Thursday, March 3, 2016
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
And the character fans think is involved in George R.R. Martin’s ‘Winds of Winter’ twist is…
…Jeyne Westerling, lately bereaved widow to Robb Stark.
Jeyne, as book-readers know, does not technically appear on the show at all. Instead, a new character, Talisa Maegyr, was created to replace her. Martin recently told IGN that this upcoming plot twist , which will feature in The Winds of Winter, will involve a character who is dead on the show but alive in the books. Commenters like Golladan and David H pointed out that, since Martin doesn’t consider Jeyne and Talisa to be the same character, she’s disqualified from consideration.
I think that argument holds some water, although I also think it’s possible that, in the moment of the IGN interview, Martin included a Jeyne/Talisa amalgam on his informal list of qualified applicants anyway. And the idea that Jeyne is pregnant would certainly rock the world of Westeros—it would mean that Robb had a potential heir on the way, which could provide someone for the north to rally behind.
My main problem with this theory is that it doesn’t line up with what Martin has told us about this twist. Here’s what he said 11 months ago, when he first talked about it:
It’s a great twist…this is something that seems very organic and natural, and I could see how it would happen. And with the various three, four characters involved…it all makes sense. But it’s nothing I’ve ever thought of before. And it’s nothing they can do in the show, because the show has already—on this particular character—made a couple decisions that will preclude it, where in my case I have not made those decisions.
Martin already established in A Feast for Crows that Jeyne was not pregnant. If we take that at face value, Jeyne’s plot twist potential is limited. If he was misleading us, it’s something he probably thought of long ago.
Stannis Baratheon was another popular choice, but I’m not so sure about that, either, for largely similar reasons. Here’s how Young Dragon puts it:
I personally think Stannis’s story is finished. He’s been presented as a false messiah, so those characters don’t normally have happy endings. Besides, from how it sounds, Martin just came up with the twist idea, shortly before season aired. If the twist has to do with the Pink Leter, would that mean he was intending to kill Stannis off, and then changed his mind?
Again, the plot twist is an idea that Martin came up with, at the earliest, around a year ago, when he probably already had a good solid chuck of The Winds of Winter written, or at least planned out. I doubt Stannis’ downfall will play out exactly as it did on the show, but I think it’s coming. Game of Thrones showruners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have admitted to changing things about the books, but maintain that they’re going to follow the big beats. Stannis’ death qualifies. To use commenter David H’s words about Martin: “It seems VERY unlikely that he’d make a MAJOR change in the most important storylines so late in the game.”
Of course, I could be wrong. We could all be wrong. However, something tells me that the twist will involve someone less obvious than Jeyne or Stannis. This is George R.R. Martin we’re talking about, and if he has a gift for anything, it’s for subverting audience expectations. Commenter lylebot put it eloquently:
GRRM’s conception of “important character” is very different from the fans’. To George, Alys Karstark is an important character. Rorge and Biter are important characters. Quentyn Martell, to GRRM, is important enough to get his own POV from which to tell a one-and-done story. Trying to guess who’s going to get a twist based on “importance” is pretty futile when you’re dealing with an author who considers every character to be important.
I agree with this. And I’m happy about it. It means the twist is more likely to surprise us when it finally comes.
George R.R. Martin, you crafty minx.
And now, some other thoughts worth having:
- : “It is fairly apparent in the books that Pyat Pree is one of the four warlocks captured by Euron, so he’ll likely pop up again. But he doesn’t seem to be important enough to be the one George is writing this big twist for.” Pyat Pree was killed of on Season 2 of the show. If he were to come back in a big way in the books, it would bear out everything Martin has ever said about the butterfly effect.
- A couple of commenters mentioned Mago, one of Khal Drogo’s riders. He was memorably killed off in Season 1 of the show, but is still alive in the books, and Martin has said he’ll have a recurring role in The Winds of Winter. However, he said that back in 2011, so he’s presumably known what he’s going to do with the character for a while. I’m not sure what kind of Mago-related twist he would of come up with just recently.
