Movies

TV: “True Blood” Loses Head Writer, Alan Ball Stepping Down…

Published

12 years ago

February 27, 2012

Alan Ball is stepping down as the head writer of “True Blood”.

I’m not entirely sure how much this will impact the upcoming 5th Season of HBO’s flagship sex and vampires odyssey. I do know that the show resumed production in November, so I have to assume that the majority of the upcoming season is pretty much mapped out. The show’s luxurious (around 14 days per episode) production schedule would allow for around 7 or so segments to be in the can. So it’s safe to say that the remaining 5 are outlined at the very least and the majority of them are scripted.

Not much reason has been given for Ball’s departure from the position (he will remain on the show in some capacity, I’m guessing as a producer) except for “exhaustion”. While that’s often PR code-speak for too much hard partying – but I don’t really think that’s the case here. Perhaps Ball is literally exhausted by pushing the show to ridiculous extremes? I don’t imagine he envisioned it being as patently ridiculous as it’s become when he was first getting it off the ground in 2007-2008.

Per Forbes, “Sookie and her pals from HBO’s True Blood are losing their creator. Alan Ball, I have confirmed, will step down from being headwriter of the show about sexy vampires mixing it up in New Orleans. Explanations include exhaustion, and maybe that the show seemed like it had tired blood last season. Ball will still be with the show, I’m told, but a new regime will guide the fates of the characters into their new season. This could also very well be a money issue, as series tend to get more and more expensive as they drag on.”

EvanDickson

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Movies

‘Monster’ – Indonesian Remake of ‘The Boy Behind the Door’ Heading to Netflix

Published

15 mins ago

April 24, 2024

Meagan Navarro

An Indonesian remake of Justin Powell and David Charbonier’s intense 2021 thriller The Boy Behind the Door, titled Monster, is on its way. Netflix has unveiled images from the twisted thriller ahead of its debut on the streaming service.

In Monster, “After being abducted and taken to a desolate house, a girl sets out to rescue her friend and escape from their malicious kidnapper.”

As of now, Netflix hasn’t set an official date for Monster, only that it’s coming soon.

Monster is directed by Rako Prijanto and written by Alim Sudio. It stars Sultan Hamonangan, Anantya Kirana, Alex Abbad, and Marsha Timothy.

The Boy Behind the Door follows twelve-year-old Bobby and his best friend, Kevin, as they’re abducted from a park. Bobby wakes alone in a trunk and escapes, only to return when he realizes his best friend is still held captive inside a desolate house.

The Indonesian remake gender swaps the ill-fated kids embarking on a harrowing cat-and-mouse chase to escape, but, according to an interview with Kapanlagi, Monster also updates the original story by making one of the main characters mute. Meaning, expect very little dialogue in this update. The change will likely make the horror-thriller even more suspenseful, which is saying a lot considering how intense The Boy Behind the Door is.

I wrote in my review of The Boy Behind the Door that “it gives a unique and intense spin on the home invasion. The constant ratcheting of tension leaves you alternating between edge-of-your-seat panic and cringe-worthy repulsion; this thriller isn’t afraid to put its children through absolute hell.”

Check out new images from Monster below, as well as a tense trailer from the film’s premiere at the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival last November.

Stay tuned for an official release date as it’s announced, but expect this to arrive on Netflix soon.

Scary woman in Monster