And Then There Were Five…

September 20, 2017 at 11:39 am

… GAME OF THRONES successor shows, that is.

Truth be told, we’ve had five scripts in various stages of development for months. Which I believe I mentioned…

But now at last all the deals are signed, and it can be told. BRYAN COGMAN has come on board to pen the fifth of the successor shows. James Hibberd broke the news on ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY.

http://ew.com/tv/2017/09/20/game-thrones-bryan-cogman-5th-prequel/

Bryan Cogman should need no introduction for any GAME OF THRONES fan. He’s been part of the show since the beginning… since before the beginning, actually, since he was first hired as assistant to David Benioff and D.B Weiss way before the series got on the air, before even the pilot had been filmed. From those humble beginnings, he advanced to staff writer, to story editor, to co-producer and producer and supervising producer. Less formally, he has also been GOT’s “Keeper of the Lore,” the guy who knew the canon better than anyone (except me, though sometimes I am not even sure of that). He’s written more episodes of GAME OF THRONES than anyone but Dan & David… including some of our very best ones. If D&D have been the kings of Westeros for these past seven seasons, Bryan Cogman has surely been the Prince of Dragonstone.

I’d love to tell you more about the series Bryan will be working on… but we haven’t done that for the other four successor shows, so we shouldn’t for this one either. All in good time.

I can say that, like the other pilots, it will be a prequel rather than sequel, a successor rather than a spinoff. Bryan’s series will be an adaptation, and one that will thrill most fans of the books, I think, set during a very exciting period of Westerosi history. And I’ll be working with him every step of the way; we’re going to be co-creating the show.

Meanwhile, Jane Goldman, Brian Helgeland, Max Borenstein, and Carly Wray are all at work on the other four successor shows. I’ve been working with them as well (some more closely than others), and I’m excited by some of the ideas they’re coming up with. HBO should have a wealth of material to choose from. (And that’s not even counting the four weird-ass series concepts I’ve come up on my own, just for the hell of it. There are eight million stories in the naked city, and maybe ten times as many in Westeros and the lands beyond the narrow seas).

You should not expect to see all five shows, though, at least not immediately.. much as I might love the idea, HBO is not about to become the GAME OF THRONES network… but we could possibly see two or even three make it to the pilot stage, with one series emerging on air in 2019 or 2020… and the others maybe later, if they come out as well as we all hope. Then again, maybe… but I should not speculate, you folks get WAY too excited. Truth is, no one knows. Least of all me.

For now, suffice it to say that Bryan Cogman has signed on, and we’re thrilled.

Current Mood: bouncy bouncy

Tags: fire & blood, game of thrones, hbo, song of ice and fire, television

Emmy Winners

September 20, 2017 at 10:17 am

Congratulations to all the winners of this year’s Emmy Awards. And especially to my friends at HBO, which once again led all other networks in number of nominations and number of victories.

It was a great show this year, I thought. Yes, even without GAME OF THRONES. Stephen Colbert made a terrific host. I especially enjoyed his opening number.

A strong lineup of nominees this year gave us some great winners… though, as always, that also means some equally deserving finalists wound up as losers. WESTWORLD especially was robbed, as was STRANGER THINGS. But it IS an honor just to be nominated, and the time will come for both of those shows, as it finally did for GAME OF THRONES. The big winners this year were Hulu’s HANDMAID’S TALE (adapted from the novel by Margaret Atwood) and HBO’s BIG LITTLE LIES (adapted from the novel by Liane Moriarity). ((Notice the common denominator there? BOOKS! Do a faithful adapatation of a great book, and you can’t go wrong)). I was also pleased to see BLACK MIRROR get some love, especially for its brilliant “San Junipero” episode.

