Winter Is Coming - News and rumors about HBO's Game of Thrones

New domain for WiC

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:33:00 +0000

Sorry about the lack of posts recently, but I have been busy porting this blog from Blogger to Wordpress (as any of you that follow my Twitter already know). Everything should be ready to go now. So head on over to my new domain!

winter-is-coming.net

Rumor: HBO looking to book Paint Hall for 5 years

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:43:00 +0000

An interesting comment was posted on Hibberd's story about Thrones. The commenter states that he was talking to the Paint Hall studio manager today and apparently HBO is thinking of booking 2 hangers within the studio for the next 5 years.

I just wanted to let you know I was down at the set where Game of Thrones is filmed in Belfast today and I was talking to the Studio manager who told me that HBO have been inquiring about provisionally booking 2 hangers in the studio for 5 years. I wonder if this means they intend on having a set end date, obviously if it bombs they won't need 5 years.

Winter Is Coming: More positive signs. Although the 5 year thing is probably just HBO trying to get as good a deal as possible and doesn't mean they are going to order a whole 5 seasons up front. I suspect that if the show really bombs, they will just cancel their booking with the Paint Hall and pay whatever fee that may result.

For sale: one direwolf pup

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:58:00 +0000

According to this ad, the pups that worked on the Game of Thrones pilot ~~are~~ were for sale. Assuming the ad is correct, they used Siberian Huskys to stand-in for direwolf pups.

Fantastic litter of pups. MOVIE STAR PUPS,have been filmed in the fantasy adventure 'GAME OF THRONES' as orphaned wolf pups featuring the famous actor SEAN BEAN aka the hobbit from Lord Of The Rings. Come and pick one of these stars to be part of your family at a bargain price.1 STUNNING BLUE EYED DOG PUP LEFT, charcoal/wolf grey and white, Pure bred but NOT REGISTERED. Both parents can be seen. pup will be wormed to date. Ready to go to his new home NOW!!!

[Thanks to Daniel for the link!]

UPDATE: HBO to screen pilot in two weeks, eyeing spring 2011 premiere

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:10:00 +0000

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!

Interview with FX producer Julia Frey

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:51:00 +0000

Today I am excited to post an exclusive interview with the coolest visual effects producer in Hollywood, Julia Frey. Julia first came to our attention when she posted some great (a little too great in HBO's estimation) photos of some location scouting done for Game of Thrones on her blog. And I know what you are thinking about her last name and as far as I know, she doesn't have any relatives named Walder. Besides, it's pronounced FRY.

Julia has cut a path (sometimes literally) up through the production ranks and has been in “the biz” since 1990, where she began working as a visual effects Production Assistant for the film Solar Crisis (with Peter Boyle and Jack Palance). Julia is not only the Visual Effects Producer for Game of Thrones, but she is also the intrepid adventurer/blogger responsible for making us wish we were anywhere but home on her Julia's Mexico City blog.

She has worked on some of the most eye-popping films to splash the screen, such as Contact, Godzilla, and Master And Commander: The Far Side of the World. In Walk The Line, her team helped make audiences believe Joaquin Phoenix was the Man In Black, and he won ~~an Oscar~~ a Golden Globe for it. We see her hand (and footprints) in many films, even if we never get to see her. (Sort of—though she did admit to appearing as a “crowd replication” extra at the end where Johnny proposes to June. She’s on a balcony in a pink sweater and sporting platinum blond hair.)

Julia has kindly consented to an interview for Winter Is Coming with the understanding (sorry, fans!) that Game of Thrones can’t be discussed in any great detail. If you’re looking for production spoilers on how potentially awesome Lena Headey’s hair looked during production, move along.

Read More >>

Winter is Coming: Julia, thanks again. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Humble beginnings, early aspirations, bad choices in fashion during high school, etc.

Julia Frey: Thank you so much for the interview! It is rare for a VFX Producer to be interviewed, especially when I work on very "non-VFX" projects, so I'm honored.

I have always loved movies. I learned this love from my mom who took me to movies when I was growing up. She had gone to movies a lot when she was young and passed that along. We both grew up in different small towns and movies were a great escape. It wasn't until the summer of 1984 (the summer between my junior and senior year in high school) that I had my epiphany about going to film school. That summer was huge: Ghostbusters, Footloose, Red Dawn, Start Trek III: The Search for Spock, The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai, Across the 8th Dimension and a little movie everyone was DYING to see: Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom. I'm not kidding when I say that right in the middle of the mine car chase sequence I knew: I was going to film school. I was going to work in the movies. So when I got back to high school that fall, I applied to four colleges and was accepted to all (ahem) and chose Loyola Marymount University as it was not large. USC was a bit too intimidating to a small town gal who's high school graduation class had only 33 people.

As for bad fashion choices -- dude, I went to high school in the 80's. Rent the TV show Square Pegs. I'll say no more.

WiC: How did you get your start, professionally?

JF: In 1989 I got my first paying job was as an assistant editor on a 30 minute short film the Red Cross was producing about AIDS. (Earlier that year I had an unpaid internship through LMU as an apprentice editor on a feature called Deceptions and the assistant had moved onto the Red Cross gig.) I got paid $50/day and was grossly overworked. There's a fine line between paying your dues and getting taken advantage of. Luckily it only lasted a few months.

In January of 1990 I got a call from a former teacher at LMU who said another former student was working at a place called Boss Film Studios (a visual effects company) and they needed an editorial production assistant. I interviewed and got the job and got my 3rd credit in the biz on Solar Crisis. Being freelance, the job was over in mid 1990 and there was no additional work for me at Boss so I got a job at an editing company in Santa Monica in their vault.

Six months later I got a call from a VFX Producer I had worked with at Boss who wanted to know if I'd be interested in being an FX coordinator. She liked me and thought I'd be good at it. They had just been awarded Alien 3. I said yes. I realized my personality and skills were better suited to a production role rather than editorial and I moved up from there.

