Westeros

Thanks to Facebook Live, fans can now watch the red carpet as the premiere of season 4 takes place in New York City! Cast members are present in plenty, and have been answering questions put to them by fans. And most importantly of all, a brand new trailer will debut during the stream:

Although George announced his completion of work on The World of Ice and Fire (Pre-order: Amazon US, Amazon UK) in a post on Not a Blog last week, Linda and I have held off a similar post because our side of things wasn’t yet quite done: a sidebar we felt was important needed adding, an afterword needed tweaking, and GRRM’s Iron Islands material needed trimming…

But now all that is done, and outside of art approvals, final copy edits, and the like, Linda and I are essentially done as well. From 2004, when the subject of such a book was first broached while having dinner with George and Parris in Santa Fe, to 2006 when bidding among publishers finally led to our signing a contract with Bantam in 2006, it’s been a long effort—not a continuous one, mind, after the initial discussion, outlining, and the very first draft, as the bulk of the work waited until A Dance with Dragons was more or less done and George had more time to consult. Consult he did, and he made a number of contributions which, as Tolkien before him said, “grew in the telling”. Some of these narratives have since been published in partially abridged form—“The Princess and the Queen” in Dangerous Women (Order: Amazon UK), “The Rogue Prince” in the forthcoming Rogues (Pre-order: Amazon UK).

Following the big reveal of the April issue of Vanity Fair having an Annie Leibovitz-photographed feature on Game of Thrones, Vanity Fair has busily been releasing material from the shoots and interviews to whet the appetite. Most notably? This extended interview with George R.R. Martin. Lots of interesting tidbits therein, including his apparent hope that the production slow its tempo a bit by taking time off for a prequel series (as Spartacus did) or a split season (as many, many shows are currently doing these days). Executive producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss also get an extended interview piece, focused on the production side of things.

There have also been some excellent videos released with the cast members from the Leibovitz shoot, featuring everything from advice actors would give to their characters to what other characters they might want to play:

HBO has let us know of a wonderfully-amusing vignette, narrated by Charles Dance, recounting how David Benioff and Dan Weiss came to adapt George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series into Game of Thrones. It’s definitely just a bit on the comedic side:

Very charming! The list of just how many locations, cast members, costumes, and more go into a typical season is a particularly fun set of factoids

Over at “Not a Blog”, George R.R. Martin provides some news on the forthcoming cross-genre anthology he’s co-edited with Gardner Dozois, Rogues (Pre-order: Amazon US, Amazon UK)... and in the course reveals that he has decided to contribute a story himself, another piece of the “fake history” of House Targaryen. Here’s Martin in his own words:

Best of all, though originally slated for quite a late publication, it looks like all the stories are in and ready to go… so Rogues will hit shelves in the US on June 17th.

Fans of “The Princess and the Queen” will be in for a treat. As we’ve told fans on our forum in the past, Prince Daemon was one of the most remarkable men of his age, and what you saw of him in “The Princess and the Queen” is only a taste of the enormities and feats of which he was capable.

You can find the full table of contents for Rogues below:

Following up the Vanity Fair piece with its remark that the producers are thinking of seven or eight seasons, James Hibberd at EW has a somewhat more definitive quote from the David Benioff:

Of course, it’s not 100%, as HBO executive Michael Lombardo implies a possibility of 8 seasons, which matches Vanity Fair’s earlier quote. But at the moment, 7 seasons appears to be the end goal of the producers.

Vanity Fair has unveiled the cover for the April issue… and Game of Thrones features heavily indeed. It’s not just any Game of Thrones photo shoot—world famous photographer Annie Leibovitz turns her practiced eye, photographing the actors and creators of the show, while there’s plenty of interview material… including this fairly definitive quote from Benioff and Weiss:

Below, see a video showing the cover shoot, featuring Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Peter Dinklage. The April Issue will be available to digital subscribers from March 13th.

A few new things to look at in this trailer. titled “Secrets”:

Music by Losers, from their song “Turn Around”.

HBO seem to determined to make sure that the entire world knows that season 4 of Game of Thrones is coming, because another trailer is due this Sunday evening, doubtless airing just before the finale of True Detective (very much looking forward to that, myself). HBO has teased it using Vine, which can be seen below.

Fully embracing the season’s “All Men Must Die” tagline, HBO has announced a new website: Beautiful Death, dedicated to providing an illustrated death-by-death countdown towards the premiere of season 4. There’s two already up, and more are promised.

The illustrations come from Robert M. Ball, who is no stranger to Game of Thrones art, as his portfolio features some character illustrations he was commissioned to do for Wired.
The second image, depicting the Hound’s killing of Mycah, is quite striking.

In one of the more unique marketing efforts out there, HBO has convinced a number of hip hop and rap artists to put together a mixtape specifically inspired by Game of Thrones. Dubbed Catch the Throne, artists such as Big Boi of Outkast, Common, and Wale have provided ten tracks covering the gamut of themes from the series: ambition, revenge, sexism, and more. And I have to agree with Victoria McNally’s review  at Geekosystem—Dominik Omega’s “Arya’s Prayer” is the stand out, thanks to his deeper understanding of the novels allowing him a wider range of material to reference. Good stuff.

