News has slowed down as Game of Thrones hits the last stretch of production—filming in Northern Ireland is done, filming in Morocco (at Ouarzazarte, which Game of Thrones followers may recall as the location of some filming for the pilot which never saw the light of day) is wrapping, and a brief leg in Iceland will pretty much be the end of it—and we’ve not had very much to report… on the website, in any case.
Over the last week we have been sharing bits and bobs over our Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ pages, and we thought we might as well give a quick round-up of some of the more interesting items for people to discuss and consider. These include a number of interviews, from executive producer David Benioff to writer/editor Bryan Cogman to actor Kit Harington, some miscellaneous photos from Morocco, and more. You’ll find them below:
David Benioff talks with Craig Ferguson about his book set in the besieged city of Leningrad during World War II, City of Thieves, but of course Game of Thrones comes up. Benioff confirms everything we’ve heard before—he’s a bit of a prankster, and messes with Ferguson’s head just a wee bit for fun:
A long interview with Miltos Yerolemou (Syrio Forel) about his experience of the show and its fans, and his thoughts on Syrio’s fate:
For fans interested in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, the Lands of Ice and Fire poster map collection has already started shipping from Amazon US, and will be shipping from next week over at Amazon UK. We have previews and more information over at All Sorts of Weird Stuff. Bear in mind that the map of Essos from HBO is contradicted by the map in this collection, which is far more detailed and the result of some serious revision on GRRM’s part when he drew out draft maps for the project.
Bryan Cogman talks with The Mary Sue about Inside HBO’s Game of Thrones (Hardcover, Deluxe Edition) and the show from which it springs forth. He remarks on changes and the fact that the executive producers are always aiming for what’s best for the show as they envision it. Which is fair enough; I don’t think they’re ever really arbitrary, even when I think they’ve made mistakes. And the reality is that what is “best for the show” is not necessarily coming from a high-minded place, as Neil Marshall revealed. But arbitrary decisions? No, probably not.
Game of Thrones fans may be interested in some new audiobooks (includes samples) of GRRM’s past novels, given that two of them—Dying of the Light and Fevre Dream are read by Game of Thrones actors Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont) and Ron Donachie (Rodrik Cassel).
Fans in Australia will be able to see Game of Thrones much sooner this next season, as Foxtel has signed a landmark deal that will allow them to air HBO programing almost day-and-date with their US premieres.
To top it off, a fine image from Essaouira, Morocco, showing filming taking place. This would be the slaver city of Astapor, and you can get a very good look at the full resolution, including a glimpse of Emilia Carke, Iain Glen, and Ian McElhinney in the far background. A good look at the costuming of the slaver men and women.