Were you one of the folks selected to take part in the upcoming focus group of A Song of Ice and Fire fans in New York City? If so, you’re in luck. We’ve received word that the focus group will be screened the entire first episode of Game of Thrones! The focus group is set to take place on Nov. 9th. Assuming the members of the focus group are not under some sort of NDA about what they’ve seen, we plan to have a full report.
Winter Is Coming: Kicking myself for not applying for this now. NYC is only an hour and a half drive from me. Oh well. Not sure if screening the entire first episode is standard practice or not. Usually I think you get a trailer or maybe a few clips. At any rate, I’m hoping we get a chance to hear some detailed reports!
UPDATE: Ran has confirmed that the focus group members will be under an NDA, so unfortunately no details. Hopefully we can at least report their general impressions of the show.
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42 Comments
OMFG
userjQuote Reply
Please, WiC don’t include any spoils in any possible info that may come up concerning the first episode! I have read the books, but personally i ‘d like to see it whole when it’s done and on the air officially . Please, put a read more button or something..
D4skalosMQuote Reply
those lucky, lucky s.o.b.s holy cow. Full reports expected!
dizzy_34Quote Reply
I called it! By George, I wish I lived anywhere near NYC.
clumsy_plumsyQuote Reply
Wondering whether this will be to view the pilot episode ?
I would have thought that the final 1st episode would not be complete for some time yet – particularly the CGI / special effects ? Also viewing the pilot would still leave enough fiddling room to allow feedback to inform the production of the finalised 1st episode that would be aired.
Just a thought.
Martin
MartinQuote Reply
I forgot to send them my phone number. Just emailed them again now.
Oh pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!!!!
InkasrainQuote Reply
Wow, they’re really interested in making sure the books’ fan base is on board…
izakmoQuote Reply
wtb some west coast love for fans…
DamphairQuote Reply
I would almost put my mortgage on the attendees being heavily NDA’d – and wouldn’t expect any comments to be forthcoming.
Martin
MartinQuote Reply
I am so insanely jealous right now.
I received a pamphlet in the mail last week from my satellite provider offering 3 free months of the movie package (which includes HBO Canada) so I figured I might as well subscribe now so I can catch the previews whenever they’re on.
Raynette SchroederQuote Reply
……………………………….
Alas, nothing I can do about it now.
JarmelQuote Reply
Cool, its nice to see that they’re showing them a full episode and asking for their opinion on it. Though if from what I thought we know of the filming so far I didn’t think they had done all the pilot re-shoots yet? But they did say “first episode” not “Pilot” so it’ll be interesting to hear what the focus group say about it (provided they’re allowed to talk about it).
GrinbombQuote Reply
Grinbomb,
Aren’t the pilot and first episode the same thing?
Raynette SchroederQuote Reply
I had a feeling that would be why they needed a screening audience. I wonder if this is usual for a pilot? What do they hope to learn at this ‘late’ point in the production?
reedgirlQuote Reply
Coool! At least 4 months early. Lucky bastards!
I’m interested in hearing the general opinion, but I think I’m going to try to avoid any major spoilers. We’re only getting 10 episodes, and I want to save as much surprise as possible.
LexQuote Reply
Raynette Schroeder,
The pilot is the previously constructed episode for the purposes of HBO making a decision whether they will the series up. The First episode is the reshoot of the pilot with whatever changes have occured since last year. So they may be showing the pilot to audiences which is different than what they will see on tv when the show airs. or they may be showing episode 1 without the full special effects.
MratfinkQuote Reply
Now I am really bummed about not getting an email response back from the focus group…
Winter, surprised you didn’t jump on this from Jersey!
Derek SharpQuote Reply
D4skalosM,
That is indeed our policy. No spoilers on the main page, always embedded – so it will always be safe even for complete newcomers to read the entire front page.
Hear Me RoarQuote Reply
The report we got did say “pilot” episode. But I took that to mean the first episode. I really don’t think that they would show the previously shot pilot as there have been so many changes and recasts since. It would be risky to show the old pilot, as you generally don’t want to have that out there for the fans to compare the new stuff with.
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
I doubt they will be showing them last years pilot, can’t see the point really with so many roles (inc two leads) recast. So it will be the reshot first episode but possibly without some sfx and with a temp score.
MormegilQuote Reply
reedgirl,
These focus groups are generally more “marketing concepts” not production oriented. As you say…this late in the game, D&D’s vision is what we are getting! I would assume the might ask which parts really struck the audience for promo materials.
MavisQuote Reply
Argh, I did the last focus group, and all they did was ask us questions about which characters we liked. I think I’m still in the mix for this one, but haven’t heard one way or another for sure. Their last email said they would let people know soon.
Ironically, last time they asked us about 10 semi-difficult questions about the books before they signed us up – “How did Tywin Lannister’s wife die?”
This time the questions were much more about what sort of other meida we had read/seen and how we felt about it.
CypherQuote Reply
Squeeee!
Well, apparently I’ll be there :)
Will look forward to meeting up with those of you able to make it. How exciting. This does make me want to re-read AGoT again in time for the focus group, though, just to be clear about certain details.
Assuming they say we’re free to talk about our experience I’ll be more than happy to write something up if no one else feels like it.
ZackQuote Reply
Dear All,
This is the email I have received in response to my application for a seat in the focus group:
“Dear A Song of Ice and Fire Fan,
Thank you for your interest in taking part in our focus groups. We love your enthusiasm! You have been entered into a database from which we will select people to receive callbacks at random. If you are selected, you will receive a call in the next week from a member of our team. If you are not selected at random, you will receive an email within the next two weeks to inform you. Regardless, everyone will be kept in mind for future A Song of Ice and Fire events.
