watch, but I believe that for a lot of people it has much to say and share not just about depression but about a parent's hopes for their child and facing the realization that you have just so much control over some very important parts of the process of raising them.

One of the issues that gnawed at me while watching was that the majority of parents in this country to come close to having the resources financial, educational and otherwise that the Perrys have and how difficult it must be for other parents. Evan goes from public school to a private residential treatment center that does accept some insurance reimbursement, but for a lot of families that totally out of the question, especially in those homes that have no health insurance at all.

It reminds us once again that we need to stipulate that every single person's physical and mental well being is a matter of interest to all of us and we need to treat it as a priority. To not do so makes us weaker as a society.

It's tonight at midnight eastern on HBO. I'm not particularly adept writing about such a serious topic and my not being a parent doesn't serve me well in this case but I'm glad that I watched this film and I think whether or not you're a parent or someone who has a family member with bipolar disease you should see this.

Watch two clips after the jump, including first the trailer from HBO and then an interview that the Wall Street Journal online did with Dana Perry before the Sundance Festival this past January.

Hung's Tanya, Proud of Herself for "Only Glancing a Few Times at His Amazing Penis"

If you're a fan of Hung, you should check out the Tanya's Diary segments at HBO.com or at YouTube (but watch 'em at the HBO site and then check out their collection of Hung products, which is not much more right now than t-shirts, mugs and computer mousepads, but ...

... at this link you can send them your suggestions for products for the show. And if you do, I would certainly hope that you share your ideas here, in the comment section, after the jump where the clips will be.

Be creative. Be extra creative.

So, last I checked in with Powell Weaver, our on-set insider, currently serving as producer Collete Burson and Dmitry Lipkin's assistant, I asked him if they interviewed women who had hired male prostitutes during the research phase.

"We tried so hard to find women to interview, but as you can imagine they're not everywhere," he said, "or if they are, they don't talk about it.  The writers pretty much wrote the most interesting characters and scenarios possible, aiming to keep things grounded in reality given the outrageous premise."

So, I'm offering right now to be the conduit between the producers and any women who would like to talk to the show through my blog about their experiences in the, ahem, acquisition of happiness by means of, well, getting off.

It's another great reason to use the comments section. 

I know there's someone out there that maybe called someone on a dare -- you can tell Uncle Joe and a bunch of people who watch TV your story, it'll stay just between us. And everyone else with an assumed name attached.

Last week Ray had his first actual paying client, Molly (pictured left), a perfectly nice woman who needed some happiness and had the money. Ray just figured out that being a happiness consultant isn't about HIS happiness. Thus, the venting from Tanya in the clip after the jump.

And tonight, Tanya has another evening with Floyd her seminar instructor (Steve Hytner) and color her surprised when ...

... well, I can't give it all away. I have a preview clip, it's the second after the jump.

Finally, don't forget to check in at HappinessConsultants.com.

Or just call 1-888-588-HUNG.

Oh, one more thing ... I totally forgot that that fabulous Natalie Zea from Dirty Sexy Money shows up on tonight's episode. Love her.

True Blood Clip Bonanza -- Maryann Forrester, Campfire Girl (who vibrates and should be named Tina)

Yes, I'm still getting over that campfire scene from the end of last week's show.

There's something about Maryann. She's a maenad, you know.

From the blog Loving True Blood in Dallas:

A Maenad is -- In Greek mythology, Maenads (Greek: Μαινάδες) were the inspired and frenzied female worshipers of Dionysus, the Greek god of mystery, wine, and intoxication, the Roman god Bacchus. Their name literally translates as "raving ones". They were known as wild, insane women who could not be reasoned with. The mysteries of Dionysus inspired the women to ecstatic frenzy; they indulged in copious amounts of violence, bloodletting, sexual activity, self-intoxication, and mutilation. They were usually pictured as crowned with vine leaves, clothed in fawnskins and carrying the thyrsus, and dancing with wild abandon.

