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Director and Dinkalage Confirmed


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Maybe a silly question here... but why does he need to do a British accent? Other than the obvious parallels with knights and the feudal system, Westeros is hardly Merry Old England.

If I'm not mistaken, I saw him in a great episode of 30 Rock alongside Tina Fey one time. But I could be mistaken.

You are not mistaken. He was also solid in the Sci-fi series Threshold on CBS, as the hard partying scientist... really, and Tyrion does like his mead as well.

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Many people here I'm sure have seen Elf, Dinklage was the children's author that Will Ferrell's character mistakes for one of Santa's elves and Dinklage gets quite riled up. He looked quite dashing in his suit, I must say! That was my first exposure to him and I immediately put him as my number one choice for Tyrion.

As far as accents go...I hope they can incorporate different ones. Westeros has a very diverse population and I think it could be quite feasible that someone from the North sounds different from someone from the Southern lands, not to mention I'd love if Dany and her contingency had a bit of a unique accent all their own. Just a tad though, nothing ridiculous like Angelina Jolie in Alexander.

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He's also in

, a good film although quite a bit darker than the trailer suggests. Dinklage is a bit Tyrion-ish at times in it, he's got plenty of sarcastic comments and most of his scenes are in a brothel.
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He's also in
, a good film although quite a bit darker than the trailer suggests. Dinklage is a bit Tyrion-ish at times in it, he's got plenty of sarcastic comments and most of his scenes are in a brothel.

That's not Peter Dinklage

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More importantly, this will be produced in Northern Ireland, and will likely draw from a lot of U.K. and Irish actors for a large segment of the tertiary and secondary cast, and perhaps also the primary cast. It makes more sense to expect the few Americans to conform to them than the other way around, if they are going to pay attention to accents at all.

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Have the director and dinklage been confirmed only for the pilot or the entire series?

No decision has been made about the actual series, so I assume that they have only been signed up for the pilot.

ETA: GRRM's comments also support this:

But HBO has signed a director for the GAME OF THRONES pilot, and the first cast member has come aboard as well.
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No decision has been made about the actual series, so I assume that they have only been signed up for the pilot.

Generally, if an actor is signed for a pilot they also have to commit to X seasons if the show goes to production. There have been instances where there is a decision to recast a role, there have been instances of actors thinking 'this will never go to series, I'll just take the money for the pilot and run', and then found themselves in a tv series they weren't planning on.

Given the broad nature of AGoT, it might be fortunate that it is unlikely that any major characters will be in all episodes depending on how B&W write the season. For a working actor with other commitments, knowing they'll only be shooting 5 of 12 episodes could be very attractive.

there's a whole category of directors who work primarily on pilots, and may walk away from the production once their job is completed, or they may do a few episodes over the season.

So unless there was a real crisis on casting I would expect that the principle actors we see in the pilot will remain in their roles if the series goes into production.

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Generally, if an actor is signed for a pilot they also have to commit to X seasons if the show goes to production. There have been instances where there is a decision to recast a role, there have been instances of actors thinking 'this will never go to series, I'll just take the money for the pilot and run', and then found themselves in a tv series they weren't planning on.

Given the broad nature of AGoT, it might be fortunate that it is unlikely that any major characters will be in all episodes depending on how B&W write the season. For a working actor with other commitments, knowing they'll only be shooting 5 of 12 episodes could be very attractive.

there's a whole category of directors who work primarily on pilots, and may walk away from the production once their job is completed, or they may do a few episodes over the season.

So unless there was a real crisis on casting I would expect that the principle actors we see in the pilot will remain in their roles if the series goes into production.

So if Stego gets the role he'll be Varys for the duration? Sweet :)

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Generally, if an actor is signed for a pilot they also have to commit to X seasons if the show goes to production.

Does that mean that Dinklage and McCarthy are contractually obliged to stay on if HBO decides to pick up the series?

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Does that mean that Dinklage and McCarthy are contractually obliged to stay on if HBO decides to pick up the series?

Dinklage almost certainly is. McCarthy's deal will 'probably' (and I could be wrong) be just for the pilot and if they really like his work and want him back for the series they'll sort something else out. Directors have a lot more flexibility in these things since, as someone said earlier, TV directors are lower on the food chain than actors, writers and producers (compared to their vital role in movies). McCarthy's role as the pilot director will be more vital as he will be establishing a lot of the tone and style of direction that later directors will have to follow, to some degree.

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It was absolutely key to tie Peter Dinklage to the role of Tyrion.

Great work, keep it up guys !

I wouldn't go that far. The possibility of getting a full season doesn't stand or fall on casting Dinklage, nor does the series overal popularity. Dinklage is a major boost to be sure, but his importance should not be overstated, there are plenty of other quality actors who would do Tyrion well enough.

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McCarthy may do just the pilot or he may do a few more episodes. Look at the lists of directors for other HBO shows and you'll see that any single director may do from two to seven episodes throughout the whole run on a series (though Tim Van Patten did 20 on The Sopranos). Depending on how much they like his work and working with him, and how McCarthy likes it, they'll make decisions for the future. But unlike actors - who are of course seen on screen - there really isn't a reason to lock these directors into a long term thing. And it's probably not desirable for them either.

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McCarthy may do just the pilot or he may do a few more episodes. Look at the lists of directors for other HBO shows and you'll see that any single director may do from two to seven episodes throughout the whole run on a series (though Tim Van Patten did 20 on The Sopranos). Depending on how much they like his work and working with him, and how McCarthy likes it, they'll make decisions for the future. But unlike actors - who are of course seen on screen - there really isn't a reason to lock these directors into a long term thing. And it's probably not desirable for them either.

Im far from an expert but I am almost positive this poster has the right of it... McCarthy will be only in for the pilot, and HBO is no doubt breaking the bank for him to helm it. With a guy this good and busy, theres no way they could afford to have him much longer than an episode or two after the pilot. Someone else mentioned he's going to shape the show for future directors, for sure thats what he's been taken on to do, thats what they'll be paying him the big bucks for. Make no mistake, this is an absolutely massive signing. I read somewhere that this will be HBOs most expensive pilot ever, its certainly starting off that way...

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Actually, I doubt McCarthy is getting that much money for the pilot, I certainly wouldn't say he's "breaking the bank." He's not an A-list Hollywood director, not on a level that Michael Apted was (who did the pilot and several episodes of Rome). Apted is a guy whose done MAJOR Hollywood films including one of the James Bond films and he's now attached to the next Narnia film.

In comparison, McCarthy is an in-demand, respected character actor (probably makes a decent living on that alone) but as a director he has done one small, well received indie-film (Station Agent) and then another small, but very well received indie film (The Visitor). Neither of these made huge money, but The Visitor especially garnered him a lot of acclaim. For McCarthy, to direct the pilot of a gigantic new HBO series is a chance for a major step up in terms of his career, assuming it gets picked up and is a hit. He needs the job more than HBO needs him, in that respect, but it's a major sign of their appreciaton for his work that they are putting him in that role. It's kind of a ballsy choice on their part, because he's not known for spectacle but for drama, but as has been discussed, the drama is what makes the book work so well.

I bet he's going to focus on the actors almost exclusively and let the production team (Art Director, DP, Set Designer, Producers, etc.) focus on the visuals. That's just a guess, for all I know he actually has a very strong visual sense of his own for this kind of thing. But the division of labor I described is a common enough sort of thing on productions and makes even more sense for a TV show like this, where the look really needs to stay consistant over what we hope will be a good 80-85 episodes over seven seasons. Let the director only be concerned with his actors' performances while the other stuff is automatic for him and he can do a lot more in that respect.

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