A Game of Thrones: OMG!!! George RR Martin's fantasy set for HBO!!!

[praktik]

YES YES YES YES YES!!!! I wasn't sure if there was a creator, a god looking over us benevolently, but now I'm sure there is, thanks to THIS:

HBO turns 'Fire' into fantasy series
Cabler acquires rights to Martin's 'Ice'

HBO has acquired the rights to turn George R.R. Martin's bestselling fantasy series "A Song of Fire & Ice" into a dramatic series to be written and exec produced by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
"Fire" is the first TV project for Benioff ("Troy") and Weiss ("Halo") and will shoot in Europe or New Zealand. Benioff and Weiss will write every episode of each season together save one, which the author (a former TV writer) will script.

The series will begin with the 1996 first book, "A Game of Thrones," and the intention is for each novel (they average 1,000 pages each) to fuel a season's worth of episodes. Martin has nearly finished the fifth installment, but won't complete the seven-book cycle until 2011.

The author will co-exec produce the series along with Management 360's Guymon Casady and Created By's Vince Gerardis.

Martin's series has drawn comparisons to J.R.R. Tolkien, because both are period epics set in imagined lands. But Martin has eschewed Tolkien's good-vs.-evil theme in favor of flawed characters from seven noble families.

The book has a decidedly adult bent, with sex and violence comparable to series like "Rome" and "Deadwood."

"They tried for 50 years to make 'Lord of the Rings' as one movie before Peter Jackson found success making three," Martin said. "My books are bigger and more complicated, and would require 18 movies. Otherwise, you'd have to choose one or two characters."

Aside from writing the most recent draft of "Halo," Weiss recently adapted the William Gibson novel "Pattern Recognition" for WB and director Peter Weir.

Benioff and Weiss were repped by CAA and Management 360.

-----

I dont think there's anyway to overstate the magnitude of this news. Really, his fantasy series is probably the best one ever written (Yes, even better than Tolkein - I challenge anyone who hasn't read the series yet and begrudges me that to tell me different after reading the first 3 books in the series). And HBO?? YES!! A network that supports the artistry of the shows they put on. This is better than if it was a movie, or on any other network.

I will be walking on air for a while..

Check out his blog for other info: http://grrm.livejournal.com/11326.html

 

[swenard]

no way!!!!!!!!

I am very happy to hear this!! Hopefully they don't fuck it up!!!!

 

[praktik]

Oh glory of glories!! Oh heavenly testament to the eternal majesty of God's creation!!

asdl;k fjasdk;jhf asd;
f asdjk'fh asd

 

[AgentSanchez]

I think they will fuck it up.

 

[~atp~]

awesome.

 

[Hi i'm God]

Let me know when they do a Wheel of Time movie/series. kthxbye.

 

[praktik]

I think they will fuck it up.

ya that's a risk. But w/ HBO, you have to allow that the risk would be lower than if this was a movie deal, or on a network like Fox.

Im thinking out of all the possibilities, HBO has the least chance of f*cking it up. But the risk is there I agree, I am a little concerned w/ the relative inexperience of the two people they got writing and directing it (Troy was pretty good as movies go, coulda been better, but def a notch or two above the abysmal "Alexander").

[fingers crossed]

 

[Eclipze]

Fantastic news! A Song of Fire and Ice is the best fantasy series i've read to date. I can't wait to see who they cast for Cersei:O

 

[smokeyeyes]

AWESOME NEWS!

sure, there's certainly the risk of them fucking it up, but remember that Martin has experience with TV - Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast - and he'll be doing the scripting for this. He's particularly picky with cast as well. so it's really good news that he's going to be working on it.

(i shamefully admit to having attended World Con in Toronto specifically because he was one of the speakers and to have been to book signings of his to hear him talk. I <3 him! and he's such a geek, lol)

I really hope they cast relatively unknown actors for this.

 

[swenard]

Fantastic news! A Song of Fire and Ice is the best fantasy series i've read to date. I can't wait to see who they cast for Cersei:O

An evil Courtney Cox would be good.

 

[EffinHard]

Omg I Came In My Pants!

 

[NemIsis]

Wha? What??

Are you kidding me?? This better be the truth or 'someone's going to get a hurting ' !!!

Awesome!! (Love to see the Wheel of Time series done as well....but it would be about 48 hours in length!! )

 

[praktik]

Wha? What??

Are you kidding me?? This better be the truth or 'someone's going to get a hurting ' !!!

Awesome!! (Love to see the Wheel of Time series done as well....but it would be about 48 hours in length!! )

LOL ya - and then the movie would have 7 hours of Nynaeve tugging her braid fitfully while Aviendah "thumbs her beltknife" and NOTHING HAPPENS!!