Seems to me that the Maryann character works as an analogue for crystal methamphetamine abuse in the gay community ... rendering it's users with that blank stare and ravenous sexual desire (minus the erection problems of course).

Maryann is an even better form of Tina, hence the name in the headline.

(Or a deadly combination, like meth and an erectile dysfunction drug. That can kill ya, you know. Add some poppers and you're really setting yourself up for trouble, check this link for more on that.)

What really worked in that campfire scene at the end to really disturb me was seeing that Tara and Eggs had fallen under Maryann's spell so quickly and that we see them head on having sex doggie style by the fire, eyes all blacked out, Tara's breasts swinging as she gets entered (pounded, really) from behind ... yes I was very disturbed.

Because it was so emotionless, cold, robotic.

I couldn't even enjoy seeing Mehcad Brooks naked. Oh, btw, there's more of that (you know, him being naked by a fire, mmmmm) in tonight's episode, but there's big trouble for Sam Merlotte after he's been tricked by waitress doe-eyed Daphne the part time pig and gets served up to Maryann, who as we know (because we did our homework) needs an offering.

Sam's that offering.

Meanwhile there's a whole lot going on in Dallas at the vampire hotel, too. Jessica has company from Bon Temps, Sookie's in danger from a lot of different angles and Bill Compton's ex has shown up at Eric's request to see what kind of mess she can make of things.

Watch the scene from season one when Lorena turns Bill, it's the first clip after the jump. The second clip is the trailer for this week's episode. And finally, straight from the HBO account at YouTube is the midseason trailer they made for Comic-Con. Spoilers abound in that clip, so be warned.

Go, watch, it's all after the jump.

Culture Wars -- Pay Cable's Fast 'n' Easy Trumps Broadcast's Standards & Practices

Interesting piece this AM from The Wrap, which, if you don't know, is the place that Joe Adalian is supposed to land at after his departure from the now web-only TV Week.

(No, no sign of him yet, but I keep checking for a new link for the blogroll. I'm on it, not to worry.)

Anyhow, in their First Take newsletter they have a link to their analysis of HBO and Showtime's success in a bad economy:

“It’s just a very good time for us,” said Matt Blank, chairman and CEO of Showtime. “Regardless of the cost of subscription cable, consumers see staying home and watching premium channels as a cost-efficient use of their dollars.”

“People are starting to spend their money more wisely, and premium cable is a very good value for the cost,” added Dave Baldwin, executive VP of program planning for HBO. “For the price of taking the family to one movie, you can afford all of HBO.”

According to Daniel Frankel's piece Showtime has added almost 700K subscribers, and segment leader HBO has had a huge success selling True Blood season one on DVD and adding an additional 35K users, not much until you consider they are already the star of the category.

Starz even added almost 400K.

Starz? I know! And no, I don't think it's because of their series version of Crash. Better chance that they found 300,000 fans of Party Down than Crash, which is just so all over the place that you don't know what to make of it.

(And you, Dennis Hopper, exactly what ARE you doing on that show?)

Sure, some of the gains have to do with people looking for more affordable ways to pass the time, and I notice that DVD sales as a whole being down is a boon to pay cable and companies like Netflix. But you can't rule out that people are tiring of the formulaic, and pay cable and to a slightly lesser extent their advertising-supported friends on the dial are the innovators in the marketplace.

And, the relaxed content standards just might be more in tune with the viewing public (if not the general public) than the network fare.

Certainly any HBO series is more compelling than listening to the comedy stylings of a 59-year-old comic in prime time. It would be great to see even the pay cable channels program aggresively against Leno weeknights at 10, it's a timeslot that in my opinion is ripe for the taking, despite all the analysis and trend research NBC has paid for and is throwing at you and me.

TV.com Report: True Blood Renewed For Season Three

Though, as one who reads everything and anything about the show, I have to add a quick, "D'uh." Of course it was, did you see the DVD sales on the season one set?

