Quick hits: Fans score, audition, and wiki

I couldn’t get the music to play either, so I dug into the page’s source and found the actual mp3 files and tried to load them, but it says”this file is unavailable because the user ran out of bandwidth”. Perhaps the first instance of a ‘WiC effect’?

Re: Joseph Campo’s audition tape:

I’ve got two words: Dolorous Edd.

Seriously.

Am the I only one who sometimes thinks that this isn’t really happening?
This series is so close to my heart it feels like something very private and personal – LOL!
So I’m always amazed other people knew about it too and feel the same way even.

Ridiculous idea knowing this is a NY Times Bestselling Series… but it is so enthralling and perfect, it’s as if it was just written for me.
Nice though so many people seem to like the same things that I do.
Anybody who love’s ASOIAF can’t be a bad person.
Hurray!!!

:D

I was watching Hot Fuzz last night and I found it really hard to believe that the guy who’s playing one of my favorite characters also played a Hodoresc characer.

I think Joe should be Gilly… OK… back to my corner

Joseph’s audition tape is crazy fun. I know Joe and didn’t expect that!

Looking at the bit where he is on his knees… Tyrion Lannister! :)

Grimtuesday: I think Joe should be Gilly… OK… back to my corner    

Gilly, as in Craster’s daughter?!?

Trouble with mp3 files has been solved. ;) Now you can download them

At least.
Solved now.

Grimtuesday,

That’s a fantastic idea. I could grow the beard out real long for the part, too. I’ve always had a thing for Samwell Tarly.

Keep watching!
-GameofThronesJoe

Marta,

Thanks about the Blind Guardian hint, I didn’t know they’d made Ice&Fire songs. The second ASOIAF one’s called A Voice In The Dark, right? That’s definitely about Bran. Both songs are currently available on YouTube.

I also want to push for the Blind Guardian album :) The ASOIAF songs are great and it has two epic Wheel of Time songs too!

I just took a minute to admire the updated cast page
What a great ensemble! Seing a face for every character all in one place truly makes the books come to life!
@WiC and co.
I like how the Night’s Watch turned out to be mostly black&white pictures. Maybe you should edit Benjen’s and Maester Aemon’s so they’re all B&W… :)

Grimtuesday,

as soon as you cleverly explain to me how Gilly, as a bearded man, manages to escape being offered to the withe Gods by Craster and to fake being pregnant, I’m on board too. :)

Nymeria,

It is pretty impressive– the only thing that bothers me is, I’m not so sure about having the same actor play Rickon, Myrcella, and Ilyn Payne. I know that guy is versatile but I just think it’ll be confusing. On the other hand, I have no problem with his twin brother playing Illyrio, Will, Shagga, Tobho Mott, Tommen, and Jeyne Poole; I always thought there was a deep connection between those characters and I think depicting them in this way is a bold move. And I trust Paul Engelen will be up to the task of putting features on their face.

Not sure if anyone has seen or heard this, have not come across it on this site. I could have missed it though.
” The biggest television event for violence-loving nerds will debut next spring, possibly on March 3. HBO’s Game of Thrones, an adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s fantasy novels, will be out around then, the network confirmed. One exec actually date-dropped March 3, but in a display of dominance, another exec corrected him and said, “spring.” The latter executive then mated with the female of his choice while the former was forced to leave the pack”

Two Feathers,

Hans Zimmer is not good enough for GoT. Cliched scores, and he never really does anything new. It need to be darker and scarier. The score cannot be anything high spirited like Lotr. That would really ruin the series.

Lex,

Lex: Jenny, Your comments reminded me of when the LOTR movies came out. The books seemed so personal to me, it was strange seeing it become such a mainstream phenomenon.My friend made a similar remark about seeing some of the climactic scenes in the movie theatre. He said that, to him, some of the scenes seemed almost “too sacred” to be on the screen. It’s a strange feeling, for sure.  Quote  Reply

What’s going to be more wierd about GOT vs. LOTR is that a lot more people had read LOTR because it’s been around for a long time. This will be more in the vain of the Sookie Stackhouse books in that a lot more people will discover this as a show first. So once this gets rolling I expect a ton more people to “come out of the woodworks” to offer up their half baked opinions. (by the way I can’t sign in via twitter for some reason)

c0venant,

Wow, that sounds depressing. But come on, in the last couple days we got some new casting and a photo of our actors riding horses; that’s pretty good!

