The series and books - How will they do it? (Spoilers for books and series)

[Skydiver]

I know it's doing good in the ratings and awards but it is a horribly expensive show to make. IMHO, if they're smart they're gonna smush some stuff and condense a bit. I honestly can't see them being able to maintain the expenses for 15 years or so.

[Skydiver]

Might be a good idea for the tv series to do the same.

I agree. they'll lose viewers if they hit a 'meanwhile.....' stage

[Brother Freyr]

I honestly can't see them being able to maintain the expenses for 15 years or so.

That would be magnificent.

[Skydiver]

It would be totally unprecedented. Not to mention the big issue of actors aging more than their characters (Arya for example, she'd have to be recast at least twice)

I have a horrible feeling that the show may end like the books...unfinished and abandoned. Hope I'm wrong

[Gen. Chris]

I worry as well.

With the amount of material in Feast for Crows and Dance with Dragons, they could go up to three seasons between the two books.

My thinking is that for those two, they should increase the seasons to around 15 episodes a season, and have 2 seasons. I know it will drive up the costs per season but at the same time, wouldn't it cost less in the long run to do more shoots while the actors are already there?

If they don't figure something out, the series will get out of control. I'd hate for this epic tale to not be finished.

[Skydiver]

I do THINK it'd be cheaper to increase either the episodes or maybe the length per episode....run it closer to 59 minutes instead of the 51 that some shows like Dexter tend to run.

I don't have the books memorized or anything, but I do think, like Lord of the Rings, there are some plot angles that could be condensed. Things that dragged out for chapters and chapters in the books that could be settled in one 60 second scene.

[The Mighty 6 platoon]

I worry as well.

With the amount of material in Feast for Crows and Dance with Dragons, they could go up to three seasons between the two books.

If the show doesn't want to fall apart when they get to adapting those, then they'll probably significantly cut a lot from those. To be blunt there is probably a season, maybe a season and a half of usable material. The books might be long, but those two are terrible (in fact it's at this point that GRRM clearly shows he has no idea which direction he's taking the series in).

My thinking is that for those two, they should increase the seasons to around 15 episodes a season, and have 2 seasons. I know it will drive up the costs per season but at the same time, wouldn't it cost less in the long run to do more shoots while the actors are already there?

They aren't going to increase the number of episodes, not only because of costs, but the producers have stated they don't have the time. It takes them months to film 10 episodes, they have to film in 3 countries, that's going up to 4 countries for the third season, it just isn't happening.

By the time they get to adapting the 4th and 5th book I expect them to seriously deviate. They have already demonstrated that in season 2, and I expect them to do so again, especially when they have to work with source material which is so poor at that point. It's also quite likely that the show will run out of material to adapt at some point, I highly doubt GRRM will ever finish writing the books, and even if does manage to get the next one out before he croaks, if it matches the downward trend in quality like his last two books, it will be dire. Now whatever GRMM does, HBO aren't going to wait for him to finish, they'll carry on, and I think that increasingly the show will make it up as it goes along and simply leave the books behind eventually.

This will actually probably benefit the series in many ways, by Dance with Dragons everything has dragged, there is very little in the way of forward plot movement, and characters seem to be wandering aimlessly. By speeding things up, such as having Danearys actually return to Westeros, instead of wandering around pining for Daario, they might actually make a decent conclusion to the story.

[Skydiver]

I do agree.

I have an extended friend, an old man, who ALWAYS had dozens of projects going on. Despite the fact that he's 85, he's always got tons of things 'on his to do list'....why???? cause the old goat thinks as long as he's got a ton of stuff to do then he can't die.

I read GRRM's LJ and while I do know there's a lot of stuff about the books he can't talk about and won't talk about, I also get the feeling that he's having fun dragging it out, enjoying the attention and the fame. He's having a blast being the center of attention, and I think he's going to milk it for all he can. And I'm not saying this to diss the man, just that he's having fun and really doesn't have a motivation to finish things up.

i do think he kinda got lost in the story. Didn't know what to do, meandered around, dragged things out and in and out and in. I'd be willing to bet that the production staff has a plan to condense and deviate and 'save the series' so to speak.

there's a lotta junk in those books, wandering and rambling that could certainly be tightened up.

[Gen. Chris]

I've always wondered, about the three locations...Do all the directors go, say, to Iceland, and they film the scenes for their episodes (which frees up that unit), then go to Croatia, film their scenes, freeing up that unit, and then Ireland, film all the scenes, freeing up that unit...

Or do they do it in a way where each location has to wait for the production of each episode. Cause that seems like it would be more complicated than the other way, at least for each location.

[Skydiver]

I would think they have unit A in Iceland, Unit b in Croatia, Unit C in Ireland, likely filming relatively simultanously with schedules being juggled if actors are required in multiple countries at once

[Gen. Chris]

Okay, it just seems like an awfully huge hassle for the director as well as the actors to film in the traditional way of one episode at a time...Know what I mean?

[Skydiver]

I don't think they do one episode at a time. they do like LOTR did...and llike a lot of TV shows do....film one location at a time, multiple scenes/episodes.

so, theoretically in iceland they could tape 3 scenes from eps 1, 5 scenes from eps 3, 2 scenes from eps 8...etc

I'm willing to bet those episodes are filmed far out of chronological order. Heck, even in studios they tape it 'all the briefing room scenes on monday, all the infirmary scenes on tuesday, all the gate room scenes on wednesday, location thursday'....etc.

[Gen. Chris]

Lol that's what I thought. Except this is a bit different from scenes in a studio

Three main locations (soon going to be four), numerous directors, dozens of actors....Yeah, complicated.

[Skydiver]

Very much so. Which is why it's so expensive and why they'll need to condense and compact. Because they can only justify the costs if the ratings and awards hold. As soon as those slip so will the budget.
Which is part of the huge gamble to start an unfinished work.

[Gen. Chris]

Very much so. Which is why it's so expensive and why they'll need to condense and compact. Because they can only justify the costs if the ratings and awards hold. As soon as those slip so will the budget.
Which is part of the huge gamble to start an unfinished work.

Too bad they couldn't have waited a couple years...But then they wouldn't have gotten all the amazing child actors.