From their coverage of the True Blood panel at the Con:

Indeed, the "fangbangers" who filled the ballroom were a mix. Women swooned at Alexander Skarsgard, Sam Trammel, and Stephen Moyer, and men cat-called at Anna Paquin, Rutina Wesley, and Deborah Ann Woll. This wrangling of both genders is why True Blood pulls in roughly six million viewers per episode -- gaudy stats for a cable program.

Because of those numbers, it's no surprise that True Blood will be back for season three, as Ball announced at the panel. An official announcement will come soon, but Ball teases a few characters from the books he's excited to tackle in the next season: Russell Edgington and Debbie Pelt, because "she's kind of awesome." There will however be no Bubba, the Elvis vampire, because Ball doesn't think he can recreate a real Elvis feel. He says in the books it's easy to imagine the real Elvis, but on the show he'd have to use an Elvis impersonator... and that's cheap.

(Note to Tim Surette at TV.com, I am quite sure that there were plenty of men at the Con who no doubt did some of their own swooning over Skarsgard, Moyer and Trammel. And women over Paquin, Wesley and Woll. Especially Wesley, I hear.)

Click there for much more, which includes spoilers for next week, which you'll never see here and I can link to only because I don't read the stuff myself.

I actually haven't watched last night's episode yet. Too much time spent watching Comic-Con clips on YouTube, like this clip from the website AlexSkarsgard.net (also Alexander-Skarsgard.com) that I've very conveniently placed after the jump for you.

Men not swooning? Really? Harrumph.

Comic-Con Video -- G4 Talks to True Blood's "Eric" and "Jessica"

Alexander Skarsgard, voted five times the sexiest man in Sweden.

Five times! And I think he missed out on a sixth only because he left Sweden to work. Apparently, you gotta put in the time to win.

Now this is the kind of vampire I can get behind. Well, not technically behind because I have a sense most of them are not those who would "like you to get behind."

Or, maybe I'm wrong. Someone tell me otherwise.

But at least he's a vampire that, you know, does vampiric things.

Watch him and Deborah Ann Woll (who apparently wouldn't mind more work in scenes with him, who wouldn't?)talk to Olivia and Kevin from Attack of the Show on G4 yesterday. It's after the jump.

(I watched last week's episode last night. Maryann wearing Sookie's grandmother's clothes just freaked me out, why didn't it bother Tara, at all?)

Oh, and click over to the blog VGL (at this link) for a clip from a Skarsgard film in Swedish. It's a shower scene. (Site possiby nsfw depending on where you work, watch at work at your risk.)

Other Olivia Munn news: Jon Favreau cast her as War Machine in Ironman 2, which of course should take her out of reportage mode on the movie, but that's not gonna happen. It's a new world where a segment of the entertainment press crosses over from time to time into the projects they cover. I don't really like it but it happens. In fact, you can watch Munn and Pereira from AOTS interview Favreau at this link.

Happiness is Only a Phone Call Away, Dial 1-888-588-HUNG

No, seriously, call the number. You'll be glad you did.

And watch Sunday at 10 on HBO.

HBO's Hung With Our Gay On-The-Set Insider, Will Ray Have Male Clients?

What, you thought I forgot, right? Nah, I watched the Hung pilot, and I'm watching again right now. No, no Dirk Diggler moments at the end of the pilot, you cheeky li'l ...

Anyway, back in the pre-show hype period I started trying to get in touch with the creators of the show, Colette Burson and husband Dmitry Lipkin (The Riches, pictured left), explaining that obviously a show about a guy with a big dick was gonna interest gay men and I wanted to get some inside info.

What Colette did (via Facebook, which is always my ace in the hole) was kindly thank me and refer me to her and her and Dmitry's assistant, Powell Weaver.

Gay.

Inside.

On the set.

BINGO!

I sent Powell some questions back before the premiere (which is almost two weeks ago, I can't figure out for the life of me why they would start a new series the weekend BEFORE Independence Day, but whatev) , and he'll be available to me each week for some inside info and maybe a question or two from readers. So, start thinking about that.

