We’ve been busy with a good deal of behind-the-scenes stuff, but we’ve been collecting a few links from around the web this last week—ever since Peter Dinklage’s Emmy win—and we’re going to hit you with some of the best of the material from the week. Some interesting things here, from glimpses of sets and filming in both Northern Ireland and Croatia, to some hints about the filming in Iceland later in the year, and more. Keep reading!
And just to relive the moment, here’s Dinklage’s acceptance speech (which was, according to TiVo, the third most rewatched moment of the show):
And a post-win Dinklage, on the second season of Game of Thrones, including some brief but amusing discussion of Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne:
Kit Harington earlier on the red carpet, thanking the fans… and discussing filming in Iceland later in the year. Sounds like he’s been there before:
Speaking of Iceland, here’s a video featuring Dinklage, then George, and then David Benioff and D.B. Weiss when arriving at the after party. Benioff and Weiss note an interesting detail, that they’re scared of trying to film with just five hours of daylight. Being a geek, I checked when Iceland has “5 hours” of daylight… and it looks like late November, early December fits the bill, which happens to fit what we’ve been told previously. Also, GRRM makes the first mention of Ygritte, I believe—does it mean she’s been cast already? We’ll see:
Speaking of the Emmys, the stars came out to announce their fandom. Here’s Rainn Wilson (The Office), offering to cameo as a Greyjoy, and Anna Torv (Fringe), who marathoned the show with her friends and seems to have a fondness for Jason Momoa’s Khal Drogo:
And now, to filming. Here’s a video featuring various images from locations used in Northern Ireland, including a ship against a large greenscreen in the area of Bainbridge:
Notice that big ship? Yep, the crowned stag means it’s one of Stannis’s… and I’ve been informed that it’s certainly intended for the Battle of the Blackwater filming. It just so happens that Neil Marshall has started shooting today, according to Neil Marshall’s wife Axelle Carolyn. She later noted that his film, Centurion, attempted to capture the epic scope of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator on a much smaller budget… and he was hoping to work that magic again with episode #9, simply titled “Blackwater”, written by George R.R. Martin himself.
Speaking of filming “Blackwater”... a little bird whispered that the production was looking for archers, and that they would be asked to use flaming arrows. What could that be for? What we’ve heard is that the archers will be playing the part of Stannis’s forces this week… and next week they’ll be playing the part of Lannister archers. We’re guessing that they’ll be used on both sides of the siege.
A video that just cropped up today features a brief interview with producer Frank Doelger, that hints that Dubrovnik is representing King’s Landing… and the second location, which we had all assumed had been Qarth, is something he can’t discuss. Why? Well, it’s “close” to what’s in the books, but not quite. I wonder what that means? I’m going to go out on a limb—I think it’s still Qarth… but they may change the geography and the culture somewhat to bring it closer to the Slaver’s Bay region and the Ghiscari, which features in A Storm of Swords. We’ll see what comes of that, however:
And that is that, for now. Next week, we hope to get some official confirmations on castings that have been previously reported—including Steven Cole, Samuel Callis (who’s spent the last week riding a horse in Belfast, in his role as a gold cloak—we believe Jacelyn Bywater—for King’s Landing scenes), and Simon Fisher-Becker.