GRRM with a casting clue! … or not.

Knurk: But where’s Froggy?

I think that’s froggy as the puppet, no?

EDIT: indeed you are, Knurk :-)

Awesome!

I´ll just leave the solving to everyone else, but I do love casting clues:)

From wikipedia: [Oliver] King had a dream in which he saw a host of Angels on a ladder, the Holy Trinity and an olive tree with a crown on it. He heard a voice:

‘Let an Olive establish the crown, and let a King restore the Church.’

That might be part of the “I did, however, inspire him”.

Given the tie in between ASOIAF and the War of the Roses, perhaps this is the Oliver King he is referencing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_King

If so, this man was inspired by a dream about angels. Any angelically named actors trying out?

This Oliver King?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_King

“I did, however, inspire him”

King organised the restoration of Bath Abbey after 1500. The story of the refounding is told on the front of the Abbey in carved Bath stone. King had a dream in which he saw a host of Angels on a ladder, the Holy Trinity and an olive tree with a crown on it. He heard a voice:

‘Let an Olive establish the crown, and let a King restore the Church.’

King believed this was a call for him to support the candidature of Henry Tudor as King, and to restore the Abbey.

Yeah, I got nothing…?

Guess: The guy in the fake cover is the “I” (either the “horatio king” name, or the real guy in the picture), and the character he plays has something in common with what inspired the real Oliver King.

The book posted there does not seem to exist, nor does the author, nor does “22:22 Publising.” This seems to be a rather elaborate clue.

Horatio King seems to be a former Postmaster General of the United States, and Prince of Chaos is the final book of the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny.

Jerglar:
Very very tenuous but Horatio Hornblower (Ioan Gruffud) as King Stannis?

I’d love him as Davos!

I’d be okay with him as Davos, too.

Olive, Angel? Spitballing?

schmeis,

I just read that same wiki entry. I also found this website that says that motif is very prevalent in religious architecture and that the dream story was probably made up years later. /shrug

As for what it all means, I have no idea other than it gave me a Melisandre vibe. Quoted from the wiki page “King believed this was a call for him to support the candidature of Henry Tudor as King, and to restore the Abbey” It sounds similar to Mel deciding to support Stannis because of the lord of light prophecy.

:Edit: I’m at work and the picture of the book doesn’t show up. So I guess my Mel theory doesn’t actually hold up since I didn’t have all the info. :/

Jerglar,

That’s my guess as well. The flames around the crown point to Stannis. The Horatio lends itself to Gruffud. All the other parts are a mystery to me.

Karl Geary maybe (played Horatio in a 2000-something production of Hamlet)?

ETA: Born in Dublin. Hmmm…

I’m gonna go with the Mel vibe also based on what you guys have already surfaced in the last five minutes…but this one’s definitely tricky. Let’s see who the first one to earn the scooby snack is…I love this stuff!

I’m quite sure there’s a reference there to BBC’s recent series Outcasts! It has Call (Daniel Mays) as an ‘outcast’ living between the ‘normal’ humans on Karpathia. Too many similarities with GRRM’s text I find! His ‘true love’ there, who was captured for some time, was Amy Manson (no idea about a clue there).

Ok, I’m probably wrong, but my guess is SOMEONE from Outcasts got cast, and based on the clues it’s most likely Daniel Mays. Which I didn’t find an impressive actor, I have to say… My other even wilder guess is that it is his ‘evil uncle’ that got cast, either Langley Kirkwood or the brilliant-as-a-bad-guy Eric Mabius…

Haha, I’ve suggested enough wrong names now ;-)

EDIT: How could I forget? On Karpathia the closest to a King was the character of Richard Tate, played by the very authorative Liam Cunningham. I would be very happy to see HIM cast on GoT…

Matthew MacFadyen for Stannis

Oliver King was associated with the restoration of an Abbey. MacFadyen played the monk who dreamt about building a cathedral in “Pillars of the Earth” And the bio for Horatio King says he is writing “Pillars of Time”

**Edited for proper spelling of MacFadyen

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532193/

Flames make the shape of antlers too. I’m guessing Stannis

Tineye got nothing on the image :(

This may be too obscure even for GRRM, but the UPC code on that book is the same as Bob Dylan’s Carnegie Hall 1961, according to Google. Track list:

A1 Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues
A2 Man On The Street
A3 This Land Is Your Land
A4 Talkin Merchant Marine
B1 Black Cross
B2 Freight Train Blues
B3 Song To Woody
B4 Talkin’ New York

Black Cross? Hrm.

Jamie Bamber was also in Horatio Hornblower, and his pilot didn’t get picked up… hrm, so was Paul McGann.

Karakethenia—–Kraken is hidden in the word…..Andalara may refer to the Andals…any help?

Jay Bushman:
Matthew McFayden for Stannis

Oliver King was associated with the restoration of an Abbey.McFayden played the monk who dreamt about building a cathedral in “Pillars of the Earth”And the bio for horatio king it says he is writing “pillars of time”

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532193/

He does look like he could be the brother of Gethin Anthony’s Renly as well.

ari,

I like Matthew MacFayden a lot as an actor, but I recall when he left Spooks he seemed to think that 18-ish episodes & 2 years on a series was a really long time. I wonder if he’ll agree to be in something that he could end up being part of for years and years.