So, first out of the gate ...

First of all ... Tom Jane? Nice. We likey. How's he doing with being 'the guy who's Hung"? Was there a lot of joking during development, on the set?

Thomas Jane is great.  They looked at literally hundreds of auditions for Ray, from actors all over the world.  There were a million ways to go, and I personally was so excited when they cast Thomas because he was hands down the hottest man's man who came in!  And he completely sells the character of Ray.  He's so watchable in every way.

I have to agree here. I certainly didn't plunk down my eight bucks to see The Punisher because of Travolta, or because I bought the comic. I didn't even know it was a comic.

More than that, though, the guy can act, and I've known that since I saw him in The Last Time I Committed Suicide playing Neal Cassady. In the movie he's so effortlessly sexy I couldn't take my eyes off him.

Of course in Hung his character Ray Drecker is just plumb outta confidence. He peaked in high school, an injury ended his pro sports aspirations, the teams he coaches at that same high school are failing, his marriage is over, his kids think he's a jerk and when he finds himself sitting in a hotel/motel ballroom taking a class that tries to help him find that tool that will turn things around.

(BTW, that motivational speaker pictured left, played by Steve Hytner [Seinfeld]? He's also been a co-star of yours truly. High school, can't ever get away from high school.)

By now you know that Ray runs into a previous lover at the seminar, Tanya (Jane Adams, Frasier) who will eventually volunteer to be Ray's pimp of sorts.

Actually, the job she's doing is more like being a mec (see the story from James Lipton's biography where he discusses acting as a mec for French prostitutes, or just click this link for the Conan O'Brien interview with him for more info).

When I heard HBO was doing a show about a male hooker, I immediately considered that the character might take on some male clients, so I asked:

Of course, a lot of my readers are wondering if there will be male customers for Ray. Is there at least talk of that or about that in the show?

I would love to see male customer's for Ray too!  The idea has been raised in the writers room.  It could end up happening or not happening.  There are so many factors that go into television storytelling - you want to tell the most organic, natural story you can and not burn up any plot that could be potentially used to greater effect down the road.  Ray is a macho man, a former baseball star and current basketball coach.  It would go against Ray's character to agree to a male customer in first season - we just wouldn't buy that he would actually do that.  But as we get to know Ray over the next few years and watch him change and learn, who knows - he might find himself with a male customer if the price is right.

So, nothing this season but not ruled out.

You know what I was just thinking? Gigolo is a much easier word to hear than manwhore. Plus when I think of manwhore I immediately think about that guy Jeff Gannon who was in all those White House press conferences during the Bush years.

Anyhow, after the jump I have a webisode thing from HBO called Tanya's Diary, where she tells you what plans she has to market her new product and the body it's connected to. Tanya not only has plans to market Ray but to improve the product as much as she can.

Episode two of Hung airs Sunday at 10, moving to its standard half-hour format, followed this the season premiere of Entourage, on HBO.

True Blood Preview -- Guess Who Wants to Be a Vampire?

Well, it's certainly a better option than being attached to the poop carousel. That's what I've decided to call that thing Lafayette's attached to down in what I think is the cellar of Fangtasia.

However, would Lafayette be able to handle the hunger that comes with the conversion? And what of his previous use of V, will that affect his transition from human to undead?

(I tend to be a details guy when it comes to stories like this.)

Tomorrow at 9 on HBO.

LINK

Bill Maher Video -- New Rules Has It Right Again, "Democrats Are the New Republicans"

Check it out.

LINK

True Blood's Lafayette Not Dead But Probably Wishes He Was

What the hell was that damned ninth circle of hell contraption that Lafayette was hooked up to and why was he there?

D'ya think Eric found out he was selling V? Or Are the vampires blaming him for the death of Eddie Gautier (Stephen Root from last season)? Yeah, that might be it.

Hey, I'm just glad Lafayette is still alive and the dead body belongs to the voodoo lady Miss Jeannette.

