‘Vampire Diaries’ gives Atlanta a special bit

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‘Vampire Diaries’ gives Atlanta a special bit
May 7, 2010,
by Rodney Ho
Access Atlanta

This is running Monday for my weekly print column:

In an episode of “Vampire Diaries” last month, Damon tricked vampire hunter Alaric into helping him save his vampire bro Stefan. Alaric is not happy.

“I know you hate me,” Damon said. “Guess what,” he added in a stage whisper, “Everyone hates me.”

Fortunately, plenty of folks love “Diaries,” which concludes its freshman year Thursday at 8 p.m. The drama instantly became the CW’s biggest program, averaging 3.7 million viewers a week and quickly earning a second season. This bodes well for its future in metro Atlanta, where the drama is produced.

“Vampire Diaries” artfully taps into the current broader vampire craze, capturing that happy medium between the lighter, romantic “Twlight” series and HBO’s edgier “True Blood,” which returns for a third season June 13.

“‘Vampire Diaries’ is more tongue-in-cheek” than the other two series, said Miriam Torres, a 30-year-old auditor from Marietta and fan of the show. “I like that they’re not afraid to go dark. It’s almost like ‘True Blood’ for the younger set.”

Creator Kevin Williamson, best known for his self-referential “Scream” horror flicks and teen drama “Dawson’s Creek,” makes the show work. His witty dialogue courses through the action-packed series.

Natalie Wilson, a Cal State literature professor planning a vampire-themed lit course this fall, loves how the show “almost makes fun of the genre the way ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ did.”

In one early episode, Damon mocks “Twilight.” “What’s so special about this Bella girl?” he sneered. “And Edward is so whipped. I miss Anne Rice… she had it right!”

Wilson noted that women are drawn to vampire stories partly because they tend to focus on hot guys.

“Diaries” doesn’t skimp on the hotness factor thanks to its two main vampire leads: Ian Somerhalder plays the devious Damon with eyebrows perpetually arched, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Paul Wesley’s ab-fab Stefan is almost ponderous in his earnestness for his love of Elena (Nina Dobrev).

Stefan comes off at first as a “good” vampire – until he tastes human blood again. He begins to lose control. “Have I entered an alternative universe where Stefan is fun?” Damon cracked in the April 15 episode.

The plotlines move swiftly. A major character was staked and killed earlier in the season. Others die and come back to life. “It’s like a cliffhanger every week,” said Dobrev in a recent interview on the Mystic Falls High School cafeteria set.

The actors seemed chummy, especially Dobrev and Somerhalder. “We’re like family,” Dobrev said. Being away from home and isolated in Atlanta helps, Somerhalder said: “This bond totally transfers on screen.”

“The only problem with a mythology like this one,” he added, “is you’re constantly on the precipice of death.”

He exaggerates. No way the writers are getting rid any of the big three actors.

BONUS MATERIAL:

Here’s some leftover material from the brief interviews I did with the stars,

Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev did the interview together in late March, to save time. They seemed very chummy, like brother/sister. (I had to wait for them to finish their scenes before lunch break. They didn’t want to break out of character.). I caught Paul Wesley separately. He actually remembered talking to me back in the fall. Good memory. I wish I could have videotaped the interviews but the production manager said they couldn’t get lighting set up properly for me to do it so I just typed notes. (Ironic, given that these actors are often in dark shadows and such anyway.)

Somerhalder said he and Nina seldom have time to see too much of Atlanta given their work schedules. They had lunch not too long ago in Inman Park and realized it was the first time they had eaten out in Atlanta during lunch hour. They often have overnight work schedules, waking up at 5 p.m. (Not surprisingly, much of “Vampire Diaries” is shot at night.)

I noted how many folks Damon has killed – or tried to kill. “I’m trying to catch up to Jack Bauer,” Somerhalder joked.

Both really enjoyed the flashback episodes, enabling Nina to play tough-as-nails Katharine and the brothers to play nicer, gentler version of themselves in 1864. Dobrev, however, wasn’t a fan of the corset. “Couldn’t eat or breathe!”

“Clearly, corsets were designed by men,” Somerhalder said.

He is enjoying the bubble that is Atlanta, as noted in the story above. No distractions. “We’re forced to deal with each other,” he said. And fortunately, he said they all get along.

Wesley, in a separate interview, said he is psyched to play Stefan now that he got some human blood in him. He’s a bit edgier, more dangerous, not just morose. He’s loving it. “I feel like I’m playing and getting paid for it,” he said.

He’s also adapting to Atlanta. “I’ve been in Jersey and L.A.,” he said. “I do miss the ocean. I enjoy the water. Other than that, I find Atlanta pretty welcoming.” He likes the Inman Park/Candler Park/Little Five Points area. He also namedropped my neighborhood (Kirkwood) and downtown Decatur. “People keep it real here,” he said.