Friday, August 21, 2009

A Game of Thrones

I'm not sure how it's possible that I missed this news. I feel like I may have heard whispers about this some time ago - but they were so faint they must have went in one ear and out the other. Well, they certainly aren't faint any longer. In fact, they just hit me square between the eyes (think Jason hitting that dick preacher Newlin with that paintball in True Blood). HBO is creating a show from George R. R. Martin's awe-inspiring, fantasy book series, A Song of Ice and Fire. A Game of Thrones is the first book in the series. It was written in 1996, followed by three other books, the last which was published in 2005. So basically, fans of the books (it's a pretty large fandom) have been waiting over 4 years for the next novel, A Dance with Dragons. If I was as impatient about this fact as my father is, I'd be grumbling non-stop around the house, mumbling things like, "Get on with it" and "How can it take this long...?!" and other, less proper exclamations of annoyance. However, it's now been so long since I was enveloped in this story, I seem to have completely forgotten most of the plot-lines and characters. All I really remember is that it was an outstanding, emotional and complex amalgamation of several different sub-stories, all rolled into one theme: war. And how these sub-stories often collided with each other was a constant source of excitement and tears. But other than that, and the introduction of several adorable wolf puppies, I don't remember much. Still, I know a good thing when I hear it and HBO creating this series is definitely a good thing. They are still casting some parts (it's a pretty big character list to fill) but they have already cast a lot of roles. They start filming the pilot in Ireland in October. Check it out:


Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen

Mark Addy as Robert Baratheon

Sean Bean as Eddard Stark

Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister

Jennifer Ehle as Catelyn Stark

Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon

Kit Harington as Jon Snow

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister

Alfie Owen-Allen as Theon Greyjoy

Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner as Arya and Sansa Stark

Richard Madden as Robb Stark

Tamzin Merchant as Daenarys Targaryen

Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont

I am most excited about the casting of Sean Bean (love that guy) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. I really enjoyed watching Nikolaj in New Amsterdam, plus, it's always a time-filler to try to pronounce his name correctly.

If you're interested in learning more, check out this Winter Is Coming website. Here are some pictures related to the book series you can check out also:





No comments:

Disclaimer

The views expressed on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.