Two new interview videos

My my, Emilia, you’re really going for stardom, aren’t you? Wonder who’s interiew technique she’s copying… I wished for a little more authenticity— but as long as she’s doing fine with Dany, I’ll be fine with her.

Thanks for using a tripod, MTV ;)

But seriously, R+L=J has to be that secret! It make a ridiculous amount of sense. Rhaegar “kidnaps” Lyanna and “rapes” her. Her brave brother and betrothed go to rescue her, only when her brother finds her she’s dying of purpureal sepsis and she confesses that the son is not only Rhaegar’s but that she loves him. Knowing that Robert would kill the boy on sight if he ever found out that he was the son of Rhaegar, she beseeches her brother to raise him as his own son and protect him from the wrath of Robert. Doing this totally violates every fibre of Ned’s morals, but his love for Lyanna is so great that he promises to do it. And he does. He suffers greatly for it – his wife always bears him and Jon a grudge, during which Ned has to just stand by as she mistreats him, he keeps this secret from his best friend, and he lives with the knowledge that he killed Arthur Dayne, arguably one of the people he respected most in his life – all because of a misunderstanding.

I mean, seriously. People have to be crazy to not see it.

Stella Maris,

erm…puerperal sepsis. Damn, need an edit button!

I loved the point when they said it was not NC17 but a Hard R, they then joked that SEASON TWO could be (I guess they are referring to the infamous Jaime/Cersei bloody sex in the Sept scene).
Furthermore it sounds to me they are going to build up the terrible secret in the show, just by mentioning this in the interview they are hyping it up.

Tysnow,

that doesn’t happen till book 3.

Jaime spends all of season 2 as a prisoner in Riverrun

Tysnow,

Even though that scene is in book 3, book 2 probably has the highest quantity of sex, 90% of it between Tyrion and Shae. But it should be pretty simple to tone it down a bit… a lot can be suggested without having to resort to 5 minute porns every time. I actually hope they’ll add more sex scenes with different characters in season 2, to add variety since so much if it is just one pair.

Jenny: My my, Emilia, you’re really going for stardom, aren’t you? Wonder who’s interiew technique she’s copying… I wished for a little more authenticity— but as long as she’s doing fine with Dany, I’ll be fine with her.  Quote  Reply

I don’t think she’s being fake or disingenuous. I genuinely think that she’s just excited about the role. Plus she’s just naturally very positive and pleasant. I happen to know people who are like that. They smile a lot and tend to look for the good in things rather than the bad.

I actually thought that she was being being over the top when I saw the first video. But I changed my mind when I re-watched it. It’s not as if she giggled or tittered her way through the entire interview. There are parts when she laughed but other parts when she didn’t. Personally I find Emelia’s attitude a refreshing change from the usual jaded, and entitled attitude that I’ve seen in many young actresses (I am looking at you Kristen Stewart).

Couldn’t the “terrible secret” simply be the idea that Ned has a Bastard Son?

The statement could just be D and D trying to get people unfamiliar with the books to watch the pilot. I am not sure that they would get into speculative secrets right off the bat.

Tysnow,

That would fall in season three or four, as it happens in the second half of Storm of Swords.

Brendan: That particular incident, with an innkeepers daughter, I think, happens offscreen. Chiswyck is boasting about it to other men in Harrenhal; Arya overhears, and makes Chiswyck her first death from Jaqen H’gar.

I agree here. You really think they are going to play up a “terrible secret” that wont be revealed until book 5 or later? With new audiences trying to understand GoT’s plot for the first time?

Agreed, R+L=J has to be true. On top of all the evidence presented above, don’t forget about Dany’s trip to the House of the Undying in Book II. She is told that the Dragon has three heads. One would be her, two would be Vicerys, making Jon the final surviving Targaryen! Also, pile onto that the fact that he would be part Ice (Stark) and part Fire (Targaryen). This whole thing is called a Song of Ice and Fire, and the fact that Jon embodies both makes him very important indeed.

