George R.R. Martin now COVID-free, mulling House of the Dragon season 2

Last week, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin announced that he had come down with COVID shortly after attending San Diego Comic-Con for the big House of the Dragon panel. Martin had originally canceled his trip out of fears of getting the disease, but changed plans again right at the last minute and surprised guests by showing up. There was a lot of excitement, but it seems like his fears were well-founded since he did indeed come down with the coronavirus.

Martin has been quarantined in a hotel room in Los Angeles since then, where he’s updated us via video about how he’s feeling. Thankfully, it sounds like he only got a mild case. In a new video posted today, Martin let his fans now that he is now officially testing negative for the coronavirus. He’s still quarantining in LA since his assistant has yet to get a negative test, but for now it sounds like they’re both on the mend.

“I’ve been through the worst of it, and I guess I can shortly rejoin the land of the living,” Martin said. “Now I have no more symptoms, my test is negative…so that’s looking good.”

George R.R. Martin already thinking about House of the Dragon season 2

Being forced to quarantine also meant that Martin missed a few events he had been looking forward to, including the world premiere of House of the Dragon, which happened the week after Comic-Con.

“That went off very well, I hear,” Martin said. “I’ve seen pictures, I’ve seen interviews. I regret not being there, but it looks like the people who did get there had a great time. And the buzz that’s coming out of it…the early reviews from people who saw the first episode is very, very positive. So I’m excited.”

"Of course, I saw House of the Dragon, or our first episode, some time ago. They’ve continued to refine it and trim it and polish it and improve the special effects…but it’s more or less the same, and I think it’s very strong. I hope you guys will agree when you get to see it. August 21, it will be on the air."

Martin left us one more tantalizing tidbit before moving on. “And meanwhile, we’re thinking about season 2.”

The night is dark and full of cooters

Then there was the world premiere of a short film Martin produced called Night of the Cooters. While Martin wasn’t able to attend that, Night of the Cooters took home an award for Best Sci-Fi at the LA Shorts International Film Festival.

Night of the Cooters is based on a 1987 short story by Howard Waldrop about Martians invading Pachuco, Texas. Martin’s own Fevre River Packet Company produced the short film in collaboration with Lumenscapes and Trioscope. Acting heavyweight Vincent D’Onofrio directed and starred as Sheriff Lindley.

“It was a thrill to be able to work with Vincent D’Onofrio, the team at Trioscope and the rest of our amazing cast and crew and an honor to bring one of Howard Waldrop’s wild and wonderful stories to the screen,” Martin said in statement. “There is only one Waldrop!”

“This adventurous little western, science-fiction short film was a kick to make,” added Vincent D’Onofrio. “A small but large collaboration of talented people, the film was shot in five days. Then, we put it all in a big bag and shook it up, hoping something cool would come together. We did; it did.”

After Martin tested positive for COVID and learned he wouldn’t be able to present the short film, D’Onofrio flew out to Los Angeles at the last minute to speak at the premiere. Scriptwriter Joe Lansdale was also in attendance, alongside other cast members and representatives from Trioscope, the company that did the film’s visual effects. “We shot Night of the Cooters entirely on green screen, so the only things in it that are real were the actors and the horses,” Martin said in his COVID update video. “The rest was all the work of Trioscope.”

“This win is a true testament to collaboration at its best,” said LC Crowley, CEO and Co-Founder of Trioscope. “Vincent had a very specific vision; his artistry drove this project, and we’re grateful that he chose our tools and technology to bring this wild sci-fi tale to life. We’re happy we could help him and George pay homage to Howard’s incredible short story.”

The Night of the Cooters cast also includes Hopper Penn (Signs of Love, Puppy Love), Harrison Page (Better Things, Grey’s Anatomy), Luce Raines (The Marksman, Yellowstone), Elias Gallegos (The Marksman, The Last Stand), Cristin McCleary (Westworld, Culture of Fear), Martin Sensmeier (Westworld, The Magnificent Seven), Jazzy Kim O’Brien (The Creepers) and Darius Eteeyun (Rutherford Falls).

To top it all off, Game of Thrones and Westworld composer Ramin Djawadi scored the film. Night of the Cooters may run under 30 minutes, but the talent attached is pretty impressive.

As of now, there’s no date for a general audience release of Night of the Cooters, but we’ll be on the lookout for one. Until then, you can content yourself by watching House of the Dragon when it premieres on HBO and HBO Max on August 21.

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