GAME OF THRONES, of course, was not eligible this year, having shifted from April to August. Which meant that, for the first time in seven years, I was not actually at the awards in LA. Instead Parris and I watched from home. It felt kind of strange not to be there, truth be told. Not bad, just strange. It was actually sort of relaxing. The Emmy weekend can be very exciting, but it is also exhausting, even the parties… the heat, the crowds, the noise. The red carpet seems to get longer (and hotter) every year. Maybe that’s an ordeal that should be left for the younger and more photogenic members of our television community.

Will I be back next year, or the year after, or the year after that? Time will tell. Emmy is a fickle goddess who bestows her kisses where she will. But either way, I’m good.

((Comments on the Emmys welcome. Off topic comments will be deleted)).

Current Mood: contemplative

Tags: awards, emmy awards, television

Sunday Blues

September 18, 2017 at 10:31 am

Football sucks. At least this season.

It is becoming clear that I am not going to get much joy from watching the NFL this year. The Jets lost again yesterday, 45-20, in humiliating fashion. They managed to hang with the Raiders for most of the first half, until muffing a punt in the last minute of the first half. It was all downhill from there. Oakland repeatedly ran the ball right up the gut of our D, through the zones where David Harris and Sheldon Richardson once patrolled. I think 0 – 16 is a real possibility.

I have more hope for the Giants, but judging by last week’s loss to the Cowboys, it may be a false hope. We will see what happens tonight against the Lions.

And I can’t even enjoy the pregame show any more, sad to say. For years… decades… I have been a devoted fan of ESPN’s NFL COUNTDOWN show on Sunday. But last season the show lost Tom Jackson, and with it much of its appeal. And this season they have retired Chris Berman as well. After two weeks, I’ve had enough. I say it’s spinach, and I say to hell with it.

Current Mood: grumpy grumpy

Tags: nfl, television

Who Fears Death Finds Its Scriptwriter

September 14, 2017 at 5:54 pm

We’ve found our scriptwriter for WHO FEARS DEATH, the television series we’re developing for HBO based on the award-winning novel by Nnedi Okorafor.

His name is SELWYN SEYFU HINDS. He’s written television, film, comics, journalism, history. He’s a producer as well, and will be a co-executive producer on WHO FEARS DEATH, as well as writing the pilot. We’re very excited to have him aboard… and to finally be able to announce it, now that his deal has closed (these things take a while).

You can find out more about him on IMDB, or hear him speak (though not about WHO FEARS DEATH, not yet) here: http://www.blackisonline.com/2015/02/the-jam-ep-15-w-selwyn-seyfu-hinds/

It was not an easy selection. We considered dozens of terrific writers, finally winnowed it down to half a dozen strong finalists, and interviewed each of them at length. I was not able to be in LA for the interviews myself, thoughI took part by phone… but executive producers Michael Lombardo and Angela Mancuso, our development executives from HBO, and of course Nnedi Okorafor were all in the room for every interview. All of us loved what Selwyn had to say about WHO FEARS DEATH, and how he would like to bring it to the screen. It’s a powerful book, but not an easy adaptation by any means… but we think we’ve found the right writer for the assignment.

I was also pleased to see Michael Lombardo and Angela Mancuso finally credited in the news stories about Selwyn and WHO FEARS DEATH, since the last round of stories made it sound as if I was doing it all by myself. Even now, though, some of these stories are getting it backwards, talking about how I “added” Lombardo and Mancuso. Ah, no… rather, they (and Nnedi) added me. This was their project from the start, I’m the new guy in the boat. But I’m thrilled to be here, and I’m excited to be working with Michael, Angela, Nnedi, and now Selwyn. We all share the same goal: to make this extraordinary novel into an extraordinary television series.

((I will leave comments open, but only for discussion of WHO FEARS DEATH. All off topic comments will be deleted)).

Current Mood: excited excited

Tags: hbo, television, who fears death

Just Sayin’

August 23, 2017 at 4:09 pm

Oh, about those successor shows…

‘Nuff said.

Current Mood: mischievous

Tags: game of thrones, hbo, television

Wild Cards Goodness

July 19, 2017 at 10:12 pm

Some cool new stuff out there for Wild Cards fans.

