George R.R. Martin was a successful author and screenwriter before he started publishing the Song of Ice and Fire series, whereupon he became a very successful author and screenwriter. Considering how much money the Game of Thrones franchise has made, I’d go so far as to call him a historically successful author, up there with the likes of Stephen King, James Patterson and John Grisham. They don’t come much bigger.
But Martin has other interests, and with his ASOIAF cash, he can afford to fund them. He owns a movie theater in his home of Santa Fe, New Mexico: the Jean Cocteau Cinema, as well as an adjoining book store: Beastly Books. The man even bought a damn railroad basically just for fun. He has a lively imagination and a lot of cash.
But not all of his ventures are profit machines like A Song of Ice and Fire. In the hopes of changing that, one of Martin’s minions announced on his blog that he’s started up Highgarden Entertainment, named after the Tyrell castle from ASOIAF. There’s a Highgarden Entertainment Patreon where people can donate in exchange for a variety of perks, with money going to support Beastly Books and the Jean Cocteau Cinema.
Highgarden Entertain Patreon gives you “updates on all the happenings in the GRRM world”
What kinds of perks are we talking about? For $5 per month, you get “one exclusive piece of digital content from the World of George RR Martin EACH MONTH,” as well as “nreleased archival video, personal documents from the GRRM library and private updates on all the happenings in the GRRM world.” At higher tiers, you’ll get discounts off books at Beastly Books and as well as drinks at the Jean Cocteau, access to exclusive merch, invites to “special events” for Patreon members only, and more.
This looks pretty neat, and maybe if I lived in Santa Fe I would bite…or I would just go see the movies at the theater. I like the lineup, although it’s mostly older films that only movie nerds like me will be interested in, together with some live entertainment. Maybe throw Avatar 2 in there for a stretch to make some easy money?
I dunno, is it weird to have a Patreon for businesses that are already supposed to be profit-making ventures? Discuss.
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