(They did a pretty good job of keeping Nelsan Ellis under wraps for the hiatus, but now that we know he's back I hope he'll be out doing a round of press to support a possibly Emmy nomination. Ellis v. John Noble from Fringe? Excellent Emmy matchup. HBO, get him out doing the talk shows right now, keep him in the minds of the Emmy voters.)

Still that one townie got ripped apart right in front of Lafayette's eyes, and we've never seen our favorite local  fry cook/drug dealer/hooker/website operator (because all three are equally evil, the web is a scary place boys and girls and fried foods are bad for you) so scared, so unlike his world weary and wise gay oracle.

Oh, and Sookie gets naked, which I'm sure many of you really enjoyed. Well, you've seen one pair of young, supple boobies you've seen them all, right?

No? They were nicer than other boobies you''ve seen? Was it worth the waiting all through the episode to see them, though? It was?

Okay, then.

Well, while some of you were checking that out I was still thinking about the eight-pack sported by Tara's crush Eggs from Maryann's house. Yes, eight-pack. His name is Mehcad Brooks, and you might have seen him earlier this year on Dollhouse and a while back on Desperate Housewives.

Is he "real?" I mean, is he not just a confection of Maryann's presented for Tara's enjoyment, approval and recruitment? And what is Tara being recruited into, anyway?

(And of course, the larger question of Maryann and her powers and what exactly she is, too. Is she capable of such things?)

And what's up with Maryann? That flashback scene with Sam where it looked like she switched on her body vibrator function? That would have freaked any 17-year-old out, not just one that can turn into a dog. So, one thing we know about Maryann, apparently, is that sex is always good. I can't imagine with those skills ever having an unsatisfying session.

This may come in handy because someone is going to have to wrest Jason away from the Fellowship of the Sun and that greasy Newlin guy. And Jason, I bet, would like a self-vibrating cougar who lives in what looks like a plantation.

It's a little weird that it looks like a plantation, though, especially considering it's just her and Tara and Eggs. And that servant she slaps around for harshing Eggs' mojo with Tara.

As far as Bill and Sookie, this season should be more funny for their story with the addition of Bill's charge, Jessica. She cracks me up. That relationship between our leads is all furtive glances and "we have to talk" moments, it should be fun to see Jessica get up in everyone's business and try to get what she wants vs. her obviously "not having it" "parent" Bill.

But for me, I still can't get over that device that Lafayette is hooked up to, it's ... just ... creepy.

More next week.

Video -- Anna Paquin On True Blood Season 2 From TVGuide.com

It's back. In just hours we'll return to Bon Temps and pick up moments after we left it last Summer when something horrible happened outside Merlotte's.

What happens? See if Matt Mitovich from TV Guide can squeeze anything out of Anna Paquin in the clip below. By first there's this from ...

E! Online:

Paquin, who won a Golden Globe for her work as Sookie, promises we'll be seeing even more this time around.

"I get more naked this season than I did last season," she says, adding later, "We have a really great crew and everyone's really respectful. It's not an issue for me."

So, there's something for the straight guys and the lesbians, but this thing with Jason swinging toward the right, the religious right ... I hope this doesn't mean we'll see less of him. Because putting a guy like Ryan Kwanten in clothes all the time is like draping a curtain over the Mona Lisa, it's a waste. And a shame.

Clip after the jump. They'd better find a way to bring Lafayette back. I'll be very disappointed otherwise.

Video -- Bill Maher's New Rules Gives My Frustrations Voice

Thank you, Bill. You're right about Phil Spector's hair being worse than the wigs. You're right about this healthcare debate. But most of all you're right about too much Obama on TV and not enough Obama fighting for grassroots Dem issues like single-payer (which this plan isn't, thank you insurance lobby) or rescinding Don't Ask Don't Tell.

Or providing leadership on any number of issues (accountability re the Iraq War, torture and spying on Americans) that prevent us from truly moving forward.

Frankly, I think for Obama opposition to DADT was just a convenient stand as a candidate. If he had the political will to do something he could do it today. That's what leadership is.

