Three for the Prologue

October 20, 2009 at 11:32 pm

A GAME OF THRONES opens in the haunted forest north of the Wall, with three brothers of the Night’s Watch on a ranging.

The viewpoint character is Will, sent to the Wall for poaching. In the pilot, he will portrayed by Bronson Webb.

He has been in projects with Tamzin Merchant, Nicholaj Coster-Waldau, and Iain Glen. One of his first roles was “boy on a bicycle.” Peter Parker is Spider-Man and Bronson is a Webb, so they have spiders in common. And he has a home page, a Facebook page, and a MySpace page.

Will’s commander on the ranging is the young knight Ser Waymar Royce, a son of Bronze Yohn Royce, new to the Wall, clad in sable cloak. Playing Ser Waymar will be Jamie Campbell Bower.

JCB has an important role in the forthcoming HARRY POTTER movie, as a wizard from Dumbledore’s past, and can also be seen the new TWILIGHT film. And of course it is the twilight zone that lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. He’ll also be in the PRISONER remake, but as a number, not a free man. He was in SWEENEY TODD too, though I didn’t include that in the clues. Didn’t want to make it too easy.

The grizzled veteran Gared is the third member of the prologue’s intrepid trio. His part will be played by Richard Ridings.

Ridings’ previous credits include roles in RED DWARF, FAT FRIENDS, HIGHLANDER, and WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? and turns as characters named Roach and Daddy Pig.

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Tags: a game of thrones, hbo

HBO Pilot Cast

October 20, 2009 at 7:04 pm

I am the last one to the party, I know. I was off in Fargo enjoying Valleycon, away from my computer and the internet, and while I was gone the last remaining speaking part in the pilot was cast, and HBO officially confirmed a whole bunch of the roles and actors I’ve been hinting at. The cast lists are all over this Interwebbie thing by now, and you guys guessed pretty much all of them ages ago in any case (it really was scary, the way you all figured out some of those clues).

For them what came in late or haven’t been paying attention, however, let me be the last to confirm the confirmations and introduce you to our newest cast members.

The Old Knight is Ser Rodrik Cassell. He’ll be played by Ron Donachie.

Ser Rodrik is Winterfell’s master-at-arms, and Donachie also played the master-at-arms in TITANTIC. He has played a colonel, a doctor, a friar, a nazi, a sergeant, a superintendant, a corporal, and a minister in the past, and has been in projects with Lena Headey, Sean Bean, Iain Glen, and Honor Blackman.

The grey man is Maester Luwin, a grey-haired fellow in grey robes. He’ll be portrayed by Donald Sumpter, another fine British character actor.

Sumpter’s previous credits include DR. WHO, and also a film called GROUPIE GIRL.

(More on next rock)

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Tags: a game of thrones, hbo

Football

October 20, 2009 at 10:53 am

Life is meaningless and full of pain.

‘Nuff said.

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Tags: nfl

See You In Fargo

October 14, 2009 at 1:47 pm

I am off tomorrow to Fargo, North Dakota for Valleycon. I hope to see some of you there. I gather there may be some BWBers on hand, Jim Ludwig of Dark Sword Miniatures will be turning up with some of his fabulous Ice & Fire range, and I’ll be reading a chapter from A DANCE WITH DRAGONS. Plus there will be the usual drinking and carousing and fine dining, one hopes.

I will, alas, miss this weekend’s football games, so don’t expect any NFL posts on Sunday night or Monday morning. And please don’t post yourself about the games. My faithful friend TiVo will be recording the games for me, and I want to watch them unspoiled when I return on Monday night.

After Fargo, I have two days at home, and then I’m off again on a much longer trip, to visit the set of the HBO pilot shoot, and do those signings in Belfast and Dublin. Oh, and it looks like a third event is in the works, for London. I will let you know the details when they are set.

After England, Morocco. That should be fun. Never been there, and though I am pretty well travelled for a kid from Bayonne, Marrakech sounds considerably more exotic than any place that I have ever been before.

Things will probably get pretty quiet here while I’m away. I don’t travel with a laptop, so I expect I won’t be posting much… though I may pop in once in a while from a hotel business center, when I stumble on one.

And yes, TiVo will be getting all those games for me as well. I expect to be immersing myself in a month of Jets and Giants games along about Thanksgiving.

Till then… take care, all. Hang loose, sundry.

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And Then There Was One

October 13, 2009 at 5:34 pm

I could tell you the latest casting news, but really, the big guy should do that.

The grey man once had groupies. Yes, girls. Who?

The horse is saddled and bridled, but the rider has not yet appeared.

