We only recently just saw a full trailer for the upcoming sixth season of the HBO series True Blood, and now the network has unveiled a large batch of high-resolution images previewing the drama to come.  In addition to giving us looks at fan favorites like Sookie (Anna Paquin), Eric (Alexander Skarsgard), Bill (Stephen Moyer), and of course Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten), these images also introduce us to a host of new characters played by the likes of Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner), Arliss Howard (Full Metal Jacket), and Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Friday Night Lights).

Hit the jump to peruse the gallery of images.  The series also stars Ryan Kwanten, Joe Manganiello, Rutina Wesley, Sam Trammell, Deborah Ann Woll, Carrie Preston, Todd Lowe, Nelsan Ellis, Michael McMillian, Lucy Griffiths, Lauren Bowles, Chris Bauer, Kelly Overton, Rob Kazinsky, and Amelia Rose Blaire.  Season six of True Blood premieres on HBO Sunday June 16th at 9pm/8c.

Prior to last Sunday, Zero Dark Thirty was my favorite pic of 2012 by a considerable margin. However, after my matinee viewing of Silver Linings Playbook, that margin has been replaced with a draw. Whereas Zero provided me with a tension that left me on the verge of breathless at moments, Playbook‘s spectacular performances and head-on portrayal of mental illness and our ability to help each other cope/prevail proved not only hugely entertaining but also quite cathartic.

My 2012 movie scorecard aside, this week’s Top 5 includes our set visit coverage of Oz the Great and Powerful, Duncan Jones being tapped to helm the World of Warcraft movie, more visit coverage from the set of Jack the Giant Slayer, a slew of news from X-Men: Days of Future Past, and a Sundance 2013 wrap-up. A brief recap and link to each of the above is promised after the jump.

If it wasn’t clear before, it certainly is now: director Bryan Singer is making one incredibly ambitious film with the X-Men: First Class sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past.  In addition to First Class stars Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, and Jennifer Lawrence, we previously learned that X-Men actors Ian McKellan, Patrick Stewart, and Hugh Jackman will be reprising their roles in the upcoming follow-up.  The story involves time travel and alternate realities, so the mixing of the younger actors and older actors fits well within the film’s complex plot.

It appears that Singer isn’t simply bringing a few stars from X-Men and X2 back for Days of Future Past, as he revealed on Twitter today that Anna Paquin (Rogue), Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde), and Shawn Ashmore (Iceman) will also be joining the cast of Days of Future Past.  Hit the jump for more.

When Margaret finally arrived in theaters in the fall of 2011, it had been sitting in a can for years. In fact, the prints that screened came with a 2008 copyright mark, and the film was shot in 2005 (going by the theater marquees in the film). It was a wounded bird and it was cut down to two and half hours in ways that felt arbitrary. Kenneth Lonergan’s film is the story of a young girl (Anna Paquin), who witnesses a bus accident that she may have had some part in, and how that changes her life. Margaret was dumped in theaters and barely did any business, but then a funny thing happened: Critics began to champion the film, and Margaret is now on Blu-ray in the both the theatrical cut and an extended edition. And now it’s being hailed as a masterpiece. Our review of the Blu-ray of Margaret follows after the jump.

True Blood at its best and at its worst is still entertaining.  Though we may feel compelled to roll our eyes at some of its most ridiculous storylines, humor is never far.  The best True Blood episodes combine workable mythology alongside its innate snark, and this season has given that us in spades.  It’s a show that tricks you into nodding in assent when a character solemnly says, “turns out it was a crazy smoke monster who wanted to kill me, not the demon baby like we thought.” Of course.  Further, it has developed storylines that are interesting, not always immediately telegraphed, and that have resurrected – literally or metaphorically – characters who had previously fallen out of favor or off of our screens.  Though this season still has too many irons in the fire to tell any one story particularly effectively, it grounds itself in the small moments (like Sookie, Arlene and Holly all man hatin’ together in Merlotte’s) and has continued to be down right enjoyable.  For the nitty gritty of the episode and why peace is for pussies, hit the jump.

Current showrunner and True Blood series adapter Alan Ball came on stage in Ballroom 20 to introduce a new trailer for the ongoing fifth season.  The panel for the popular HBO show inspired by the Charlaine Harris novels also featured cast members Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgard, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Deborah Ann Woll, Sam Trammell, Joe Manganiello and Kristin Bauer van Straten. The lively and hilarious panel not only teased events in the next season, but also touched on the new relationships that will be forged and acted as a memorial to Ball’s work on the series before he departs as showrunner at the end of the season.  Hit the jump for my panel recap and click here for our continuing Comic-Con coverage.

On Season 5 of HBO’s True Blood, actor Giles Matthey plays Claude, a mysterious fairy who has caught the eye of vamp Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll).  Distantly related to Sookie (Anna Paquin), he will be mentoring her in the ways of all things fairy, later on in the season.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, Giles Matthey talked about his crazy audition for the hit TV show and how he had no idea what role he was actually auditioning for, how he caught up on the previous four seasons and became an obsessive fan himself once he was cast, that he loves meeting fans of the show that are as excited about it as he is, how he sees Claude as loyal and protective, and how much fun his introduction into the story was.  He also talked about what attracts him to a specific project and what inspired him to try his hand at acting, in the first place.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

HBO’s True Blood is back this Sunday, June 10th, at 9pm, and the show’s fifth season is sure to be full of bloody mayhem that will hopefully rectify some of last year’s lackluster performance.  As the number of magical creatures and love triangles (love-dodecahedrons, at this point) continues to increase, it may be hard to keep track of who’s alive, who’s dead, who came back and what kind of magic they possess.  Take a spoiler-filled refresher course after the jump to relive the last four seasons of True Blood, including some of the best, worst and weirdest surprises from Bon Temps over the last few years (or moments, if you’re on fairy time).

