HBO to Tackle A Song of Ice and Fire!

Heh, I found it amusing that the three series he singled out as reasons to subscribe to HBO (Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood) are already finished or have just one season to go.

I only just finished the second one, and I like it a lot. Made me realise that another series I really liked (Cavern of Black Ice is the first one) was essentially a straight rip from Martin. (It’s a very competent and well-written rip, though, so I definitely recommend it. Picked it up in a motel expecting some time-killing fantasy dreck and ended up buying the book the following day and reading it twice in quick succession)

Let’s do some casting suggestions - dwarf from station agent as tyrion, sean bean as jaime, cate blanchett as Caitlyn, Robbie Coltrane as King Robert…?

I was more amused that he tried to sell me on HBO in general… I mean, it will be a year or more till we see this series right?

Oh wait, HE’S A SHILL!!!

Still, I AM excited. Ain’t getting HBO for a while tho’.

Martin has been writing television for years, and some of that has already informed the plotting of the book.

As for Malazan, I think “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” is already pretty damn close.

Sean Bean!? No way, Orlando Bloom would be closer, except preferably someone who can act. Sean Bean can be the Stark father or something.

Brian Blessed as Robert Baratheon is my first suggestion. He’s almost 70 now, though, and I haven’t seen him in anything recently so he might be a bit old for the role.

Great news.

Sean Bean as Eddard Stark? Bah! Christian Bale FTW.

Bale’s too young.

Bale is 33. Ned was 35 when he died.

Plus, the project wouldn’t hinder the Batman productions if it’s Bale, considering Ned’s fate…

Still, he lacks the grey hair of Ned… sure they could dye it in, but he still has that youthful look to him. Need someone a bit more grizzled.

Ned may have been 35, but he was still the wise patriarch. It’s essentially the Dark Ages, these people don’t live long even when they aren’t being brutally executed or killed in swordfights or eaten by dragons.

This is fantastic news.

Oh, you guys are absolutely right to say it’s not a sure thing, and it’ll be years, and it may get cancelled if it doesn’t do well after a season, and I’m trying not to get my hopes too high…

… but what if it goes well?

I also agree with the general verdict about Malazan - as awesome as it would be to see the Chain of Dogs on screen (there’s already a screenplay for that floating around) or the siege of Capustan, it’d be even harder and more confusing to film than Martin.

I urge all the folks with casting suggestions to look at the casting link referenced in the original post. The web design is amateur, but I found myself agreeing with lots of the choices.

I’m surprised Martin himself isn’t producing, since he has TV experience, but maybe he’s disciplined enough to realize he’d likely never finish the remaining books with a current production.

A friend of mine and I agreed when we discussed this news this morning - we’re taking 48 hours to revel in fanglee before we start to worry about practical considerations and whether or not it’ll actually turn out well.

Now we need someone to do this for Malazan Book of the Fallen as well.

Now that would be awesome.

Wait a second, and you’re unenamored with ASoIF? Jeez, kids these days.

Love the Shae casting choice, but some of the others are spotty. HBO will probably slap some very familiar faces into the series if it goes into production.

It’s a perfectly rational opinion.

I hate these books too, but not because of the writing. This series is the one that drove me to my vow of never starting a series that has not yet been finished. I was already almost there because of Wheel of Time, but this put me over the edge. I haven’t read A Murder of Crows yet or whatever it’s called, because I know it’s going to be ten years before there’s a real ending to this thing.

Patrick Stewart as Tywin Lannister or Stannis Baratheon.
James Purefoy as Bronn, or Sandor Clegane.
Brian Blessed as Greatjon Umber.
Christopher Lee as someone, just find a way to work him in there.
Tricia Helfer I could see as Cersei Lannister.