Casting News from San Diego

[oopeed]

The biggest outrage is.... Why in seven hells is Obara Sand good looking?? even if she's not gorgeous or anything, she looks kinda better than Nym and Tyene... So seriously... WTF!

Seein the lady Nym as some asian barely good looking chik is terrible, Tyene being no longer blond, kinda ugly, zero charming and preferring knives? That's bad... but looking Aero as a muscular black dude who is also kinda young for the character, actually too young imo is simply disrespectful.

Are they forced to include people of completely irrelevant heritage to the original characters? Is political correctness really fracking our world that way... I'm not saying it's wrong, but it's wrong.

[Seneti]

I seriously hope you're being sarcastic here. I was being serious though. D&D always feel the need to conform to modern ideas of what it is to be LGBT, in other words--stereotypes. And we got the message, Oberyn is bisexual, that doesn't mean he only hangs out in brothels and only with naked people. He's a deeper character than that. That's what I'm against, D&D have a tendency to strip down homosexual and bisexual characters to just the sex, pun intended. Renly was deeper than just his sexuality yet that's all I took from his arc on the show. Same thing with Loras. What I'm saying is I hope they don't butcher Nymeria with unnecessary brothel scenes.

So, I guess you completely forgot or overlooked the scenes where:

- Renly rightfully chewed out Robert for caring only about whores and booze and not about the good of the people

- Renly sat on the Small Council with Ned Stark and supported him in his shock about the Crown's debt

- Renly explained to Stannis that a good king needs friends

- Oberyn sat in the gardens, writing a letter to his daughters

- Oberyn talked to Tyrion about what had happened to his sister's children

- Oberyn stealth-insulted Tywin and Cersei during the wedding

- Loras shared Sansa's plight in being stuck in King's Landing

- Loras tried to form a bond with Cersei in an attempt to prevent his marriage from being a complete shipwreck

- Loras epically owned Jaime during Joffrey's wedding?

Yes, the Sand Snakes will be highly sexualized. Yes, we'll probably see them in a brothel at some point. But this is HBO we're talking about it. It wouldn't be HBO if it didn't have some T&A in it. I am confident that the Sand Snakes will be more than just eye candy, and though I can't see two of these actresses as their characters yet (Nym looks so different from what I imagined and Obara does look too pretty), I will hold my judgment until I see the finished product on screen, because when I first heard about who would play Brienne, Ramsay or Oberyn, I couldn't see them as those characters either. But they worked. They turned out brilliantly.

Castings are like strange foods: at least give them a chance. If you consume the finished product and you still don't like it, feel free to explain why and vent your disappointment, but don't hate on the turnip cabbage just because it looks weird.

[The Dragon Demands]

Hm, Jessica Henwick is Asian. I wonder how that will work as a Sand Snake. Not saying it's bad, but not what I expected from a Dornish cast member.

Actually, I thought that was a good idea. They took the idea that her mother is "a noblewoman from the East" and changed it from specifically meaning "a noblewoman from Volantis" to "a noblewoman from Yi Ti", which is basically analogous to China.

After the Talisa Maegyr crap, frankly we've had enough Volantis.

[Jack Bauer 24]

What's wrong with Talisa?

[The Dragon Demands]

Since when has Tyene preferred knives to poison? And when did Ellaria become her mother? When did she stop being blonde? Why isn't Obara big boned and dark? When did her mother change from random whore to random peasant girl? Where the hell is Sarella? What about Arianne? WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS TO ME??

This is Daario all over again.

You speak Truth!

Look, I think the Nymeria change fits easily enough, and I can live with such cosmetic changes to Obara "big boned" or not...as long as she's Maori.....and fine, maybe "Dornish peasant girl" is a euphemism for "prostitute", or it's not that different from an Oldtown whore (given that either way, Obara looks salty Dornish). I'm willing to let that slide.

But TYENE? Suddenly she's using knives instead of poison? How the hell is she Ellaria's daughter if she doesn't look salty Dornish, but Italian? All they're doing is making her a retread of Obara and Nymeria!

For those of you saying "Well, if Tyene isn't blonde now, of course she looks like Oberyn and Ellaria and was changed to being Ellaria's daughter......Italian isn't Dornish. Dornish people on the show have been from Hispanic (Oberyn) to Southeast-Asian Indian (Ellaria). A black-haired Italian girl doesn't look like that. It is IMPLAUSIBLE for Tyene to be Ellaria's daughter, they don't look similar.

....or are we falling back into the "brownface" trope of "mediterranean-looking Italian men can play Native Americans?"