Also, might be worth mentioning that Dany has three mounts to ride: One to bed (Drogo), One to Dread (probably Drogon) and one to love (our boy Jon perhaps?). Would be fitting since the Targaryen’s used to marry siblings to each other, although Jon and Dany would be aunt and nephew.

Jenny: My my, Emilia, you’re really going for stardom, aren’t you? Wonder who’s interiew technique she’s copying… I wished for a little more authenticity— but as long as she’s doing fine with Dany, I’ll be fine with her.    

Oh dear, female envy…

ablaaa,

Yeah, because every woman who criticises another woman is automatically envious. *rolls eyes*

I agree with Jenny, Emilia is really pretty and I like her as Dany but in this interview she seemed a bit contrived to me.

Eh, maybe she was sick – maybe the interviewer was an ass. Credit to her for keeping her enthusiasm up, whatever the problem was.

Especially the beginning of Emilia’s interview feels a bit rehearsed. It’s not until the end that her natural enthusiasm shows through I think.

If she seems “forced” it’s probably because she knew she was inevitably going to be asked about the nudity and had a largely pre-planned answer for it. Which is understandable, because trying to ad-lib an answer for that could be a lot more awkward than sounding a little scripted.

Personally, I think that of all the actors on the show (both vets like Bean/Dinklage/Headey and fellow newbies like Harington) she seems to be by far the best public ambassador for it in interviews so far. Coster-Waldau was also pretty good.

Tysnow,

I don’t know if it’s one or the other, but I don’t think we’ll see Chiswyck’s story. It isn’t important, or even much related to the plot at all, and it doesn’t provide any important character information. In fact, I think it works better as it is in the book, a story overheard by Arya; Chiswyck finds it hilarious, as do the other men. Watching Arya overhear this tale of unfathomable cruelty would be much more powerful than seeing a pretty meaningless rape scene.

I do think we might well see the scene with Tysha at some point, though. It’s integral to Tyrion’s psychology, as well as his relationships with Jaime and Tywin. Graphic, yes, but I wouldn’t consider such a scene at all extraneous or unnecessary.

Wow, cut Emilia some slack. I think people don’t fully understand how difficult doing this sort of press can be. She’s a complete newcomer, this sort of attention has to be overwhelming, and I think she’s handling herself extraordinarily well. She’s obviously an intelligent, enthusiastic, girl, maybe even a bit bubbly, but you can tell from her earlier interview that there’s a very active brain behind the pretty face that has a very nuanced understanding of her character.

Every time I see Emilia Clarke, I love her even more. She is so genuine, well-spoken, beautiful and enthusiastic. Obviously a clip taken from a larger interview. Must be hard to talk about sexy-mcsexalot around the parents, even if you’re a young actress. Ugh.

In all honesty, D & D don’t entirely blow me away. (Some seem to revere them as gods on this site and others). I am glad they’re interested in the ASOIAF community, but I can’t seem to see them as much more than millionaire industry-sponsored suits who are responsible for tossing (corporately approved and board-of-directors processed) treats to the fans. Like the zookeeper at a monkey exhibit.

Maybe I can smell the money beneath the ‘approachable, casual-dress, star-trek name-dropping’ personas? Or maybe I’m jealous? Or so impatient for the show to air that any bone I am thrown doesn’t feel like enough?

Ser_G,

While this is true, it is also an important scene for Gregor, and we see far fewer of those than we do of Arya. This is one of the most evil acts that Gregor commits, and it’s not at all in the line of duty to the Lannisters.

Regarding the NC-17 stuff in Season 2,

“Is there gold in the village? Where is Lord Berric? How many men?” etc.

This is brutal torture over the course of HOURS where the victim’s torment always ends in death. This is performed in front of children, generally, and Arya, specifically.

Lommy has been cast, too. We know how that ends.

It isn’t really possible to understand Arya’s character arc without depicting that horror.

