• TV Bits: 'Parks & Recreation', 'Game Of Thrones', 'Once Upon A Time', '1600 Penn', 'The League', Kristen Schaal, Amazon Prime, And More

    Today's TV Bits comes with the caveat that none of this applies if the world actually ends on 12/21/12. After the jump: Black Dynamite, Catfish, The League, and Psych get renewed Cinemax sets a January premiere date for Alan Ball's Banshee Game of Thrones gets more screen time and its own beer Jason Schwartzman and Jenny…

    Read More
  • TV Bits: 'Arrested Development', 'American Horror Story', 'Once Upon A Time', 'Hannibal', 'The Farm', 'Revolution', 'Bates Motel', 'Jersey Shore', Robin Williams

    Fall doesn't technically start for another three weeks, but we all know Labor Day is the unofficial turn of the season. In this very late summer edition of TV Bits: MTV announces Jersey Shore will end after Season 6 Robin Williams could return to TV with David E. Kelley Jorge Garcia lands a guest spot…

    Read More
  • TV Bits: Dwight Schrute-Centered 'Office' Spinoff In The Works, Plus: 'Indie Game', Paul Feig, Alan Ball, Rebel Wilson

    With the exception of True Blood creator Alan Ball's very serious-sounding Banshee, today's TV Bits is all about the funny. After the jump: Dwight Schrute could leave Dunder Mifflin for Schrute Farms Paul Feig will direct Goldie Hawn in HBO's The Viagra Diaries CBS orders a pilot written by and starring Bridesmaids' Rebel Wilson Alan Ball…

    Read More
  • 'True Blood' Creator Alan Ball To Direct Dark Comedy For Paramount

    Briefly: Alan Ball has quite a career as a writer and producer (Six Feet Under, True Blood, and there's his Oscar for American Beauty) but a thinner resume when it comes to directing theatrical features. In 2007, his adaptation of Alicia Erian's novel Towelhead was better than some narrow-minded controversy-stirring appraisals made it out to…

    Read More
  • True Blood Season 2 Finale, Beyond Here Lies Nothin - What Did You Think?

    True Blood has quickly become my favorite summer show. With the airing of last night's season two finale, "Beyond Here Lies Nothin", I can already feel the pain of another year-long wait ahead of me. Just like Dollhouse, the first season of True Blood took a few episodes to truly get in gear---but once the…

    Read More
  • Comic-Con: True Blood Q&A

    The True Blood panel at Comic-Con was one of the bigger ones. Many cast members showed up alongside writer/creator Alan Ball and Charleane Harris, author of the books that led to the show. They seemed grateful for all of the fan response and the packed room. Apparently their panel was in a much smaller space…

    Read More
  • Alan Ball's Woman Vigilante Dark Comedy And 1930's Screwball Sex Comedy

    Academy Award winning screenwriter turned director Alan Ball (American Beauty) recently revealed details about two possible upcoming film projects: He hopes to direct a screwball comedy/romantic farce he wrote right before coming across Towelhead, about two incredibly wealthy egomaniacal people "negotiating their sexual relationship within standards of that time, with that language, and with all…

    Read More
  • The Towelhead Statements

    When I first screened Alan Ball's directorial debut at the Tonroto International Film Festival last year, it was titled Nothing is Private. In my review, I wondered why Ball had decided to change the title from that of the book it was based on - Towelhead. The obvious answer is political correctness. And a few…

    Read More
  • Comic Con: True Blood, And Alan Ball's Unique Take On Vampires

    Big banner ads all over Comic Con are advertising Tru Blood, the fictional "synthetic blood nourishment beverage" that serves as a blood replacement for vampires in Alan Ball's new series, True Blood. Eerily convincing, they serve as a clever reminder of the show's ARG, which also includes a vampire dating site and a blog. Naturally,…

    Read More
  • Alan Ball's True Blood Poster

    HBO has released a poster for Alan Ball's upcoming HBO series True Blood. In addition to creating Six Feet Under, Ball won an Adademy Award for America Beauty, and directed the upcoming film adaptation of Towelhead. True Blood is based on Charlaine Harris' "Southern Vampire" novel series. The series follows the world of vampires set…

    Read More
  • TIFF Movie Review: Alan Ball's Nothing Is Private

    Alan Ball's feature directorial debut is more Six Feet Under than American Beauty in tone, and more of the latter in story. There are more than a few structural similarities to Beauty, including the typical but still wonderful Thomas Newman score, an older man who becomes sexually infatuated with a young girl, and a series…

    Read More