If they wanted Tyene to be white, make her mother someone else. If they wanted Tyene to be Ellaria's daughter....cast a Southeast-Asian Indian actress! Don't cast a black-haired Caucasian woman!

As for Arianne....Season 2 outright stated in dialogue that Myrcelle was being betrothed to the "youngest son" of the Martells...implying that Trystane isn't Doran's only child! So how can they now act like Trystane is the heir?!

[Daemon I Blackfyre]

The Greyjoys cannot be cut. They spent a lot of scenes on Balon, Theon and Asha/Yara. You're telling me they won't do that for Euron?EURON, the stereotypical badass villain and his brother, Victarion the barbarian? Please... Besides, how do you think they're going to close the Iron Borns storyline? "Balon and Yara, both tired of the war, stayed home playing cyvasse, then Balon slipped off a bridge and Yara became queen of the Iron Islands". Nah.

Probably the one here risking the cut is actually Aeron.

Same thing goes for Arianne. Do you think they're going to cut the one hot foreign chick, with the huge breasts and the slutty attitude? For what, more screen time for the Sand Snakes, or AREO? I guess they bothered to cast an actor for the role of Trystane just because they had already mentioned him back in season 2 (you know, when the show was actually PRETTY DAMNED FAITHFUL TO THE SOURCE MATERIAL). For that reason I'm guessing Quentyn is really getting cut, or rather "fused" with Trystane's character (shame, are they really going to deny us a great scene like the one in the pit?),

If we want to stay positive, maybe they're saving him for season 6.

That said, if they DO cut Euron, Victarion, Arianne, Quentyn, Aeron and other characters like these just to save more screen time for characters like the Sand Snakes and Areo (Areo...AREO!Are they freakin serious?), season 5 it's going to be shit for me. SHIT. You can cut some of the characters listed, but not every single one of them. Or many, for that matter.

Damn, now I fear even for Griff.

[The Dragon Demands]

They will end in 7 seasons, they have said it repeatedly.

THEY *REPEATEDLY* said EIGHT seasons back at the start of Season 3, when they explained that they were splitting book 3 in half. What, do they think we don't have google or internet news archives so we can cross-reference and fact check with what they've said before?

NO, The Red Wedding and Tywin's death are not "the haflway point". They are the end of Act One of a three act play.

[Ser Pounce FTW]

THEY *REPEATEDLY* said EIGHT seasons back at the start of Season 3, when they explained that they were splitting book 3 in half. What, do they think we don't have google or internet news archives so we can cross-reference and fact check with what they've said before?

NO, The Red Wedding and Tywin's death are not "the haflway point". They are the end of Act One of a three act play.

One can cross check all they want. As of this year, HBO and D&D and some of the show's main directors have all stood by 7 seasons.

[Ran]

As the current plan, yes. Plans can change.

Next year is when they'll actually have to be definitive on the subject.

[Jack Bauer 24]

Why didn't they just renew through Season 7 instead of just 6?

[Ser Pounce FTW]

As the current plan, yes. Plans can change.

Next year is when they'll actually have to be definitive on the subject.

Well. This post puts things in a very different light.

[Jack Bauer 24]

Well. This post puts things in a very different light.

How so?

[The Dragon Demands]

One can cross check all they want. As of this year, HBO and D&D and some of the show's main directors have all stood by 7 seasons.

Oh, if they had just said "we changed our mind to 7 seasons" I wouldn't have that big of an issue...it's the lying I'm annoyed about: "we ALWAYS said seven seasons"?

What, we're at war with Eurasia now? We've always been at war with Eurasia, not East-Asia?

[The Dragon Demands]

To turn conversation back to the topic of casting....

So what about Areo Hotah being black?

Personally, I don't mind with Free Cities characters - given that anyone is potentially a "freed slave" or descendant from Valyrian slaves hundreds of years ago. They're more diverse than the Seven Kingdoms.
Still, we know very little about the northern Free Cities.

Elyo has mentioned that Norvos was founded by religious dissidents from Valyria back before the Doom. We know little else.

But will the TV series retain the idea that Areo is from Norvos, or will it change it so that he is from the Summer Islands? Or a Summer Islander living in Norvos?

Of the two other race-lifted characters, Xaro and Salladhor, Xaro said in dialogue he was from the Summer Islands before coming to Qarth, while Bryan Cogman confirmed in an interview that Salladhor is ethnically a Summer Islander, but (at least this is what I gathered from the interview) he moved to the Free City of Lys years ago, and is based out of there, and considers himself a Lysene national (which isn't that much of a stretch given that Lys and the Summer Islands are relatively close to each other....though WOIAF will reveal that one of Salladhor's ancestors was one of the Band of Nine during the War of the Ninepenny Kings, and was a Valyrian...but hey, maybe in the TV continuity he fled to the Summer Islands.

