BTW, be sure to check out the trailers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNhgIjyEock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43LW7a_NKMk

As for the “hundreds of pages where nothing happens but complex dialogue and intrigue” and how it will translate to the show. Well, first, dozens of pages of dialog can equate into a 5+ minute conversation. So I wouldn’t really be so worried about that. Plus, each season is supposed to equate to a single book. The longest book so far has been A Storm of Sword (924 pages in my edition), so I think “hundreds” of pages might be a bit of an over exaggeration. Still, the way the books keep changing scenes will work great in a TV series, and help that break things up. I don’t think there will be a problem.

My only fear has been and continues to be, that the first book, and particularly the period that the pilot will be covering, is vastly different the majority of the series. So I’m afraid people (The people that need to greenlight the series, as well as fans) may judge the series one way or another before they really know what the meat of the show is about.

As for the HBO series itself, the casting seems pretty solid – I worried about Robert’s actor being too much of a comic and not enough of a savage brute, but we’ll see. Also, I love the books to death, but there are spans of hundreds of pages where nothing happens but complex dialogue and intrigue. I am definitely worried that the producers will either cut way too much, or try to slog through all of the dialogue and the parade of side-characters at the expense of entertainment. Even with the many great adult actors they’ve brought in, the demands on child actors are going to be a strain in some scenes. In short, I’m fricking excited, and just hoping they don’t screw this up.

p.s. When’s the Wheel of Time TV series going to happen?! I’ve been saying for years that Eye of the World would be a kick-ass movie.

I absolutely love all their choices so far!

Jack Gleeson looks a bit young, but I keep forgetting Joff’s age because he’s such a bastard (oops, I really shouldn’t use that as an insult, what with Jon being one and all, should I?)

As for Tamzin Merchant’s age: unlike the other “children”, her age never really seems to be of any importance to her role. So whether she’s 15, 18 or 22 won’t really change much, except that the complexity of the role might be easier for an adult to be pulled off… which is why I really hope they made sure to pick child actors with awe-inspiring skills for the Stark girls and Joff.

… was the great betrayer.

… worked at a tobacco factory.

… is a novel by Cory Doctorow that was nominated for the Hugo, but that doesn’t count.

… was the great betrayed.

… never went to space, but has been in freefall.

Joseph has apparently played both Judas and Jesus. He was in a movie called Freefall. And he worked at a theatre called the tobacco factory.

The second set of clues are for “The Old Knight”. This could potentially be either Ser Barristan Selmy, or Ser Rodrik Cassel. Here are the clues:

… is an experienced master at arms,

… has been a colonel, a doctor, a friar, a nazi, a sergeant, a superintendant, a corporal, and a minister,

… knows Cersei, Eddard, Ser Jorah, and Pussy Galore.

There are quite a few names being tossed around for this casting choice, so it seems that the clues were more obscure this time. the names I’ve heard: Derek Jacobi, Sean Connery (unlikely), Alun Armstrong, Ron Donachie. Ron Donachie looks like the likely the choice, as he has been placed in all the correct roles and with all the correct relationships by people much better at such things than myself.

So yeah, as soon as those two come out, I’ll be sure to update the list.

Besides, there are so many people that I can’t convince to read a fantasy novel. If this show is half as good as the books, I think that may change quite a bit. The Harry Potter movies weren’t all great adaptations of the books, and they sometimes got the fans riled up. But I’d wager that they added even more readers to the series.

A lot of the casting seems dead on to me, and as far as what doesn’t (Tamzin Merchant!!), I’ve decided to reserve judgment until I see the pilot.

I also think the actor playing Jon Snow actually *does* look like Sean Bean, albeit not compared to the photo of Bean in LOTR that is up there. Compared to Sean Bean with dark hair (like Goldeneye, for example) they look much more similar.

So to me, the casting looks uniformly excellent on paper. Hopefully everyone will work well on screen together.

And you say Tyrion’s casting is horrible? WTF? He looks dead on him. It doesn’t get much closer.

Robb stark i can understand him looking a bit like a pretty boy with his stock from the south
but why in god’s name does jon snow look nothing like his father? they gave the family an italian look instead of a “northern” danish look

i find the casting horrible.

tyrion is one of my favourite characters.. the casting is horrible also

Viserys seems to fit. and theon also

my two biggest problems are Jon Snow and… Jamie Lannister

why is Jamie a hard faced man? he should be a “permanently smirking” man.

i am horribly dissapointed in this cast *don’t post spoilers*

http://grrm.livejournal.com/106328.html

I’m beginning to suspect we won’t see A Dance with Dragons this fall. :P But seriously, I’ve stopped even trying to guess. I was beginning to think, “Surely he’s almost done”. But then like last month he said that he had gotten more done on the book that month than he had in a long time, and he was hoping that would continue. Doesn’t sound like something you would hear if it was close. Surely by next fall, right? Surely.

Also, when the hell is Martin going to finish A Dance With Dragons? I want to read what happens next. Hopefully it won’t take a nearly getting killed in a car crash for him to finish the series like it did for Stephen King to finally finish the Dark Tower series. Perhaps I should go read through those books again while I wait for Dragons…

This update makes me very happy. First of all, the girls playing Sansa and Arya look damn near perfect now that we can get a good look at them. If they are as good as George claims, they are going to be a highlight of the show.

Secondly, I need to address Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister. Those of you that read my original casting choices know that I actually cast Lena Headey in my choices as well. However, I cast her as Catelyn Stark, not Cersei Lannister. Those two characters are as fundamentally different as it gets.

At first, I was a bit surprised to see that casting choice. But the more I think about it, the more I think Lena will be able to nail this performance. And I’ll just say now: if she can pull off this role, it will be one of the best performances in the show. I will be completely sold on her acting at that point. Following The Sarah Connor Chronicles, it will be a good role to show her versatility.