"True Blood's" Carrie Preston Talks Season 5

[JamesG]

"True Blood": Carrie Preston Talks Season 5
06/07/2012


Just when you think Arlene has seen the worst of her issues ... Terry really is a ticking timebomb!

I know, I know ... it's very interesting though because we haven't really delved into Terry's past yet. Not really. We've done a little here and there, but this season, we're definitely getting a look at what he went through in Iraq, so I think that's really interesting. Of course, we do that "True Blood"-style. [Laughs]

It's definitely going to cast a bit of a shadow over Terry and Arlene this season.






Fans want Arlene to be happy, but do you think anyone could really live a happy, normal life in Bon Temps?

No. [Laughs] I don't! I think that in order for anything to work on television, you have to have conflict. Nothing can be too happy or it's boring.

People don't want to watch that -- they want to watch things that are exciting and dangerous and sexy and have tension. And our show does that very well.






Would you consider directing an episode of "True Blood"?

Stephen Moyer, who plays Bill, directed an episode this season. He had shadowed last year, and he directed our eighth episode this season and did a bang-up job. He was so good on set.

So yeah, they're totally open to it ... but I don't know if it's in my wheelhouse. I definitely love being on the show, and I'd love to shadow a director and see if it feels like something that I'd want to do, but the things that I'm drawn to are definitely much smaller, character-driven, actor-driven kinds of pieces.

"True Blood" is so epic and has so many special effects and all that stuff -- I'd definitely need to educate myself on how that happens, start to finish, but I'm certainly not opposed to it. I do think if I went to them next season and said, "Hey, mind if I latch on to a director and watch it from start to finish?"

I feel certain that they'd be very open to that.






With so many characters, and more new people added every single season, are you ever amazed that Arlene has lasted so long?

Yes, of course! It's a real blessing. I think that the show needs Arlene and Terry and Andy Bellefleur and Hoyt -- the people who are playing the townspeople -- because otherwise there is no context for the vampires and werewolves and everything. There's no context for them if we don't continue to remind the audience that they are existing in a real world, albeit fictitiously drawn by the writers.

I think Arlene is a real representative of that world, and also of how judgmental that world can be. I'm aware of that function that she has in the show, because that's out there in our country. If you want to, you can read into our show a lot of social and political themes.

And if you don't want to, you can just look at it as a fantasy soap opera, and that's why I love it because it exists on both of those levels.



We need to have conflict within the world -- it needs to be more complicated than "Vampires are hot and sexy!" We need to also realize that they are killers, by design, and some of them are mainstreaming, but some of them really don't want to be mainstreaming.

The theme of this season is definitely about that kind of identity I think: What loyalty do you have? Where do your loyalties lie?






Where do Arlene's loyalties lie? Because it seems like she might be spending more time with Patrick, played by Scott Foley, to try to get to the bottom of Terry's issues ...

Yes, we definitely do. Arlene is ... yes, she's been married four times, but she's still traditional and a kind of stand-by-your-man Southern woman.

She's really strong, very opinionated, but has a really big heart and is going to do what she can to protect certainly her kids, but her relationship, too.






Every season seems to get more insane. How do you see this show eventually wrapping up?

What do you think the series finale of "True Blood" would look like?

I'm not sure ... all I know is that even though Alan Ball is stepping away as our showrunner next year, I think he's still going to be involved with the series, and I think that the ending of "Six Feet Under" was probably the most brilliant ending of any series ever, so I feel like we will be in good hands with him when the time comes to end "True Blood".






Is there anything left on your bucket list for Arlene?

You know, for a while there I thought it'd be interesting to have her experience some kind of the supernatural thing, and somehow accept it or be turned, but I feel like the show couldn't support that.

It'll be interesting to see where we go next season with Arlene, assuming that they do bring Arlene back. We never know! In the books, it was very interesting -- she hooks up with the Fellowship of the Sun people, and although it makes her kind of a villain, it certainly made for something interesting.

So I would be interested to see them take that cue for the books and see what that would do with Arlene, if she would come out on the side of them, or realizing that she's been too narrow-minded all these years.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0..._1576099.html?

[hawkeye123]

Originally Posted by JamesG

"True Blood": Carrie Preston Talks Season 5
06/07/2012


Just when you think Arlene has seen the worst of her issues ... Terry really is a ticking timebomb!

I know, I know ... it's very interesting though because we haven't really delved into Terry's past yet. Not really. We've done a little here and there, but this season, we're definitely getting a look at what he went through in Iraq, so I think that's really interesting. Of course, we do that "True Blood"-style. [Laughs]

It's definitely going to cast a bit of a shadow over Terry and Arlene this season.






Fans want Arlene to be happy, but do you think anyone could really live a happy, normal life in Bon Temps?

No. [Laughs] I don't! I think that in order for anything to work on television, you have to have conflict. Nothing can be too happy or it's boring.

