George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 192

T'Other Shoe Drops...

... onto THE DAILY BEAST.

A couple of weeks ago, I gave THE DAILY BEAST a list of my Top Ten SF Films of All Time.

This morning we have the companion piece: my Top Ten Fantasy Films of All Time.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-04-11/george-rr-martin-game-of-thrones-writers-top-10-fantasy-films/

You can stop holding your breath now.

Interviews from Venice

Here's a video interview from my visit to the Food Truck on Friday:



And another interview with me from the Venice streets can be found at:

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/the-fien-print/posts/hitfix-interview-a-few-minutes-with-george-r-r-martin-at-the-game-of-thrones-food-truck

It was great to meet so many of my fans and readers in Venice. And the venison and lemon cake were wonderful as well.

Back at the Holdfast

Returned home last night from my short visit to LA, where I attended a private screening of the first two episodes of GAME OF THRONES, made a surprise visit to the food truck in Venice, enjoyed a great celebratory dinner with Dan and David at the Palm (where we first met, lo these many years ago), called on Justin Sweet in his Yorba Linda studio and saw some gorgeous roughs of the artwork he'll be doing for the forthcoming WORLD OF ICE & FIRE concordance, met with Mark Newbauer of Mike the Pike Productions about their on-going SKIN TRADE film project, and even enjoyed a great lunch with old friend Ron Perlman, from my days on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. It was an amazing few days, if insanely busy.



The first two episodes look spectacular, I think, especially when seen on the big screen at CAA. Cinematic quality. (I have a new 55 inch TV set being installed this week, and now I'm afraid that it's too small) These were the first complete episodes I've seen, and I loved them. Yes, there are changes from the books, and of course there are things missing -- lines of dialogue, bits of business, scenes -- but without twice or thrice the running time, there was no way to get EVERYTHING in. The story is there, that's the important thing. Fans who know the books inside and out may miss certain things, sure, but the vast majority of viewers, those who have never read the novels, should do just fine.

My hat is off to David and Dan and the team they put together. They've done an amazing job.

Oh, and HBO has released a new trailer. Herewith, "Poison."

busy, busy, busy

Lots of stuff to report, lots to comment on... but I can't just now.

Too much going on.

Saw sone AMAZING artwork by Justin Sweet today. His studies for the eventual WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE concordance. What a talent. If the roughs are this good, the finished paintings are going to make my head school.

Hope to see something equally cool this evening.

Not for the Little Old Lady from Dubuque...

... was how THE NEW YORKER was once pitched, when it was launched way back when.

(I actually lived in Dubuque from 1976 to 1979. I think half the population of the town read THE NEW YORKER, just to prove they were more sophisticated than those New Yorkers thought).

Which is a long and roundabout way of saying, hey, there's a profile of me in the latest issue of THE NEW YORKER.

No April Fool here. Really truly.

How cool is that?

Winter Is Almost Here

The fifteen-minute (actually only a bit over fourteen minutes) preview of GAME OF THRONES debuted on HBO tonight, just before the third part of their big miniseries MILDRED PIERCE.

Many of you saw it, I know. For those who don't have cable or satellite or whatever, the good folks at HBO have been kind enough to post the preview on their website to make it available to all (well, many). This is NOT a trailer or an assembly of clips, but rather the first quarter of the first episode.

So without further ado:



Hope you liked that.

The series premieres on April 17. To see the rest, you WILL need HBO.

Win the Throne

And here's the latest cool thing from HBO: their "Win the Throne" sweepstakes.

http://www.winthethronesweeps.com/



No, you don't actually get to win the Iron Throne (cool as that would be). The grand prize winner does get $10,000, however. Which is probably enough to commission a local ironworker to make you your own Iron Throne, if that's what you want.

There are also all sorts of lesser prizes for the runners-up, in the form of GAME OF THRONES swag.

Sorry, the contest is only open to US residents.

Tonight's the Night

... well, sort of.

The HBO series of GAME OF THRONES does not debut for another two weeks. April 17 is the big day.

But tonight those of you who have HBO will get a taste -- a special preview, the first fifteen minutes of episode one.

Be sure to give a watch.

And if you don't have HBO... well, hey, you've got two weeks to add it to your cable or satellite package. (Those of you in the US, anyway. Other countries have other arrangements for airing the series, each one different).

Mea Culpa

Yes, of course it was an April's Fool post. I always do an April Fool's post.

Yes, of course it was evil. Froggy the Gremlin is always evil. "I'll be good, I will, I will," he always tells Andy. But he never is.

Now go put the spaghetti in your hair, and rub it in good.

I'm off to plunk my magic twanger.

Wonders at Wondercon

This one is for my readers in the Bay Area.

((Uh... that would be San Francisco Bay. There are others. As a Bayonne boy, I grew up between two bays. But never mind)).

Hie thee to Wondercon. There are wonders there, at the HBO booth