There is still a lot to come in the next few months, especially since the show may air as early as 7 or 8 months from now! By that point, there will definitely be more promo photos, another trailer, probably some interview footage, etc.

But I think perhaps we should try to accustom ourselves to one or two interesting things every couple of weeks. We probably won’t recapture the recent frenetic pace of multiple casting announcements per day! I think we may need to find other things to occupy some of our time (and to obsess over). :)

dizzy_34: c0venant, Ah, buck up man…we’ve come this far. At least we’re not all here waiting to have are hopes shattered by them passing on the pilot (and having sourcenator like trolls come around). There’s tons of stuff to look forward to. Trailers for one and casting is not done yet. I’ve rather enjoyed Conan’s blogs and the pics. It’s kind of like the extras on the DVD set before it comes out.  Quote  Reply

that’s *our hopes…damn twitter sign in still not working.

Hey Winter! Kolb and the boys looked pretty decent tonight against the Jags. First strings looked very good. It would have been better if they could have punched it in a little more but all-in-all a pretty good start to a refitting year.

Knurk,

LOl at the spoiler. Gonna check this out.

You know, re: casting Brienne– I actually find the idea of having a “gender ambiguous” male play her intriguing. I love Brienne, but she’s a doozy to cast. I’m interested in the character, not in my personal projections on her as a woman. It just doesn’t matter to me if a man or a woman played her, as long as it was utterly believable that she was a woman on the TV show. I want her to feel real, but she doesn’t have to be real– that’s what acting’s all about.

I suppose I’d prefer her to be a woman actress, just because it seems easier. But I don’t find it a necessity. Still, she is manish, basically has no boobs (according to Martin), is muscled like a bull, is supposed to be something like 6′ 6”, and yes, has beautiful soulful eyes. Having a really good male actor play doesn’t seem beyond the pale to me.

Steve B,

I respectfully disagree…that’ll just open the show to ridicule I think…they’ll use camera tricks and prosthetics for The actress who plays Brienne

I used to be a big proponent of the idea that they’d do an exhaustive search for Brienne, finding a relative unknown over 5’9″ who’s “Hollywood ugly” and has stage combat experience.

With the casting of Natalia Tena as Osha, I’ve come around to the other way of thinking. Hell, now I can even see them casting Katee Sackhoff like so many people are suggesting. Height, accent, and age be damned.

Is that what I want? No. I think Brienne would be an excellent role for someone who normally wouldn’t get a chance to be on a major TV show because she doesn’t fit the standard image of beauty.

Maybe after the show is into it’s second season, they could take a chance like that, but would they? I always change my speculation once HBO makes a new move and from the current round of casting it seems like “uglying up” an actress that people have already heard of has become the more likely choice.

It wouldn’t change the storyline in any serious way to have Brienne be smaller, or prettier.

Claizen,

Ehh, the link thingy didnt work, so uhh:

youtube.com/watch?v=XmXj—NvVE

As Ran from the Westeros site reports, Sean Bean is currently filming in London, a terrorist thriller.
In the brief interview we can see him walking with the gun.
(Though I would like better see him walking with the ICE).

OT – Anyone know why I can not log in with the Twitter account today?

It is like falling in love over the internet. I’ve built up all these hopes. Sure Ive seen her over the cam and we have spoken a lot but now I am on the bus. Everything is kinda real…..    

That’s one of the funniest analogies I’ve ever heard! Thanks for making me snort coffee out my nose. :)

I have always been partial to Robin Weigart (Deadwood’s Calamity Jane) as Brienne. She has masculine features, serious acting chops, but also the type of charisma that you can see a certain someone starting to fall in love with after spending some time with her. The role might be a little too similar to her character in Deadwood (ugly woman trying to find her place in a man’s world), but at least we know she can pull off the complexity of the role. I hope she’s at least in consideration!

Veelo: I have always been partial to Robin Weigart (Deadwood’s Calamity Jane) as Brienne.

I’ve seen multiple suggestions of Robin Weigart and I think they come from the same place as the suggestions of Katee Sackhoff. We’ve seen both of these actresses play characters with some thematic similarities to Brienne, and therefore they spring to mind pretty readily.

Still, while I mentioned earlier that age isn’t a huge factor for me, Weigart is a year older than NCW. That would throw the dynamic off considerably in my opinion.

