George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 232

There were Wild Cards writers everywhere you looked at Bubonicon in Albuquerque this past weekend. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to get some copies of INSIDE STRAIGHT signed, so I did. I brought down a box of the Tor hardcovers, and got six of the contributors to deface the title page.

So: time for another special sale. INSIDE STRAIGHT first edition hardbacks regularly go for $27 on my Signed Books pages... and those are signed only by me. The sale price will be $25, for copies signe

A good Bubonicon. Mike Cassutt gives his GOH speech in a couple minutes. And we had the usual raucous time at the Pope Room last night.

The dog is green. Just sayin'

Eat your porage and you'll grow up big and strong.

Just sayin'

Off to our local convention in Albuquerque this weekend. Stop by if you're in the neighborhood. Bubonicon is a smallish (about 500 people), friendly convention with a decided literary slant. This year the GOH is my old pal Michael Cassutt, a colleague from my TWILIGHT ZONE days and a veteran of the Hollywood wars. Mike is sharp and cynical and always fun to share a beer with, and we'll be doing some panels together and talking about where the bodies are buried. Also on hand will be toastmas

Ted Kennedy is gone. The lion of liberalism, one of the great voices of his generation, a senator in the proud tradition of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster and Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

He will be missed.

Teddy, Bobby, JFK. What a remarkable family. They were men like any other, not plaster saints, and had their share of failures and mistakes. But they fought the good fight, and left the world a better place than they found it, and no more can be asked of any man.

Here, as promised, are some larger pictures of Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner, who will be portraying Arya and Sansa Stark, respectively, in the HBO pilot.

MAISIE WILLIAMS


Maisie, I am informed, has some previous acting credits. Stage work, I gather, nothing in television or film. Until now. Sorry, I have no further details.

SOPHIE TURNER


Sophie is brand new, David and Dan tell me. Well, maybe some school plays. She read for us at her school. Don't confuse her with the DR. WHO Sophie Turner

My posts about the recent castings have drawn plenty of comments, which is great.

But they have also brought out the trolls... or, to give some of them the benefit of the doubt, some thoughtless and rude posters.

I don't mind readers posting their opinions, even critical opinions. But I do expect posters to show a certain amount of respect. Gratuitously nasty or insulting posts directed at the actors or producers of the HBO series will be deleted, just as if they were nasty or insulting posts di

... we have Iain Glen, another distinguished British veteran of stage and screen.

Glen has a really great website at http://www.iainglen.com/ Check it out. Not only does he have a list of all his credits, but the site includes clips from many of the film and television roles, so you can get a wonderful sample of his range and talents. I wish more actors had websites this good.



One of his credits was KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, Ridley Scott's marvelous film about the Crusades and the fall of the Kingdom

... we have the lovely and talented young British actress Tamzin Merchant.

I know my readers play the casting game. Well, confession time, so do I. Ever since I began A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE (way back in 1991, thought it wasn't until 1994 that I got writing in earnest), there was always a little part of me that would watch every television show and movie with one eye looking for actors and actresses who might work as my characters.

And so there I was, watching THE TUDORS (which I have VERY mixe

... another terrific young British actor, Richard Madden.

Madden did some great readings as well, blowing the competition (some very good competition) out of the water.



He has done a lot of stage work in England, including playing Romeo in a recent production of ROMEO AND JULIET in Leeds castle. That was the clue I blew, when I talked about a player exclaiming about roses in a castle. Of course, it is Juliet who exclaims that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, not Romeo. Sorry about