A Game of Thrones Television Adaptation on HBO/BBC

[valentinesdead?]

Okay, not to double post or anything, but. . .


Inspired my Mr. Spencer's amount of trolling in this thread. . . I decided to make a MODOK Goes With Trolling GAME OF THRONES video as tribute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmYKe-p0-8Q

I couldn't think of a better scene that represents the best moment in a Game of Thrones where George R R Martin trolled us all. . .HARD.

Joffrey be trollin' Joffrey be trollin', man.

Hope everyone enjoys.

[Dracarys]

Ipad? I meant the actual Kindle device. I recently purchased one. If you read alot, i'ts like having a virtual library in the tips of your fingers. You can buy books off the Kindle store(most which are cheaper than physical copies). ...or other places if you know where to look(if you get my drift). Bottom line, you can save alot of money. And personally, I'm aiming at trying to support the more independent Kindle authors(the few good ones, anyway), rather than the published bookstores. . . .but that's another story.

I thought kindle was just e-books for ipads, didn't realise it was a dedicated device. But for a dedicated device £111 for the no frills version is stupidly steep, so still a pass from me.

[valentinesdead?]

I thought kindle was just e-books for ipads, didn't realise it was a dedicated device. But for a dedicated device £111 for the no frills version is stupidly steep, so still a pass from me.

I fail to see how a dedicated reading device, if, you know, you read a lot, is "stupidly steep." Again, its really a money saver if you know how to acquire stuff, literally almost a virtual library, where you can checkout and check-in whatever books you want. That, and the screen itself doesn't resemble an electronic screen like that of an ipad, ipod, or cell phone, but something that very much resembles paper quality. You would hardly think of it as electronic. But, being of value depends on the amount of reading you do. If you only desire to read a book every now and then, then yeah, it's most likely not worth it(or more desirable as an ipad or iphone app). But I was only suggesting it, since you were complaining about the amount the paperbacks(mass market, or big paperbacks?) were going for. Anyways, doesn't much matter then.

But on-to another fascinating subject. . .the behemoth has finally been unleashed. I'm of course, talking about A Dance. . .A Dance With Dragons!



Behold the glory!

My hardcover was shipped by Amazon yesterday, and should be here in a couple days(although, I already snagged a copy of it for my Kindle, heh). But since I'm still reading A Feast(currently on page 370ish something), it might be another week or two before I get to A Dance, but that's okay, cause I'm in no rush. Video Games and Television series I love to marathon through when newly released, but, books are a very different thing with me. I like to take my time and enjoy them. Just gotta be careful about coming across any potential spoilers, but that really shouldn't be hard.

I'm enjoying Feast very much as it is. Kinda don't see why it was viewed more sourly than it's brethen--but chalk that up to hype and expectations. Not every book is going to top something like A Storm of Swords. These are volumes, after all. Hopefully A Dance, and the last two books, however, will be nothing short of dazzling.

Anyone else reading any of the books currently?

[Trent]

I'm still considering getting them at some point.

[Vector]

Peter Dinklage(Tyrion Lannister) earns a Best Supporting Actor Emmy nomination

http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/07/15/emmy-nominations-game-of-thrones-peter-dinklage/

Well-deserved. We should see even more great things from Dinklage with Tyrion's huge role in A Clash of Kings and beyond.

[Vector]

Stannis and Melisandre have been cast

http://tv.ign.com/articles/118/1182548p1.html

Stephen Dillane and Carice van Houten


I also finished A Storm of Swords not five minutes ago, with only the epilogue left to read.

Spoiler:

show spoiler

Definitely the best book so far...about halfway through, the book turned into a veritable shitstorm and not so much a storm of swords. Every chapter was filled with excitement and deceit and not knowing what kind of trickery was coming from the next few pages. Absolutely insane.

My jaw dropped when the Freys murdered Robb and Catelyn...I kinda saw it coming because I never trusted Walder Frey and Catelyn made it clear just what kind of man he was, but the alliance with the Lannisters was what came as a shock to me. Fucking Tywin. Oh well, he got his, at the hand of his own son, no less!

I can't even sit here and begin to recap everything that happened because SO MANY huge events took place. Season 3 will be something fucking else, man.

[Vector]

Great news from the Comic-Con panel about Season 2:

http://tv.ign.com/articles/118/1183202p1.html

Spoilers ahoy:
Spoiler:

show spoiler

What lies ahead of us in Season 2? Benioff joked "Everyone dies" – to which Weiss followed up with "It was all a dream." But then after the laughter died down Benoiff said "Well, those who've read the books know what to expect, but we've got a bunch of new characters coming in. It's time to meet the Red Priestess. It's time to meet Stannis Baratheon. There's bad stuff lurking north of the wall. This will be a season of exploration."

A season of exploration, much how A Clash of Kings was a book of exploration, of sorts.

There was also some talk about how much of the books each season might contain. Knowing that the third book, A Storm of Swords, is likely too big for one season, they might have it be two seasons, or even one and a half seasons.