Best wheel of time idea would be to do something like the birth of Rand on that mountain, or some other aspect of the story that would make a nice CLOSED story..

 

[AgentSanchez]

Wheel of Time? Honestly I read those when I was younger and found that, in the end, Jordan is a fucking pathetic writer who does not know how to progress a story. The first few books were typical yet extremely engrossing fantasy. After that it became textual diarrhea.

 

[coleridge]

Great news!

Martin's books lend themselves well to an HBO series. The books meander through very subtle plotlines, a style that's perfect for television.

 

[coleridge]

Wheel of Time? Honestly I read those when I was younger and found that, in the end, Jordan is a fucking pathetic writer who does not know how to progress a story. The first few books were typical yet extremely engrossing fantasy. After that it became textual diarrhea.

Yeah I agree, they were pretty garbage.

I hate this role publishing houses play in forcing writers to write endless epics that end up going nowhere. Just finish the central story already. If you want to go back to it, there's no reason you can't with a new plot line.

Terry Goodkind is another good example. His first few books were amazing. And then came the spectacular fall from grace to the utter crap he's spewing out now.

 

[NemIsis]

^^ Have to agree. Loved the books when they first came out a long time back.. Now I just keep reading them hoping the ending will come soon!!

And by the time you get the new book, you can't even remember half the storyline... or don't care anymore..

But, I think it could be done well as a miniseries. Cutting out most of the crap wouldn't be so hard..

Edit: Terry Brooks is also guilty of this as well. The story is like the energizer bunny....(but all the energy has been drained......)

 

[NemIsis]

Terry Goodkind is another good example. His first few books were amazing. And then came the spectacular fall from grace to the utter crap he's spewing out now.

Yep, he's another one.. Too bad, as I loved the first few..

 

[DeepSix]

I'm crossing my fingers this will be good. I'm never that hopeful with translations of things I love to the big or small screen. So I'll set my expectations good and low.

Re: Authors, I'm not a fan of Robert Jordan, and now Goodkind has become the new Jordan to me. And Eddings - don't even get me started.

But there's still good writers out there for this kind of fantasy - Martin, Stephen Erikson, Tad Williams usually and I have to admit to liking David Gemmel if I want to finish a book in a night

 

[praktik]

I was looking for something with the "edge" of martin to tide me over, def check out "Perdido Street Station" by China Mieville... kind of steam-punk rather than fantasy, but has that "bloody mindedness" of Martin..

One of the most engrossing worlds I've read in fiction since Martin...

 

[sheik rock]

I only hope the gay mafia that seem to run HBO don't try and insert a nonsensical gay love story in there somewhere.

 

[DeepSix]

Praktik, if you haven't yet read any of Steven (I spelled it incorrectly in my first post) Erikson's books, give the first one "Gardens of the Moon" a try.

Mieville is ok, too. I liked a lot of the concepts but wasn't particularly fond of the style of writing. He actually wrote a book called "King Rat" which takes The Pied Piper of Hamlin and modernizes it with Drum n Bass DJs. Apparently, a screenplay was supposed to be made into a movie or something by the DJ from Linkin Park a while back.

 

[Eclectic]

Let me know when they do a Wheel of Time movie/series. kthxbye.

Lord help us if they do.

And *if* they do....cut out all the extra characters storylines and stick to Rand/Mat/Perrin.

And I completely agree with the Goodkind comments.

He's got some wikkidly heavy religious undertones as well.

Fall of Magic = Separation of Religion and State.

 

[praktik]

Praktik, if you haven't yet read any of Steven (I spelled it incorrectly in my first post) Erikson's books, give the first one "Gardens of the Moon" a try.

Mieville is ok, too. I liked a lot of the concepts but wasn't particularly fond of the style of writing. He actually wrote a book called "King Rat" which takes The Pied Piper of Hamlin and modernizes it with Drum n Bass DJs. Apparently, a screenplay was supposed to be made into a movie or something by the DJ from Linkin Park a while back.

Thank you sir. I will def. put it on the list!

Mieville's style is a bit unconventional - and I wasn't sure at first - but I latched on soon enough and it gripped me pretty hard.

I wouldn't put his level of writing at the same high point as Martin, but he's young, and there's lots of time for his particular vintage to mature into a fine literary serving..

 

[AgentSanchez]

Oddly enough, I've noticed a slight trend in this direction with Martin too. Let's hope his own story doesn't get too complex for him to handle, because the first few were some of the most amazing reads I've ever had when it comes to fiction.