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My doubts about the directors.


julandro

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Yes, Tom McCarthy isn't really involved anymore, and so the pilot reshoots are being handled by Tim Van Patten it sounds like.

I think it's a shame in one sense, but then again, Van Patten is an excellent, award-winning TV director -- he's done a number of Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire episodes, and I think he directed some of The Pacific -- and will be an excellent choice.

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The episodes of "Rome" directed by Van Patten were shitty, on the other hand. I just looked 'em up on IMDB.

I also thought Tom McCarthy sounded better. IMO, it's kind of pathetic how they went from having actors like Jamie Campbell Bower, Jennifer Ehle and Ian McNeice, to having absolute nobodies.

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The episodes of "Rome" directed by Van Patten were shitty, on the other hand. I just looked 'em up on IMDB.

I also thought Tom McCarthy sounded better. IMO, it's kind of pathetic how they went from having actors like Jamie Campbell Bower, Jennifer Ehle and Ian McNeice, to having absolute nobodies.

Wait, Ian McNeice isn't involved anymore. Shit, I gotta look at the most recent cast lists...

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On the other hand, this could be the project that makes some actors* somebodies. There are a lot of great shows out right now where the breakout stars were nobodies before the project came along (anything on AMC, for example).

* Or directors, writers, etc.

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On the other hand, this could be the project that makes some actors somebodies. There are a lot of great shows out right now where the breakout stars were nobodies before the project came along (anything on AMC, for example).

Exactly. HBO series have a tendency of making nobodies into household names. Look at all those Band of Brothers fellers, you can't turn around without seeing someone in something anymore.

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I also thought Tom McCarthy sounded better. IMO, it's kind of pathetic how they went from having actors like Jamie Campbell Bower, Jennifer Ehle and Ian McNeice, to having absolute nobodies.

Not like Jamie Campbell Bower or Ian McNeice's roles were at all significant, so they are very minor losses. Its a pity about Ehle but we are spoilt enough with some of the rest of the cast. And i'm sure Fairley will be very good.

A lot of McCarthy's pilot might still survive as episode 1. We don't know. Nor do we know how comfortable he was in the fantasy genre. And the new directors are all HBO favourites, so we can't ask for much more.

All told, we are well ahead right now. :)

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I don't know, the casting has been exceptional, IMO. Waymar Royce is a throwaway role and to a certain degree casting Campbell Bower seemed like overkill (I don't even know if he's a particularly _good_ actor, just one with a certain name recognition), but besides that Roger Allam is certainly a comparable actor to McNeice, and while Michelle Fairley is not a well-known name in film and TV circles, she's won a number of plaudits in theatre (somewhere or other I read that she was one of Pinter's favorite actors, which is high praise indeed). Many of the better actors on HBO's shows have a more theatrical background, as well. Rome was packed to the rafters with them, IIRC, and to good effect.

As far as McCarthy goes, probably a scheduling thing, but I see Brude has speculated that it's possible HBO simply wasn't particularly happy with his direction. He should have been able to ace intimate, dramatic scenes, but there was always a question mark as to his ability to deal with the "epic" aspects of the show -- large crowds, fighting, epic vistas, and so on.

Van Patten and Rome ... hrm, I recall those episodes pretty fondly, but it's been awhile. They seem to be well-liked by the IMDB voters, anyways.

My understanding from Bryan Cogman is that a surprising amount of material from the pilot shoot will survive. Much of the Winterfell feast, for example, except some angles with Ehle. The prologue is being reshot, as is basically everything done in Morocco, but a lot of the non-Catelyn, non-prologue material set in Westeros seems to be staying in place.

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OT, but I want to say it was a pleasure to meet you, Ran. You were as cool as I though the King o'the Board would be. And I'll treasure the moments we spent with "Lancel", discussing our favourite poster. wink:)

My understanding from Bryan Cogman is that a surprising amount of material from the pilot shoot will survive. Much of the Winterfell feast, for example, except some angles with Ehle. The prologue is being reshot, as is basically everything done in Morocco, but a lot of the non-Catelyn, non-prologue material set in Westeros seems to be staying in place.

