Game of Thrones -- TV ONLY

So, just finished the first series. Don't think I had seen episode 8, 9 or 10 in a while. Some great moments there that I had forgotten.

The whole thing just strikes me as really well put together. So.. for anyone else considering giving it another go. Highly recommended.

"Which he never does when playing a role adapted from ficiton, as he doesn't see it as the actors role to second guess the adapters, producers, directors who has thought things through and made their decisions by saying things like "Why isn't this part in?" and so on." - Bluebottle

My apologies if someone thinks this is brilliant, but I think it's absolutely ridiculous and stupid. Why the hell wouldn't he get to know the character he's playing? There are so many examples of why this is a good idea that I don't even know where to start. I think Jeremy Brett is a perfect example (though perhaps one actors shouldn't follow, he did after all overdo it a little). He got Sherlock Holmes 100% right, and I guess this is why (from wiki):


Brett had been approached in February 1982 by Granada TV to play Holmes. The idea was to make a totally authentic and faithful adaptation of the character's best cases. Eventually Brett accepted the role. He wanted to be the best Sherlock Holmes the world had ever seen. He conducted extensive research on the great detective and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, and was very attentive to discrepancies between the scripts he had been given and Conan Doyle's original stories. One of Brett's dearest possessions on the set was his 77-page "Baker Street File" on everything from Holmes' mannerisms to his eating and drinking habits. Brett once explained that "some actors are becomers — they try to become their characters. When it works, the actor is like a sponge, squeezing himself dry to remove his own personality, then absorbing the character's like a liquid".

Read the books I say, do your best to "absorb" the character, and if you don't want to second-guess the ones adapting the book, apply some god damn self restraint and don't do it

Anyone who enjoys Jack Gleeson (Gleason?) should watch his address he made to students at Oxford. It was quite enjoyable (a little dry at times, but not too much) hearing him outline the reasons for why he doesn't want to become an actor.

Ringdrotten wrote:

Bluebottle wrote:"Which he never does when playing a role adapted from ficiton, as he doesn't see it as the actors role to second guess the adapters, producers, directors who has thought things through and made their decisions by saying things like "Why isn't this part in?" and so on."

My apologies if someone thinks this is brilliant, but I think it's absolutely ridiculous and stupid. Why the hell wouldn't he get to know the character he's playing? There are so many examples of why this is a good idea that I don't even know where to start. I think Jeremy Brett is a perfect example (though perhaps one actors shouldn't follow, he did after all overdo it a little). He got Sherlock Holmes 100% right, and I guess this is why (from wiki):


Brett had been approached in February 1982 by Granada TV to play Holmes. The idea was to make a totally authentic and faithful adaptation of the character's best cases. Eventually Brett accepted the role. He wanted to be the best Sherlock Holmes the world had ever seen. He conducted extensive research on the great detective and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, and was very attentive to discrepancies between the scripts he had been given and Conan Doyle's original stories. One of Brett's dearest possessions on the set was his 77-page "Baker Street File" on everything from Holmes' mannerisms to his eating and drinking habits. Brett once explained that "some actors are becomers — they try to become their characters. When it works, the actor is like a sponge, squeezing himself dry to remove his own personality, then absorbing the character's like a liquid".

Read the books I say, do your best to "absorb" the character, and if you don't want to second-guess the ones adapting the book, apply some god damn self restraint and don't do it

Hm, I think it's an interesting opinion. And one I can respect when it seems thought through. Though generally I would gravitate more towards your point of view. I love that comment by Ian McKellen about how he used to bring the Lord of the Rings book on set, and point out to Peter Jackson when he deviated from it. That just melts the heart of someone who loves the object of the adaptation. And as a general rule one would think the better one understood ones character, the better it was. I would think so too.  

I can see reasons that an actor would not want to though.

I can understand if the actor in question would not like to get emmotionally involved, in particular in cases where the adaptation might differ widely from the original. When something happens to you that you would very much like to avoid and you can do nothing to stop it, it can pull you appart inside. And for someone who loves Tolkiens work, or simply just bases their performance on the book, acting in the Hobbit movies, for instance, could understandably be problematic.

Also it might be a hindrance in doing the job the person who hired you hired you to do. In as portray the adaptation they wanted. You might easily sit with conflicting messages about the meaning of and how you should do what you're asked. And the actor might want to avoid that.

