The Internets are abuzz tonight with Variety’s news that George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire has just been acquired by HBO for an ongoing series to be written and executive produced by David Bennioff and D.B. Weiss.
According to Variety, the series will begin with the 1996 first book, A Game of Thrones. Each 1000-page novel will constitute a season's worth of episodes, with the fifth novel currently near completion. The seven-book cycle won't be completed until 2011.
For fans of fat fantasy and George R.R. Martin, this is epic news indeed. The books, long time favorites of mine, are epic in scope as well as girth. Rife with political intrigue, brutal fighting, and splintering plot arcs, this could very well be yet another HBO blockbuster in the making. Fans of the books dreaming for years of a feature film adaptation may find themselves slightly disappointed in this news.
For myself, an ongoing HBO series is the perfect home for a story of this magnitude to be told. With a stellar track record of heavy drama including The Sopranos, Deadwood, Rome, Carnivale, as well as others, I have full faith that HBO can give us the goods in the gory and brutal detail it deserves. With a series of this size as well as Martin’s penchant for various points of view and jumping all over place with his plot lines, I can’t help but feel a feature film adaption would only dampen the scope as well as excising many of the smaller yet still intriguing plot points. An ongoing TV series feels the perfect home allowing the makers to explore every bit of the minutiae to it’s fullest extent.
For those of you worried about someone other than Martin in charge of writing duties, Devin Faraci expands some on writer Bennioff and his previous works, saying, "If you only know Benioff from Troy, you’re missing out – his novel 25th Hour, which he adapted for Spike Lee, is brilliant, and his short story collection, When the Nines Roll Over, is terrific as well. But he’s been mostly focusing on Hollywood work, including an adaptation of Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls."
Article comments
1 - Dede
Admittedly, I haven't heard of 'A Song of Fire and Ice', but I do hope that its fans won't be disappointed by HBO's particularly "non-stellar" track record lately of cancelling their "heavy dramas" before their storylines can run their course.
Case in point? Two of the four shows you mentioned (Carnivale and Deadwood) had their storylines cut off at the knees due and were cancelled prematurely by HBO. While Deadwood's fans have a little hope that some loose ends may be tied up with movies, Carnivale fans are so far completely out of luck, with HBO retaining the rights to the storyline and refusing to release it in any form.
A third show, Rome, has also had its life shortened by HBO, only lasting two seasons. Although, with its cancellation announced before filming for the second season began, Rome's resolution may fare better than that of Carnivale's and Deadwood's.
And the Sopranos. Ah, the Sopranos. Yes, that show has had a nice long run. Perhaps a little too long, though, judging by the grumbling over this last season by both critics and fans.
Be nervous, fans of "A Song of Fire and Ice." Be verrry nervous.
2 - flatline
I don't get all the whining about HBO's cancelations. If a show is not succeeding like they want it to, they shouldn't have to continue it. HBO is the only channel with enough guts to put these shows on in the first place.
3 - the real, real world
HBO, it not tv, its the reason why i watch cable...
4 - cfmarquez
flatline: You really "don't get it", you're right.
I guess you get to finish all the books you start. You get to see how things end. Thats nice. In my life, I get to see stories with no endings.
5 - Kezz
Try reading the book cfmarquez. Youl get closure that way.