Spinoff show “House of the Dragon” rumored to be casting major roles and is moving forward on production!

Caption

Well, this is unexpected! It’s also technically still just a rumor, but we’ll take what we can get at this point: there could be some big news happening with regard to the Game of Thrones spinoff show The House of the Dragon (which will delve into some of the history of House Targaryen) and it has to do with casting.

The Witcher fansite Redanian Intelligence — which also has reported reliable Thrones news in the past — is reporting that HoTD is in the process of casting two of its most central female leads, Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. Allegedly, HBO is looking for someone in “their late twenties” for the former and “a slightly older actress” for the latter. To make a very long story as short as possible, these two are the driving forces behind the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons that allegedly will be a major focus of HoTD.

Redanian also notes that William O’Toole, “who previously worked as a financial controller on HBO’s unaired Game of Thrones prequel Bloodmoon, now lists a new project among his work,” which is listed as “Untitled Game of Thrones Prequel – Red Gun” on O’Toole’s LinkedIn page. It’s not too much of a leap to assume that “Red Gun” is the codename for HoTD.

Sci-fi and fantasy website The Wertzone also is reporting the casting news and references the “Red Gun” codename, so it seems as if this news is making the rounds rather quickly. And if any of this is true, it means production on HoTD is moving forward in spite of circumstances imposed by the global COVID-19 pandemic — and that HBO is certainly committed to giving us more Thrones content, which I personally will not complain about in the least.

All of that said, as with most casting and production news that don’t come directly from our own sources or HBO itself, Watchers on the Wall can’t always independently verify these reports. Until we hear otherwise, we’ll consider these casting calls rumors.

154 Comments

  1. Exciting news! Brightening my day with this Sam, we’ll take what we can get! Who wants to play casting director? Anyone have suggestions for those two female lead roles?

  2. At this point in time, I will take rumours, speculation and conspiracy theories about HoTD.

    I don’t know enough to make any suggestions for casting, I just hope that gold is struck the way it was for GoT.

  3. 🧅🗡🚫😥
    But I may get a little water in my eye when HoTD reignites the 🔥of GøT!!
    😊😃😺☺😄😹😊😃😺☺😄😹

  4. speaking of spin-offs: I don’t know if you follow YouTube content creator “LML”(Lucifer means light-bringer), but in one of his recent podcasts, he mentioned that one of his resources in cancelled spin-off ” Blood Moon” provided him an interesting spoiler about the pilot of that show( accordingly this resource was an extra involved in pilot episode). according to this source, The long night was supposed to happen at the end of the pilot episode of first season through some event having to do with meteor descent.
    Btw, GRRM finished 3 chapters last week and some other chapters are in good progress.

  5. mass,

    That would probably make LML so happy! That’s been his theory for a while, right? That a meteor caused the Long Night? While I find all that stuff interesting, I’m more excited to see more recent vs ancient history coming to the small screen soon. Of course it would be awesome to have both shows, but given the choice of only one I’m stoked for Dance of the Dragons content! Will be an awesome dragon-tastic soap opera war drama of scheming and battles one can only hope!

  6. Jaime’s girl,

    :)) Yes. He was so happy and proud for his theories being proven. That being said, when they first announced that Blood moon was going to be about the first Long Night and others invasion, I never thought that they would start the show with such a massive event. That is very bold move, i give that to them. I also agree with you that HOTD is much more interesting and fresh and i’m highly anticipating the show to start.

  7. WinterRy71,

    I thought you might be having a laugh there but I googled the lady’s name and there is indeed such an actress. She has the right look and I see she’s been in ‘The Last Kingdom’ which I haven’t seen. Is ‘Loch Naess’ her real surname or was she using a play on the Scottish lake name ‘Loch Ness’ for a stage/screen name?

  8. mass,

    I don’t trust anything that guy says. He became extremely hostile towards D&D and was also accused of sexual harrasment.

  9. WinterRy71: thea sofie loch næss as Rhaenyra Targaryen

    Like Dame of Mercia, I looked her up too — I agree, she does have the right look for Rhaenyra!

    Also, it’s really nice to get new news about HotD! 🙂

  10. Great to finally have some more news about the show!

    A few casting suggestions if HotD is going to include Aegon’s conquest of Westeros too:

    Armie Hammer as Aegon, assuming he can do whatever Essosi accent Aegon is supposed to have.

    “Vikings” actress Katheryn Winnick as Visenya, assuming she isn’t worried about potential typecasting.

    “Black Sails” actress Hannah New as Rhaenys.

  11. Jai,

    “The Witcher fansite Redanian Intelligence — which also has reported reliable Thrones news in the past — is reporting that HoTD is in the process of casting two of its most central female leads, Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. Allegedly, HBO is looking for someone in “their late twenties” for the former and “a slightly older actress” for the latter. To make a very long story as short as possible, these two are the driving forces behind the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons that allegedly will be a major focus of HoTD.”

    My #2 candidate for the “late twenties” actress to play Rhaenyra Targaryen would have been Margot Robbie (age 30). However, she’s probably out of HBO’s price range and wouldn’t likely be interested in a role in a TV series.

    My #3 candidate for Rhaenyra, or a top candidate for the “slightly older” role of Alicent Hightower, would be… Amber Heard. She’s 34. (I’m not sure if she’s got another Aquaman movie to film?)
    After the back-and-forth mudslinging with Johnny Depp, an HBO series might be just the ticket to earn some positive publicity instead of being the subject of tabloid nonsense.
    Besides, she’s got the look and the range for the role of a Targ civil war protagonist.

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/AmberHeard09TIFF.jpg/170px-AmberHeard09TIFF.jpg

    —-

  12. Jai,

    ”Vikings” actress Katheryn Winnick as Visenya, assuming she isn’t worried about potential typecasting.