I can also understand if there's a difference in technique here, and different actors might prefer different approaches to doing something. There's a funny story about Justin Hofffman work acting in the movie The Marathon Man and his use of the technique of method acting. His character was supposed to have been up two nights without sleep, and Dustin Hoffman, being a method actor, actually stayed up two nights so his reaction would be genuine. Anyway, he spent the whole day of filming falling asleep all over the place. When Laurence Olivier, who also acted in the film, asked him what was going on and he explained, Laurence Olivier exclaimed, "Oh, my dear boy. Why don't you try acting. It's much easier."    

There's also the possibility of reading up too much. To use another example from Game of Thrones, Kit Harrington has said he read all of the books almost immidiately after getting the role, and getting around to the whole

Spoiler:

part, said he got way ahead of himself and had to do quite a bit of work to get his character back to where he was supposed to be at the start of the story.

It's certainly an interesting question, and interesting when someone with that amount of experience comes out with an opinion that I would generally disagree with. It's a shame he doesn't elaborate, really.

He does says he looks forward to reading it when he's done, so I would perhaps put it down to a matter of technique. He also says he reads up all he can when he portrays historical persons.


I haven't seen the Brett adaptation, but with all you guys praising it so, I guess I'll have to get around to it at some point.

I'll try to remember giving you a proper response on Sunday, blue, as right now I'm typing on an iphone and I don't think I have the patience for that much longer

Smartphones are not really the instrument for long well constructed and well argued posts. (Though neither is a computer at all times.   ) I completely understand.

This is orgasmic!

(OK a bit silly at the end, but still).

yeah I posted this yonks ago. its fabulous!

Powdered SuggAAAAHH!

Figg mentioned Game of Thrones season 5 on the othre thread and.. yeah, I think it's going to be pretty cool too.  

ha ha the flip-flops! cool

The flip flops are pretty epic, yeah.

Those two are the characters I'm really looking forward to seeing in series 5. Doran Martell and the High Sparrow.

No Greyjoy information so far though.

Like.. at all..

So apparently Ted Nasmith (the discerning gentleman or lady's favorite Tolkien artist) has a bunch of GRRM-inspired art as well, and it's pretty great, as one would expect from Nasmith.

http://www.tednasmith.com/site-map/george-r-r-martin/

I think the Twins and the Red Keep are my favorites.

Those are great! Had no idea about this. I think Castle black and Eastwarch by the Sea are my favourites, actually. Love the houses with the lights in the windows in the Castle Black painting, very "wintery" Reminds me of when it's completely dark in the middle of winter and you're out walking, lights like that promise warmth and refuge from the cold and the dark. Thanks for the link, eldo

Love Nasmith's Tolkien work, these are excellent, too. Thanks, Eldo.

I have always liked his landscapes, but a lot less so his people.

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/mar/25/teacher-punishes-students-with-game-of-thrones-spoilers

With all the changes though, who knows.

Game of Thrones star Charles Dance confirms a movie adaptation is being discussed

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/game-of-thrones-star-charles-dance-confirms-a-movie-adaptation-is-being-discussed/story-fnmgnour-1227129092092

I would expect the series finale to be feature length, or at least very close to such. Martin turned down movie proposals because the cinematic form is too constrained for a massive, sprawling novel series like ASOIAF. An ending movie could be interesting, but if it does occur, I'd hope they make it a direct continuation of the final episodes of the series, rather than trying to create a new stand-alone story or continuity.

 fantastic news if it happens, but I kind of like the format its in already, its hard to visualize anything more spectacular without it swamping the story with cgi. It could be like the difference between LOTR and TH were the cgi looks faker in TH even though its more advanced than LOTR. but anyway a film would be pretty mind blowing if they keep the same people in charge.

"There’s this one scene I had to do that was super super traumatic, and it was really horrible for everyone to be on set and watch." - Sophie Turner



Hm, I wonder what she is refering to.

HBO revealed Thursday that the 10-episode fifth season of “Game of Thrones” will return on April 12. The pay cable made the announcement at the Television Critics Assn. in Pasadena.

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/game-of-thrones-season-5-premiere-date-april-hbo-1201396296/