So... from where do you download? I went to the HBO site... Am I lookin in the right spot?

Exclusive - Producer Richard D. Zanuck talks DARK SHADOWS
12/3/2008
Posted by Frosty


Written by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub

Just a few hours ago I attended the press day for the upcoming Jim Carrey comedy “Yes Man”. After sitting in on the press conferences, I managed to get a one on one with producers Richard D. Zanuck and David Heyman. In case you don’t know who David is…he’s produced all the “Harry Potter” movies. And if you don’t know who Richard D. Zanuck is…he’s as close to Hollywood royalty as anyone in the business as his dad was Darryl F. Zanuck and he started 20th Century Fox back in the 1930’s!



So, as I said, Hollywood royalty.



In the coming days I’ll have the entire video interview with these two great producers, but I wanted to post what Richard said about “Dark Shadows” immediately.



As most of you know, Johnny Depp and Tim Burton have been rumored to be making a film adaptation of the popular 1960’s show for awhile now. But with the way it is in Hollywood, you never know if a project is ever going to come together. Add to that, we’re talking about two of the biggest people in Hollywood and since they have their picks of the best scripts and projects; you never know what they’ll do next.



But according to Mr. Zanuck, “Dark Shadows” is going to be Tim’s next project after “Alice in Wonderland” and they’ll be shooting it next summer in London!



Here’s what he said. Look for the entire interview soon.

<video interview confirming that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's NEXT project will be Dark Shadows! Well worth watching!>

That's awesome news Ray! Thanks for posting it!

ETA: Here's an interesting site I found that talks about up and coming projects

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/09/are-vampires-se.html

That's awesome news Ray! Thanks for posting it!

ETA: Here's an interesting site I found that talks about up and coming projects

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/09/are-vampires-se.html

Twilight' director won't return for sequel

AP – In this Nov. 8, 2008 file photo, director Catherine Hardwicke poses for a portrait in Beverly Hills, …

LOS ANGELES – "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke won't be back for "New Moon," the sequel to the hit teen vampire romance.

Summit Entertainment, which released "Twilight" last month, said the scheduled release of "New Moon" in late 2009 or early 2010 conflicts with Hardwicke's desired planning time. The film, based on the second book in Stephenie Meyer's series, continues to follow the forbidden relationship between vampire Edward Cullen and high schooler Bella Swan.

Stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart will reprise their roles for part two.

Hardwicke, whose previous films include "Thirteen" and "Lords of Dogtown," had the highest opening ever for a female director when "Twilight" made nearly $70 million in its first weekend. It's grossed over $138 million in three weeks.

"I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct `New Moon,'" Hardwicke said Sunday in a joint news release with Summit. "Directing `Twilight' has been one of the great experiences of my life, and I am grateful to the fans for their passionate support of the film. I wish everyone at Summit the best with the sequel — it is a great story."

Erik Feig, Summit's president of production, thanked Hardwicke and said she did "an incredible job in helping us to launch the `Twilight' franchise."

"We as a studio have a mandate to bring the next installment in the franchise to the big screen in a timely fashion so that fans can get more of Edward, Bella and all of the characters that Stephenie Meyer has created," said Feig.

Hardwicke did not return a call left on her home phone Monday, but a man's voice on the outgoing message said in part: "We've been kicked out of the `Twilight' editorial, so we're homeless, so please leave your name and number after the tone."

I really do need to catch Twilight....
Best wishes,

Scott

The Buzz Log - New 'Do for the 'Twilight' Dude
by Claudine Zap    December 24, 2008

Robert Pattinson Robert Pattinson, sexy vampire star of the movie "Twilight," caused an absolute Internet uproar with a new hairdo that many fans thinks is a hair don't: He traded in his trademark tousled locks (perfect for vampiring) for a no-muss, Marine-style crew cut. (Perfect for looking like a standard-issue Hollywood star.)