    Wait. Are they casting Visenya Targaryen? If so, here’s an option: slap a blonde wig on the Many-Faced Goddess and presto! Instant buzz + built-in fan base.

    A: “Visenya Targaryean was a great warrior. She had a Valyrian steel sword she called Dark Sister.”

    T: “She’s a heroine of yours I take it.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g73blU5BRTU

    at 3:20 – 4:16

  13. Ten Bears: My #3 candidate for Rhaenyra, or a top candidate for the “slightly older” role of Alicent Hightower, would be… Amber Heard. She’s 34. (I’m not sure if she’s got another Aquaman movie to film?)
    After the back-and-forth mudslinging with Johnny Depp, an HBO series might be just the ticket to earn some positive publicity instead of being the subject of tabloid nonsense.
    Besides, she’s got the look and the range for the role of a Targ civil war protagonist.

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/AmberHeard09TIFF.jpg/170px-AmberHeard09TIFF.jpg

    Amber Heard is a P.O.S. that needs to never get an acting role ever again.

    Her false accusations ruined Johnny Depp’s career and single-handedly set the Me Too movement back years. All while she was the one abusing him. She’s also a convicted abuser herself.

  14. Iul,

    I was also really hoping this series would start with the Conquest and work sort of like a mini-series. I think if they start in the middle with the Dance then there’s no way they can go back and start from the beginning ever.

  15. The casting speculation can be good fun but I’m going off topic now as I know there are some professional writers who visit this site on occasion. It’s not a bit of kit I’m thinking of investing in but does anyone have an opinion about the Astrohaus Freewrite e-typewriter? It can connect to wifi but a good point is said by some that folk can type on it and not be distracted by being tempted to surf the internet. I thought well couldn’t somebody have a cheap and cheerful laptop or tablet and not link it to the internet and that would do the same function. There are glowing reviews on its website apparently from genuine published authors (I’ve not checked them out personally) https://getfreewrite.com/ but back in 2016 Mashable was sceptical about it https://mashable.com/2016/02/24/freewrite-word-processor/?europe=true

    I thought if it is supposed to prevent distraction perhaps one would be useful to Mr Martin but for all I know the DOS computer he is said to write on could be standalone.

  16. Mr Derp,

    You know, you’re probably right. I’m guilty of confusing her real life behavior with an aptitude for portraying a Cersei-like villainess. I should also confess I liked her when she was starting out, before she became tabloid fodder.

    P.S. Johnny Depp’s ex-girlfriend Winona Ryder and ex-wife Vanessa Paredis (sp) both swear that he’s never been violent. Maybe Amber f*cked with his brain or something, because he started acting weird right after he hooked up with her.

  17. Ten Bears,

    Amanda Seyfried would be the right age now (34) and I think she has the right look. If this were 2000-2008, I think Charlize Theron would be pretty perfect 🙂

    I wonder if by ‘slightly older’, they mean slightly older than late 20s or a slightly older woman in general?

    Dame of Mercia: It’s not a bit of kit I’m thinking of investing in but does anyone have an opinion about the Astrohaus Freewrite e-typewriter? It can connect to wifi but a good point is said by some that folk can type on it and not be distracted by being tempted to surf the internet. I thought well couldn’t somebody have a cheap and cheerful laptop or tablet and not link it to the internet and that would do the same function. There are glowing reviews on its website apparently from genuine published authors (I’ve not checked them out personally) https://getfreewrite.com/ but back in 2016 Mashable was sceptical about it [link]

    I thought if it is supposed to prevent distraction perhaps one would be useful to Mr Martin but for all I know the DOS computer he is said to write on could be standalone.

    I think it’d be a novel way to write if somebody wants to go internet-distraction free, especially if the keyboard was designed for optimum typing comfort and designed ergonomically 🙂

  18. Jai,

    Alllllllllll of these! Huge fan of Armie since CMBYN, and Katheryn is both a good actress and an athlete.

  19. Mr Derp: Amber Heard is a P.O.S. that needs to never get an acting role ever again.

    Her false accusations ruined Johnny Depp’s career and single-handedly set the Me Too movement back years.All while she was the one abusing him.She’s also a convicted abuser herself.

    This. 100% this.

  20. Ten Bears:
    Mr Derp,

    You know, you’re probably right. I’m guilty of confusing her real life behavior with an aptitude for portraying a Cersei-like villainess. I should also confess I liked her when she was starting out, before she became tabloid fodder.

    P.S. Johnny Depp’s ex-girlfriend Winona Ryder and ex-wife Vanessa Paredis (sp) both swear that he’s never been violent. Maybe Amber f*cked with his brain or something, because he started acting weird right after he hooked up with her.

    Yea, I know what you mean. I used to like Amber too. She’s absolutely beautiful on the outside, but apparently very ugly on the inside.

    I have a feeling this was one of those relationships where it simply brought out the worst in both people. I honestly do think Johnny has some blame to take in all of this too. I’m not sure how good of a husband he was to her, but I think Amber is the one who initiated and escalated all of the acrimony between them.

    Amber claims that she was afraid for her life when she was with Johnny, but her actions really don’t reflect a person that was afraid at all. She cheated on him with multiple people, was violent with him, threw things at him, and POOPED IN HIS BED! Are these the actions of someone who’s afraid for their life? Hell no.

    I thought it was horrible that Johnny was fired from Pirates of the Caribbean while Amber was hired to be in Aquaman. Johnny should get his job back and Amber should be replaced in Aquaman 2. IMO, I think Emilia Clarke would be a good choice to replace her.

  21. Mr Derp,

    Johnny Depp was fired from Pirates of the Caribbean? How can there even be a Pirates of the Caribbean movie without Captain Jack Sparrow?

  22. Ten Bears:
    Mr Derp,

    Johnny Depp was fired from Pirates of the Caribbean? How can there even be a Pirates of the Caribbean movie without Captain Jack Sparrow?

