The Academy of Television Arts & Science Present: An Evening with Game of Thrones

Isabella Loskutoff  ’15 / Emertainment Monthly Editor

The Cast and Creators pose with the Iron Throne.  © 1995-2013 ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The Cast and Creators pose with the Iron Throne. © 1995-2013 ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Game of Thrones has quickly risen from a virtually unknown series to one of the top shows on HBO. The medieval universe that author George R.R. Martin creates is filled with age-old entertainment: war, sex, and politics. As the highly anticipated third season approaches, Rob McElhenney, star and creator of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia moderated a panel with producers, creators, and stars of the hit series. Those present include: David Benioff (Creator/Executive Producer), D.B. Weiss (Creator/Executive Producer), George R.R. Martin (Author/Co-Executive Producer), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), and Maisie Williams (Arya Stark).
Overall, the panel was hilarious and managed to wisely skirt around anything that might reveal too much about the up and coming third season. McElhenney, at one point, asked why his show hadn’t been nominated for an Emmy. The cast laughed, but ultimately admitted their adoration for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Benioff admitted that he had never watched another show more than McElhenney’s comedy. One question from Twitter asked the entire panel what characters they would play if they were not themselves. Peter Dinklage comically acted out his portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen causing the audience and panel to roar with laughter. Sophie Turner said she would love to play Joffrey Lannister because it would be fun to boss people around. Another question asked the panel who they would like to see sitting on the throne. Most voted for Tyrion Lannister as he was, “The only one that seemed to make any sense on the show,” as stated by Kit Harington.
There was a question about the difficulty of shooting different scenes in which David Benioff and D.B. Weiss answered that the most difficult scene to shoot was any scenes with the dragons because they, obviously, weren’t physically there. The creators also revealed the difficulty of filming regularly as they had nearly four different locations to film different scenes on any given day. In a time of panic, Benioff and Weiss had to call in Neil Marshall, director of The Descent, to film for a day during the second season when one of their directors had a personal emergency. Marshall was able to pull of one of the most difficult episodes of season two, Blackwater.
George R.R. Martin was very good at keeping spoilers to himself, but some information was leaked. At one point he stated that there would be a few people on the throne before the series ended. This brought whispers as well as looks of fear from the actors. In terms of books, Martin also revealed that he would be writing as many as seven books (of which he has already completed five). Most of the actors revealed that they had not read the novels mostly out of fear of what is to become of their characters. To this Martin slyly smiled and said not a word.
The new season airs on Sunday, March 31st.
Missed it? Watch Full Panel Below:
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