It’s been the date bandied about since the pilot shoot, but the reshoots have made it seem possible—and HBO has certainly indicated—that the premiere would slip to late Spring or even early Summer. Now, HBO has vanquished that possibility at the TCA Summer Press Tour, stating that the show is definitely set for Spring 2011. Via Matt Roush of TV Guide.com, one of the executives stated that early March was a possibility (March 3rd is stated elsehere), but the official line is that all they’ll commit to right now is Spring 2011. Roush and James Hibbard of the Live Feed provide more details, noting that there’s enormous pressure on the writers to match the expectations of the fans in the “blogosphere”.
In other news, it sounds like no new footage was shown from Game of Thrones at the press panel, although “a wisp” was shown. This was probably the teaser that we’ve all seen before (confirmed by HitFix).
There’s a terrific blog post from Conan Stevens (cast as Gregor Clegane, the Mountain that Rides) from Belfast, in which he recounts details such as his diet, his training regimen, and his run-ins with Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo) and Rory McCann (Sandor Clegane, the Hound) at the training center, as well as bumping into executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. He mentions that he’s started work on a short, brutal fight sequence he’ll be taking part in, the choreography being handled by stunt coordinator Buster Reeves and his team.
Finally, after a question from us, he discusses seeing and trying on Gregor’s armor for the first time, and was very impressed by the work that was done. As he notes, having professionals making armor for you is a fair sight better than making it yourself (as he did when he was part of the SCA).
On Monday, he’ll be taking part in “intensive horse riding lessons” from a famous horse riding stunt team, and feels that with all this intense training and this film footage, he’ll be able to apply to be an accredited stuntman in his native Australia.
We’re most of the way through the second week of filming on Game of Thrones, and excellent weather this week has allowed the production to finally start location shooting around Belfast. Word from Northern Ireland (via comments at Winter is Coming) is that the location shoot was in Ballymoney. This region is noted for its lovely, rural farmsteads and the picturesque river Bann. It’s easy to speculate that the rural area might be used to represent the royal progress as it approaches King’s Landing, or perhaps that the river will be used for a scene involving Arya, Sansa, Joffrey, and Mycah the butcher’s boy.
In other news, the Times of Malta has a report on film and television production on the island. Though primarily touting their landing a new Sinbad adventure program for Sky1, HBO’s Game of Thrones is mentioned in passing as a major television production, one of the largest to ever be carried out in Europe. Of particular note? The Malta shoot is said to be about six weeks long. We know the shoot is set to start sometime in September, which is also when Winterfell exterior scenes may be shot. This makes it seem even likelier that there will be some production overlap, and at a guess a single director will be responsible for all scenes shot in Malta.
Another day, another update from George regarding A Dance with Dragons. A very good day of writing, he notes, for a character who was never intended to be a POV but who has proved his “sharpest sword” for cutting through the Meereenese Knot (the term he’s given to an especially knotty plot structure issue.)
Alyssa Rosenberg, a blogger for the venerable editorial magazine The Atlantic, takes the time to make a post about A Song of Ice and Fire. She remarks about how impressive she finds the world building and the fact that Martin leaves so much choice for the readers in their viewpoints on both characters and the setting, and there’s quite a lot of interesting commentary on this facet of the series from readers of the magazine and blog.
Actor Derek Halligan, cast in the role of the Night’s Watch master-at-arms Ser Alliser Thorne, has a long career behind him. At the Creative Choices website, he shares some of his experiences and advice to his fellow actors. It’s noted that while he has many television and film credits to his name, he still prefers theatre.
At “Not a Blog”, George R.R. Martin continues his somewhat mysterious posts about progress on A Dance with Dragons. Having written that he had finished a chapter for a POV he dubbed “Fred”, he now notes he’s left off finishing “Fred’s” last chapter and has switched to writing ... “Barney”, and has finished their final chapter for the book. Can we expect Bamm-Bamm or Wilma next?
Actor Conan Stevens, cast in the role of Gregor Clegane, has posted on his site that he is now flying to Belfast to begin preparations for his scenes. He writes that these include, “... armour fittings, swordtraining and horse riding lessons (it’s been a long time since I rode last) to do before my filming starts.” Given earlier reports, we’re guessing the Hand’s tourney may be scheduled for late August, giving Stevens two-three weeks of intensive training ahead of him.
In other news, a poster by the name of DrNick at Winter is Coming has stated that a friend who was involved in the pilot was asked if he’d be available to shoot in Malta sometime in September. It seems likely that there may be some overlap with Winterfell exterior shoots, which seem likely to also take place in September. However, it’s probable that Malta may be used only for the initial Daenaerys scenes and perhaps the final scenes, whereas the Dothraki sea sequences between will be filmed in Northern Ireland given all the horse-riding extras the production has picked up in Ireland.
Last but not least, today is a new day of filming, and unlike last month (which was very rainy and kept the first week’s shooting to the Paint Hall) we seem to have a cold but sunny outlook in Belfast. The photo is from Paul McAnearney, a member of the crew. If I’m not mistaken, the photo is taken in the vicinity of the Paint Hall, but if the weather holds we may well hear of location shoots finally beginning.
