boojam

Say , been meaning to ask this. In the CNN Dothraki creation profile, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss mentioned they wanted High Valyrian for the show. Is this going to happen? I mentioned on another thread because Dany's natural knowledge of it plays as a plot pivot in Storm of Swords.

Both HBO and IMDB are kind of slow in listing cast members, and the episodes do not scroll who plays who. I guess there is a piece of paper somewhere that list the actor's characters? The 'guest cast' thing still puzzles me, since some of the cast will be there for a long time if the show really goes that far.

Worth noting, producers D&D have stated when they have a good actor they feel aesthetically an obligation to give them 'screen time'. Their problem is that they have picked so damn many excellent actors this can become a plot driver. Even within 10 hours of visual presentation and narrative compression it takes a lot of ingenuity. Something that one can do on the page is harder in front of the camera. Even tho one can present a lot of exposition quickly visually the viewers familiar with the prose narrative should look on the visual narrative as something that can not be a transliteration (as long as the essential story is presented).

Now I don't know GB and Irish stage training, ..., it was just my guess they are urged to sort of 'round off' any thick accents (except where the part calls for it), sort of like American actors , most of them seem to do the classic flat Midwestern , when they are presented with not particular reason not to. Now at times New England, New York (and various kinds of Eastern US accents) , southern are part of a character, some actors from those regions have an ear for it, most good ones , now days, are very good at voicing an accent. James Cosmo (to my American ear) seems to have a Scottish accent you could hang a hat on! (I love him!) While Rory McCann's Scottish accent seems urban Glasgow modified, but I am sure Scots have a better ear for regional accents than I do.

I think, and I don't know if anyone has asked D&D, that a decision was made to have everyone just flat speak in their 'everyday' (stage) accent. Some actors have keep their native accents but by way of stage training modified from what they spoke as puppies. I think some can drop back into their childhood accents when they want. I think it a wise decision , Dinklage speaks a very eloquent refined (American ) stage English with a sophisticated elocution. I don't find it distracting at all. He and Charles Dance together are a master class in elocution. Now I don't know how they picked Carice van Houten's accent, she might have a slight dutch now and then but it's so slight , to my ear, it's hard to discern. Tom Wlaschiha sure does not use a German accent, in fact that is one hell of a nuanced accent!

I am guessing, hope it is this, it comes from the scene where Arya last sees Jaqen and he is telling her what to say. I think he even makes her repeat it.

I just saw that too. does not say who is writing it. I wonder if that means Arya stays at Harrenhal from E4 to E10? Seems that , may, refer to Weasel Soup , departure of Jaqen and the escape from Harrenhal. Weasel Soup is the longest sequence of Arya-Jaqen interaction, I hope they keep it. Wonder what of CoK has been pushed into S3? In S3 figure the Arya travelog with Gendry and Hot Pie will be shortened, tho there are nearly 8 chapters of it, seems like a big chop. Then Arya's travels with the Hound begin. There is a ton of Arya's story in ASoS, she shouldn't get to the Stalpans till the end of episode 4! In fact that episode could be called valar dohaeris. Like many others I think ASoS is the best novel in the series hope they don't rearrange it too much.

Well the way things are going kinda slow with Dany, actually they did in the book too... Looks as if next episode will feature more of her, and maybe, can't tell episode 6, why at this late date we don't know the name of episode 10. The dragons do a lot of little dragon things that are quite charming in the book, I would think the CGI guys would have a ball with that. Then Dany and Drogon have quite a mysterious adventure ending with a Drogon smokeout (BBQ? Flamewar?) in Qarth, that's about the only dust up for Dany in CoK, but it's a good one.

It's somewhat muted, but there. It's interesting that George was asked about that , in an interview , just recently, and George confirmed , indeed that was the case.

Maybe you don't want to wear your best armor in a melee.