This was a huge concern of mine, because Swords is gigantic. Not only is it 1128 pages(paperback) but it's as thick as a soup can get. SO MUCH STUFF happened. If they break it into 2 seasons, you wouldn't find me complaining. And I think I know where they can split the book in two...

Regardless, Benioff will consider this entire venture a triumph if he can get to a part in Swords that he refers to as "RW," saying he will be able to retire a happy man. Martin himself even admits that he had a very hard time writing that scene. He actually skipped over it and wound up writing it last because it was so emotionally wrenching.

RW can only be one thing -- 'Red Wedding' -- arguably the biggest event in the first three books. Easily the most emotional moment, and questionably the most shocking. It'll make for some fucking amazing television.

And yes, there will be a Battle of Blackwater. But the panel did joke about how expansive it would be, because of the budgetary constraints of the show. "We're going to pass my hat around to get some contributions," Martin joked. But rest assured, the scene is in good hands because Martin himself is writing the episode - which is actually called "Blackwater."

More great news. I'm interested to see how they handle Tyrion leading the charge on the mud gate, seeing as how they glossed over his fight in the first book in Season 1. How can they wiggle around it this time, especially considering the injuries he sustains at the end? I'm also really interested to see wildfire come to life.

[Wrathborne]

This Just in, Paul W.S Anderson brought in to write and direct the next season...just kidding .

[valentinesdead?]

Spoiler:

show spoiler

Definitely the best book so far...about halfway through, the book turned into a veritable shitstorm and not so much a storm of swords. Every chapter was filled with excitement and deceit and not knowing what kind of trickery was coming from the next few pages. Absolutely insane.

My jaw dropped when the Freys murdered Robb and Catelyn...I kinda saw it coming because I never trusted Walder Frey and Catelyn made it clear just what kind of man he was, but the alliance with the Lannisters was what came as a shock to me. Fucking Tywin. Oh well, he got his, at the hand of his own son, no less!

I can't even sit here and begin to recap everything that happened because SO MANY huge events took place. Season 3 will be something fucking else, man.

Spoiler:

show spoiler

I told ya, didn't I?

It's been a while since I read it myself, but yes, the 2nd half of the book is just genuinely so fucking brilliant, it's just mind-blowing. I can still recall reading the Red Wedding, literally being glued to the words once the first arrow hit Robb. Absolute pure drama. One of the greatest twist in the history of fiction.

But, if I had a second favorite moment, it had to be when Littlefinger pushed that fat bitch Lysa Arryn out the moon door. Hated the man for helping to conspire in killing Ned Stark, but that action made me quite the Littlefinger fan. My favorite POV was a tie between Jaime and Jon. Both had tremendous character arcs. Also, one of the best scenes was the Prince Oberyn going against Ser Gregor? That fight was breath-taking to read--right up to Gregor winning by a pinch. The Mountain was SO CLOSE to falling. . .

Great news from the Comic-Con panel about Season 2:

http://tv.ign.com/articles/118/1183202p1.html

Spoilers ahoy:
Spoiler:

show spoiler

What lies ahead of us in Season 2? Benioff joked "Everyone dies" – to which Weiss followed up with "It was all a dream." But then after the laughter died down Benoiff said "Well, those who've read the books know what to expect, but we've got a bunch of new characters coming in. It's time to meet the Red Priestess. It's time to meet Stannis Baratheon. There's bad stuff lurking north of the wall. This will be a season of exploration."

A season of exploration, much how A Clash of Kings was a book of exploration, of sorts.

There was also some talk about how much of the books each season might contain. Knowing that the third book, A Storm of Swords, is likely too big for one season, they might have it be two seasons, or even one and a half seasons.

This was a huge concern of mine, because Swords is gigantic. Not only is it 1128 pages(paperback) but it's as thick as a soup can get. SO MUCH STUFF happened. If they break it into 2 seasons, you wouldn't find me complaining. And I think I know where they can split the book in two...

Regardless, Benioff will consider this entire venture a triumph if he can get to a part in Swords that he refers to as "RW," saying he will be able to retire a happy man. Martin himself even admits that he had a very hard time writing that scene. He actually skipped over it and wound up writing it last because it was so emotionally wrenching.

RW can only be one thing -- 'Red Wedding' -- arguably the biggest event in the first three books. Easily the most emotional moment, and questionably the most shocking. It'll make for some fucking amazing television.

And yes, there will be a Battle of Blackwater. But the panel did joke about how expansive it would be, because of the budgetary constraints of the show. "We're going to pass my hat around to get some contributions," Martin joked. But rest assured, the scene is in good hands because Martin himself is writing the episode - which is actually called "Blackwater."

More great news. I'm interested to see how they handle Tyrion leading the charge on the mud gate, seeing as how they glossed over his fight in the first book in Season 1. How can they wiggle around it this time, especially considering the injuries he sustains at the end? I'm also really interested to see wildfire come to life.

