‘True Blood’ Stars

Sunday, December 4
3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The California Teachers Association and Equality California (EQCA), with Advocate Sponsor Dennis Razor are presenting a Sunset Reception in Laguna Beach, California.

Hear from Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors on the recent teen suicides and how we can better protect our youth and their rights, as well as the results of the elections and how we can build on our victories in 2011. Meet one of the stars and the composer of HBO’s hit series ‘True Blood.’

Kevin Alejandro Jesus Velasquez, ‘True Blood’	Nathan Barr Composer, ‘True Blood’	Geoff Kors Executive Director, Equality California

Holiday cocktail attire
Hosted holiday hors d’oeuvres
Holiday cocktails by Blue Angel Ultra Premium Vodka
Shuttle provided by Premiere Valet

Saturday, December 4
3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
At the home of Jeff Haber in Three Arch Bay, Laguna Beach
Address provided upon ticket purchase

Private reception with our featured guests at 3:00 p.m.
for Co-Host and Advocate ticket levels.

Tickets:
$100 Ticket
$500 Advocate
$1500 Co-Host

Space is limited. Reserve your spot now.

For tickets, please go to http://www.eqca.org/sunsetreception

To kick off the week and celebrate ‘Southland’ going back into production this Thursday in L.A., TNT hosted a cocktail party for select TV critics and journalists to mingle with the ‘Southland’ cast.

Regina King “We’ve kept in touch over the break … When you find people who love their craft as much as you do and aren’t just in this business to be big stars, you hang on to them.”

Where will season 3 pick up? “Pretty much right where we left off,” Cudlitz said. The only other thing he’d spill about the first three scripts was…

(Read more here http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/10/26/southland-cast-ramps-up-for-season-3/)

@katiesansev twitter
A Cop-Tail reception with the cast of “Southland.” (@ BLT Steak)
http://twitter.com/katiesansev/status/28735372905

@JimHalterman twitter

・Anyone else going to the #Southland event later today?
・In case you didn’t know, #ReginaKing has the best handshake! And super cool to chat with. #Southland
http://twitter.com/JimHalterman/status/28747975858

@TheTVShowGirl twitter
・Excited to see the #Southland gang tonight – cocktails on TNT! Cudlitz, it’s been too long.
・Great time catching up with #Southland cast tonight. Back shooting Thurs & they have 1st 3 scripts. All say they won’t disappoint.
http://twitter.com/TheTVShowGirl/status/28748369304

@Cudlitz Twitter
Great to see everyone tonight. So excited for tomorrow. #SouthLAnd
http://twitter.com/Cudlitz/status/28764572959
They start read-thru on the 26th and the filming on the 28th.
Michael Cudlitz & fans Facebook
Looking forward to read-thru on Tuesday. Cannot wait to get back on the streets.
http://www.facebook.com/southland#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=106095162791301&id=112344302137960

Michael McGrady Facebook
Heading to a press event party for Southland. Get to see all the cast members in the same room again. Tomorrow table read episode 1 $ 2. Wednesday shooting guns at the firing range. Southies we are up and running.

Pictures coming as soon as we can (legally!) get them!

Sit back, relax and have some fun with Michael McGrady, Kevin Alejandro, Shawn Hatosy, Tom Everett Scott, Ben McKenzie, Michael Cudlitz and series writer/creator Ann Biderman in Los Angeles; and Regina King & Arija Bareikis in New York.

Dedicated fans of the acclaimed drama series SouthLAnd will finally get to see the series’ six never-before-seen episodes when TNT begins presenting them Tuesday, March 2, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT).  The extraordinary drama series from Warner Bros. Television and Emmy^®-winning producer John Wells (ER, The West Wing) came to TNT in January as the result of a major outpouring of support from critics and fans of the show.

SouthLAnd is a raw, authentic look at police work in Los Angeles.  Unlike many other dramas set in the world of law enforcement, the series places its primary focus on officers, detectives and a gang unit, whose cases sometimes intertwine, showing the tough jobs they face and the triumphs and tragedies that populate their personal lives.  SouthLAnd is shot on location in the streets and neighborhoods of Los Angeles, creating a realistic, natural environment where similar situations often occur in real life.

SouthLAnd’s outstanding ensemble includes Kevin Alejandro (Drive, Ugly Betty), Arija Bareikis (Crossing Jordan), Michael Cudlitz (Band of Brothers, A River Runs Through It), Shawn Hatosy (Alpha Dog), Regina King (Ray, Jerry Maguire), Michael McGrady (The Thin Red Line, Day Break), Ben McKenzie (The O.C.) and Tom Everett Scott (Boiler Room, ER, TNT’s Saved).