Let's just say that the new look has not gone unnoticed. Fans of the teen heartthrob turned to the Web in a frenzy of look-ups for "Robert Pattinson haircut." And also "Robert Pattinson new hair," "Robert Pattinson new hair cut," "Rob Pattinson new haircut," and "Robert Pattinson with short hair."

Hecklerspray noted that Pattinson has "the world's dreamiest hair... so if Robert Pattinson ever had a haircut, we'd probably kill ourselves."

Probably not. But that doesn't stop fans from feelling a slight betrayal in the change. People.com has helpfully added a poll to its website for opinionated hair-istas to vote on how they feel about the shorter, unfussy look.

The previous romantically coiffed waves made Pattinson a dead ringer for the teen vampire role of Edward Cullen. Which could be the reason "Twilight" fans are just a tad upset he's gone and chopped his locks. As one commenter on People.com bemoaned, "Rob's hair looks good both ways. But how can he cut his hair and play Edward Cullen?"

Yes, would someone please think of the fans? As many pointed out, filming for the sequel is three months away -- and opinions ranged about whether this is enough time for his hair to grow back for the role. OMG suggested that to reprise the signature 'do, Pattinson may be forced to don hair extensions. Would fans buy Pattinson in a wig?

It's not just his head that gets the fans going online. Searches extend to "Robert Pattinson shirtless," "Robert Pattinson biography," and "Robert Pattinson girlfriend." Pattinson still may not really get the mania surrounding him. He told AccessHollywoood.com, "Well, they're in love with the character... I really don't claim anything."

He's right. It's not him. It's his hair.

Buffy Staked Edward T-Shirt

"...And then Buffy staked Edward. THE END."

Don't you think the vampires-are-people-too thing has gone a little too far? I mean, the whole point of a vampire is that they survive by sucking your blood. I don't care if his skin glows and twinkles and he smells like kittens and fabric softener, he's still just a glorified syringe. Remember the last time you had blood drawn? Yeah, me too, and it sucked! It's time we put an end to this nonsense: Edward, may I treat you to a stake dinner?

* Price: $17.99 - $20.99
*
Color:
Black
* Sizes: S - 4XL

The CW is looking to take a bite out of the vampire craze, picking up a pilot based on the "Vampire Diaries" series of books.

Also on Thursday, the weblet greenlighted the Washington, D.C.-set drama "The Body Politic."

"Vampire Diaries" comes from Alloy Entertainment, the same shingle whose past book series led to the Dub's series "Gossip Girl" and "Privileged."

Originally published in 1993 -- which, as the CW took pains to note, was years before Stephenie Meyer launched her "Twilight" book franchise -- "Vampire Diaries" revolves around a young woman who's torn between two vampire brothers -- one good, one evil -- who are battling for her soul, and the souls of her pals, family and the small town where they live.

The CW has reunited with "Scream," "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Dawson's Creek" scribe Kevin Williamson, who last produced "Hidden Palms" for the net, to exec produce and write. Julie Plec ("Kyle XY") is also on board to write and exec produce.

Warner Bros. TV, where Alloy (which owns the rights to "Vampire Diaries") is set up, is the studio; Alloy's Les Morgenstein and Bob Levy are also exec producers.

A four-book novel series, "Vampire Diaries" was originally penned by L.J. Smith. After the success of the "Twilight" series, Morgenstein suggested to HarperCollins, the publisher of the "Diaries" books, that they should re-release the books with new covers.

Since then, "Diaries" has hit the New York Times Bestseller list, and HarperCollins has ordered three more books. The first new installment, "The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall," comes out Tuesday.

"The Body Politic" centers on young group of D.C. staffers -- in particular, a young woman who moves to Washington to work for a senator.

Jason Rothenberg and Bill Robinson are penning the drama; Peter Horton will exec produce. CBS Paramount Network TV is the studio.