Now, back on topic, for the information I have gathered in WIC, my belief is that only the following scenes would remain (mostly) intact: Royals arrival, Jaime/Tyrion/Rose scene, Ned/Robert scenes, Jon/Beren scene and Jon/Tyrion/Ghost scene.

Other scenes from the original pilot would be edited with new material: Gared's execution, Winterfell feast...

I don't know if they felt the need of reshooting some/most/all scenes with the kids. It would depend how much they have phisically changed in a year. I woudn't be surprised if, now with a full season order and the cast complete, they had added or extended scenes with the kids in order to flesh them out. I remember that the leaked pilot script have most of them (Sansa more noticeably) without speaking lines. I'm sure that has changed in later drafts, but maybe those changes already applied to the original pilot.

Scenes we know for sure they have reshot:

The prologue

All scenes in Essos. Hard to save something from the original pilot when Dany and Illyrio have been recast, Drogo is notably more muscled, new cast members have been added (bloodriders and maids) and the location shot have moved to a different country. Maybe some scenes from the wedding will survive (dancers and warriors fighting), but pretty much this is a 100% reshoot.

All Catelyn scenes.

The direwolves finding (as told by WIC poster, Martin).

Probably, I'm missing some. I never read the leaked pilot, and anyway, we don't know how close was that early draft to the final one they worked with. I'm just comparing what I remember from the chapters I know it'll feature in the pilot with the pieces of information gathered through WIC posts and discussions that I can recall. Overall, I' say that at least 70% of the pilot have would be redone somewhat. I shoud add that when I questioned Kit Harrington about the difference between filming the pilot a year ago and filming the commited series now, he answered that the pilot filming was more rushed, so I guessing they were working in a much constrained and tighter schedule in the pilot, because the idea was get a feeling of how well the series could be translated to the screen, a sort of elaborate screen test for HBO, more than a real episode one for the viewers. But that's just my two cents.

And to end on a high note, scene that I would like redone (pulling a julandro here):

Jaime and Cercei FLD!!!

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OT, but I want to say it was a pleasure to meet you, Ran. You were as cool as I though the King o'the Board would be. And I'll treasure the moments we spent with "Lancel", discussing our favourite poster. wink:)

And to end on a high note, scene that I would like redone (pulling a julandro here):

Jaime and Cercei FLD!!!

That's fucking hilarious. Thank you for conveying the FLD idea to Eugene Simon. Hopefully (for julandro and us all), he'll take the advice to heart.

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The episodes of "Rome" directed by Van Patten were shitty, on the other hand. I just looked 'em up on IMDB.

I also thought Tom McCarthy sounded better. IMO, it's kind of pathetic how they went from having actors like Jamie Campbell Bower, Jennifer Ehle and Ian McNeice, to having absolute nobodies.

Ian Mcniece has been replaced by Roger Allam. Hardly a nobody.Supporting roles in V for Vendetta and Tamara Drewe. I would say he's as famous an actor as Mcniece.

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The episodes of "Rome" directed by Van Patten were shitty, on the other hand. I just looked 'em up on IMDB.

I also thought Tom McCarthy sounded better. IMO, it's kind of pathetic how they went from having actors like Jamie Campbell Bower, Jennifer Ehle and Ian McNeice, to having absolute nobodies.

Tim Van Patten is pretty much the #1 director at HBO right now. He directed 20 episodes of "The Sopranos" (HBO's top show ever), more than anyone else by seven. He did the three most action-heavy episodes of "The Pacific," the biggest mini-series they ever produced and they gave him 4 episodes (1/3 of the first season) of Boardwalk Empire, the most expensive TV series they've ever done. He's basically their 'go-to' guy right now and I think he's fantastic.

Roger Allam is at least as well known as Ian McNeice, and probably a bigger name as he's done more important supporting roles in major films. He's one of those people you see all the time and say, "oh yeah, THAT guy, he's great." Just compare his credits to that of McNeice. Hey, I would have loved McNeice in the role, too, he's perfect for it, but Allam is at least an equivalent replacement.

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