Westeros

This is a pleasant surprise—on old fan casting of ours has come true, as James Hibberd over at EW reports that Indira Varma will be joining Game of Thrones as Ellaria Sand, the paramour of Prince Oberyn Martell.

She’s an HBO veteran, having been in Rome, and has a great deal of experience besides in television series such as Luther and Hunted.

Filming in Iceland has commenced, as reported recently, and it looks like it’ll run for a couple of weeks. Of course, Iceland in the summer can look very different from Iceland in the winter… and it seems that the production is really using it to its advantage, because all signs point to it representing regions much nearer to King’s Landing than in the past. Reports of Maisie Williams and Gwendoline Christie both being spotted in Reykjavik have been confirmed, and it’s unlikely to be a coincidence (though that can’t be ruled out).

The last we saw of Arya, she was in the riverlands with Sandor Clegane, while Brienne of Tarth was last in King’s Landing…. but we’ve some speculations below (with spoilers):

The Game of Thrones panel at San Diego Comic-Con has drawn to a close, and unlike last year—where a number of new cast members were unveiled at the event—there’s really no season 4 news to speak of. The host of actors, as well as the executive producers and George R.R. Martin, discussed the seasons that have come before and their various experiences, but season 4 remained a largely ignored topic. There’s no premiere date information, and certainly no new casting appearances. That said, there’s some amusing anecdotes, and GRRM remarks that if he were ever to write prequels to the series (after he’s done with it), it’d probably be about Aegon and his sisters, or perhaps Aegon the Unworthy.

Alan Sepinwall has a great recap, including the bit where Jason Momoa crashed the panel briefly, to much acclaim.

A deleted scene from season 3—which will certainly be on the Bluray (US: DVD, Bluray. UK: DVD, Bluray)—was aired for fans, featuring Tywin and Pycelle ...

And one other video, an “In Memoriam” piece for those characters who’ve departed the show, which you can see below:

... to give Paul and Storm a little lesson:

All in a bit of fun, of course! The source of GRRM’s “ire” would be this popular song from the comedy music duo, “Write Like the Wind (George R.R. Martin)”:

Lucky fans at San Diego Comic-Con are going to be seeing an amazing plethora of Game of Thrones products, from pop-up guides to puzzles. And among the newest products to be unveiled at Comic Con? Dark Horse is going to be showing off a new line of non-articulated sculpted figures depicting key characters from the Game of Thrones series.

The first two figures? Daenerys Stormborn and Jon Snow. Below is the press release from Dark Horse naming three more planned figures, and more images of the first two figures:

As is starting to become a habit, the third season of Game of Thrones has been nominated in the “Outstanding Drama Series” category for this year’s Emmy’s. But it’s not the only award it’s been nominated for, with a total of seventeen nominations (one of them in a special class). Here’s the complete list this season:

Last night, James Hibberd at EW revealed another exclusive scoop: British actor Mark Gatiss—perhaps best known to fans in the US as Mycroft Holmes on the BBC’s Sherlock, which he happens to also be co-creator of—is joining the cast of Game of Thrones. But the role… well, that’s a mystery, apparently. Hibberd notes that Gatiss will be at San Diego Comic-Con to take part in Sherlock‘s first ever panel at the convention, a panel he himself is moderating, so he’s hoping there’ll be news there… but there’s always the chance that Gatiss will be brought out as a surprise guest at the Game of Thrones panel on Friday, so we’ll have to wait and see.

What role could Gatiss play? The most significant male characters as yet unannounced as being cast are Mace Tyrell and the Magnar of Thenn, but there’s a number of other roles—including the interesting notion of recasting the Bowen Marsh from the first season to give Jon Snow an additional foil on the Wall—where he might well fit.

James Hibberd gets another scoop for EW, revealing the full list of directors for the 4th season, and clarifying the writer situation. Per Hibberd, here’s the directors:

Episode 1: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Episodes 2, 3, 8, 10: Alex Graves
Episodes 4, 5: Michelle MacLaren
Episodes 6, 7: Alik Sakharov
Episodes 9: Neil Marshall

As to writers, it looks like this season Benioff and Weiss are writing seven of the episodes this season—just as they did in the first season—while GRRM gives his usual single episode contribution, and Bryan Cogman now providing two episodes (huzzah!)

San Diego Comic Con will feature many things—the now-traditional Game of Thrones panel in Hall H chief among them—but it’s come to our attention that some pretty interesting things will be on display from various companies connected to the show and the novels. Dark Horse will be there at Booth #2615, showing off their wide range of replicas and statues, Funko (they of the Pop! figures) will be at Booth #5343, and of course Random House (American publisher of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, and the forthcoming The World of Ice and Fire) will have a presence at Booths #1514 and #1515.

But we’ve just learned that there’ll be another exhibitor, unveiling a product we had no idea was in the making: Insight Editionswill be unveiling the deluxe edition of Game of Thrones: A Pop-up Guide to Westeros at Booth #1134. That sounds interesting in itself—pop-up books featuring the castles of Westeros!—but what really piqued our interest is the illustrator attached to the project: Michael Komarck, Hugo Award nominee, and one of the very best professional artists when it comes to depicting the characters of the A Song of Ice and Fire series. We believe this is the first time he’s worked specifically on a Game of Thrones project, and will be interested to see the results.

