Game of Thrones [SPOILERS]

[Ghambit]

After the success of Spartacus, I'm fairly sure HBO is frothing to do this right and get this out.  Prior to Spartacus it kinda felt like the network was a bit gunshy.
I'm in the camp of wishing they'd picked another fantasy series to do though, but the fact is GoT is mainstream and "light" enough to be palatable by most audiences and not require all kinds of post-production.  Whereas something like Dragonlance or Wheel of Time would be mentally out of reach for a lot of folks unless produced perfectly.

What I've always wondered though is why someone doesnt just pick up the Tolkien IP and do a show based in Middle Earth's other time periods.  As worn out as LotR was/is it's still the best way to get "normal folk" to watch Fantasy in droves.  And for the Spartacus-types, we should be seeing more Conan, done in TRUE Howard style, which is lots of blood, nudity, and questionable ethics.

[sickrubik]

What I've always wondered though is why someone doesnt just pick up the Tolkien IP and do a show based in Middle Earth's other time periods.  As worn out as LotR was/is it's still the best way to get "normal folk" to watch Fantasy in droves.  And for the Spartacus-types, we should be seeing more Conan, done in TRUE Howard style, which is lots of blood, nudity, and questionable ethics.

Getting the rights to do LOTR stuff is very very difficult.

[Johny Cee]

After the success of Spartacus, I'm fairly sure HBO is frothing to do this right and get this out.  Prior to Spartacus it kinda felt like the network was a bit gunshy.

I'm not sure how comparable Spartacus and Game of Thrones are.  Spartacus is low budget and not afraid to cut corners, with a heavy focus on the sex/violence thrill.  Game of Thrones will likely be a sumptuous period piece based on character and intrigue filmed on location (Westeros is basically reskinned British Isles) with a solid cast of actors.

Also, Legend of the Seeker (based on the Goodkind books, which are major sellers even if no one on the internet likes them) just got canned, which doesn't bode well for fantasy IPs drawing power.

I'm in the camp of wishing they'd picked another fantasy series to do though, but the fact is GoT is mainstream and "light" enough to be palatable by most audiences and not require all kinds of post-production.  Whereas something like Dragonlance or Wheel of Time would be mentally out of reach for a lot of folks unless produced perfectly.

What I've always wondered though is why someone doesnt just pick up the Tolkien IP and do a show based in Middle Earth's other time periods.  As worn out as LotR was/is it's still the best way to get "normal folk" to watch Fantasy in droves.  And for the Spartacus-types, we should be seeing more Conan, done in TRUE Howard style, which is lots of blood, nudity, and questionable ethics.

Tolkien rights are closely guarded and expensive as fucking hell.  The early time periods are essentially unfilmable, as well....  the heroes are nasty pieces of work, or are tragically flawed, and everyone fucking dies while the world slowly crumbles.  Most of the early time periods are so sparsely described outside of the First Age that the writers would be making shit up out of whole cloth.  And so likely to end up as bad Tolkien fanfiction.

Also, the vast majority of people that have read LOTR care very little about the older time periods.  If it doesn't have Bilbo, Frodo, or Aragorn people won't care.

Literally, there is no upside for the Tolkien Estate to sell those rights outside of another huge budget series of films backed by a well regarded director or producer team and a major studio.

[Johny Cee]

What I've always wondered though is why someone doesnt just pick up the Tolkien IP and do a show based in Middle Earth's other time periods.  As worn out as LotR was/is it's still the best way to get "normal folk" to watch Fantasy in droves.  And for the Spartacus-types, we should be seeing more Conan, done in TRUE Howard style, which is lots of blood, nudity, and questionable ethics.

Getting the rights to do LOTR stuff is very very difficult.

As picky and stubborn as the Tolkien Estate can be, it's far fucking better than the corpse raping that is happening to the Dune or Amber books....  or what happened to Conan after Howard killed himself.  Or the slew of mediocre Foundation novels cashing in on Asimov's work.

[Merusk]

Also, Legend of the Seeker (based on the Goodkind books, which are major sellers even if no one on the internet likes them) just got canned, which doesn't bode well for fantasy IPs drawing power.

While Seeker had tons of eye candy. (and my god was it great) I think its problem was that it took itself too seriously. It tried to be big an impressive and epic, but felt silly because you can't pull that off on a tight budget.   

It also alienated the fans of the books by diverging from the details and some major plot points from the get-go.  The last few episodes I saw were using bits willy-nilly to prop up what was passing for the 'major story arc.'   (Sisters of the Dark are all Ninjas in Red dresses that fight with big ass throwing stars!)

If it was going to fit itself loosely around the source material it should have done so in the same fashion that Hercules and Xena did.  However, it lacked the camp and fun of those shows while trying to maintain the heady high-fantasy talk about "the Keeper" and "The boxes of Ordin" and "Additive vs Subtractive" magic.  That kind of geekery in a light fantasy show will turn folks off.

GOT I figure has a shot because intrigue-heavy shows like the Tudors, First Blood and Rome have done pretty well in the past.  GOT won't be tossing a lot of wizardy and magic at the audience at once, forcing them to leap into a world that most don't care about.  Instead it will pull them in with the character drama, slowly introducing the magic and oddities in the same way the characters discover them.

[Johny Cee]

Also, Legend of the Seeker (based on the Goodkind books, which are major sellers even if no one on the internet likes them) just got canned, which doesn't bode well for fantasy IPs drawing power.

If it was going to fit itself loosely around the source material it should have done so in the same fashion that Hercules and Xena did.  However, it lacked the camp and fun of those shows while trying to maintain the heady high-fantasy talk about "the Keeper" and "The boxes of Ordin" and "Additive vs Subtractive" magic.  That kind of geekery in a light fantasy show will turn folks off.

Camp is actually really hard to do.  Especially deliberately.  There is only a very small audience for it, as well.  Outside of Hercules and Xena, who else has actually done a recently successful camp series?  Going camp right away also pretty much alienates the fans of the IP you paid all that money for.

The major problem with Seeker from the few episodes I've watched was just bad writing.  The writers were flailing around trying to make things work and constantly hamstringing themselves.

GOT I figure has a shot because intrigue-heavy shows like the Tudors, First Blood and Rome have done pretty well in the past.  GOT won't be tossing a lot of wizardy and magic at the audience at once, forcing them to leap into a world that most don't care about.  Instead it will pull them in with the character drama, slowly introducing the magic and oddities in the same way the characters discover them.

Yep.  They have a successful model to build on, which will help. 

The question is if the show will build enough of an audience to pay for the giant budget.  Or if the show will survive the mass fan howling when characters and viewpoints are massively scaled back to focus on setting up a couple of major characters while reducing many of the minor characters to one note caricatures.

[Merusk]

The major problem with Seeker from the few episodes I've watched was just bad writing.  The writers were flailing around trying to make things work and constantly hamstringing themselves.

Yeah, that was a big problem as well.

The question is if the show will build enough of an audience to pay for the giant budget.  Or if the show will survive the mass fan howling when characters and viewpoints are massively scaled back to focus on setting up a couple of major characters while reducing many of the minor characters to one note caricatures.

I dunno, the first book seemed all about Ned up until the end.  I can see building season one around him, a few glimpses of Daen and a focus on Clan Lannister with brief forays into the side characters being totally in tune with the book.   Later books/ seasons I agree it'll be a problem.

[Paelos]

I dunno, the first book seemed all about Ned up until the end.  I can see building season one around him, a few glimpses of Daen and a focus on Clan Lannister with brief forays into the side characters being totally in tune with the book.   Later books/ seasons I agree it'll be a problem.

I think the howling will be epic if they focus on Ned. I would imagine that a lot of people will watch this show, and they will have zero clue about the source material.

It's like those people in my theatre who got all pissed at the end of the Fellowship of the Ring. "WTF, THAT'S THE END???"

[JWIV]

It's now for real.

http://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones (complete with teaser trailer)

[Sky]

Trailer was played on HBO last night! 

[Ghambit]

Is Boromir Ned?   

[Rasix]

Is Boromir Ned?   

No, that's a different Sean Bean.

[Ghambit]

Is Boromir Ned?   

No, that's a different Sean Bean.

