A Song of Fire and Ice coming to HBO

[Guest Emperor]

You heard it here first....

HBO has acquired the rights to turn George R.R. Martin's bestselling fantasy series "A Song of Fire and Ice" into a dramatic series to be written and executive produced by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, reports Variety.

 

"Fire" is the first TV project for Benioff (Troy) and Weiss (Halo) and will shoot in Europe or New Zealand. Benioff and Weiss will write every episode of each season together save one, which the author (a former TV writer) will script.

 

The series will begin with the 1996 first book, "A Game of Thrones," and the intention is for each novel (they average 1,000 pages each) to fuel a season's worth of episodes. Martin has nearly finished the fifth installment, but won't complete the seven-book cycle until 2011.

[Guest Emperor]

Questions to ponder on:

 

Will this make a better TV show than WOT?

If you do not have HBO, will this make you subscribe?

Are you as excited about this as I am?!!!

[Talya]

Oh no :shock: they were on my to read list....best get and read them soon. Did they give any time scales?

[Guest Emperor]

Well to be honest, they just bought the rights and have not Greenlit the series. I would think this would mean it would not be on TV until late 2008 at least but realistically I would say 2009.

[Guest Yveva]

Bah, you're just making it up so that I will read the book because you saw how well that worked with "Storm Front" :P

 

 

seriously though, exciting.

 

 

I haven't read any GRRM, but I am inclined to believe they would make a better series than WoT. WoT has become too heavy, too many plotlines and characters for an audience to keep straight. I think that making WoT into TV or movies would be a little like the most recent Harry Potter movies, only worse... a lot would happen in them, but if you hadn't read the books you'd be confused about why and how some of the things were happening, and if you had read the books you'd probably be sad that they cut some of your favourite parts out.

 

It *might* be possible to do a superscaledback version of WoT, I would love them to take a single plotline and develop it as a miniseries, or to set something in the world of WoT that isn't necessarily what the books cover. For example, Joss Wheadon developed a really neat world to play in with Firefly and Serenity, he could set another story in that world about completely different people and I would be ready to watch in an instant.

[Guest Emperor]

1. I would watch anything Joss put on TV. I can not say that about many people but Joss always puts out a good product. And if he did put something out in the Firefly universe.....well... I would be stoked. But it would be smarter to bring back Firefly as it is already established.

 

2. Agree with Yv. You could take a single plotline or really water down the WOT books to make a show out of WoT. Basically it would be Rand and his merry band of fellows vs. the Chosen and how Rand becomes to guy we love to hate.

 

3. Back on topic. I had never really thought about Martin's books being made into a TV show. The characters are very well developed in the books and they would translate well into a show. However HBO has not had much to do with making fantasy series (I can not recall one actually) but every show they put out there is a success. For HBO to option the books makes me very excited about what their end product will look like.

 

4. Dresden Files on Sunday!!! Next to Martin, my favorite Sci-Fi series. I know you have no regrets about reading Storm Front.

[Guest Emperor]

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=200114114

 

Itunes link to Martin's new podcast.

[Guest Segurant]

I have all the books on audio.

[Werthead]

This news is so awesome it cannot be adequately expressed. :D

 

WoT fans should also be aware that this raises the chances of Red Eagle getting their asses in gear and the WoT movie/mini-series project underway considerably.

[Guest Emperor]

The difference.

 

Red Eagle....

 

HBO....

 

Which one will make a better product?

 

I agree, if this is a success on HBO it could pave the way for other books. HBO has done a great job with Rome and I have read that Martin is a big fan of this series, which is one reason he is going with HBO. I have to admit I have never of Red Eagle or anything they have ever done.

[Werthead]

That's because Red Eagle is a rights managment company (expressly formed to deal with WoT licensing). Aside from screwing up the New Spring comic book adaption (although Dabel have rescued it from disappearing altogether), Red Eagle haven't really done much else other than make some noise that people in Hollywood are looking at the WoT movie/mini-series ideas. In theory, they could have sold it to HBO (not now, presumably) or ABC or NBC or Steven Spielberg on anyone. They still could.

