Preview of A Game of Thrones
By
Amy_Amp,
Posted on: 2011-04-04 04:02 in Comic and Hero-Villain Culture
Well it seems as interesting as a 15 minute preview can make something like this. Looks like it's going to be chock full of intrigue and drama.
For instance after seeing around 5 seconds of the girl sewing it was almost instantly obvious she was longing to be outside shooting the bow like her brother(?) and not a minute later we see her sneaking outside to hit the bulls-eye showing she's likely going to be more of a tomboy warrior than him which will probably cause some kind of family unrest.
Also looks like it'll have a "Babylon 5" quality at least as far as a potential scary enemy that's been long gone but is now returning and it's going to take a while before everyone even believes the enemy has returned and all the bickering factions are probably going to have to join together to fight the old evil.
I'll give the actual series a chance. It certainly has some potential.
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Hmm... Looks good. Better than I expected. Will be checking it out for sure.
Est sularis oth Mithas
Watched this last night tacked on to the beginning of Mildred Pierce. Looks great and its beautifully shot.
@Mental Maden @Maden Mental
"....you are now tackle free for life."-ShoNuff
The books are fantastic, and I think that they can translate to a mini-series quite well . . . heck by the time all the books are done, it would be longer than a lot of regular TV series.
Robb Stark and Jon Snow are older than in the books . . . they are supposed to be 14-15 rather than the 17-20 look they have there. I understand why they were aged for HBO . . . they have some rather adult things to do, which would have been very tough to show with underage actors. Same with Sansa, who is supposed to be 12-13. So I'm expecting some changes from the source material, but overall, I was impressed.
Lothic, this beginning doesn't even come close to showing the level of complex intregue and great characters that show up in A Game of Throwns. The good guys are all flawed, the bad guys mostly have reasons for being bad, and the plot has unexpected twists and turns. I'm really looking forward to seeing Peter Dinklage as Tyrion, who has become one of my favorite literary characters. He's a guy who you can both love and hate -- a dwarf who turns his curse into a kind of weapon by being more clever than others. His character really shines more in later books, but you get to see a lot about him in A Game of Throwns.
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Well like I said I've been waiting to give this show a try. Just don't judge it too harshly when it ends up being "less involved" than the books you described. As we all know no TV show can ever really be as detailed as any book series. I'm sure this series will hit the most important parts at the very least but I'd honestly rather have a well constructed teleplay than an attempt at a faithfully followed book series that becomes too bogged down for its own good. |
Originally Posted by Local_Man
Lothic, this beginning doesn't even come close to showing the level of complex intregue and great characters that show up in A Game of Throwns. The good guys are all flawed, the bad guys mostly have reasons for being bad, and the plot has unexpected twists and turns. I'm really looking forward to seeing Peter Dinklage as Tyrion, who has become one of my favorite literary characters. He's a guy who you can both love and hate -- a dwarf who turns his curse into a kind of weapon by being more clever than others. His character really shines more in later books, but you get to see a lot about him in A Game of Throwns.
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If I remember the author is very involved in the series, so I'd assume they will stay pretty close to the source material. Sure changes will be made (there always are) but having him intimately involved should keep things from getting too out of control.
@Mental Maden @Maden Mental
"....you are now tackle free for life."-ShoNuff
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The goal is a season for each book and there's 7 books in all when they are finally written.
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Originally Posted by Local_Man
The books are fantastic, and I think that they can translate to a mini-series quite well . . . heck by the time all the books are done, it would be longer than a lot of regular TV series.
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Unfortunayely, Martin usually takes 3-4 years (at least) between books. Hopefully HBO is patient. I know the fans of the series have to be...
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Mmmmm, nekkid Kate Winslet.... I'll be in my bunk.
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Originally Posted by MentalMaden
Watched this last night tacked on to the beginning of Mildred Pierce.