I think Calamity Jane and Starbuck are kind of around the place where we’ll end up with Brienne, though. Someone who is less feminine than we’re used to seeing on screen, but not quite where Brienne was in the books.

Veelo: I have always been partial to Robin Weigart (Deadwood’s Calamity Jane) as Brienne.She has masculine features, serious acting chops, but also the type of charisma that you can see a certain someone starting to fall in love with after spending some time with her.The role might be a little too similar to her character in Deadwood (ugly woman trying to find her place in a man’s world), but at least we know she can pull off the complexity of the role.I hope she’s at least in consideration!    

paulgude:
I’d say that the ability to fight outweighs size for me, too.The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that there’s at least one actress out there who will start courting HBO and the fans for their consideration as Brienne like Conan and Kristian did for their respective roles.    

And could that person be Gwendoline Christie?
It was the most likely candidate we’ve been shuffling: english, right price, stage and film experience, not opposed to nude filming and above all, extraordinary physique for the role. She’s 6’3” tall!

What’s the story on Gwendoline? I know nothing about her and she’s got basically nothing on imdb. What the interest, outside of the fact that she’s very tall?

I think all we really need is a woman who is tall and at least kind of muscler. I think that those two qualitys alone would make her less desirable to many of the men of Westeros.

Or we can get Joe to play her… But he’s still my favorite for Gilly. :p

Gwendoline Christie is known more for theatre than film, which seems to be a trend with casting. As mentioned, she’s also tall, which helps.

As far as someone courting HBO and/or the fans, I mean I feel that there’s going to be a woman none of us have heard of or considered who writes a blog article or puts out a video about why she should be Brienne. I just have a feeling it will happen.

Regarding Noomi Rapace, I’m about to watch The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo right now. Until then, I can’t really say.

I will consider it a real cop-out if Brienne is prettier than it was intended in the books. Having a very unattractive woman as a major character, Martin is dealing head-on with a very real human truth – ugly people are a part of the human condition, even if TV world hides them away. We feel Brienne’s pain when she remembers suitors coming to meet her and the look of disappointment on their faces when they see she’s ugly. This vulnerability is part of what makes Brienne’s character so vivid and memorable. And the fact that people like her exist, unlike in many fictional worlds, makes Westeros so much more real.

I like the way Martin doesn’t shy away from her looks. She is big, butch, has large teeth, manly hands, wispy hair and a muscular chest. But hey, many real women look like this. The fact that most fiction only has average-to-attractive women in it is ignoring the truth of the human condition, that many people are not physically attractive and have to live with that. Martin chooses to face this reality, just as how by creating the character of Sam he chose to portray the reality that some people are just weak and timid.

If HBO make Brienne “hollywood ugly”, and that would include some of the suggestions here (Gwendoline Christie, Noomi Rapace, Robin Weigart, Katee Sackhoff!!!) I will be very disappointed. If they do this, we’ll be watching a scene where Jaime or other characters will be talking about what a freak Brienne is, and the viewers just *won’t believe it* because they’ll be looking at someone who is just average looking, even with a bit of make-up. It will seem less real.

I would suggest they try find a large, butch looking woman who’s not self-conscious about her looks but who has a below-average looking face. Then they can use hair and make-up to ugly her up. But someone with a slim, womanly physique will not do.

I agree that it will be a bit of a cop-out, but I don’t think the ugliness is as important as the masculinity. If they cast someone like Katee Sackhoff, her tough masculine side (so out of place in the world of Westeros) will serve essentially the same function that her ugliness does in the books. A woman trying to play the role of a knight in Westeros will still bring scorn and derision, and all kinds of insults. I think the overall theme will be the same, even if it’s toned down.

The sad truth is, people will not really want to watch a repulsively ugly actor. In other words, it may turn viewers off and cost the show ratings.

Meant to add a pic… here: check out the eyes

Lex,

I think that what they could do instead of her being ugly just having her being big and strong because no one wants to get with a chick who could kick your ass (well some might).

As I typed that I got an image of Walder Frey wearing all leather with a ball gag in his mouth. xD

I will consider it a real cop-out if Brienne is prettier than it was intended in the books. Having a very unattractive woman as a major character, Martin is dealing head-on with a very real human truth – ugly people are a part of the human condition, even if TV world hides them away.

