HBO Ice and Fire update from George himself:
HBO has exercised its option to buy the rights to ASOIF. From what I can tell, this means GRRM gets paid, but no promises if we'll get to see Tyrion, Jon, and Dani on the flatscreen just yet.
I have some exciting news to share.
(But please, guys and gals, don't get TOO excited. This is what it is, and so far that's all it is, so don't make any assumptions).
HBO has just exercised its option, and purchased the television rights to A GAME OF THRONES.
For those of you who don't know Hollywood, an option gives a production company the right to buy a property (a book, a screenplay, whatever) at a certain agreed-upon price for a certain period of time (a year, six months, whatever). When that time runs out, they can let the option lapse, renew the option, or exercise the option and buy the property. The last is what HBO has just done.
What they have NOT done is greenlight the project. A GAME OF THRONES remains in development. They're still budgeting, still looking at locations (Spain and the Czech Republic at present, I hear). No decision has been reached, so any celebration would be premature. In Hollywood it is always best not to assume something is going to happen until it actually happens.
Even so... this is a very encouraging sign, and one that suggests a continued high level of enthusiasm and commitment for A GAME OF THRONES at HBO.
So keep your fingers crossed.
Rhumor wrote:Ned Stark wrote:
Quote:
"Never ask me about Jon," he said, cold as ice. "He is my blood, and that is all you need to know. And now I will learn where you heard that name, my lady." She had pledged to obey; she told him; and from that day on, the whispering had stopped, and Ashara Dayne's name was never heard in Winterfell again.
I haven't noticed anyone post what was written 2 paragraphs before this quote:
Quote:
He did more then that. The Starks were not like other men. Ned brought his bastard home with him, and called him "son" for all the north to see. When the wars were over at last, and Catelyn rode to Winterfell, Jon and his wet nurse had already taken up residence.
Is there a question here? Or just something that surprised you as a reader? There is a huge debate over who Jon's mother really is. These people in this forum I am about to link are so much more expert on the material than I. They have seemingly memorized the books in detail. The Forum Thread Here <-- Needless to say there are major spoilers in that thread. Be warned.
I was just refering to all the posts I read here and in the link you provided that stated Ned Stark never refered to Jon as his son. In that second paragraph the quotes around "son" suggests to me that it was a word Ned used.
GRRM uses (extensively) a literary technique know as the "unreliable narrator." His characters, in their POV passages, present the world to the reader as they see it, filtered through their personal and often flawed understanding. You can't trust that Ned actually called Jon "'son' for all the North to see" just because Caitlyn remembers it that way. Caitlyn is extremely emotional about the whole subject and is, therefore, particularly unreliable in this instance.
GRRM is a very smart man and an extremely subtle author. I think I've made a pretty strong case for Jon as Ned's nephew via his sister and Prince Rhaegar earlier in this thread so I'm not going to reiterate it here.
This thread and its news keep popping up and it makes me want to read the books over again.
I recently bought the hard cover comics in the sworn sword series. They are really good I thought.
I will so completely put the BluRays on my NetFlix queue the moment they show up in the system! If that doesn't give the studios impetus to push this project through, I don't know what will!
I will so completely put the BluRays on my NetFlix queue the moment they show up in the system! If that doesn't give the studios impetus to push this project through, I don't know what will!
I you were a true fan you would offer them a little finger....
ColdForged wrote:I will so completely put the BluRays on my NetFlix queue the moment they show up in the system! If that doesn't give the studios impetus to push this project through, I don't know what will!
I you were a true fan you would offer them a little finger....
I see what you did there.
What is the sworn sword series? Is that The Hedge Knight?
I'm sure everyone already knows this, but it bears mentioning again that if you're fiending for more GRRM besides the books, there are two short stories in the same series, set earlier chronologically. This was probably mentioned earlier in the thread, months ago.
I know TheWalt has been methodically reading all the GRRM stuff he can find, and enjoying it. I should probably check out Wild Cards, since I like GRRM and comics. Where should I start?
The Wild Cards stories are collected in anthologies, so just start with the first one. Martin didn't write all the stories, be aware, but they're all pretty high quality.
Result of reading his LJ...