- It’s Roz… So obvious.” Well, yeah. Why didn’t I think of that?
Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/03/02/and-the-character-fans-think-is-involved-in-george-r-r-martins-winds-of-winter-twist-is/
HBO Won’t Send Press Advance Episodes of Game of Thrones Season 6
Hear that faint ticking sound? It’s the clock slowly ticking away to the Game of Thrones Season 6 premiere on Sunday, April 24. HBO is starting to release a few tasty morsels to the public. For instance, on Monday, we got the behind-the-scenes video that showed the crew filming Season 6. We’ve had some tiny teasers involving Bran, complete with a voiceover from Max von Sydow’s Three-Eyed Raven, and we were gifted with a tour of the Hall of Many Faces that ended up being a nostalgic look back at some of the characters who’ve passed through this mortal veil…and some nifty Season 6 posters, too.
And of course, we can’t forge the deluge of images from the new season, probably the best tease we’ve received yet.
Usually around this time of year, we at WiCnet start to expect our advance copy of the first four or so episodes of the newest season of Game of Thrones. Like any responsible media persons, we would privately view these episodes, and then write our advance reviews, and then wait to post them on the nights they air. We also write our spoiler-free thoughts on the season-to-be before it begins. It won’t be happening this year, though, here or anywhere else. HBO programming president Michael Lombardo revealed as much to Entertainment Weekly:
We’re not sending out press copies this year, anywhere in the world. There will be no copies for review.
Last year, the network sent the first four episodes of Season 5 to the press for review, and they leaked onto the internet immediately before the Season 5 premiere aired. This move seems to be HBO’s attempt to prevent something like that from happening again. Said Lombardo:
It’s painful for Dan and David [when leaks happen]. When you have press copies, inevitably friends ask, ‘Can I see your copy?’ There are things that happen. We talked about the upsides and downsides. Some of the press are fans who might be disappointed, but they’ll understand.
EW posits that this could be a first for a series as big as Game of Thrones. On a personal note, I completely understand the move, and firmly stand behind Benioff and Weiss’ decision. This is just a smart move by HBO to ensure the integrity of the show is kept intact until everyone can watch it at the same time…the way it’s intended.
Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/03/02/hbo-wont-send-press-advance-episodes-of-game-of-thrones-season-6/
See Game of Thrones cast members in their original auditions
Comic Con 2015 is long over, but Los Siete Reinos has brought us back to it with this nifty video showing how several Game of Thrones cast members performed in their auditions, complete with Spanish subtitles. We’ve seen much of this footage before, but it’s been recut with actual scenes from the show, and seeing our favorite actors in the early stages of developing their roles is worth a second look.
For my money, Gwendoline Christie did the best job, at least based on these quick clips. Christie was very keen on the part before auditioning, and it looks like she brought that passion to her audition. I already see Brienne, fully-formed, right there on the tape.
Actually, most of the actors seem to be giving fleshed-out performances, which is probably why they were hired. The exception might be Carice van Houten, who’s a wee bit too manic in her clip, but as she admitted, she messed up there, so I’m sure her other takes were closer to the Melisandre we’ve come to know and love. (Well, know.)
In other news, Audioboom grabbed a quick interview with John Bradley-West (Samwell Tarly) about the upcoming season. Turns out he’s just as excited as the rest of us.
We haven’t heard much of what Bradley-West has been up to in the off-season, possibly because he and Hannah Murray (Gilly) filmed most of their material on indoor sets, away from the prying eyes of Game of Thrones fanatics on the hunt for clues about the coming year.
I wonder what seemingly “unfilmable” scenes we’re in for this season.
Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/03/02/see-game-of-thrones-cast-members-in-their-original-auditions/
HBO not releasing any Game of Thrones screeners for review this year
The network has decided to not provide advance episodes for members of the media to screen. Usually critics will receive several episodes (four being typical) before the season’s beginning in order to allow the media to prepare reviews. Not this year, though.
