Westeros

A lot happened today that should be of interest to any expectant Game of Thrones fanatic, and we’re going to try and recap all the highlights for you, culled from Twitter. Many, many thanks to the journalists, bloggers, and other media types who made this possible with their tweets. There was something of a carnival atmosphere which made everything that much more exciting:

• Todd VanDerWerff shared his thoughts for the Onion’s AV Club, and was extremely impressed by the visuals but was less certain about the acting, which he thought seemed reverential and airless. He left the caveat, however, that it was difficult to judge such things with rapid-fire clips. Via tweet, we asked him if he thought the temp track may have contributed, and he thought it was sure it did ... but he singled out Nikolaj Coster-Waldau for praise, saying he thought he came off pretty well as Ser Jaime Lannister.
• James Hibberd provided some great details concerning GRRM’s remarks on A Dance with Dragons, highlighting details such as the presence of a Random House publicist (which he thought surprising) and said publicists confidence that A Dance with Dragons would indeed by published this year. George repeats his belief that A Storm of Swords really needs two seasons to be adapted properly, and he says his biggest concern is that he’s created such an expansive setting that it will challenge their budget.
• Fancast provides some remarks from GRRM from the roundtable discussion.
• The biggest news, of course, was the announcement of the premiere date, April 17. ‘Nuff said. Game of Thrones added in tweets that HBO would also be helping to publicize international air dates in time.
• E! Entertainment reporter Jennifer Arrow asked a question on our behalf at the roundtable with David Benioff, Dan Weiss, and George R.R. Martin concerning how Emilia Clarke handled her part. Jennifer writes, “They said she’s megaconfident, does both broken girl and brutal woman easily.”

And then, on to some of the highlights from the panel itself:

• Jace Lacob remarked that he had just finished AGoT, and it meant he could see that David & Dan had a great grasp of the material. After the roundtable with them, he said it was fantastic to be in a room with them (and George) because it was like a masterclass.
• Winter is Coming blogger Axechucker noted that Peter Dinklage indicated he had read A Game of Thrones even before being offered the part. Later in the evening, Dinklage would claim (perhaps with a bit of humor?) that he thought British accents sounded more intelligent (although one of the producers said they opted for them because a New York accent wouldn’t work for epic fantasy—which they knew because Peter allegedly tired it) and that the reason he worked so often in the U.K. was that he felt they knew quality better than in the U.S.
• David Benioff regretted his stating in interviews that he pitched the show as, “The Sopranos in Middle-earth”. I suggest that “Rome in Middle-earth” could have been nearer the mark ... but that executives would faint as they imagined an enormous, runaway budget, so perhaps it’s best he didn’t try that one. ;) “Deadwood of the Rings” was suggested by Jay Bushman as an alternate pitch—a bit hokey,  perhaps, but I do believe it has a certain something…
• George adds that he believes the British accents evokes a different place or time. Presumably for non-British audiences, in any case!
• Journalist Danielle Turchiano tweeted that Sean Bean did not find that Ned Stark and Boromir were that similar. That said, he loves any role that lets him “ride horses, swing swords, wear wigs, grow beards…”, and the like. He described the novel the series is based on as “luxuriant, dangerous”.
• Then there was a great deal of praise for the children, namely Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, and Isaac Hempstead Wright. I’ve heard George praise them, and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Isaac, and I can totally buy it. George is reported to have said that, “I don’t know where they found them, but the world is going to fall in love with them I think”
• Jace Lacob quotes Emilia Clare, “‘You can cast me as a rookie,’ said Emilia Clarke of her acting experience. ‘I had the joy of having the best character ever.’
• As someone said, Emilia Clarke is “not ugly”. Yep. After the event, Getty Images had quite a few photos up from the event (you’ll have to dig around here to see them) and for some inexplicable reason a good deal of them feature the very photogenic Ms. Clarke. You can also see George, David and Dan, Sean Bean, and Peter Dinklage in various of the shots.
• Last but not least, the Making Game of Thrones site published eleven new photos. Some fantastic images there. The highlight for us? Syrio and Arya!

And that concludes our present recap! We expect to hear some more from the journalists tonight and tomorrow, and hope to have some other interesting news (particularly from Sunday’s signing at Vroman’s and the after-meet with fans). And, of course, we’ll be sharing the images on our gallery with our usual detailed commentary. You’ll be sure to find additional details at Winter is Coming as well, as they provided live coverage right from the scene.