Then again, he didn’t exactly become the movie star he was apparently hoping to be, so…

Lynn: A4 Talkin Merchant Marine

Please don’t tell me they cast Tamzin Merchant as Melisandre! :-)

I wonder if this is a clue for just one casting or several castings in one. There seems to be a lot of references if it only relates to one person.

Could it be Rufus Sewell?

He’s been cast by Nina Gold in The Illusionist and John Adams, and he was in Pillars of the Earth as well, and he’s also played a king before.

This has nothing to do with the actual casting clue, I was just going by some of the other stuff people have suggested, plus our original Stannis thread.

Glenndo,

Yeah, I tried that, too.

It does look like an author’s picture. Maybe someone a fantasy sci-fi fan may recognize?

Jay Bushman:
Matthew McFayden for Stannis

Oliver King was associated with the restoration of an Abbey.McFayden played the monk who dreamt about building a cathedral in “Pillars of the Earth”And the bio for horatio king it says he is writing “pillars of time”

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532193/

Ooo… I do like that thinking :)
Pillars of the Earth could alos indicate Rufus Sewell..

Andrew Tiernan, who played Henry VII, the inspiration for Oliver King to restore the cathedral, also played Bunting in Horatio Hornblower.

Andrew Tiernan for either Stannis or Davos. Considering the “King” reference, I’m thinking Stannis.

Could it be that Ian McShane is playing some role in S2? Maybe Stannis? Although I think he’s too old for that role.

- He played in 44 inch chest film (“22:22 publishing”; 22+22 is 44)
- He played a king in TV series Kings (“King is alleged author of Prince of chaos)
- He played in Pillars of the earth (Martin mentions “PILLARS OF time” as one of the books in the trilogy)
- He plays in Pirates of Carribean where posters of the film depict TWO SWORDS and a skull and on the Book cover we have TWO SWORDs and a crown

I’m sure there are some more clues that we can find.

Yea! I love this!

Shots in the dark:

The “inspired the king” made me think of the King’s Speech, which Nina Gold worked on. Maybe Guy Pierce for Stannis or Davos? He was in Mildred Pierce, so it would keep it on the HBO family.

Or someone from the Narnia films, the girl who played Susan as Margery or Ygritte?

I want to say the 22:22 might be some biblical reference, but don’t know enough about that to speculate.

22:22

Might be initials indicating the actor has double initials. “V” is the 22nd letter in the alphabet.

Mirax,

Well, you can’t say I didn’t try.

Jure Turk,

If it turns out McShane is playing Balon, he’s been my choice all along.

Oh, how I missed the casting clues! And this one looks really fun. I have a hunch that it’s about Stannis, but beyond that, nothing.

Although… there’s the Horatio clue… and the king of TV is certainly… HORATIO CAINE! David Caruso for Stannis? With his magical Sunglasses of Justice? *Yeeeeeeeeeeeeah!*

Josh Parker,

That guy screams Edmure to me.

greenie88,

Vince Vaughn? Just the first VV that sprang to mind ;-)

pjstwo,

Yeah, in the books. But in the show he could show up throughout the second season, and even feature briefly in the third.

It is may be a long stretch but I can’t stop thinking of Liam Cunningham. He played Agravaine in “The First Knight” and in contrary of the Arthurian Tales he did heroic deeds which inspired King Arthur if I am remember correctly.

But then again I think GRRM’s clues may refer to Davos.

I’m thinking GRRM had that cover made up for this very hint, which is why it took a few days after he originally posted that some clues would be forthcoming. That would mean that we really need to analyze the whole damn book cover.

Josh Parker:
Andrew Tiernan, who played Henry VII, the inspiration for Oliver King to restore the cathedral, also played Bunting in Horatio Hornblower.

Andrew Tiernan for either Stannis or Davos. Considering the “King” reference, I’m thinking Stannis.

Add in Mel’s belief that Stannis is the Prince Who Was Promised (Prince of Chaos) and I think we’re definitely looking for him.

Tiernan has the right look for a Baratheon.

To complicate matters:

I’m wondering if it’s possible that this actually holds clues for two people, Horatio King being one and Prince Cal being the other. Or, King is the actor and Cal is the character. Or vice/versa.

Because the fact that King has a wife and three children may be significant. Stannis has one child, and Davos has seven, so neither fit.

For what it’s worth, the actor in the black-and-white photo is Andy Devine. He was a character actor who also hosted a TV program called Andy’s Gang on NBC-TV from August 20,1955 to December 31,1960. He interacted with several characters on the show, including Froggy the Gremlin who is in the photo.

Well if we’re talking Pillars of the Earth, there is Eddie Redmayne as well, who also – for somebody above who asked if there were any angelically named actors/actresses about – played Angel Clare in Tess of the D’Urbervilles.

G D,

That would suggest that his picture is incidental and not a clue.