Over at Tor.com, the Wild Cards Reread continues with Katie Rask’s insightful look at the fourth volume of the original series, ACES ABROAD. Check it out and join the discussion at:

https://www.tor.com/2017/07/18/religion-revolution-and-80s-politics-wild-cards-iv-aces-abroad/

And there’s some new content on the Wild Cards website as well. A new blog post by Mary Anne Mohanraj about writing an intertwined story

http://www.wildcardsworld.com/how-do-you-tell-an-interlinked-story/

and some great art uploads of work by some of our favorite artists: John Picacio, Marc Simonetti, and Michael Komarck.

((Meanwhile, development continues on the Wild Cards television series. I could tell you all about that as well, but then I’d have to kill you. Oh, yes, and the latest Wild Cards mosaic novel is nearing completion as well. Seven of ten stories in, and the last three expected soon)).

Current Mood: pleased pleased

Tags: editing, television, wild cards

Who Fears Death?

July 11, 2017 at 12:34 pm

Not me, for sure. I don’t fear death a bit. But sometimes I fear the internet.

Yes, HBO is developing Nnedi Okorafor’s novel WHO FEARS DEATH as a series.

Yes, I am attached to the project, as an Executive Producer.

I am pleased and excited to confirm that much. I met Nnedi a few years ago, and I’m a great admirer of her work. She’s an exciting new talent in our field, with a unique voice. Even in this Golden Age of television drama, there’s nothing like WHO FEARS DEATH on the small screen at present, and if I can play a part, however small, in helping to bring this project to fruition, I’ll be thrilled.

As usual, however, the internet is blowing this story all out of proportion, at least in regards to my own participation.

I will be an Executive Producer on WHO FEARS DEATH but I will not be the Executive Produce, i.e. the showrunner. That’s an important distinction. Should we move forward, there will be a number of Executive Producers, and probably some Co-Executive Producers and Supervising Producers and Producers as well. This is television.

I will not be writing the pilot script or adapting Nnedi’s novel, and it’s doubtful that I will write any episodes should we go to series. Look, I probably won’t be writing episodes of ANY television shows until WINDS OF WINTER is done and delivered, and that goes for the five GAME OF THRONES successor shows as well. Other writers will be scripting those pilots, and the same is true for WHO FEARS DEATH. Last week we spent most of an afternoon interviewing some great young talents, in hopes of finding the right person to script the pilot. I was part of that process, and Nnedi was too. No deal yet, but we may have an announcement soon.

It should be stressed that this project is still in its early stages. There’s a long road ahead. Pilot script, pilot order, series order. But the hope of everyone involved is that, by the end, we can produce something truly special.

Current Mood: cheerful

Tags: television

Binging

July 8, 2017 at 11:46 am

I’ve been working so much of late that I have fallen way behind in my reading (sob) and my filmgoing (the only movie I’ve managed to catch in the last month was WONDER WOMAN, and it wasn’t even playing at my own theatre), but there’s usually time for an hour or two of television at night.

FARGO and BETTER CALL SAUL both had excellent seasons, as usual, but ended way too soon. This year’s Emmy nominations will be announced next week, and I’d be surprised if both of those shows were not well represented.

After those two favorites wound up, however, Parris and I found ourselves wandering in the wilds of Netflix and Amazon and Hulu in search of more great drama… and stumbling on two other series that are, alas, unlikely to get much Emmy attention, though they both deserve some.

The second season of THE LAST KINGDOM, based on Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon series, was just as good as the first. The show could benefit from a bigger budget, honestly, but for all the Uhtred fans out there (and I count myself as one), this is a pretty faithful adaptation of the books, and the writing and acting are fine. I hope there will be a season three.