Agreed. A pretty (or “Hollywood ugly”) Brienne would be like a tall Tyrion.

Nah, we’ve been over this before. Tyrion is fucking ugly, not because he is a dwarf, but because he indeed is very ugly. The same goes for Brienne, its made very clear in the books that she is so very ugly it is almost unbelievable. Not becuase she plays a mans role, she just – yuck- looking.

The Dude: Nah, we’ve been over this before. Tyrion is fucking ugly, not because he is a dwarf, but because he indeed is very ugly. The same goes for Brienne, its made very clear in the books that she is so very ugly it is almost unbelievable. Not becuase she plays a mans role, she just – yuck- looking.    

I don’t think that it needs to look like she was beat with the ugly stick though. I think that she could still be ugly but I think more importantly she needs to be tall and muscular. Like I said earlier what man in Westeros wants a chick who could kick his ass.

Dolorous Dave: I will consider it a real cop-out if Brienne is prettier than it was intended in the books. Having a very unattractive woman as a major character, Martin is dealing head-on with a very real human truth – ugly people are a part of the human condition, even if TV world hides them away. We feel Brienne’s pain when she remembers suitors coming to meet her and the look of disappointment on their faces when they see she’s ugly. This vulnerability is part of what makes Brienne’s character so vivid and memorable. And the fact that people like her exist, unlike in many fictional worlds, makes Westeros so much more real.

This.

Another thought for Brienne; what about a stunt woman actress. Is Zoe Bell available?

I’m sure Brienne will be quite plain. I just don’t think she needs to be Nanny McPhee, ya know? ;P

Also, they cast a relatively handsome Tyrion, and people have stoppped going on and on about that.

FlayedandDisplayed: Noomi Rapace is the actress I meant.Lisbeth Salander is the character, duh.    

Noomi Rapace is a badass, but she is a tiny badass… pure physique-wise she wouldn’t work for me at all, never mind the non-ugliness.

Kathrina Martinsen: Noomi Rapace is a badass, but she is a tiny badass… pure physique-wise she wouldn’t work for me at all, never mind the non-ugliness.  

This is pretty much exactly what I was going to post after watching The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I would also agree with the poster a few posts up that she’s not even Hollywood ugly.

As far as the folks saying that Brienne will be plain or ugly, I used to think the exact same thing, and I still think she *should* be. Already, however, we’ve seen Osha cast as an attractive young woman. That altered my perception of what HBO is willing to change from the book. Again, Natalia Tena didn’t show up to that audition on accident. That’s not the way it works.

I’m not talking about what I want, just what I expect.

I think we’ll get a nod to the Brienne in the books. The actress won’t be considered traditionally attractive once she’s in costume and makeup. However, I don’t think she’ll be ugly enough to match the description.

I’m expecting a shot of her taking off her helmet after beating someone into submission, hair soaked in sweat, breathing heavily. Thousands of geeks will look at her bruised face and see someone that *they* could find attractive. John Hughes did it with Watts in Some Kind of Wonderful. The “ugly” girl who is actually more attractive than the “pretty” girls. It would be a pure marketing decision. She’d be ugly enough not to go against the books entirely, but have an appeal that attracts viewers.

Again, not saying this is what I want, but what I expect. If they do make her completely unappealing, I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Or, if you prefer action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qRAX-WCn_I

FlayedandDisplayed,

She’s the strongest contender for my idea of Brienne! Well done! She’d need to be uglied up a bit though – got the physique ok just still not as ugly as I imagined Brienne.

Wow, we need to start courting Zoe Bell for Brienne right now, because I can’t imagine that we’re going to get anything more awesome than her!

paulgude,

I like her. Problem solved!

Agreed. I’d believe she could kick someone’s ass. Getting someone who can act and fight realistically at the same time can’t be underestimated.

Yep. Casting someone who would need to be uglied-up and also aging-up the character would have been concerns for me six months ago, but as the series production progresses it’s becoming it’s own thing. We’re already far enough away from the books that Zoe Bell would completely work for me.

sjwenings,

What does “squite” mean…? And edit function would be nice.

sjwenings,

dont let her hear you call her british :D

Oh… Oh, well.

paulgude: She’s from New Zealand, but I don’t think her accent will be a problem.  Quote  Reply

Hm… Not to me, clearly.

