Game of Thrones Gets The Greenlight
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
It’s been all over the internet recently, but I couldn’t help put put my own two cents in on the matter. HBO has officially picked up ten episodes of “Game of Thrones“, the series which is based on George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” fantasy novels. The 10 episodes consist of the pilot, which HBO has already shot, plus nine additional episodes. Keep reading…
I’ve already posted a couple articles on the casting of the pilot, so you can read those here and here.
A Song of Ice and Fire is considered by many, including myself, to be one of the best fantasy series of modern day. However, it is also a very long series. In addition, the series is quite a ways off from being completed. So the decision to begin reading the novels could be particularly tough for some people. However, with a television series, many people will be able to get a good taste of the setting and plot of the novels, without dedicating the time to reading them. Which could in turn lead them back to the novels, once they know it’s something they are interested in.
The fact is, ASoIaF is not your typical fantasy series. The Hollywood Reporter did a good job of summarizing one of the main differences in their recent article:
Unlike many fantasy novels, the “Thrones” series largely avoids relying on magical elements and instead goes for brutal realism — think “Sopranos” with swords.
Martin’s view of fantasy in the novels up to this point has largely involved the setting itself. Yes, magic once existed in the world, and may very well exist again at some point. But the focus is more on political intrigue, knights and soldiers, and kingdoms rising from chaos.
Game of Thrones, which shares the same title as the first novel in the series (minus the preceding article “A”) will find quite possibly the perfect fit on HBO. The novels are way too violent for a network TV spot similar to “Legend of the Seeker“. Sex is also something that makes it’s way into the novels when appropriate for the story. Neither of those will be an issue for a show airing on HBO. If anything, it could help the show out with HBO’s audience.
The series is shaping up to be a good one. As of the pilot we have a fantastic list of stars including Sean Bean, Lena Headey, and Peter Dinklage. Add in a few rising actors and some fresh faces, and this series has the potential to really take off.
Ten episodes for the first season could work out pretty well. The first novel could be cut down quite a bit. Hopefully future seasons would warrant the normal HBO length of 13 episodes, however. It could be pretty difficult to cut down some of the later books. Currently there are four books, with the 5th book looking likely to come out sometime this year. Given HBO’s history with shows, it’s unlikely that the show would even make it to that point. However, should it reach the 5th season, there will probably be a 6th book waiting for it. The first three books came in two year gaps. Assuming A Dance with Dragons is released this year, that would mean that both of his last two books saw a gap of 5 years before they came out.
Game of Thrones is set to begin production this June, and should air in Spring of 2011.
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I was actually just thinking about writing an article on this, but it appears you’ve beat me to it. I guess that means I won’t be slacking off at work quite as much today. ;)
I think this is awesome news. Hopefully they will get the new episodes in production quickly enough to air them soon after the pilot, whenever that ends up being. I hope we don’t have to wait too much longer because I am anxious to see how well they condense Martin’s dense text into something for TV.
Surely they will do infinitely better on GoT than the cheesy, cheap-looking Spartacus: Blood and Sand thing on Starz right now. They’ve been putting the episodes on Netflix, and I was barely able to suffer through a couple episodes. The acting is silly, the story is silly, and the FX work is a very cheap-looking knockoff of 300 blood splatter.
You can feel free to replace this article if you have something to add. I’ve said more than my fair share of stuff about ASoIaF, it would be nice to see another opinion. :)
The series is supposed to start in Spring of 2011. Someone on the cast (Lena Headley, perhaps) had some issues with filming before this summer. So we still have a while to go. I hope the pilot leaks out before too much longer. I just want a small taste of what we’ll be seeing. Especially from the actors and such. I’m very excited to see my vision come to life on the screen. This is my Lord of the Rings, without a doubt.
I’m hoping for the best, but I must admit to being a little worried, seeing as how one of the writers also worked on Wolverine. :P
The one thing I’m curious about is how they are going to handle the gap between filming the pilot and the other episodes. The pilot was filmed in October, I believe. Beginning filming in June for the new episodes would mean a gap of 8 months. That could be huge for the children. I don’t think Bran was in the pilot, but Arya was. I’d hate to see her grow up before she gets a real chance to be a cute kid. It’s part of what makes that character so special.
How the hell did they make the pilot without Bran? I guess I was assuming that the pilot would get further along in the story than it actually does.
Maybe I’m mistaken. I hadn’t saw him cast before, but I see now that they have an actor listed. So maybe he was in the pilot after all. The script is out there somewhere, but I’m avoiding it, personally.
Also, a nice site for information of the show’s development process. Talked a lot about the shooting for the Pilot, for instance:
http://winter-is-coming.net/