The other show we stumbled on was GOOD GIRLS REVOLT, which dramatizes the struggle of the women at NEWSWEEK… er, “NEWS OF THE WEEK”… fighting for the chance to be reporters instead of simply researchers in 1969. I thought it was excellent. The actresses in the leading roles were all terrific, and the male characters were pretty nuanced as well; the show portrayed the sexism of the times, and the indignities the women were forced to put up with, without falling into the trap of painting all the men as monsters and assholes. Good writing and good acting, and hey, I loved the music and the clothes as well (what can I say? I’m the guy who wrote THE ARMAGEDDON RAG). Aside from its feminist themes, which were front and center, GOOD GIRLS REVOLT also struck me as the best show about journalism since LOU GRANT. And I like shows about journalism. Wish there were more of them. It’s a pity GOOD GIRLS REVOLT won’t be back. It was just getting started, and then it was over. Guess I’ll just need to read the book.

Anyway, if you’re looking for something good to binge on until season 7 of GAME OF THRONES hits the tube, check out those two.

Current Mood: pleased pleased

Tags: television

Fun With Max Headroom

May 19, 2017 at 3:08 pm

The fun continues tonight and tomorrow at the JCC… with me, Michael Cassutt, Steve Roberts, and Max Headroom himself, Matt Frewer.

Tags: jean cocteau cinema, television

Here’s the Scoop on NIGHTFLYERS

May 16, 2017 at 5:31 pm

Last week in the trades a couple of stories appeared about NIGHTFLYERS:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/george-rr-martin-novella-nightflyers-headed-tv-syfy-1001934

http://www.tor.com/2017/05/11/syfy-adapting-george-r-r-martins-novella-nightflyers-for-television/

There were a bunch more. Google and you’ll find ’em. Needless to say, once those stories appeared I was deluged with requests for comment and clarification.

Here’s the scoop.

In 1980 I wrote a novella called “Nightflyers.” It was one of my SF/ horror hybrids, a ‘haunted starship’ story, set in my Thousand Worlds universe. ANALOG published the first version, which weighed in at 23,000 words and got a beautiful cover. “Nightflyers” was nominated for a Hugo Award as Best Novella, but lost out to Gordon R. Dickson’s “Lost Dorsai” at Denvention. (That’s me and Parris at Denvention in the icon picture).

Later on, at the urging of editor Jim Frenkel, I expanded the novella to 30,000 words, and it was teamed with Vernor Vinge’s “True Names” as part of Dell’s ‘Binary Star’ series, an attempt to revive the old ‘Ace Double’ concept. I liked the original 23,000 words version, but I liked the expanded version even better. The expansions gave me room to flesh out the characters more. (In the original version, most of the secondary characters did not even have names).

In 1984 I sold the film and television rights to “Nightflyers” to a writer/ producer named Robert Jaffe and his father Herb.

In 1985 “Nightflyers” was published again as the featured story in a collection of my short work called NIGHTFLYERS, a trade paperback from Bluejay Books.

IN 1986 the Jaffes picked up their option and principal photography began on the film version of NIGHTFLYERS, directed by Robert Collector and starring Catherine Mary Stewart and Michael Praed. It was released in 1987. Jaffe’s screenplay, I think, was based on the 23,000 word version of the story rather than the expanded 30,000 word version, since all the secondary characters had new names, rather than the ones I’d given them for the Binary Star edition.

Which brings us to the present, and those news stories.

This new NIGHTFLYERS television series — actually, it is just a pilot script at present, still several steps short of going on-air, but I am told that SyFy likes the script a lot — was developed based on the 1987 movie, and the television rights conveyed in that old 1984 contract. Robert Jaffe is one of the producers, I see, but the pilot script is by Jeff Buhler. I haven’t had the chance to meet him yet, but hope to do so in the near future.

Since I have an overall deal that makes me exclusive to HBO, I can’t provide any writing or producing series to NIGHTFLYERS should it go to series… but of course, I wish Jaffe and Buhler and their team the best of luck. “Nightflyers” was one of my best SF stories, I always felt, and I’d love to see it succeed as a TV series (fingers crossed that it looks as good as THE EXPANSE).

And that’s all I know just now.

Tags: science fiction, syfy, television

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