WiC: Were there any early missteps, or things you did professionally that you can look back on now and roll your eyes at (or curse the gods, whichever)?

JF: Professionally, no. My career moved right along and I got to work with some fun great people and I made good money and I was working in the movies. My only regret was that I never thought of myself as "creative." I only saw myself as a good VFX Producer: well organized, a good leader, calm under pressure, etc, etc, etc. It took me years to realize that I needed more stimulation in my job and I had been fooling myself into thinking I wasn't or couldn't be on the creative side of the business (the whole business, not just VFX.) So in late 1999 I went freelance and started working on smaller jobs so that I could explore writing. I wish I had started much sooner.

WiC: How has the writing gone so far? Anything optioned, or are you exploring outside of film?

JF: Nothing I've written has been seen outside my circle of friends yet. I plan on changing that this year. There are screenplays and half a novel and two non-fiction book proposals, one is for my wacky blog: Safety Graphic Fun (gotta plug my work, man!) I love writing, it can be hard and fun and frustrating a joyful. I often get interrupted by paying VFX work though. I'm trying to strike a better balance on that.

WiC: You worked your way up from Production Assistant to Producer. We know from your blog that part of your job means slogging through muck and mire in order to scout locations for visual effects. Your job seems to be a three-headed monster: the footwork done in the cold pre-production, the standing around in the cold during production and then the post-production phase where, hopefully, you’re not freezing your buttocks off. Is that accurate? For the laymen, what is a Visual Effects Producer?

JF: There are two sides to visual effects producing: The Production side (the client side) or the Facility side (the vendor side). I was a VFX Producer at Sony Pictures Imageworks for the majority of my facility/vendor career. This is rough but basically it can break down like this:

Facility FX Producer:

--Bid on scripts that come in from potential clients and/or bid on cut sequences that are already in post production from potential clients

--When a job is awarded to the company and you are assigned to it, manage the budget and schedule with a team. Also interact with the client on the project to track all info, budget and schedule changes. Be in all kinds of meetings all the time.

--FX facility crews on movies can be as small as five to ten people or into the hundreds. You are in charge of it all, but you do get help in the form of production managers, coordinators, etc. (On the big jobs anyway.)

--Be on set for the shoot (not always possible).

--During post, work closely with the clients to schedule turnover meetings (when they hand you locked picture to begin working on the FX) and to then begin shot reviews, working your way toward Final.

Client side FX Producer:

--Create VFX shot breakdowns (read through a script and make a list of all potential shots that could be in the movie.)

--Create a budget and work with producers to determine what that final number needs to be.

--Send out bid packages to FX companies to bid for you.

--Work with the Producers and director to determine the best company (or companies) to award the work to.

--Work with facility producers to make sure all information is flowing, and track budget and creative changes.

--Be on set for the shoot.

--During post, attend all vendor shot reviews (with or without the director) to get notes back to the facilities as often as possible.

In both jobs you are usually paired up with a Visual Effects Supervisor who is the creative half of your team. They design shots and work with the director to see the film's vision through the FX department.

WiC: Describe the steps you take, from the inception of a job, day one, to the final day where you can nod your head and say, “Done!”

JF: It all depends on the job/movie.

For a job like Contact, I got to start in the pre-production days and sit in on concept meetings with the client (director, producers, art department, etc). That was very exciting as I got to see ideas come to life in a room then we had to figure out how to make it happen on the screen. My part of that job was to work with the creative supervisors to determine how long this would all take. From that we create a more refined budget and schedule. Then we got into the shoot and because Contact was so digitally heavy and the post schedule very, very short, we started working on shots as soon as they started filming. (Usually you have time to do R&D, build 3d models etc then get into shots during post production.) That meant I was back at Imageworks overseeing the digital work while others were on set overseeing the shoot. Post was fast and furious and we worked our asses off. Drank a bit on Friday nights as well, even when we had 9am dailies on Saturday mornings. (Then later on Sunday mornings.) When we got approval on our last final, we drank lots of champagne and had a hell of a wrap party. But much like a shoot, one day you are working full blast and just a few days later, it's all over and you wake up in a panic because there isn't anything left to do.

Sometimes I get hired to work on set only. For Vantage Point I was hired by an FX company to work with a VFX Supervisor on set. The post would be taken over by one of their in-house FX producers. At the time of the shoot, they didn't have anyone available to be on set, so they called me in. For that job I literally read the script on the way down to Mexico City and was handed a budget that someone else had already done. While on set we (me and the FX Supervisor) worked with the First Assistant Director and the Producer and various other departments to schedule when we would need greenscreens or special equipment, depending on the shot. I collected camera data (type of lens, camera heights, tilt angles, etc) and measured sets and distances and put tracking markers up and whatever else was necessary. We were a two-man-band. (On much larger shoots with 3d elements (creatures, superheroes, etc) you need much larger data wrangling crews.) When the shoot was done, I spent about two weeks at the London facility, downloading all I knew to the VFX producer there.

Other times I get hired to oversee shots in post only. For The Omen, I was hired to be the VFX Producer in LA working directly with the director and editor. The FX were being done in London but they needed someone to oversee and coordinate things in LA.

Sometimes I get hired by either a client side producer or a facility just to do a script breakdown and budget. Depending on the script, this can take a few days to a few weeks. Sometimes I have a VFX Supervisor to work with and sometimes not.

Generally you try to get on a project from the early pre-production days, work on set then see it all the way through post. I love going to a cast and crew screening of the finished film and seeing crew members from set again for the first time in months and they always say, "Hey, great to see you! What have you been working on lately?" to which I laugh and say "THIS!"

WiC: Herding computer graphics whizzes – a little like herding cats?

JF: It can be! In general I loved the camaraderie you get working with many people, day in day out, seeing shots come together, getting to know everyone personally, sharing beer and pizza on late nights, etc. But you can also get bogged down by personnel issues, crewing/staffing issues, human resources issues. Most of that was not my direct responsibility (Imageworks is a large corporate company) but I did have to deal with a lot of that and it got old. I'd rather focus on making great images than having a crew member complain that dailies are too early for him.

