HBO chief: Final Game of Thrones episodes are like “six movies”
By Corey Smith
Some time this April, we’ll get to watch the final six episodes of Game of Thrones. And while the thought of the show ending might make you want to do your best impression of Catelyn Stark at the Red Wedding, we can at least expect the series to go out on one hell of a high note. Speaking to Variety at HBO’s post-Golden Globes gala, HBO CEO Richard Plepler gushed over the show’s final season after viewing a rough cut, sans visual effects:
"It’s a spectacle. The guys have done six movies. The reaction I had while watching them was, ‘I’m watching a movie. They knew the bar was high. They’ve exceeded the bar. I’ve watched them twice without any CGI and I’m in awe. Everybody’s in for an extraordinary treat of storytelling and of magical, magical production."
Let’s unpack that a little. First, “the guys” would be showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss, who have shot longer on this final season than on any season before. As for the final six episodes being like “six movies,” if Plepler is speaking literally, we could be in for episodes that run 90 minutes or longer. Or he could just mean that the episodes feel like movies in terms of scope, not their length. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, although people like Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont) and sound designer Paula Fairfield have also called the episodes “feature length.”
Also, you’ve only watched them twice, Plepler? We’re sure you’re a busy guy and all, but we doubt we could tear ourselves away from them, even without the special effects.
Anyway, Plepler’s comments have us excited. That doesn’t sound like the regular PR speak, and if I’m being honest, it raised the hair on my neck just a bit. Now if we could just get an actual trailer. Five seconds of new footage is nice and all, but we need more!
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