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Bwaaahhh

October 12, 2009 at 10:43 pm

Life is meaningless and full of pain.

Great game. Bad ending.

Sanchez and the offense played great. But the vaunted Jets defense must have taken the wrong plane. The one that took the field made The Other Chad look like Dan Marino.

First time I’ve seen the wildcat up close and personal. Seven bloody hells. We couldn’t stop the damn thing all night.

Someone give Ricky Williams a reefer, quick.

On the good side, hey, I’m liking that Braylon Edwards trade a lot more than I did a few weeks ago.

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44-7

October 11, 2009 at 4:21 pm

That was the most complete Giants victory I have seen in years. Almost total domination in every phase of play. It would have been another shutout except for a Sinorice Moss fumble and a very bad call by the refs a few plays later, when a quick whistle (which no one heard) negated a Giants fumble recovery and touchdown.

I’ll say this for the Raiders, though. They have a very good punter.

The NFL can be merciless. It was only a few years ago the Raiders were playing in the Superbowl, but since then…

JaMarcus Russell is no Rich Gannon. He did manage to complete more than half of his passes today, in between getting sacked and losing fumbles. Gods, what an awful quarterback. And the rumor is that Zombie Al won’t let the coaches bench him.

Eli had a perfect passer rating. Even David Carr looked good. And Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks both played great games. Our young wideouts are really coming along. And the running game looked great today.

Of coursse, the real test will be next week, when the G-Men face the undefeated Saints.

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Tags: nfl

The Songs Are Heard Again

October 9, 2009 at 1:41 pm

The Subterranean Press hardcover of our Jack Vance tribute anthology, SONGS OF THE DYING EARTH, is sold out in all editions (lettered, numbered, and trade). But if you missed your chance, don’t despair. You can still read a baker’s score of Dying Earth stories from twenty-one of today’s leading fantasists… the Voyager hardcover has just been released in the UK.

This will be one of the books that I will be signing in Ireland next month, at the events in Belfast and Dublin… but if you can’t wait to read the stories, or happen to live someplace other than Ireland, you can snag at copy from Amazon UK or your favorite British online bookstore. The Amazon listing is at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Songs-Dying-Earth-Stories-honour/dp/0007277482/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255117666&sr=8-1

SONGS OF THE DYING EARTH was co-edited by me and Gardner Dozois, and includes a preface by Jack Vance himself, an appreciation by Dean Koontz, and stories by Neil Gaiman, Dan Simmons, Howard Waldrop, Mike Resnick, Phyllis Eisenstein, Kage Baker, Paula Volsky, Walter Jon Williams, Liz Williams, Tad Williams, Byron Tetrick, Elizabeth Moon, Elizabeth Hand, Jeff Vandermeer, Terry Dowling, Matthew Hughes, John C. Wright, Glen Cook, Lucius Shepard, Tanith Lee, Robert Silverberg, and yours truly. You’re not likely to find a lineup to match that in any other anthology. Reviews have been very gratifying:

http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2009/07/songs-of-dying-earth-edited-by-george.html

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6664389.html?industryid=47120

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=Songs+of+the+Dying+Earth+review+Martin+Vance+Dozois&start=10&sa=N

http://www.sfsite.com/09b/de304.htm

So come join us on the Dying Earth to pay homage to the genius of Jack Vance.

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Tags: dying earth

More Roles Filled

October 7, 2009 at 2:58 pm

Here’s a few hints for three more, not yet announced.

One has worked with dead men. One was not sacrificed by his father to a jealous god. One has worked with chemicals. One knew Dumbledore. One has worked with fairies. One is just a number, not a free man. One is a town in Nassau. One will wear sable. One will wear a birthday suit. One knows what lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. One has a small part. One has a SMALL part. One you’re never going to get, folks, sorry. Good luck with the other two.

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Signings in Ireland

October 7, 2009 at 2:17 pm

November 3: 1:00PM

signing at
Eason & Son, Ltd.
20 Donegall Place,
Belfast, Belfast, BT1 5BA
028-9023-5070

November 5: 5:00 PM

signing at:
Eason’s
40 O’connell Street Upper
Dublin, Ireland
+353 1 8733811

Those of you who cannot make the events can still order a signed book. Just call Eason’s ahead of time and pre-order, and they will put your book aside for me to sign when I am there, then ship it to you afterwards.

Parris and I are looking forward to meeting many of you in Ireland.

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Not a Blog

Three for the Prologue

HBO Pilot Cast

Football

See You In Fargo

And Then There Was One

Bwaaahhh

44-7

The Songs Are Heard Again

More Roles Filled

Signings in Ireland

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