Though when we reach King’s Landings, we can see a young girl have her clothes ripped off and beaten. Given her age and the nature of American audiences, I don’t think they will go that far (at least with a frontal shot) – but it’s not much better.

Mel giving birth to a shadow is not exactly tame either, though they can film that in a way where it isn’t necesarily over the top either. Most of this can be shot so it is not as graphic as it need be — though “Is there Gold in the village” and all the screaming — even as the camera focuses on Arya’s face and growing piss-yourself and go insane terror?

CoK is the darkest book in the series because of it. It’s almost relentlessly depressing. And deeply disturbing, too.

Steel_Wind: Regarding the NC-17 stuff in Season 2,

“Is there gold in the village? Where is Lord Berric? How many men?” etc.

This is brutal torture over the course of HOURS where the victim’s torment always ends in death. This is performed in front of children, generally, and Arya, specifically.

Lommy has been cast, too. We know how that ends.

Agreed. Probably the only moments so far that will come close to those in terms of how hard they will be to watch if done correctly (which I am in favor of BTW. No whitewashing these scenes please!) should be the scenes with Qyburn performing his “experiments” on the Blue Bard and that other woman Cersei sent down to him (Tanda Stokeworth?) in AFFC. Qyburn creeps me out worse than anyone else in the series.

Emilia is awesome, i love how enthusiastic she is in the Inside Game Of Thrones video.

The Dragon Demands: shows the Tysha gang rape then they

good lord, people are calling Emilia chubby??? Good grief… She looks like a beautiful normal sized young girl to me, which seems appropriate for Dany.

reedgirl,

I kind of agree. Benoiff has tried something similar before, with Troy, and that was a horrible adaptation. He hasn’t really ever created anything above average and just isn’t a very good writer. But, Martin likes what he’s doing, and he seems to have some reverence for the source material, so I’m hoping it’ll turn out alright.

rorschach-: Brad Villane, This could be true. At the moment every clue seems to point this, at least until someone thinks a better theory. Though I think that Parris has said some time ago that George would never write so obvious plotline.

She did say that, but c’mon, what would you expect her to say? In the immortal words of Slim Charles, “we fight on that lie.” Therein lies the tragedy; forbidden love = a kingdom torn apart.

Well, I was less than impressed by Troy..but the thing that bothered me most about it was the absence of the Gods. I could never see the point in retelling a myth as history. I have no real idea whose decision that was , but since it was an Oliver Stone movie , I’m guessing it was a decision of the humble Mr. Stone. :)
I see nor reason to be too aprhensive given that GRRM is apparently liking what they’ve done , so far.

Stella Maris, but that would defeat my Jon/Dany shipping!

Of course, it’s not like this series doesn’t have plenty of incest anyway.

obsidian,

As far as I’m aware, Oliver Stone had nothing to do with Troy. It was directed by Wolfgang Petersen.

obsidian,

You are thinking of Alexander, not Troy.

I actually think Troy is underrated… but I thought Wolverine was just awful.

Troy gets automatic bonus points for having Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson, and Peter O’Toole.

the goat,

You get a cookie for a great quote from The Wire. Love Slim Charles! Bonus point for being relevant.

And, before it gets too far, to the D&D nay-sayers; “Bite the hand that feeds you” comes to mind. They are giving us ASOIAF, you jackanapes!!

Winter Is Coming: Ahimsa Kerp,
Have you read either of Benioff’s books? David admitted that Troy was difficult because they were adapting a long work into feature film length. Here they have all the time they need to make a faithful adaptation.    

No, to be honest. But I have read the 2th hour and was entirely underwhelmed. Perhaps not his fault, but he shouldn’t have been paid 2.5 million for that script. Furthermore, I don’t think the excuse that it was a spec script (subject to much change) can vindicate him. I remember the praise his first draft got, and it was undeserved.

I haven’t seen Wolverine, and suspect that his vision wasn’t entirely represented, but three years should have resulted in something better.

