HBO Asia blogger event: "True Blood"

On 26 March, the folks from HBO Asia invited a group of bloggers and their friends to a party at Ink Cafe Bar at Swissotel. The event was to launch the Asian premiere of the HBO series, "True Blood". There were about 10 of us, a nice cosy number, and what followed was unlike any film premiere that one would expect.

As soon as I arrived with my friend, we were "ambushed" at the entrance to take a photo to resemble the "True Blood" poster. They provided the fake vampire teeth and red ink to simulate blood, but essentially all I needed to do was to curl my tongue up at the lip.

Food consisted of typical posh bar-type snacks, served continuously to us by the waitresses. But the drink of the night was a special concoction called -- no surprises here -- "true blood". I don't remember the ingredients, but it was essentially an alcoholic mixer with red colour from the cranberry juice. It was nice and sweet and could become a delectable staple at any bar.

And to highlight the importance of the drink, there was a contest to see who could make the best "true blood". Three bloggers gamely took on the challenge.

We were then shown a montage of clips from the Season 1 episodes, like a "here's what you missed" recap. So without watching the show, I know pretty much all about it. Which doesn't mean that I'll watch it in its entirety, since I don't subscribe to the MAX channel.

(MAX is the new Cinemax. Its new positioning is as a male-oriented HBO-like channel. So expect things like action films and "HBO Wrestling".)

We were also introduced to an online game, "Fang Fighter". It's a Flash game where you have to fight vampires across three levels. Finish it and you can enter a contest to win an iPAQ or HP Mini 1000. Ooooh... Personally, I found the game interface to respond too slowly, i.e. after I pressed a button, my character responded after a second or so. During that time, the opponent could have delivered a lethal blow. I've already commented about this to HBO Asia. I hope they can fix this before the 7 May contest deadline.

To wrap up the evening, we were treated to the first few episodes of "True Blood". Although it's yet another vampire show, this one focuses on the relationship between a vampire man, Bill, and metahuman girl, Sookie, played by Anna Paquin. Their relationship is made more complicated as the vampire society attempts to integrate with human society, thanks to the invention of the fake human blood, "True Blood". It's like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" with its supernatural themes and personalities, but without the slashing and teenage angst. And probably worlds apart from "Twilight".

I have to say that this is one of the more fun blogger events that I've been to. Instead of the usual networking and eating, this one -- with its drink-making game -- made the night seem more friendly. Perhaps that's the difference in blogger events organised by techies versus media-types. Of course, it helps that we got to watch a free show too!

--