RANT
Guess what? It's football season. You know what that means? It means G.R.R.M. isn't going to do jack nor shit on the book until after the Super Bowl. For someone being bugged by his publishers and manager and fans and who knows how many other people, you'd think he would want to get it done and take a real break instead of being bugged all the time. You'd think maybe watching less football and doing more editing might be a priority.
/RANT
Grrr and *sigh*
Result of reading his LJ...
RANT
Guess what? It's football season. You know what that means? It means G.R.R.M. isn't going to do jack nor shit on the book until after the Super Bowl. For someone being bugged by his publishers and manager and fans and who knows how many other people, you'd think he would want to get it done and take a real break instead of being bugged all the time. You'd think maybe watching less football and doing more editing might be a priority.
/RANT
Grrr and *sigh*
No wonder it takes him so damn long to get a book out. That is friggin annoying.
Man you guys are harsh. I'm sure he's glad you like his books but the dude doesn't owe you anything. He's been ill, he's an old man, let the poor guy watch some football.
Man you guys are harsh. I'm sure he's glad you like his books but the dude doesn't owe you anything. He's been ill, he's an old man, let the poor guy watch some football.
It's precisely for that reason that we want GRRM to finish the entire book series as fast as he is able without taking all the crazy breaks and tours and trips around the world. We don't want the Song of Ice and Fire series to be unfinished if GRRM kicks the bucket. We don't want another Robert Jordan. We may be harsh but we also want a complete series that we can enjoy and pass down to generations after us. A complete work that will cement GRRM as a genius in American Literature.
We do care quite a bit and we don't want him to end up as someone who "could" have been greater if he just finished his series.
I will not be sucked into another Wheel of Time...I will not be sucked into another Wheel of time....I will not be sucked into an unfinished wheel of soap opera...I will not be sucked into another Wheel of Time.
nuff' said.
Man you guys are harsh. I'm sure he's glad you like his books but the dude doesn't owe you anything. He's been ill, he's an old man, let the poor guy watch some football.
Perhaps he doesn't owe me jack but, y'know at this point? I don't really owe him my continued readership either. I was already on the fence when we had a whole book without half the main characters (and most of those I actually cared about), if it isn't out some time this year I'll probably pick up the rest of the books in 2018 or so; they'll read just as well, be cheap to get at a secondhand store, and actually be done if he doesn't kick the bucket first. Meanwhile I'll buy the books of authors who seem to give a crap about me as a fan and a customer and actually put out books on a semi-regular schedule.
Perhaps he doesn't owe me jack but, y'know at this point? I don't really owe him my continued readership either. I was already on the fence when we had a whole book without half the main characters (and most of those I actually cared about), if it isn't out some time this year I'll probably pick up the rest of the books in 2018 or so; they'll read just as well, be cheap to get at a secondhand store, and actually be done if he doesn't kick the bucket first. Meanwhile I'll buy the books of authors who seem to give a crap about me as a fan and a customer and actually put out books on a semi-regular schedule.
Well to his defense on Feast of Crows, it only has half the characters because it was once part of a single book that was separated into two books once GRRM realized the book was just too long. Can you imagine if he was working on a 2000+ page book all this time since the release of A Storm of Swords? Damn thing would be in the works since 2000. Eight years to wait for a book would have been completely insane instead of simply unreasonable as it is now waiting a mere three years since 2005.
I certainly complain that it's taking too long because my patience has kind of worn thin a bit. However I bet A Dance of Dragons doesn't come out till 2009. The next book after that will probably be at least four years after that one which will be around 2013. That means the last and 7th book in the series would be out in 2017 or 2018 as you said.
My first double post!
Quintin_Stone wrote:No, not really. It's great! I'm in the middle of book 2 right now.
In the middle of book 3. Wow, I did not see that coming.
If the series is done by Rome crew, this had damn well better rival the complete anger and sadness I felt at how Vercingetorix was treated during the parade of Jupiter... thing. I use that one group of scenes as a measure of how well crafted film can be. It is amazing how many people who love Rome didn't feel that as deeply as I did.
Now, I don't mean to get off on a rant, here, but go back and watch that episode, and hope along with me, please.
And after seeing Charlize Theron on Daily Show - geez, she is smart and quick. She's my pick for Cersei. This will deserve good actors. King Robert needs to be circa 1980 Brian Blessed. Get a few Osments in there as the kids of the Wolf. I'd like to see Kevin Spacey all blonde wigged up as daddy Lannister. Maybe that isn't a fit, but Spacey is the man. Maybe Brad Pitt as lefty Lannister. Oh, and we need to find spots for Christopher Lee and Ian McKellan. Just because.