[Guest Emperor]

That explains alot, thanks man. I thought I heard rumblings a few years back about ABC interest in WOT.

 

Really these type of books need to have the special attention of a non network, like HBO or Showtime.

 

I can not see WOT as a miniseries or movie really... and much of me really does not care to see it. The universe is just too big.

 

ASOIAF is almost that way, except it has characters I actually like and develop. Rand and the gang are characters I do not really care about anymore. Give me Jon Snow, the Starks and those badass Lannisters anyday. Plus ASOIAF is much more grown up than WoT.

[Werthead]

I think the structure of the series favours a TV adaption. You only need the POV characters as major characters plus two or three others around them. That's a manageable cast. You don't have random cutaways to a POV character who only appears in one scene and then disappears. And although the scale of the story is huge, the momentum is much stronger, with less longeurs than WoT. So adapting ASoIaF, whilst a massive challenge, is certainly a doable one, whilst there are so many problems with a WoT adaption that the resulting article would probably annoy most of the fans anyway, regardless of what route they took.

[RobertAlexWillis]

One of the differences I see in the adaptation of WoT and ASoIaF to a TV medium is the level of possible involvement by the author. Martin has spent a large portion of his career in Hollywood, much of it as a screenwriter. As far as I know, Jordan has essentially no experience there. While I'm not saying Jordan's incapable, Martin certainly has more experience, and a slightly smaller series. Also, with HBO, he has more money to play with and frankly, a product more marketable to a modern TV audience (lots more violence, some freaky incest, not a whole lot of attention to dresses and stitching). I agree that if done right, ASoIaF could be an excellent small-screen product. I'm not sure the same is true of WoT.

[Guest Karana Majin]

I got this news this evening from his blog and I almost flipped a gasket. I am soooo excited.

 

Whoever posted that podcast, it IS awesome, but it's not new. The last one came out last november. I guess that is sort of new, but from someone who was anxiously awaiting each one, it seems like a while ago!

 

I agree, I think GRRM's screenwriting experience will make a huge difference in this, especially concerning the author being certain the show reflects his vision.

[Niamh Sedai]

This news makes me very excited. I would love to see ASOIAF on TV. Plus as GRRM is allowed to script an episode it fills me with some sort of confidence that they won't massacre the books.

 

Shame we have to wait ;)

[Guest Emperor]

Will this make your subscribe to HBO?

 

Also, casting, what do you think? I am fairly sure they cast mostly unknowns as HBO is known to do, but they will have to get one or two big names to draw in the non-scifi audience.

 

The casting of Tyrion and Jaime I think are crucial. Danny Devito as Tyrion?

[Werthead]

Argh! No! He is far too old to play Tyrion and he isn't a dwarf, just short. Tyrion is actually what would technically be classified as a dwarf by today's standards (see the UK cover to ASoS) so he'd have to be played by one.

 

The actor everyone seems to think is perfect for Tyrion is this guy, Peter Dinklage who has been in Nip/Tuck. Apparently there's another guy who was in Carnivale (another HBO production) who may be good for the role.

 

Hopefully by 2009/2010 (the earliest possible airdates for the show) HBO will be direct-broadcasting to the United Kingdom. If not then, I won't be able to subscribe :( Hopefully the BBC could co-fund it and would get early transmission rights.

 

As for other casting, Ciaran Hinds and James Purefoy (both from Rome) would be great in the show. Hinds as Tywin seems possible and Purefoy would be great as Littlefinger, but he is too big and tough for the part (LF is a bit of a weedy guy). Purefoy would probably be better-suited to the Red Viper. Given Purefoy is now a known actor and will likely be even bigger in a few years' time, he'd also be more likely to agree to appear in 3-4 episodes rather than several seasons of intermittent appearances.

 

The general consensus is that both Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon could be played by big, known actors as they would only be needed for 7-8 episodes :)

[Guest Yveva]

OMG, don't get me started on Carnivale and how much I lurb it and want other people to watch it.