"The Body Politic" is the latest of several D.C.-themed pilots at the nets. CBS has the drama "House Rules," about a freshman class of Congressional reps, while ABC has "Inside the Box," about a Washington news bureau.

I was thinking of picking up Moonlight for summer viewing, when there's little on and I was wondering whether anyone saw it and is it worth getting. As far as I know its been cancelled right? Did it at least come to some kind of resolution, or are you just left hanging? Am a browncoat, nuff said.

Thanks

I didn't really follow it, but RhioTre did, and enjoyed it. However... The series ended with a lot left to tell. Not exactly complete closure.

My take is that they play fast and loose with how vampires work, and that the appeal of the show was mainly character-driven. I believe you can watch Moonlight online for free (CBS used to host it, might still, on their website).

Hope that helps!

=^[.]^=

Thanks Ray, I see there showing it on Sci Fi and I would have DVR'd it for later but I missed the first few. I kind of don't want to pay for it, but the episode I caught seemed good. Maybe they'll start from the beginning again and I'll catch it then.

Blood types

From the abstinence coached by Twilight to the irreverence of True Blood, vampire stories are more popular than ever--and more varied in their message.

March 19, 2009

VAMPIRES ARE everywhere: House of Night, Twilight, Southern Vampire Mysteries, Night Huntress, Savannah Vampire Chronicles, Guardians of the Night, Blood Ties, Being Human, Demons, Let the Right One In...

Columnist: Helen Scott

Helen Scott Helen Scott teaches postcolonial studies at the University of Vermont. She is editor of The Essential Rosa Luxemburg, newly published by Haymarket Books, and is a frequent contributor to the International Socialist Review.

Ever since Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, vampire stories have exerted a consistent fascination, but the seemingly limitless list of contemporary versions is remarkable. The legend of the bloodsucking "undead" provides a potent and flexible metaphor within the rapidly changing political currents of our time.

Stoker's Dracula is rich in contradictions. It is a "St. George versus the Dragon" Christian allegory ("dracula" derives from words meaning "dragon" and "devil"). It is steeped in British imperialism's orientalist fascination with the mythical East, which represents both the evil antithesis of the West, but also the irresistible lure of forbidden desire.

The figure of the centuries-old count, inhabiting a gothic castle in Transylvania, feeding on the local peasantry, expresses bourgeois distaste for aristocratic decadence and parasitism. But the vampire offers an equally apt allegory for capitalism: the soulless boss who bleeds workers dry. (Think of Thievery Corporation's song "Vampires," dedicated "to the world banking system.")

Paradoxically the vampire also represents the outcast--the unfathomable other, who is beyond the pale and a threat to civil society--but at the same time the mysterious bohemian non-conformist, perennially appealing to the repressed middle classes.

Review: TV

The DVD of True Blood Series One is scheduled for release May 19; Series Two is scheduled for June 2009 on HBO.

The primary source of anxiety in Stoker's novel is female sexuality. Dracula contaminates pure virgins--through exchange of bodily fluids--to make them monstrous. The three "voluptuous, wanton" female vampires in Dracula's castle provoke "a wicked, burning desire" in the upstanding citizen Jonathan Harker. Such women must obviously be staked through the heart and beheaded.

From the beginning, then, vampires have been fluid figures, associated with sex, illicit desire and gothic romance. Dracula is a seductive count, but he is described variously as rodent, reptile and insect, and even in his human manifestation, he is repulsive, with white skin, red eyes and engorged bloated flesh.

Francis Ford Coppola's gorgeous 1992 Bram Stoker's Dracula captures both sides: Dracula is one moment a soulful Gary Oldman, the next a grotesque cadaver or a river or rats.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

TODAY'S VAMPIRE has been tamed and is more romantic heartthrob than scary monster. In a culture where youth is revered and death feared, such an embodiment of immortality is enthralling. But beyond this common factor, the 21st century vampire assumes diverse ideological guises.

Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series books are overtly conservative. The teenage heroine Bella Swan is painfully self-critical (she sees herself as ordinary, uninteresting, clumsy and plain), and worships the superhuman vampire Edward Cullen, who is richer, older (by almost a hundred years), more experienced, physically stronger and uncannily beautiful. She thus feels undeserving and insecure, convinced first that he despises her, and later that he will abandon her.

The central theme is abstinence: No drugs, no alcohol and no biting before marriage. The "good" vampires are "vegetarian," feeding only on animals. The plot turns on the question of whether vampires possess souls.

Judging by the books' immense fan base among teenage girls (which certainly can't be accounted for by their literary merit--as Stephen King puts it, Meyer "can't write worth a darn")--the series taps into something in that demographic, even though the author came of age in the 1980s, and Bella's strangely insipid world lacks many markers of modernity.

They do offer a compelling story of true love that conquers all, and imaginatively eroticize chaste displays of affection. But their popularity seems symptomatic of an era where women's rights have suffered such setbacks that a generation of teenage girls sees sex as danger, and identifies with a relentlessly self-abasing heroine willing to sacrifice everything for her boyfriend.

It is telling that Bella's worst nightmare isn't death by vampire or werewolf, but that she will get old and ugly while Edward stays eternally youthful and beautiful. The bite of the vampire trumps retinol or botox.

"Post-feminists" argue that the Twilight series is popular because young women crave "traditional romance." But this can't account for the matching popularity of other series like the House of Night novels by mother and daughter team P.C. and Kristin Cast.

In this parallel universe, the House of Night--part Wicca coven and part Hogwarts--is a matriarchal finishing school for "vampyres" (evoking the radical feminist "womyn"). In a departure from the usual plot, the teen heroine Zoey becomes a vampyre, rather than falling in love with one.

Zoey loathes her bigoted Christian fundamentalist stepfather, and welcomes the escape from claustrophobic family life. Her new friends are gay, straight, Black and white; they use cell phones and are sexually aware without losing their autonomy. This is a feminist revision of Dracula: As one high priestess notes, "Stoker vilified vampyres."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

BUT OF all the current vampire tales, the one that best captures the political sea change of the post-Bush era is the HBO series True Blood by Alan Ball (doing for the undead what he did for the dead in Six Feet Under) based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. Unlike the self-righteous Twilight and earnest House of Night, True Blood is also very funny and irreverent.

Since Japanese scientists have invented synthetic blood (Tru Blood comes in O Neg or A Neg and is best microwaved), vampires are in the process of "coming out of the coffin" to take their place in civil society.

The opening credits are exhilarating: a rapid series of disturbing, inspiring and bizarre juxtaposed images from the deep South--civil rights marches, Ku Klux Klan gatherings, sexually objectified female bodies, a decomposing fox carcass--to the accompaniment of Jace Everett's haunting song "Bad Things."

Anna Paquin plays the (telepathic) waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who, impatient with the narrow horizons of the backwoods town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, and frustrated with the petty-minded prejudices of her workplace, welcomes the first "out" vampire in town.

After a series of brutal murders, suspicion inevitably falls on the vampires, who face constant discrimination (in one of the many witty details, a church sign reads, "God hates fangs"). In a reversal of the standard crime formula, here the police are one-dimensional, incompetent and bigoted, while the quirky and complex protagonists are the regular working-class townspeople.

While the series flirts with stereotypes, this is in tension with the superb script, and in season one, the two main Black characters, Sookie's friend Tara and the gay short-order cook, Lafayette, have the best lines. In the first episode, Tara, who is reading Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine, quits her job at a store called Super Save-a-Bunch. She explains, "I can't work for assholes," to which Sookie replies, "When did you get to be so picky?"

Confronted in a television interview with vampires' proclivity for violence, a member of the American Vampire League replies, "Doesn't your race have a rather violent history of exploitation? At least vampires never owned slaves or exploded nuclear weapons."

