Winter is coming to HBO… tonight!

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I think we can be pretty sure GAME OF THRONES will be better than SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER, at least. Fortunately, this show comes from Benioff and Weiss, not Bialystock and Bloom.

We’re pretty excited here. (Even though I’ve already seen tonight’s episode).

And remember — HBO is free this weekend on most cable systems throughout the US. So even if you don’t normally get HBO, if you have cable the chances are excellent that you can at least see tonight’s premiere.

(After which, of course, we hope you’ll all be signing up for HBO).

More a little later. I have to get back to Kong.

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… to a city near you.

That is, if you live near New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, or San Francisco.

There are several Iron Thrones out there, moving about the country. You too can sit in one, and be king (or queen) for a few minutes.

You can find the Iron Throne at:

NEW YORK
Thursday, April 14 – Union Square
*photo booth 11am – 7pm
Friday, April 15 – Columbus Circle
*photo booth 11am – 7pm
Saturday/Sunday, April 16/17 – 14th and 9th
*photo booth – 1pm – 9pm (Saturday) / 11am – 7pm (Sunday)

LOS ANGELES
Thursday, April 14 !“ Sunday April 17 !“ Hollywood & Highland Courtyard
*photo booth 11am-7pm

PHILADELPHIA
Thursday, April 14 !“ Sunday April 17 !“ 30th Street Station
*photo booth 11am-7pm

SAN FRANCISCO
Thursday, April 14 !“ Sunday April 17 !“ Yerba Buena Gardens
*photo booth 11am-7pm

P.S. I am a day late in getting this up, I know. Sorry. With the TV series set to premiere on Sunday night, HBO has so much happening right now that I can’t possibly keep up. Not and wrestle Kong into submission at the same time. And Kong comes first. So those of you who are interested in up-to-the-minute info on the show, please check in regularly at Westeros http://asoiaf.westeros.org/ and Winter Is Coming http://winter-is-coming.net/ where you’ll find the latest news and views much more quickly than I can hope to get it up.

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… whizzing past the Flatiron Building.

I’ve known these were coming ever since I dropped that “pedaling” clue a few posts down, but this is the first report I’ve received of one actually being seen on the streets.

So far as I know, they are only on the streets of New York. Sorry, no, I don’t know where you can find them, how many there are, or how long they will be around… but if I find out, I’ll be sure to tell you here.

I want to ride in one soon!

[[ LATER ]]

And here’s the official skinny on the pedicabs.

Yes, there’s more than one. A whole fleet, in fact.

(And a shout out here to JetboyGirl, our own resident BWB pedicabbie. Hey, Kate, how’d you like one of these?)

Rides are complimentary, it says right there on the pedicabs.

As to where to find them… good question. I’d look around Central Park and COlumbus Circle myself, though who knows? The first one was spotted at the Flatiron, a long way downtown, so the cabs could be popping up all over.

Have fun hunting for them, guys.

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Those of you who enjoyed the NEW YORKER article about me and Ice & Fire might also enjoy this podcast interview with author Laura Miller:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/2011/04/11/110411on_audio_miller

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And number 16 too…

… in Brazil, that is.

My Brazilian publishers have informed me that the first two books of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE have made the main Brazilian bestseller lists:

http://publishnews.com.br/telas/mais-vendidos/Default.aspx?cat=9

Very cool! Thanks to all my Brazilian readers. I hope you’ve enjoyed the books.

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LA fen, find your way to Hollywood and Highland some night soon, and see the light show

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Be sure and get there after dark. But don’t wait too long.

Thursday night might be the best time to visit. One of the Spider’s little birds tells me the Iron Throne might be at Hollywood and Highland as well. But only on Thursday.

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… onto THE DAILY BEAST.

A couple of weeks ago, I gave THE DAILY BEAST a list of my Top Ten SF Films of All Time.

This morning we have the companion piece: my Top Ten Fantasy Films of All Time.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-04-11/george-rr-martin-game-of-thrones-writers-top-10-fantasy-films/

You can stop holding your breath now.

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Here’s a video interview from my visit to the Food Truck on Friday:

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And another interview with me from the Venice streets can be found at:

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/the-fien-print/posts/hitfix-interview-a-few-minutes-with-george-r-r-martin-at-the-game-of-thrones-food-truck

It was great to meet so many of my fans and readers in Venice. And the venison and lemon cake were wonderful as well.

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Returned home last night from my short visit to LA, where I attended a private screening of the first two episodes of GAME OF THRONES, made a surprise visit to the food truck in Venice, enjoyed a great celebratory dinner with Dan and David at the Palm (where we first met, lo these many years ago), called on Justin Sweet in his Yorba Linda studio and saw some gorgeous roughs of the artwork he’ll be doing for the forthcoming WORLD OF ICE & FIRE concordance, met with Mark Newbauer of Mike the Pike Productions about their on-going SKIN TRADE film project, and even enjoyed a great lunch with old friend Ron Perlman, from my days on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. It was an amazing few days, if insanely busy.

The first two episodes look spectacular, I think, especially when seen on the big screen at CAA. Cinematic quality. (I have a new 55 inch TV set being installed this week, and now I’m afraid that it’s too small) These were the first complete episodes I’ve seen, and I loved them. Yes, there are changes from the books, and of course there are things missing — lines of dialogue, bits of business, scenes — but without twice or thrice the running time, there was no way to get EVERYTHING in. The story is there, that’s the important thing. Fans who know the books inside and out may miss certain things, sure, but the vast majority of viewers, those who have never read the novels, should do just fine.

My hat is off to David and Dan and the team they put together. They’ve done an amazing job.

Oh, and HBO has released a new trailer. Herewith, “Poison.”

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