19 replies to this topic

[Ran]

I'll be doing the journalism thing and taking part in some conference calls with D&D and GRRM. First up are David and Dan just a few hours from now, and GRRM's scheduled for Monday. Anyone have any questions for them? I don't know how many I'll get to ask -- depends on how big and how voluble the conference crowd is -- but I'll certainly keep good suggestions in mind if there's an opportunity.

[Ecclesiastes]

I'm curious as to what the process is for extending to series beyond what is already in the can.  Obviously now that they have opened this can of worms it would be a massive tease of they failed to deliver the entire series and I don't think I'm alone in the worry that we might see it cnacelled before it ends it's run.  I believe they already are 100% commited to doing season 2 but I could be wrong.

How far ahead have they planned and how much work have they done for future seasons?  Is Season 2 on schedule for a similar April '12 release>  How many seasons of episodes do they have written, are the actors under contract for the entire run, etc?  

What is HBO looking for before they commit to producing the entire series?  Is it strictly ratings or do DVD sales and merchandise get factored in as well or do they judge the series on its merits and will they greenlight future seasons based solely on the product being high quality and having confidence that it will eventually find an audience.

[EddieLarkin]

I assume I've missed my chance to suggest a question for Dave and Dan.

For GRRM, I really would like to know what his plans are the future of the story if the HBO show is a huge success. If it is, D&D are potentially going to need the manuscript for book 6 by as early as 2015, and book 7 by 2016. This would require GRRM to get back to his previous writing speed of 2 years per book. If he feels he likely can't do this, is he going to allow D&D to write there own season 6/7? HBO certainly aren't going to wait around if the show is as huge a success we all hope it will be. Or will he tell D&D the basic story and significant events of books 6 and 7, and allow them to adapt the books before they're even completed? This will of course result in us knowing the ending to the story before George has actually published it, something I doubt he will be happy with.

[Ran]

Yep, all done with that interview.

George has already noted that the writers have a sense of where the story is going, that he's revealed to them some plans and secrets, and so, yes, they are not in fact beholden to his having written the books. Nor are they contractually bound to be faithful to his story. They do it because they love the books, they consider them masterpieces, and they think George is a master storyteller. But they're not legally bound, and that means they're not legally bound to having to wait for the books, either.

GRRM signed the contracts, so he knows what the situation is. All that said, we're quite getting ahead of ourselves. The show going five, six, seven seasons, is something that's far away and so I expect they'll cross that bridge if they come to it. As Dan said in the interview, the problem of adapting future seasons is a problem they'd love to have.

Edited by Ran, 08 April 2011 - 06:56 PM.

[Zezibesh]

For Martin: when is Winds of Winter coming out?

[julandro]

It is too early, but I am very interested to ask this question

For Martin.

When you finish writing the last book in the saga. Are you planning to write another book again?

So, do you have other news stories?

[ZombieWife]

For GRRM:

As a writer, what is it like seeing your characters come to life on the screen?  Were there any moments when it hit you emotionally?  How did you react?

Edited by ZombieWife, 08 April 2011 - 10:45 PM.

[The Fan]

ZombieWife, on 08 April 2011 - 10:44 PM, said:

As a writer, what is it like seeing your characters come to life on the screen?  Were there any moments when it hit you emotionally?  How did you react?

I remember one of the first GRRM-on-TV interviews I saw, he said something along the lines of "They (D&D) brought me on set and I looked up and realized they built what I saw in my dreams..."

That line alone made me know I was going to REALLY enjoy seeing GoT on HBO.

[Sensuki Dorjan]

Maybe ask if GRRM have any input as to characters being cut from Season 2? He's said that's largely their problem but there are a lot of tertiary characters that could come back in future books etc

Also perhaps which particular part of the book he would like to write next season

Edited by Sensuki Dorjan, 09 April 2011 - 01:09 AM.

[DragonAge93]

Can you ask GRRM why they changed the name of the Others to White Walkers, or if they are still going to use the term Others? Thanks!

[Asha—Not Yara!]

Along those same lines, are they going to use the term "wights" for the reanimated people? Wight can be confused with White Walker because spoken out loud "wight" sounds like "white". I worry about new viewers getting the two mixed up at first.

[Angalin]

Totally frivolous yet topical question: when GRRM talks about "violet eyes", was he thinking about Elizabeth Taylor's as a model for them?

[ZombieWife]

Angalin, on 09 April 2011 - 04:52 PM, said:

Totally frivolous yet topical question: when GRRM talks about "violet eyes", was he thinking about Elizabeth Taylor's as a model for them?

Awww, I miss Liz already.  (sniff)

[Monday]

Has meeting Maisie, Sophie and Isaac made writing for Arya, Sansa and Bran more difficult? Have you been tempted to pull punches a little bit and take it easy on them?

[Maltaran]

Monday, on 10 April 2011 - 02:05 PM, said:

Has meeting Maisie, Sophie and Isaac made writing for Arya, Sansa and Bran more difficult? Have you been tempted to pull punches a little bit and take it easy on them?

You could expand that to include all the characters - I know he's said that he's tempted to write Osha differently after they cast Natalia Tena.

[DizoakiusMaximus]

DragonAge93, on 09 April 2011 - 12:00 PM, said:

Can you ask GRRM why they changed the name of the Others to White Walkers, or if they are still going to use the term Others? Thanks!

I'm guessing that "LOST" might have something to do with that particular change.

[lynxx]

We know that Martin has written one of the episodes for first season.  How much involvement did he have for the other episodes?  Was there manuscript approval or supervision or suggestions made or even collaboration?  Does Martin feel that his story is getting away from his control (especially since parts are still to be published) ?

Thanks, Ran.

[spikebrennan]

Ran, on 08 April 2011 - 11:37 AM, said:

I'll be doing the journalism thing and taking part in some conference calls with D&D and GRRM. First up are David and Dan just a few hours from now, and GRRM's scheduled for Monday. Anyone have any questions for them? I don't know how many I'll get to ask -- depends on how big and how voluble the conference crowd is -- but I'll certainly keep good suggestions in mind if there's an opportunity.

My question for David and Dan is this: to what extent did fan chatter, in this forum among other places, influence any casting decisions or other production decisions?  For example, were there any casting decisions that can be attributed to fan recommendations?

[j52y]

One thing I would be interested in and I haven't heard this anywhere, but for Dan and David: have there been any thoughts to putting Dunk and Egg on screen? Perhaps in the form of a series of HBO movies or something?

I just personally love those novellas and would very much like to see them adapted.

[Abaddon]

Folks, the D&D interview is done as per Ran's post #4 up above.

Ran, any idea when we'll get to see these interviews?