What Movie?

September 28, 2015 at 6:44 pm

Don’t believe everything you read, boys and girls. Especially not on line.

I don’t know where this latest round of “there’s going to be a GAME OF THRONES movie” nonsense is coming from, but suddenly it is everywhere, and all of us connected with the show and HBO are being bombarded. But nothing has changed.

Let me review, for those who came in late.

The idea of ending GAME OF THRONES with one or more major feature films was first floated oh, three or four years ago. Let me say once again: this was NOT MY IDEA. However, I may have been the first one to mention the notion in public — where and how I no longer recall — so somehow I became associated with it.

I did say that I liked the idea. Of course I liked the idea. HOw not? This was back in the early days, where we couldn’t even afford to shoot the Battle of the Green Fork and had to knock Tyrion unconscious instead. When the king’s hunting party consisted of four guys on foot walking through the woods. At that time, in that context, the idea of big blockbuster movies with a LORD OF THE RINGS sized budget was powerfully attractive.

And the idea is still powerfully attractive. Not just to me, but to many people connected with the show. Actors, directors, producers, writers. How not? It would be a great way to end.

Which doesn’t mean it is going to happen. There is great enthusiasm for the notion, sure, but not necessarily from HBO. They are in the TV business, not the feature film business. And those of you with long memories may recall all the rumors about a SOPRANOS movie… a ROME movie… a DEADWOOD movie. Rumors is all they were. And that’s all this one is too, at least for now.

Lately the rumors have gotten even more specific. The film will be about Robert’s Rebellion. It will be about Dunk & Egg. It will… oh, it’s all too silly.

It would still be cool, and I’d still love to see it… but nothing has changed since the last round of rumors. I am still writing THE WINDS OF WINTER. David & Dan are still filming season six. HBO is still in the television business.

Don’t take any of this stuff seriously. Clickbait journalism is to journalism as military music is to music.

Tags: game of thrones, hbo, the internet

A Birthday to Remember

September 26, 2015 at 5:50 pm

I turned 67 on September 20. So did the Emmy Awards.

Our party was on TV. Andy Samberg gave me a shout-out. HBO gave me a cake. And the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences gave me an Emmy. Well, actually they gave one to GAME OF THRONES as tv’s Best Drama, but since I’m a producer on the show, I get one of the trophies.

In case you missed the moment:
<lj-embed id=”607″/>

Truth be told, I almost missed the moment myself. While I was pleased that we had been nominated once again, I did not expect us to win… and with so much to do at home, so much pressure on so many fronts, I wasn’t sure I wanted to fly out to LA again, put on a monkey suit, and sit through another loss. The first few times you are up for an Emmy it is very exciting, yes, it’s cool and glamorous and all that… but this would be my seventh time. I had been nominated, and lost, six times before; four times with GAME OF THRONES, and twice more back in the 80s with BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. No fantasy show had EVER won ‘the big one,’ the award for Best Drama, and with MAD MEN, a four-time winner, up for its final season, it did not seem likely that this would be the year. Great shows often get a valedictory award or three to celebrate their excellence after they have left the airwaves.

So I was seriously thinking of staying home this year. It was Paul Haas, my agent at WME, who changed my mind. He said he thought that GOT might have a shot this year. Yeah, yeah, I said, I’d heard that before. (I’d thought our third season, with the buzz of the Red Wedding behind it, might be the one to break through, but I’d been way wrong). Then Paul pointed out that if we did win, and I wasn’t there to be part of it, I would regret it for the rest of my life. He was right. So I came, and we won, and it was a birthday I will never forget.

Thanks, Paul.

The Emmy is sitting in my TV room right now, golden and shiny. Big thing. Very heavy. Very pretty. I smile every time I see it. (We ate the cake).

It was a great night for GAME OF THRONES, and for HBO as whole. VEEP dominated in the comedy categories, and OLIVE KITTERIDGE in miniseries… which just goes to show all of you who don’t get HBO, you are missing a lot… and as for us, we were up in five categories, and won four. David Benioff and Dan Weiss won for Writing, David Nutter for Directing, and Peter Dinklage took his second for Best Supporting Actor. All of us were pulling for Lena Headey and Emilia Clarke in Best Supporting Actress, but they lost out to Uzo Aduba from ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, whose Crazy Eyes is the most unforgettable character on an amazing and addictive show. And the came Best Drama… It IS an honor just to be nominated, yes it is. But let me tell you, winning is more fun than losing, and 1-6 beats the hell out of 1-7.

