A Game of Thrones, series pilot greenlighted by HBO
The plan is for HBO to do a season per book, and George RR Martin himself writing the scripts. I for one am very excited by this.
(via DefaultProphet’s twit, via Ain’t It Cool News, via some dude)
I was so excited when I read this early this morning. HBO totally made my birthday start off on the right foot. I’m waiting to hear who they cast for the different parts. If HBO orders a full season I’ll have to add HBO to my cable lineup.
Oh, happy birthday, dude!
I can’t wait. Hopefully it’ll be good. I imagine certain scenes from the book are going to have to be toned down a little bit. I also think that a few of the younger charachters will have to have a few years added to their ages.
This is what GRRM had to say about it on his blog.
HBO has given the production order.
They will be filming the pilot episode of A GAME OF THRONES.
It’s just the pilot so far. They’ll need to see that before they decide whether to proceed with a full season’s episodes. So let’s all hope the pilot will kick serious ass.
It should. David Benioff and Dan Weiss did a terrific job with the script. And yes, all of you can relax, it’s very faithful. Dan and David will be the executive producers for the pilot and (we hope) the eventual series.
More details when I have 'em. The news is very fresh. HBO just issued their own press release, which should be up on their website soon, if it’s not there already.
Winter is coming to HBO. Hot damn.
Pretty much the same as what you’ve already said. But it’s fun to see what he has to say about it.
Damn, you guys keep me so up to date that it’s not even funny… I can’t wait for this!
Did I mention you guys rock like granite? Cuz you guys rock like granite!
Thanks. I am so looking forward to seeing this on the screen. It would be fantastic if this gets picked up for a full series so I have something to replace BSG with, especially since I can’t get enough of the books. Now if only A Dance With Dragons would be finished soon.
Huh. I’m going to start reading book one in December. Good timing for me, I suppose.\
EDIT: Ooo, it’s getting competition from 10 other pilots. Uh, let’s see here… I’m getting a vision… From the future… High fantasy pilot knocked out of the ring by… Character drama show. Yup. This is gonna get ugly.
That’s a very probable outcome but I’m hopeful for this pilot because it’s done by the guys who did Rome, so we’ll see how it goes.
It seems that the UK is going to be the likely location for filming. Probably a good choice, if anywhere had plenty of castles that look the part it’s the UK.
I came across a couple of small details you might be interested in. The first line and last line of the pilot. I’ll spoiler box them, but I hardly think they’re much of a spoiler
First line: [spoiler]“We should start back”[/spoiler]
I don’t have my copy of AGOT handy, but I think it, or something like it, is the first spoken line
Last line [spoiler]“The things I do for love”[/spoiler]
Absolutely perfect in my opinion. When I heard they were making a pilot I automatically thought that is the perfect way to end it.
I couldn’t agree more about the last line. I always thought that would be the perfect place to end the pilot.
I’m anxious to hear something on the casting for the pilot now, especially for the kids because I want to know how much they are going to age the kids for the show.
well here’s a copy of the pilot script… Not sure how long it will be online, so iffn anyone is interested, i recommend snertching it sooner rather than later…
from monkeyfister.com
script pfd --> http://termopilas.tales-tra.com/users/pars…ilot_script.pdf
The First scene:
[spoiler]
EXT. CLEARING - DAY
Snow drifts across the bodies of the fallen dead. Eight
corpses lie frozen on the ground-- men, women, and children,
wearing heavy furs. The wind whips through their long hair.
At the edge of the clearing, WILL (20), a young ranger
dressed all in black, surveys the grim scene from the back of
his gelding. He gathers his reins and guides his horse south.
EXT. FOREST - DUSK
Will rides hard between the towering pines, his horse’s
hooves kicking up fresh-fallen snow.
He comes to a halt and dismounts beside two tethered horses.
His comrades, GARED (50) and SER WAYMAR ROYCE (18), crouch
beside a stream, filling their skins with cold water. They
rise and look to the newcomer expectantly.
Ser Waymar is gray-eyed and graceful, with an aristocrat’s
air of command despite his youth. He wears a supple coat of
gleaming black ringmail and a lush sable cloak.
Will and Gared also wear the black of the Night’s Watch, but
their clothes are far less regal, their leather and fur
battered from hard usage. Gared wears a hood for warmth.
WILL
We should start back. They’re all
dead.
Gared offers Will his water skin and Will takes a drink.
SER WAYMAR
Any blood?
WILL
Not that I saw.
SER WAYMAR
How close did you get?
WILL
Close enough to see they was dead.
SER WAYMAR
(skeptical)
Or sleeping?
GARED
If Will says they’re dead, they’re
dead. We should head back to the
Wall.
SER WAYMAR
(with the hint of a smile)
Do the dead frighten you?
GARED
Mormont said we should track ‘em.
We tracked ‘em. They won’t trouble
us no more.
SER WAYMAR
You don’t think Mormont will ask us
how they died?
He walks toward his horse. Gared and Will exchange a troubled
glance.
EXT. EMPTY CAMP - NIGHT
Moonlight shines down on the clearing, the ashes of the
firepit, the snow-covered lean-to. If there were corpses on
the ground before, they’re gone now.
The three riders enter the camp. Their horses seem spooked,
as if they smell a predator nearby.
SER WAYMAR
Your dead men seem to have moved
camp.
Will looks around, confused. He knows what he saw.
WILL
They were here…
Spotting something shimmering on the ground near the firepit,
he walks his horse closer, dismounts and looks down.
Lying at his feet is the hilt of a steel longsword. The blade
has been shattered into a thousand shards.
Will stares at the shattered sword. He knows what this means;
the dread on his face is unmistakable.
