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Posted by Vee | September 8, 2010, 16:43 (EST) | 7 Comments
Category: TV Series

As many Canadian viewers have noticed, CTV has droppedVampire Diaries from its main channel. Canada can now catchVampire Diaries Season 2 on CTV's A Channel (sadly, no HD), Thursdays at 8pm ET / PT and 9pm AT, as well as on MuchMusic, Fridays at 9pm ET/6pm PT (like last season). UPDATE: Thanks to @dusties for pointing out that the show can also be watched on Access where A Channel is not available.

As far as we know, CTV will still be streaming episodes on their website, but it's not clear whether it will be available On Demand via digital cable. Thanks to Melissa at The Televixen for the insight!

Ian Somerhalder (a.k.a. the Sexy Beast Champion) talks 'Vampire Diaries' season 2

Image Credit: Patrick Ecclesine / The CWThe Vampire Diaries has been good to Ian Somerhalder: It earned him a spot on Entertainment Weekly's2009 list of TV's Best Bitches and the title of Sexiest Beast in this summer's popular EW.com bracket game, which saw readers rack up more than 1.5 million votes while whittling the 64-deep field down to his devilishly delicious Damon Salvatore and Twilight's saintly sensitive Edward Cullen. Shortly after his victory last month, we caught up with a humbled and grateful Somerhalder, who was already feeling the pressure that comes with the crown…

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Congratulations on Damon being named the ultimate Sexy Beast.
IAN SOMERHALDER: [Laughs] That is so cool.

What would you like to say to the people who voted for you?
Thank you, thank you, thank you. It makes you realize the dedication of the fans, how much fun they're having and how much fun they make us have. It's the fans who are making the success of the show happen. We can't thank them enough. We're just doing the acting leg of it. Season 2 is starting [Sept. 9, 8 p.m. ET, The CW], and we're gonna try not to suck. Wow, that's a terrible pun. Let me reword that. You finish the first season of the show, and everyone worked their asses off, and the season went really well, and people liked the show. But then season 2 comes up, and you realize, whoa, we have more of a responsibility now. The heat is really on now. We cannot do a bad job. So, we are committed to making this a better year of television than last year. So that's what I want to tell everyone: "Thank you, and literally, we'll try not to suck." [Laughs]

We know from promos that Katherine [Nina Dobrev as the vampire lover who essentially turned the brothers in 1864] says she's returned for Stefan and never loved Damon. What can you tease about season 2?
Poor Damon. Katherine comes back, and it's the chicken or the egg thing. In the story, Katherine obviously came before Damon, and Damon learned a lot of his antics from Katherine and then 150 years of cynicism. When I watch Nina be Katherine, it's crazy, the similarity that you see between Katherine and Damon. She starts wreaking havoc in a very similar way that for most of season 1 Damon wreaked havoc — because he wanted something. You're gonna see Damon in a way in which you haven't necessarily seen him before dealing with Katherine and what happens after so many years of longing and wanting to be with someone, being hurt and let down in that extreme manner. It's a lot of fun watching Katherine and how powerful and manipulative and sexy and crazy she is. It's a lot of fun to play. It's brutal for me. [In classic Damon delivery] Damon doesn't always get what he wants now, which is boring for Ian, but great for the story.

After the show premiered last fall, you told us that you used to be jealous of Josh Holloway for the things he got to say and do as Sawyer on Lost. Now Damon is that character. What do you think it is about him that draws fans in?
I only know what I love about him: Though he may be doing things that are off our moral compass, Damon loves what he's doing, and he's enjoying the hell out of his life, even despite the amount of pain and anger that he has inside of him. A lot of the world has a lot of pain and anger, and it's fun to watch someone who's learned how to take their pain and make it fun. [Exec producers] Kevin [Williamson] and Julie [Plec] have assembled a phenomenal writing team. When I watch the episodes, I don't see Damon as me, because Damon is such a specific, strong character. It has nothing to do with me. It's the way it's written down on the page.

I recently spoke with Kevin and Julie for EW's Fall TV preview issue [on stands Sept. 10], and he said something that I wanted to float by you: According to him, it's a blessing when an actor is asked to be shirtless in a scene on The Vampire Diaries because of the heat in Atlanta. Is that how you look at it?
At this point, why not? Literally. Let me tell you something. I love the South. I'm from the South. I'm a Southern boy. You experience temperatures here that one just doesn't understand until one is actually geographically here. I am watching our crew members melting like snowmen. It's insane. When we are in wardrobe and it's 100 degrees, with 60, 70, 80 percent humidity, you get this heat index and it just sticks to you. So yeah, why not? It is easier just to have your shirt off. I walk around set with it off half the time anyway now, so we might as well shoot it on camera. I'm imagining this isn't gonna last much longer, but it is summer in Georgia, baby. That's what you get.