Vampires have come full circle: once representing the threat posed to bourgeois society by the oppressed (the colonized, women), in True Blood they represent a refuge for the oppressed from the monsters lurking within capitalist society itself.

British scientists to create 'synthetic' blood

Human embryos will be used to make an unlimited supply for infection-free transfusions

By Steve Connor, Science Editor

Monday, 23 March 2009

Scientists in Britain plan to become the first in the world to produce unlimited amounts of synthetic human blood from embryonic stem cells for emergency infection-free transfusions.

* Steve Connor: A scientific dream for more than half a century

A major research project is to be announced this week that will culminate in three years with the first transfusions into human volunteers of "synthetic" blood made from the stem cells of spare IVF embryos. It could help to save the lives of anyone from victims of traffic accidents to soldiers on a battlefield by revolutionising the vital blood transfusion services, which have to rely on a network of human donors to provide a constant supply of fresh blood.

The multimillion-pound deal involving NHS Blood and Transplant, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and the Wellcome Trust, the world's biggest medical research charity, means Britain will take centre stage in the global race to develop blood made from embryonic stem cells. The researchers will test human embryos left over from IVF treatment to find those that are genetically programmed to develop into the "O-negative" blood group, which is the universal donor group whose blood can be transfused into anyone without fear of tissue rejection.

This blood group is relatively rare, applicable to about 7 per cent of the population, but it could be produced in unlimited quantities from embryonic stem cells because of their ability to multiply indefinitely in the laboratory.

The aim is to stimulate embryonic stem cells to develop into mature, oxygen-carrying red blood cells for emergency transfusions. Such blood would have the benefit of not being at risk of being infected with viruses such as HIV and hepatitis, or the human form of "mad cow" disease. The military in particular needs a constant supply of fresh, universal donor blood for battlefield situations when normal supplies from donors can quickly run out.

But developing blood made from the cells of spare IVF embryos will raise difficult ethical issues for people not happy with the idea of destroying embryos to create stem cells. It also raises the intriguing philosophical question of whether the synthetic blood will have come from someone who never existed. In theory, just one embryo could meet the nation's needs.

The Wellcome Trust is believed to have promised £3m towards the cost of the project, with further funding coming from the blood transfusion services of Scotland, and England and Wales. The Irish government is also understood to be involved. A spokesman for the Wellcome Trust said complicated legal issues were still being ironed out between all the parties involved but that an announcement is likely to be made in the coming week.

The project will be led by Professor Marc Turner, of Edinburgh University, the director of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service. Professor Turner has been involved in studies investigating how to ensure donated blood is free of the infectious agent behind variant CJD, the human form of "mad cow" disease. Several vCJD patients are thought to have contracted the disease by blood transfusions.

Professor Turner was unavailable for comment but a spokeswoman for the National Blood Service for England and North Wales confirmed that negotiations on the joint research project were at an advanced stage and that legal, rather than scientific, issues were holding up the announcement.

The multi-centre collaboration is also understood to involve scientists at the Medical Research Council's Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and Roslin Cells, a spin-off company that has emerged out of the Roslin Institute, where Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1996.

Scientists in other countries, notably Sweden, France and Australia, are also known to be working on the development of synthetic blood from embryonic stem cells. And last year, a team from a US biotechnology company, Advanced Cell Technology, announced that it has been able to produce billions of functioning red blood cells from embryonic stem cells. But the US work had been held up because of funding problems dating back to the ban on embryonic stem cell work under the Bush administration. President Barack Obama has since reversed that policy.

In Britain, the project was held up because of the difficulty of finding funding for "translational" research that attempts to take scientific studies in the laboratory into the earliest stages of commercial development. This problem has now been overcome.

