June 20, 2010

A Game of Thrones Continues to Cast...

I'd assumed the 10 episodes of HBO's Game of Thrones were already completed.  Discovered on the writer, Geo RR Martin's, 'Journal-not a blog' that the casting process continues.  In fact his post today announced actor Finn Jones will play Ser Loras Tyrell.  Apparently there are many more roles open--is there still hope an actor of our choosing might make his way into Martin's fantasy world? -- where one character clad in black leather sounded very familiar - 'grey-eyed and graceful and slender as a knife. Mounted on his huge black destrier, the knight towered above..he wore black leather boots, black moleskin gloves and a fine supple coat of gleaming black ringmail over layers of boiled leather'. Here's his website  http://grrm.livejournal.com/  Quite an imaginative world he & HBO have created...
Just discovered another Martin website where he relates his early enthrallment with knights, and how the new series has rekindled his passion as a collector.  Someone with techie skills should send a few pics of GoG, in his head to toe leather costume, to Mr. Martin - he's deeply involved in the casting process;) hint, hint.  If he's so captivated with knights, he should at least see the splendid Sir Guy...never know where it might lead.  Found his enthusiastic description of his fascination with knights at the following website
http://www.georgerrmartin.com/knights/index.html  The color scheme would've convinced me the writer is an uber-beta man, if not for his revelation that after watching 5 actresses try out for roles in Game of Thrones, he needed a cold shower:) HA! You'd never know it by looking at him...hehehe.  I've just started the book, so have not as yet read any of his steamy passages.

Martin's alternative universe is called Westeros...a white wolf is an integral part of the story--of course the following is a gorgeous fox...

Another website focused on casting for AGOT  http://winter-is-coming.net/
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UPDATE #1:  Welcome to the blog, Rusa. Bronn is introduced as a boy of 7or9 in the first few pages of the intitial book - pub 14yrs ago. He’s Eddar’s (played by Sean Bean) son brought by his father to watch as the parent metes out justice. His father then instructs the young boy to never ‘outsource’ that duty, but to always commit the physical act himself -- otherwise he could lose sight of the reality of death, and the importance of being careful which heads will literally roll. (Correction: See below...the young boy in the 1st Chapter is actually Bran)

[Character: Bran (Brandon) or Bronn?...awaiting verification.]  UPDATE #2: Found the answer at the Tower of the Hand website.  Bronn is a different character...The following is a page dedicated to him...
Surely Geo Martin's fantasy world has a worthwhile niche for Sir Guy...
Reply to comment to this post from Musa - Thx for the Bronn lead. As already stated, I’ve only finished Chpt 1/Book 1. Upon checking for more details about that character, I read at the following site that Tyrion shows himself at an early age to be quite adept at fighting. Naturally wondered why you wouldn’t suggest him as the best role for RA, until I read the following phrase referring to Tyrion…”he’s a witty, funny, clever, sarcastic dwarf”. Oops! No way whatsoever 6’2" Richard can play a vertically-challenged character;)
http://agot10th.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-name-is-bronn-prepare-to-die-no-wait.html
Evidently Martin’s series has already created quite a widespread, lively world of websites
http://www.towerofthehand.com/
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UPDATE #3:  While reading one of the websites above, I was intrigued to find a vivid description of Eddard Stark's sword called 'Ice'.  It reminded me of Uhtred's beloved sword 'Serpent Breath'.  Richard had narrated those admiring passages with almost as strong a smoldering passion as his feelings for his ladylove in 'Lords of the North'.
 Subsequently, while perusing Wikipedia pages about Geo RR Martin & AGOT, felt some self-satisfaction upon reading...

>Influences:   Although Martin has acknowledged his debt to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien,[16] Jack Vance[17] and Tad Williams,[14] the series differs from these earlier works in its greater interest in and use of realistic elements. While Tolkien was inspired by mythology, A Song of Ice and Fire is more clearly influenced by medieval history, most notably the Wars of the Roses.[18] Likewise, while Tolkien tended toward romantic relationships, Martin writes frankly of sex, including incest, adultery, prostitution, and rape. As a result, illegitimate children play prominent roles throughout the series. This has led to the series being cited as a forerunner of a 'gritty' new wave of epic fantasy authors that followed, including Scott Lynch,[19] Joe Abercrombie,[20] Steven Erikson and Scott Bakker. On his website, Martin has acknowledged historical fiction authors such as Bernard Cornwell and George MacDonald Fraser to be influences on the series. Martin has cited the cover blurb by Robert Jordan for the first book to have been influential in ensuring the series' early success with fantasy readers.[21]

Martin is an avid student of medieval Europe, and has said that the Wars of the Roses, along with many other events in Europe during that time, have influenced the series. However, he insists that "there's really no one-for-one character-for-character correspondence. I like to use history to flavor my fantasy, to add texture and verisimilitude, but simply rewriting history with the names changed has no appeal for me. I prefer to reimagine it all, and take it in new and unexpected directions."<
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire
Pieces from his medieval collection, including a set that looks like a clone of Locksley Manor...

5 comments:

Musa said...

I'm on book #3 and have thought about what part would be a good match for RA, of the roles still to be cast. One possibility might be Bronn who is described as "thin and hard with black hair and eyes and a stubble of beard" (From Tower of the Hand).

Ricrar said...

Thx for those details, Musa. I've answered your comment in the post above because links will not work in the comment box.

Quickly discovering the internet is heavily populated w/A Game of Thrones world of websites. The upcoming HBO series has no doubt reinvigorated their enthusiasm.

Ricrar said...

Musa, isn't the correct spelling for the Bronn character actually 'Bran'? short for Brandon? I'll change the spelling in the post above unless/until you let me know it's not the same character.

Musa said...

Hi,

Yes, as you found on the website Bronn is a separate character :) Bronn is a "sword for hire" who later becomes a knight.
Do you know if RA has been approached at all about a part in GOT?
The blog Winter Is Coming had a poll for a while about casting Bronn, and RA was on the list.
But I'm far from an expert myself...only starting book #3.

Ricrar said...

Musa, RL has prevented me so far from venturing beyond Book 1, Ch 1 so to me you are indeed an AGOT's expert:)

As for RA being approached, IMO it's highly doubtful. When he was asked explicity during at least one SB interview if he'd had offers from the US, Richard responded no and added he was planning to visit at the end of this year. He'd also made an aside that he had been giving the impression of being fully employed, between Spooks & SB, for quite some time. Hopefully he has been approached but negotiations were still in the fragile early stages, or possibly started shortly after the interviews;) Until the last role is cast, there's always hope.