Unlike the Hugo Awards (where, if seven people jointly win some award, all of them get to yammer for as long as they like), the Emmy Awards have a strict time limit, and only one or two designated acceptors speak for the group. For us, that was David and Dan, just as it should be. They thanked a lot of people… and then ran out of time.

But there’s never enough time to thank everyone, of course. So I want to add my own thanks for some of those that D&D did not get to.

Starting with David Benioff and Dan Weiss themselves. Without them, there would be no show. Without their talent and dedication, there would certainly be no Emmy.

Also, I want to thank Bryan Cogman. He’s been there since the beginning too, the right hand man to D&D, and he’s written some of our best episodes. I am thrilled that when we finally won, it was for a year in which he’d finally snagged a “producer” credit, which meant that he got to take home a trophy as well.

And of course I want to thank Parris (so glad you were there with me, Phipps), and Paul Haas and the rest of my team at WME, and Vince Gerardis, and Kay McCauley, and Anne Groell and my team at Bantam, and Jane Johnson as my team at Voyager, and my leal minions Raya and Lenore and Jenni and Elias and Jo, and Pat (who left), and even Ty (who left even earlier).

Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank the dead. We have the best cast in television, as I have said a hundred times, and many of them were on the stage with us last Sunday. Thanks to all of them, of course, and thanks as well to Emilia and Kit and Dame Diana and Kristian and Natalie and Finn, who were off working and could not be there with us.

But there were ghosts standing behind us. Maybe you couldn’t see them, but I could feel their presence, and I know that without them none of us would have been holding Emmys. Yes, I know, I know, the award was for Season Five… but if you truly believe that the Academy voters did not take our first four seasons into account as well, then let me tell you about this lovely bridge over the Green Fork that Walder Frey would like to sell you.

No. It was the show to date that won, I believe, and our ghosts were a huge part of that. So my thanks go out to Sean Bean, to Mark Addy, to Rose Leslie, to Pedro Pascal, to Michelle Fairley, to Richard Madden, Gethin Anthony, Harry Lloyd, Ron Donachie, Mark Stanley, Esme Bianco, Kate Dickie, Jack Gleeson, Amrita Acharia, Charles Dance, Donald Sumpter, Josef Altin, Peter Vaughn, Margaret John, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Oona Chaplin, Stephen Dillane, Francis Magee, Roxanna McKee, Kerry Ingram, Ian McElhinney, Jason Momoa, and of course Sibel Kekilli… along with all the other noble and ignoble dead that I’ve certainly forgotten, and I’m sure that there’s a lot of them.

Some of you are dead in the books, others only on the show. But if it was up to me, all of you would have been up on the stage beside us. Every one of you played your part, large or show, in making GAME OF THRONES the record-smashing hit it is.

Thank you all.

Tags: awards, emmy awards, game of thrones, hbo

A New Record

September 21, 2015 at 11:16 pm

Back from the Emmy Awards in LA.

A night to remember.

GAME OF THRONES set a new record for number of wins by a series in a single year. Eight last week, and four more on Sunday. That’s twelve.

Pretty impressive haul when you line them up like that.

The previous record was nine, set by WEST WING.

Anyway… I will have more to say about the Emmys and all that, but we’ve only been home a few hours, and I’m still pretty tired (celebrating is hard work, and so is travel) so it will have to wait until tomorrow. I do have more to say, and a lot of people to thank.

For now, let it suffice to say that the Emmy looks very good in my TV room, and while it IS an honor just to be nominated (as I have been, six times before), it’s even cooler to win.

Tags: awards, emmy awards, game of thrones, hbo, television

Eight Is NOT Enough

September 15, 2015 at 5:09 pm

HBO and GAME OF THRONES dominated last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys in LA.

HBO took home 29, way more than any other network. GOT accounted for eight of those, more than any other show.

Awards were given in every category. For the full list of nominees and winners:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/creative-arts-emmys-2015-winners-822621

The rest of this year’s Emmys will be given out this Sunday. I’ll be flying out to LA once more for the ceremony. GAME OF THRONES is nominated for directing, writing, and acting… and of course, for Best Drama. So cross your fingers, cross your toes.

