• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 471 0

stills and posters; this was who I wanted to be when I grew up. (Further sordid confessions can be found in the introduction of my book. Though slightly tweaked for would-be comic effect, they are otherwise shamefully true.) Not every aspect of my life has been shadowed by that encounter, but I would be lying if I were to deny how potent the fascination has been from time to time. About four years ago, I founded an informal vampire seminar in Cambridge; it is still going strong, and we are all going off to see Daybreakers next week.

If I had to pick a favorite vampire, though, I’d say undoubtedly the one I made up myself for a little promotional film, Bite: Diary of a Vampire Housewife, Laura. (Her name, and some of the pretentious symbolism of this squib, comes from Christina Rossetti’s poem “Goblin Market,” which I choose to read as a displaced vampire fable.) Like me, like thousands or millions of others, Laura finds that vampires are not a threat but a promise — a promise, again, of a life less ordinary. But in the long term: Christopher Lee’s Dracula. Never bettered.

Our formal interview ended there, but our personal correspondence continued, and a few weeks later Jackson emailed me the following anecdote:

So, there I was, yesterday afternoon, talking to a bunch of 17-year-old lads about vampires . . . and I include a clip from the very opening of True Blood ’s series premiere. Only about a quarter of them had even heard of the show, let alone seen it, even though they have all kinds of communications gizmos. This is odd, as it has been playing on satellite channels here for well over a year and more recently has been screened on Channel 4. As far as I could judge, most of them seemed to be captivated by this initiation, though there was one kid who scornfully dismissed it as stupid and “smut” — what’s wrong with this kid? At the age of 17 I would have been grateful for the mildest glimpse of a well turned ankle (well, you know what I mean) — and thus a terrible collapse from the high literary standards of the 19th century. I think the kid was essentially trying to wind me up, and didn’t give a hoot about the smut factor. So I replied to him that a characteristic product of alleged 19th-century Nosferatu stuff was Varney the Vampire, an astoundingly ill-written, bloated, inchoate, and simply idiotic potboiler, compared to which True Blood is Ibsen, Chekhov, and the Marx Brothers all rolled into one. Don’t think he bought it; let’s call it a draw.

Interview with a Sympathizer

sym·pa·thize: intr.v. sym·pa·thized, sym·pa·thiz·ing, sym·pa·thiz·es.

1. To feel or express compassion, as for another’s suffering; commiserate. 2. To share or understand the feelings or ideas of another.

I asked. Over 300 of you answered. Here’s a selection from some of your responses to my “Interview with a Sympathizer” questionnaire at www.rebeccawilcott.com. Do you recognize yourself?

Q: How do you feel about the casting on True Blood?

So far, the casting has been exceptional. I’m especially impressed with the casting of Nelsan Ellis as Lafayette and Rutina Wesley as Tara. They are such unique characters who defy traditional African-American stereotypes. Casting Anna Paquin was also a great choice; my God, she’s hot! And she really captures Sookie’s naivete.

I’m extremely glad that the decision’s been made not to do any stunt casting or get any A-list names for guest shots. That is an extreme distraction from the plot and feel of the story, and I think the show comes off a lot better without it.

Alexander Skarsgård is absolutely perfect as Eric. PERFECT. He gets this character completely and many, many book Eric fans feel the same. Any complaints we have about Eric on the show have nothing to do with Skarsgård’s portrayal. The way the character is being written is the bugbear, not the actor. Every now and then Skars gives us an Eric we recognize (the bullet sucking scene, the dream sequences) and we lap it up.

Stephen Moyer — love the guy, he comes across so well in interviews and he has the acting chops. But he is