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twaddington
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« on: October 17, 2009, 04:13:47 PM » |
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Anyone else read the Song of Ice and Fire books by George R.R. Martin? I just got in to them recently after my friend recommended them. Filming is starting within the next few weeks for a HBO series based on the books starring Sean Bean, just wondering if anyone else is excited about it.
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dnwilliams
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« Reply #2 on: October 18, 2009, 09:56:04 AM » |
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i know about this and i am definitely anticipating it, even though i barely know anything about it. high fantasy, hbo and a stellar cast is pretty much enough to sell me. and george rr martin has a quote on the first book of the gentlemen bastard sequence, which is a pretty entertaining set of books i've been reading. We all know that books don't count until there's a movie made of them.
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twaddington
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« Reply #3 on: October 18, 2009, 05:40:52 PM » |
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I hadn't heard of Martin or his books until about three weeks ago and now i've got a minor obsession with them. You guys should check them out.
The show is gonna have a lot of pressure on it though because the budget is gonna have to be pretty massive.
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dnwilliams
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« Reply #4 on: October 18, 2009, 05:53:02 PM » |
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it's bbc/hbo so we're talking rome/tudors budget...
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dalmatianjaws
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« Reply #5 on: October 21, 2009, 01:10:36 PM » |
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I heard about the books for four years but never picked them up cause I tend to loathe fantasy stories with tones of passive voice and chapters that start with an old man reciting the lineage of people with really awful names.
But then my ex, my good friend, and two folks I was trapped on a night bus full of roaches with from Koh Tao to Bangkok all couldn't stop talking about them and I picked the first one up over last Christmas.
After a few chapters I went and bought the next two so I could keep reading. They are absolutely phenomenal. It's character based, not quest based, and he's willing to take the story in ANY direction without an regard for genre cliches or archetypes. Fantastic writer. I series is the perfect format for converting these, so fingers crossed. Very excited.
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twaddington
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« Reply #6 on: October 25, 2009, 12:11:23 PM » |
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I was really sceptical about them for about the first 50 pages and then I was absolutely hooked. The trouble with fantasy epics is that they nearly always end up being poor imitations of Lord of the Rings. This is different because in a way it is more like a historical novel than a fantasy one, the magic and dragons are there but the politics and character relationships are what Martin is really interested in.
The way they are written is really clever with the first person perspective of different characters for the chapters, it makes you desperate to get back to the character again but by the time you get back to them you are just as interested in other characters. The tv series could be great as long as they invest enough money in special effects, I thought Rome always looked a bit cheap and that was nowhere near as ambitious story as this is.
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dnwilliams
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« Reply #7 on: October 25, 2009, 02:21:19 PM » |
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ooh, that's bad. i never watched rome, but it was so well received i just assumed the production values were moderately high. having something in this kind of genre is a big gamble for hbo though i would have thought, so i'd be surprised if they didn't spend serious amounts of money in an attempt to not get it wrong. the geek market really isn't catered to well on television, they have a chance to really exploit that with a mature, good looking show. a fantasy series on a level with the wire, the sopranos, madmen, deadwood, battlestar galactica...
they're off to a great start with their cast though, two british hollywood stars in the leads is awesome. it's like how the prisoner remake has jim caviezel and ian mckellan! yeah, caviezel isn't a heavyweight but he's delivered strong performances, and i know ian mckellan will literally do whatever he wants (corrie and panto included) but there's no denying he's a huge asset to that show. sean bean and lena heady! sword and sorcery! an hour a week!
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dalmatianjaws
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« Reply #8 on: October 26, 2009, 10:51:59 AM » |
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I think it's the beginning of the second or third book where Martin acknowledges a friend who "made me put in the dragons"
Yeah, the first book could be done on a reasonable budget, actually. Of course, that was before I heard anything negative about Rome, which I also assumed had good production values and is the show that made the Game of Thrones greenlight possible.
Either was,tThe massive battles in the Fire and Ice series don't begin until the second book, so if they can manage through the first one and build an audience they might get more cash for season two.
I'm 100 pages into book 3 now, and it's just as strong as the first two. Very, very impressed with these books. The only fantasy books I've read in adulthood that have kept my interest, let alone make me gasp out loud in parts and actually make me think about the characters long after I've set the book down.
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twaddington
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« Reply #9 on: October 26, 2009, 12:50:41 PM » |
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On second thoughts, i'm probably being a bit harsh on Rome by saying it looked cheap. I didn't actually watch that much of it to judge it too much.
I'm on the third one at the moment as well, annoyingly they split it into two parts for the uk release so i've got to go out and buy/borrow/ steal the second half before i can finish it. There are so many great characters and he really is pretty ruthless with them. My favourite story strand is probably either Arya's or Jon's but they're all great, the weakest link is probably Daenerys but I expect when her story eventually joins up with the others it will become more interesting.
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dnwilliams
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« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2009, 01:27:57 PM » |
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 lol @ jon snow |
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Sheridan Passell
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« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2009, 03:44:17 PM » |
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Jon Snow. Looking good for his age.
"Tonight on Channel 4 News..."
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twaddington
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« Reply #12 on: October 29, 2009, 09:49:45 AM » |
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They are all brilliantly cast, looks wise anyway.
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September 06, 2009, 09:57:30 PM
