World Cup 2010

For the next few weeks World Cup football will dominate my television which I'm thoroughly looking forward to. I'm not sure how well England will do in the whole thing but I know that this is a time for hanging out with friends and enjoying football talent from around the world. So here's to a successful tournament and to some good TV watching as it seems that everyone has taken this opportunity to get a spanky new flat screen.
Other TV highlights of the next few weeks are of course True Blood and I have also just got the first season of Breaking Bad through the letterbox to dive in to finally.

True Blood promo poster 12

The final poster in the series of 12 for True Blood has just been released and as this blog and many others can testify this third season is hotly anticipated, only a few more days to go:

Photo courtesy of HBO

Rubicon

There is one other show that I am looking forward to this summer other than True Blood and Mad Men, Rubicon which will be on AMC officially on August 1st. However AMC will be showing the first episode this Sunday after the Breaking Bad finale at 11pm which looks like it will hopefully be another hit for this network. The show stars James Badge Dale, most recently seen in The Pacific as Robert Leckie which he was terrific in and I've been a fan since he was in 24 so I have high hopes for him here, Miranda Richardson is also one of the top billed actors here and my appreciation for her stretches way back to Blackadder, this is obviously a very different role.
Here is the trailer so you can check it out for yourself:

 

Poster image courtesy of the Ausiello Files

True Blood season 3 red carpet

I am a big fan of when TV shows get a red carpet premiere and it is something that the cable channels are pretty good at, the True Blood cast were treated to this on Tuesday night where both familiar faces and new ones were out in full force. This event has wet my appetite all the more for this Sunday and everyone looked dandy all dressed up, it also once again reinforced the fact that Alex Skarsgard is a giant in comparison to everyone else:

Anna Paquin looked stunning and proved again that she can rock a mini dress this time in Proenza Schouler (with True Blood co-star and real life fiance Stephen Moyer):

Kristen Bauer who plays the vampire Pam looked as flawless as her character:

I was glad to see Carrie Preston (Arlene) turning up with real life husband Michael Emerson (Ben from Lost) and it looks like her red hair will be all hers this season (like in The Good Wife) rather than a wig like normal:

Deborah Ann Woll who last season of Jessica had one of my favourite story lines looked amazing in a simple navy dress with an equally stunning Rutina Wesley who I was hoping would be given a less bleak story this year as Tara, don't think that is going to happen. Anna Paquin completes the trio of these awesome Bon Temps women.

Season 3 new comer Joe Manganiello (Alcide) looked pretty sharp in his three piece suit and I'm looking forward to his inclusion this year:

Old favourite Ryan Kwaten (Jason) did not disappoint either, looking casual in his open collar and the word is that Jason will be returning to his womanising ways this season, I for one see nothing wrong with this:

The one person that you would not want to see in a boring suit is Nelsan Ellis who plays Lafayette, he did not disappoint, this is not a look that can be pulled off by anyone but he looked fabulous (not sure about the hat but I'll give it a pass):

They certainly are a well dressed cast and you can see why this show is highly anticipated, I'm so glad that we have this and Mad Men this summer otherwise it would be a pretty lean time for TV. Though there is the World Cup also starting this weekend which will also be eating in to my (potential) sunshine time.

Photos courtesy of MTV Hollywood Crush and Celebrity-Gossip.net

Like a hedgehog doing karate

Whilst I was away there were three nights in a row where Jake Gyllenhaal featured on different late night talk shows (Letterman, Kimmel and Fallon) promoting Prince of Persia. All the interviews were different and funny, not what you might expect when someone is shilling the same product but from what I have seen of Gyllenhaal recently in the past and from this promotional campaign he really does seem genuinely funny and like a good interview subject. The main highlight came not from part of an interview but from a sketch that he did on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, who at the moment is my favourite of the late night hosts (followed closely by Jimmy Kimmel), here is the video of them performing 'Like a hedgehog doing karate', it really is brilliant:

True Blood promo posters 9-11

With just under a week to go until the start of the third season of True Blood and the promotional campaign in full flow, here are the promo posters 9-11, which cover several areas of the show:


Number 9:

Number 10:

Number 11:

Shifters, Bill and what the show is named after are covered here (of which we got a bottle in the HBO store in New York on holiday, we got it home safely and are yet to drink it, but I'm looking forward to the blood orange drink). I'm really looking forward to the new season and word from the critics who have had advanced screeners seems to be very positive. I also wonder what is in store for the final poster of this series.

Photos courtesy of HBO and MTV

Normal transmission will shortly resume

So I took a holiday at possibly the busiest time in a TV season, right when all the finales happen and there is so much that I need to catch up on a write about. This will occur when my brain is less muddled and the jet lag has gone. Of course most importantly is the Lost finale which I loved and really need to see again before I can fully be happy to write about it. The same goes for Fringe and Bones, both of which I watched on the day of my arrival on holiday which was seen through a similar hazy jet lag mind, rewatch is needed for both. So to unpacking and the Chuck finale and then I will be set hopefully.