I do wonder why GRRM went to the trouble of creating this photo; there’s probably so much buried in there it will take a person with far more time and energy than I to decipher it.

The book mentions a trilogy- is it possible three actors have been cast? There are so many possible clues there.

Oliver King’s vision was to do with the holy trinity. There’s three items in the picture- crown, flames and swords. Three names in the blurb- Cal, Grace and Krohl.

So maybe we have three actors? Crown- Stannis (or Balon), Flames- Melisandre (or Ygritte- kissed by fire), Swords- anyone who uses a sword!

Other things that stood out- the names of the two nations, Karakthenia and Andalara. King and Prince both mentioned prominently. One of the quotes being attributed to a London newspaper. 22:22. Horatio (clue to the king character?). Chaos. The other titles- the fire character has something to do with a wheel. Someone (pillars- who was in pillars of the Earth?) has something to do with time (Doctor Who?).

Hope some of this will be helpful!

Edit- wife and 3 children too. I think it’s 3 characters!

“Krohl” appears to be the Westernized spelling of the Polish word for “king” – or very close to it. Not that we needed more “kings”, but maybe this hints to either a shooting location for the character or a nationality of the actor?

G D,

Still…I think the color “author” picture will be a major clue. I’m asking my friends if anyone recognizes him.

Anvil:
It is may be a long stretch but I can’t stop thinking of Liam Cunningham. He played Agravaine in “The First Knight” and in contrary of the Arthurian Tales he did heroic deeds which inspired King Arthur if I am remember correctly.

But then again I think GRRM’s clues may refer to Davos.

Really? Wow, then my initial thoughts maybe weren’t wrong afterall!

Tar Kidho,

I truly hope for Liam Cunningham….

For what it’s worth… the significance of the number 22 in Tarot.

In the divinatory tarot, there are 22 major arcana cards. These cards are numbered 0-21, so it is a matter of interpretation whether The Fool or The World is card number 22. The latter card is almost always associated with hard workers, a red-gold colour, and a rose-gold gemstone. The digital root of the 22 is the 4, which is the number of hard work.

Winter Is Coming,

Yep. Figured that out a second after I posted.

George R.R. Martin must be laughing himself to death if he’s seeing all the speculation going on in this post. Obviousy that’s his intention.

Shinyteapot,

That might also explain the “Three children” note.

Blackfish Blues,

I think Melisandre would suit him the best. Or Ygritte. Or both.

About Ian McShane, he played a sort-of biblical king in a NBC series called “Kings”. Something to do with the clues, maybe?

That barcode also matches the DVD for “Dorian Gray”.

http://www.icollectmedia.com/details/movie/Dorian%20Gray/125002741350/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235124/

Just for fun:

“I’m not Oliver King” = King Oliver
King Oliver was a Jazz musician,
“I did however inspire him” = Louis Armstrong was King Olivers’ protege,
Jonas Armstrong is a british actor who played in BBC’s “Robin Hood”,
Jonas Armstrong = Davos?
How much furhter can I fetch it? :-)

GRRM, if you are reading along, then know this: you have just made our days, but spoiled our working days ;-)

durandal,

Technically, King Oliver inspired Louis Armstrong, but the clue states it the other way around.

Nicholas Farrell played Horatio in Hamlet (1996)
Stephen Dillane played Horatio in Hamlet (1990)
Dillane for great justice! He has HBO connections from John Adams where he played Thomas Jefferson!!

MikeFromBraavos,

Hmm…Ben Barnes played Prince Caspian. Could be nothing, but still interesting enough to mention.

MikeFromBraavos:
That barcode also matches the DVD for “Dorian Gray”.

http://www.icollectmedia.com/details/movie/Dorian%20Gray/125002741350/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235124/

WTH, then suddenly several clues (King’s Speech, David Gray) come together and point to Colling freak’n Firth??? Surely we cannot get HIM in GoT, that would just be tooooo much goodness…

Jay Bushman:
Matthew MacFadyen for Stannis

Oliver King was associated with the restoration of an Abbey.MacFadyen played the monk who dreamt about building a cathedral in “Pillars of the Earth”And the bio for Horatio King says he is writing “Pillars of Time”

**Edited for proper spelling of MacFadyen
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532193/

I like this. Though as some people already said, it could also point to Rufus Sewell, who played Tom Builder, the cathedral architect, in the show.

Also like the idea of Henry VIII. I guess it all depends on how you look at Oliver King’s inspiration: a predecessor, or the man he believed should be king.

with that Dorian Gray barcode thing

Emilia Fox was in Dorian Gray and was also in Merlin

http://www.icollectmedia.com/details/movie/Dorian%20Gray/125002741350/

This is the bar code of the book, the DVD for ‘Dorian Gray’. (directed by OLIVER Parker) Colin Firth plays in this movie. Colin Firth had the lead in ‘The King’s Speech’, as KING George VI. ‘The King’s Speech’ was cast by Nina Gold.

Seems like one helluva coincidence, but could also be a red herring..

Tar Kidho,
Hell, if they get Colin Firth for Stannis, I’m ready to accept 75% of each ep with Roz moaning.