Well, congratulations again, and good luck with season 2. I hope it doesn't suck. I'm sure it will not.
[Laughs] If it doesn't suck, I'm sure I'll talk to you again soon. If it does suck, then I'll know because you're not gonna call me back.

The Vampire Diaries, from the creator of Dawson's Creek, follows the struggles of a high school girl torn between two vampire brothers. It is based on the books by L.J. Smith. Many of the characters in the show exhibit supernatural abilities — flight, super-strength, super-fast motion, the ability to transform into animals — while others display special faculties such as levitation and fire-starting.

An important recurring visual effect involves pulsing veins around the eyes, which reveal characters' true vampiric nature when they get angry, hungry or aroused. These "digital appliances" are 3D tracked onto the actors' faces and are individually tailored to each character's performance. Additional visual effects range from split screen composites, speed ramps and wire/rig removals to atmospheric effects and matte paintings. Entity FX created the show's new opening title treatment as well.

Actor Ian Somerhalder passionate about environment

TORONTO (Reuters) - He was best known for his breakout role as Boone Carlyle in "Lost", but these days, Ian Somerhalder is winning accolades for his turn as vampire Damon Salvatore in the TV show "The Vampire Diaries."

Somerhalder, 31, has been busy in Atlanta, Georgia, filming season 2 of the series after spending a difficult summer being pulled in two different directions: promoting the CW network show ahead of its return on Thursday, and helping raise environmental awareness in his home state of Louisiana following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

He is passionate about the environment and animal welfare but says he doesn't want to be another celebrity with a pet cause, pushing an agenda.

"I think it's a fine line. I don't ever want anything to come in the way of me truthfully telling a story," Somerhalder told Reuters in an interview.

"I appreciate the response and the support of fans, of people who actually don't mind watching me on screen ... I just don't ever want to jeopardize that."

His character on "The Vampire Diaries" -- alternately described by fans as a "sociopath" and "misunderstood" -- is slowly rediscovering his humanity through a renewed, but still dysfunctional, relationship with his younger vampire brother (played by Paul Wesley) and a complicated and deepening friendship with his brother's human girlfriend (played by Nina Dobrev).

Critics laud Somerhalder for his portrayal of a vampire who comes to the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, to wreak havoc, only to find himself protecting it instead. The highly-anticipated second season promises plenty of plot twists, drama and an unfolding love triangle.

The show -- noted for its fast-paced storytelling and weekly cliffhangers -- has received critical praise despite initial skepticism. It is CW's top-rated show, scoring the youth-oriented network its largest audience ever when it premiered a year ago.

Fans voted it favorite new drama in this year's People's Choice Awards.

LEAVING A LEGACY

Somerhalder credits those fans for inspiring him.

"It's really a phenomenal thing that's happening and I'm unbelievably grateful to fans of the show for really stepping up to the plate and saying, we're tired of this, we want to help. It's humbling. It really is," he said.

Somerhalder said he feels guilty for not devoting as much time as he'd like to helping with the aftermath of the environmental catastrophe along the U.S. Gulf Coast where he grew up.

He paid tribute to the people of Louisiana and groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council that are working in the region.

"They're down there with their knees in the dirt or the marsh, just working away. And they're fighting tooth and nail for everything that organization stands for," he said.

During the height of the oil spill, Somerhalder traveled to an area on Grand Isle considered ground zero and was saddened by what he saw.

"To me and to the people that go down there, (it's) one of the most beautiful places in the world. And I actually had to watch it destroyed. And it will be destroyed -- forever. My great-grandchildren will not be able to enjoy the Gulf Coast of Louisiana the way I have."

Somerhalder is involved with a start-up called Go Green Mobile Power, which makes mobile solar, wind and bio-diesel generators and hopes to provide off-grid power for everything from the film industry to disaster relief overseas.

He is also involved with the group New Leash On Life, which takes in stray dogs and trains them to be service dogs.

If he could leave a legacy, he said, those would be it.

"Those are things that I know will be huge parts of the rest of my life," said Somerhalder.

Does this mean Somerhalder has another calling?

"I don't know how to do anything else other than be an actor. If I wasn't in this, I would be in alternative energy and conservation," he said.

"Acting is such a huge part of my life. It really allows me to have a creative outlet and to actually be able to have an outlet to discuss openly the things that truly I think are relevant in the world, that make a difference."

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

"The Vampire Diaries" is going to introduce a new species of monster this season, and these guys aren't exactly the diary-writing types. If you haven't yet heard about the werewolves about to chew up trouble in Mystic Falls, I'm very sorry about that rock you've been living under. That can't be comfortable. You should seek more traditional forms of shelter.

