Here Comes Hodor

September 29, 2024 at 4:56 pm

I promised you all a report on our trip.

I haven’t forgotten. We left Santa Fe on July 15, and returned home on August 15. In between, we visited Belfast in Northern Ireland (and Ashford Meadow in the Reach), Amsterdam, London, Oxford, and Glasgow, where the World Science Fiction Convention was being held.

It was a splendid trip, and one that did wonders to restore my bruised and battered spirits and relieve some of the stress that I had been under before we left. The first few months of 2024 had been… well, no fun, let us say. January, February, March… things just kept getting worse until we came to April Fool’s Day, when it finally dawned on me that I was the fool, and had been for years. But I do not want to talk about that now. (Or maybe ever. We shall see).

But never mind about that. I wanted to talk about our travels. And I did… at Bubonicon, a few weeks after we returned, when I spoke about the trip and its impact on me during a speech called “Eighty Minutes With George R.R. Martin.” It was a pretty good speech — at least I thought it was — and one I had hoped to share with you. We did record it. Unfortunately, the iPhone malfunctioned, and the recording was lost. My staff has spent weeks trying to recover it, or as much as can be recovered at least, but it appears to be a lost cause. And of course I did not have a written text. I was speaking off the cuff.

I do recall some of the things I touched on. Only the broad strokes, though, not the exact words.

I had intended to do a lengthy Trip report once we got back to the Land of Enchantment, but unfortunately I managed to pick up a case of covid at worldcon (along with two of my assistants), so I found myself in no condition to write much of anything for a week. I am better now, though. Or at least I do not have covid. Sadly, a lot of the stress that I escaped during my travels has crept back in again, but I suppose there is no avoiding that. So let me begin at the beginning, in Northern Ireland.

GAME OF THRONES filmed all over the world, you may recall. Scotland, Morocco, Iceland, Malta, Spain, and Croatia… but our main location was in Northern Ireland, in and around Belfast and the Titanic Quarter, where the Paint Hall of the old shipyards had been transformed into four huge sound stages, among the largest in the U.K. That’s where the throne room was, and the Iron Throne, and most of the other interiors of the Red Keep. I visited there a number of times during our filming. It was in Belfast, and in Scotland’s Castle Doune the week before it, that I first met most of GOT’s amazing cast: Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner, Lena Headey, Ron Donachie, Alfie Allen, and all the rest… among them Kristian Nairn, our one and only Hodor.

Which made it a delight that Kristian was the first old friend we encountered when in Belfast, the first stop of our trips. He still lives there, working as a DJ, doing some acting… and writing. He has a book coming out, a memoir called BEYOND THE THRONE, about his boyhood during the Troubles, his days on GAME OF THRONES, and so much more. He told us all about it during our lunch.

I have not read the book yet, but Kristian promised to have his publisher send me a copy, and I am eager to get my hands on it. It sounds fascinating. I am a little envious, though. I said to him, “You’re telling me, I’m twelve years late on my book, and you wrote yours over the summer?!” And he had all of his dialogue for the first season of GAME OF THRONES memorized the day after we cast him.

(We will not speak of my own acting, which mainly consists of having my head bitten off by a shark in Sharknado 3).

Kristian will be touring the USA to promote BEYOND THE THRONE, and we’re hoping to persuade him to come to Santa Fe for a signing at my Jean Cocteau Cinema. If we get him, I’ll be sure to announce it here. Watch this space, and cross your fingers. We’d love to host him. Maybe we could convince him to DJ for us too. And hold the door as well.

((More to come about the trip. Much, much more.))

Current Mood: pleased pleased

Tags: game of thrones, television, travels

Some Stuff and Nonsense

September 9, 2024 at 7:44 pm

Stuff I thought I’d mention:

Week one of the new NFL season was played yesterday. The Giants had the Vikings at home, and looked just as bad as last year. They made some good draft picks, I thought, adding a top receiver and bolstering the O-line, but it did not seem to make a whit of difference. Daniel Jones did not impress at all. Maybe we need to go back to Tommy DeVito. I fear I am not going to get much joy from Big Blue this year. Maybe the Jets will be better. They play tonight. Here’s hoping that Aaron Rodgers will last more than three plays.

So, this year’s Bubonicon, our friendly hometown SF con, was August 23-25 down in Albuquerque. I could not attend the whole con, but I dropped down on Saturday for the mass signing and our traditional dinner with the Pope. I also had a speech, “80 Minutes with George R.R. Martin.” I did not have time to write a speech, as I’d intended, so I played it by ear and ad libbed my remarks… which turned out surprisingly well. I’ve had a lot of things on my mind of late, so there was plenty to talk about: WINDS OF WINTER, my television projects, the trip and my visit to Tolkien’s grave, my upcoming birthday, what I want to do when I grow up… er, rather, what I want to do for the rest of my life. It was a serious talk, parts of it quite personal and heartfelt. I am wrestling with a lot right now, and it felt good to share some of that with my listeners. Afterward several fans told me how much they enjoyed it. One told me the speech was “poignant.”

One of my assistants was recording the talk on his phone, so that I could post it here. Supposedly he got all eighty minutes… but his iPhone was glitching and overheating, and the next day, when we tried to play it back, we discovered we did not have it after all. The phone had failed, and the speech did not make it to the cloud either. You have no idea how much that bummed me out. We have brought in a recovery expert to try and find the speech on the dead phone, but I fear the odds of recovering anything are slim. That sucks. I had really wanted to share that speech… no, there were no huge earth-shaking announcements, but I tried to give some insight into where I am right now with my writing, and the rest of my life… If anyone reading this was in the audience for “Eighty Minutes With George R.R. Martin” and happened to record it, let me know. I want to know what I said, and if it was half as profound and eloquent as I remember.

Politics? I could talk about the election, but I think I won’t. Not now, at least. Suffice it to say, I am worried. Trump was the worst president in American history, and if he gets in again, he will be worse, judging from the remarks he keeps making about retribution and bloodbaths and the like.

I had some cool guests in between worldcon and Bubonicon: Anne LeGuernec, the amazing French actress who starred as Cat in my DOORWAYS pilot back in 1993, came to visit with her incredible family. Anne and her husband did a reading for us at the Jean Cocteau, and we showed them Santa Fe and Taos and introduced them to green chile. It was great to see Anne again, and talk about DOORWAYS and the roads not taken, all the stories we might have told had the show been greenlit.

Oh, did I mention that the first two seasons of DARK WINDS are now streaming on Netflix (as well as AMC), and doing very very well?

https://www.netflix.com/title/81613903

https://nativenewsonline.net/arts-entertainment/dark-winds-soars-to-top-10-on-netflix

Meanwhile, the third season is filming here in New Mexico, at Camel Rock Studio.

Speaking of television shows, I have always loved alternate history and Jane Grey, England’s nine-days queen, has always fascinated me. Small wonder, then, that I really enjoyed MY LADY JANE, a clever and original historical fantasy on Amazon Prime, set in an England full of witches and shapechangers, where Jane lasts more than nine days. Meredith Glynn is one of the showrunners. I had the pleasure of working with her on one of the GAME OF THRONES spinoffs that HBO shelved a few years back, and knowing her talents, it did not surprise me that MY LADY JANE was so much fun. Witty and original, it reminded me a bit of THE GREAT, a show I loved. Alas, THE GREAT is gone, and it appears MY LADY JANE is too. Amazon did not renew it for a second season.

The show has a lot of fans, though, and they have launched a petition to get Amazon to order more. (Got to love the fans).

https://movieweb.com/my-lady-jane-fans-petition-canceled-prime-video-series/

I wish them luck. Jane deserved more than nine days, or eight episodes.

Current Mood: busy busy

Tags: everyday life, nfl, television

On the Road Again

July 9, 2024 at 3:51 pm

We will be headed across the Atlantic in a week or so for the longest trip we’ve taken in a while, part business and part pleasure.

First stop will be Belfast, where I am planning to visit Ashford Meadow, catch a little jousting and maybe a puppet show, meet a certain hedge knight and his squire, and the rest of the cast of the Dunk & Egg show. And of course we’ll be having a meal or three with Ira Parker, Owen Harris, and their team. Really looking forward to that.

We have a few more stops planned after Belfast, including one in London, where I will be getting together with my British publishers from Harper Collins Voyager.

Let me say a few words about that, though. Last year, when I mentioned seeing my Voyager editor in London, the internet went nuts, throwing up all sorts of theories about how this meant that WINDS OF WINTER was done and a huge announcement was at hand. Uhhhh… sorry guys, but no. That’s not how it works. Making contacts… which often turn into friendships… is a huge part of publishing. Most of my communication with my editors and publishers is conducted via emails, phone calls, zooms, and texts (in the old days, we had letters written on paper too). There’s not a lot of face to face, especially when we’re talking about people who live across an ocean… so when I travel, if I have a day or two to catch up with one of my editors or agents, I jump on it. Every time I travel to NYC, I get together with my literary agents, and my editors at Bantam and Tor.. along with old friends, family, and the like. That’s true everywhere I go. If I fly to Germany for a con or book fair, I will see my German agents, publishers, and translators. If it’s Italy or Spain or Finland, same thing. If I ever find myself in Brazil or Japan or Egypt, I’d try and connect with my Brazilian or Japanese or Egyptian publishers. This is just the standard way of doing business, guys. It does NOT signify that some momentous announcement is at hand. It doesn’t signify anything, actually… except a desire to touch base, catch up, renew old contacts or make some new ones… and enjoy a nice meal. So calm down, please. When WINDS OF WINTER is done, the word will not trickle out, there WILL be a big announcement… where and when I cannot say.

But back to our road trip…

We will have a week or so in London. Besides the visit with Harper Collins Voyage, I also hope to get together with the scriptwriter and director on our stage play… HARRENHAL was our first title, since it is set during the fateful Harrenhal tourney, but now we are leaning toward THE IRON THRONE. It’s coming along well, I am told. Young Ned, Young Robert, Lyanna, Rhaegar, Howland Reed… should be fun. And jousting. On stage. The dream is to open somewhere on London’s West End in 2025… but there’s still a lot of work to do.

The writers’ room for HOUSE OF THE DRAGON season 3 is also meeting in London, but I have no plans to attend.

I will he going to Oxford on August 2, for an appearance at Oxford Writer’s House. The topic will be “Writing Fantasy,” and I will be sharing the stage with Philip Pullman. I am really looking forward to that. I have never met Pullman, but I’m a huge fan of HIS DARK MATERIALS, so that will be a treat. I have never been to Oxford either. (I was especially eager to have a pint in the Eagle and Child, where Tolkien and the Inklings once drank, but alas, I read that it’s closed to renovations. Guess I will need to come back again). Was going to post a link to the event, but, alas, I see that it is already sold out. Sorry about that.

The last stop on my tour will be Glasgow, for the World Science Fiction Convention. This will be the first worldcon I’ve attended in a number of years, since the ill-fated New Zealand con in 2020. I was toastmaster at that one, but covid descended on the world and the con was forced to go all virtual and… well, let’s just say things did not work out well. (No more virtual panels for me, thanks). Glasgow has hosted worldcons twice before, and we were at both of those and had a great time. We are hoping this will be as good.

Anyway… I will be in Glasgow, attending the con, but whether you’ll see me, I don’t know. I am not on any programming. It is not for lack of trying, though. I wrote the con’s programming chair back in January, and again in February, asking for his phone number so we could discuss the details. No phone number was forthcoming, alas, just a form letter with a link to an application and a warning that while I was welcome to apply, I could not be guaranteed a place on the programme.

I did not give up there, however. Several months later, when I learned how many of my Wild Cards writers would be at the con (about a dozen, all told), I wrote again and offered to organize a Wild Cards event for them. (We have done Wild Cards events at a dozen past worldcons, everything from traditional panels to trivia contests to cage matches and the like), and they have always drawn a big crowd. I got no reply to that one. A month or so after that, I tried again. Howard Waldrop died in January, and I thought it would be nice to do a memorial panel honoring the man and his work. Several other friends of Howard will also be at Glasgow, and said they would be delighted to be part of such a panel. Alas, no reply to that one either.

As regular readers of my Not A Blog know, I have also been producing a series of short films based on some of Howard’s classic short stories. NIGHT OF THE COOTERS was the first done, and won prizes in half a dozen film fests. MARY-MARGARET ROAD GRADER is hitting the festival circuit this year, and has already won its first prize. THE UGLY CHICKENS, adapted by Michael Cassutt from Howard’s Nebula-winning short, and starring fan favorite Felicia Day, will follow this year. Just saw the final cut, directed by Mark Raso, and it’s just lovely. The films are not in theatres yet, but I offered to screen them in Glasgow, as part of the film programme (if there is one) or that proposed Waldrop Memorial Panel. No response to that offer either.

So… yes, I will be at Glasgow. I will check out the art show, as I always do, maybe attend some bid parties, and I will be wandering the dealer’s room (the huckster’s room, as us old timers call it). The rest of the time I guess I may hang out in the bar, drinking with friends both old and new, toasting Howard and Gardner and all the other friends we lost.

Maybe I’ll see you there.

Current Mood: restless

Tags: television, The Hedge Knight, travel, worldcon

Blood, Cheese, and Grief

July 5, 2024 at 9:33 am

I made a visit to London last November. Checked in with the editors and publishers at Voyager, my British publisher, saw friends both old and new, caught some plays on the West End (CABARET and THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE among them), had lunch with the playwright and director on our own play-in-progress… and headed out to Leavesden Studio to tour the HOUSE OF THE DRAGON sets. That part was spectacular. I have visited real castles that did not look half as imposing as the Red Keep and Dragonstone did. And they were HUGE. I could easily have gotten lost, just like Blood and Cheese did.

I also got a sneak peak at the first two episodes of season 2: “A Son for A Son” and “Rhaenyra the Cruel.”

What a great way to start the season. The directing was superb. GAME OF THRONES veteran Alan Taylor directed the first episode, and Clare Kilner the second. Both of them did a magnificent job. And I cannot say enough about the acting. Emma d’Arcy has only one line in “A Son for a Son,” but they do so much with their eyes and their face that they absolutely dominate the episode; her grief for her slain son is palpable. Tom Glynn-Carney brings Aegon alive in ways we have not seen before; he’s more than a villain here, he shows us the king’s rage, his pain, his fears and doubts. His humanity. Rhys Ifans has been splendid as Otto Hightower every time he has been on screen, but he exceeded himself in “Rhaenyra the Cruel.” His scene with King Aegon and Criston Cole after the ratcatchers are hanged just crackles with wit, tension, drama, a performance that cries out for awards attention. Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Fabien Frankel, Eve Best, and the other regulars were wonderful as well. The Tittensor twins were terrific as the Kingsuard twins, and their climactic swordfight is right up there with the Mountain and the Red Viper of Dorne, and Brienne’s fight with Jaime Lannister.

And Phia Saban gave a wrenching, powerful, heart-breaking performance as Helaena Targaryen, Aegon’s doomed, haunted queen and mother to his children.

Saban’s performance is especially noteworthy; very little of what she brings to the part was in my source material. . Last season HOUSE OF THE DRAGON essentially recreated King Viserys, giving him a much different backstory and far more depth than the jolly party-loving king I created for FIRE & BLOOD. I talked about that last year, so I won’t repeat myself, save to say it was very well done, and DAMN but Paddy Considine was glorious in the role. (He should have won an Emmy).

The HotD team have done the same thing here with Helaena. In the book, she is a plump, pleasant, and happy young woman, cheerful and kindly, adored by the smallfolk. A dragonrider since the age of twelve, Helaena’s greatest joy in life is to take to the skies on the back of her dragon Dreamfyre. None of the strangeness she displays in the show was in evidence in the book, nor is her gift for prophecy. Those were born in the writers’ room… but once I met the show’s version of Helaena, I could hardly take issue. Phia Saban’s Helaena is a richer and more fascinating character than the one I created in FIRE & BLOOD, and in “Rhaenyra the Cruel” you can scarcely take your eyes off her.

The show added a brand new character as well. The dog.

I am… ahem… not usually a fan of screenwriters adding characters to the source material when adapting a story. Especially not when the source material is mine. But that dog was brilliant. I was prepared to hate Cheese, but I hated him even more when he kicked that dog. And later, when the dog say at his feet, gazing up… that damn near broke my heart. Such a little thing… such a little dog… but his presence, the few short moments he was on screen, gave the ratcatcher so much humanity. Human beings are such complex creatures. The silent presence of that dog reminded us that even the worst of men, the vile and the venal, can love and be loved.

I wish I’d thought of that dog. I didn’t, but someone else did. I am glad of that.

“Rhaenyra the Cruel” has been getting great reviews, for the most part. A lot of the fans are proclaiming it the best episode of HotD, and some are even ranking it higher than the best episodes of GAME OF THRONES. I can hardly be objective about these things, but I would certainly say it deserves to be in contention. The only part of the show that is drawing criticism is the conclusion of the Blood and Cheese storyline. Which ending was powerful, I thought… a gut punch, especially for viewers who had never read FIRE & BLOOD. For those who had read the book, however…

Well, there’s a lot of be said about that, but this is not the place for me to say it. The issues are too complicated. Somewhere down the line, I will do a separate post about all the issues raised by Blood and Cheese… and Maelor the Missing. There’s a lot to say.

For the nonce, I will just say that I really really liked “Rhaenyra the Cruel.” I liked it in London the first time I saw it, and I liked it even more on second watching. I hope you did as well. Maybe it even made you cry.

Current Mood: melancholy

Tags: hbo, House of the Dragon, television

Dunk Takes the Field

June 22, 2024 at 10:00 am

There’s a tournament in Ashford Meadow, and a hedge knight who wants to enter. He call himself Ser Duncan the Tall, but goes by Dunk to his friends. “Dunk the Lunk, thick as a castle wall,” some will say, but he means to be a champion.

Provided he can scrape up enough coin for some armor.

Dunk’s a large lad, and good steel does not come cheap.

Peter Claffey will be playing our favorite hedge knight, and he’s already been sighted around Ashford. HBO was kind enough to provide a picture… and hot damn, he looks as though he just stepped out of the pages of LEGENDS.

Filming started last week in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where much of the original GAME OF THRONES as shot. Based on my novella “The Hedge Knight,” the new show will debut in 2025. Only six episodes for this one. A novella is considerably shorter than a novel (particularly one of my novels), so there’s less source material.

I hear that everything is going very well just now. Next month I will get to see for myself. Parris and I will be taking a few of our minions over to Belfast in mid July, to visit the set, meet the cast, and take in some jousting.

Current Mood: excited excited

Tags: hbo, television, The Hedge Knight, Westeros

Awards Season

June 11, 2024 at 8:14 am

CONGRATULATIONS

to Eboni Booth, winner of this year’s Pulitzer Price for her play, “Primary Truth.”

https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/eboni-booth

Never having won a Pulitzer Prize myself, I am at a loss to explain why the medal shows Ben Franklin rather than Joseph Pulitzer, but Eboni has promised to fill me in after the ceremony. She’s an amazingly talented young playwright, and a joy to work with; when not writing and producing her prize-winning plays on- and off-Broadway, she has been kept busy by me and HBO, working on a new pilot for TEN THOUSAND SHIPS, a GAME OF THRONES spinoff about Nymeria and the Rhoynar. We’re all very excited about this one… though we’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for ten thousand ships, three hundred dragons, and those giant turtles.

And CONGRATULATIONS as well to composer Kevin Kiner, who took home this year’s BMI TV/ MUSIC for his work on DARK WINDS , our Navajo Detective series on AMC, based on the novels of Tony Hillerman, and starring Zahn McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon, and Jessica Matten. It’s great to see DARK WINDS getting some awards attention at last; it’s long overdue. (Some Emmy love would be nice, hint hint, nudge nudge. The third season is shooting even now, at Camel Rock Studios north of Santa Fe, and this year we’ll have eight episodes instead of six. Meanwhile, the first two seasons are available to be binged on AMC+.

I count myself very lucky to have worked with so many talented people during my years in film and televison, from my earliest jobs in the mid 80s on TWILIGHT ZONE and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, to my current outings with HBO and AMC.

Current Mood: pleased pleased

Tags: awards, television

Here’s Egg!

May 21, 2024 at 3:27 pm

Things are moving along nicely with our Dunk & Egg spinoff, HBO’s adaptation of my novella THE HEDGE KNIGHT.

Most of the auditions — not all, but most — are done, and we should be able to announce some more cast members shortly. We have our Tanselle, Steely Pate, Baelor Breakspear, the Laughing Storm, a couple of Fossoways, Aerion Brightflame (boo, hiss), Prince Maekar, and the rest. Lists are being built on Ashford Meadow. I am told they just had the first table read, and that it went great.

And our youngest star can’t wait to start. Here’s Dexter, turning to Egg.

Dexter Sol Ansell (Egg) getting his head shaved ahead of Dunk and Egg filming!
byu/shad0wqueenxx inHouseOfTheDragon

I love it.

THE HEDGE KNIGHT will be a lot shorter than GAME OF THRONES or HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, with a much different tone… but it’s still Westeros, so no one is truly safe Ira Parker and his team are doing a great job. I hope to visit the shoot come July, when I swing by Belfast on my way to the worldcon in Glasgow. The show will make its debut next year… and if it does well, THE SWORN SWORD and THE MYSTERY KNIGHT will follow. By which time I hope to have finished some more Dunk & Egg stories (yes, after I finish THE WINDS OF WINTER).

Oh, and we have our director as well: Owen Harris, a terrific British director whose credits include helming “San Junipero,” my all time favorite episode of BLACK MIRROR. Owen will direct three of our six episodes.

Current Mood: excited excited

Tags: television, The Hedge Knight

Wrangled Again!

March 23, 2024 at 3:40 pm

I am thrilled to announce that DARK WINDS has won a second Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, for the best television drama of 2024. This is the second year in a row that DARK WINDS has taken the prize.

The winning episode was “Hozho nahasdlii (Beauty is Restored),” the finale from our second season, shown last spring on AMC and AMC+. Chris Eyre directed, from a script penned by John Wirth and Graham Roland, based on the novel PEOPLE OF DARKNESS, by the late great Tony Hillerman. Zahn McClarnon starred as Joe Leaphorn, with Kiowa Gordon as Jim Chee, and Jessica Matson as Bernadette Manuelito. The producing team includes Chris, Graham, Zahn, Jim Chory, Anne Hillerman, Vince Gerardis, Tina Elmo, and me.

https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/collections/awards/wha/hozho-nahasdlii-beauty-is-restored-dark-winds/

Here’s yours truly with last year’s Wrangler. This year’s trophies will be presented in Oklahoma April 12-13.

(It’s a pretty formidable trophy, all in bronze).

Meanwhile, we are moving ahead with the third season of DARK WINDS, which will start shooting this week in Santa Fe, at the Candle Rock Studio and on location around the state. And AMC is giving us EIGHT episodes this season, rather than six as with seasons one and two! More Hillerman to savor!

If you haven’t seen DARK WINDS yet, check it out. The first two seasons are streaming on AMC+. It’s a damn fine show, and I think it’s past time Zahn McClarnon got an Emmy. Maybe next year,

Current Mood: cheerful

Tags: awards, Dark Winds, television

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