Lee would possibly work for Walder Frey. It'll be a good moment when Little Robb puts Big Robb in hot water and the viewers realised that he's pissed off Dracula/Saruman/Lord Summerisle/Scaramanga etc.
I must admit that I have difficulty seeing this work with big US stars. They're going to have to film this in Europe somewhere (the alternative is that they do lots of CG work every time you see a castle of some kind in each shot), so I think you're looking at lots of European thesps a la Rome. By the time this goes into production the Potter films will have been finished, so the Hogwarts cast can do a bunch of these.
I like your thinking about Spacey for Tywin, you want a really heavyweight ****kicking actor to be that guy. The combination of very clever plus totally ruthless would be an attractive role for an actor, I reckon.
And Warwick Davies for Tyrion. The campaign starts here.
but the dude doesn't owe you anything. He's been ill, he's an old man, let the poor guy watch some football.
QFT!
I Understand the jonesing for the next ASOIAF fix need all to well, but I keep trying to tell myself: fewer demands, more gratitude.
Let the poor guy watch some football or even paint some miniatures. He'll get there in good time.
And Warwick Davies for Tyrion. The campaign starts here.
Oh, HELL yeah. And Emma Watson as Ygritte! "You know nothing, Jon Snow!"
I agree that Theron could pull off the role of Cersei quite well. And Alan Rickman had better get a fairly important role somewhere in the production, 'cause he just kicks all kinds of ass.
Yeah, some of the comments come across as whiny and entitled. True, neither the author nor reader owes the other person anything, but as soon as that concept is brought into a discussion it's been made antagonistic.
Eventually the books will be finished (or not). There are tons of other books and entertainment to get to in the meantime. It seems to me that exploring new authors would be more enjoyable than griping about ones you already know.
It seems to me that exploring new authors would be more enjoyable than griping about ones you already know.
I'll express this sentiment to my wife the next time she annoys me. 
Sir McKellen as the Old Commander on the wall would kick eight million kinds of ass.
To help in the wait, in line with Scaphism's suggestion, two authors that I've discovered through GWJ that have entertained me for many hours are Steven Brust and Robin Hobb. Of course, we have whole threads of that.
Man you guys are harsh. I'm sure he's glad you like his books but the dude doesn't owe you anything. He's been ill, he's an old man, let the poor guy watch some football.
I'm kinda torn on this one. On the one hand, despite being irritated about how long it takes him to put a book out, I agree.
On the flipside of that, taking 4 or 5 months off for something that happens once a week kinda grates at me. It's like he realizes fully that people will buy it anyway when it comes out, so why bother getting it done in a timely manner? It's rather arrogant of him to simply quit writing for almost half a year.
All in all, I think the relationship between an author and their fans is a mixed bag. I think a certain amount of respect should be accorded all around. Authors should respect their fans enough not to skive off and take ages to write a single book. On the flipside of that, fans should respect the author enough to not let their sense of entitlement get out of hand. However, from what i know and understand, authors have deadlines too. From the look of things, the famous ones can get away with skiving theirs off.
PSA: David Gemmel
Quintin_Stone wrote:Silly me, I used to think it was Robb. :o
[color=white]Hah! At least you didn't have too long to carry that notion.[/color]
More Spoilers
[color=white]No joke. I just read the Edmure Tully/Roslin Frey wedding chapter this morning after I woke up. Talk about starting your vacation day with a kick in the balls. "Fsck You GRRM. May I have another?"Edit: and the way he describes Walder Frey during the whole ordeal. All I could imagine was Emperor Palpatine cackling in his throne room. Great writing.. and thank you for effing up my weekend. I'm almost afraid to pick the book back up.[/color]
[/quote]
I'm almost afraid to pick the book back up.
[color=white]Oh don't worry, from that point on everyone survives and lives happily ever after.[/color]
Sir McKellen as the Old Commander on the wall would kick eight million kinds of ass.
Sorry, Bren, he's too thin for "The Old Bear."
I'd think someone more like Sean Connery.
He didn't look particularly thin as Gandalf. Costuming can do wonders, and McKellen is a goddamn master of body language.
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