As I have said before , except for initial descriptions, George is inconsistent in character physical descriptions. First he says Brienne is as ugly as a mud fence, then throughout ASoS Jamie describes her as homely. To me the important thing about Asha is her Alpha-Female-ness , regardless of appearance. Gemma is a good actress, but I lay it at the feet of , well maybe it's D&D writing, instructions to the directors and teleplay writers as to what her demeanor should be. The can't seem to hit the right groove. Seems they have her shadowing her father too closely when we know her character is that and also her own construct. Maybe when Gemma has more than two lines and 30 seconds on camera we will get to know Asha better.

Is Gemma Whelan ever going to get more than about 6 lines to say? She has to do it mostly through facial expression. As I have noted her resemblance to Patrick Malahide (as a daughter) is more marked than I have noticed before. As of right now why does Balon get all the best dialog? Maybe Gemma and Alfie will get a longer conversation later? I noticed in Gemma's facial inflection last night , as if , under the surface she had some concern for her brother. O wait! Who the hell was the dude over there of the left of Balon and Asha during the 'water' ceremony?

Yeah I like George's version better. He dies off screen... but only after the battle is elaborated. Like I have said I don't think it's budget problems, just time problems. That contraction in E3 seemed rushed and well a bit awkward, not that it didn't work. Wonder what non readers are going to think, just where did Jaqen and his buddies go? O well their appearance at Harrenhal later in the book didn't ever seemed explained to my satisfaction.

Yeah I noted that on the other thread. I think the money budget could have handled it, after all it's not even a mini Blackwater. Seemed it was the 'time squeeze' that got it. I can think of a couple of scenes at KL shortened or eliminated would have given them more time at the battle at the holdfast. Wise contraction there, clever deflection of the Gendry problem! The whole trek and capture after the fight gone, straight to Harrenhal now. Weasel gone, just a well, I guess Arya can pick up that name naturally anyway. Kind of missed the harrowing suspense and bravery of Arya in the freeing of Jaqen H'ghar... and time crunch of fitting everything into 10 episodes. Beginning to wonder how much of CoK will be pushed into season 3?

Horse budget problems again? George handed them the melee at Bitterbridge on a silver platter. When Cat arrives of the hundred or so knights who started ... all have been eliminated...only four left. Ok, so that could have been cut to two ... didn't Brienne unseat Loras after he had unseated her? No horses, now one can see some defeated knights in the background. The rest played out pretty much as in the book, I wonder if most of the audience knew it was a 'melee'? (A nit, once again a large vista seemed contracted by camera coverage, VFX being saved on doing the 'multiplier effect' of scenes like that? First season I could understand the size of the tourney , even D&D complained about that, but thought maybe HBO would spring for more CGI this season, I guess it's all going into Blackwater, dragons and long shot vistas.) Not that the Northern Ireland landscape didn't look beautiful, just that some cinematic devices were used. Man the sigil of house Tarth is almost impossible to see. The choice of more bronze and no blue enamel is ok with me, didn't figure Brienne's armor would look so elegant at this point. And so , this is , I think, the fourth pronunciation of Brienne (maybe I have never heard George say it?), ok so now we have the SoIaF dictionary version! Gwendoline Christie is really into it. I am glad Geroge's uneven cartoonish description of Brienne was not used. In SoS Jamie is always calling her homely , and by damn, Gwen did look that way last night (and she's and attractive lady). I am glad she is using her own voice and not trying to pitch a deeper one, tho I don't think, could be wrong, Geroge never describes Brienne's voice. One thing missed , maybe it was there, the insults hurled at Brienne were not in the script last night, expected at least one.

As always the cast the production values will garner a 10. Ah, Bryan Cogman, this is much better, Tyrion's power play, excellent! Gwendoline Christie nails it. Natalie Dormer nails it. Gemma Whelan nails it. (I have just noticed, Gemma's resemblance to Patrick Malahide is to be marked. Did not noticed that in E2.) There is now a creeping problem, and it's due to George. What goes from George's prose through the grinder has to be done. All that elaboration has to be boiled down , and that's as it should be. What worked for a 10 episode season one, is starting to show a strain in season 2. The fight at the keep that ends this episode had more of a plot advancement in the novel. I don't mind skipping Arya's escape and travelog being totally foreshortened and the rest eliminated... but alas the fight on the hold fast's wall seemed to be a piece of action that unified a small part of the plot at that point. Alas, budget problems again. 12 episodes would be an effort, but if HBO applied the resources D&D could do it. (Maybe with added help.) We seemed cursed with some jamming , fixing it would be hard, but what is art for? All in all this makes up for the first two episodes.