FlayedandDisplayed: so how does one go about building a casting groundswell for Zoe?  

Talking about her here is a good step. If nothing else, she’ll probably be included in one of Winter-Is-Coming.net’s casting poll. People involved in the production read this blog, it is known.

Once Season Two is green-lit, interest in Brienne’s casting will definitely ramp up, so building a small base now would be cool.

If I still had access to the directory of agents that I used to, a quick note to her agents about this discussion and a suggestion for them to look for the green-light announcement wouldn’t be out of place. Unfortunately, I don’t have those contacts any more.

I like Zoe Bell too, although I don’t see why she’s so different from a person like Katie Sackhoff. Both can throw a punch and be very physical. Zoe obviously has more experience there. Simultaneously, Sackhoff has far more acting experience, and I was very impressed with her in Battlestar. And neither of them is ugly. Neither is drop dead gorgeous, but still rather Hollywood.

Personally, I like them both.

Steve B,

I wouldn’t be disappointed with Katee Sackhoff either but she was so good as Starbuck I think I’d only see her ..though I know makeup can do wonders…I’ll put her as a close second…would like some new blood that’s all

My issues with Katee Sackhoff pretty much ended once Natalia Tena was cast as Osha. I used to doubt HBO would cast her, but now I’m not so sure. I like her fine in BSG (just finished 2.5 for the first time) but agree with Coltaine777 that there’d be enough of a crossover between Starbuck and the type of Brienne I think HBO might go for that it could get distracting.

Still, no longer a big problem for me. The show is rapidly becoming its own deal.

I still think they’re both awesome of course.

I sent a please consider message to the PR company that put up Zoe Bell’s profile on imdb. It’ll probably get trashed in their spam filter or something, but it can’t hurt right?

sjwenings,

There’s a chance that Katee Sackhoff’s Starbuck is what HBO’s version of Brienne will become.

I’m not saying it’s ideal, but you may want to brace yourself for the possibility.

I personally didn’t think it’d happen, but now I’m not so sure.

I’m not at all worried if the actress they choose for Brienne is ugly, plain, or gorgeous. Make up does wonders, and, as it’s already been pointed out, HBO has already cast some actors who dont match the physical descriptions of their characters, ie Osha, Tyrion (both much more attractive than their original descriptions). Like others, I’m just hoping they cast someone who has the physical chops for the role and can make us believe she really can kick some ass. Some of the suggestions so far ( Zoe Bell for one ) have been great.

I think it should be reminded that they cast Gethin Anthony as Renly, who Brienne is in love with, and bear in mind the age difference/appearance between Gethin and whomever they cast as Brienne. I’m not sure how old Gethin is, but he’s quite young-looking in my opinion… early twenties? Shouldn’t Brienne appear around the same age? Otherwise, I’m afraid her obsession with Renly might not be as believable on screen. Just a thought.

sjwenings: I really don’t see how the Natalia Tena-casting should mean all that much. Oshas age is not given in the books and not much of a physical description either that i can remember. At least not one that defines who she is as a character much.  

Here’s the thing. I’m not saying that changing Osha is going to affect the series much. However, what physical description of her there is in the book is counter to the casting.

She looks more like a man than a woman to Bran. Her face is hard, nearly identical to the other wildings. (Bran V) Natalia Tena doesn’t have that issue.

She’s a head taller than Robb (Bran V) while Natalia Tena is 5′ 5″. She’s almost always described as “the tall woman,” and this does have some impact on the action.

Osha carries Bran in her arms rather than her back, and is as hard as old iron Bran VII).

Don’t mistake me for someone who has a problem with the show differing from the book. I think she’s going to be fine.

We have a test case here, though. Someone who over the course of the book is described as a mannish, tall woman with breasts like two empty purses is being played by Natalia Tena.

GRRM even says:

When I saw that she was reading for Osha, my first thought was, “She’s great, but no way, she’s too young and too hot.” Then I saw her reading, and none of the other Oshas had a chance.

I’m fully prepared for a similar revelation to occur when it comes time for them to cast Brienne. “No one thought _________ would work as Brienne because she doesn’t exactly fit the book description, but she embodies the spirit of the character. She *was* Brienne. I think even die-hard purists may just be won over,” or some such.

Again, this isn’t a complaint. This is just me constantly altering my guess when new information comes in. And, that’s all it is. A guess.

