… to Santa Fe.

Yes, yes, it's coming to the rest of the country too.  HBO will broadcast episode one of season 4, entitled… ooops, sorry, don't think I am allowed to reveal the title yet… on Sunday, April 6.

But on Saturday, March 29,  375 lucky New Mexicans will get a chance to see what the rest of the country will need to wait another week and day for.   I am thrilled to announce that on that day, by special arrangement with HBO, we will be presenting three advance screenings of episode 401 at the Jean Cocteau Cinema.

Last year, many of you will recall, HBO had a gala Season 3 Premiere in Los Angeles, with a huge red carpet screening at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, followed by an incredible party at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel across the street.  Even if you weren't there, you probably saw the pictures.  That LA premiere was followed by advance screenings and premiere parties in San Francisco and Seattle, which were almost as exciting.

Our Santa Fe event will not be THE Premiere for season four.  One of those is in the works, for a city considerably larger than Santa Fe and a theatre considerably larger than the Jean Cocteau, but I will leave it for HBO to make that announcement when the time is ripe.

Our Santa Fe screenings will follow the big red carpet premiere, the way San Francisco and Seattle followed LA last year.  We expect to have a red carpet too, though I make no promises about who might show up to walk on it… besides myself, of course. I'll be there, for sure.

photo Macall B. Polay HBO

The Jean Cocteau is a small hall, with only 125 seats, so we will be showing the episode three times.

The evening screening is by invitation only.   That's the red carpet screening.  And there will be a huge party following at the Sanbusco Center right across the parking lot from the Cocteau.  That's by invitation only too, alas.  Sorry.

But we wanted to do something for the fans as well.  So even before the VIP screening and party, we'll be showing episode 401 twice that day, for a few lucky members of the general public.  There will be one screening in the afternoon, and one that morning.  And here's something cool: the first show, the morning show, will be the Spanish language version of episode 401.  New Mexico has a huge Hispanic community, and we wanted to include them as well… so in a sense, the Santa Fe premiere WILL be a world premiere… for Spanish.  (The afternoon showing will be English).

photo Macall B. Polay HBO

 I hear you asking… "how do I get tickets to the Santa Fe premiere of season 4??"

 Two ways.  Luck and determination.

 We have 125 tickets for each show.  About 75 of those seats will be given away ahead of time, as door prizes to those attending the weekly GAME OF THRONES marathon shows, and various other movies showing at the Jean Cocteau.  The marathons are first come, first seated, and we can't always fit everyone in — some nights we've had to turn away as many as a hundred, when the lines were just too long — but those who do get in are all given a raffle ticket, and at the end of the evening, we draw the names of a few lucky winners out of a dragon's egg.  We have other door prizes as well, so even if you don't win the coveted season 4 premiere tickets, you may go home with a calendar, a Funko Pop doll, a signed book, a movie pass, a stuffed direwolf, or some other goodie.

 ((The next marathon screening is this Wednesday.  We will be screening episodes six, seven, and eight from season two, Kit Harington will be joining us via Skype, Spirit Wolf Sanctuary will be bringing up two of their wolves… and yes, we expect to give away four tickets to the season four premiere, two to the English language screening, two the Spanish.  Each ticket admits two.  So get in line early if you want your chance to win)).

photo Helen Sloan HBO

 Not all the tickets will be given away as door prizes, however.  We are holding back about forty for both the morning and afternoon showings.  Those will be awarded the same way the tickets to our marathon showings are : first come, first seated.

 There's lots more surprises in store, but I will save those announcements for later down the line.  For now, suffice it to say:

  WINTER IS COMING TO SANTA FE!

Current Mood: null

HBO gave us another taste of season four tonight, before the latest episode of TRUE DETECTIVE.

<lj-embed id=”409″ />

48 days and counting.

Unless you live in Santa Fe.

Current Mood: null

For you poor benighted souls who do not [yet] have HBO, here's the Foreshadowing that was broadcast earlier tonight, just before the latest [terrific] episode of TRUE DETECTIVE:

<lj-embed id=”403″ />

Enjoy.

But, as with past previews, please do not analyze or dissect or argue about the preview here.  That's what Tower of the Hand and Winter Is Coming and Westeros and Television Without Pity are for.  (And lots of other swell sites and blogs and bulletin boards as well, sorry I could not mention you all).

For more, alas, you will need to wait until season four debuts on April 6.  (Unless you happen to live in Santa Fe… )

Current Mood: null

HBO will be unveiling a behind-the-scenes preview of season four of GAME OF THRONES on February 9.

Can't wait?

Here's teaser for the preview.  A taste of the foreshadowing.

<lj-embed id=”398″ />

The new season arrives on Sunday, April 6.

Current Mood: null

If you weren't at the Jean Cocteau Cinema on Monday night, you missed out on all the fun.

We had a great day.  People started lining up as the sun was coming up, and the queue grew longer all day.  We sent out coffee and donuts to make sure no one froze or starved to death while waiting in line.  Doors opened at 6:00, with the show starting at 7:00pm, but Maisie Williams and the wolves turned up at 5:00 or so to meet the fans.  Maisie is amazing… not only a talented young actress, but a delight in person.  I think she spoke to everyone in line, signed their books and Funko Pop dolls, posed for pictures.   Not everyone got into the theatre, alas, but everyone in line got to meet Maisie…

 … and the wolves. Flurry and Zorro, the wolf ambassadors from Wild Spirit, were great hits as well.

Maisie is on her way back to LA now… but I think she liked Santa Fe, and one day we hope to have her back again.

Meanwhile, the GOT marathon continues next Monday night at the Jean Cocteau.  Next time we will be screening episodes nine and ten from season one — "Baelor" and "Fire and Blood."  And we'll be joined by executive producers and showrunners DAVID BENIOFF and D.B. WEISS, who will be Skyping in after the episodes to answer your questions.

Line up early.  It's sure to be another epic crowd.

Current Mood: null

Drum roll, please.  The trailer's here.

Have a taste of season four:

<lj-embed id=”395″ />

April's not so far off.  Really, it's not.

(Just keep telling yourself that).

Current Mood: null

… but not until April.  The fourth season of GAME OF THRONES will debut on Sunday, April 6, at 9pm Eastern.

But the TRAILER for season four can be seen tomorrow.  Just make sure you catch the premiere of the latest great HBO drama, TRUE DETECTIVE, tomorrow night at 9 pm ET… and don't forget to tune in a few minutes early.

I can hear some of you muttering that you don't get HBO.  Well, you should.  But that aside, this weekend is a "Free HBO Weekend" on many cable systems and satellite services, so even if you don't normally receive HBO, you may find you have it this weekend.  Click over and see, then sample TRUE DETECTIVE and enjoy the season four trailer.  (And then run and subscribe to HBO, because it won't stay free forever).

And for those of you who cannot even wait until tomorrow, here's a teaser for the trailer:

<lj-embed id=”394″ />

Enjoy.

Current Mood: null