From his horse, Gared looks at the ground. The indentations
where the bodies once lay are still visible-- as are the
faint but unmistakable footprints leading away from them.
GARED
We have to move. Now.
He is interrupted by a neigh. Will’s horse, riderless and
panicked, bolts from the camp site.
2.
Ser Waymar’s horse rears back on its hind legs, throwing its
rider to the ground before galloping after the first horse.
Gared struggles to keep his own horse under control. Ser
Waymar stands unsteadily, brushing the snow from his cloak.
WILL
(terrified)
Gods…
He’s staring into the darkness at the edge of the clearing.
Ser Waymar turns to see what the young tracker sees: a shadow
emerging from the forest.
A figure steps into the moonlight, tall and gaunt, with flesh
pale as milk. It slides toward the rangers on silent feet.
Its armor appears to be carved from ice. Its sword is
translucent, a shard of crystal so thin it almost seems to
vanish when seen edge-on.
Ser Waymar’s voice cracks like a boy’s:
SER WAYMAR
Stay where you are!
The OTHER keeps coming. Ser Waymar draws his sword with
trembling hands. Will, standing near the fire pit, and Gared,
still on horseback, draw their own swords.
The Other halts. For the first time we see its eyes, bluer
than any human eyes, a blue that burns like ice.
They emerge silently from the shadows, on all sides of the
clearing. Five of them… six… seven… their strange
swords shimmering in the moonlight.
Gared can no longer control his panicked horse; it bolts from
the clearing, ignoring its rider’s commands.
The Others watch Gared flee. They turn back to Ser Waymar and
Will and begin to advance on the young men.
As the circle closes, the Others speak to each other in a
language we’ve never heard, with voices like cracking ice.
Waymar and Will stand together, class distinctions forgotten,
two boys about to die. They steady their sword hands and
mutter quick prayers as the Others descend upon them.
CREDIT SEQUENCE
CLOSE on a pair of ancient, gnarled hands writing a message
on a small parchment scroll. The old man (we never see his
face) tightly rolls the scroll, binds it with a black ribbon,
and ties it with a leather strip to the leg of a BLACK RAVEN.
The old man lifts the raven off his desk; it flaps its dark
wings and flies out of the open chamber window.
The raven flies away from Castle Black, a large and ancient
fortress dwarfed by what lies behind it: the Wall. Older than
history, this is the 800-foot-high barrier of ice and stone
that guards the northern edge of the Seven Kingdoms.
As the raven gains altitude, the landscape below it
TRANSFORMS into a map of Westeros. The Wall is revealed to
cross the entire continent, a boundary between the Haunted
Forest to the north and the civilized lands to the south.
The raven flies south over the map, on which the cities,
regions and features of the land are named: Winterfell, the
Kingsroad, Moat Cailin, the Riverlands, the Vale of Arryn.
Occasionally the bird dips down, and the map resolves back
into reality for just long enough to give us a view of some
points of interest: Winterfell’s old stone towers, full of
cold beauty. The foreboding Eyrie castle high atop the Vale
of Arryn, a feat of montane architecture that would have been
impossible for medieval engineers.
When the raven reaches King’s Landing, the map resolves back
into reality as the bird drops down into the dirty sprawl of
the capital.
The raven flies through the open gates of the Red Keep, a
massive compound with red walls the color of blood. The bird
flies through an open window into the throne room, to land on
the Iron Throne itself-- a throne built from the hammered
swords of a thousand defeated enemies.
The raven pecks at its wings, cleaning itself after the long
journey, alone in the empty throne room.
END CREDIT SEQUENCE
Just like the original preface. Looks like the start to something really good to watch on HBO. Here’s to hoping it goes into production. I just might be forced to actually buy a TV and cable for the duration of the series. Martin’s series of books is absolutely stunning in it’s brutal detail and story-telling, and an excellent piece of Fantasy lore. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the fantasy genre.
[/spoiler]
I'm glad that GRRM is attached to the deal, and hope that they stay true to the stories...http://www.westeros.org/ASoWS/News/Entry/3137/
So pilot filming starts in October, and they’re filming in Ireland. I wonder what castle they are going to use for Winterfell. I may have to pay a visit, the furthest point on this island is about an 8 hour drive away. So anywhere but deepest Munster would be feasible for a visit.
First cast member is announced, and it’s exactly who I was hoping for! Peter Dinklage will be playing Tyrion Lannister happy dance
Sweet. I heard rumours of Sean Bean about a week ago. Fantastic news it’s been confirmed. Never heard of the rest
Heard the same through the blog Winter is Coming, a fan’s very dedicated blog to the show. Bean’s got great charisma and should help lend the show some weight during its first season.
I just heard that Lena Headey is playing Cersei. Interesting choice, but it could work.
Some phenomenal casting so far! I’m glad they got Peter Dinklage, that dude is great, which is important because if the show stays on the air we will be seeing him a lot. PLUS Sean FRAKKIN Bean, nuff said I think. Can’t wait to see who they cast as Arya, my other fav character after Tyrion.
Seems Arya (along with Jaime, Theon, Sansa and others) has been cast. She is unknown but apparently fantastic!
You guys cannot possibly know how hard these roles were to cast. I’ve viewed dozens of readings for both girls. Sweet kids, some with great looks, all of them bright and eager and enthusiastic… but good child actors are rare. Maisie(Williams) brought Arya alive in a way that none of the other kids could match, right from the first. Sophie read two scenes; the scene with Arya on the kingsroad, and a much later one when Joff is forcing her to look at the heads on the walls. Two very different sides of the character. She knocked 'em both out of the park.