WiC: How did you land the Game of Thrones gig?

JF: I had worked briefly with HBO before so they called me to chat about it.

WiC: As visual effects producer, what was your role on Game of Thrones? What were your daily responsibilities?

JF: My role on GOT is as Production (client) side producer. I'll keep it that simple...

WiC: You’ve obviously read the pilot script for Game of Thrones (by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss); have you read any of George R. R. Martin’s books, or were there separate notes given to you based on what the vision was for the (potential) series? Do some projects hand you a Webster’s Dictionary-sized package of visual mandates while others give only a handful of notes? How much information do you normally get?

JF: I have to admit, I'd never heard of the books before I got the job. I did read the first one while in Belfast and was entertained. I have not gotten to the second book yet.

Every job comes with different levels of visual information. Some jobs are chockablock full of storyboards and designs and concepts and artwork that directly relate to VFX. Some might have very little and they rely on the VFX team to work in conjunction with the art departments and director to create those visuals.

WiC: You’ve worked on other literary adaptations that had certain visual expectations (Memoirs of a Geisha comes to mind). Are those treated differently than projects made from original screenplays?

JF: Each project is its own unique situation, so adaptations are not treated differently, in my experience. My job has to start from the approved latest draft of the script since that is what will be shot. And I have to budget for what will be shot. And part of that budgeting is taking what is in the script: "Chiyo climbs up to the rooftop and looks out at the town and how far she has to go." (or something like that) and deciding what the scene will requires, FX-wise. Then we will budget the cost of the shots and elements after creative discussions with the Production Designer and director.

WiC: Game of Thrones is your only TV credit thus far. How far are you contracted to go with it, or is it all open-ended depending on whether or not it gets picked up? Does a series order mean you're tied to that one series for as long as it runs? (And would that be a good thing or a bad thing?) The VFX Producer breakdown you gave seems pretty time-consuming. Do you take this one job at a time, or can you actually juggle jobs?

JF: My deal is open ended depending on whether or not it gets picked up...having never worked in TV before, I'm really not sure what kind of deals get made, though in entertainment as in life, everything is negotiable.

I usually only ever take on one job at a time. Makes life much easier. I only do more than one if the 2nd gig is very tiny. Sometimes while working on a job I'll moonlight on a breakdown/budget just for a bit of extra cash and only if there is enough time. When I have to turn down a job, that's when the whole networking comes in handy -- it's nice to be able to say, "Thanks for calling, but I'm booked, why not call so-and-so? They are available..."

Good karma is very critical in this biz.

WiC: What is your working relationship with Robert Stromberg like? Also, are there any other people on the Game of Thrones team (other than your own team) that you’ve worked with before?

JF: Robert is the only person on GOT I've worked with before. He and I worked together for four years from 2001 to 2005, then he went off to work on some indy film called Avatar. There wasn't a position for me on that project (it was early days and Robert was mostly doing design work) and to be honest, I wasn't interested. Blasphemy, I know, but I knew it would eat up my life and I had other plans.

WiC: Julia’s Mexico City is a great blog for anyone who likes to feel like they’re in the front breast pocket of an itinerant traveler. I understand Mexico City was the initial inspiration. Tick off your top three favorite places to travel to (besides home) … and tell me the one place I should probably avoid for next year’s vacation spot.

JF: Rome is my favorite city, Italy my favorite country. The food, the art, the language, the gelato! Maybe I love it so much because I've never worked there.

Maui is a great place to be mostly because it's home. I was born and raised in Hawaii and my parents still live there.

I've not traveled around the US as much as I'd like -- just went to the Grand Canyon this year for the first time! But with recent visits to Montana and Oregon, I have a bit of road trip fever that may spring up this year. I love driving.

As for where to avoid? Couldn't tell you that...just do your research!

WiC: Is it legal to “black-and-tan” a Guinness in Ireland?

JF: Ha! I didn't even ask...just went full Guinness every time.

WiC: Okay, last question: how awesome did Lena Headey’s hair look? (If not her hair, how awesome did Robert Stromberg’s hair look?)

JF: Um, can't discuss Lena, but can say Robert's hair was always under a baseball cap.

[Thank you so much to Julia and also to About Yea High for arranging and conducting the interview!]

Weekend round up

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:55:00 +0000

Here are some small updates from over the weekend.

-Another Harry Lloyd interview, this one at This is London. In it, Lloyd mentions that his role in Game of Thrones has raised his profile in Hollywood and he has begun fielding calls from American agents.

-The Stark kids have discovered social media. Sophie Turner (Sansa), Maisie Williams (Arya) and Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Bran) all have created Twitter accounts. Sophie's got her own YouTube channel, as well. You can follow all the actors and crew of Game of Thrones from this Twitter list I created.

-Circle this date on your calendar: Jan 14th, the day of HBO's winter Television Critic's Association press event. Most of HBO's execs will be there to talk about their upcoming programming. Maureen Ryan has already informed us there will be no early pick up announcement, but at the very least I hope to hear some word on Thrones.

-In somewhat related news, HBO has released the teaser trailers for Treme and Boardwalk Empire. I'm particularly surprised they've released one for Empire already, as they are still in the process of filming season one. They announced the pick up about 4 months ago, so assuming they follow the same timeline for Thrones, we may get our first teaser trailer by July!

[Thanks to Mauberly, Westeros, spacechampion and The rabbit for the above info.]

Production status report: 2010 edition

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:11:00 +0000

I did a few of these posts last year during the downtime. Basically I just speculate on what the status of the production is: what they are working on currently and what their future schedule may look like. It seems like a good time to revisit the idea. So let's start speculating.

With the new year upon us I figure post-production on the pilot is getting back in full swing. After taking a much deserved break during the holidays, Benioff and Weiss are likely working with pilot editor Tatiana Riegel and figuring out what shots to use and where to place them. I suspect this process will take a few weeks.

Come February, we know Modern VideoFilm will be doing some work on the pilot. It is unclear what exactly they will be doing but their website indicates they provide post-production services such as editing, color correction and visual effects. Since Riegel was already brought on as editor I expect that MVF will be used to apply the visual effects. Whether they will be doing completed VFX shots or just rough and unfinished applications so HBO can get an idea of what it might look like, I don't know. I suspect HBO will want to see a pilot that is as complete as possible. Since VFX are going to be so important to the overall series, I'm sure the execs at HBO will want to be sure that they are going to look good before going forward.

Also, despite having to be involved with post-production on some level, Benioff and Weiss will most likely be writing the scripts for the remainder of the first season as well. HBO generally requires these to be submitted for review with any pilot they are considering. Just so they can get a sense of how the rest of the season would play out when evaluating whether to give the green light or not. So David & Dan have a busy couple months ahead of them.

Once editing, visual effects and the scripts are complete, everything will be submitted to HBO. I imagine this will occur in late Feb/early Mar. At that point, we wait for HBO to make their decision. Hopefully it is a quick and easy one for them and an exciting one for us.

Episode 2: What comes next?

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:16:00 +0000

Reader About Yea High left a comment in a recent post in an attempt to spur discussion about episode 2. I thought it would make for an interesting discussion, so I've decide to create a new post. AYH's comment, originally posted at the Westeros forums, contained a speculative outline of what episode two might include.

GAME OF THRONES, EPISODE TWO: THE NOT-EVEN SLIGHTLY OFFICIAL SCREENPLAY OUTLINE

INT. WINTERFELL – LIBRARY - DAWN

Tyrion Lannister puts a book aside and wakes his sleeping servant as dawn breaks. Tyrion himself couldn’t sleep because of the wolves howling outside his window all night long, and instead spent his time sorting through Winterfell’s various tomes. Tyrion leaves. [1 page]

EXT. WINTERFELL – COURTYARD – CONTINUOUS

Tyrion encounters Prince Joffrey and The Hound. After hearing more than a few snide comments about Bran “dying quietly,” Tyrion slaps Joffrey and admonishes him. Joff runs off. The Hound implies a bad end for Tyrion if he treats the future king poorly. [2 pages]

INT. WINTERFELL – GUEST HOUSE MORNING ROOM – MORNING

Tyrion joins Ser Jaime, Queen Cersei, Princess Myrcella, and Prince Tommen for breakfast. They discuss Bran’s injury, and the fact that he is still alive; it is clear Tyrion does not know the details of the past day’s events (or his brother and sister's direct involvement), but he seems suspicious of something. [3 pages]

INT. WINTERFELL – BRAN’S BEDCHAMBER – DAY

Jon Snow enters to say his goodbyes to Bran; he is leaving today to make his journey to the Wall. Lady Catelyn Stark is with Bran, dead-eyed with grief. “It should have been you,” she tells Jon. [2 pages]

EXT. WINTERFELL – COURTYARD – DAY

Jon encounters Robb Stark amidst the hustle and bustle of leaving. They say their goodbyes; Robb says Benjen is waiting, but Jon has one more goodbye to make. [1 page]

INT. WINTERFELL – ARYA’S BEDCHAMBER – DAY

Arya is having a packing disaster, and Nymeria’s “help” isn’t helping. Jon gives his favorite sister a parting gift: Needle. “Stick them with the pointy end.” [2 pages]

EXT. KINGSROAD CAMP – PRE-DAWN

Lord Eddard Stark is awakened by King Robert Baratheon; the king desires to speak in private with him, and wants to ride. [Half page]

EXT. HILLS – DAWN

Ned and Robert outdistance their guards, coming to a halt on a hill far off the kingsroad. They talk of fond memories growing up in the care of Jon Arryn, and Robert speaks of his wish to simply ride away and forget his responsibilities. The subject of Jon Snow’s parentage comes up and Ned immediately halts that line of conversation. They argue about Robert ordering the death of Daenerys Targaryen, and about Robert making Jaime Lannister the Warden of the East. Ned is vocal about his distrust of the Lannisters. [Possible flashback inserts: “Promise me, Ned,” and Eddard encountering Jaime sitting on the throne] [6 pages]

EXT. NORTH HOLDFAST – DAY

Benjen Stark remains aloof and unwelcoming to Tyrion as the Wall-bound party stops outside a holdfast. Introduction of YOREN and the two rapers he’s bringing to the Wall. Tyrion notes Jon’s ill look once the boy realizes these criminals will soon be his “brothers.” [1.5 pages]

EXT. NORTH CAMP – DUSK

[Possible flashback beginning: Tyrion first discovering the massive dragon skulls at Kings Landing.]

Tyrion is tucked within the roots of a tree outside the camp, reading a book about dragons. Jon walks up with Ghost in tow, and they talk. Tyrion mocks the “nobility” of service on the Wall; he reaches to pat Jon in apology, and Ghost nearly attacks him. It’s soon forgotten amidst quietly-placed barbs. It’s clear the two get along relatively well. [5.5 pages]

INT. WINTERFELL – BRAN’S BEDCHAMBER – NIGHT

Catelyn continues to sit with her unconscious son. Maester Luwin tries to rouse her with talks of everyday business but she will have none of it; even the appearance of Robb does nothing. Catelyn finally stirs when Robb notices the glow of a fire in the distant stables. Robb and Luwin rush out. Moments later a KNIFE-WIELDING MAN enters, clearly intent on killing Bran. “You weren’t s’posed to be here,” he mutters to Catelyn. He comes at her; Catelyn is able to fight him off until Bran’s wolf charges through the door and kills the would-be assassin. [5 pages]

INT. WINTERFELL – CATELYN’S BEDCHAMBER - DAY

Catelyn awakes to discover she’d slept for four days. She is much more lucid now, however. Maester Luwin, Robb, Ser Roderick Cassel, and Theon Greyjoy visit, discussing the attempt on Bran’s life. The assassin wielded too fine a blade; Catelyn suspects the Lannisters are behind the attempt. Catelyn determines she and Ser Roderick will take a ship to Kings Landing in order to show the knife to Eddard. [3.5 pages]