    I’m not sure, but I believe a re-boot is in the works. You how those usually work out though.

    Also, it’s 2020, so Pirates needs to be woke don’t you know! The next Pirates movie is supposed to be a “female fronted” version. I like Margo Robbie though, so maybe it won’t be too cringy. As long as the focus is on the story and not political pandering or propoganda.

    https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/margot-robbie-christina-hodson-team-new-pirates-caribbean-movie-1298722

  23. Ten Bears: Even better? Replace Amber with…

    Lily Rose Depp

    https://i.pinimg.com/originals/dc/fd/1b/dcfd1b0f99f3ccdadfeef4a85ef0e233.jpg

    Nice! I was trying to find a way to steer the conversation back towards GoT/HOTD, so I thought Emilia Clarke as a suggested replacement would’ve sufficed for a decent transition. I genuinely think she’d be a good choice too since she already has chemistry with Jason Momoa.

    Will be interesting to see how it all plays out, but I doubt Depp gets his job back as Captain Jack Sparrow even if the trial clears his name. Unfortunately, those accusations stick with you in a superficial industry that cares about image more than substance. The obvious drug abuse from Johnny doesn’t help either.

  24. Ten Bears: Even better? Replace Amber with…

    Lily Rose Depp

    https://i.pinimg.com/originals/dc/fd/1b/dcfd1b0f99f3ccdadfeef4a85ef0e233.jpg

    Lily is such a stunner. I thought she would have been a great Myrcella. Also adore her ex, Timothee Chalamet, who is as pretty as she is.

    Honestly, Pirates has gone on too long. I loved it, but 3 were enough. If they’re going to reboot it, couldn’t they wait 15 years or so?

    I can see Emilia as Mera, but I doubt they’d pair those 2 up again – they’re too well known together as Dany and Drogo.

  25. Mr Derp,

    I think a better lead actress than Margot Robbie would be Zoe Saldana. Her first big break was in Curse of the Black Pearl as a badass pirate who was criminally underutilized. That way they’d have some connection to the past while forging a new path.

  26. Pigeon,

    Lily Rose is in the middle of a racism accusation drama on Twitter. Maybe just steer away from everyone involved in the Depp-Heard mess lol.

  27. Sue the Fury,

    Ah, I did not know that. I abandoned Twitter long ago as I could only keep up with so many social media platforms, lol. Mess is a good word for that gang right now, that’s for sure.

  28. Honestly, the more time pases, the less and less I care about this show…I just don’t think it’s that exciting. Sure it can have some promise…but the one thing that is a drawback Is the fact that Martin’s book, “Fire And Blood”, the source material for the show, is awfully boring, stilted and wholly forgettable. Never say never, and I happily hope to be wrong about this and have the show turn out great.

    With Martin taking a decade to deliver the penultimate book, ASOIF is fading…and fast…a sad thing to admit…I am just glad that I have the complete GOT show to re-watch…

    PS It’s even more depressing to look at the other upcoming fantasy adaptations . “The Wheel Of Time” will be awful and I’m not not holding much hope for Amazon Prime’s LOTR prequel series…

  29. HoTD is in the process of casting two of its most central female leads, Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. Allegedly, HBO is looking for someone in “their late twenties” for the former and “a slightly older actress” for the latter.

    I’m thinking Peyton List could be a good choice to play Alicent Hightower. She looks the part, she’s the right age, she was pretty entertaining on “Star Trek: Picard”, and — as recently seen on that show — she can definitely do a flawless “aristocratic British accent”.

  30. Jai,

    There are two actresses named Peyton List. Which one are you referring to?

    Also, general question for anyone who knows: Are both of these characters, Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower, supposed to have the Targish silver hair/purple eyes physical appearance? I’d like to do some fancasting that isn’t limited to ultrablondes…

  31. Ten Bears: Also, general question for anyone who knows: Are both of these characters, Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower, supposed to have the Targish silver hair/purple eyes physical appearance? I’d like to do some fancasting that isn’t limited to ultrablondes…

    I think Rhaenyra has the classic Targaryen silver-gold hair/purple eyes but I couldn’t find a physical description of hair/eye colour for Alicent Hightower (just that she was very pretty) and in some illustrated depictions, Alicent has dark hair.

  32. Ten Bears,

    There are two actresses named Peyton List. Which one are you referring to?

    This one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peyton_List_(actress,_born_1986) . She’s a recognisable face from Mad Men, the most recent Star Trek, and many other shows.

    If you’re not familiar with her, there are however much better photos of her online than that Wikipedia page. Normally she looks a lot like the illustration in the AWOIAF Wiki page for Alicent, along with this amazingly lifelike depiction: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/267119821635847225/

  33. loco73:
    Honestly, the more time pases, the less and less I care about this show…I just don’t think it’s that exciting. Sure it can have some promise…but the one thing that is a drawback Is the fact that Martin’s book, “Fire And Blood”, the source material for the show, is awfully boring, stilted and wholly forgettable. Never say never, and I happily hope to be wrong about this and have the show turn out great.

    With Martin taking a decade to deliver the penultimate book, ASOIF is fading…and fast…a sad thing to admit…I am just glad that I have the complete GOT show to re-watch…

    PS It’s even more depressing to look at the other upcoming fantasy adaptations . “The Wheel Of Time” will be awful and I’m not not holding much hope for Amazon Prime’s LOTR prequel series…

    Lightning rarely ever strikes in the same place twice, so I’m kind of with you. I have a hard time imagining that this spin-off will be able to live up to GoT. It’s an incredibly high standard to meet. Also, there’s a small window for shows to capitalize off the popularity of another. You gotta strike while the iron is still hot, and, unfortunately, by the time HOTD actually comes out, the entire GoT universe might feel a bit “been-there-done-that” by then.