Here’s a laugh: Horatio King

The name Horatio is derived from Horatius; also known as Horace, the famed Roman poet.

The “king” during the time of Horace was Emperor Augustus… who was played by Simon Woods on Rome.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1373034/

Just a thought.

Melissa Champagne,

That makes me think of Melisandre, who many believe to be lying to Stannis (her king).

It may be a random guess, since it overall seems to point to Baratheon house, but if the “king” in the clue is the author of “Prince of chaos”, for me it rings a bell with Balon being Theon’s father, who became a prince after his father was proclaimed king.

Jordan Healey,

When I saw her in Merlin I actually thought she could make a decent Melisandre, despite the awkward writing on that series.

Josh Parker,

Referring to the record the barcode was for? Probably the Dylan album, not the Kraftwerk, I would guess. What was the title of that album?

Hayley Atwell as Melisandra? In “Pillars of the Earth” (one of the eps is titled “The Work of Angels”), “Cassandra’s Dream,” “Love Hate.”

My favourite part of the book blurb is “blood-spewing dragons” that are apparently on the rise. Anyway, to expand upon the “trilogy” theme, there are three potential plots raised in the blurb

Plots
1. “Viles beasts stalk the boundary for unwary human prey”
2. “Blood-spewing dragons that are rumored to be on the rise”
3. “Dead ancestors on the hunt for their underworld masters”

These are either a) really hilarious filler he included for fun, or b) book/movie plots that may correlate to a chosen actor.

Other trilogy elements
Three characters mentioned:
1. Prince Cal
2. Princess Grace
3. Lord Krohl

Three books:
1. Prince of Chaos
2. The Wheel of Fire
3. Pillars of Time

Alun Armstrong for Balon Greyjoy?

MikeFromBraavos,

Amy Joyce Hastings auditioned for Doreah, her video was posted here. Maybe she’s been called back for another role?

I don’t think this is likely at all, but just in case- Eve Newton played CAL in an episode of Doctor Who (time reference). She’d still be a child, but could perhaps play Shireen?

Melissa Champagne,
Spork,

Agreed on it sounding like Mel. Then again, what little clue searching I’ve done has all reminded me of Mel. I think if this is a triple clue, it’s gotta be Mel and Stannis, along with (Fill in the blank here).

The Rabbit:
Josh Parker,

Thatguy screams Edmure to me.

If you are referring to Tony Curran – I agree.

I would much prefer Rufus Sewell for Stannis. Rufus has an intimidating element to his on screen persona which Stannis requires. Robert may have been able to glad0hand and Renly may be princely – but Stannis was the brother who narroed his eyes, nursed his hurts and jaelousis and was to be feared.

That’s Rufus Sewell, to a Tee.

darksofa,

There are also three stylistic elements.

Crown = Stannis
Fire = Mel
Swords = ??

Maybe speculation, but there are a lot of threes here…

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=morgan+deare&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=ivnso&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=6Z3eTa7wCces8gPRnp2ICg&ved=0CCkQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=643

The Rabbit,

Awww…jinx!

Check the Not A Blog comments:

veDracula wrote:
May. 26th, 2011 06:33 pm (UTC)
Morgan Deare
So apparently this actor Morgan Deare is going to play Horatio King in an upcoming film The Callback Queen. Don’t really understand the other hints.
Link | Reply | Thread
grrm wrote:
May. 26th, 2011 06:36 pm (UTC)
Re: Morgan Deare
Give Dracula a cigar.

So that’s right apparently. But I kind of think there might be more to it, can we get anyone else?

darksofa,

The Rabbit,

I think you two are on the right track: Three characters, with separate clues for each. we know HBO’s been seeing auditions for these characters.

darksofa,

The third quote might refer to someone who was in the underworld films? I think you’re right, they probably do mean something.

And The Callback Queen stars… Amy Joyce Hastings!

Also: Morgan Deare’s the dude on the cover

The Callback Queen with this Morgan Deare features Amy Joyce Hastings, already mentioned in this post via the 22:22 connection.

Edit: Argh too slow again! *laugh*

EvilPicnic,

Which is also starring Amy Joyce hastings, who maybe got a callback for Melisandre, after auditioning for Doreah???

ETA: I see I’m not the first to make this connection, but I think we have our Mel…

Morgan Deare looks more like a Blackfish…

EvilPicnic,

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0213148/ Morgan Deare on imdb

He was in Doctor Who which may be the time reference.

So, Morgan Deare, huh? Looked at his IMDB page, has a bit of work, but virtual unknown. Guessing Stannis role.

Spork,

I like the cut of your jib, sir :)

Winter Is Coming:
Ro, yup, a lot of work went into this clue. Clearly this whole “finished writing ADWD” thing means GRRM has way too much time on his hands!

The difference is, if ADwD was not finished and GRRM had spent this kind of time creating a clue like this, I would have resented it all to hell. (sorry, but that’s the truth)

Now, I can (happily) smile in wonder at his cunning devilry and not resent the obvious time he has taken to create this so that I can enjoy the clues thoroughly in the spirit as was intended.