He wrote 25th Hour??

Nice! Pretty fantastic film.

Ahimsa Kerp:
No, to be honest. But I have read the 2th hour and was entirely underwhelmed.Perhaps not his fault, but he shouldn’t have been paid 2.5 million for that script.Furthermore, I don’t think the excuse that it was a spec script (subject to much change) can vindicate him.I remember the praise his first draft got, and it was undeserved.I haven’t seen Wolverine, and suspect that his vision wasn’t entirely represented, but three years should have resulted in something better.    

I can’t help but laugh at this sort of sweeping statement. Suffice to say that if you don’t think 25th Hour qualifies as, at the very least, above average, your tastes are so far removed from my own that any further dialogue is likely to be impossible. As WiC pointed out, it made multiple best-of-the-decade lists of extremely respected critics, whose opinions I think can safely be recommended over random-dude-on-the-internet’s feeling of being underwhelmed.

I don’t think the guy’s flawless or anything, but 25th Hour was recognized as a masterpiece by a number of people that post here, including myself, long before Benioff became involved with Game of Thrones.

Emilia’s interview was wierd. Not that any of it was her fault. She looked and answered great. The MTV editing was god awful though.

D&D sounded spot on as usual. The more I hear these guys talk and explain the process of putting this show on, the more I feel comfortable and confident that George was wise to choose them as the team to carry his baby to the masses!

Good to hear he had little to do with Wolverine, since that movie is just pure garbage. Not only is the source material butchered but the movie plain sucks on every level. One of the worst movies I have ever seen.

Was initially little worried when I made the connection that Benioff is listed as writer on that, but always figured it was a case of others fucking it up since there’s no way a real writer could come up with that pile of shit.

Mr. Wu: If she seems “forced” it’s probably because she knew she was inevitably going to be asked about the nudity and had a largely pre-planned answer for it. Which is understandable, because trying to ad-lib an answer for that could be a lot more awkward than sounding a little scripted. Personally, I think that of all the actors on the show (both vets like Bean/Dinklage/Headey and fellow newbies like Harington) she seems to be by far the best public ambassador for it in interviews so far. Coster-Waldau was also pretty good.  Quote  Reply

Ok, totally agree with you. I’ll retract my former words because it’s not fair for Emilia to be judged only for a few seconds of an interview. That’s right, the interviewer could be a bad professional (It really seems so, and all that crap about her nakedness would make anyone to feel uncomfortable).
Emilia it’s a lovely woman and she deserves to became a huge star. I am grateful for her enthusiasm and love for the series. :)

the goat,

True, but I think Parris is quite straight with her words so if she really would have thought that the infamous plotline is true, she would have probably abide by another little less famous quote “If the only thing you can do is lie, then just shut the f**k up”, my dad said that by the way.

At least I really want to believe in this. For I would hate to be right when the big plotlines are revealed and I would be like, “yeah, I did see that coming 10 years ago”… literally.

Also Wirebrofist.

Regarding what Parris did or did not say, she did not actually say that George wouldn’t write something so obvious. Here’s the report of what she actually said:

“Do you really think George would do something so basic as Jon being the son of R&L?”

She doesn’t answer the question, in other words — she asks another question. Not quite the same as an answer. ;)

Ahimsa Kerp: reedgirl,
I kind of agree.Benoiff has tried something similar before, with Troy, and that was a horrible adaptation.He hasn’t really ever created anything above average and just isn’t a very good writer.But, Martin likes what he’s doing, and he seems to have some reverence for the source material, so I’m hoping it’ll turn out alright.    

I couldn’t disagree with you more

I take it you haven’t actually read any of his novels ?

You should try reading ‘City of Thieves’ it’s a fantastic book with a rich adult story set partly during the seige of Leningrad by the Nazis.

Winter Is Coming: Yes. Read our report of GRRM’s roundtable discussion to hear how the project started.