IFC tv GREENLIGHTS ORIGINAL EVENT TELEFILM “LAURELL K. HAMILTON’S ANITA BLAKE: VAMPIRE HUNTER” FROM LIONSGATE
Film Based on the #1 Best-Selling Novels To Air on IFC tv Summer 2010

NEW YORK, NY – March 31, 2009 – IFC tv announced today it has greenlit its first original event telefilm, “Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter,” based on Hamilton’s series of best-selling paranormal fantasy novels and produced by Lionsgate and After Dark Films. Adapted by Glen Morgan ("X-Files," "Final Destination"), who also serves as executive producer, the movie begins production this summer.

Rights were acquired from Hamilton’s agent, Merrilee Heifetz of Writers House. There are currently 16 books in the series, all published in the US by Penguin Group (USA), with more than 6 million copies in print worldwide. Seven of the novels have made the New York Times Bestseller list and the most recent one, "Blood Noir," debuted at #1 on the list on June 15, 2008. The next highly anticipated Anita Blake novel, SKIN TRADE, hits shelves June 2, 2009.

Mixing mystery, fantasy, and horror, the film will center on the character of Anita Blake, a street-savvy, down-to-earth vampire hunter with a lousy dating life and a penchant for bringing dead people back to life. Blake also works as a police consultant investigating preternatural crimes. Tough, sexy and independent, Blake battles the supernatural as she attempts to solve a variety of paranormal mysteries, come to terms with her own abilities, and navigate a complex string of romantic and political relationships which include a master vampire and an Alpha werewolf.

“I’m thrilled to be bringing my characters and world to television for the first time,” stated Hamilton. “After Dark Films, Lionsgate and IFC all push the boundaries on film. I push the boundaries on paper. I can’t wait to see what we can create together.”

“This unique partnership with Lionsgate, After Dark, Laurell and Glen continues IFC tv's commitment to provide groundbreaking content that you cannot find anywhere else” said Evan Shapiro, president of IFC tv and Sundance Channel. "Anita Blake on IFC will offer a fresh and unique take on the genre; the type of approach that defines our brand."

“‘Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter’ marks the first time in IFC tv’s history that we have created a fictional feature film for the network. IFC is appealing to its core base of men ages 18-34 who are looking for vampire content. The popularity of the network in this demographic indicates that there is a clear demand for films that delve into provocative topics and nothing is more classically provocative than vampire lore” said Jennifer Caserta, EVP and general manager of IFC tv. “Anita Blake fits perfectly with our successful original programming.”

“Laurell has created a fascinating heroine in Anita Blake and we quickly recognized the on-screen potential for this vivid character,” said Kevin Beggs, Lionsgate’s president of television programming and production. “We have an outstanding creative team and are excited to be moving forward with IFC, which will allow us to fully explore the complex world of Laurell’s highly intriguing and erotically charged novels.”

“We are excited to have acquired this successful property, and to have partnered with IFC and Lionsgate. We look forward to bringing “Anita Blake” to the small screen,” stated After Dark Films’ Courtney Solomon. “I am confident that television viewers will be captivated by Laurell

K. Hamilton’s spellbinding stories, much as readers have devoured the popular novel series.”

Executive producers are Courtney Solomon ("Dungeons and Dragons," "An American Haunting," "Captivity, "After Dark’s Horrorfest") and Glen Morgan ("X-Files," "Final Destination"). Laurell K. Hamilton, Jonathan D. Green and Stephanie Caleb are co-executive producers. IFC executive producers on this film include Debbie DeMontreux, senior vice president, original programming, Jennifer Caserta, executive vice president and general manager and Evan Shapiro, president of IFC tv and Sundance channel.
ABOUT IFC