I heard a lot during the campaign about the issues important to me. And I get that it's only June, but it's not like this administration failed to take action yet in these areas, they have. They've just taken the wrong actions.

Did you see how the Obama Justice Dept. stood behind a truly insulting defense of the Defense of Marriage Act the other day? Check this Americablog link for that. I don't like being compared to an incest participant or someone who would want to marry a child.

And I'm not gonna forget that.

Real Time website at this link. Clip after the jump.

There's nothing that saying that a sitting president can't be challenged for reelection by a member of his or her own party. Remember that. To steal a phrase from the world of gambling, nobody is a "lock."

Video -- Hottest Vampires on TV Return in New Season of True Blood

Got thirty minutes? After the jump, I've got a long but thror0ugh and info packed catchup clip for you. Because if you're letting the fact that you didn't see the first stanza get in the way of your watching the next you're crazy insane.

That's after the jump, but first, but only if you want it, some additional possibly spoilery details on the upcoming season, from ...

Ohknowtheydidnt -- About Lafayette, read at your own risk (spoilers!)

Daemon's TV -- Episode synopsis

OnTheRedCarpet.com -- Premiere coverage in Los Angeles, with pictures of the cast

USA Today -- Sales of the season one DVD and episodes on iTunes are booming, HBO's Sue Neagle expects a big opening

SliceOfSciFi.com -- Alan Ball says it's  “just more — sexier, hotter, funnier, scarier, more violent”

So, do you need more? If you do, watch the clip after the jump. Also, last season's finale is still on HBO on Demand, which most of you cable subscribers can check out.

Tomorrow at 9 on HBO. Love this show!

Video -- True Blood S2: Vampire News You Can Use and a Contest

Just whetting your whistle for season two of the HBO show. Watch till the end for news about the contest.

LINK

Your First Look at True Blood Season Two, Plus Lafayette Extras From Blu-ray Release

It's almost upon us. And, when you look at the clip you'll see that it's already upon Sookie. What is? I have absolutely no idea what it is, looks nasty and big and has claws and ...

Well, look for yourself.

LINK

I know, looks like a monster from Fringe, huh. Just another naturally occurring entity in Bon Temps, like shape shifters and vampires.

(And, vampires that have sex, thank you. None of this sugar-coated angsty Jennifer Stephenie Meyer Twilight stuff.)

(Sorry about that error, Toby Maguire's wife Jennifer Meyer.)

Now, you should know that the picture above in no way represents what cast may be staying and may be going, it's just something I found on the web.

I say that because Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) isn't in the pic above and Lafayette actually dies in the first of the Sookie Stackhouse books.

That means ... nothing. And I just can't imagine that they are done with an actor like Ellis, who with Rutina Wesley are the performance breakouts of the show.

Of course, my heart (and other parts) belong to Jason (Ryan Kwanten).

Oh, and the leads are great, too. But I love the quirky supporting characters here, and written with such detail by Alan Ball and his crew.

After the jump, some bonus material from the Blu-Ray release of season one with Lafayette in a kind of video blog moment.

And there's much more at HBO.com/trueblood. Season one DVD and Blu-Ray on sale May 19.

June 14, 9 pm, HBO. Summer's hot, True Blood is hotter.

HBO True Blood News -- Preview Blu-Ray Features of S2 DVD at HBO On Demand May 4

This post is especially for Jolie and Anne-Marie, because some shows I love because inside I'm just a young Italian--American woman from Long Island, though certainly not as pretty as they are.

(That just might be the most honest thing I have ever said on this blog.)

Anyway ... (from the HBO press release):

Beginning May 4, and throughout the month on HBO On Demand, viewers will be able to watch the entire first episode from Season One in “True Blood Enhanced Viewing” mode, amplifying their experience with four types of original, interactive picture-in-picture, pop-up features that will be showcased throughout the DVD:

Lafayette – viewers can get the scoop on everyone in Bon Temps with True Blood’s flamboyant and outspoken Lafayette, who dishes up everything from secrets about Tara ’s crush on Jason to the history of the Stackhouse family.

