[Book spoilers]: GoT producer expects at least 7 seasons

[Lord Elrosir]

I'm hoping its the fire under his arse that he needs. He should want to tell the story himself and not lollygag about it.

[JonDunn]

Even if he tries hard it's going to be VERY hard to publish ADOS before they get to it in the show though.

I can't believe GRRM didn't consider this before getting the show greenlit. I always assumed he knew the show would have to overcome him.

[BluePG]

I can't believe GRRM didn't consider this before getting the show greenlit. I always assumed he knew the show would have to overcome him.

I know! This baffles me. I honestly don't understand it. It is the first thing I thought when I realized the time between aSoS, FFC and DwD.

How did he not know? Why does he still not know? Are they just not communicating at all?

[Lord Elrosir]

I highly doubt that D&D would not be vocal about it, especially leading up to their meetings in Santa Fe.

I also believe that some of the problem is journalists taking their sources from old interviews. You can tell because GRRM has said recently that he knows of the time growing shorter, yet this interview reverts back to him in disbelief that the show will surpass him.

[Newstar]

I know! This baffles me. I honestly don't understand it. It is the first thing I thought when I realized the time between aSoS, FFC and DwD.

How did he not know? Why does he still not know? Are they just not communicating at all?

I think he assumed that the showrunners would accommodate him by using some of the delaying tactics he suggested in the article (D&E stuff, etc.), but it seems pretty clear to read what the showrunners are saying that that isn't going to happen.

[Lord Elrosir]

If George needs one picture to sum up the reason that this needs to progress full speed:

http://www.boomtron....d-arya.jpg[/img]

I can barely recognize them from a couple years ago, lol.

[The Unborn]

I think he assumed that the showrunners would accommodate him by using some of the delaying tactics he suggested in the article (D&E stuff, etc.), but it seems pretty clear to read what the showrunners are saying that that isn't going to happen.

HBO may very well do it eventually (Dunk & Egg, Roberts Rebellion) but it will be after GOT is over or as a new series sometimes in the summer/fall to replace another one like True Blood and Boardwalk Empire. I think David and Dan, even if they're passionate about it, don't want to spend 15 years doing ASOIAF sutff on tv.

[gmk]

I think George is simply in denial. I think he's always been in denial.

In the TIME interview two years ago, he envisioned 2 full seasons for ASOS and 2-3 seasons for a merged AFFC/ADWD, meaning 4-5 seasons out of these three books. More likely we'll get 3 seasons from these books. Given that TWOW and ADOS are probably going to be huge books like ASOS and ADWD, he probably figured these would take another 3-4 seasons. Add it up and he probably expected he had 10 or more seasons of show to work with. D&D have flatly stated this is impossible. All indications are that they are shooting for 7-8 seasons. So George misjudged from the start.

I sincerely hope that George is starting to feel the heat. But given the slow progress on TWOW, there's little evidence that he is. I fear he's still in denial, as he has been from the start.

I sincerely wish that there was something we could do, as book fans, to help get him to face this reality. Maybe an online petition? Obviously, we don't want to antagonize him. But he needs a wake up call, and he doesn't seem to be getting one.

[Lord Elrosir]

I don't think that an online petition would matter whatsoever, lol. He knows everyone wants the book.

I do think the constant pestering from interviewers about TWOW progress, D&D inquiries, and now the seemingly endless amounts of "Will the show pass the novels" articles will do the trick.

[JonDunn]

lol if GRRM wanted two seasons out of AFFC/ADWD then maybe he should have written more into them?

[CakeOfTheMorning]

And then he would have taken more time...

[Cas Stark]

I know! This baffles me. I honestly don't understand it. It is the first thing I thought when I realized the time between aSoS, FFC and DwD.

How did he not know? Why does he still not know? Are they just not communicating at all?

He is totally unrealistic in his expectations for speed of writing, despite doing the same thing over and over again, he continues to delude himself that he will finish "on time" the next time.

[gmk]

I don't think that an online petition would matter whatsoever, lol. He knows everyone wants the book.

I do think the constant pestering from interviewers about TWOW progress, D&D inquiries, and now the seemingly endless amounts of "Will the show pass the novels" articles will do the trick.

Agreed. Just saying "We want the book!" isn't gonna have any effect. He already knows this.

I guess my point is, he's totally in denial that the show is going to tell the end of his tale before he does. He's going to be remembered as the author who couldn't finish his series and instead let HBO do it for him. No one seems to be making him aware of this -- or at least, it's not getting through to him. Is there something we can do as book fans to help him understand this? Not just for our own selfish reasons -- but for his own damn good.

[Cas Stark]

Agreed. Just saying "We want the book!" isn't gonna have any effect. He already knows this.

I guess my point is, he's totally in denial that the show is going to tell the end of his tale before he does. He's going to be remembered as the author who couldn't finish his series and instead let HBO do it for him. No one seems to be making him aware of this -- or at least, it's not getting through to him. Is there something we can do as book fans to help him understand this? Not just for our own selfish reasons -- but for his own damn good.

No. Because he is in denial. Is he at home writing as fast as he can to get the next book out? Nope. He's out galavanting around to conferences and spending all his time on his million side projects...which is his choice. He certainly COULD have made it work if the next novel were to come out in 2013 [3 years] from the last book and the next one in 2016, another 3 years.

But, we all know the odds of him getting the next book out even by 2014 are slim and the odds of him getting the last book out a mere 2 years later by 2016, which would be the 6th year of the show are nil.

However, it is no one's fault but GRRM.

[JonDunn]

2013 is not 3 years from 2011.

We are not yet at the two year mark from the release of ADWD even.

[Lord Elrosir]

Bingo. Cas, you hit it right on the head.

No one is saying he needed to be locked in a room for years to do the novel. But the constant signing on for editing jobs, new production contracts, convention appearances, etc are making his devotion and dedication to getting this saga finished feeble at best. Quite frankly, George RR Martin's words are wind, at this point.

[Faint]

The issue regarding whether the author can finish the story before the television series is somewhat moot at the moment. While it looks increasingly certain that the television series will pass the published novels, it will not really be a concern in the near term. Given the pace of the show, it looks like Martin has until spring of 2016 to publish the next novel before the show starts to air the bulk of material from The Winds of Winter. In other words, if you are going to despair about the situation, at least wait until 2016 to do so.

Anyhow, getting this thread back on topic, given the latest interview, how long does everybody expect the series to last? Assuming, for purposes of this question, that ratings stay good. The showrunners seem to be saying that 10 years is definitely not happening, nor will there be any hiatus. And, for good measure, the head of HBO is pretty dismissive of changing the format of the show.

[Lord Elrosir]

Seven seasons max. Viewership will start to taper off after next season. The story gets really hard to keep concise (like we're even remotely close to that as it is) after next season with almost all the characters splitting up.

Plus, this show is immensely expensive, and you don't have advertising revenue to pump up the budget. I've been a huge fan of watching HBO and Showtime original series for a while now and only a few have made it to 8 seasons (Entourage and Dexter). I have never really recalled a higher budget show going more than 7 seasons.

[JonDunn]

The show will be 8 seasons long. Bank on it.

[Faint]

The story gets really hard to keep concise (like we're even remotely close to that as it is) after next season with almost all the characters splitting up.

Thing is, given the schedule they are on, they are going to have to cover the fourth and fifth book in the same amount of episodes, or perhaps even less, than they used to show the events of the third book. If anything, the action should ramp up.