Thanks again for your time and passion!
The whY-Q Team”
This email was sent to me on October 30th. However, the fact that they have made public the dates of the focus group but have not contacted me, does not bode well for me…
Will keep you posted if anything happens.
By the way, since this is my first post here, I have been following WiC since GRRM’s shout out… and I am obviously quite a fan of the books
Mattia ZarulliQuote Reply
Mattia Zarulli,
I got the same email. If I don’t hear anything, I may just call day-of and ask if there were any cancelations. (I’m unemployed, so what the hell!)
InkasrainQuote Reply
Bah! I knew I should have signed up for this one. Been a busy few weeks lately and I just kind of let it go.
Oh well.
BrudeQuote Reply
Usually that is the case, yes. Generally from what I understand of Hollywood they shoot a pilot episode first, then if the suits for the company that is producing the potential show likes it they make more episodes, and that pilot then becomes the first episode.
The reason why I made a distinction is HBO made a pilot last year, but they decided they would re-shoot it. So as I see it the stuff they shot in 2009 that they decided to go ahead and order 10 episodes is the pilot, and the re shoot of those same scenes this year would be the first episode.
GrinbombQuote Reply
Mattia Zarulli,
I also applied to the focus group, over the phone. I have not yet received an e-mail back at all, though this may be because those are done differently. The exact words of the guy on the phone were “we’ll probably be able to fit you in”….I should call tomorrow to see if they got my e-mail wrong, or if I was just put into a sorting program…they made no mention of it.
Given that I said “I’m a medieval European graduate student actually living in New York City”, I thought I was a lock to get in. They said the age range they had as a cutoff was 25-40 years old…given that I only recently turned 25, I think I got in under the wire.
Fire and blood!
TheDragonDemandsQuote Reply
Oh, I could come… And I would! I just live an 8 hour flight away… And hell yeah, I’d hop unto a plane instantly.
JulianQuote Reply
I emailed them back when the first post was made, but I never heard back from them :( Meh. Going to try to email again.
The Winter RoseQuote Reply
I didn’t get a response to my email, either, FWIW, so I decided to actually call in a few days ago. They asked me questions about what TV shows I watched, and yesterday I was officially invited when they called me back to confirm my availability. Try calling, if you’re really interested :)
ZackQuote Reply
I just called, and they said they were completely booked.
Dammit.
For what it’s worth, the woman I spoke to was nice about it, though. She double-checked to make sure, so I appreciate that, at least…
InkasrainQuote Reply
I didn’t receive any strange emails about random selection – the guy told me right over the phone that i was exactly the kind of person they were looking for, that i was selected, and that i had actually grabbed the VERY LAST SPOT. He told me he’d be sending me an email thursday or friday with all the info about the event.
BrianQuote Reply
Brian,
this was a few days ago, mind you.
BrianQuote Reply
Brian,
yes, this is what happened to me; maybe it was different when done over the phone, but they acted as if I was *confirmed* to be in, and while they did say I’d be getting an e-mail on November 1st – which I never received – they made no mention of a random drawing.
I will need to call them tomorrow.
Frankly, it seemed like things are a bit confused over there, and its not entirely their fault: I was among the first to call. As in, I called up and they acted openly surprised that anyone knew they were even running a focus group on this. Later, they often complained that HBO should not have set the due date for the focus group barely 2-3 weeks after they *hired* this focus group….most of them said they’d never even read Game of Thrones and didn’t even know the basic premise. This is I think why the “Screener questions” asked this time had nothing to do with the book….the first screener group months ago had hard questions but they switched to an entirely different focus group company now.
I think they may have been stalling for time because they’re frantically studying up on the show….however, I blame HBO for this not them; how could you possibly hire a 3rd party focus group and tell them to run a study on a book adaptation they’ve never heard of, in only 3 weeks?
The Dragon DemandsQuote Reply
As previously mentioned, I called them twice (first on Thursday, then the following Monday when they said they would call and didn’t). Both times I was assured someone would be calling me back to take my information. They didn’t. I got the email on Saturday which I am guessing was in response to the email I sent prior to my phone calls, but that’s it. I’m glad some people got through and were interviewed over the phone — can’t help but be disappointed and somewhat miffed that I wasn’t even given the chance to be screened/considered, and was lied to in terms of people getting back to me.
Congrats to the people who did get in though. I hope it’s a really fun experience for you.
Jan FennickQuote Reply
Mavis
You learn something new every day. Thank you :)
reedgirlQuote Reply
Well, I finally got my confirmation e-mail. Possibly because I signed up over the phone, this was not to say I was in a lottery, but simply confirming that I was in and all I had to do was RSVP.
the funny thing was…they mixed up the first e-mail they sent out. Well, they gave the right date and time, but they said it was a focus group for “packaged snacks” :)
Then they quickly sent a second e-mail saying it was the correct date/time but it was of course for Game of Thrones.
Fire and blood!
The Dragon DemandsQuote Reply
I got the same confirmation email this morning, but then a few hours later I got a phone call saying the group was postponed “until after the new year.”
Not sure who to trust. D:
JimQuote Reply
Jim,
strange, I received a personal phone call, saying it was moved “to next week” due to complications with Veteran’s Day next week.
The Dragon DemandsQuote Reply
I got a voicemail today too. Didn’t mention a specific new date for the group, but they said the postponement was due to the holiday, and that I remain at the top of their list for a rescheduled group. I’ll give them a call tomorrow to ask if there is anything more specific.
Bummer.
ZackQuote Reply
i received the same call, saying it was rescheduled until after the new year.
but, they did say that anyone who was chosen will be at the top of the list for when it IS rescheduled.
Danielle Parlatore DalyQuote Reply
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