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By the time the books are finished. LOL. Aren't you the cockeyed optimist! The series will have to write a new ending if it's a hit. Either that or hold off on new installments longer than BSG did.|
Originally Posted by Local_Man
The books are fantastic, and I think that they can translate to a mini-series quite well . . . heck by the time all the books are done, it would be longer than a lot of regular TV series.
|
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| Robb Stark and Jon Snow are older than in the books . . . they are supposed to be 14-15 rather than the 17-20 look they have there. I understand why they were aged for HBO . . . they have some rather adult things to do, which would have been very tough to show with underage actors. Same with Sansa, who is supposed to be 12-13. So I'm expecting some changes from the source material, but overall, I was impressed. |
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| Lothic, this beginning doesn't even come close to showing the level of complex intregue and great characters that show up in A Game of Throwns. The good guys are all flawed, the bad guys mostly have reasons for being bad, and the plot has unexpected twists and turns. I'm really looking forward to seeing Peter Dinklage as Tyrion, who has become one of my favorite literary characters. He's a guy who you can both love and hate -- a dwarf who turns his curse into a kind of weapon by being more clever than others. His character really shines more in later books, but you get to see a lot about him in A Game of Throwns. |
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I think each trilogy has a different amount of time between books. The first 3 had 2 years between novels, while so far the second trilogy has about three times that amount between entries. |
Originally Posted by Sagitaur17
Unfortunayely, Martin usually takes 3-4 years (at least) between books. Hopefully HBO is patient. I know the fans of the series have to be...
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1st book -> 2 years -> 2nd book -> 2 years -> 3rd book -> 5 years -> 4th book -> 6 years -> 5th book.
So if he keeps it up, the next book will probably be out in 2016 or 17.
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George R. R. Martin has worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter in the past, so this is not his first time dealing with TV/Film. And yes, he was very involved and has put his "stamp of approval" on the series.|
Originally Posted by MentalMaden
If I remember the author is very involved in the series, so I'd assume they will stay pretty close to the source material. Sure changes will be made (there always are) but having him intimately involved should keep things from getting too out of control.
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Originally Posted by Ironik
By the time the books are finished. LOL. Aren't you the cockeyed optimist! The series will have to write a new ending if it's a hit. Either that or hold off on new installments longer than BSG did.
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"Throwns"? Is that a combo of "throne" and "crown"? If so, I applaud your efficiency!
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The NYTimes, now behind a weird paywall scheme, not unlike SoIaF's, had a good interview with Martin about his career as an author and TV writer (io9 excerpted the good bits here, along with stuff from a New Yorker profile).|
Originally Posted by Local_Man
George R. R. Martin has worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter in the past, so this is not his first time dealing with TV/Film. And yes, he was very involved and has put his "stamp of approval" on the series.
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That said, Martin admits Dances with Dragons isn't actually finished (the make-or-break deadline to submit a final MS for a July publication won't be until the end of this month unless the publisher is willing to rush it through). I'd be surprised if he'd made much headway into writing the final volume, no matter how much preliminary work he might have done.
Haven't read the books but the series looks interesting and I'll give it a shot. Might go ahead and read the books but I've really had a severe lack of interest in reading fiction lately. I go through phases and I've been stuck in a nonfiction phase for a couple of years now.
@Quasadu
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Just an FYI, folks, even with the two-clicks rule, links that depicts material not suitable for PG-14 should be marked as such, as a courtesy.
That being said, the adaptation is looking good.
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PG-14? Is the ratings system undergoing inflation??|
Originally Posted by Moderator 05
Just an FYI, folks, even with the two-clicks rule, links that depicts material not suitable for PG-14 should be marked as such, as a courtesy.
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That said, although HBO has a warning scorecard in front of this preview, I'll add a TV-MA (LSV) tag. Apparently, this is a selling point in favor of the adaptation's fidelity {Language}.
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He wrote an episode or three of the miniseries, too.|
Originally Posted by Local_Man
George R. R. Martin has worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter in the past, so this is not his first time dealing with TV/Film. And yes, he was very involved and has put his "stamp of approval" on the series.
