Martin has some production updates

GRRM has updated his Not A Blog with another post. He commiserates with the fans over not having any casting announcement but also confirms that the production office has opened and announces that filming has been pushed back two weeks. He also seems to expect a few more roles to be filled by the end of the week. Take a look:

No announcements from HBO yet. Sorry, I have no idea when they will release the names of the six actors cast but not announced. Soon, I hope. I know the speculation has driven many of you quite mad.

Things are progressing, though. The production offices have opened in Belfast, and soon pre-production will be underway in earnest. We have had a postponement, though: filming will start two weeks later than previously announced, on October 26 rather than October 12. No big thing, just a tweak to allow David and Dan and the rest of the gang to get all the ducks in a row. On a project of this size, you can’t have crooked ducks.

I expect to hear that several more roles have been filled by week’s end. Though that doesn’t mean I will be able to tell you who has filled them. Sorry.

Having worked in television myself for ten years, I understand how tough the choices can be sometimes, and I understand what David and Dan and Tom McCarthy are going through:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK87ejPDZOk

So all I can say is… be patient, and all shall be revealed.

Winter Is Coming: It is a shame that this whole clue thing has kinda backfired. Was a fun diversion but is starting to become tedious and annoying. I think Martin realizes it too. Not really his fault though. Hopefully HBO will put us out of our misery soon.

The good news is that my previous report about the production office opening was confirmed. It is exciting to think they are getting close to beginning a more full-scale pre-production phase. The filming being pushed back a couple weeks means they have more time to get the sets and everything ready to go. I think it is a good sign that they are trying to take their time on this and make sure they get everything right.

UPDATE: Benioff and Weiss have given us a little casting update over at the Westeros forums. Their post: “Another day, another knight.” Guess George was right about there being more roles filled by the end of the week! So which knight did they cast? Sandor? Jorah? Rodrik?

UPDATE: Uh oh, George just can’t help himself. He’s given us some hints as to this recent casting announcement:

Seven kindoms, seven gods, and seven parts now cast that I can’t tell you about.

Ser Seven is another terrific award winning actor. He will be going back to a place he’s been before. This is a guy who once went to the wars with our Jaime, though it’s a good thing that Jaime wasn’t a kingslayer then, or all history might have been changed. And there are mountains in Westeros that he might know, though his character has never seen ’em.

More by week’s end, maybe.

And the announcement? Don’t ask me.

• Published on 08/19/2009 at 5:49 AM CDT
• Last updated on 08/19/2009 at 5:49 AM CDT