The screening is open to active and validated members of the Screen Actors Guild only.

For more information or to RSVP, please visit http://www.sagfoundation.org/userhome/eventdetails/8249 (login required).

We all had a great time and it was fantastic to meet everyone from Twitter in real life, especially since we had 4 different cities represented, including one person who was completely new to SouthLAnd with us. However, that’s an entirely different post. This post is all about what happened after the screening – the Cast & Creator Q&A!

Hosted by DJ Lisa Foxx from local Los Angeles radio station 104.3 My FM (who can also be heard in San Diego and San Francisco) who hosted the screening at Cinespace, we were treated to Shawn Hatosy, Regina King, Michael McGrady, Chris Chulack (Creator and Primary Director of the show), Tom Everett Scott and Michael Cudlitz answering questions from Lisa, then at the end questions from the audience.

What follows is video that I took in full HD on my Kodak Zi8 pocket camera from beginning to end, broken into 4 parts so it will fit on YouTube. I apologize in advance for any shakiness (my arm got tired a few times) and any side conversations that might pop up during the Q&A. I tried to adjust the volume to make up for the lack of a microphone, since they had issues with the sound system in the theater – luckily we were only in the second row, so it was all captured pretty well.

If you want to view all the videos in full HD, please visit my YouTube channel directly at http://www.youtube.com/southlandtvfans – I will also be posting several shorter videos there, also in HD, that were taken by @merlyn during the Q&A that are close-ups of the various actors and Mr. Chulack while answering questions.

And so, on to the video – Part 1

The SouthLAnd screening in Chicago was a great success and good time was had by all.  The night started with check-in where everyone was given a T-shirt with a map of SouthLAnd on it.

TNT provided a finger-food buffet and then Michael C was introduced. He talked for about a minute regarding the episode we were about to see. It will be the first episode of the second season. The screening began and everyone seemed to be immediately drawn in. There are no words to describe just how awesome this episode was. It had some very intense moments as well as some very funny moments. Almost all of the main characters were in the episode and it switched back and forth between their stories very well. I immediately wanted to watch it again.

The episode ended all too soon and everyone gave a loud round of applause for this excellent episode. Michael C came back out and said, “Can you believe they canceled that?”

Michael said to all the fans who made such a strong public outcry when NBC canceled SouthLAnd, “You’re the reason Officer Cooper is back – thanks for saving my job!”

He was asked about the bleeping. He said there would be fewer bleeps, but that some words still have to be bleeped. After checking for children in the room, he said, “I still don’t understand why I can’t say f*ck when I can say pussy.”

Michael talked about some of the police training the cast went through and said that Shawn Hatosy was the fastest on the obstacle course. He also mentioned the technical advisors, Chic Daniel and his wife, who are both retired LA police officers. They are responsible for making the actors look and act like LAPD officers.

Someone said they didn’t realize just how many roles he had played until they looked at IMDB.com. Michael said that when he started he hoped to have a career like JT Walsh or Brian Dennehy – great character actors who played many different roles.

Another fan asked if we will see Officer Cooper’s personal car (the black Challenger) again and he said we definitely would.

Michael was asked whether he would like to write and he said he doesn’t have that skill – but he can look at something and know whether the writing is good or not. He also said he would like to direct – but at a later point in his career because his acting career is going so well now.

Someone asked if we would continue to see more info about Officer Cooper’s personal life and Michael said yes, but we won’t get everything at once. We will discover that the pills aren’t just about the addiction, they are also a symptom of other issues in his life and he is using the pills as a crutch. Cooper’s personal life has been revealed in a very slow, subtle manner; for example the gay bar scene at the end of episode one. Michael said even though he knew his character was gay, he didn’t realize it was a gay bar until the second or third reading of the script.

The riot scene that we’ve seen in commercials is in the episode that was screened. It had me on the edge of my seat and was very very intense. Michael said the extras in the scene really got into it and everything was so loud no one could hear the director say, “Cut!”

Michael stayed after the Q&A so that those who wanted to talk with him or get an autograph or a picture with him could do so.  He was very entertaining and charming and seemed to really enjoy interacting with the fans.

If the rest of the new episodes are half as good as the episode that was screened, I don’t see how this show won’t be renewed for another season.

Thanks to TNT for having all the screenings; the fans truly appreciate it.

All photos by @kharleys