New Casting Announcements

[iheartseverus]

and I can´t really be dissapointed by the Jon guy since I can´t top cleaning my mouth everytime I see him (or read the name of his character :lol: ).

Welcome, Spain!

Curious, what does the above sentence mean?

[moirne]

Congrats to everyone who worked the clues out! I'm very pleased with Jaime and Robb :)

[Indigo Cloak]

Whenever forum discussion turns to the inevitable trolls, I'm reminded of this hilarious site--The Netizens' Guide to Flame Warriors. For those mopes endlessly trashing Tamzin Merchant, see 'Enfant Provacateur,' 'Acne,' 'Lonely Guy' and 'Compost.' :lol:

http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/

Somebody here at the board had a great idea the other day. Before anybody gets to sneer and trash any actor's looks, they must first post a photo of themselves and their significant other right here for all of us to comment upon!

:( I can't get any profile pics of me to stay on here: all my pics are too large and I've lost the good editing programme on my pc (only PAINT left :( ) However, feel free to fb me: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/indigojac?ref=profile

[TabbyStardust]

I can't understand the Tamzin hate either. I think she's lovely, and the fact that she has somewhat unusual features only makes her more attractive to me.

All the casting choices seem really good. Iain Glen is a perfect Ser Jorah. At first I wasn't too keen on Coster-Waldau as Jaime, but he has already grown on me. And I can't wait to see Arya in action! At least lookwise that little girl is spot on.

Also, I'm amazed that you guys managed to figure out GRRM's clues and got all the actors right in the end! Well done! :D

[moirne]

I hope they release better pics of the girls playing Arya and Sansa.

And in regards to actors/actresses not resembling their characters, well, their talent needs to come first. All of us have our own image of each character and that will never change, regardless of the HBO series. It's the same thing for the Harry Potter movies for me... I never picture that cast when I'm reading the books. So everyone, calm down. Lets wait and see the pilot before we judge anyone. I really believe everyone will be amazing!

[Kingslayer]

I don't understand why some people are so upset with the casting. Alfie Allen as Theon? I never pictured Theon as particularly good-looking, and I don't think he's ever described as such in the books. I guess people just assume it because he gets a lot of sex... but that's because, well, he's rich and highborn. Tamzin Merchant as Dany? Give her silver hair, purple eyes, and the right lighting, and she'll look perfect. All of this aside from the fact that since they were cast, they must be doing something right...

The haters need to calm down. It's not like they cast Verne Troyer as Tyrion.

[NoSpeakEnglish]

Th only thing that worries me about this show is the huge production cost required to bring this story to life, how much is the budget? is it 20% or 50% more than The Tudors? Do they need to be less ambitious with the cast or cut some story arcs?

I'm worried because every production made by HBO cost more than initially estimated, "The Pacific" showing next year will cost $150 million, more than the initial budget of $100 million not to forget Rome or Deadwood.

[Renasko]

The haters need to calm down. It's not like they cast Verne Troyer as Tyrion.

:lol: That would've been brilliant.

In all fairness, I've warmed a bit more to the castings. I'm still not keen on the Dany and Theon picks, but it's nothing compared to how I felt initially. I guess it's just due to my strong liking for the characters. Gets the best of me. :/

[Prince Bran]

Wow, just got back to find all this news.

I guess I'm unsurprised that the community had top-runner guesses on all the eventual picks.

As far as likes/dislikes...based on what GRRM is saying, I'm confident about all of them. Initially, Alfie Allen as Theon bothers me the most, but maybe he's got the acting chops to pull it off. The actor for Robb totally looks the part. Very happy about that one in particular.

[Garlan the Gallant]

Th only thing that worries me about this show is the huge production cost required to bring this story to life, how much is the budget? is it 20% or 50% more than The Tudors? Do they need to be less ambitious with the cast or cut some story arcs?

I'm worried because every production made by HBO cost more than initially estimated, "The Pacific" showing next year will cost $150 million, more than the initial budget of $100 million not to forget Rome or Deadwood.

Yea it would suck to only get two seasons. Maybe someone can ask the producers if they have some assurance to how many seasons they get if the show gets signed.

[Prince Bran]

So how do actor's contracts work? Could HBO shoot this very efficiently, by, say, shooting several seasons at a time (a la Lord of the Rings)? Since this is an adapted screenplay, it seems like they could press on and write up several seasons worth of solid adaptation and then film it all at once to reduce their costs.

[iheartseverus]

Its already bugging me that Jennifer Ehle (Catelyn) has just contracted to begin doing a stage play which previews late January and begins live late February. No idea how long the play will run, but for sure she won't be doing any GoT filming when she's appearing live on stage several times a week. So that means once the GoT pilot is shot and 'in the can' this fall, its going to be some long time before any further episodes are scheduled for filming. Late spring 2010 at the very earliest. Which means that whole huge set in Ireland sits there vacant for many months, while costs keep climbing. grrr...

ETA: the 'grrr...' is not for Jennifer Ehle, of course. But for HBO's anticipated schedue of filming of episodes beyond the pilot. Obviously, when they signed Ehle as Catelyn, it was made clear that she wouldn't be needed for GoT work from January, 2010 through (probably/at least) spring of 2010, so she was free to make other commitments.