INT. THE CROSSROADS INN – COMMON ROOM – DAY

Sansa picks at her breakfast fare, feeding her wolf Lady scraps beneath the table. Septa Mordane reminds her they are invited to travel in Queen Cersei’s wheelhouse today, and tells her to go make sure Arya is dressed for it. Sansa leaves. [1 page]

EXT. THE CROSSROADS INN – CONTINUOUS

Sansa moves through the camps set outside the inn, looking for her sister. The sprawl of tents and wagons is impressive, and the queen’s wheelhouse, in the distance, is massive. [Half page]

EXT. THE TRIDENT – DAY

Sansa arrives at the riverbank, none too pleased by the sight of muddy Arya trying to brush mud from the pelt of her wolf Nymeria. Nymeria uses the opportunity to wriggle free of Arya and escape. In typical fashion, the sisters argue; Arya refuses to travel in the queen’s boring wheelhouse. Arya runs off to chase after her wolf. Sansa leaves, furious. [3 pages]

EXT. THE CROSSROADS INN – DAY

Sansa notices a crowd has gathered outside the queen’s wheelhouse, and wanders over. Introduction of RENLY BARATHEON, SER BARRISTAN SELMY, and SER ILYN PAYNE, all come to give a proper escort to King’s Landing. Ilyn Payne frightens Sansa, as does an appearance by the Hound, but soon Joffrey is there, supporting her gallantly. Sansa summons her courage and identifies Renly and Barristan, showing her knowledge. Queen Cersei suggests to Joffrey he should take her riding; Sansa happily leaves with her noble prince. [4.5 pages]

EXT. KINGSROAD WOODLANDS – DAY

TRAVEL MONTAGE: Sansa and Joffrey ride horses through fields and lightly-forested woodlands.

Sansa and Joffrey pause while cresting a hill on their horses. They both hear the sounds of wood hitting wood, somewhere down near the river. Sansa is suddenly nervous, but Joffrey wants to investigate, so they ride toward it. [1.5 pages]

EXT. THE TRIDENT – DAY

[Possible flashback beginning: Robert fighting Rhaegar in the waters of the Trident. Rhaegar falls, Robert’s hammer descends, crashing into his chest. Rubies and blood join the rushing waters... ]

Arya is practicing fighting with wooden swords, dueling with MICAH the butcher’s boy on the banks of the Trident when Sansa and Joffrey arrive. Joff mocks Mycah, who is older and larger than Arya, and challenges him to fight someone with a real sword, drawing his blade “Lion’s Tooth.” Mycah, clearly frightened, refuses. Joff cuts him on the cheek -- and then Arya hits Joffrey over the head with her sword. When Joffrey spins to attack her in a fury, Nymeria savages his arm, dragging Joffrey to the ground. Arya calls Nymeria off while Sansa screams at her. Arya, still enraged, picks up Lion’s Tooth and hurls it into the river. Mycah is already gone, so Arya runs off. Sansa tries to help Joffrey up, but he jerks away from her in contempt. [5 pages]

INT. DARRY HOLDFAST – PRIVATE CHAMBER – NIGHT

Eddard Stark is notified that after a two-day search, his daughter Arya has been found by Jory Cassel. [Half page]

EXT. DARRY HOLDFAST – CASTLE YARD – CONTINUOUS

Eddard strides across the courtyard calling to his men. We get an idea this is a strange new place (Darry-liveried guards, etc.), and tension is in the air. [Half page]

INT. DARRY HOLDFAST – AUDIENCE CHAMBER – NIGHT

Eddard enters. King Robert is there, as well as Queen Cersei, Prince Joffrey, and Renly Baratheon. JORY CASSEL is here, standing with Arya and Sansa. Arya runs to her father. She’s filthy and crying. The events are retold by her, but Joffrey calls her a liar, as his version of the events are quite different. Sansa is asked which is the truth but she says she can’t remember. Arya is furious with her. Cersei demands the pelt of Nymeria as payment for her son’s scarring, and Robert acquiesces, but Nymeria has not yet been found. Cersei instead demands the pelt of Sansa’s wolf Lady. Ned is forced by Robert to comply. Cersei calls for Ilyn Payne, but Ned insists he will do it himself. [6 pages]

INT. DARRY HOLDING CHAMBER – NIGHT

Ned executes Lady with Ice. He tells Jory to have Lady’s corpse delivered to Winterfell. [1 page]

EXT. DARRY HOLDFAST – CASTLE YARD – NIGHT

Ned encounters Lannister riders in the yard. With them is the Hound, who has a bloody bag slung over his horse. It’s opened, but within is not the corpse of Nymeria, as Ned feared -- it’s Mycah. The butcher's boy as been cleaved in two. “You rode him down,” Ned accuses the Hound. The Hound laughs and replies, “He ran. But not very fast.” [1.5 pages]

Winter Is Coming: Good stuff, AYH. My initial thoughts are that they will probably have Dany show up in the episode at least once. I also think the beginning, with all the Winterfell goodbyes, might be condensed a bit so we can get to the more meaty stuff later in the episode. They also will likely be adding a few new scenes that didn't appear in the books. Some of you might remember, they had added a scene between Cersei and Catelyn at Bran's bedside that appeared in the casting sides. Unless that has been written out, that would fall into episode 2. Lastly, I like the final scene with Hound but I think that the assassination attempt should come right before it. This way you end the episode with a bang in both storylines.

What does everyone else think?

More critics discuss Thrones

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Television critics and journalists continue to discuss Game of Thrones. Here are a few noteworthy mentions from the past week.

-James Poniewozik from Time lists Game of Thrones as one of the things he's looking forward to in 2010.

-Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly is hoping that the upcoming year will see a series order from HBO.

-MSN Canada lists Game of Thrones as one of its 10 shows it is most looking forward to in the new year.

