Two reports from Minnesota

We have received two reports about the previous weekend’s events with George R.R. Martin, his panel at the Days of Ice and Fire convention and his book signing at Barnes & Noble. Obviously, the topics covered in discussions with George were similar, so there is some overlap. First off, we have the report from the Barnes & Noble signing, courtesy of Educated Pony, where George discussed Game of Thrones briefly.

1. He’s seen scenes of Maisie with Sean Bean and he says if she doesn’t break your heart as Arya then you probably don’t have one.
2. He said that Sophie is so charming as Sansa it’s going to make it hard for people to hate her as much as they do (big laugh at that one).
3. He said in Malta they filmed in (or around?) medieval structures (forts, i think he said) from around the time of the knights templar who lived there and it is very authentic looking to the period.
4. He said (this is my favorite) that he hopes that by this time next year all the 15 year old girls will have taken down their “team Jacob” and “team Edward” posters and replaced them with “team Jon” and “team Robb”. which everyone thought was really funny.
5. He also said (and you may know this) that Game of Thrones is the biggest cast ever assembled for an HBO project.

The other report we have received comes from JD, who was at GRRM’s Q&A on the HBO series at the Days of Ice & Fire event. Click through to read her full report as there are spoilers (including some from future seasons).

Random Tidbits:

• The books will be re-released with jacket art to go with the HBO series. He didn’t mention when. (Ed. note: The books will release March 22.)
• He does not feel like any of this has influenced his writing yet. He hopes that it won’t much. He also hopes that opinions of the show and the books won’t affect each other too much, but instead co-exist peacefully.
• His cameo was cut, and there are no plans for a new one. However, if there is an opportunity for a season two cameo, he will definitely do one sitting down! He gives a shout-out to all the hard, dedicated work the extras do.
• He suspects HBO will make much less use of him in promotions of the show if future seasons are ordered, and that instead the actors will take the forefront.

Filming information:

• An April release is likely.
• Production is expected to wrap on Dec. 18, and then they will move into post-production.
• Currently there are three directors working, 2 filming and one in post-production.
• There are 3 units working, 2 in Ireland and 1 in Malta.
• One of the filming locations in Malta is St. John’s Hospital.
• Castle Black is a workable set (i.e. not a front), and there are about a dozen rooms and a yard.
• GoT won’t be as expensive as Rome, but it is still pretty expensive.
• N. Ireland film commission gave them an excellent deal. Also good for the budget was the high quality sets they inherited from Your Majesty.
• The Paint Hall has four pods/filming areas, and all are currently in use for GoT.

How faithful will the adaptation be?

• We can expect cuts due to the budget. Major battles will be mostly off-screen, as they were in the books. Mr. Martin warned us not to expect “Peter Jackson-style” battles, but rather more like what was seen in Rome.
• More specifically, he said that the early battles in Rome were handled a little too lightly. He said expect more than that, but that we aren’t going to be seeing things like Blackwater Rush played out before our eyes.
• He considers what has been done so far to be very faithful to the books, but not “slavishly faithful.”
• He really enjoyed and respected the LOTR movies, and he feels that is the type of adaptation being made of GoT. Changes are made by necessity, but are carefully weighed and done with respect.

Journey to the screen

• He told his agents his conditions for licensing it for the screen, and they found D&D for him. When he met them to discuss, they went out to lunch, but they talked well into dinner! He had a good feeling about them, trusted them.
• HBO also had a pilot for a show about King Arthur that was GoT’s biggest competition for genre reasons. We know how that ended.
• He is happy to be in N. Ireland, and to have British and Irish actors because he thinks they fit the books well.

“How do you feel about the actors’ performances, from what you have seen so far?”

• He watched about 20 minutes of footage during his recent trip.
• He started by saying the actors are all excellent—no disappointments so far.
• He thinks we’re really going to be happy with Sean Bean, and see a new side of him in this paternal role.
• Peter Dinklage is the only one in the world for Tyrion, and he’s a scene stealer.
• As far as Richard Madden and Kit Harington go, Mr. Martin notes that if this show gets big, it’s going to be Edward vs. Jacob all over again. Richard is the president of the student council, that guy everyone likes and wants to be friends with. Kit is brooding, dark, and emo (Sounds like our Jon!)
• The kids are awesome. They were hard to find, but now it’s like magic.
• Mr. Martin himself, who didn’t watch all of the auditions, probably saw 100 tapes for Arya’s role. Maisie Williams is another scene stealer.
• He saw a rough cut of a scene with Maisie and Sean Bean that was just spot on.
• As for Sansa . . . he remarked that most of us hated her at first, but he doesn’t think that will be the case for TV audience. He thinks Sophie is excellent and that the audiences will love her and find her more sympathetic than most of us did in the books.
• Emilia Clarke is also doing a great job as Dany.
• Jorah is going to be an adjustment, simply because Iain Glen fails to be ugly. That should change the dynamic a bit.

“How will books 4 & 5 be handled?”

• Well, we have to get there first. It’s too far out to say. However, plans now are for one book per season. 4 & 5 would theoretically be two seasons, but cobbled together to not cut out entire storylines.
• Also, Storm of Swords is a train wreck. Major cuts? Two seasons? Who knows?

“What scenes are you excited to see?”

• Any of them!
• He understands new scenes are being added, as the solution for not having POV or long internal monologues, etc. He feels nervous about them, but trusts D & D.
• He worries that, despite things like new scenes, the complexity of it all will still make it unintelligible to those who haven’t read the books, and that they will lose new viewers.

“Are you worried about the backlash of losing Ned at the end of the first season? Will it alienate viewers?”

• Mr. Martin stressed that the death has to have impact. HBO is different. It’s “not TV,” so viewers will hopefully handle things differently.
• More worrisome than Ned’s death is the Red Wedding. Will the audience explode? Maybe.

Thanks to both of these fans for their reports!

• Published on 11/16/2010 at 2:27 PM CDT
• Last updated on 11/16/2010 at 3:49 PM CDT