Thanks George! :P

The Rabbit,

Come on! She’s only 5’6! What will TSK say to this travesty!?! :)

Ok – who of those has player Horatio in Stage in a Hamlet production?

Hawk: o. Hm

Just thought the same. But where are the Blackfish hints?

The Rabbit:
Got one Amy Joyce Hastings is the one. Mel, most probaly.

Morgan Deare is Horatio King in the Callback queen and Amy is also in that film!

And 22:22 production produced the movie “Hear me Now” that Amy wrote and Directed… I think we can stop the guessing?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1533037/

Since we are at CSI Winterfell, why not … Ok someone said that already.

Winter Is Coming,

Yes, go reclaim our honour, because we’ve lost it on that Morgan Deare clue!

Petter Kristian Vikestad,

That’s easier to imagine than her playing Melisandre. So the fire maybe didn’t point to the Red Priestess but to fiery Ygritte!

Petter Kristian Vikestad:
Amy Joyce Hastings is Ygritte, right?

Yeah, I would think so. Seems like a perfect Ygritte actually!

John Engedal: Yeah, I would think so. Seems like a perfect Ygritte actually!

Too old for Ygritte. Looks more like Melisandre to me.

DendasGarrett: And 22:22 production produced the movie “Hear me Now” that Amy wrote and Directed… I think we can stop the guessing?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1533037/

Ding Ding!! Winner.

I’m thinking the hint is only for one person. Which is why all the language indicates first person. GRRM is very good about hinting at the number of people he’s posting about, so I’m pretty sure there’s only one person, and that it’s Amy Joyce Hastings based on all the speculation so far. The rest of the book cover other than “Horatio King”, the picture of the author, and the 22:22 Productions is likely just filler that GRRM amused himself with.

Steel_Wind,

She might be 31, but she surely doesn’t look it. I think she would make a great Ygritte.

Ro:
I’m thinking the hint is only for one person.Which is why all the language indicates first person.GRRM is very good about hinting at the number of people he’s posting about, so I’m pretty sure there’s only one person, and that it’s Amy Joyce Hastings based on all the speculation so far.The rest of the book cover other than “Horatio King”, the picture of the author, and the 22:22 Productions is likely just filler that GRRM amused himself with.

Then why would GRRM comment on the Morgan Deare response?

Did anyone else notice the “A towering achievement, King is a master storyteller!”-comment? Seems like a hint to Stephen King’s Dark Tower somehow.

Amy Joyce Hastings was on an episode of The Tudors. I’d say you guys have done it, she’s the one. The only question is, Mel or Ygritte.

Someone explain “Oliver” from the clue? A complete red herring?

Steve the Pirate,

The went to trinity acting college.

I think it is 99% Mel.
The image on that cover suggests so.

But, the question is: Is there more than a one clue in it?

The Rabbit,

There has to be. There’s much, much more info on the cover…plus the Oliver King reference.

Maxwell James,

Also the casting side for Mel is already out there, and it’s not impossible they’ll cast Ygritte during filming rather than immediately because she doesn’t show up until the end of the season. Like maybe even the last two episodes.

If she’s Ygritte, then I’m quite willing to bet we’re getting Kate Beckinsale as Brienne, Clive Owen as Patchface and last year’s Miss Universe winner as Shireen Baratheon.

In this video, she seems more like an Ygritte to me:

Amy-Joyce Hastings Showreel

I suppose Morgan Deare wouldn’t look nearly as old if you dyed his hair and mustache black.

Josh Parker,

They are auditioning for Ygritte.
GRRM confirmed in one of his comments few days ago.

Winter Is Coming,

Good point. Have not got that in mind.

Okay, I still see far more clues that this is for Mel than Ygritte.

I think the clue is for Morgan Deare. He is the picture on the fake cover.

On Amy Joyce Hastings’ Facebook wall she wrote about an hour ago: “loves a good bit of mischief! >;)”

She’s certainly rockin that red hair.

C2: Did it actually post? I don’t see it as a comment.

He was screening comments, but it is up now. According to the time stamp, we got the guess in second – although I still think House Gatewatch should be credited with the win. ;)

Morgan Deare doesn’t look like Davos or Stannis to me – too old. Though if I had to pick it would be Davos. But he would make a fine Maester Cressen…

Yeah, I think we shouldn’t ignore Morgan Deare. Hoster Tully is the best guess for him, and the HT (Houston TX) thing is dead on.

Do we want to post the MD/HT theory as well?

Just to be thorough, are there any clues left over once we remove those that apply to Amy Joyce Hastings?

I think she’s right, but just can’t shake the idea that there may be additional clues for additional characters.

For example, if it were “I’m not HORATIO King, but I did inspire him,” then AJH takes care of that clue.

It seems to me that either GRRM just made a mistake and typed “Oliver” instead of “Horatio,” or there’s some more info in there.

Steve the Pirate,

I’d buy the idea that Morgan Deare was just a route to AJH, but the H/T and three children seems like a Hoster Tully clue to me as well.

