The author of A Song of Ice and Fire (I live in hope that there will be more books!), George R. R. Martin spoke to The Independent during the Santa Fe Literary Festival.
During the chat, he spoke dismissively of the supposed rivalry between The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and House of the Dragon (TLOTR: ROP is out from September 2 on Prime video, while HOTD debuts on August 21 on HBO).
The battle for fantasy supremacy. It’s The Rings of Power versus House of the Dragon — who will win? I don’t know why they always have to do that.
I hope both shows succeed.
Acknowledging his own competitiveness and desire to hopefully “succeed more”, he nonetheless declared that the existence of both was good for fantasy and science fiction and that he wants to see more such shows on television.
With the recent casting announcements from Amazon Studios’ The Lord of the Rings including some highly respected actors of color, we reached out to friend and creator Sebastian A. Jones to join us for tonight’s episode of TORn Tuesday ( Watch 8pm PT / 5pm ET LIVE on YouTube or Facebook)
Sebastian A. Jones is the founder of Stranger Comics, whose Asunda graphic novel universe is being optioned as HBO’s next big fantasy franchise show. He was kind enough to send us his thoughts, which encapsulate his hope that inclusive casting is part of a journey to a brighter future. Read what he had to say, below and join the conversation tonight.
As is to be expected, the internet, our discussion forums, and comments to our story from yesterday are abuzz with the news broken by Variety magazine yesterday of talks between Warner Brothers and Amazon to make a series adaptation based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Since there are many outstanding questions, we thought we’d go back over some of the background related to the movie and television rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as well as relate some additional information also published yesterday at Deadline Hollywood.
With the sixth season of The HBO series Game of Thrones just around the corner, are comparisons between it and The Lord of the Rings inevitable? The Irish Times seems to think so. In this provocative article, author Ed Power explores the irresistible urge of some fans to rank them against each other.
“Central to the whispering campaign against Tolkien is the idea that he peddled a reductive world view. While George RR Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire sequence is regarded as mature, complex and reflective of real human life, Lord of The Rings is felt to be fusty, puritanical and cheesily moralistic. Nobody in Game of Thrones is truly good or bad”
The Lord of the Rings is cheesy and puritanical? Oh dear. Of course, devoted fans of J.R.R. Tolkien would never describe it that way, but devoted fans of George R.R. Martin (who haven’t read LOTR?) might – and some apparently do. Can Jaime Lannister hold a candle to Aragorn, or vice versa? Are Gollum, Eowyn or John Snow one-dimensional?
As a devoted fan of both (yes, it’s quite possible), I personally think that the difference between the two is a good thing. Both approaches can be enormously entertaining, cringe-worthy at times, yet pierce the heart with both beauty and tragedy. What about you? Do you have a preference or do you enjoy both? Read the full article, and let us know!
Sean Bean, a favorite of LOTR fans worldwide, is anchoring HBO’s fantasy series “A Game of Thrones.” Bean plays Eddard Stark in the adult-themed series, and last week he ran into a bit of difficulty. Fans have consistently given us feedback that they love these clips and HBO has sent along another pair for your viewing enjoyment. We don’t want to get too spoiler-heavy so we will let the clips mostly speak for themselves. It is worth noting that Conan Stevens, a 7-foot-tall stunt actor playing Gregor Clegane or The Mountain That Rides (poor horse!) in “A Game of Thrones,” was just announced as the giant Orc Azogyesterday He appears in neither clip.
HBO shares another clip from Sean Bean in the adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s “A Game of Thrones,” fantasy series. This Sunday will be the fifth episode of the 10 dedicated to the first of Martin’s “Ice & Fire” series in which Bean stars as Eddard “Ned” Stark. He plays a nobleman who holds tightly to his ideals and honor and serves as “The Hand” of the King. In this scene he speaks with Ser Barristan, one of the Kingsguard, sworn to protect the royal family.