[Arthur_Parker]

Wanted: NI amputees for major US TV series

Starstruck amputees are being offered a golden opportunity to be on television.

A Northern Ireland casting company is looking for amputees to take part in epic fantasy adventure series, Game of Thrones, which is being filmed in Belfast.

Local company, Extras NI, also wants a lot of dark, hairy people for the production to begin in July.

[nurtsi]

Not really TV, but I guess this goes in here as well:

Cyanide is making the game

Jon Snow hack'n slash snow-zombie fest?

[Tannhauser]

Although I've not read the books, I've skimmed the wiki and I will sub to HBO when this comes out.  Looks very interesting!  Yeah and I thought of Boromir too from that pic.

[Arthur_Parker]

Game of Thrones: In Production

Slightly longer version on you tube.





Robert Baratheon smokes rollups  



New website http://www.makinggameofthrones.com/

[Salamok]

It's like those people in my theatre who got all pissed at the end of the Fellowship of the Ring. "WTF, THAT'S THE END???"

yeah I was pissed they didn't torch the shire too!

[Arthur_Parker]

Nelson McCausland (Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure in the NI Executive) from his blog.

The series Game of Thrones is currently being filmed in Northern Ireland and it is going extremely well.  Like all large scale film/television production it is very challenging but all of the creative executives involved in the project are very happy and there is enormous optimism that the series will be a great success.  Most of the series is being filmed at locations in northern Ireland with some extra filming in Malta for the desert sequences.  The series will involve a spend of more than £20m in Northern Ireland and that is good for the local economy.  Planning is now shifting to arrangements for the second series and Jay Roewe's visit was primarily focused on the planning for that second series.

HBO seems pretty confident about Game of Thrones.

[Triforcer]

That's Robert Baratheon?  He doesn't look as badass as he should.  I know by the time of the books he's put on a few pounds from his Rhaegar-slaying days, but he isn't THAT old or fat.

[Rasix]

Oh, he's that fat. Perhaps fatter.  I think they were being nice.

[Tarami]

I hope it's the photo, because the wig Headey is wearing looks TERRIBLE from here. I got more than a lifetime's quota of bad wigs by watching Pillars of the Earth, thankyouverymuch.

And yeah, Robert is a fatty.

[Merusk]

Joffy had to get it from SOMEWHERE! 

[Chimpy]

Oh, he's that fat. Perhaps fatter.  I think they were being nice.

Ya, that dude's beer gut is not much bigger than mine. And his beard is not nearly obnoxious enough. Needs to have enough girth to have shit like chicken bones hanging out of it.

I always pictured Robert as being kind of shaped like a taller George Wendt.

[proudft]

Brian Blessed is my image of Robert.  It's just a shame he's too old for it.

[Ingmar]

Specifically Blackadder the First era Brian Blessed:

[Merusk]

That's probably not a coincidence since GoT is inspired by the War of the Roses and Blessed's character is supposed to be in the same era, yes?

[WayAbvPar]

Specifically Blackadder the First era Brian Blessed:

Exactly!

[Khaldun]

Yeah, Robert is basically the classic "hard-drinking, lusty former high school quarterback gone to seed, but still capable of winning a barfight". So Blessed is spot-on.

[Arthur_Parker]

Game of Thrones: Exclusive First Look!

About 10 new stills.

[Tannhauser]

Face down on a dungeon floor is no way to go through life son.

[Lucas]

Saw those photos. Drooling like a bloody idiot, right now.

I always pictured Dany a little more..."ethereal" and skinny, but Emilia Clarke looks lovely anyway.

[Threash]

Daenerys looks freaking hot.  Jaimie is supposed to look more like Cersei though, but it will do.

[Lucas]

High resolution pics of Cersei and Tyrion; the latter is just ridiculously good.

http://www.makinggameofthrones.com/production-diary/2010/11/17/new-got-photos-on-ewcom.html

[Merusk]

I always pictured Dany a little more..."ethereal" and skinny, but Emilia Clarke looks lovely anyway.

I'm with you on the skinny, but I envisioned her a little more exotic-looking than etheral.  No idea why as that makes little sense when I think about it.