As always, I’ll be more than happy if I’m wrong.

FlayedandDisplayed,

No it can’t …thx for tryin

To everyone saying that Brienne’s LOOKS are not as important as her PHYSIQUE, I have to say – did we read the same books?!

It is NOT Brienne’s physical strength that makes her unappealing to Westrosian men. It is the fact that she is ugly that she is rejected. Martin goes to great pains to demonstrate this by holding up examples of women fighters who ARE accepted. These women are good fighters/strong/tough physique who are totally accepted because they are still considered marriagable once they put down the axe (see: Bear Islanders, Asha Greyjoy, Meera Reed).

Brienne is put up as different fundamentally from these other women. She becomes a knight only because she is not ALLOWED to be a lady. That is why she is such a sad, lonely character.

I am glad that people are looking for women who could possibly play Brienne convincingly, but that New Zealand stunt woman who was suggested just doesn’t fit this description. She is quite attractive as well as buff and would be a great cast for one of the female Mormonts (or Asha were she quite a bit younger) but not Brienne.

So now I’m sure people will wonder who I think WOULD cut it. Of course the problem here is that very few unattractive women are allowed to work in film or theatre, let alone someone downright ugly.

However, Brienne is very young. I believe she is supposed to be 19 or 20 during aCoK. It is more likely that one could find an unknown young woman who has only worked on stage or locally who is actually ugly and very tall but who actually has acting chops. Unfortunately such women usually aren’t allowed to move much beyond the local level – so it would be a dream cast for this person. For this character, I strongly urge HBO etc to continue to look where they have been looking – at very young unknowns.

OldGran,

I agree. Also, what strikes me about Brienne is that, regardless of her age, she didn’t exactly graduate first in her “Emotional Maturity” class. I see Brienne (certainly pre-Jaime, anyway) as very much an innocent; she never seems to have had anyone to really connect with, male or female, on a romantic or a companionable level. So even if the actress in question were to be older than Renly (and of course, makeup produces flexible ranges of age, yadda-yadda) I think her adoration of him would still make sense. In fact, if they want to go that way, the older she is, the sadder and more pathetic she becomes– and the greater the contrast to her formidable capabilities on the battlefield.

So really, they have a very wide range of ways to go with Brienne, most entirely canonical, and as of now, I’m just excited to see which way they will go. (In other words, season two, season two, oh please let us get a season two!)

Winter Is Coming,

Ive been reading since 1997 :(

My only concern about Zoe Bell is whether she can do an English accent. I don’t think we should just assume that a New Zealand accent is close enough, and that it would be easy for her to do an English one. Especially if her background is in stunt work and not acting, the accent may be tricky.

CriticalGeek, exactly. The accent isn’t a problem unless it is, in which case our suggesting her is moot.

Also, late “well done” to FlayedandDisplayed. Always nice to let PR folks know there’s buzz about their client.

sjwenings,

Is she British – I thought she sounded Australian!

I’m afraid I prefer the way the old set up allowed replies to other people’s comments to be seen AFTER the first comment and not at the end of the thread! I get confused in a long thread like this one, and have to go back over it to see which comment someone is answering, especially if it’s a dgression on the main theme. That’s the ONLY criticism of this new layout WIC! and just IMHO.

Lex:
She’s a New Zealander.    

Oh, and in case anyone’s not sure what the difference is, Jemaine from The Flight of the Conchords (New Zealanders) once described an Australian accent as “kind of an evil version of our accent”. :)

Sjwenings,

I’m not sure what you mean by, “Not good enough.”

I’m simply stating that Osha is going to be different from the books. It’s a fact. GRRM said it himself. I’m not saying that anyone should feel bad about it, but there’s also nothing wrong (in my opinion) with acknowledging that it happened.

I’m also not sure what you mean by it still possibly happening, “But not so much because of the Osha casting.”

If it happens, it happens. My acknowledgement of a difference in the character or your disagreement over what I presented won’t affect it one way or another.

The only thing I mean to say is that I used to be positive Brienne would be ugly, and after Osha was cast, I’m not. If you still have the utmost faith, bully for you.

I don’t know about you, but I’m starving here. HBO should throw some meet.
Maybe composer or family portrait of Lannisters :D.

I agree that Brienne’s appearance is more important than Osha’s. Natalia Tena doesn’t look like I imagined Osha- but with the right makeup might pass for a shorter, younger version of that character.