Operating under the mantra "always, uncut" IFC (The Independent Film Channel) recommends and creates genre-bending content that indulges the alternative culture obsessions of our influential audience and makes it available across multiple platforms: on-air, online and On Demand. In pursuit of what's new, next and relevant, IFC creates original non-traditional comedies like The Whitest Kids U' Know and Z Rock and irreverent non-fiction such as The IFC Media Project. IFC’s original programming airs alongside a comprehensive independent film library of award-winning titles and cult classics, as well as content inspired by Music, Web, Gaming, Animation, News & Culture and more. IFC broadens the audience for independent culture through its exclusive live coverage of notable film and music events like the Independent Spirit Awards and South by Southwest. The network's on demand offering, IFC Free, gives audiences the opportunity to watch premieres of all of IFC's original series before they air on the linear network. IFC Media Lab offers financing, professional development and distribution opportunities for aspiring film makers. IFC is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.
ABOUT LIONSGATE

Lionsgate is a leading next generation studio with a major presence in the production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, video-on-demand and digitally delivered content. The Company is leveraging its content leadership and marketing expertise into a global multiplatform entertainment company through the recent acquisition of TV Guide Network, one of the 25 most widely distributed cable networks, the recent acquisition of TV Guide.com, a premier content and navigation portal, partnerships that include the FEARnet branded VOD and Internet horror channel with Sony and Comcast, the expected fall 2009 launch of EPIX, a new premium entertainment channel with partners Viacom and MGM, investment in the leading young men's digital distribution platform Break.com, ownership of the premier independent television syndication company Debmar-Mercury and an alliance with independent filmed entertainment production and distribution company Roadside Attractions.

The Company is a market share leader at the North American theatrical box office for calendar 2009 propelled by such theatrical box office successes as TYLER PERRY'S MADEA GOES TO JAIL, MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D and THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT, which opened this past weekend. Other recent successes include SAW V, RELIGULOUS, FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, RAMBO and THE BANK JOB. Lionsgate has forged a strong position in television with the production of such critically-acclaimed series as “Mad Men,” “Weeds” and “Crash,” the distribution of Tyler Perry's “House of Payne,” “Family Feud” and “South Park,” and upcoming shows including Tyler Perry's “Meet The Browns” and “The Wendy Williams Show.” In addition, the Company's home entertainment business, propelled by such recent DVD successes as TRANSPORTER 3, SAW V and TYLER PERRY'S THE FAMILY THAT PREYS, is the industry leader in box office-to-DVD conversion rate and has market share of nearly 7%. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 12,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand remains synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.
ABOUT LAURELL K. HAMILTON

Laurell K. Hamilton is the author of not one but two New York Times best selling series, and her first Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novel, “Guilty Pleasures” is now a hugely successful graphic novel published by Marvel Comics. This series has garnered such a huge following, that there are now more than 6 million copies of Anita in print worldwide, in 16 languages. Hamilton’s work is noted for its strong female characters set in vivid and complex storylines that mix a number of genres, including erotica, horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and romance. She can be contacted through her agent, Merrilee Heifetz, at Writer’s House.

Merrilee Heifetz Writer's House 21 W 26ThSt New York, NY 10010-1083 MHeifetz@WritersHouse.com

# # # Press Contact:

Hannah Sheinbaum IFC 646-273-3628

hsheinbaum@ifctv.com

Leah Krantzler The Lippin Group for Lionsgate

(323) 965-1990

lkrantzler@lippingroup.com

I finally finished watching True Blood - it was kind of a marathon of watching. All 12 eps in less than a week. I got sucked in no pun intended

There was too much blood, too much killing and too much sex and it made me squirm with discomfort on a number of occasions, yet I kept watching lol.

I fell in love with many of the characters; Adele, Sam, Tara and yes even Rene!

Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series books are overtly conservative. The teenage heroine Bella Swan is painfully self-critical (she sees herself as ordinary, uninteresting, clumsy and plain), and worships the superhuman vampire Edward Cullen, who is richer, older (by almost a hundred years), more experienced, physically stronger and uncannily beautiful. She thus feels undeserving and insecure, convinced first that he despises her, and later that he will abandon her.
I think that's because most teenage girls feel self conscious and insecure when it comes to how they appeal to the opposite sex.
The situation would be pretty intimidating for even the most beautiful, graceful and intelligent woman let alone a young girl who is just discovering herself and at the most awkward stage in her life. I don't see a conservative element to this story at all - weird.
The central theme is abstinence: No drugs, no alcohol and no biting before marriage. The "good" vampires are "vegetarian," feeding only on animals. The plot turns on the question of whether vampires possess souls.
the central theme is abstinence?! lol ...ok...Does Edward not compare Bella to his special kind of heroin? That he must have her and he can't stay away? The whole story would be ridiculous if they weren't "vegetarians"! I didn't get the impression that Vincent was evil for not being a 'vegetarian" Edward doesn't consider himself a "good" vampire he repeatedly describes himself in the opposite way. Did they read this book?


Judging by the books' immense fan base among teenage girls (which certainly can't be accounted for by their literary merit--as Stephen King puts it, Meyer "can't write worth a darn")--the series taps into something in that demographic, even though the author came of age in the 1980s, and Bella's strangely insipid world lacks many markers of modernity.
There are very few books I've read that sucked me in so well and I personally can't read or even watch Stephen King stuff. To each their own.
They do offer a compelling story of true love that conquers all, and imaginatively eroticize chaste displays of affection. But their popularity seems symptomatic of an era where women's rights have suffered such setbacks that a generation of teenage girls sees sex as danger, and identifies with a relentlessly self-abasing heroine willing to sacrifice everything for her boyfriend.Wow what a one sided interpretation! Edward stated he would kill himself if she died. His whole family risked everything for her and him. He risked everything for her over and over again. Just being with her put his whole family in jeopardy. She is only 17 when the story starts do they really expect hot sex scenes? Where is sex portrayed as danger? They don't have sex, their love is portrayed as dangerous because she could be killed and he and his family would be ruined as a consequence. Frankly I thought it was a nice change to see the girl being with someone who treats her like a lady. She likes the good guy and not the bad boy.

It is telling that Bella's worst nightmare isn't death by vampire or werewolf, but that she will get old and ugly while Edward stays eternally youthful and beautiful. The bite of the vampire trumps retinol or botox.Oh good heavens how can someone so deliberately miss represent something. She is worried about getting old because it would make it very difficult for her and Edward to stay together. It would at some point look quite wrong for her too look 40 and him to look 17 and they are together. If she gets too old to participate in this high school/college scenario that they have going then she is stuck at home all the time while he continues to carry on the charade in other words they are constantly apart. The point is she doesn't want to lose him and that is her concern and not anything else.

Get ready! Brace yourselves for televised escalating supernatural porn:



Ooh! Sweaty grappling with vampires!

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Teen Vampire Debuts on Israeli TV

By Nathan Burstein

Published May 21, 2009, issue of May 29, 2009.

They could have called her “Batya the Vampire Slayer.”
Following the international success of last year’s vampire drama “Twilight,” Israeli cable provider HOT is ready to broadcast its own
bloodsucker- themed series. The show, “Split,” follows a 15-year-old girl whose identity — as half-vampire, half-human — is revealed to
her by a mysterious male classmate, a newcomer who turns out to be roughly 300 years her senior. The series, which features elaborate
makeup and special effects, will debut on May 28 and is produced by the same team behind several of Israel’s most popular prime-time
soap operas.
As with “Twilight,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and virtually every other vampire-themed drama, “Split” appears to have a subtext only
partly masked by all the pale skin and fangs. After the show’s heroine learns her true identity, she is “drawn into an ancient conflict”
between humans and vampires, and eventually discovers she was “born… to put an end to the war,” as a HOT press release put it.
Whatever ancient conflicts the show addresses, it also devotes attention to the more universal elements of adolescence — the same sorts
of worries about romance and social status depicted in “Twilight” and “Buffy.” Portraying the conflicted heroine is actress Amit Farkash,
who last year played the female lead in a Hebrew-language stage version of “High School Musical.”

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