-TV Guide Canada's Amber answers a question about Thrones and echoes many of her fellow journalists' speculations of a series pickup in the spring.

-Alex Weprin from Broadcasting & Cable cites the buzz surrounding Game of Thrones in his article about the changing face of cable TV.

[Thanks to Ellen, morning-demon, ninepenny, The rabbit and Game of Thrones UK for the links.]

Entertainment Weekly mentions Thrones

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:19:00 +0000

Entertainment Weekly touched briefly on Game of Thrones in an article about HBO sustaining their current momentum. The article first discusses Treme and The Pacific and then moves onto Thrones.

Meanwhile, HBO--which, like EW, is owned by Time Warner--is generating heat for a pilot it hasn't even picked up yet: the network's adaptation of the fantasy book A Game of Thrones, starring Sean Bean and Lena Headey. Filmed entirely on location in Ireland and Morocco, Thrones supposedly boasts a budget that rivals that of the famously lavish Rome, but HBO co-chairman Michael Lombardo is quick to point out that all the network's shows have to meet high expectations--especially in light of stiff competition from the likes of Showtime and USA. "We are taking shots at shows that we wouldn't have taken a shot at five years ago," says Lombardo, who, with co-chairman Richard Plelper and entertainment president Sue Naegle, has developed an unprecedented number of pilots. "We opened our arms and invited people to come in and pitch things even if they didn't think it was HBO. We stopped second-guessing ourselves.

Winter Is Coming: Despite the somewhat pessimistic quote from Lombardo, I think this is a good thing. First off, to get mentioned in Entertainment Weekly is a pretty big deal. It is the premier mainstream entertainment magazine. Secondly, the quote doesn't seem to be specifically referring to Thrones, but rather HBO's new development policy in general.

Also the comparison in budget to Rome is probably a bit of an exaggeration. Generally, the production has done a good job keeping the costs down. Sure, the budget is probably closer to Rome than it is to Sex and the City, but I don't think it is so exorbitantly high as to be concerned. Not yet at least.

So yeah, I see this mention as a very good thing as it helps sustain the buzz during this current downtime. Now if only HBO could really get things going by giving a series order!

[Via Westeros. Thanks to About Yea High for the transcription!]

WiC on Television Zombies podcast

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:26:00 +0000

The special Game of Thrones edition of the Television Zombies weekly podcast is now online. It, of course, features yours truly as a guest host. You can check it out at the TVZ website. We talk for an hour about the show, the books and this website. It was a lot of fun and the TVZ crew were gracious enough to invite me back in the future, once we have more news to discuss. Hoping for a series pickup so I get a chance to do it again!

Lloyd continues to talk up Thrones

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 03:48:00 +0000

The Observer has a piece entitled The Hot List 2010 and Harry Lloyd made the list. In the short blurb about Lloyd they mention Game of Thrones.

Lloyd, meanwhile, is used to playing around with the dark side. His most talked-about part to date has been a scene-stealing role as a Doctor Who villain (in The Family of Blood episode), and he has just recorded a pilot for HBO's Game of Thrones, a major ensemble piece crammed with British luminaries which Lloyd describes with relish as a "dark, political intrigue set in a fantasy world... with incest"

Winter Is Coming: Again, you gotta love the way Lloyd continues to talk about Thrones. Not only is it great to hear he is passionate about the project, but the fact he keeps mentioning it means he must feel confident in it getting picked up.

[Thanks to ninepenny for the link!]

Merry Christmas to all!

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:31:00 +0000

Merry Christmas everyone! Last year I did a little Game of Thrones Christmas wish list. Amazingly, almost all my wishes were granted, with one big exception of course. So this year I'm making my one and only Game of Thrones Christmas wish:

That next Christmas I will be watching Game of Thrones on HBO!

Harry Lloyd gushes about Thrones

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:27:00 +0000

Another interview, another actor excited about the project. This time it's Harry Lloyd, who in an interview with the Gay Times, mentions his work on the Game of Thrones pilot. If you'd like to read the full article, go here. Here is the part where he talks about Thrones.

Refreshingly down to Earth for a 26-year-old in his position, he refers to himself as ‘a worrier’. Which makes it all the more gratifying to see him talk about his current other project, a pilot for a new HBO fantasy series, Game of Thrones, based on a range of books. He likens it to a less-magical Lord of the Rings (‘big battles, political and quite dark’) and gleefully describes his role as ‘a brilliant fucking character, a really nice nasty part’.
It’s something he returns to throughout our interview, each time becoming so animated that I actually want to put in a call to the television network and demand they commission a full series as it clearly means that much to him.

Winter Is Coming: Such enthusiasm for the project is a great thing to see. We know the cast in Northern Ireland had a blast, and it sounds like the Morocco crew did as well. With this much excitement from Lloyd, I can't wait to see what he's done with the role.

[Thanks to The rabbit for the link and Ran for transcribing the relevant passage.]

A few quick updates

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:21:00 +0000

A few quick updates to start this Christmas week.

-Over at the Westeros forums, Adam Whitehead (aka Werthead) has put together an impressive Game of Thrones FAQ post. It is detailed and informative. Be sure to check it out.

-WiC commenter The rabbit found a post on another forum from a user who's dad apparently played Mikken (Winterfell's blacksmith) in the pilot. His mom also appeared in the pilot, although he doesn't specify which role she played (Septa Mordane perhaps?). He states that they will "hopefully" be featured in other episodes.

-The podcast with Television Zombies has been recorded and should be going up on their site later this week. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to hear the end result!

HBO files for Game of Thrones trademark

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:00:00 +0000

It appears that HBO has filed a trademark for Game of Thrones, specifically for merchandising. Here is the part of the document that deals with the trademark request. This document was filed on Dec. 9th. It looks like it is actually a renewal of a previous filing from back in June. There were 5 other similar applications, the only difference being the type of merchandise listed.

Winter Is Coming: I don't think this means that a pick up announcement is imminent. It might just be standard procedure for HBO to do with all pilots to protect their intellectual property. It seems that way based on the fact that they originally filed in June, prior to the pilot even filming. But the fact that they felt led to renew the trademark seems to be a good sign. More evidence to support the speculation that they will order at least one season.