Meanwhile, congratulations to all of our Emmy winners from last week. Well deserved! A hearty round of applause, please… and for the losers too. Not everyone can take home the trophy, but you all did great work.

Tags: awards, emmy awards, game of thrones, hbo

Blacklist Burlesque Presents “Burlesque is Coming: A Tribute to the Works of George R.R. Martin.”

September 11, 2015 at 3:21 pm

Hello again from Ogre Jenni!

A Virginia-based burlesque company, Blacklist Burlesque, will perform at Santa Fe’s hometown theater, the Jean Cocteau Cinema, on Monday, September 14th and Tuesday, September 15th. Blacklist Burlesque promises a hilarious and sexy parody of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series. View the specific times and purchase tickets here: http://bit.ly/1Kggk3a

Here are some silly quotes from Blacklist Burlesque:

“For the night is dark and full of rhinestones.”

“Arya gonna come see us? Aw, c’mon, you gotta have a Sansa humor!”

Blacklist Burlesque refers to themselves as the "first name and last word in Richmond, Virginia and beyond for neo-burlesque and nerd-lesque shows." They already had me at "Burlesque," but they won my tiny black heart with "nerd-lesque."

Holy fishnets, Batman! I did not know that “nerd-lesque” was even a thing until we booked Blacklist Burlesque’s Game of Thrones-themed act at the Cocteau. Apparently, in the world of nerd-lesque, there are Star Trek cabarets, super hero acts, high fantasty burlesque shows, and—quite frighteningly—Cthulhu strip-teases. There are just some things in this universe that the human mind shouldn’t be exposed to. Or maybe I should just get out of my lair every once in a while.

For those who don’t know the basic history of burlesque, it is an art form that has thumbed its nose at upper-class cultures and social conventions for hundreds of years. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the umbrella term “burlesque” covered many varieties of theatrical lampooning or “travesty.” In the 19th century, burlesque producers and performers would take specific arias and oratorios from famous operas, and rewrite the lyrics for comedic effect—just like “Weird Al” Yankovic! In other words, the middle and lower classes got to knock “serious” art off of its pedestal from time to time.

But what about the strip-tease, the feather costumes, and the pasties, you ask? Strip-tease, an important aspect of modern and neo-burlesque, became standard around the 1930s. Think of the bawdy cabaret culture of the 1930s—and then the pin-up girls of the 1940s and 1950s. Now this is just a brief overview from a humble ogre, so if any of you readers have any interesting or tantalizing tidbits to add about burlesque, please leave a comment—and see you at the show!

Tags: blacklist burlesque, game of thrones, jean cocteau cinema, neo-burlesque, nerdlesque

Direwolves On Staten Island

July 24, 2015 at 1:11 am

The boys of summer better take heed — winter is coming to Staten Island on August 8. And where there is winter, there are direwolves.

So I’m headed east the first week of August… for a wedding, yes, and no, that’s private, so you don’t get to hear any more about it… but I am going to see my editors and publishers and agents while I am in town, and do some other fun stuff… including a ball game.

That’s the night the Staten Island Direwolves will be playing the Lannister Lions.

Normally the home team is the Staten Island Yankees… but for one night only, they are changing their name to the Staten Island Direwolves, and will be wearing special jerseys. The visitors, normally the Hudson Valley Renegades, will be clad in gold and red jerseys emblazoned with the Lion of Lannister. So it will be Winterfell v. Casterly Rock once more.

The first 2500 attendees that night will get free baseball caps with the Direwolf logo (above). Also, we will be having a special fund-raising lottery on behalf of the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, and the winners will take home the actual Stark and Lannister game jerseys worn by the players.

I will be signing books for 400 lucky fans as well — only 400, the line will be capped, so get there EARLY if you want a book signed — and the good folks from Wild Spirit will also be on hand, with one of their wolves.

For more details, check out the team website at http://www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t586

If you’re a baseball fan… or a Stark supporter… do drop by, and root, root, root for the home team. If the Direwolves lose, I may have to kill another Stark.