[Ser Greguh]

So how do actor's contracts work? Could HBO shoot this very efficiently, by, say, shooting several seasons at a time (a la Lord of the Rings)? Since this is an adapted screenplay, it seems like they could press on and write up several seasons worth of solid adaptation and then film it all at once to reduce their costs.

Heh. The idea of this happening has nothing whatsoever to do with the actor's contracts. Suffice to say that getting a studio to commit to multiple seasons of a television show before the first season is filmed would be completely unprecedented, and there's no real reason to assume that it would be substantially more cost-effective than filming one season at a time. Television is a very different beast from the movies, and as movies go LOTR is in a very rare category.

[TheEvilKing]

Speaking as a red-blooded hetero male, Tamzin Merchant is wicked hot.

As for Tudors actors showing up in this series, I think Jonathan Rhys Meyers would be a perfect Euron Crow's-Eye. His Henry has the correct combination of arrogance, danger and insanity to play the part.

[red snow]

Speaking as a red-blooded hetero male, Tamzin Merchant is wicked hot.

As for Tudors actors showing up in this series, I think Jonathan Rhys Meyers would be a perfect Euron Crow's-Eye. His Henry has the correct combination of arrogance, danger and insanity to play the part.

Surely Alan van Sprang (his name always brings a smile to my face) has to be Euron if we were picking Tudors cast members?

Jonathan Rhys Meyers had the look of a Theon (in my head) but now I'm thinking he could make a good Loras/Renly. Personally they should probably steer well clear of JRM with regards to any cast members who undergo strong physical changes seeming as he apparently refused to wear a fat suit in tudors. JRM as Theon would have been great in a later season as

SPOILER: ADWD previews

we would think he has merely been imprisoned by the Bastard of Bolton and there'd be no sign of any flaying

[Brude]

ETA: the 'grrr...' is not for Jennifer Ehle, of course. But for HBO's anticipated schedue of filming of episodes beyond the pilot. Obviously, when they signed Ehle as Catelyn, it was made clear that she wouldn't be needed for GoT work from January, 2010 through (probably/at least) spring of 2010, so she was free to make other commitments.

Here's what I'm thinking...Catelyn will have a few scenes in Winterfell after the pilot before she heads South. There may be some scenes she is in that will be exteriors, but I don't think many. Mostly it's inside the castle, IIRC. She doesn't need to be around very much for a cold weather exterior shoot. (Does it snow much in Northern Ireland, anyway? It's pretty far north, but sometimes that kind of thing can be deceptive.) It might well be she will be shooting these in December or January, when I imagine the other scenes that take place in the North will also be shot.

Most of the scenes with Catelyn (and others) during Season 1 take place in King's Landing, the Riverlands and the Eyrie - in other words the South where it is warmer. The Eyrie is in the mountains, but she's there when it's warm so it shouldn't look like The North. The rest really SHOULD look like it's either during Spring or Summer. It would do no good if it's freezing out and they need to digitally try to erase frosty breath while she's supposed to be riding up the King's Road near the Ruby Ford. Much easier to add frosty breath digitally (they do it a lot in movies...Titanic was shot in Mexico), and lay down fake snow in a pinch.

So why does it work, I think? Shooting schedule. They are going to have to do some shooting in either late 2009 or early 2010 just because that's when it's coldest, but the rest of the show will have to be shot in Spring and Summer to represent the South.

[Silverstar]

Yea it would suck to only get two seasons. Maybe someone can ask the producers if they have some assurance to how many seasons they get if the show gets signed.

It would suck more to get three seasons and then get cancelled. Can you imagine if the very last thing we see of ASOIAF on screen is UnCat's eyes?

[Lord O' Bones]

Virtually spitting at people who disagree with you is pretty childish, if you ask me.

If I could have done it in person, I would have. Also, :cheers: to your beautiful wife.

(Not just picking on you, Bones. It was just your post that finally prompted me to respond. :) )

Pick away! Just because I'm awesome doesn't mean you can't pick on me.

Like I said in a previous post, my issue with her isn't because she isn't "pretty enough"

Well then my friend, my post wasn't directed at you. :)

We're still talking about this?

Anyone saying Merchant is ugly is a fucking moron with severe eye damage. OMG TEH FOREHEAD seems to be the only actual complaint raised. Please fucking stop.

She's beautiful and she'll do excellently on the show.

Fucking A.

[Black Wizard]

I bet all the people who are abusing the casting choices will have to eat their words when they see the show.

Honestly, there's no pleasing some people. You can't judge what one actor/actress will be like from a few pictures taken from a completely different role. It'd be like saying Keanu Reeves is a fantastic actor when you've only seen him in Bill & Ted. I'm sure the people at HBO will do a great job of this.

[The Iceman of the North]

(Does it snow much in Northern Ireland, anyway? It's pretty far north, but sometimes that kind of thing can be deceptive.)

Just because it got "northern" in it's name, doesn't mean that it's far north. Belfast is about as far north as Kiel in northern Germany, and much more exposed to the ocean. I live much further north (more than 5 degrees), but with similar exposure, and though we usually have snow at one point or another during the winter, you wouldn't be able put up a filming schedule that would guarantee snow.