[Thanks to Jonathan who sent this in!]

Irish actor Peter O'Meara hints at possible casting

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Irish actor Peter O'Meara, best known for his appearance in HBO's Band of Brothers, name dropped Game of Thrones in a recent interview. In response to a question about his "new years wish", here is what O'Meara said:

Well, it may involve a Game of Thrones. Nothing definite but my fingers are certainly crossed.

Winter Is Coming: This sounds like more than just hoping to get a role in the series. It sounds like he has been promised a role if HBO picks up the show. It is possible he read for a role in the pilot, didn't get it, but they liked him and want to bring him back as another character. Current fan speculation has him as a possible Edmure, or even Littlefinger.

If that is the case than O'Meara would be the second actor to have an informal casting agreement if the show gets picked up. Remember GRRM mentioned a "world-class thespian" who had been cast as a character in the pilot but was subsequently written out (most likely Pycelle). But, GRRM stated, that this character and actor would be back if the show got picked up.

If they are doing this sort of thing with regularity there is a chance that the casting search for the first season may not be as long as the one for the pilot. Assuming they get the green light in March they may be able to move quickly into filming.

EDIT: It seems the above quote is not entirely accurate. It was pulled from the article that maxlongstreet originally posted over at Westeros. That article listed the PRWeb article as its source. I linked to the source of the EarthTimes article in my post without fully reading the PRWeb article. For some reason EarthTimes completely changes the Game of Thrones quote around as the PRWeb article has a completely different quote.

Well, I love the David Benioff script for Game of Thrones. He's a genius writer. His 'City of Thieves' is my favourite novel of the last ten years. If I have a career wish its to join the world of fire and ice he's creating with HBO. Fingers crossed.

This quote makes it sound much more like O'Meara is a fan of Benioff, and possibly the books, and is just hoping to get a shot at appearing in the series. Not that he has already been promised a role.

[Via maxlongstreet of the Westeros forums]

McCreary and McCarthy

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 03:27:00 +0000

Two quick news items pointed out to me by Adam Whitehead. One, Bear McCreary, the composer for Battlestar Galactica, was a popular fan choice to score Game of Thrones. A Thrones fan relayed this interest to McCreary on his blog and this is what McCreary had to say:

Yeah, I’m aware of that series. It would be fun to score, wouldn’t it? Well, some vocal fans would always make any attempt easier.

.......

Well, I certainly did tons of Arabic inspired music on BSG, Medieval and Renaissance would be fun I guess, although harmonically that music is pretty limited. But, no one from Game of Thrones is banging down my door at the moment, so don’t anyone get their hopes up here. :)

Also, it looks like Tom McCarthy has moved on to his next project. He will again be behind the camera, this time directing an indie film entitled Win Win. The filming is scheduled to start in late February.

Winter Is Coming: No idea whether they are even looking to hire a composer at this point. It is likely that HBO will wait until they decide whether or not to pick up the show before looking for a composer. Most of the time the pilots that execs watch are pretty bare bones, with just a minimum amount of post-production work done on them. I would imagine music is something that could wait until a series pick up. Hopefully they will look at McCreary when the time comes, as I think he would be a solid choice.

And it's nice to see that McCarthy is continuing to further his directing career. It remains to be seen whether the timing of filming for his indie would alter the time line for Game of Thrones season one filming (if there is any). We still don't know whether McCarthy will be back as director of subsequent episodes or not, so his involvement with Thrones may completely end prior to Feb. In which case, his indie film project won't have any effect on the schedule for Thrones.

Winter is podcasting!

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:20:00 +0000

This was the site-related news I was teasing earlier. I've been invited to appear as a guest on an upcoming episode of the podcast Television Zombies. Television Zombies is a funny and irreverent podcast/blog that covers fantasy/sci-fi/cult TV shows. Tina, Chris, Jeff and Chuck have invited me to join them in an episode all about HBO's Game of Thrones. I'm real excited as I've never been in a podcast before. Look for the episode to hit TVZ's website the week of Christmas.

Benioff speaks

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:53:00 +0000

In a recent interview at KansasCity.com, David Benioff mentions Game of Thrones. The interview talks mostly about his novel City of Thieves but he sneaks in some info about Thrones at the end.

What are you working on?

I just returned from Northern Ireland shooting “Game of Thrones” (an adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire”) for HBO. I’m the writer and the executive producer with Dan Weiss, so we got to do everything, hiring the director, the actors. The shooting of the pilot is done. We’ll find out in March if it will be picked up as a series.

Winter Is Coming: Again with the March timetable. Sounds like an earlier announcement is all but impossible at this point. Man, this is going to be a long wait.

News and notes

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:39:00 +0000

The title of this post is a bit of a misnomer, as there really isn't any news. But there are notes!

-Intrepid ASOIAF fan Jackie recently attended a Battlestar Galactica convention and was able to speak with Jamie Bamber. He revealed to her that he had auditioned for the role of Jamie Lannister. Obviously, he didn't get the part, possibly due to his height. But as Ran rightly mentions, we know that they like to bring back those who previously auditioned for other roles. Perhaps Bamber may end up in the series as another character? Renly, Littlefinger or Beric Dondarrion are some popular suggestions.

-In a comment on GRRM's Not A Blog, Parris mentions that HBO is expected to make a decision on the series in the spring. She mentions "end of March" as a possibility. I'm still holding out hope for an earlier pickup, but it isn't looking good.

-serMountainGoat of the Westeros forums posted a very detailed report of the GRRM signing and moot in Belfast. In addition to his own take on the events, it sort of compiles other reports and covers all that happened that day, so it is a good read for any who weren't able to follow the earlier reports.

-Lastly, I have some cool site-related news. I can't announce anything yet as I'm still ironing out the details but hopefully will be able to soon. So stay tuned!

