Westeros Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Alyssa Rosenberg, one of the more interesting commentators on HBO’s Game of Thrones, has a great interview with Bryan Cogman (who we’ve interviewed this season) discussing a lot of what goes into the adaptation. Rosenberg touches on some of the topics and concerns that fans have expressed (ourselves included) after this season finale, and Bryan provides cogent answers. Many of them are very much in line with things I’m not bothered by—compression, moving some things around, budget issues, and so on.Very much worth reading, as Cogman—who, however much he hates it, is indeed the “keeper of the mythos”—is as big a fan of the material as anyone, and is at hand when decisions are made by the showrunners.read on >>> Visit the Site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Meeraculous Third Reed Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Interviewer unaware that Ros is not in the books. Gotta love that research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khal Pono Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 There's been some discussion in this forum about that interview here if anyone hasn't already seen the thread:http://asoiaf.wester...r-bryan-cogman/Still, it's probably worth re-starting the conversation, since that thread did get a little bit derailed into bickering (I was one of the bickerers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Song of Hound and Wolves Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I read the interview. I have respect for Bryan Cogman, and I think Alyssa did a fair job of questioning him w/o grilling him. I was going to quote a bunch a statements he made about changes, etc. but decided against it.Perhaps just because the article makes me too sad to argue.Some changes I understand, some changes just seem to me to ...I dunno......gut the story of all the things that make it so wonderful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ServantOnIce Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Ros and now Daisy???? My goodness pretty soon this is going to be, "Bad Girls" where the hookers turn into cowgirl heroes . . . . So he's the keeper of the mythos??? Then we book lovers are totally screwed going forward . . .. . again relax and enjoy it things are different from here on out . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raksha the Demon Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 The books, while they do a great job showing the horrendous plight of common people at the mercy of ruthless lords and war and climate change, are not really about the smallfolk, at least not as major characters (with the exception of a few who are born as smallfolk and attain greater power due to their efforts and some good luck, like Davos, who is one of my favorites). GRRM does not go out of his way to present prostitutes as viewpoint characters; he does humanize them as he humanizes most of his characters; but ASoIaF is not the tale of Shae or Alayaya or the courtesans of Essos any more than it is the tale of the pyromancers of King's Landing. They are part of the story, but not main characters with the possible exception of Shae (whose character has been so altered as to be unrecognizable). I don't particularly find the lives of prostitutes interesting, (sad yes, interesting no); and have no desire to see those lives in great detail anyway, when there are so many other characters in the books who are, due to time concerns, being reduced or written out. You want a great and powerful scene with a female character with a sad and dubious sexual history - Jorah and Tyrion's encounter with the Widow on the Waterfront in Volantis; she's an awesome character, though she's retired and old, so not sexy. I think that Ros and the other ladies of Littlefinger's establishment have been given so much screen time (when characters like Dontos, Aeron Damphair, Patchface, etc. have been eliminated) because HBO wants more naked women and sexposition, pure and simple. As for respecting the actress who plays Ros; sorry, it's hard for me to respect an actress (or actor) who is engaging in soft porn. I don't think the writers or directors or producers respect her much either; and I hope she gets a role where she doesn't have to be naked with a naked man (or woman) stimulating sex in order to get screen time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Lord of Winterfell Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 The books, while they do a great job showing the horrendous plight of common people at the mercy of ruthless lords and war and climate change, are not really about the smallfolk, at least not as major characters (with the exception of a few who are born as smallfolk and attain greater power due to their efforts and some good luck, like Davos, who is one of my favorites). GRRM does not go out of his way to present prostitutes as viewpoint characters; he does humanize them as he humanizes most of his characters; but ASoIaF is not the tale of Shae or Alayaya or the courtesans of Essos any more than it is the tale of the pyromancers of King's Landing. They are part of the story, but not main characters with the possible exception of Shae (whose character has been so altered as to be unrecognizable). I don't particularly find the lives of prostitutes interesting, (sad yes, interesting no); and have no desire to see those lives in great detail anyway, when there are so many other characters in the books who are, due to time concerns, being reduced or written out. You want a great and powerful scene with a female character with a sad and dubious sexual history - Jorah and Tyrion's encounter with the Widow on the Waterfront in Volantis; she's an awesome character, though she's retired and old, so not sexy. I think that Ros and the other ladies of Littlefinger's establishment have been given so much screen time (when characters like Dontos, Aeron Damphair, Patchface, etc. have been eliminated) because HBO wants more naked women and sexposition, pure and simple. As for respecting the actress who plays Ros; sorry, it's hard for me to respect an actress (or actor) who is engaging in soft porn. I don't think the writers or directors or producers respect her much either; and I hope she gets a role where she doesn't have to be naked with a naked man (or woman) stimulating sex in order to get screen time.I'm not a fan of the porn either, but I have come around after 2 seasons to seeing a very legitimate purpose for Ros' character. The behind the scenes machination and duel between Littlefinger and Varys is an important part of the books, but it is very difficult to bring that to the screen because it is mostly dropped via asides and other observations in the books. Ros essentially provides a concrete verification and reminder that there is a separate duel, not involving swords, going on between Littlefinger and Varys. Varys poaching one of Littlefinger's assets on screen was a big "aha -- now I get it" moment that will remind viewers of this otherwise unseen battle.And it kind of helps explain why both of these characters have so much power despite not being sword-wielders themselves. The moral flaws of Westerosi nobles are what give these characters their real power. Loose-lipped nobles let secrets slip to women, or to children who they otherwise ignore, etc.. Again, I don't like the porn either, but I think Ros actually serves as a really nice window on that battle. Plus, I expect she'll be a really useful POV as the showrunners attempt to tell a narrative that sort of sprawls out a lot in the coming books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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