Now that his father is dead, Tyler (Michael Trevino) will need some guidance through the Lockwood family curse. Cue the arrival of his Uncle Mason, the unbearably attractive Taylor Kinney.

By some miraculous twist of fate, Zap2it happened to be on the show's set in Atlanta for Kinney's first day. (I know, I know… I have a tough job.) I got a sneak peek at Uncle Mason's first encounter with Tyler in many years.

Zap2it: So I liked your big entrance.
Kinney: Wasn't that the sweatiest, swampiest day of your life? It was my birthday actually, so it was kind of a baptism by fire with the humidity and meeting everyone and jumping right into Mason. I just got thrown right into the mix.

Uncle Mason seems to be pretty mellow initially, especially compared to Tyler, but anger is kind of a Lockwood family tradition. Are we going to see Mason show his temper any time soon?
Of course. Mason grew up in Mystic Falls, but he left probably before college, before adulthood, and he's come of age now. He's learned to harness his rage and to deal with problems in a more amicable way than lashing out the way that Tyler is right now. He's comes back to Mystic Falls because of the death of his brother, but he stays because he empathizes with where Tyler is right now. He recognizes himself in Tyler and he knows the curse that's in their bloodline. He's going to try to help Tyler keep from being so on edge all the time.

What was Mason's relationship like with Mayor Lockwood, his brother?
We haven't explored it too much, but it wasn't great. I think they were at odds for a large part of their life growing up. They weren't the closest of kin, but it's still family, so I'm going to look after my brother's family the best I can.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Posted by Vee | September 18, 2010, 22:45 (EST) | 21 Comments
Category: Books, TV Series, Website

Smart Pop Books (our wonderful publisher, and yes we're biased) has posted the almost-complete Table of Contents (re: essay titles/subjects) for A Visitor's Guide to Mystic Falls: Your Favorite Authors on The Vampire Diaries. There are a few essays missing (including Karen Mahoney's "Dear Diary…" essay), but hopefully those will appear soon. And we tweeted this out a few weeks ago, but never posted it to the blog – it's a back cover blurb! And a real, actual, honest-to-goodness bar code! (Click the cover to see a bigger, readable version in the Gallery.) The anthology hits bookshelves on October 19th, but you can pre-order your copy now.

Smart Pop has also has kicked off something special in celebration of Visitor's Guide: During Season 2, book contributors will be writing recaps, blog posts, and "just generally sharing their thoughts on the season." The first post – The Vampire Diaries: Caroline is "Seriously Badass" – is by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, who wrote a wonderful essay on Caroline for the book. She has a fantastic take on the show's recent developments so check it out (Season 2 spoilers!), and stay tuned to the Smart Pop blog for more.

And there are already a few Visitor's Guide giveaways floating about if you'd like to try and win a copy. You can enter contributing author Claudia Gray's contest orenter the YA book blog Page Turners contest. And speaking of Page Turners, we wanted to extend a HUGE thank you to Stacey and company for being so supportive of the book, its authors, and this site. They'll be running interviews with Visitor's Guide contributors (Alyxandra Harvey is already up, and they even interviewed us), so be sure to check them out and give them a follow on Twitter:@PageTurners.

Ian Somerhalder Talks Bromance, Romance & Season 2 of 'The Vampire Diaries'

'The Vampire Diaries' could easily have been written off as just another CW teen show, but the sexiness of the cast instantly took it to extremely watchable status. Alongside Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley, star Ian Somerhalder is responsible for a third of that sex appeal ... at least.

After a first season of some high highs (tricking his way into his brother's relationship with Elena) and very low lows (getting duped by the vampire who turned him), Somerhalder's bad boy bloodsucker Damon Salvatore is in a very dark place in Season 2.

I caught up with Somerhalder to hear all about playing vulnerable, which of his castmates he has a blast shooting with, who Damon might find "useful" this season and the pretty racy scene fans have been waiting for.

Bonus: He talks around it a bit, but I got him to choose whether Damon is on Team Katherine or Team Elena. Whose side are you on?

It was quite a finale for Damon last season ... we've never seen him like that!
[Laughs] Yeah, he is being humbled. It's interesting, the ups and downs, art imitating life, which is kind of fun to watch, but there are a couple dynamics that are going to start to change. At the beginning of Season 1, Damon's sort of this almighty, powerful, sadistic, kind of funny individual ... and then he just gets leveled. [Laughs] Over and over and over again.

