‘True Blood’ Season 4 Casting Update: A Witch, Cage Fighter, & Shapeshifter

With one week before production begins on True Blood season 4, actresses Janina Gavankar, Alexandra Breckenridge and Vedette Lim have joined the familiar Bon Temps family.

Additionally, Jessica Tuck, who plays American Vampire League spokeswoman Nans Flanagan, has been bumped up to a series regular for this season. Although, no information has been provided as to what Tuck’s newly boosted role will entail.

Kicking off the flurry of new casting for the HBO hit series is former star of The L Word Janina Gavankar. Gavankar will play Luna, an extremely attractive school teacher who also happens to be a shapeshifter. The character of Luna will first maker her appearance at an informal gathering of shapeshifters. No word yet on whether or not Sam will also be in attendance. Although, after where we left him in the season 3 finale, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Alexandra Breckenridge, who is best known for her roles on FX’s Dirt and the struggling CW series Life Unexpected, will play the character of Daisy. While not much is revealed about her character, we know that she will be an integral member of a Wicca group that was founded by Marnie. As we previously reported, Marnie will be played by Harry Potter alum Fiona Shaw and is described as a depressed and incompetent local medium/palm reader who becomes possessed by the spirit of a powerful witch.

Rounding out the new character additions is former As The World Turns actress Vedette Lim, who will play the fierce cage fighter Naomi. Like Sam’s younger brother Tommy, Naomi participates in underground fights for money. Although, unlike Tommy, she won’t have to turn into a dog before each match.

While the addition of new cast members to a series can provide some refreshing stories and intriguing character interactions, one has to worry when it comes to True Blood. Out of all three seasons, last year’s was easily the worst. Something that many chalk up to having too many story-arcs occurring simultaneously, which resulted in many characters and story lines having to share the same 52 minute episode.

On top of that, one can’t forget the conclusion-less season 3 finale. When True Blood returns for season 4, they’ll not only have to somehow wrap up all the lingering storylines, but also introduce these new characters. Unfortunately, many have felt that True Blood is barely keeping its proverbial head above the water as it is – in terms of delivering a satisfying story with fully realized characters.

If the past has shown us anything, it’s that Alan Ball and company already had a hard enough time juggling the large cast that they put together for season 3. Could the addition of these three characters (on top of the four already announced) serve to overwhelm the already struggling storylines and inevitably sink this juggernaut series?

If it does, there’s always the True Blood movie to look forward to.

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True Blood season 4 will premiere June, 2011, on HBO

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Source: Deadline

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Movie Media Roundup: ‘Faster’, ‘The Fighter’, ‘The Tourist’

This week’s movie media roundup features a vengeance-fueled Dwayne Johnson in Faster; a beefed up but emotionally-torn Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter; and a flirtatious exchange between Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie in The Tourist.

All of these films arrive in U.S. theaters over the next three weeks (Holiday season) and look to appeal to a wide range of moviegoers whose interests include graphic violence, raw personal drama, and pretty people up to espionage-related hijinks overseas. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Johnson has his badass face back on in this week’s Faster, which stars “The Rock” as a man who, fresh out of prison, decides there’s no better way to celebrate his newfound freedom than by going on a killing spree and taking out every person he deems responsible for the death of his brother. Billy Bob Thorton costars as a cop who’s determined to stop Johnson -- even though he only has two days left until retirement (okay, not really, but you get the gist…).

The Faster red band trailer promised lots of bloody, hyper-kinetic action and violence in the form of a lean, mean, revenge flick that’s more about racking up a body count than character development or plot. That’s exactly what these three clips from the movie deliver as well, so chances are you already have an inkling as to whether or not Faster is your thing.

Watch the Faster clips below and get a taste of what the film has to offer:

Faster arrives in theaters in the U.S. on November 24th, 2010

Source: CBS Films

Wahlberg plays “Irish” Micky Ward, a man who has to do battle both inside and outside the ring in next month’s The Fighter. The flick is already generating a healthy amount of Oscar buzz for a sickly-looking Christian Bale’s turn as Dickie, Micky’s half-brother/trainer and former boxing powerhouse-turned-drug addict.

While the first Fighter trailer painted the movie as a very much by-the-numbers underdog story in the vein of Rocky, a tense TV spot indicated that David O. Russell’s film will be an intense, realistic depiction of a true-life story about a man who overcame the odds in both his personal and professional life.

Three clips have been released from The Fighter and they focus on the personal drama between Micky, Dickie, his girlfriend (Amy Adams), and his mom (Melissa Leo, who truly deserves the title “chameleon actress”), rather than the (reportedly, highly visceral and gritty) action inside the boxing ring.

Check out The Fighter footage below:

The Fighter arrives in theaters in the U.S. on December 10th, 2010.

Source: Paramount Pictures (via Cinema Blend)

A-list stars Depp and Jolie will find themselves entangled in a web of deceit, intrigue, and romance in this winter’s The Tourist, which was directed by The Lives of Others helmer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and co-written by Christopher McQuarrie (The Wolverine).

Depp plays Frank, the every-man who gets in over his head (a la Cary Grant in North By Northwest), while Jolie plays Elise, a (what else?) sensuous femme fatale who -- judging by the official trailer -- makes Frank’s trip through Paris and Venice an exciting (if life-threatening) trip to remember.

This first clip released from The Tourist is a surprisingly clever scene on a train where Depp and Jolie’s characters meet, flirt, and all but acknowledge that their first encounter is something right out of a mystery genre thriller.

Check it out below:

The Tourist will be in theaters on December 10th.

Source: Sony Pictures (via MySpace)

So -- which one of these flicks will you be checking out in theaters? Let us know in the comments section below.

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