Vampire History – viewers intrigued by the vampire characters can learn more about how their favorites were “made.”

Hints and FYIs  –  viewers get to unravel the mysteries surrounding the entire series through helpful hints and FYI pop-ups.

Animated Maps – viewers get to explore colorful locations in Bon Temps through animated maps.

Available in stores May 19, TRUE BLOOD -- THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON BLU-RAY™ DVD will offer all 12 episodes in True HD 1080p video and DTS-HD master audio, allowing viewers to engage with storylines, characters and themes of the show on a higher level through the “Enhanced Viewing” mode.  Along with the exclusive features listed above, Blu-ray bonus materials include a documentary that chronicles the integration of vampires, “Tru Blood” beverage ads that market the synthetic blood to “out of the coffin” vampires, and “Vampire Rights” PSAs.

And, of course gang, Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten, above right) in full 1080p high definition video. Of course I'm only interested in that so I can gauge how a lifestyle high in outdoor activity and advanced yoga training affects the bodies of young attractive Australians who surf.

So, it's all science for me. Science. That's right, science.

New season starts Sunday June 14 on HBO.

Here's their website. (LINK)

After the jump, from season one, Lafayette makes a simple request. "Just dance, Jason, just dance!"

In his tighty whiteys.

Video -- Ricky Gervais & Elmo (if you've seen it once, watch it again!); Also, Sesame Workshop Needs You

Honestly, I'm posting this so that I have it handy for myself, but if you haven't seen it and want to, be my guest.

About two minutes worth, for those times when you need a giggle but don't have a lot of time on your hands. I know it starts a little confrontationally but they bond at the end so it's all good.

And you know, a little remittance to the Sesame Workshop if you've got it to spare would probably help bring back some of the 20% of the employees they just had to lay off.

Think about how much you owe that show and the people who devote their lives to making it. Sure, joining your public TV station is one thing, but I'm sure clicking this link and making a nice donation to Sesame Workshop wouldn't kill you, especially those of you who make a lot of money and are only on this blog reading about yourselves.

(I know you're out there, and if I have to guilt you into giving back to the community through a donation to Sesame Workshop I'll do it, and I won't mention names but I know for a fact that one reasonably popular network personality reads this blog at least once a week.)

So ... COUGH IT UP!!!

And while you're at it, since Gervais worked for free on Sesame Street, go by the DVD of his HBO special, which I discussed previously at this link.

Of course, first pay your rent and eat and do all that.

HBO's Eastbound & Down Has Two More Weeks to Make Me Like It, Then ...

... I'm going out and buying an old tube TV, plugging the cable into the back of it, waiting for Sunday at 10:30 (while I'm DVRing Billie in Secret Diary on Showtime) and sticking my foot into the screen and so far up Danny McBride that he'll will be able to draw the sole of my New Balance sneakers from memory.

Because there was nothing in that first episode that was worth my time.

There is just nothing so far to like. I would have liked to find something about Kenny Powers that I thought was worth salvation, but I just don't. There's nothing. And things that Ferrell could get away with because he's Will Ferrell just don't work with Danny McBride playing the lead here.

I don't agree with my pal Ray Richmond at the Reporter that Powers is, "somehow likable -- lewd-crude hubris and all." And I don't really care about the lewd and crude, so I guess it's all that hubris, I guess.

The gang at Entertainment Weekly loved it.

Ginia Bellafante at the NY Times seemed to enjoy it.

Me, more than "not so much."

Honestly, the only reason I'll give it three eps is because it's Will and Adam. Otherwise I'd be ditching this right now.

2 Clips -- HBO's Eastbound & Down (Ferrell, McKay, McBride) Premieres Feb 15

That's Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Danny McBride.

And the guy above? That's Danny, he's the guy from The Foot Fist Way, the indie he shot with friends from college Ben Best and Jodie Hill that caught the eye of McKay and Ferrell. McBride found his like-minded people in Hollywood.