Spoiler:

show spoiler

I think its a good idea there considering breaking up book 3 into 2 seasons. I think there going to have to do the same with A FEAST/A DANCE, as A FEAST and the first 500 pages of A DANCE run the same time span, just with a split POV cast. That won't work for television. So, great to hear--that, and it gives Martin more time to get busy with finishing the series.

Also, I do wonder how there going to handle some of the more spectacular fantasy-esq scenes that happen later in the books. Season 1 was made on a budget of 50-60 million. My hope is that with the series success, hopefully they'll keep getting bigger pots of gold so they can actually do those types of moments justice. That, and I wonder how they'll be handling the CGI of the dragons as they grow, and actually interact more than just sitting on Dany's shoulder. But really, considering how successful it already is, I don't have much doubts they'll be able to pick up additional investors to help out.

Also, found a set of videos with the actual comic-con panel. Very clear video and audio quality. 1080p even!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpL6F2hKgV8

Only watched the first part so far. Very funny to hear that movie studio's were wanting to adapt it into a 2/12 hour movie. . .PG-13 even. Talk about an abomination had that come to pass! And is it me, or did Peter Dirk get the biggest pop? Everyone just seems to love the little Imp.

I'm past the 500 mark in A Dance With Dragons, finally past the point where A Feast For Crows left off. I would maybe post some musings, but considering only one person(Vector) is actively reading the series--I suppose I would be talking(typing) to myself. Nevertheless, I'd say it's the best balanced out of all the books. It's got very strong POVs(Though that's due to A Feast having to shoulder the weaker ones), so I've actually been reading about 100-150 pages a day. 500 pages in, I'm hoping I'm about to hit the true HOLY SHIT moments(but as mentioned, it's been quite the steady stream of page turning revelations and twist). It's very surprising how much the "game of thrones" game board keeps changing. . .no clue how's its going to turn out. There's just SO MANY factions in the game at this point. . .

[Dracarys]

First two books arrived this morning, only 100 pages or so into GoT but so far the TV series seem very accurate.

[valentinesdead?]

Just finished a chapter near the last couple hundred pages of A Dance With Dragons, and I feel like I need to let off some steam about it's climax. . .SPOILERS

YOU ARE WARNED!!!

Spoiler:

show spoiler

I can't believe Martin killed Jon Snow like that. CANNOT. I hope the Nightwatch burns in hell, and the Others fuckin' assrape them. I'm just speechless, after all we've been through with Jon, that he basically gets shanked to death by his underlings. It feels like Martin second Red Wedding, yet, it doesn't exactly work that way in just being pure, genuine OMG, and more of I'm pissed one of my favorite characters just got killed in a surprising, but certainly underwhelming death(if he is dead. . .I still hope he's actually not). The difference with Robb is, why Robb was a well loved character, we didn't really spend so much time in his POV, which is what made the Red Wedding such a fucking brilliant stroke of genius. With Jon, we've journeyed with the character so far, and to see him die by simple mutiny. ..just makes me feel somewhat cheated. I wouldn't have minded him dying, but at least let it be with a sword in hand or a sudden betryael as he's about to take "Lord" Ramsay's head off. Alas, it isn't so, and after taking a break after reading that jaw-dropper, it was well-done. It's just I've always wanted to Jon to take up the Stark name and the cause of the north, and when he's finally going to do that. . .he gets killed.

Bah. The Nightwatch can burn in hell. Them and the Frey's. At this point, Cersei is a more sympathetic character that I care about at this point. ..since I fear Jaime might as well be dead too, given that Stannis was killed off-screen apparently. . .

First two books arrived this morning, only 100 pages or so into GoT but so far the TV series seem very accurate.

Despite a few very minor changes here and there, and a couple more dramatic ones, yes, it's very faithful to the book. The only downside is how some backstory can't exactly be worked into the series, but that's the nature of the best. Which is A-okay, since the series is for me such a great supplement to the books, and it's just awesome to see the story brought to life.

[Dracarys]

Thinking about it the ages of all the children seems altered heavily, like Daenerys being 13, most of the children are played by actors well beyond the part they are playing, but this is often true of many US TV shows, getting people in mid-late 20s playing high schools teens and such.

Thinking about her scenes it was probably a change for the better. Story or not who wants that on TV...

[Wrathborne]

Thinking about it the ages of all the children seems altered heavily, like Daenerys being 13, most of the children are played by actors well beyond the part they are playing, but this is often true of many US TV shows, getting people in mid-late 20s playing high schools teens and such.

Thinking about her scenes it was probably a change for the better. Story or not who wants that on TV...

That creepy german troll we had a few weeks ago.

[Trent]

Well answered, Wrathborne.

[Vector]

All of the characters are older in the show than they are in the books...I know that the kids are at least 2 years older. I think that Arya was 9 at the start of Book 1, but in the show she's 10 or 11, etc. Maisie Williams, the actor who plays Arya, looks around that age as well, but is actually 14 in real life.