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| Book 5, "A Dance with Dragons" is due out this summer, mid July I think. |
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| I suspect that Martin has most of Book 6 written already. |
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I'm hopeful . . . since both Martin and the publisher have officially announced the publication date. Plus, he is even missing out on flying to Hollywood to watch episodes of the miniseries so he can finish it up. If he doesn't get it done, he will be missing out on a HUGE opportunity to sell books. Interest in the books will be high with the HBO series.|
Originally Posted by Ironik
I'll believe it when I see it. At ComiCon last year his editors said they'd have it by Christmas. A month ago he said he was pretty sure he'd make the due date. Uh-huh.
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| He also has some prime oceanfront property to sell you. In Montana. |
While I enjoyed Book 4, I agree that is was the worst of the series so far . . . it went too far afield. Still, it had some good parts of the plot, especially the last few chapters. Even though it was the worst of the series so far, it was a heck of a lot better than a whole lot of other SF/Fantasy I have read. I hope that this one is a lot tighter and moves the story along. I hope George has a good editor.
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Which has NEVER happened before... oh, wait.|
Originally Posted by Local_Man
I'm hopeful . . . since both Martin and the publisher have officially announced the publication date.
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Martin's revisionist history about "soft dates" aside, official announcements and street dates *have* been mentioned in the past. All I'm saying is, "Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me eight times, shame on me."
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| I hope George has a good editor. |
I'm really not trying to rain on your parade; I just don't think it's wise to get one's hopes up in this case.
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Imagine's the CoX Universe's version of GRR Martin,
-the Crey Corperation purchases Martin's publisher
-CC places a shock collar on Martin, to force him into writing
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lol
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Originally Posted by wooden_replica
imagine's the cox universe's version of grr martin,
-the crey corperation purchases martin's publisher -cc places a shock collar on martin, to force him into writing |
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If he had a good editor, we wouldn't've gotten so many books full of "would of", "should of", and "could of".
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Originally Posted by Local_Man
I hope George has a good editor.
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Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound
I'm probably not going to watch this, given that I also haven't read the novels. I actually asked my SG today what it was about and someone said 'Do you know about the War of the Roses and the 100 year war?' And I said yes (I like my history) and was told 'it's like that, except the winters are longer and rocks fall on people and they die.'
I honestly find real-world history to be more intriguing because well...it actually happened for one thing...and I'm not sure how much of Game of Thrones I could handle before I started finding myself depressed because the same person who explained the books to me also said that there's honorable and good people, but hey, they don't last long. Not a good trait.
That was a ringing positive endorsement that kind of made up my mind. It's almost like we've become masochistic in our entertainment lately. If we're not seeing people screw each other over or be flawed and oh-so-terribly-human, then it's not good drama.
I'm all for realism, but so long as it's balanced.
S.
Part of Sister Flame's Clickey-Clack Posse
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As do I, which is why I'm intrigued by a fantasy writer taking inspiration from them -- it worked for Shakespeare after all. It's also encouraging that the plots revolve around recognizable human politics for the most part, instead of, say, the cliche of the Hero's Quest or another Orcs vs. Elves showdown. (Martin does suggest in that NYT interview that he will introduce elements of magic into the TV series gradually.)|
Originally Posted by SuperOz
I'm probably not going to watch this, given that I also haven't read the novels. I actually asked my SG today what it was about and someone said 'Do you know about the War of the Roses and the 100 year war?' And I said yes (I like my history)
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| That was a ringing positive endorsement that kind of made up my mind. It's almost like we've become masochistic in our entertainment lately. If we're not seeing people screw each other over or be flawed and oh-so-terribly-human, then it's not good drama. |
In advance of the April 17 premiere date, HBO has posted a 15-minute preview of their upcoming adaptation of George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy, A Game of Thrones.
Warning: contains graphic violence
(The advance reviews, mainstream and geek, are good, so this could be the first breakout swords and sorcery success since Lord of the Rings.)