    Who knows though. It could end up being really good. I just have my doubts based on the current track record of spin-offs, prequels, sequels, re-boots, re-makes, etc…not to mention the fact that shows/movies now seem to care more about virtue signaling than the story.

    HOTD is going to have to forge it’s own path. It can’t be too reliant on “member berries”.

  34. Jai,

    This is the Peyton List born in 1986:

    https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcT1wpMXBMDbIQ0u_F8vEv4B-L63N-LOYecXoA&usqp=CAU

    I’m familiar with Peyton List from the short-lived TV version of “Frequency,” an adaptation of the the movie starring Dennis Quaid and Jim Cavaziel.

    Is the “amazingly lifelike depiction” of Alicent that you linked based on the books’ physical description of the character, or are you saying the illustration resembles Peyton List?

    If there is a books! description, I’d like to know what it says. I have a different actress in mind, based on the artist’s depiction you linked…

  35. Ten Bears,

    Is the “amazingly lifelike depiction” of Alicent that you linked based on the books’ physical description of the character, or are you saying the illustration resembles Peyton List?

    I meant the illustration is so good that it looks like it’s based on a real person. No idea if that’s actually the case — maybe the artist used a model, or maybe they just used their imagination — but the artist is clearly very talented, whoever they are.

    Peyton List sometimes broadly resembles that, although her appearance can vary depending on her hair, makeup etc. There are plenty of photos of her looking a lot more glamorous than the pic you linked. Just one option for Alicent anyway; I’m sure people can think of other suitable choices too.

    I believe Adrianacandle has already answered your other question.

  36. Ten Bears:
    Arya!

    (Oops. Wrong spinoff.)

    Maybe Maisie could be talked into playing a smaller role such as Sara Snow, which in character name alone would be sort of cool. 🙂

    https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Sara_Snow
    ————-
    One would think the events that this show will cover will give us a more time in the south of Westeros, such as Oldtown and Hightower itself.

  37. Clob,

    A smaller role for Maisie, like Sara Snow? That’s one way to excite the fan base. Or….

    Considering all the tinfoil fan theories about Bran traveling back in time to become Bran the Builder, it wouldn’t be farfetched for Arya’s direwolf ship, the S.S. Nymeria, to sail into a wormhole and emerge hundreds of years in the past. Sort of like an Arya/Ashildr + direwolf ship/Tardis time & space travel mashup.

    No more preposterous than a dozen guys on foot venturing beyond the Wall to face off against 100,000 ice zombies in the hopes of capturing one to bring back for a show & tell.
    Or Arya beaming down to the godswood coordinates from the Starship Enterprise transporter room and materializing out of thin air to shank the Beast at Tanagra – I mean the Borg King – I mean the Night King – with a Tamarian dagger.*
    Or NK launching a high altitude precision surface-to-air javelin to nail a dragon in mid-air; fishing out its corpse from the river Temarc in winter; then mounting the the undead dragon, blasting blue flames, and gloating to himself “Shaka! When the Wall fell.”*

    * Bonus points for getting the references to

    “Darmok,” Star Trek: The Next Generation S5e2, aired 9/30/91

    GoT did establish that a character (or her avatar) can travel into the past and interact with people there. The show didn’t really follow up on that in-universe science after S6e5. Doing so in the spinoff wouldn’t be a terrible idea. If nothing else, it would be a way to juice up the spin-off with guest appearances by established GoT characters.

    (ST:TNG did that sparingly – and successfully: 128 year-old Doctor (now Admiral) McCoy had a brief cameo in the pilot episode, sharing a scene with android Data. Chief Engineer “Scotty” showed up in an episode; his character had been forced to place himself in suspended animation in a transporter beam or something sciency like that. And if I’m not mistaken, an aged-up Spock had a one-off role as a diplomat trying to achieve a reconciliation of the Romulans and Vulcans, descendants from the same ancient race. Anyway, the point is that ST:TNG didn’t go overboard with these guest appearances and they didn’t come off as gimmicky. They made sense in accordance with the “in-universe” science, including increased longevity of people in the future.)

    Hell, if Bran or his time traveling avatar could interact with young Wyllis, whisper to young Ned, and somehow walk around and physically touch NK while his corporeal, crippled self lay comatose in a cave, then it wouldn’t be completely far-fetched to come up with logical ways for GoT characters to appear in Old Valyria or wherever and whenever the prequel is set.

    (My wishful thinking tinfoil scenarios would include the Lord of Light sending Kinvara on a holy mission. I was really disappointed we didn’t see her again on GoT. For all we know, Kinvara was really an ancient geezer like Melisandre, able to appear young and smoking hot by some kind of divine magic in that ruby choker. For that matter, a visitor from the future – whether in the form of a ghostly avatar or a disembodied voice – could explain the origins of the various prophecies and predictions from the books, some of which were touched on in GoT but not followed through on, e.g., the show! Warrior of Light/books! Azor Ahai; whatever it was that Rhaegar “heard” or read that convinced him he had to transform himself into a warrior; Maggy the Frog’s spotless track record for glimpsing into the future; and other prophecies and legends that might have originated from foreknowledge or foresight of the future imparted by a time traveler, but thereafter embellished or reinterpreted over the millennia.)

    Or just find a way for Arya to spend some quality time with dragons that so fascinated her, or the legendary Targaryen warrior sisters she fangirled over in her S2 scene with Tywin. (That Arya did not share a single scene with Daenerys Targaryen was somewhat disappointing for me, though I’m not whinging about it: Arya’s final seasons’ storyline properly focused on the culmination of her relationship with Sandor.)

    arya-look-game-of-thrones-season-8-optimized.gif 700×500 pixels

    —-

  38. My main problem with this proposed show is that it’s based on lore, not story. The intricate plotting and interconnecting storylines in A Song of Ice and Fire laid the foundation for success in Game of Thrones. I think we here at this site have some consensus on how the latter seasons would have been better had GRRM done his f’n job and completed the entire story, instead of giving D&D (at their demand) an outline with several required elements. Martin put many themes into his story, and repeatedly demonstrated a magician’s mastery in fooling his audience. Having other writers string his lore into stories and plots equal to the sweeping magnificence of either his Ice and Fire books or D&D’s show seems to be a very tall order indeed.

