George R.R. Martin thrilled with Game of Thrones’ Emmy nominations
By Ani Bundel
(Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
The 2016 Emmy nominations were announced yesterday, and Game of Thrones picked 23 nods. Many of them celebrated on social media, including the creator of Westeros himself, George R.R. Martin, who took to his Not a Blog to discuss the good news.
"This year’s Emmy nominations were announced this morning, and once again GAME OF THRONES and HBO kicked ass and took names. HBO collected more nominations than any other network… once again. And GAME OF THRONES was responsible for a big chunk of those… 23 nominations all told, more than any other series… for the second year in a row (we had 24 last year)."
Martin himself has not worked directly with the production since Season 4, when he began taking time off in order to attempt to finish The Winds of Winter in a timely fashion—first before the show reached Season 6, and now just to get it off his plate. Still, it’s obvious he feels a deep affinity for the show and those who work on it, and is clearly chuffed to see that his creation is getting some love from the television academy.
"I am thrilled and happy for all our nominees, of course… but it made me especially happy to see Kit and Maisie get some love from the Academy at last. About damn time, I say. They are several years overdue."
On the other hand, he did note one oversight, and he’s not the only one I’ve seen complain about it.
"(And I would have loved to see Sophie Turner on that list as well. I know, I know, I’m greedy)."
Greed aside, Sophie Turner did a great job with her character in Season 6. I’m sorry she wasn’t recognized for her work, but maybe next year.
Down in the comments, Martin answered a few questions from his fans (as is his wont), including one about why all of the acting nods are “Supporting” and not “Lead.” For fans who don’t know how the system works, that must feel very odd, since Cersei Lannister, Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, and Daenerys Targaryen all feel like lead characters in the drama to us. But’s it’s not about how the character relates to the story—it’s a screen time thing.
"One big factor is amount of screen time. Despite their seeming prominence, neither Kit nor Peter had anywhere near as much screen time as the actors nominated for leading roles."
He’s also sorry that Outlander, which stars Game of Thrones actor Tobias Menzies (Edmure Tully) in a double role wasn’t nominated.
"OUTLANDER was robbed. All three leads were amazing… especially Tobias Menzies in his double role as Frank and Black Jack."
Martin’s support of his fellow fantasy series is one of my favorite little details, especially since it’s also supporting a project of an actor who was part of his show this year. Martin’s willingness not to see other fantasy series on TV as competition, but part of the rising tide that’s lifting all boats, is an example to everyone.