HBO developing 'A Song of Ice & Fire' as a TV Series
Looks like George R.R. Martins best-selling novel series ‘A Song of Fire & Ice' is going to get the small screen treatment from HBO. Out of every net work that could have picked this up I am happy it is HBO because I don't think anyone else would be able to do it any justice.
They will start the new TV pilot series off with ‘Game of Thrones' the first book in the series. Producing the series is David Benioff (Troy) and D.B. Weiss (Halo).
A full fledged TV fantasy series like this is incredibly rare. By doing this story of TV they will be able to tell more of the story, and not cut all of it out to fit a 2 hour movie. It will be interesting to see how they go about developing the project.
THR Reports:
"Fantasy is the most successful genre in terms of feature films given the incredible popularity of the 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Harry Potter' movies," Benioff said. "High fantasy has never been done on TV before, and if anybody can do it, it's HBO. They've taken tired genres and reinvented them -- mobsters in 'The Sopranos' and Westerns with 'Deadwood.' "
The cost of producing a fantasy series is usually a factor that deters networks. The producers note that "Thrones" is written as a character drama and major battles often take place offstage.
"It's not a story with a million orcs charging across the plains," Weiss said. "The most expensive effects are creature effects, and there's not much of that."
Martin plans seven books. If HBO picks up the project to series, the producers intend for each novel to encompass a season.
I hope this gets picked up. It has the makings of being an incredibly amazing TV show something that has never really been done before. I am looking forward to it. If you don't know much about the books here is a quick run down.
A Song of Ice and Fire follows three principal storylines, divided by geography and participants.
The first storyline, set in the Seven Kingdoms themselves, chronicles a many-sided struggle for the Iron Throne that develops after King Robert's death. The throne is claimed by his son Joffrey, supported by his mother's powerful family, House Lannister, but Robert's brother Stannis claims that Robert's children are illegitimate, and that the throne should fall to him. Robert's youngest brother, Renly, also places a claim with the support of the extremely powerful House Tyrell. Whilst these three claimants battle for the Iron Throne, Robb Stark, Lord Eddard Stark's heir, is proclaimed King in the North as the northmen and their allies in the Riverlands seek to return to self-rule. Likewise, Balon Greyjoy also (re-)claims the ancient throne of his own region, the Iron Islands, with an eye towards independence. The War of the Five Kings is the principal storyline in the second and third novels, while the fourth novel concerns the realm's recovery in the face of the coming winter.
The second storyline is set on the extreme northern border of Westeros. Here, eight thousand years ago, a huge wall of ice and gravel was constructed by both magic and labor to defend Westeros from the threat of The Others, a race of ice creatures living in the uttermost north. This Wall, 300 miles (480 km) long and 700 feet (210 m) tall, is defended and maintained by the Sworn Brotherhood of the Night's Watch, whose primary duty is to guard against the Others, but by the time of the novels it is badly under-strength and has almost forgotten its original purpose, instead being threatened by the human 'wildlings' or 'free folk' who live to the north. This storyline follows Jon Snow, bastard son of Eddard Stark, as he rises through the ranks of the Watch, learns the true nature of the threat from the north, and prepares to defend the realm from it, despite the fact that the people of Westeros are too busy warring to send support. By the end of the third volume, this storyline has become somewhat entangled with the civil war to the south with the arrival of one of the claimants to the Iron Throne after the defeat of his armies in battle.
The third storyline is set on the huge eastern continent and follows the journeys of Daenerys Targaryen, the last (known) scion of House Targaryen and another claimant to the Iron Throne. Daenerys's adventures showcase her growing ability, as she rises from a near-penniless wanderer to a powerful and canny ruler who possesses the last living dragons. Though her story is separated from the others by many thousands of miles, her stated goal is to reclaim the Iron Throne, and it is presumed she will travel to Westeros before the end of the series. While she has no memories of Westeros and is barely known there, she may still be welcomed: the chaos of two civil wars in rapid succession has led to much yearning among the smallfolk for the days of stability under the Targaryens.
So what do you think about all this? Are you excited? Have you wanted to see this?