Will do, thanks! Also interested in reading Benioff’s ‘City of Thieves’ because of some of the positive comments about it here. Only problem is, I hate war stories! (I learned a lot about WWII in history, and it doesn’t interest me as ‘entertainment’. Sounds painful actually. I won’t watch war/holocaust/soldier/horror movies either. They just haunt me…)

IMO: I’m a pretty happy, bubbly person in my day-to-day life, but whenever I’m in a high stress situation (ie. job interview) I get crazy over-the-top bubbly. Its my default mode when I’m nervous, and I don’t even realize I’m doing it. Some people like that level of enthusiasm (“You were great! I love your energy!” ) and others find it off-putting (“You came on a little strong” “You were a little loud”). I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt here. I know she’s an actress and theoretically should be used to being the center of attention, but she’s young and a relative unknown. It may take some time for her to feel relaxed in front of a journalist and find her “interview style”.
LG,

The clips are now up on youtube.

D&D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fBTxZLhRQ0

Emilia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WgBhd_Bi9Q

Team Tyrion,

Well, I guess I belong to the group of people who find too much enthusiasm off-putting. ;) But well, how much is too much is pretty subjective. :)

I agree with you in that she was probably nervous and that’s why she felt a bit over-the-top to me. However, I really liked the enthusiasm she showed in the “Inside GoT”-Special, so I don’t have a problem with her enthusiasm in general, it was just this interview which was a bit over-the-top, imo. But yeah, it was maybe just nervosity or a bad interviewer or whatever. I’m sure she’ll be a great Dany. :)

reedgirl,

I just finished reading City of Thieves for my book club (which I had suggested since I wanted to read it) and while it is set during the war, it is not really a war story. The main characters are not directly involved in any battle but the war is all around them and does intrude into their lives. I enjoyed it but it has a bit of that teenage boy mentality (crudeness and language) which fits though since the main character is 17.

Nigel Bradley,

Yes, I do know Troy has been discovered. ;) And something definitely happened ( on a number of occasions ) But I don’t know that it was something similar, except for the destruction.

One of my favourite things about this ( without delving into a gazillion weighty tomes ) is the BBC ‘s “In Search of the Trojan War” with Michael Wood – fascinating , speculative and informative..

And I did enjoy seeing all those great actors together, enjoyed the fight and battle scenes , liked how they tried to get the armour right, etc.etc. It’s just that it did nothing for me as a lover of myth ( what with half the main movers and shakers left out ) and it didn’t make it into my rewatch list.

But I’d really hesitate to lay the blame at Benioff’s door, since I have no idea if it started out as a script he wrote and flogged or if he was bringing someone else’s idea to life. ( I haven’t read his books , but probably will .. now that this forum has piqued my curiosity.) Then too, how often canyou say that you like everything a writer has done ? Usually ,you’ll like some things better than others.

And even allowing for the PR conventions , I like the way both guys talk about the books and the project , so my hopes are still high.

Troy earned 500 million at the BO, which not only makes it a financial success but critical success with the average moviegoer, so the film accomplished it’s goal.
I know some might point out TF2, but in the end the goal of a film is to tell a story that entertains while making money, the same for a tv show. Dan and David know how to do both and that is what matters in the end. Critical praise from peers is icing on the cake.

Tysnow,

i’m sorry but the “it made money = good movie” is total garbage, lots of movies bring in big numbers at the box office and that’s to do a lot more with hype, marketing and star power than with the quality of the story. Bringing in money is important but it’s not always the only reason to make movies and defenitely pleasing the masses shouldn’t be the criteria to what’s quality and what isn’t.

Tysnow: Troy earned 500 million at the BO, which not only makes it a financial success but critical success with the average moviegoer, so the film accomplished it’s goal.    

I don’t think this is a fair conclusion, Financial success is not in any way an indication of quality. It is more an indication of the success of the Marketing campaign, studios usually spend an equal amount of money on Marketing as the do on production, 200million in marketing on a 200million dollar film can get a lot of sheep in the seats.