If the idea of Morgan Deare and AJH being in both The Callback Queen and S2 seems like a stretch, it doesn’t change the fact that there seems to be something going on there.

MD = HT has also now been posited – as will be seen once the comment is unscreened.

The author looks like Harve Presnell from Fargo

paulgude: It seems to me that either GRRM just made a mistake and typed “Oliver” instead of “Horatio,” or there’s some more info in there.

The Oliver King reference led us (or at least me) to assume that Mel is the character that has been cast, so I wouldn’t call that a mistake.

Assuming we are correct with AJH and(/or) MD, and there are no other castings to be found, then I wonder how much longer it took George to come up with the clues than it took House Gatewatch to unravel them :-)

Alway support the bottom!

[EDIT: of course we have to convince AliveDracula to join our House!]

Here’s a list of things I’m not sure are covered by AJH.

Again, I think she’s right. I just think there may be some extra clues.

1) The about-the-author section, including him having three children and Houston, Texas. Some suggest Hoster Tully, which I like.

2) The Oliver King/Horatio King discrepancy.

3) The £16.99 price.

4) GRRM saying “Just for the Record,” at the beginning.

5) Each bit of “atmospheric detail” he describes

It’s possible that most of these are just incidental details added to pad the book cover, but it’s still a lot of information.

Mirax,

Can you remind me of how that got you to Mel?

I remember you mentioning a “vibe” it gave you…

Tim Roth? “Lie To Me” has just been cancelled… and his character was called CAL Lightman….

Graziano Manuele: Tim Roth? “Lie To Me” has just been cancelled… and his character was called CAL Lightman….

That would make me so very happy…

Mike: I doubt GRRM (and crew) would put that much work into a clue for one actor. At minimum there’s 2 or 3 in there (AJH, MD??)

Especially since that cover mentions a trilogy. I think we’re looking for three actors.

paulgude: 3) The £16.99 price.

Year of birth for Michael Sheen: 1969

Am I grasping at straws?

paulgude,

I don’t know what Mirax saw, but three things jumped right out at me:

- Oliver King was a priest, Melisandre is a priestess
- The flames
- She’s the inspiration for Stannis (prince, crown, etc.)

Graziano Manuele,

Good idea! Hell, not only is it Prince Cal on the cover, but Lightman evokes the Lord of Light.

looks like Morgan Deare is our Hoster Tully then…

thanks for posting, Amy-Joyce!

Graziano Manuele,

I’ve been hoping Tim Roth would be cast in this now that Lie to Me was cancelled, but I didn’t even think to match Prince Cal with Cal Lightman.

I very much like that idea.

LOL so this wasn’t even a casting clue!!

Hahaha!
You will get an awful lot of publicity now, Amy.

Amy-Joyce Hastings,

Thank you for stopping by and setting us straight, Amy! I do hope that we get to see you in GoT at some point – and that you will continue stopping by here in the meantime. :)

Amy-Joyce Hastings,

Thank you for letting us know! That was very kind of you.

I believe the sound you are looking for is… whaw whaw whawwwwwww

IT’S NOT A CASTING CLUE EVERYBODY

ROFL

Aww…so this isn’t even a casting clue?! All that work for nothing!

Not even a casting clue…weak sauce GRRM.

Amy-Joyce Hastings:
Hello,

George just sent me a message about the casting specualtion on WIC.net about his blog. The reality is that while I would love to audition for Melisandre or Ygritte, I have not yet done so, nevermind being already cast!

‘The Callback Queen’ is a romantic comedy feature film the plot of which revolves around an actress auditioning for a movie adaptation of a series of fantasy novels (fictional) by the (again fictional) author Horatio King – George R R Martin was the inspiration for that character and the GOT series inspired the ‘Prince of Chaos’ book/film in the storyline. The image above is a graphic book jacket used as a prop in a scene in the film. Morgan Deare is the actor who plays Horatio in the film.

I’m very flattered people assumed I was cast in GOT but wanted to set the record straight! Hope that helps clear up any remaining mystery! Thanks to George for creating a little buzz around the film too.

Best wishes,

Amy-Joyce Hastings

Oh GRRM, what have you done to your poor, poor fans…

Kind of strange that they are already making films about the actual making of a TV Show.

It’s like A Chrorus Line…

John Engedal,

You’re right. Didn’t notice her age.

fuelpagan:
Just throwing this out there…

Princess Grace
Beasts stalking
“Prince of Chaos”

Victoria Stilwell for Margaery.

Not much “acting” credit, but sure does have the look.
Note: Episode 1.2 of “It’s me or the Dog” was titled “Prince of Chaos” even though IMDB doesn’t list it.

Oh my…I think you need to re-read the books if she has the look of Margaery.

Amy-Joyce Hastings,

OMG, wow… I guess we should have paid attention to the fact that GRRM wasn’t using his froggy icon XD
A shame though, you would make such a lovely Mel.
That being said I hope I get to see you in the “The Callback Queen” :)

The plot thickens…….

Amy-Joyce Hastings,

Thanks for informing us Amy, at least we can get back to our lifes now…

And George: nicely played – you KNEW we would delve up all kinds of hidden clues and get carried away in the proces. That’s no way to treat your fans! :-)

Um …

Always support the bottom.