Well on one hand it was nice to see Damon vulnerable, because it proved he still has a hint of humanity, but on the other hand, he can't stay like that for long, can he?
No, I hope not. You know, Season 2, you start to understand that there are certain elements that've come to town that sort of force Damon to shift his focus quite a bit and actually ask himself what's important to him. I think throughout this first year, he's forged these relationships. He initially came to town ... like Damon said in the finale, "I came here wanting to destroy it, now I find myself wanting to protect it. How the hell has that happened?" And I think that it has happened. Any time you forge relationships with people and you have a vested interest in their safety and well-being, you essentially raise the stakes. You pretty much do anything to protect that. I think he's found himself, for the first time in 150 years, actually caring about something.

But Damon and Stefan will still be bickering, right?
The end all be all is he loves his brother, and his brother loves him. No matter how many times they've literally had the opportunity to kill one another, they're still walking around. There are obviously major differences, but I think Damon and Stefan are gonna have to set those aside and actually focus on what's the give and the take of letting that age-old vendetta go away. They actually have to focus and protect what they love, which is gonna be interesting, by virtue of the fact that Katherine is back.

Oh Katherine ... is it bad that I just love to hate her?
Katherine is just one of those individuals you don't want to f*** with ... excuse my language, that you don't want to mess with. I thought Damon was badass and just wrong in so many ways. Katherine is a sadistic, selfish bitch, and she is gonna play them like a fiddle. And she crushes Damon ... she does, she crushes him ... over and over and over again. [Laughs] Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. At this point, it's like 10 -- shame on me! [Laughs] Shame on Damon! He feels like such an idiot. And when we feel that stupid, what do we do? We lash out like a petulant child, you know?

Which is what he does best! Drinking, dancing in the rafters ...
[Laughs] Exactly.

How soon after last season's finale do we pick up in the Season 2 premiere?
Minutes, seconds ... we start off in the finale. Literally. Which is great because to be honest with you, even just being away from the show for a couple of months, I sort of lost my footing on what was going on. It's really helpful starting where we left off, and even going back a moment, back into the season finale. What's starting to happen this season as well is someone we know very well ... there are other vampires around now that were very unlikely candidates, and it's a lot of fun. It's fun to see dynamics change and to watch someone sort of figure out being a vampire when they're so new at it. I've been doing it for a year and a half, and Damon's been doing it for 150 years like Stefan, so you start to understand what it's really kind of about. To watch someone go through the process of that is a lot of fun actually. [Laughs]

Lots of hazing, I'm sure. Damon doesn't seem like the best teacher though ...
Aw, Damon's a good teacher! He just might teach you what he wants to teach you. [Laughs] Whatever's most beneficial for him.

Now you have to pick, stake to your heart -- do you think Damon is Team Katherine or Team Elena?
Well, Katherine is really just a figment of his imagination, and now sort of a tangible metaphor for his naivet. It's kind of a strange dichotomy because there's a certain naivet that comes with youth, and when you're in love it's amplified exponentially. To carry that around as you grow older -- for 150 years -- about a woman who you soon find doesn't care about you at all. And then, for some reason, you meet her doppleganger, who is this sweet, innocent, strong young woman. I will be so bold to say that Damon's not Team Katherine. It would help Damon if Katherine was gone or dead.

So then Team Elena it is!
Yep.

What's been the scene in Season 2 that you think fans will flip over? Something particularly fun maybe?
There's a pretty racy scene with Elena and Damon. I wouldn't necessarily call it fun ... there hasn't been a lot of fun scenes to be honest with you. This isn't a very fun time for Damon. But in the face of adversity and chaos, Damon still has a really good time. But [the scene with Elena] is steamy and it's been waited for ... you get a really big, huge glimpse into Damon's vulnerability and what the power of attraction can do. That's all I'll say.

Any new vampire powers this season?
Just more powerful powers. Katherine is a lot stronger than Damon. New powers may be coming this season ... Damon could use some new powers, babe!

How will Damon be handling Bonnie's big threat?
Bonnie (Katerina Graham) can hold her own, unfortunately, with Damon. Anyone who can put Damon down on the ground -- and not in a sexual way -- is a problem. [Laughs] She's a big problem for him. She's a contender ... I think if anything, she's gonna prove to be useful. Katherine is going to be a major, major, major problem. Katherine is a bigger problem than Damon was in Season 1, because she's three times more sadistic and seductive. I think what she wants is far greater than love, which is even scarier.

I think Matt Davis might be clinically insane, tweeting under a pen name, but fans are loving the back and forth you guys have on Twitter.
What is so amazing is, if in fact he is clinically insane, it is such a beautiful thing. I love that man. We totally have a bromance. Damon and Alaric and Elena spend a little bit of time together this season, and I think I can speak for Matt Davis and Nina Dobrev and myself when I say that we love being together on set. The three of us have a blast when we're shooting stuff.