    My second problem is the huge amount of money all of those dragons will cost, and every dollar/euro/quid spent on CGI is another not spent on writing, acting, direction, casting, costume, set building/location scouting, music, and all of the other aspects which made Thrones such an amazingly enjoyable experience.

    Between those two concerns, I’m fearing a lot of silver-haired, bitchy prima donnas (of all gender identities) yelling bad dialog at each other into wind-machines in front of green screens.

    And I am hoping to be proven o so very, very wrong!

  39. Tensor the Mage, Still Loving the Ending,

    ”My second problem is the huge amount of money all of those dragons will cost, and every dollar/euro/quid spent on CGI is another not spent on writing, acting, direction, casting, costume, set building/location scouting, music, and all of the other aspects which made Thrones such an amazingly enjoyable experience.”

    Oh no! I had already reached my DSP (Dragon Saturation Point) by the end of S6 of Game of Thrones. Is the spin-off going to be more dragons more of the time? That would suck. I got more enjoyment out of Tyrion taunting Janos Slynt and Lancel, than from Dany’s dragons flying around and roasting people. (Okay, I admit the three dragons flame-broiling the Masters’ ship in S6e9 was a great visual….)

    GoT’s CGI dragons were way better than the cheesy creatures in most Hollywood movies with 10x the budget, but still…

    We came for the story, not the spectacle.

  40. Ten Bears: We came for the story, not the spectacle.

    I think dragons will probably be involved to an extent… but I’m also hoping it’s to a limited extent. I think they can still focus on the story without it being all about the spectacle (which is what I’m hoping for — more story as you and Tensor talked about).

    (I had sort of reached my own DSP too…)

    On the other hand (and on a less serious note)…

    Pigeon: “Real Housewives of Dragonstone”? 😱

    Yes! XD

  41. Adrianacandle,

    Public Service Announcement
    For Maisie Williams Fans

    Comic-Con@Home
    “New Mutants” Panel, 7-23-20
    (29:40 long)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGcU0JKAL5U

    1:42 Writer/Director Josh Boone
    1:53 MAISIE!!!!!👸🏻
    2:57 Blu Hunt
    12:15 – 13:55 Maisie asked to compare playing Rahne vs. playing Arya
    21:10 – 23:50 👩‍❤️‍👩 The “Maisie & Blu relationship”
    (Wolfsbane 💕 Dani): Comments by Maisie Williams & Blu Hunt
    24:11 – 26:40 Opening scene of the movie

  42. Question:
    What Iron Throne would you like to see in House of the Dragon ?
    A: Show version
    B: Books version
    C: Another version – describe.

    What Iron Throne do you think we will see in House of the Dragon?
    A: Show version
    B: Books version
    C: Another version

    P.S. Because they’ve ended GoT with The Iron Throne being melted by Drogon, it would be great to see his grandparent Balerion forging it. (sorry for the spoiler)

  43. Adrianacandle,

    It was good seeing her again – live – after all this time.

    I enjoyed the actresses and director teasing the Rahne Sinclair & Dani Moonstar relationship (at 21:10 – 23:50). Did I hear the director say something about a bonus extra of their audition or screen test together? If so, that “extra” wasn’t included. Maybe they’ll release it separately?

    Gahhh! It’s 5:05 am. I should be asleep, but I gotta get work done before my early bird colleague gets into work at the crack of dawn.

  44. Iul: Question:
    What Iron Throne would you like to see in House of the Dragon ?
    A: Show version
    B: Books version
    C: Another version – describe.

    What Iron Throne do you think we will see in House of the Dragon?
    A: Show version
    B: Books version
    C: Another version

    P.S. Because they’ve ended GoT with The Iron Throne being melted by Drogon, it would be great to see his grandparent Balerion forging it. (sorry for the spoiler)

    You mean the Iron Throne as the show physically portrayed it or the Iron Throne, the big ugly massive thing it was in the books?

    Perhaps, for visual continuity’s sake, I’d say the show’s Iron Throne? And it’s already made so it saves money 😉

    Jeeze, that was an uninspired answer from me 🙂

    Ten Bears: It was good seeing her again – live – after all this time.

    I enjoyed the actresses and director teasing the Rahne Sinclair & Dani Moonstar relationship (at 21:10 – 23:50). Did I hear the director say something about a bonus extra of their audition or screen test together? If so, that “extra” wasn’t included. Maybe they’ll release it separately?

    Gahhh! It’s 5:05 am. I should be asleep, but I gotta get work done before my early bird colleague gets into work at the crack of dawn.

    It was!

    Yeah, I think the director mentions finding Dani’s actress (Blu Hunt) and having her and MW screen test together, in which they kiss (I hope I got all the names right! I’m not familiar with New Mutants but I wanted to hear MW’s thoughts on the differences between Rahne and Arya!)

    And Happy All Nighter! 🙁 Those are never never fun to pull…. I remember once keeping myself awake for 62 hours because I had so much work to do and catching a second wind, third win, fourth wind and I remember the air vibrating with colours.

  45. Since we know they’re tackling the Dance of the Dragons, I had a feeling Rhaenyra would be one of the first characters they cast. Curious to see who gets the role in the coming months.

  46. Iul,

    Re: your questions about what Iron Throne would I like to see and that I think we’ll see in House of the Dragon, do we know for sure in what period(s) the prequel will be set?

