Movies
TV: “True Blood” Loses Head Writer, Alan Ball Stepping Down…
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.”
Movies
‘Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever’ Trailer Teases the Return of Familiar Faces and an Unsettling New Killer
Shudder is bringing the 1994 Danish thriller Nightwatch and its surprise sequel, Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever, to streaming next month. A new trailer gives a closer look at the intense sequel, including the return of a familiar face in original Nightwatch star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
Look for Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever to arrive on May 17, 2024.
Check out the new trailer below, which ties back to the 1994 thriller to set up intense new thrillers and an unsettling psychopath on the loose.
Original cast members Kim Bodnia and Ulf Pilgaard, along with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, reunite and reprise their roles from the 1994 film, which inspired the 1997 U.S. remake starring Ewan McGregor.
About the sequel: “22-year-old medical student Emma (Fanny Leander Bornedal) has just taken a job as the night watch in the same forensic department where her parents were once almost killed by the famed psychopathic police inspector Wörmer. The events led to her mother’s suicide, and her father Martin (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) has turned to tranquilizers to suppress the memories. Determined to investigate what exactly happened to them, Emma tracks down and confronts Wörmer, only to unintentionally reawaken his bloodthirst and ignite a violent revenge on everyone who sealed his destiny years ago.”
The sequel was written/directed by Nightwatch‘s creator, Ole Bornedal.
Producers include Thomas Heinesen, Christel C.D. Karlsen, and Signe Baasch. Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever was executive produced by Katrine Vogelsang, Henrik Zein, Peter Nadermann, and Doris Schrenner.
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