Part 2. (blush)

Of course, I had to look around to make sure this production wasn’t just some elaborate ruse created by GRRM for clue purposes. He’s that devious!

Still, looks legit:

http://www.powertriphome.com/callback.html

http://www.filmventure.co.uk/casting.html

http://film.britishcouncil.org/the-callback-queen

You don’t have to tell me I’m crazy for checking all that. I know. :(

Is it possible that the text was re-written as a clue? There…there…has to be a clue!

Do not abuse the power of Froggy the Gremlin!

The Winter Rose,

That *is* one of his Froggy icons. That’s what set us off.

(In this case, it’s Froggy in the hands of his puppeteer, but it’s still been used!)

Ah, okay I get it now. I (GRRM) am not Oliver King, but I did inspire him. Basically his post is entirely about how he inspired this new movie. Not sure why he said Oliver King as opposed to Horatio King, but this makes sense now.

At least we can say now that unless GRRM uses the STOCK Froggy icon, any other icon with Froggy in it may be a trick.

I just wish he’d confirm or deny already… *shakes fist*

C2:
COMPLETELY grasping at straws here, but Joe “King” Oliver was inspired by Buddy Bolden.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0858419/
There’s apparently a movie being made about Buddy with Jackie Earle Haley as lead.
I realize I’m probably completely wrong on this….but beyond that I got nothing.

Graziano Manuele:
Tim Roth? “Lie To Me” has just been cancelled… and his character was called CAL Lightman….

paulgude:
Graziano Manuele,
Also, “Admitting that betrayal exists at all,” could conceivably be accomplished by uttering, “Lie to me.”
Perhaps grasping at straws again, mostly because I want to believe it’s true.

I’m still convinced that this is indeed a casting clue (Froggy NEVER lies!), and that GRRM had the writing edited on the already existing prop cover to give us clues. And given the above, I say that Tim Roth is Roose Bolton!

Winter Is Coming,

and the mischievous mood…it’s still odd.

Winter Is Coming,

I’m absolutely sure he set it up some days ago already, with his ‘casting clues to come’ post on Not a Blog. Oh yes, verry cunning he is, our George…

This entire post will go down in the Histories of our House as second only to the ‘Always Support the Bottom’ post that founded it ;-)

Its tagged “Game of Thrones” because it is a film inspired by the production of “Game of Thrones” the TV show. It is not, however, tagged HBO, which should be the first clue that it is not a casting clue.

Not your fault WIC, none of us caught it either, GRRM just needs to write a few more sentences on his post from now on… unless, as is my theory, he post something like that and then sits back with a mug of hot cocoa and just laughs….

fuelpagan:
Angelus,

Uhm, my imagination can do what it wants to thank you very much.

I alway imagined her looking like this which I think she resembles.

But given this isn’t something GRRM produced, it looks like there are no clues on the text of the book.

Oh, so you probably saw this when you imagined Sandor then hey?

I can totally see Deare as Davos Seaworth.

WHAHAHAHAHA and there I was regretting I didn’t check WiC earlier so I could have joined the casting-clue-party, only to find out it’s a ‘fake’ one XD

(Shouldn’t we have thought that it was weird for George to use a different froggy?!)

EDIT: or maybe it isn’t fake afterall and just a multilayerd clue…

It would figure that the first casting speculation thread I get to participate in isn’t actually based on a casting clue. :/ I was only a lurker when the casting for season 1 was going on (and always came to the posts after it had been figured out).

So this isn’t a casting clue at all, just GRRM telling us that there’s a character ‘inspired’ by him in an upcoming film? Well, I certainly feel foolish… :(

Angelus:

Oh, so you probably saw this when you imagined Sandor then hey?

No I thought of this. He is a hound after all. ;p

Tar Kidho: You owe us that much, GRRM, laughing on behalf of your fans!

Aren’t we the ones who’ve been bullying him for like the past five years about finishing a certain book :p

DendasGarrett,

I guess the Froggy is still valid because he sent us out to find the movie, so it was tricky, in a way. It makes his “Give Dracula a Cigar” comment confirmation, perhaps, thinking we’d be satisfied with finding that.

However, his, “I’ll be back soon, I will, I will.” post was tagged with HBO:

http://grrm.livejournal.com/217567.html

So there will be HBO Game of Thrones clues later, and this is kind of like losing a game of Simon Says.

“Get ready for HBO Game of Thrones clues!”

“We’re ready!”

“Here’s some Game of Thrones clues!”

“Yay! Game of Thrones clues!” Hey, what the…”

“I didn’t say HBO…”

On a sidenote – Saffron Burrows has left the new Bones spin-off Finder. Makes you wonder if she’s found another job…

Steve Reynolds,

Ooooo, having first suggested her for the role of Mel, me would liiiiiiiiiiike!!!!!