Of course, the mixtape is free, and is already available on Soundcloud. You can listen to it below:

Straight from HBO is the press release officially revealing the titles of the first four episodes of season 4, as well as providing synopsis information which provides some interesting insights as to what’s to come. Episodes 2 and 3 sound particularly interesting…

        Encouraged by the Red Wedding slaughter in the Riverlands that wiped out many of their Stark nemeses, the Lannisters’ hold on the Iron Throne remains intactâ`¦but can they survive their own egos, as well as new and ongoing threats from the south, north and east? While an unbowed Stannis Baratheon continues to rebuild his army in Dragonstone, a more immediate danger comes from the south, as Oberyn Martell, the Lannister-loathing “Red Viper of Dorne,” arrives at King’s Landing to attend Joffrey’s wedding to Margaery Tyrell, and perhaps act on an ulterior agenda. In the north, a depleted Night’s Watch seems overmatched against the inexorable Wall advances of Mance Rayder’s army of wildlings, which in turn is being trailed by an even more formidable foe: the undead White Walkers. As if that weren’t enough, Daenerys Targaryen, accompanied by her menacing trio of dragons and army of Unsullied, is poised to liberate Meereen, the largest city in Slaver’s Bay, which could ultimately provide her with enough ships to sail to Westeros and reclaim the Iron Throne.

The Emmy®- and Golden Globe-winning GAME OF THRONES returns for its ten-episode fourth season SUNDAY, APRIL 6 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO, followed by other episodes on subsequent Sundays at the same time. Based on the bestselling fantasy book series by George R.R. Martin, the hit series is an epic story of treachery and nobility set on the continent of Westeros, where summers and winters can last years, and only the lust for power is eternal.

Returning series regulars on GAME OF THRONES this season include: Emmy® and Golden Globe winner Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister), Aidan Gillen (Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish), Jack Gleeson (Joffrey Baratheon), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Diana Rigg (Lady Olenna Tyrell), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) and Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark).

Additional returning series regulars this season include: Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Conleth Hill (Varys), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Stephen Dillane (Stannis Baratheon), Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell), Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont), Kristofer Hivju (Tormund Giantsbane), Sibel Kekilli (Shae), Rose Leslie (Ygritte), Rory McCann (Sandor “The Hound” Clegane), Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton), Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Snow) and Carice van Houten (Melisandre).

Returning cast members include: Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm), Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Jojen Reed), Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei), Ciaran Hinds (Mance Rayder), Finn Jones (Loras Tyrell), Ellie Kendrick (Meera Reed), Kristian Nairn (Hodor) and Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy).

New cast members for the fourth season include: Pedro Pascal (Oberyn Martell), Indira Varma (Ellaria Sand, Oberyn’s paramour), Roger Ashton-Griffiths (Lord Mace Tyrell), Michiel Huisman (Daario Naharis, a mercenary ally to Daenerys), Yuri Kolokolnikov (Styr, a wildlings chief) and Hafþór JúlÃ%ADus Björnsson (Ser Gregor Clegane, a.k.a. “The Mountain”).

While Brooklyn gets the new-sold-out screening and Seattle gets the art show—and a number of other places are getting the international exhibition—there’s quite a lot going out there in the world of Game of Thrones curation…

Such as “Maktspel” in our native Sweden! Hosted by the Royal Armory (Livrustkammaren) in Stockholm, beginning March 14th through January 4th the event will feature costumes from Game of Thrones as well as the films Elizabeth and its sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age set beside historical costumes from the 16th century. The museum, the oldest in Sweden, is part of the historic royal complex in Stockholm’s Old Town (Gamla stan), making it even more worth the visit if you happen to be in the vicinity in the coming months.

The evening before will feature an official opening that’s invitiation only (Linda and I will be there)... but as part of the event, the museum is hoping to have re-enactors and cosplayers on hand dressed as their favorite Game of Thrones characters. If you or anyone you know has a show costume in their closet, make sure to take a look at this file with information about what they’re looking for! An important note, however: if you’re interested, they’d like to be contacted no later than tomorrow, so get to it (and hope to see you there!)

While New York may get a lot of the interesting events around Game of Thrones—the “Epic Fan Experience” at the Barclays Center being a case in point—it’s not the only thing going on out there. Of particular note for fans of A Song of Ice and Fire is Seattle’s LTD Art Gallery current exhibition: “Winter is Coming”, a presentation of artwork influenced by the novels, presented by George R.R. Martin and put together with his direct input. All the works on display in the gallery are available for sale, in some cases as originals, in many cases as prints. There’s an amazing trove of treasures, including original works of art by Ted Nasmith and Donato Giancola, and prints from the likes of Amok (with an awesome depiction of Aegon and his sisters), Marc Simonetti, Jim Burns, Jen Zee, and many more.

An excellent preview of the exhibit, including interviews with the gallery’s owner and participating artists, can be found over at Wired.com. The exhibit runs through March 23rd.

HBO has released word of a truly massive sneak peek of season 4 of Game of Thrones.... at Brooklyn’s renowned, state-of-the-art Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Dubbed “The Epic Fan Experience”, up to 7,000 fans will be be able to look at the traveling exhibition of costumes and props before filing into the arena to witness the premiere episode of the new episode. This event will take place on March 20th, more than two weeks before the season premieres on HBO.

It’s not a free event; tickets will be released on March 6th and can be purchased via Ticketmaster, with net proceeds going to the very worthy charities, Nothing But Nets and Books for Africa. So, not just an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience, but one that helps some good causes. Definitely worth keeping your schedule open for!

See the full press release below: