George R. R. Martin

“I may have to start killing some of these characters to make room for new ones.” George R.R. Martin’s joke while serving as the moderator for the panel devoted to HBO’s epic fantasy series “Game of Thrones” at Comic-Con International on Friday in Hall H really resonated given the large number of characters that feature in the show, adapted from Martin’s novels. But the biggest casting news came last, with the announcement that genre icon Diana Rigg would be signing on as Olenna Redwyne, the Queen of Thorns. Rigg is most widely known for her role as Emma Peel in the ’60s British TV series “The Avengers.” Among the other new cast members highlighted via a short video montage were Mackenzie Crook (from the British iteration of “The Office” and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies) as Orell, Clive Russell […]

The just-published book “Beyond the Wall” is a collection of essays regarding George R.R. Martin and his work. Below is one of the selections: Los Angeles author and essayist Ned Vizzini’s piece on the disdain and disinterest traditionally facing fantasy works that look for a spot on the bookshelf of respected literature.    When I set out to get blurbs for a young adult novel with fantasy elements that I sold in 2010, the person I wanted to beg most was George R.R. Martin. While reading up on roleplaying games’ influence on American culture, I discovered his work through Dreamsongs: Volume II, which, if you’re already chafing for The Winds of Winter, documents Martin’s creative ventures in Los Angeles with Tyrion-esque cynicism. In Dreamsongs I found that in 1983 Martin started playing the Call of Cthulhu and Superworld games so much that he stopped writing for a year […]

This post has been corrected, as detailed below. Like a graybeard king, George R.R. Martin sat near the center of the ballroom at the 69th Annual Golden Globes and watched the royal court of Hollywood pass by his table Sunday night and, yes, in a room packed with lithe starlets and square-jawed leading men it was easy to pick out the only plump fantasy novelist in the room. “It is another surreal thing,” said Martin, the grand mythmaker behind HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”  “But this is not my first Golden Globes. I was here before. It was years ago but it was nothinglike this. It was one-tenth the size. It wasn’t so completely crazy and with the stars who are here now and the coverage, it’s a different thing.” Those previous visits to the Globes were in the late 1980s, when Martin was a writer/producer for “Beauty […]

Well, give HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo points for candor. He has a surging show on his hands with “Game of Thrones” but zero interest in checking out the source material, the novels of George R.R. Martin. “I’m still not a fan of the genre, but I love this show,” Lombardo said at the TV media tour in Beverly Hills on Thursday afternoon, according to Scott Collins writing over at Show Tracker. Collins also writes of “Thrones”: After a modest start in the ratings, the series is showing signs of momentum. That’s somewhat ironic for HBO, which has shied away from fantasy series in the past as executives there are still getting used to the fanboy genre. “I think the show is a great surprise to a lot of people, who thought it was going to be about the fantasy,” [HBO co-president […]

The death of Lord Eddard ‘”Ned” Stark in the first season of “Game of Thrones” was still eliciting gasps at Comic-Con. As for George R.R. Martin, the man who penned the character’s killing, it was not  easy to write. That holds true for all the characters who meet untimely ends in his story. “I mourn all the characters as I kill them,” Martin said to a roomful of fans of the books and the HBO-adapted series. In fact, judging from the at-capacity turnout in Ballroom 20, it seemed like everyone in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros might well have made the pilgrimage Thursday to San Diego for the “Game of Thrones” panel, which featured the show’s cast and producers and which was moderated by Martin. But it’s that ability to tug at emotions and provoke such strong reactions that compelled […]

The first episode of “Game of Thrones” premieres tonight on HBO and if you want the the full experience check out this free Scribd offfering from Random House with an exclusive novella of the series, as well as a Q&A with author George R.R. Martin. Come back after the show and leave a comment — did it live up to the hype? RECENT AND RELATED Bean: “Life keeps putting a sword in my hand” ‘Game of Thrones’ is epic with a different ring Bean: Mel Gibson is a good man “Game of Thrones” stars on a quest HBO has royal hopes for “Thrones” Winter is coming… Five reasons to watch “Game of Thrones” Cheat Sheet: ‘Game of Thrones’ Can “The Hobbit” escape the “Rings” shadow? Mel Gibson: Viking film may be my last

For fans of fantasy, the arrival of HBO’s “Game of Thrones“  is a massive moment of anticipation and anxiety — few films, shows or games will arrive this year with more pent-up interest or potential, but Hollywood has been a heartbreaker before, so there’s a  healthy anxiety amid the emotion. I watched the first three episodes and (for me) the show absolutely delivers. Los Angeles Times television critic Mary McNamara was also swept up by the conquests and conspiracies of Westeros. Here’s an excerpt from her review: The first 10 minutes or so of  HBO’s new epic fantasy series “Game of Thrones” are spent celebrating the glories of cable, i.e. bloody violence (beheadings, hacked off body parts, eviscerated guts steaming in the snow) and HBO sex (female semi-frontal nudity, non-missionary position intercourse and unnecessarily graphic sound effects). Unless you are a minor, you should not be […]

George R.R. Martin and Sean Bean have more in common than sword-epic success — they both have a deep admiration for author Bernard Cornwell. During my recent interview with Bean, Martin happened to pass by our table at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills and paused to chat a bit. The author wrote the sprawling fantasy series  ”A Song of Ice and Fire,” which reaches a new audience on Sunday night with the premiere of “Game of Thrones” on HBO; the actor stars in that HBO series and is known for his film work in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy as well as “Ronin,” “National Treasure” and “Patriot Games.” But an early defining success for Bean back in his native England was in the role of Richard Sharpe, the 19th century British solider created by Cornwell. Between 1993 and 1997, Bean played Sharpe in 14 television […]

The sun was down but the hotel bar was bright when Sean Bean arrived and took a table in the only shadowy corner of the patio — or maybe the corner was no different than the rest and it was the actor who brought bit of hushed winter along with him just like the Irish beer in his hand.  The 51-year-old Brit has sad eyes but an easy smile and after making small talk the topic turned to his latest project, the ambitious HBO fantasy series “Game of Thrones.” He is clearly enthused about the show, which premieres next Sunday, but at one point he sounded like a world-weary knight summoned for yet another quest. “I like playing guys with swords and the horses and stuff like that,” Bean said. “It’s good. But it’d be nice to do something else, maybe […]

Gargantuan dire wolves, frozen tundras, corrupt royals, brutal deflowerings, gullets slit wide open — oh, and don’t forget the debauched dwarf. The chilling slogan “Winter Is Coming” only hints at the epic scope and brooding cinematic feel of the much-anticipated series “Game of Thrones,” which premieres April 17. Based on George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels, the 10-episode saga is a high-stakes move for HBO — an expensive leap into spectacular fantasy for a network whose reputation was built on nuanced, character-driven dramas geared toward adults. The show’s stars merge actorly skill with genre-movie magnetism: Sean Bean is best known as Boromir in Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Lena Headey starred as Queen Gorgo in “300,” and indie movie veteran Peter Dinklage played Trumpkin in “Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.” “Thrones” has been in […]