Lots of people go to see movies they end up hating but their money still goes into the Financial success of the film. Troy has 55% rating on RT which says to me it wasn’t a critical success with moviegoers nor a disappointment, but sort of average.

All that said I still affirm(as I stated previously) that the screenwriter is probably the least to blame for a bad movie. They just have to little input or creative control in the production.

reedgirl,

Nurse Ratched is what I was going for. Knew about it before, but didn’t read it till just now. Scary accurate. Lysa Arryn would fit beautifully for your crack-whore!

I’m not arguing Troy was bad, personally I found it entertaining, but I didn’t feel it was exceptional. I’m just being devils advocate by pointing out that Financial success shouldn’t be seen as a barometer of quality. Bad movies can make a lot of money, many of them do sadly.

I do hold that while a great screenplay is essential to a great movie, but the failings of any movie (good, bad or mediocre) can’t be laid exclusively at the feet of the screenwriter.

Did people really find R + L = J that obvious? I know our fandom is filled with lots of people smarter than I am, but to be honest, the theory never even occurred to me. I only became a proponent after reading about it online, at which point it seemed clear, but still brilliant in its simplicity. It is a very ubiquitous theory among the fandom, so it tends to be regarded as obvious, but is it really that self-evident to most people?

Inkasrain,

Yes, I figured that out before I had finished reading the prologue. ;) Jokes aside I agree with you, it’s not a very obvious storyline and it would certainly not be something beneath the quality of what’s happened this far in my opinion. There could of course be other reasons behind the hints GRRM has given throughout the books that I’m not smart enough to get but judging purely on what you refer to I think it’s a well enough hidden thing.

Mod, help !!! I hit bold above instead of spoiler !!!
My kingdom for an edit button… That’ll teach me to try to post and cook at the same time…:(

Ha!

I remembered my spoiler tags but they don’t work in the side bar. Preview won’t let you in on that secret, either.

Inkasrain,

I’ve always said that a good mystery is where you never saw the ending coming but can piece it together when you think back, whereas in a great drama you can see an inevitable thing looming a mile off but the flaws in the characters just won’t let them escape it.

paulgude,

Good point. And funny thing with ASOIAF, most of what is shocking mystery on first read becomes inevitably tragic drama upon returning. (I’ve just re-read the Red Wedding… honestly, a bit less of the traumatic-surprise storytelling would not be unwelcome from my corner, right now. I’m probably just kidding myself, though…)

roel:

I always thought Bran was going to be the third dragon rider. How else is he ever going to fly?

The answer to this, imo speculative opinion is yes, and then again, decidedly NO.

Bran is not simply a skinchanger; Bran the Broken is THE skinchanger. “The blood of the First Men flows in the veins of the Starks” and all that. Being wargs is natural to the Stark family. It is very probably what made them the Kings of Winter since the Wall was erected.

So being a skinchanger is the essence of Bran’s whole character arc and why the Three-Eyed Crow takes such an interest in him.

This isn’t a stretch. Already, Bran has shown that he is capable of possessing a human (Hodor). Now, while Hodor is not the sharpesty tool in the shed, he’s not an animal, either. Being able to possess Hodor even briefly is some serious MOJO.

Bran is inately powerful (on the extreme side) and this is the one thing where his injury seems to help him. He needs training to acheive more, obviously. That’s what Bran’s being marching to for a while now. Off to see the Wizard, and all that.

Meanwhile, in Mereen, Drogon is becoming a terror and is uncreasingly manageable.

How does that end?

Simple. Faast forward to the end? Bran = Drogon. He won’t fly on top of him; he’ll fly IN him.

My prediction is that Brandon Stark’s human body does not survive the series. The consciousness of Bran, however, lives on in Drogon.

Steel_Wind,

Hei Steel, easy with all that info. Many people here go out of their way to be spoiler free. Your post kind of throws all their hard work away and even I am not a poster, I’d understand if people feels strongly about it.