Benioff and Weiss React to IMAX Screening

Game of Thrones debuts in IMAX tomorrow night. Even though IMAX executives admitted that they hadn’t expected it to do that well, tickets are selling out. Meanwhile producers Benioff and Weiss got an early look, and EW has their reaction.

“I’m still kind of in shock,” Weiss said…. “It’s a completely different viewing experience, one that’s so immersive and so superior.”

Check out the screen grab above–they look in shock. Non-spoilery details below.

ETA: Video now embedded below.

Game of Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi also appears in the video, talking about the the nature of hearing the sound design on such an epic scale: “I got goosebumps.”

“Ramin’s fingerprints are all over this show,” Benioff said, and Weiss added, “If you have a 25-foot mammoth attacking a 700-foot wall, you better have the music that can shoulder that image.”

Weiss says this is something they’ve always wanted. “Game of Thrones is so epic and sweeping, and we always say to each other, we say it would be so great if people could experience it on a big screen.” Benioff agrees: “I was looking at elements I just never noticed before, and I’ve watched these episodes hundreds of times.”

They also talk about the experience of seeing in in a movie theater, surrounded by hundreds of fans that are just as into watching it as you are. “The communal experience of being surrounded by people who are all gasping at the same moment–it’s the way it’s really meant to be seen. To feel like you’re there is just something you don’t get while watching on television.”

Something I noticed–Weiss says these episodes were “remixed” for IMAX. I am assuming he’s talking about the DMR conversion process and the audio detail that the original material had to go through, and not that the episodes are interpolated.

ETA: Here’s the full video.