HBO has given the production order.

They will be filming the pilot episode of A GAME OF THRONES.

It's just the pilot so far. They'll need to see that before they decide whether to proceed with a full season's episodes. So let's all hope the pilot will kick serious ass.

It should. David Benioff and Dan Weiss did a terrific job with the script. And yes, all of you can relax, it's very faithful. Dan and David will be the executive producers for the pilot and (we hope) the eventual series.

More details when I have 'em. The news is very fresh. HBO just issued their own press release, which should be up on their website soon, if it's not there already.

Winter is coming to HBO. Hot damn.

No HBO for me unfortunately. Gotta wait for net leaks I guess.

Or maybe live streams...

AWESOME!!!

The one thing that upsets me is that I wanted to try to audition for a part...

Oh well, it was a long-shot anyway.

You are an actor in the business?

Hah, which character would you want to play? Also, can you do British accents? Because if the creators are not retards, they won't allow North American accents in there - I know I'm biased and it's arbitrary, but it just wouldn't feel right.

I was thinking Jon, Robb, or Theon. Also, I think I can do a decent British accent; I'm not going to fool native Englishmen in the real world, but I can probably deliver lines convincingly enough to pass as British in a performance. Besides, I know how to go about training myself for accents. I do agree that it wouldn't feel right to have a North American accent in the show; especially not mine, which is a subtle mix of California, Chicago, and Florida.

However, I should mention that historians believe that, at least before the Norman invasion and possibly throughout much of the medieval period, the English accent sounded much like a Minnesotan or Canadian accent. It's only in the early modern period that the British developed their modern style of speech. You might have a better, more natural accent for the show than me in that respect!

Florida accent? What Florida accent?

Holy futzing shit, go HBO!
I'd rather it be a high budget HBO series than a bunch of shit Hollywood movies like LotR.

Hah, which character would you want to play? Also, can you do British accents? Because if the creators are not retards, they won't allow North American accents in there - I know I'm biased and it's arbitrary, but it just wouldn't feel right.

I'd prefer an American accent over the "hey guys let's use British accent for every fantasy movie/show ever made", actually.

Hah, which character would you want to play?

After The Sopranos was laid to rest, nothing HBO has released since interests me.

I'd prefer an American accent over the "hey guys let's use British accent for every fantasy movie/show ever made", actually.

I think that as long as whoever is playing the part doesn't have an overwhelmingly strong accent, it should not be a problem. Someone like Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt comes to mind straight away.

'Neutral' accents (if that makes sense) are preferable for me. Look at many of the cast of HBO's Rome. Kevin McKidd (Vorenus) is Scottish, but it didn't sound obvious when he was speaking.

Thomash, well, if you are a good actor and can go through the hoops, why not give it a try. I'll root for you, for what it's worth.

I disagree. There is a reason they use non-American (e.g. British, Irish, Scottish or even Aussie) people and/or accents in those movies - it just feels more historical and theatrical. It's not exactly rational, after all, ancient Romans didn't speak in English, but hearing yankee accents (especially Southern USA, aka "redneck" accents -- no offense for people in the South) in Rome would have ruined the feel of the show. That's why, though I feel Josh Holloway would make a perfect Jaime, if he can't get rid of his accent, I hope they don't use him.

Besides, those accents just sound a million times cooler than our boring North American accent.

I'd prefer an American accent over the "hey guys let's use British accent for every fantasy movie/show ever made", actually.

The characters really are that young. It was not that unbelievable to see young men of 14 or 16 (they were considered men in the Middle Ages, and young noblewomen often got married at that age or earlier) assume positions of power or leadership that young. There are countless examples across history.

I agree, and he doesn't, but in this case I'm fairly sure that naming days are just fancy names for birthdays (likes how he prefer to use "craven" instead of "coward", "raper" instead of "rapist" or "jape" instead of the more common "joke"), since there's nothing in the books to show otherwise. Hell, Daenerys' son is named during her pregnancy, even.

Thanks again to everyone who has posted their casting suggestions and a special thanks to our excellent hosts here on the board for their synopses, which save us a great deal of time. It is encouraging to see that our actor/character ideas often match those of the board, and it is helpful to learn about a whole slew of actors we weren't familiar with before.

The age of the actors is a significant issue; trust us that this is something we've discussed with George since our earliest conversations (well over two years ago). None of the characters will be radically aged.

The location has not yet been finalized, but we're getting close. With any luck, George will be giving you an answer to that question before the end of the year, or very early in 2009.

Shooting dates have also not been determined yet. We're impatient, too, but as you can imagine this is an elaborate production, with large sets to be built, a huge cast to be filled, etc.

For those who would like to send resumes, videos, etc.: we hope to have a casting director in place within the next month. When we do, we'll let you know his/her name and where materials should be sent.

One last thing: our focus at the moment is on casting the pilot. So we're only worried about characters who appear in the pilot. Just so you know the pilot parameters, here's the first line of dialogue:

"We should start back."

And here's the last line:

"The things I do for love."

Sound familiar?

We think you're going to like it...

D&D

Update from the HBO producers, from the Westeros forums:

Me too

I'd prefer an American accent over the "hey guys let's use British accent for every fantasy movie/show ever made", actually.