Good screen writers are truly magical people in their brilliance. Here’s an interview with True Blood screenwriter Alan Boyle. Two views, via text and on video. Enjoy!
Q&A with executive produer Alan Ball
What genre of television would you say True Blood is, if you had to pick just one?
Drama. We don’t have an actual sign in the writers room that reads, “It’s the emotions, stupid,” but we might as well. We feel like we have to keep these characters rooted in some sort of emotional reality because otherwise, it’s a parade of special effects and set pieces.
Last season True Blood was very Southern Gothic and grounded in Bon Temps, La. This season seems more of an epic vampire family saga. Are we leaving Bon Temps for good?
I’m working with source material, so I’m following the books. The show gets a little bigger in scope this year, but it always remains rooted in Bon Temps. That’s where Sookie lives, that’s where Bill lives, that’s where all our major characters live. They may go out of town for this reason or that reason, but they’ll always come home.
Sometimes people on this show are just covered in blood—the first episodes are so graphic. Are you going for a comic-book look for the show? Are you going for a specific visual type?
The reality of the fictional world of vampires is that it’s bloody. Blood is everywhere, they feed on it, and they feed on people when they are having sex, so it’s a messy world. If you’re a vampire you’re not going to want an all-white house. You’re going to need a lot of Scotchgard.
As a writer, what’s your personal favorite storyline this season?
That’s like asking me who my favorite child is! I can’t answer that. If you make me pick one, I’ll have to stay it’s the storyline of the alien invasion that kicks in around episode six.
