Yesterday, remarks from James Costos—former HBO executive and now US Ambassador to Spain—were taken out of context (note: in Spanish) suggesting that the ambassador was formally announcing that HBO had settled on Spain as a shooting location; in fact, in full the comments merely said what was already widely known, that Spain’s Andalusian region was in the running as a shooting location. The hysteria in the news media in Spain, and social media, led this to transform into some sort of official announcement.
However, this morning HBO has gone ahead and confirmed wide speculation that an actual announcement was imminent. The key point of the press release:
The rest of the press release can be found below:
PORTIONS OF GAME OF THRONES’ NEXT SEASON TO BE SHOT IN PROVINCE OF SEVILLA
HBO is pleased to confirm that a portion of season five of GAME OF THRONES will be shot on several natural locations in the Province of Sevilla.Â%A0 Specifics on the locations will be announced closer to the time of production.
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This filming, set to take place later this year, is being done in full collaboration with the AndalucÃ%ADa Film Commission through their president, Don Carlos Rosado, the Sevilla Film Office and the mayor of Sevilla, Don Juan Ignacio Zoido, and the Osuna Film Office and the mayoress, Doña Rosario Andújar.
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Providing production services in Spain is Peter Welter Soler with Fresco Film Services.Â%A0 CANAL+ is the broadcaster ofÂ%A0GAME OF THRONESÂ%A0in Spain.
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Based on the bestselling fantasy book series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” by George R.R. Martin, HBO’sÂ%A0GAME OF THRONESÂ%A0concluded its ten-episode fourth season in June and will begin filming its fifth season in Belfast later this month.Â%A0Â%A0 The series, executive produced and written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss,Â%A0is an epic story of treachery and nobility, set on the continent of Westeros, where summers and winters can last years.Â%A0