Brienne’s stature is far more important than being naturally ugly I think. Makeup can do wonders- if the actress cast has a pretty face, the makeup team will be able to turn her ugly. They have greater challenges to face than that. And don’t forget the pictures we see of most actresses will be made to look as beautiful as possible, not the opposite. But you can’t make a skinny girl muscular, or a short girl tall. Lifts in shoes can only do so much.

Zoe Bell seems great, but I think she fails on the height issue. If IMDB is correct, she’s 5’8″. Brienne needs to look a similar height to Jaime- 6’2 1/2″ according to IMDB. It just won’t work if she’s that much shorter than him. Brienne should be big and awkward (except when fighting), So I think the actress needs to be at least 5’11″, preferably taller, and broad shouldered enough that she can hit the gym and get the required physique if she doesn’t already have it.

I’m sure there are plenty of talented actresses out there who are tall enough. While it’s possible HBO may decide to go for a shorter girl, I think this would significantly change the character, so I hope they don’t. They’ve done well so far, give them a chance.

I had it, Dizzy, few days ago.
Now my rabbit-pic appeared.

I was wondering how HBO will create the dragons and direwolves. This is where fantasy can go all wrong if the otherworldly aspects are too cartoonish and fake looking. I think they are using real wolf pup for the first season, but adult direwolves are not only bigger but have a longer jawline and a more predatorlike stance. The dragons wont be a problem until a later season, they start out like Faberge eggs. As they hatch each baby dragon is the color of their eggshell. (the scene I can hardly wait for is the hatching)

I can’t remember who mentioned her many many months ago but I gotta bring her up again…the female wrestler Awesome Kong wouldve been perfect for Brienne….wrong race however…I think a ‘black’ Brienne should be considered…if there going purely on stature she fits the bill…or is that way too radical ?(assuming she can do accent)

I presume hyper-secrecy is normal kind of thing…or maybe not?

I’ve pretty much never seen effects on a tv-show that I’ve been completely satisfied with; so I have a foreboding feeling when it comes to how the dragons will look. I’ll be very disappointed if the direwolves will only ever be as large as normal wolves. I think the fact that the lords of old in Winterfell used to have direwolves at their sides and now completely by chance a direwolf for each of Ned’s children is found, seems symbolic with the trouble heading their way. As if they will need them in the times ahead. Normal wolves, seems to.. weaken the impact I think.

Of course, cr*ppt looking chi wolves will also weaken the impact. Lol

If I have to pick my poison, I’d go for real wolves that look real versus cgi wolves that look bad but are the right size. I’ve just never seen cgi animals done believably , particularly those with fur.

I’ve atleast seen dragons look very cool in movies. That’s a plus.

Exactly, shallion more like promo at the final episode of Boardwalk Empire’s first season. What’s the point for promoting a show which will debute in six months?

I think that Game of Thrones couldn’t be in better position than it is right know.
One critic saw the unfinished pilot and he told that they knock it out.
Yeah, there is a chance that he did that for good PR, but what is the point of good PR at te stage of pilot? Considering that they added Rome cinematographers, it makes mu pumped 400% more. Everyone saw how beautiful were the sets for Rome.

Dunno if u know, but HBO is going to spend $10 mln on promotion for Boardwalk Empire, impressive amount of cash.

I’m pretty sure that they will mix real things with CGI. They used a bit of CGI in building a boardwalk, so we will see how it will look. About dragons I don’t know.
I have never seen cheap CGI in any HBO’s show.

About direwolves – a few years back they should have breed an irish wolfhound with a wolf to get those ridiculously long legs while keeping the wolf look. Anyone have a time machine?

Alternatively maybe they can find some already trained large breed mutts out there that have some wolf blood.

userj,

Wow, those *are* huge dogs.

I think you guys have stumbled on one of the tricks they will use to depict the direwolves– the irish wolfhounds. The idea of one in a wolf costume is pretty grand. :-)

An Irish wolfhound used to take his man for a walk across the street from my house. He sauntered along , just turning his head now and then to check if anyone forgot their pork chops or donuts on the roof of their car when bringing in the groceries….or maybe for cats or.. squirrels ! He barely had to raise his chin. ( My Shih Tzu used to go crazy trying to mark the same trees.)

I agree they need some real animal incorporation.