Tags: appearances, game of thrones, song of ice and fire

Emmy Likes Us

July 16, 2015 at 4:30 pm

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced this year’s nominations for the Emmy Awards this morning, and HBO’s GAME OF THRONES led the way with a whopping TWENTY-FOUR nominations. More than any other show this year, in any other category, be it drama, comedy, reality, talk, movie, miniseries, variety, documentary, what have you. <img src=”http://georgerrmartin.com/notablog/wp-content/uploads/import/260405_800.jpg” alt=”” title=””> Congratulations are in order for David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, our showrunners, all our writers and directors and producers, our amazing cast and our incredible crew, and of course the good folks at Home Box Office, who made all this possible. Here are this year’s nominations for GOT: Outstanding Drama Series Outstanding Supporting Actor Peter Dinklage !“ Tyrion Lannister Outstanding Supporting Actress Lena Headey !“ Cersei Lannister Emilia Clarke !“ Daenerys Targaryen Outstanding Guest Actress Diana Rigg !“ Lady Olenna Tyrell, the Queen of Thorns Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series David Benioff and D.B. Weiss !“ Mother’s Mercy Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series David Nutter !“ “Mother’s Mercy” Jeremy Podeswa !“ “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Contemporary Or Fantasy Program (One Hour Or More) ”High Sparrow” ”Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” ”Hardhome” Deborah Riley, Production Designer Paul Ghirardani, Art Director Rob Cameron, Set Decorator Outstanding Casting For A Drama Series Nina Gold, CSA, Casting Director Robert Sterne, Casting Director Carla Stronge, Casting Director Outstanding Cinematography For A Single-Camera Series ”Hardhome” (Fabian Wagner, BSC, Director of Photography_ ”Sons Of The Harpy” (Anette Haellmigk, Director of Photography) ”The Dance Of Dragons” (Rob McLachlan, ASC, CSC, Director of Photography) ”Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” (Greg Middleton, CSC, Director of Photography) Outstanding Costumes For A Period/Fantasy Series, Limited Series Or Movie ”The Dance Of Dragons” Michele Clapton, Costume Designer Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series ”Hardhome” (Tim Porter, Editor) ”The Dance Of Dragons” (Katie Weiland, Editor) Outstanding Hairstyling For A Single-Camera Series ”Mother’s Mercy” Kevin Alexander, Department Head Hairstylist Candice Banks, Department Head Hairstylist Rosalia Culora, Hairstylist Gary Machin, Hairstylist Laura Pollock, Hairstylist Nicola Mount, Hairstylist Outstanding Makeup For A Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic) ”Mother’s Mercy” Jane Walker, Department Head Makeup Artist Nicola Matthews, Makeup Artist Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Limited Series, Movie Or A Special ”Hardhome” Jane Walker, Department Head Makeup Artist Barrie Gower, Special Makeup Effects Department Head Sarah Gower, Special Makeup Effects Assistant Department Head Outstanding Sound Editing For A Series ”Hardhome” Tim Kimmel, Supervising Sound Editor Paula Fairfield, Sound Designer Bradley C. Katona, Sound Effects Editor Peter Bercovitch, Supervising Dialogue Editor David Klotz, Music Editor Jeffrey Wilhoit, Foley Artist Dylan T. Wilhoit, Foley Artist Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One Hour) ”Hardhome” Ronan Hill, C.A.S., Production Mixer Richard Dyer, Production Mixer Onnalee Blank, C.A.S., Re-Recording Mixer Mathew Waters, Re-Recording Mixer Outstanding Special Visual Effects ”The Dance Of Dragons” Steve Kullback, Visual Effects Producer Joe Bauer, Visual Effects Supervisor Adam Chazen, Visual Effects Associate Producer Jabbar Raisani, Visual Effects Plate Supervisor Eric Carney, Visual Effects Previs Lead Stuart Brisdon, Special Effects Supervisor Derek Spears, Lead CG Supervisor James Kinnings, Lead Animator Matthew Rouleau, CG Supervisor Outstanding Stunt Coordination For A Drama Series, Limited Series Or Movie Rowley Irlam, Stunt Coordinator It’s an incredible list, I applaud everyone on it… and all of those who didn’t make it either. GAME OF THRONES is what it is because of the untiring efforts of the best cast and crew in television today. Many were recognized by the Academy today for their work… but others, equally dedicated and talented, were not. But the show would not the hit it is without their talent and dedication. The 24 nominations garnered by GAME OF THRONES is not only the highest number of any show this year, but among the highest ever received by a single series for a single season in the entire history of television. (For numbers geeks, the record remains 27, garnered by NYPD BLUE in 1994). Today is a day for celebrations and congratulations, for popping champagne corks and raising toasts and exchanging thanks… but before we do too many cartwheels, it would be wise to remember that GAME OF THRONES also led the Emmy nominations last year, with 19 nods, only to get skunked on the night of the televised awards. The same as the year before, and the year before that. Like many fantasy shows before us, GOT is often honored for our special effects, costumes, makeup, stuntwork, set design, and cinematography (this year, please note, we have four of five finalists for cinematography), but seldom for writing, directing, or acting. Peter Dinklage’s Emmy as Best Supporting Actor for season one remains the ONLY award the show has ever won in those categories, in fact. Will that change this year? One can hope, I suppose. But no matter what happens on Emmy Night, let me say once again that it truly is an honor to be nominated, especially given the competition. This truly is The Golden Age of Television, especially for drama. GAME OF THRONES faces the usual formidable competition for the “Big One,” the award for Best Dramatic Series… but as distinguished a list as that is, there are so many incredible shows that did NOT make the cut that it boggles the mind. It’s great to see BETTER CALL SAUL and ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK on this list, but where is MASTERS OF SEX? THE KNICK? HALT AND CATCH FIRE? How about THE VIKINGS? I really thought JUSTIFIED might make it, for its final season. And OUTLANDER, how in the world did they overlook OUTLANDER, with its music and its costumes and its cinematography and the incredible performances of its three leads (especially Tobias Menzies in his double role)? Why is Nick Offermann not on the ballot for PARKS AND RECREATION? How could BIG BANG THEORY possibly fall off? Truly, the Academy (of which I am a member) moves in mysterious ways. Even where GOT itself is concerned… I am thrilled to see both Emilia Clarke and Lena Headey among the nominees, but I wanted Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner and Natalie Dormer as well… it’s great that two of our episodes got nominated for directing, but how did they overlook “Hardhome?”… and will Iain Glen and Conleth Hill and John Bradley West ever get any recognition, and… Okay, okay, I know, I am being greedy, and every producer on every other show on television is probably saying the same things about his own cast just now. Let me just savor the moment. GOT did good.