Martin talks about Morocco trip

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:40:00 +0000

George R. R. Martin updated his Not A Blog with a couple posts about his time in Morocco. He doesn't talk any specifics but in the first post he has a few pics up of the impressive Kingdom of Heaven set (parts of which were reused for Game of Thrones). In his second post, he has pics and a report from the wrap party:

Another highlight of my time in Morocco was the wrap party.

For those not familiar with the term, it's a Hollywood tradition to throw a big party when you finish shooting -- or "wrap" -- on a movie or television project. I attended quite a few great wrap parties during my ten years in LA, but the GAME OF THRONES wrap party blew them all away. We held it in the Ouarzazate Museum of Cinema, a pretty amazing place itself, complete with local musicians, belly dancers, acres of Moroccan delicicacies, and lots of spirits to lubricate the exhausted cast and crew. And when the museum threw us out, we just adjourned back to the Berbere Palace, where the party continued.

These few poor snapsnots don't capture a tenth of what went on. But hey, what happens in Morocco stays in Morocco, right?

A great time was had by all... except, of course, for the cast members who shot their scenes in Ireland and Scotland, and the Irish and UK crew who did not get to make the trip to Morocco. The drawback of shooting in so many different places... everyone couldn't be there together to celebrate the end of the shoot.

Winter Is Coming: Some good pics from Martin. Especially of the wrap party. I see Tom McCarthy, Jason Momoa and David Benioff. My question is, who are all the young ladies? Just some random models hired to make the party a bit more interesting? Or perhaps they were some of the Dothraki extras. Could Irri and Jhiqui be among them?

NCW talks about the shoot

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:16:00 +0000

In a recent interview with Danish television news site TvTid, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau talked about, among other things, the Game of Thrones pilot (original Danish version). More specifically, he spoke of working with Lena Headey, riding a horse and, of course, his nose.

How was it to work closely with an international star like Lena Headey?
- It was a really good experience. She is super sweet and talented - and she's very fun. She was also pregnant during filming, but not so far along that you could see it clearly. Yet she was forced to have a stand-in in a nude scene with me.
A nude scene? Don't you play brother and sister?
- Yes, it is true... but nevertheless she is completely naked. I can not dwell on why. You may see in the series.
When you play the king's squire, it probably means that you must ride a horse?
-Yes, I ride around a lot. I've tried it a few times before, so it went very well. But it will of course always depend on what kind of a horse you get set up with (ha-ha).
I have read that American fans of 'Game of Thrones' think your nose is wrong?
-It is true that some think that my nose is weird, because it has a crack. They think that I generally fit nicely into the role of Jaime Lannister, from the novel, but that my nose is a little off. I broke my nose as a child - it was something with some wild pranks, I guess. So it looks a bit messed up, but I don't intend to do anything about it.

Winter Is Coming: That nose thing just won't die, will it? For the record, I never had a problem with his nose and think he is going to make an excellent Jaime. Interesting about Headey being pregnant for the shoot. Assuming the show gets picked up, that could really throw a wrench into the plans of filming the first season in the next 5 or 6 months.

Too much hype?

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:51:00 +0000

The hype for Game of Thrones is immense. The amount of buzz, even prior to filming, has taken HBO completely by surprise. Many prominent TV critics have also picked up on the intense fan interest in the series. Time's James Poniewozik has described the buzz as "possibly unprecedented" and the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has called the fan base, "Whedon-esque."

The hype has always been seen as a good thing, something to help boost the chances of the show being picked up. And certainly that is true. But if (when?) the show gets picked up and the hype escalates into the stratosphere, will that hurt the show in the long run? To put it another way, are we setting our expectations too high?

Over-hyping a project isn't something new. Many fan bases have experienced the sting of their expectations reaching an impossible to achieve height (The Matrix sequels anyone?). The end result may not be that bad, but because of the high expectations, the overall legacy these projects leave are negative.

One thing that contributes to high expectations is a long wait. The longer the wait, the more the buzz can build. Video game giant Nintendo has noticed this trend and has adopted a new policy when marketing a new game. In the past they were announcing their franchise games, such as Zelda and Mario titles, years in advance. By the time the games released the expectations were so high that they were near impossible to match. Now Nintendo likes to announce their new games months in advance, lessening the wait and thereby decreasing the chance of unrealistic expectations.

Unfortunately HBO doesn't have that luxury with Game of Thrones. The pilot has been in production for over a year now and it looks like we won't see the end result for another year, at least. And like I said, the hype is already reaching ridiculous levels and it is only going to get higher.

So where does that leave us? The good news is, even when faced with high expectations, HBO usually delivers. All signs so far have been extremely positive. The reports from GRRM and others indicate that this show will be of the highest quality. Benioff and Weiss have been doing a wonderful job so far of appeasing the fans by remaining true to the source material but also working to produce something that works in the medium of television.

So, is the hype hurting or helping? Hype is a double-edged sword. Enough of it and you have a network pouring more and more money into a project to meet the high expectations. Too much though and you end up being disappointed in the end result, no matter how good. So far it seems that the hype for Thrones has accomplished the former, convincing HBO that the series can be a big hit. But there is always the chance that, by the time the show hits the air, the expectations for the series have reached an unattainable height.

So far, I think the hype and the buzz have been warranted and within reason. But at some point we will have to ask ourselves, are we setting our expectations too high?

The buzz continues to grow

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:44:00 +0000

With the filming wrapped, the wait begins. News may be drying up, but the buzz continues to build. Here is a collection of links to posts, articles and sites discussing the series:

- Tower of the Hand has a good write up on the project's chances at a series pickup.

-Sci fi site Airlock Alpha has a great article giving readers the basic details on the project so far plus analyzes it's chances at not just a series pickup, but sustained success.

-Westeros also has an article discussing the basic's of the project. In addition, they've posted an article discussing the visual effects for the pilot.

-Lastly, a new site, Game of Thrones UK, has popped up. Started by a Sharpe and Sean Bean fan, the site promises to bring you news, info and editorials on the project.