The full press release from Insight Editions is below:
Game of Thrones®: A Pop-Up Guide to Westeros

Designed by Matthew Reinhart
Illustrations by Michael Komarck
Inspired by the Emmy® Awardâ`“winning credits sequence that opens each episode of the hit HBO® series, Game of Thrones: A Pop-Up Guide to Westeros is guaranteed to thrill the show’s legions of fans. Those attending Comicâ`“Con 2013 in San Diego, July 18â`“21, will have the first opportunity to glimpse this deluxe edition at Insight Editions booth (#1134).

Featuring stunning pop-up re-creations of several key locations from the series, including the formidable castle of Winterfell, the lavish capital city King’s Landing, and the Wall’s stark majesty, this book-designed by renowned paper engineer Matthew Reinhart-takes you into the world of the series like never before.

Game of Thrones: A Pop-Up Guide to Westeros features a total of five stunning spreads, which fold out to create a remarkable pop-up map of Westeros that is perfect for displaying. The book also contains numerous mini-pops that bring to life iconic elements of the show, such as direwolves, White Walkers, giants, and dragons. All the pops are accompanied by insightful text that relays the rich history of the Seven Kingdoms and beyond, forming a dynamic reference guide to the world of Game of Thrones. Visually spectacular and enthrallingly interactive, Game of Thrones: A Pop-Up Guide to Westeros sets a new standard for pop-up books and perfectly captures the epic scope and imagination of the series.

Matthew Reinhart was born in 1971 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He studied industrial design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn before finding his calling as a paper engineer. His books include the best-selling Star Wars: Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy, The Pop-Up Book of Nursery Rhymes, and DC Comics Super Heroes: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book, among many other award-winning titles. He lives in New York City.

Michael Komarck is a renowned illustrator and Hugo Award nominee known for his work on several George R. R. Martin projects, including covers for the Wild Cards, Shadow Twin, and Tuf Voyaging novels, and for A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide. He lives in Michigan with his wife and son.

Insight Editions (http://www.insighteditions.com) is a publisher focused on creating superlative illustrated books on photography, music, and popular culture. Lavishly produced and visually stimulating, every volume from Insight is dedicated to the skillful interplay of word and image. The books produced are unique works that combine the highest quality print production values with time-honored traditions of publishing and rich subject matter. Elegant and informative, books from Insight showcase the best of art and photography in exquisite presentations of the bookmaker’s craft.

HBO Global Licensing officially licenses the HBO® brand for the development and merchandising of innovative product lines inspired by the network’s award-winning programming.  With products created around classic series like the The Sopranos® and Sex and the City® to current hits like True Blood® and Entourage®, items include fashion apparel, jewelry, digital and CD soundtracks, games, books as well as exclusive, premium collections in partnership with upscale, designer brands.  Merchandise can be purchased in retail stores nationwide, at http://store.hbo.com, and at the groundbreaking HBO retail hub, the HBO Shop®, located at 42nd and 6th Avenue in New York City.  HBO Licensing & Retail products are also sold internationally across Europe, Asia and Australia.
March 2014
5 spreads, 9.25” x 11”
Film & Television
Hardcover, $59.95, 978-1-60887-314-2

Recently, Empire Online reported (beware, spoilers!) that director Neil Marshall—he of “Blackwater” fame—was on board to direct the final episode of season 4 of Game of Thrones. We knew this wasn’t quite right, but we’re glad to see that Variety and its sources were able to clear up the issue: Marshall is directing the penultimate episode—again, beware, there are spoilers—much as he did in season 2.

Not long after we posted our video discussing all Dorne, its people, and its history, George R.R. Martin weighed in on the topic of the Dornishmen as a people, in relation to the casting of actor Pedro Pascal in the role of the Red Viper, Prince Oberyn Martell. Here is Martin on his vision of the “salty Dornishmen”, with our thoughts afterward:

Last week we posted about our fundraiser. Happily, the fundraiser is now complete! We met our goal in just a couple of days, and decided to keep it open after requests from users who would be able to contribute later in the week. The fundraiser is now done, with a hair over $2500 raised—a terrific amount! Many, many thanks to one and all, both those who contributed and those who’ve made Westeros.org their destination for all things A Song of Ice and Fire related!

With the recent news of the casting of Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell in season 4 of HBO’s Game of Thrones, it seemed to Linda and I to be an excellent time to discuss the history and culture of our very favorite region in the Seven Kingdoms: Dorne. Clocking in at just under an hour, we cover a lot of ground in this video. Enjoy!

We’ve taken a bit of a break after the rather exhausting season 3 of the series, but of course, the production never stands still: season 4 filming is soon to commence, roles have been cast, locations selected, and more. Below, you’ll find a quick round-up of some other Game of Thrones news over the last couple of weeks, for those curious as to what’s out there and what we know so far:

After a pretty hair-raising Game of Thrones season, with traffic levels that blew away what we saw last year, the server actually handled itself pretty well—certainly, better than last year! The new server’s much more capable than our prior, two-server situation, and thanks to hard work from our friendly host Sparks, it became much more stable. And we’re not resting on our laurels: we hope that next year’s traffic will be a relative breeze, as we look into solutions involving leveraging the cloud to help take some of the load off the server when the traffic spikes.

But of course, all this costs money, so we bring you once again to our annual fundraiser to help cover the yearly costs of having the server about:

This will cover a part of the yearly cost, the rest of which Linda and I will cover ourselves.

Many thanks for visiting the site, making it the #1 site for A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones discussion and commentary, and (we hope) for your donation!