UPDATE: HBO to screen pilot in two weeks, eyeing spring 2011 premiere
Although there wasn’t any official mention of Game of Thrones at today’s TCA event, we did get an update via Matt Roush of TV Guide Magazine. Here is what he tweeted from tonight’s event:
HBO programming chief tells me they’ll see full pilot of Game of Thrones in 2 wks. Dailies look good; more scripts written. Fingers crossed.
Winter Is Coming: Good stuff. As I suspected, Benioff and Weiss sound like they’ve been busy writing scripts. Sorta surprised they will be screening the pilot in only two weeks. Initial reports had mentioned Modern VideoFilm would be working on the pilot in Feb, so either that was moved up or they are no longer involved. Either way, I’ve been told not to expect an announcement until March. But still, in two weeks a few lucky individuals will get to watch the pilot episode to Game of Thrones!
UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter’s James Hibberd checks in with a great article from HBO’s TCA event that contains some exciting info. Check it out!
HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo says the dailies for highly anticipated fantasy series “Game of Thrones” look “fantastic” and the project looks very strong for a series pickup.
“Everything looks fantastic,” said Lombardo, who’s become a fan of the George R.R. Martin books upon which the project is based. “The director got great performances. Unlike a lot of projects like this, everything was shot on location. It has such a rich texture that it looks more expensive than it actually was.”
The network spent $5 million-$10 million on the pilot to bring castle Winterfell to life. Lombardo says executives are “sitting on pins and needles” waiting for a rough cut in two weeks.
“The fantasy is so incidental, it has a very adult tone,” Lombardo said. “You forget it’s fantasy while you’re watching it, and that’s what I love about it.”
The pilot will employ some CGI, for backgrounds, the story’s “direwolves” (a mixture of real animals and CGI) and dragon eggs.
Also, like in the books, each family in the story will have its own color pallet for clothing and armor.
If all goes well, Lombardo said, “Game of Thrones” will be on HBO in spring 2011 — “March or April.”
“I would be surprised if it doesn’t [get greenlit],” Lombardo said. “It has everything going for it.”
Winter Is Coming: So excited right now! The head of programming at HBO is a fan of the books! Sounds like we are this close to a series pick up. Don’t know when it will be forthcoming, but it seems like just a formality at this point. I mean, they are already talking premiere dates!
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