Despite the fandom’s ritual end-of-season swearing off of True Blood, every summer on the eve of the show’s return it starts looking good again, pulling viewers back in like maenads to a bacchanal.  At the very least, Season Five has added Christopher Meloni, Scott Foley and Alexander Drew (as a little kid vampire)  to the cast, plus the return of fan favorite character Russell Edgington as well as the Evangelical Steve Newlin (now a vamp!)

HBO has just released a trio of teaser clips for the upcoming season, which starts June 10th at 9pm, to whet our appetites like a platter of Merlotte’s spicy buffalo wings. Hit the jump for the videos as well as some analysis.

Following a slew of “mini trailers” and one brief teaser, the first full trailer for the upcoming fifth season of HBO’s True Blood has gone online.  The clip shows quite a bit of footage from the upcoming season, including the promise of a prolonged Bill/Eric team-up (please tell me a buddy vampire spin-off is in the works), the return of an old fan favorite character, and the promise of more of that weird clown face that apparently appears when witches get high or something.  However, the best part about this trailer is Mr. Christopher Meloni.  He joins the cast this season as the head of The Authority, a council made up of the most powerful vampires in existence.  If you remember the predicament that Bill and Eric found themselves in last season and compound that with the returning baddie, you should have some idea of where this promisingly badass Meloni character comes in.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and if you missed all the character posters that were recently unveiled, click here.  The fifth season of True Blood premieres on HBO on June 10th.

Frankly, I gave up on vampires a long time ago, and it takes a lot for me to get interested in them, and that includes the HBO series True Blood. However, we know that there are plenty of True Blood-thirsty fans out there clamoring for every bit of hype as we lead up to the fifth season premiere on June 10th at 9/8c. Therefore, you’ll be happy to know that in addition to the most recent trailer and teaser poster, we now have a batch of 12 character posters (with Anna Paquin, Alexander Skarsgard, Stephen Moyer and more) that have so much red on them they would make Shaun of the Dead blush.

Honestly, they’re not all that special, but for fans who have a favorite character (or enjoy seeing Christopher Meloni with fangs), they could make a cool iPhone background or something like that. Anyway, you can check out all 12 of the new posters, along with the most recent trailer, after the jump.

Get ready to sink your teeth into these new photos from season five of HBO’s True Blood.  The supernatural drama returns this summer with some new blood added to the cast by way of Christopher Meloni, Valentina Cervi and Christopher Heyerdahl. These photos highlight the new characters, but also include a fresh look at some of the old, played by series regulars Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin, Alexander Skarsgard and Nelsan Ellis.  The stakes have been raised once again as season five will feature the arrival of some new powerful vampires as well as the return of a fan-favorite.  Season five of True Blood returns on June 10^th.  Hit the jump to check out the photos.

The fifth season of True Blood still doesn’t begin for over a month, but HBO is attempting to make the wait less/more painful by releasing a series of teasers fittingly titled “Waiting Sucks.”  You’ve probably seen this trailer format before (I think they did it for season four as well), but they show a behind-the-scenes/on-set view of a pivotal scene being filmed.  These three trailers center on Terry & Patrick, Sookie & Alcide, and Sam & Luna.  The Sookie & Alcide one is particularly enticing as it teases the return of a fan favorite character.

I felt that the creative juice for the series started to wane during the third season and I didn’t really see it back in full-force last year, but hopefully things are more fun this season.  The addition of Christopher Meloni to the cast is certainly promising.  Creator Alan Ball has stated that season five will be his last as showrunner, so it’ll be interesting to see how the show adjusts for the very likely season six.  Anyway, hit the jump to watch three new teasers for the show.  Season five of True Blood premieres on Sunday, June 10th.

While everyone is currently hyped up for the return of HBO’s Game of Thrones, a little show called True Blood popped up to remind us that season five of the supernatural series starts this summer. We’ve previously brought you the first promotion and more recent teaser trailers from everyone’s favorite guilty pleasure, but now we have a teaser montage of clips from the upcoming season. With news that showrunner Alan Ball is overseeing this season but stepping down from the day-to-day responsibilities of the show for a possible sixth season, it will be interesting to see how this summer’s run turns out. Also, with new cast addition Christopher Meloni, the old gang of supes could be in for quite a shake up, but Christopher Heyerdahl steals the show with his chilling narration of the new season five promo. Hit the jump to check it out.

Anna Paquin (True Blood) and Tom Hiddleston (Thor) have joined Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings) in a gritty noir thriller. A recent pick up by Cargo Entertainment, Black Wings Has My Angel is a story about an armored car heist by an escaped prisoner and a female escort. The script, written by Barry Gifford (Wild at Heart), Christopher Peditto (Light and the Sufferer) and Alfonso Pineda Ulloa (Restos) is an adaptation of the 1953 Elliott Chaze novel. The long-gestating project is due to start shooting this September. Hit the jump for more.