    Will it take place after Aegon melted down swords to make the Iron Throne?

    I’m afraid I haven’t been following details of the prequel too closely, and I haven’t felt any desire to dig into the “Fire & Blood” volumes – assuming they are what the prequel is going to be based on.
    I already exceeded my THQ (Targaryen History Quota) at around the same time I reached my DSP (Dragon Saturation Point).

    Maybe I ought to check out “biographical” information about the two characters they’re rumored to be casting – Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower – to find out when and where they lived in the ASOIAF universe.

    If Aegon the Conqueror is going to be in House of the Dragon, that probably means Aegon’s sisters Rhaenys (?) and Visenya will be in it too. As a show only fan, all I know is that “Rhaenys rode Meraxes. Visenya rode Vhaegar….Visenya Targaryen was a great warrior. She had a Valyrian steel sword she called Dark Sister.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OTOiMQchKw

    at 2:40 – 3:12

  47. Ten Bears: Re: your questions about what Iron Throne would I like to see and that I think we’ll see in House of the Dragon, do we know for sure in what period(s) the prequel will be set?

    Will it take place after Aegon melted down swords to make the Iron Throne?

    I think the time period will be ≈120-130 years after Aegon took the 7K (so 170-180 years before ASOIAF starts in 298AC).

    I can provide screencaps of the ASOIAF wiki pages for the characters if you want 🙂

  48. Adrianacandle,

    ”And Happy All Nighter! 🙁 Those are never never fun to pull…. I remember once keeping myself awake for 62 hours because I had so much work to do and catching a second wind, third win, fourth wind and I remember the air vibrating with colours.”

    Ugh. 🥴 I caught my second, third and fourth winds many hours ago. I left off what I was doing in mid-sentence, and since then I’ve been progressing at a GRRM pace – i.e., I have not typed a single word. 🥱

    … Off to give it one last shot.

  49. Ten Bears: Ugh. 🥴 I caught my second, third and fourth winds many hours ago. I left off what I was doing in mid-sentence, and since then I’ve been progressing at a GRRM pace – i.e., I have not typed a single word. 🥱

    … Off to give it one last shot.

    I will think of you and send you thoughts of wakefulness 🙁

    Not a fun position you’re in at all. Slap yourself, mix chocolate and coffee together straight, coat a protein power bar in it, and keep going!! 🙂 📣 🙂 📣 🙂 📣 🙂

  50. Adrianacandle,

    Thx! No need for the screencaps. So, it’s set after
    the lifetimes of Aegon and his sisters, and about two centuries before Ned, Robert and their contemporaries?

    I must have confused the timelines of the aborted prequel and the green lit prequel. I take it that Old Valyria has blown up already by the time HoD begins? (I can probably look up when the Doom occurred.) So that would mean none of the show’s events will take place in Old Valyria – unless they’re going to cast actors to play Stone Men.*

    *Which would actually be pretty cool. Fancast Wishlist: Ron “Hellboy” Perlman. Andy “Gollum” Serkis. Michael “Worf” Dorn and fellow Klingon Tony “Kern” Todd. Christopher “Doc Brown” Lloyd. And whoever that actor is who played the rogue BwoB that Sandor disemboweled in S6e8. (“You’re sh*t at dying.”)

  51. Ten Bears: Thx! No need for the screencaps. So, it’s set after
    the lifetimes of Aegon and his sisters, and about two centuries before Ned, Robert and their contemporaries?

    Yes, you got it! 😀

    I take it that Old Valyria has blown up already by the time HoD begins? (I can probably look up when the Doom occurred.) So that would mean none of the show’s events will take place in Old Valyria – unless they’re going to cast actors to play Stone Men.*

    I think the Doom of Valyria occurs about 100 years prior to Aegon’s Conquest so… yes! About 220-230 years before the HoD period, I think.

    *Which would actually be pretty cool. Fancast Wishlist: Ron “Hellboy” Perlman. Andy “Gollum” Serkis. Michael “Worf” Dorn and fellow Klingon Tony “Kern” Todd. Christopher “Doc Brown” Lloyd. And whoever that actor is who played the rogue BwoB that Sandor disemboweled in S6e8. (“You’re sh*t at dying.”)

    Oh, Andy Serkis would have been great…. I remember watching the LotR BtS documentaries back to back, over and over, and he was awesome.

    I’m mainlining coffee.

    I’m hoping you’re getting closer to your finish point 🙁

  52. loco73,

    May I ask why you think that WoT will be a big, fat fail, loco? I’ve only read a somewhat truncated version of the first book that I managed to find online. I was neutral about it – didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it either. I might give the show a whirl when it comes out – it has Roose Bolton’s actor and Maria Doyle Kennedy in it, admittedly in supporting roles but I’ve liked their work in other things.

    lul, I see Adriana has already answered your query about the throne but I would say to use the show version for continuity. Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone who works in radio or in the audio industry in anyway, but I’ve sometimes said a radio depiction of Westeros might work because that way people can use their imaginations. If a Targaryen were to be played by a dark-haired, dark-eyed person as long as the voice seemed right there would be no need to worry about wigs seeming a bit off or eye colour not matching the books version of a character.

  53. I should have said that I would endorse Adriana’s suggestion that the show throne be used for the sake of continuity.

  54. Pigeon: “Real Housewives of Dragonstone”? 😱

    Was it you, Wolfish, or someone else a while back who described “Sansa-AryaSpeak”? As I recall, it referred to [playfully] trading exaggerated barbs with a friend, such as:

    “You’re an idiot!!!”
    “You’re a liar!
    “Well, you’re a stupid idiot!!!”
    “I hate you!”

  55. I want the iconic Iron Throne that we already had in GoT. There is no need to make something else.

    And based on Fire and Blood we will have a lot of dragon action scenes in the show, but the story of this war is still interesting with a lot of twists and turns and compelling characters.