Thing about Theon is this is knowledge we already know, plot advancement , zero, episode time wasted. The deal between Asha and Theon is more subtle and should have been more elaborated, she was using her guile and Alpha Femaleness to gain valuable information for father and herself, Theon is the rightful heir... but proves not worthy of the Seastone Chair. Which by the way Asha also wants, but that's another story.

Asha uses her empowerment shrewdly , more subtlety power play there than your giving George credit for. Her's is the Iron Way (so to speak).

George would not have signed that contract. He had repeated offers to do film versions. He wanted as much elaboration as possible. He knew what HBO could do with a multi season format. That was the gamble he was willing to take, GOT could have flopped the first season. Now , George knows full well the compromises of TV , having worked in it and written teleplays. So I don't know what he has worked out with D&D, that how much latitude he has given them. To some extent , now, the cast is having an effect on the story, D&D just have too good an eye for fine actors and the actors have made the characters , to a large extent, made those parts come more alive than the prose! I would think all producers wish they had the richness of the first three novels. All now depends on ratings and HBO's bank account. There is plenty to adapt for seasons 3, 4 (&5?) from CoK and SoS. From there D&D with George's blessing may have to wing it, because as much as I like it as a reader, as a visual narrative it's gonna get complex, but good writers can be clever... we shall see.

I am glad someone is pointing out that George actually has more, well... a lot more... sex scenes in the novels than the show has... supposedly we have book readers around here? Here we are in the 21st century and our American puritanical ghosts still haunt us. Of course, for a good story, it's got to be the context, should be character plot driven , Tyrion's rebellious nature and defiance in the face of his situation in life , it's got to be there, Dany and Drogo's sexual relationship goes to the core of the development of her strength , which she didn't know she had. Theon's tragedy , he does not recognize his weakness. He was indeed brave at Robb's side, but Asha ferrets out his inability as a military leader , much less the captain of war ships. We get the impression if he had of been raised on the Iron islands Asha would have still trumped him. The Stannis-Mel scene has a meaning that I don't think non readers picked up on, tho if one pays close attention in that scene the information is there. Jaime - Cersei in the first season is a vital plot motivation ...it might could have been handled with more sophistication , but there it is. The Sexposition , well that's an odd narrative device (I can't remember if George did in the books?)... sometimes it turns out to be zero sum, such as the Ros - Pycelle first season, Little Finger and Ros in the second. As I have noted, the Theon - captain's daughter thing was a waste of good plot time, we had been there and done that. I don't know if D&D have a story consultant besides George but someone should tell them (as fine a writers as they are!) "you guys need to tighten things up, we only have 10 episodes."

It's not as explicit in the book, but for non readers what seems like a scene of rumpy pumpy leads to a supernatural solution to the problem Stannis was worried about.

I guess you are talking Asha here? My take was that Asha could turn it on or off with men just to show who was boss. With Theon it seemed , since she knew who he was, she was probing him (so to speak) more for psychological info for herself and well as her father. She had him figured out by the time they got to Pyke.

Except for Theon's first sight of Pyke, I was guessing that D&D would skip that scene to get on with the Theon/Asha encounter, which they shortened greatly. That was a real waste of time, Theon won't even see that character again, Asha's character was developed in her interaction with her brother, good theatrical fodder, so that seemed a fumble for D&D.

Ok, I gonna just say it. I am re-reading ASoS ,..., the Reeds and Bran's storyline in that book , except for a little suspense stuff is about as boring as Tom Bombadil in LTOR. If had of been Tolkien I would have killed him off! So there.

I guess your not a book reader?