Winter Is Coming,

And not a huge deal, but he HAS used this icon for casting clues before:

http://grrm.livejournal.com/105336.html?thread=7118968

If this isn’t part of a larger casting clue (and it’s looking that’s possible) I don’t think it’s necessarily him being mean-spirited. I’d take it as him thinking that we’d think that them basing a show-within-a-show on Game of Thrones is cool.

Unless it *is* a casting clue…uh…

Darn it, GRRM!

Iker Gernika,

I was thinking “The Man with One Red Shoe,” but very very similar.

Mirax: If it isn’t a casting clue, then it has to be a bit of a joke on his part. Otherwise, why would GRRM have given the commenter (Vampire?) a cigar for guessing part of it correctly, but then not respond to the rest of the comment about not understanding the rest of the clues?

I think in his own terse way, he was acknowledging that it was just about an upcoming movie.
When I first saw pictures of the man, I thought he reminded me of an old boss of mine. Now I see the similarity is not just physical.
He would send out terse, 2-3 word subject line emails with no text in the body. My coworkers and I would go and huddle together and try to figure out what cryptic he was trying to convey. Invariably, we determined the message meant “My blood sugar is low”.

Winter Is Coming: paulgude, yeah, but even if he thought it was a cool way to announce this movie being based on him and his books and the TV show he had to have realized what people would perceive the post to be.

Which is why I’m still thinking this is a clue. If not, it kind of ruins the whole spirit of the ones in the past.

dizzy_34,

That’s why I’d like confirmation from AJH that the text from the book-prop is unaltered.

Because if it *is* altered, that’s a great way to publicize the film and make a nice theme for the clues.

If he simply wanted us to discover that the film exists and the “Oliver” vs. “Horatio” thing is just a mistake, it could have been handled better.

Hi,

As a newbie, can anyone tell me what the “support the bottom” incident is about???

Thanks in advance!

paulgude,

Hi Paul,

I genuinely don’t know whether the Oliver King was a typo or a real clue but the cover appears as it was designed and yes the character of Horatio is Texan in the film so my money would be on it being just a typo but I’m not half as clever at riddles as all of you so who knows. I think George was just sharing the news about the film though. Hope that helps.

Aw, crap! CLUEGATE!

Amy-Joyce Hastings,

Amy, you’ve now posted at WiC.net three times. I’m pretty sure that makes you one of us, so I’d like to take a moment and welcome you to House Gatewatch.

Also, thank you for the confirmation. :D

Well, in this downtime from FakeCastingClueGate, I would just like to point out that auto-playing video ads are the most annoying thing ever: and they play every time I refresh. And I have been refreshing a lot over the past hour or so…

And since I’m refreshing at the bottom of the comments section, I can’t even click ‘pause’ because I have to scroll up 360 comments to find the ad.

Winter, I know ads are needed to support the site, but can they possibly just be of the normal variety in the future please?

Is it too late to guess Anderson Cooper as Melissandre? Yeah..? Okay nevermind then XD

Ps: we are such nerds. But I love nerds ;)

Now, we can all return to our dialy discussion on dogs/wolves and their behaviour.
WOOF! WOOF!

*sarcastic*

Ro,

Someone should probably be able to get a whole psychological dissertation out of the “Oliver Self-Delusion Principal.”

Kit,

It is from when WiC first received a scent box, and we found an vague bit of writing which read “Always support the bottom”. That sent us on a wild goose chase until it was confirmed that it was an error (similar to toady’s situation, maybe?). See this thread:

http://winter-is-coming.net/2011/02/the-maesters-path-secrets-of-the-box/

I came home from work to realize that you guys HAVE BEEN WORKED!
OUCH!

This is CastingGate.

crabmasterxxx,

I posted this link earlier:

http://grrm.livejournal.com/105336.html?thread=7118968

He’s used both.

While I am charmed at GRRM’s little prank, I can’t help but be bitter as I sit in my office trying to catch up on the 2 hours of work I missed :-/

Chris,

agreed, right up there with the “Always Support the Bottom” and the “Elena Satine” threads.

Maybe not straight foward casting news, but at least some ACTUAL clues. You’ve had your fun, now lets get something back.

GRRM just said:

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER has GAME OF THRONES on the top spot in their “power rankings.” Which I guess means we’re the most powerful show on television!

Mike Chair,

LOL, we are!!!

And this in the wedding-post:
“We are so happy to share the news with all our friends, old and new, the friends we have yet to meet, and with all of my (George’s) readers. And now we’ve off for a six-month Honeymoon trip around the world. See you when we get back.”

Ryan McCoy:
That was George’s way of getting us back for pestering him about ADWD.

Aha! So you suggesting we have permission now to start pestering about TWOW??

Just kidding ofc :-D

So the joke was on us, HAHA…but I’m still kinda bummed.

Not because he played a joke on us, but I thought he really went out of his way this time to give us some awesome clues. Like the way Rothfuss will commission artwork for his fans. (Well maybe a friend does it free, not sure.) When I first saw the book cover I was over the moon. I thought he spent the last couple of days between his initial tease and when that post went up, having someone create the book cover for him.

But no. I feel like Ralph in “A Christmas Story” with his Little Orphan Anne decoder. It was nothing but a crummy commercial.