Yesterday out in Hell-Lay the True Blood power triumvirate of Alan Ball, Stephen Moyer, and Anna Paquin appeared at the Television Critics Association Summer 2011 Session to answer questions and give out spoilers.

Here’s a summary of what we learned from Alan, Steve, and Anna:

Anna said she’s not been asked to do anything – yet – that she’d say ‘no’ to: “I’m having the best time of my life. Are you kidding me?” Anna laughed at HBO’s “True Blood” panel at the Television Critics Association Summer 2011 Session in Beverly Hills on Thursday, when asked about all the drama Sookie’s gone through. “I dare him to come up with something I say no to.”

When asked about playing conflict scenes with her husband, Steve, Anna replied: “Just speaking for me, our love in real life is fine, so I’m totally happy for our characters to be as sad and distraught and messed up and hating each other [as they have been],” she said. “It’s not interesting television if everything works out for Bill and Sookie and they adopt five babies and live happily ever after.”

“We want the show to be as dynamic and interesting as possible,” she added.

Alan Ball confirmed that writers are already working on story lines for season 5, a sort of spoiler that renewal is in the offing. He also said we’ll learn the origin of one of the vampires, and all hints point to Pam for the flashback.

Steve told the reporters present that: … he’s been enjoying Season 4, especially since the usually-serious Bill finally got to say a few funny lines, including last week’s beekeeper reference to Kristin Bauer van Straten’s Pam, who wore a hat and net to cover her decaying face.

“Kristin’s got one coming up that’s possibly one of the great lines of all time,” Stephen said, slightly envious of his blonde co-star’s upcoming dialogue.

“But she does them so beautifully,” Anna added.

There’s more!

• Ball says the biggest challenge in shooting the show is getting everything done on time. In the end, they have to scale back on or drop certain scenes altogether. “The key to it is everyone really loves working on this show,” Ball insists.
• Ball admitted that Paquin and Moyer were able to keep their offscreen relationship a secret for a while, but then he turned to them and said: “Not as long as you thought.”
• “It’s not a show where you think there’s a lack of imagination,” Paquin tells the crowd of reporters. Both actors insist they are encouraged to pitch their own ideas for their character. “When we were down at Comic-Con, we were pitching ideas. Bill taking over the world. That sort of thing,” Moyer said (maybe?) jokingly. He also wishes for Bill to visit Merlotte’s more often.
• HBO has yet to pick up True Blood for Season 5, but based on Ball’s announcement that he recently “closed a deal to do another [year],” it’s looking likely. “Everything ends, and there will be an end for me on this show at some point,” he offered. “But I don’t have any desire to leave because I’m having more fun than I have in my entire life.” What’s more, Ball explained that the writing staff is already breaking stories on the fifth season, which will “explore how one of the vampires was made,” as well as introduce new characters.
• If there’s a standout moment between Eric (Alexander Skarsgard), Sookie, and Bill, in Season 4?s ninth episode, Paquin gets all the credit. The actress says she gave Ball some rare input on an upcoming scene, and it may end up on air.
• What can you say of the Bill-Sookie-Eric triangle?
  Ball: It’s complicated.
• Will Sookie (Anna Paquin) be able to forgive Bill (Stephen Moyer)?
  Ball: I believe forgiveness is possible for everybody for everything, but I’m a Buddist, so …
• Were you careful with the relationship between Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) and Sookie because of Team Bill?
  Ball: I don’t worry about Team Bill or Team Eric. I love [the fourth book] because I thought it was a great story, but I’m Team Sookie.

And about that creepy-ass doll? Ball admits he had no idea what to do with it. “I had no idea where that was going to go [when we first showed the doll],” Ball says. “And now creepy baby doll has found its way to creepy baby. They’re teamed up now. There’s something going on between those two, I can tell you that.”

Here are a few tweets from @LauinLA, a reporter who attended the TCA session:

• Stephen found out about becoming the new king towards the end of S3. “I feel really lucky b/c I’ve gotten this really interesting arc”
• Whoever writes the episode gets to sit on set as a producer, so all the actors hit that writer up for info when they’re on set.
• Stephen wants Bill to have more scenes with Arlene and Terry, he has a great love for those characters and actors.
• Comic-Con reaction: “It’s extraordinary, when you go to Comic-Con, we’re playing to a specific audience that eat this stuff up.” – Stephen
• Anna and Stephen feel that the writers write to their strength as actors, they jokingly pitch things, wondering if they’ll take it.
• “You just sort of have to take the fact that certain things lock you in as a given” – Alan Ball on source material.
• “Stubborn people get themselves into a lot of trouble, but they also get things done.” – Anna Paquin on Sookie

Photos: Wire Image
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