  56. When it comes to success of this show I think that things are very simple. If the show is good it will be popular.

    It will be big budget HBO show. I except certain standards to be met.

    And nostalgia factor is something that is very important (see Star Wars). Let people miss Game of Thrones.

    I follow HBO GO and HBO MAX data very closely. Millions of people around the world watched GoT since May of 2019. I except that all of them, together with old fans will at least watch the first episode. And the rest depends on work Sapochnik and Condal do.

    I’m so happy that Sapochnik will be there. I expect the show to look even better than Game of Thrones.

  57. Young Dragon,

    I agree. This story without spectacle is nothing. Pushing the boundaries of TV production is what made Game of Thrones great. I expect dragons in House of the Dragon to look even better than in GoT.

    If you want well written drama you can always watch Succession, BCS or Mad Man. But GoT was more than that.

  58. mau: And nostalgia factor is something that is very important (see Star Wars). Let people miss Game of Thrones.

    I wouldn’t bring up Star Wars as a template for GoT to follow.

    The current state of Star Wars is beyond a dumpster fire.

    “The Force Awakens” was nothing more than a desperate rehash of “A New Hope”, except TFA had much lamer characters and a much lamer story with a protagonist that had everything come easy to her because, well, she’s a woman.

    The next two movies were even worse. It seemed to get worse as it went along.

    Of course, everyone has their own opinion, many of which will disagree, but the general consensus of Star Wars is that it’s in the shitter right now.

    IMO, nostalgia leads to lazy writing, lazy stories, and banking on a built-in audience to see the movie rather than actually taking the time and effort to make a good film that can stand on it’s own merit.

  59. Mr Derp,

    I agree but I only meant nostalgia in terms of audience interest. In 2022 you will have far more people nostalgic for GoT than in 2020. Especially if nothing huge appears in the next two years.

    And I agree that if Sapochnik and Condal give us only nostalgia the show won’t last but if you read Fire and Blood and WOIAF you know that Targaryan civil war is a very interesting story with a lot of interesting characters. They have a very solid outline with huge HBO budget.

    I don’t expect this show to be as huge as GoT. But I think it will be bigger deal than Westworld.

  60. Mr Derp,

    And you talk about taking the time and effort to make a good story but you also want HOTD as soon as possible and you think that 2022 is too late. Well you can’t have both.

    HBO is taking time to make a good show. We will see if it pays off.

  61. mau:
    Mr Derp,

    I agree but I only meant nostalgia in terms of audience interest. In 2022 you will have far more people nostalgic for GoT than in 2020. Especially if nothing huge appears in the next two years.

    And I agree that if Sapochnik and Condal give us only nostalgia the show won’t last but if you read Fire and Blood and WOIAF you know that Targaryan civil war is a very interesting story with a lot of interesting characters. They have a very solid outline with huge HBO budget.

    I don’t expect this show to be as huge as GoT. But I think it will be bigger deal than Westworld.

    I generally agree, but I do wonder how much interest there will be in this show now that we’ve already spent a decade on GoT with an ending that was very divisive.

    IMO, Return of the Jedi had a much more satisfying ending that left the fans wanting more. I honestly don’t know if the average GoT fan feels that way after the way things ended after season 8. The richness of the ASOIF world gives me optimism that a good story can still be made out of it. It just depends on who’s doing the writing and who’s in control of the narrative. As long as the focus is on story and not beating me over the head with political messaging then that’ll be a good start. Thankfully Disney has nothing to do with HOTD.

    My main hope for HOTD is that the story stands on it’s own merit and doesn’t rely too much on the previous popularity of GoT in order to be a success.

    Of course HOTD is still in the ASOIF world, so it’ll still be within the GoT universe, which is perfectly fine, but I want the characters and stories to go their own way.

    For example, I don’t want to see a Jon Snow lookalike play the main protagonist, or have cardboard thin characters thrown at me week after week that have no purpose or interest in the story other than to placate some Twitter mob.

  62. mau:
    Mr Derp,

    And you talk about taking the time and effort to make a good story but you also want HOTD as soon as possible and you think that 2022 is too late. Well you can’t have both.

    HBO is taking time to make a good show. We will see if it pays off.

    I never said that I wanted HOTD as soon as possible though. There obviously needs to be a balance there.

    Besides, they can’t rush anything right now anyway due to Covid, so it’s going to be a while.

  63. As for casting choices, I would prefer to have relative unknowns, much like GoT did. It was mostly a bunch of unknowns mixed in with a small amount of well-known actors/actresses. I’d prefer not to see a bunch of familiar faces for this.

  64. Young Dragon: Like GOT, they can do both.

    Yes, with the Epic Fantasy genre, you have to have spectacle. But spectacle is nothing if you don’t care about the characters. Thats why all the big action episodes work so well, because of all the scenes around them. It’s about balance.

  65. mau:
    Mr Derp,

    Well you said that ” you gotta strike while the iron is still hot” so I don’t know what that means.

    It means come out with HOTD while there is still an interest in the material. Obviously, you don’t want to rush it, but you don’t want to sit on it for too long either.

    It’s a balance.

    I’m, not sure why this is confusing for you.

  66. Mr Derp,

    Well GoT never tried to please twitter mob, that’s why it was so successful and also made so many people angry on social media.

    As I said I follow GoT ratings on HBO MAX and HBO GO, Google trends, IMDB trends and sales for DVD and Blu Rays and I don’t think controversy around S8 will really affect anything. If they make good show it will be successful.

    And you won’t get a copy of Jon Snow. We already know who the main characters are from GRRM’s writing and they are nothing like what we had in GoT.

    It will be something completely different but also familiar enough.

  67. Mr Derp,

    I don’t understand why you are so angry.