“We’re not sending out press copies this year, anywhere in the world,” HBO programming president Michael Lombardo tells Entertainment Weekly in a new interview. “There will be no copies for review.”
Some kind of change to the process was expected after last year’s screener episodes leaked onto piracy websites before the season premiere. HBO has since switched to an online streaming website for review purposes, but apparently tougher measures are being implemented when it comes to Game of Thrones.
“It’s painful for Dan and David [when leaks happen],” Lombardo says to EW. “When you have press copies, inevitably friends ask, ‘Can I see your copy?’ There are things that happen. We talked about the upsides and downsides. Some of the press are fans who might be disappointed, but they’ll understand.”
It is very rare for the press not to be provided screeners, especially when it comes to a show that isn’t a bomb dodging critics’ opinions. But given the chronic issue with leaking, it’s understandable that HBO is putting all episodes on lockdown. Critics will just have to work around the issue, and personally, I’m glad to see the network taking action to prevent leaks that make it difficult for all fans to enjoy the show without being spoiled of entire episodes weeks before they air. I do enjoy the pre-premiere reviews we usually get, but unfortunately, the screener-leakers have brought us to this point.
We’ll all be seeing Game of Thrones season 6 for the first time when it premieres on April 24th. Unless you have tickets to one of those red carpet premieres, from where leaks also usually come. Hmm. Well, it’s still better than a four-episode leak!
The post HBO not releasing any Game of Thrones screeners for review this year appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.
Via http://watchersonthewall.com
Karstark and Company: New Game of Thrones Season 6 Cast Members Uncovered
The show may be trying to keep everything it can about Game of Thrones Season 6 under wraps this season. But the producers are no match for the casting sleuths over at Watchers on the Wall. Perhaps these new roles aren’t the most glamorous parts in Season 6, but they still provide clues as to where this season might be going.
Of the three new roles uncovered by Watchers, the biggest is a new Lord Karstark. As viewers may remember, back in Season 3, Robb foolishly lopped off the head of the elder Karstark in a fit of righteousness that would have done his father proud, but it meant that he lost the military support of the Karstark family. This season, we’ll meet his son and heir. In the books, this character’s name was Harrion, but it looks like that name has been altered a bit for the show.
Actor Paul Rattray, above, will play the part—it’s listed on his United Agents CV. The name of the character is “Harald,” not Harrion, but the assumption is that it’s the same role. Here’s how the character was described in a casting notice:
This northern lord is in his thirties or forties and rules a vassal house household with a castle stronghold. He’s “ruthless and calculating” and will appear in three episodes.
The character will appear in three episodes, which jives with Rattray listing the directors he’s worked with on the show as “various.”
Watchers also had news of two more minor roles. Actor Ruairí Heading will appear on Game of Thrones as “The Green Recruit,” according to his CV. This was a part listed in the original leaked casting calls, and some wondered if the lack of a name was a way to hide what character he’d be playing. But since that’s what’s on his CV, odds are good that the part is so minor that he doesn’t get a name. (And frankly, “green recruit” sounds like the Game of Thrones analog to a Red Shirt in Star Trek. We don’t like this guy’s chances.) He lists Jack Bender as his director, so expect this character to appear in episode 5 or 6.
And finally, child actor alert! One Annette Hannah has been congratulated on the website of her performing arts school for landing the role of “Francis” on Game of Thrones. We don’t have confirmation of who her director was, but in the article she mentions she “loved working with Lena Headey, Anton Lesser and Julian Glover!” That means she’ll be interacting with Cersei, Pycelle, and Qyburn respectively, So we know she’s in King’s Landing. Hopefully her character survives the encounter with Qyburn. This is another one we should be worried about.
But hey, she got to sit on the Iron Throne. Perhaps Cersei just thought she was too cute there, and decided to eliminate the competition.
Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/03/02/new-game-of-thrones-season-6-cast-members-uncovered/