Tags: awards, emmy awards, game of thrones, hbo, television

Home Alone

July 10, 2015 at 6:53 pm

Well, not really alone. Parris is here, and my minions, and the Cocteau staff, and the cats… but I am not in San Diego at Comicon, and I have to admit, that feels strange.

Staying home was the right decision. I just got back from Chicago and the Dead shows, and before that it was Europe, and it is hardly as if HBO needed me in San Diego to represent… not with so much of our cast on hand. I have so much work to do, I am way behind on everything, and I have a wedding to attend in Jersey in a few weeks, and worldcon after that… and if truth be told, San Diego has gotten overwhelming in recent years. There are always good times catching up with friends, and hanging with the cast, but it’s not as if I can walk the floor anymore and look for old comic books, the way I once did.

Even so… even so… it does make me a little sad, not being there.

Anyway, those of you who are there, be sure and catch THE EXPANSE premiere. I wish I could. Everything I’ve seen suggests that it will be a terrific show. The books were certainly great. Say hi to Daniel and Ty for me.

You might also visit the Random House booth to buy a calendar, and drop by the Tor/ Macmillan booth to buy a stack of books and show your support.

Tags: comicon, conventions, game of thrones

We’re Number One… Again

July 1, 2015 at 9:45 am

All great, of course, but I have to confess, that return to #1 especially tickles.

Pretty damn good for a book first published in 1996.

(It is the return to the show to the airwaves that’s responsible, of course, so thanks to HBO and David and Dan and Bryan and our amazing cast and directors… and also to Anne, and all the great folks at Bantam Spectra, who have kept all of the books in print and available for lo these long years. Long may we reign).

Tags: bestseller lists, game of thrones, song of ice and fire

And Now for Something Completely Different

April 10, 2015 at 3:50 pm

Let’s take a break from the sadness of the puppies for something a bit more fun.

From THE TONIGHT SHOW:

<lj-embed id=”560″/>

Tags: game of thrones, hbo, humor

Not a Blog