Funny how that happens. The anything for a laugh guys find each other quickly. Usually while tripping a nun in church.

Saw McBride in Pineapple Express, which btw I really wanted to be a funnier film. He was good, I just think there was stuff on the edit room floor that I would have found funnier than some of the stuff they used.

From the website for the show:

Relief Pitcher Kenny Powers was poised to rule the Big Leagues, but two things got in the way: his fading fastball and his insufferable personality. After a spectacular career flame-out, Kenny came home to Shelby County, NC and picked up a job as a substitute gym teacher (mostly so his brother Dustin would stop threatening to kick him out). He's spent every moment since then cashing in the last of his dying fame while plotting his inevitable comeback... one beer at a time.

I watched the 15-minute bts feature that they have been running on HBO on the seemingly endless loop. You can see that according to this schedule or more than likely at the HBO on Demand channel if you get it, or you can watch the two clips after the jump.

HBO's Ted Haggard Doc -- Man Beats Himself To Pulp Right Before Your Very Eyes

I never saw The Passion of The Christ, but I was raised in the Catholic Church so I remember from the time I was a little kid hearing from priests and nuns and from other movies about the final moments of Christ's life on Earth.

The beating, the whipping, the blood, the cross bearing down on Jesus as he made his way to his death ... I never understood why anyone would want to see that. For those of you who believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins, did it make you a better Christian to see Jim Caviezel fall to the ground bloodied and beaten? Because if it did, I just don't get you.

I would bet while Ted Haggard was Pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs in 2004 he took a group or two to see the Mel Gibson movie. Can't tell you for sure.

In fact, just did a Google search and I now realize that just about everyone else who has seen The Trials of Ted Haggard, the HBO documentary that airs Thursday night also sees parallels between that movie and this Alexandra Pelosi/Michiel Vos film, show site at this link.

But as I sat watching the closing credits, it's what came to mind. The film starts a bit after when the hammer came down on Haggard after revealing that he's been seeing a Denver male prostitute that he met for sex and methamphetamine. And I don't have to go back over all that, if you need that information just click around the web.

He's living on the largesse of supporters, while there still are supporters. Him, wife Gayle and five kids are allegedly banished from their home and the state by his former church membership.

Really? Well, Haggard signs the document and I guess at this point is still thinking that he'll get to return to his postition someday if he plays nice, so he does. And he packs up the kids and Gayle and some of their stuff and trot off to Scottsdale, where they start short tenures in vacant homes provided by these decidedly off-camera supporters. What's up nice people with empty sumptuous homes with pools and gardens, don't wanna be known as a friend of Ted?

Okay, back to it and Ted is off to his first job interview ever for a position at the University of Phoenix. I'm pretty sure this wasn't product placement. Ted doesn't think at all that the person interviewing him will know who he is.

Really? Do you live in Fantasyland? Are you this naive? Do you not realize that when the crusading Evangelical preacher gets caught with the gay hooker and the drugs everyone's ears perk up?

More after the jump.

New Ted Haggard Allegations (Sex With a 20-Something Volunteer? How Very Pastorly of Him!) From Inside His Former Church

Via Americablog.

AP:

Brady Boyd, who succeeded Haggard as senior pastor of the 10,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, told The Associated Press that the man came forward to church officials in late 2006 shortly after a Denver male prostitute claimed to have had a three-year cash-for-sex relationship with Haggard.

Boyd said an "overwhelming pool of evidence" pointed to an "inappropriate, consensual sexual relationship" that "went on for a long period of time ... it wasn't a one-time act." Boyd said the man was in his early 20s at the time. He said he was certain the man was of legal age when it began.

Reached Friday night, Haggard declined to comment and said all interviews would have to be arranged through a publicist for HBO, which is airing a documentary about him this month.

More as it develops. I can't believe that HBO is happy about this revelation with their Haggard documentary in the can.

Pun unintended.