People don't want to watch that -- they want to watch things that are exciting and dangerous and sexy and have tension. And our show does that very well.






Would you consider directing an episode of "True Blood"?

Stephen Moyer, who plays Bill, directed an episode this season. He had shadowed last year, and he directed our eighth episode this season and did a bang-up job. He was so good on set.

So yeah, they're totally open to it ... but I don't know if it's in my wheelhouse. I definitely love being on the show, and I'd love to shadow a director and see if it feels like something that I'd want to do, but the things that I'm drawn to are definitely much smaller, character-driven, actor-driven kinds of pieces.

"True Blood" is so epic and has so many special effects and all that stuff -- I'd definitely need to educate myself on how that happens, start to finish, but I'm certainly not opposed to it. I do think if I went to them next season and said, "Hey, mind if I latch on to a director and watch it from start to finish?"

I feel certain that they'd be very open to that.






With so many characters, and more new people added every single season, are you ever amazed that Arlene has lasted so long?

Yes, of course! It's a real blessing. I think that the show needs Arlene and Terry and Andy Bellefleur and Hoyt -- the people who are playing the townspeople -- because otherwise there is no context for the vampires and werewolves and everything. There's no context for them if we don't continue to remind the audience that they are existing in a real world, albeit fictitiously drawn by the writers.

I think Arlene is a real representative of that world, and also of how judgmental that world can be. I'm aware of that function that she has in the show, because that's out there in our country. If you want to, you can read into our show a lot of social and political themes.

And if you don't want to, you can just look at it as a fantasy soap opera, and that's why I love it because it exists on both of those levels.



We need to have conflict within the world -- it needs to be more complicated than "Vampires are hot and sexy!" We need to also realize that they are killers, by design, and some of them are mainstreaming, but some of them really don't want to be mainstreaming.

The theme of this season is definitely about that kind of identity I think: What loyalty do you have? Where do your loyalties lie?






Where do Arlene's loyalties lie? Because it seems like she might be spending more time with Patrick, played by Scott Foley, to try to get to the bottom of Terry's issues ...

Yes, we definitely do. Arlene is ... yes, she's been married four times, but she's still traditional and a kind of stand-by-your-man Southern woman.

She's really strong, very opinionated, but has a really big heart and is going to do what she can to protect certainly her kids, but her relationship, too.






Every season seems to get more insane. How do you see this show eventually wrapping up?

What do you think the series finale of "True Blood" would look like?

I'm not sure ... all I know is that even though Alan Ball is stepping away as our showrunner next year, I think he's still going to be involved with the series, and I think that the ending of "Six Feet Under" was probably the most brilliant ending of any series ever, so I feel like we will be in good hands with him when the time comes to end "True Blood".






Is there anything left on your bucket list for Arlene?

You know, for a while there I thought it'd be interesting to have her experience some kind of the supernatural thing, and somehow accept it or be turned, but I feel like the show couldn't support that.

It'll be interesting to see where we go next season with Arlene, assuming that they do bring Arlene back. We never know! In the books, it was very interesting -- she hooks up with the Fellowship of the Sun people, and although it makes her kind of a villain, it certainly made for something interesting.

So I would be interested to see them take that cue for the books and see what that would do with Arlene, if she would come out on the side of them, or realizing that she's been too narrow-minded all these years.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0..._1576099.html?

I am a big fan of this show.It's not my usal type of show.But it has enough of everything mixed together that i like it.I didn't know Alan Ball was stepping away why is he doing that?


I hope this show is a long way from being over,But i think it should end with.Sookie and Bill together.I really want to see Bill.Put Eric in his place.They always seem to let Eric get the upper hand when they fight.


But i see it like this Bill and Sookie. We're together long before anything else.And,Eric was the evil villian who everybody hated.

But yeah they should go more,Into Terry's past.I know he's Andy's cousin and ,he was in the war.That reminds me of the fight between him and Andy.Because Andy got hooked on V.Very funny!


Ok,Back on topic with Arlene.I want to see Terry save Arlene.After Renee comes back.Even though he is supposed to be deader than a door nail.

[JamesG]

Originally Posted by hawkeye123

I didn't know Alan Ball was stepping away why is he doing that?

When HBO extended Alan Ball's deal it was already set that if "True Blood" went for a sixth season that he will step down as showrunner.

Ball is going to be developing new shows for HBO and Cinemax, one of which is "Banshee".

He won't be leaving "True Blood" entirely and will remain on as a producer and "supervisor".

[hawkeye123]

Originally Posted by JamesG

When HBO extended Alan Ball's deal it was already set that if "True Blood" went for a sixth season that he will step down as showrunner.

Ball is going to be developing new shows for HBO and Cinemax, one of which is "Banshee".

He won't be leaving "True Blood" entirely and will remain on as a producer and "supervisor".

That's cool,i guess glad he will still be the producer. And supervisor because he has done a good job with the show.