I'm not too concerned given that Areo has no other familial contacts. But the Tyene situation is very distressing. As is the lack of Arianne Martell or Greyjoy casting.

I don't know...Marvin, what do you make of all this?

[Ghosts Lunch]

Obviously TV is going to be different so in some respects they can justify mixing the race profiles up (modern tv have to cater to diverse demographics etc)

But they could have gone with 2/3 Sand Snakes, eg Obara the heavy fighter ala Brienne and combine anymore/Tyene to a sophisticated poison/dagger/general lady

Should have put Arianne and combined Trystane/Quentyn

I heard a suggestion they may be substituting Arianne and Elaria Sand?

As for others, I can't conceive they can do without Griff or Euron. I think they would likely end up substituting Yarasha and Victarion and ignoring Damphair altogether in a Streamlined Ironborn plot even though I personally think they need Euron, Victarion and Asha. This seems to be for season 6 though?

Only question is how it matches with Dany's storyline

They can skip for time constraint reasons if they want to finish in seven seasons, but this brings up the issue of why they don't have 8-10 seasons to flesh this stuff out when the show is highly popular. It may be expensive but it's increasing popularity = money generated

[Ghosts Lunch]

Prince Doran and High sparrow look the part

Aero Hotah I'm undecided on. Naturally for TV reasons I think making him a powerful martial black character (instead of Obara.) makes sense but not sure this guy looks the part (could be the age?). My opinion can change after seeing him in character though, one with with Daario is that the first guy generally had the swagger when in character but the second guy actually looks the part but hasn't quite nailed it (yet) as far as swagger/mannerisms go

[JonStarkIII]

exactly!

I know that sucks...no Arianne or Quentynn.....

[Daenyra]

Tyene Sand, the fiesty Rogue, who sleeps with her daggers and her sister Nym, the foreign Rogue Princess... :stillsick: D&D have finaly lost the plot completely.

And they have removed another woman from power in Dorne, after Doran's mom.

[Kyoshi]

So, I guess you completely forgot or overlooked the scenes where:

- Renly rightfully chewed out Robert for caring only about whores and booze and not about the good of the people

- Renly sat on the Small Council with Ned Stark and supported him in his shock about the Crown's debt

- Renly explained to Stannis that a good king needs friends

- Oberyn sat in the gardens, writing a letter to his daughters

- Oberyn talked to Tyrion about what had happened to his sister's children

- Oberyn stealth-insulted Tywin and Cersei during the wedding

- Loras shared Sansa's plight in being stuck in King's Landing

- Loras tried to form a bond with Cersei in an attempt to prevent his marriage from being a complete shipwreck

- Loras epically owned Jaime during Joffrey's wedding?

Yes, the Sand Snakes will be highly sexualized. Yes, we'll probably see them in a brothel at some point. But this is HBO we're talking about it. It wouldn't be HBO if it didn't have some T&A in it. I am confident that the Sand Snakes will be more than just eye candy, and though I can't see two of these actresses as their characters yet (Nym looks so different from what I imagined and Obara does look too pretty), I will hold my judgment until I see the finished product on screen, because when I first heard about who would play Brienne, Ramsay or Oberyn, I couldn't see them as those characters either. But they worked. They turned out brilliantly.

Castings are like strange foods: at least give them a chance. If you consume the finished product and you still don't like it, feel free to explain why and vent your disappointment, but don't hate on the turnip cabbage just because it looks weird.

My point is that most of the sex scenes are out of place, completely unnecessary. By now we all get it...sex sells. I suppose I'm one of the few who have a problem with it. But I do know that I'm not the only one with an issue on the way Loras has been handled, even the actor is disappointed with it because he's read the books and he's a huge fan.

Back on topic: I can see why some people have a problem with the way some of the actors look, throws everything out of balance. But I get the feeling we'll all be over it come next year. Lol, complaining that Obara is too pretty...Lol.

With Hotah however, I don't see the problem. it's not like the Unsullied know he's supposed to be from Lys. It's not like they have a map and know the history of WOIAF. Then again... :dunno:

[HouseHarrison]

D&D are so keen on needless sex scenes because tehy think it makes the show "mature". And since they dumb down everything else, they need something to make this seem like a grown-up show!