 

Actually, I haven't read GRRM, as mentioned above, but I think that Carnivale shows it is possible for HBO to build a very detailed mythology and complex story lines. The problem with Carnivale is that it was too expensive, and not enough people were watching... so it was cancelled after only two seasons. It would be a shame to start the series, crank a season or two out, and then have to stop.

[Mendorah]

1. Yes, I do think it will make a better show than WoT. You all have already said my reasons, but I'll just say it anyways. The series has a lot more to offer that an adult or HBO watching fan would enjoy. Sex, Intrigue, Violence, and a midget (apologies if that word offends anyone-it just fit better than Little person). AND, the little person in question is VERY complex and interesting.

 

Plus each chapter is quite episodic in nature already, so it probably wouldn't be very hard to break down each book.

 

2. Yep. I only have the basic of the basic cable right now. But I do wish already that I had HBO because I LOVE the Wire. But I'm not so excited to see it that I can't wait until it's out on DVD. ASoIaF, however, would get me excited enough to figure out how to budget the extra bucks for cable.

 

3. Haha! I'm pretty excited about it. I only just started reading the series. I was reading book #2 before I got interrupted by leaving my copy in a friend's truck. I'm hoping to get it back and start reading it again in the next week or so.

[Werthead]

I think you're reaction at the end of Book 2 is going to be, "Fantastic, but how the hell are they going to afford that on screen?" :D

[Guest IluvatarND]

This one got me to pop out of lurking status!

 

I'd normally be wary about doing this sort of thing to a great book series (currently my fav sci-fi/fantasy series), but I have a little faith based on the following points:

 

(Note that all of this is bracketed by the simple notion that many series are not always released, though many are optioned. This is still in the introductory stages, but I have a good feeling about this one getting released.)

 

1. HBO has a pretty good track record with shows. One of the shows I watch on a regular basis (now that it's back) is Rome. If you haven't caught it [and it's not for the faint of heart or those with kids around], it's a really great series that fairly accurately depicts the Roman republic/empire at the time. It's actually been "cancelled" in that they are not making any more seasons beyond the current second one because it's just too expensive for them. Still, I see that they are willing to pony up the big bucks to make a series great, and that gives me hope.

 

2. GRRM is having some say over the show. As a matter of fact, he's even scheduled to write one of the episodes. See, that's what good integration is, and I hope that will keep the series from going too far off the great world he has designed.

 

3. They are dedicating an entire season to each book. This is something that concerned me about many other book adaptations in that a long book must be cut down to present in the amount of time available (see Harry Potter). This eliminates many of the smaller plot threads that, while not necessarily moving the main plotline along, really develop the characters and make the actions of the characters more understandable to the viewer. Having a season worth of time rather than maybe 2 hours (for a film) will definitely help things make sense to those seeing this for the first time.

 

4. Since it's HBO, they can show many of the elements of the book without too much censoring going on. It does cut down on viewership, I am sure, plus it might make parents wary about having their kids watch some of the elements described in the book, but the series just wouldn't be the same if they made it all "nice and pretty" for, say, the network censors.

 

I am really looking forward to this one! Now, hopefully, the series will be released sometime this decade (I haven't heard a definite time on when they are looking to release the first season), but until then I'll just have to wait for A Dance With Dragons.

 

Luvi

[Guest Emperor]

Seriously, two seasons is better than no seasons to me. Sure I would like to see all the books be brough to HBO, but I would be very happy to see anything that brings Martin's world to the TV. It will be sad though because once it is on, I will imagine HBO's characters when I read the books.

 

Yveva - You must read ASOIAF if you want to call yourself a brown. *g*

[Guest Yveva]

pssht, to call myself a Brown I must immerse myself in obscure knowledge, not just "popular fiction". If it's not leatherbound with gilded edges it's just not worth opening ;)

[Werthead]

You can get ASoIaF in leatherbound editions with gilt edging (for a sizable truckload of cash donated to Subterrenean Press, it has to be said).