George has posted a new set of clues for the role of Grenn (“aurochs stew”):
“You’re too dumb to make this soup the way they’re making it in Belfast. Start with Becky, Tom, and Boss. Take away two fathoms. Now you want the second course. In the dark the breaker of rocks seeks the living stone. But take away the fat guy with six wives, and the babe with the bumbershoot as well, that salty wench. Out, out. What’s left tastes good, but just remember, there is no gamecock in aurochs stew. IMDB? What’s that? I’m Dumb Boy? Won’t help you here, no way, no how.”
This clue attempts to obscure things by splitting up the actor’s name, but we believe we’ve solved it: Yorkshire-born actor Mark Stanley, who is/was a third year student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Becky, Tom, and Boss are Mark Twain characters. Breaker of Rocks was the African nickname given to Henry Morton Stanley. Take away the Twain (the measurement from which Samuel Clemens picked his penname), take away Henry and Morton (by removing Henry VIII and the Morton Umbrella Girl), and you’re left with Mark Stanley. Another person of the same name happens to be a baseball player for the Univesity of South Carolina, whose team is named the Gamecocks.
ETA: GRRM confirms that Mark Stanley has been cast as Grenn.
As to IMDB being no help? The actor Mark Stanley has no apparent TV or film credits, and so does not appear in IMDB.
Tor’s reissuing of the original Wild Cards anthology, which kicked off the shared-world superhero setting that’s still going strong after 25 years, now has its cover by acclaimed artist Michael Komarck. Komarck provided the covers for the three latest Wild Cards books from Tor, and it looks like he’ll be providing art chores on the rest of the reprints.
George R.R. Martin provided more details on the reissue, which is officially set for a November 23 publication date. As previously announced, the reissue will include three brand new stories: Michael Cassut‘s 50’s-era “Captain Cathode v. the Secret Ace”, David Levine’s 1960-set “Powers”, and Carrie Vaughn 80’s-era “Ghost Girl Takes Manhattan”. In comments, GRRM adds that Aces High and Jokers Wild are tentatively scheduled for late 2011 and mid-2012 releases, but that only Wild Cards will feature new stories.
In November, another Martin-edited anthology (co-edited with the esteemed editor Gardner Dozois) will also see publication, Songs of Love and Death, whose table of contents we’ve previously shared.
George has followed up his previous “Not a Blog” post with another providing some insight into progress on A Dance with Dragons. He reveals that he’s removed a character—who had only one chapter—from the novel, having decided that their chapter would work better early in The Winds of Winter than late in A Dance with Dragons. He states that he now has 100 pages set for the next novel.
He names the removed POV in the post, but as it might imply certain spoilers, you’ll have to click through to read it.
After having been out of commission due to a nasty computer virus that was making a mess of his Windows machine, GRRM posts an update on “Not a Blog”. He touches on a number of topics, from the recent news that Charles Dance has joined the cast of HBO’s Game of Thrones in the role of Tywin Lannister to the availability of the amazing 2011 A Song of Ice and Fire Calendar with art by the renowned Ted Nasmith. He also makes note of the novelette of his that Lightspeed Magazine has reprinted.
At the end, he touches on progress on A Dance with Dragons, stating that he’s finished a chapter for a character that he dubs “Fred” (suggesting giving his identity may be semi-spoilerish). As he writes:
“Finally, might mention that I finished a chapter of the DANCE today. I had one last chapter about this particular character—I will call him Fred—to finish, and then I am done with him for the book. Of course, in the writing, it turned into three chapters. So I finished a Fred chapter a week ago, and a Fred chapter an hour ago, and yet I STILL have one Fred chapter to finish. Sigh. The horizon recedes continuously before me.”
The last really major casting announcement has been made, thanks to Maureen Ryan at the Chicago Tribune: British actor Charles Dance has been cast as Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock and patriarch of the Lannister family. Though his character appears late in the series, his presence is felt throughout the series. He is a Machiavellian figure, commanding, ambitious, and powerful.
Charles Dance was a fan favorite from early on, thanks to his performance in the BBC’s Bleak House and other productions. But Westeros.org can exclusively reveal that a source close to the production told us months ago that he was already a favorite of the executive producers, who had had an opportunity to meet with him (or so we’re told) as he was filming Your Highness in the Paint Hall in Belfast just before Game of Thrones began production there. We’re not sure why it took quite so long for negotiations to sort out, but suffice it to say, now it’s signed, sealed, and delivered.
Below, is an interview with Dance about his role in Sky’s Going Postal, an adaption from Terry Prachett’s Discworld oeuvre.
And here is Dance in his famous role of the unfeeling, grasping lawyer Tulkinghorn in Bleak House:
Dance recently appeared in actor James Franco’s short film, The Clerk’s Tale, which was promoted online with some high res stills that feature the actor in his role as a suit salesman.
Lightspeed magazine, edited by John Joseph Adams, has reprinted online George R.R. Martin’s science fiction novelette, “... For a Single Yesterday”. First published in 1975, at the time when some critics say GRRM was entering the height of his short form prowess, it features the melancholic and bittersweet atmosphere that was a hallmark of much of his writing at that time.
A tweet from an individual involved in the production reveals that HBO’s production plans seem to have scenes set in Winterfell waiting until September to start rolling, and they’ll last through the rest of the shoot it seems. We wonder if this might mean that the pilot reshoots—at least those parts set in and around the North—will be waiting until then?