    Fisrt you said that HOTD will air too late, then that you for some reason said that you dont want the show to have political massage. I mean GoT not giving the critics the political massage they wanted was the main reason for backlash last year. Then you said you don’t want copy of Jon Snow which again makes no sense if you read anything about The Dance of Dragons.

    I’m really confused what point you are trying to make. That this show is doomed?

  68. mau: I’m really confused what point you are trying to make. That this show is doomed?

    Thanks to you, the only thing that’s doomed is this conversation.

    Have a good one.

  69. Ten Bears,

    Followup to Public Service Announcement
    For Maisie Williams Fans
    Wolfgirl 💕Dani

    HuffPost July 24, 2020

    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/maisie-williams-same-sex-love-story-new-mutants_n_5f15be95c5b6d14c336a99d0

    Excerpt:

    …Director Josh Boone added that he doesn’t think the movie could’ve been made without finding Hunt to play Moonstar, later calling the characters’ relationship the “spine” of the movie.

    The onscreen chemistry between Hunt and Williams’ characters was apparently so important that the two had to kiss in a screen test together, which Hunt said was a bit intimidating.

    “You can’t imagine how nervous I am.Like, oh, I have to go kiss Maisie Williams?” Hunt joked, adding, “It was very nerve-racking.”

    “I think at the heart of it is just this really lovely love story,” Williams said. “It just brings it back to reality, I think.”

    The director explained the characters have a telepathic connection in the film, as they do in the comics that inspired the movie, and their relationship evolves from there.

    We just wanted to have them be characters that you fell in love with as they fell in love,Boone added.

    Arya ready for Williams’ new role?

    https://img-huffingtonpost-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5f1a01812500004b0ec2a3f1.jpeg?cache=oej1l3stnh&ops=scalefit_630_noupscale

  70. Dame of Mercia,

    Well first, if you thought that GOT was hard to adapt to the screen, the first novel from “The Wheel Of Time” (“The Eye Of The World”) you read is nothing to how complicated and complex the other novels get. Robert Jordan sure had a way with words LOL…

    There are fourteen novels plus a prequel novella. Just the sheer size of the story, number of characters (especially what we would consider primary ones) plot lines, secondary stories is mind boggling and massive, pretty much dwarfing anything in GOT. This is literally a story taking place across time and even space…not just in the physical realm…Just thinking on the size of the battles…it’s just wow…the scale is…too much almost, and not in a good way.

    It is an exceedingly complicated work to attempt to bring to screen. I’ve been reading the damn books since 1992 and never finished the series, though I attempted to, several times, even after Jordan passed away and Brandon Sanderson finished the last two books.

    Even if they simplify and streamline what they are willing to adapt, it will still require a large budget, which I don’t think that Amazon Prime will be willing to spend, especially on a property that while popular, it is not as well known as GOT, or LOTR, even though once upon a time, Robert Jordan and his massive saga were it, besides Tolkien and his work. Jordan was the heir apparent. This was before Martin, Rothfuss etc.

    Anywho, therein lies the second point of contention. Both the “Wheel Of Time” and the LOTR prequel series are in Amazon Prime’s wheelhouse. Given the amount of money Amazon spent on acquiring the rights to Tolkien’s property and the direct involvement of his estate and family in the project, I think it’s fair to say that this is their primary focus. Not “The Wheel Of Time”. So I am not sure what type or resources, support and marketing power they are willing to throw behind it, since I highly doubt that they want to undermine themselves and the LOTR prequel series, wherein most of their attention will be on.

    Thirdly, I’m getting the feeling that they might go the (and I hate to be use this comparison) CW way, with a cheap, on the fly, tongue-in-cheek adaptation. Much like “Legend Of The Seeker” or worse “The Shannara Chronicles”. Or even worse Netflix with “The Witcher”…LOL

    Fourth, yes Rosamund Pike, Michael McElathon are known quantities when it comes to their abilities and talent…the rest of the cast is sadly not. I’m sorry, but just google the cast and you’ll see what I mean. They look like straight out of central casting, meant to tick all the diversity boxes, meet all the woke quotas while attempting to appease everyone and not offend anyone. I’ve been with these characters on and off for almost thirty years, and none, none of the actors I’m seeing listed there remind me or seem to be have any connections with the ones from the novels, especially the primary ones. Maybe, maybe if I try hard enough, Michael McElathon could be Tam Al-Thor.

    And fifth, yeah, I’m loathe to say this, but the story, character and overall plot might be changed, bent and twisted so as to adapt to the current, prevalent political climate, thinking and orthodoxies. Which would be a disservice to the source material, which never lacked in terms of diversity or strong female characters (actually they are crucial to the story) so on and so forth. These are novels that don’t need a wokeness injection. The story already has all the ingredients.

    So that is that. Of course there have been in little to no details about the LOTR prequel series, so it is possible to be pleasantly surprised and for “The Wheel Of Time” to come out of nowhere and emerge as the new fantasy event/phenomenon. I have my doubts, but who knows…

    PS These to jok

  71. loco73,

    Geeeessh I’m replying to myself…not a good sign. Anyways, what I wanted to end with, was that these two projects from Amazon Prime, plus the supposed (now passed on by Showtime) upcoming adaptation of Patrick Rothfuss’s “The King Killer Chronicle” by Lin Manuel Miranda, “The Witcher” on Netflix and even the new Apple TV series based on Asimov’s “Foundation” novels, will ensure that by the time “House Of The Dragon” arrives at HBO, it will do so in a crowded space. That will make it even more difficult for it’s chance at being successful. That is not counting other shows. “The Mandalorian” is already on it’s way in filling up the void left by GOT…and it’s helluva fun show to watch, even if “Star Wars” is not your cup of tea…

  72. loco73,

    But as you said all these shows will fail and HBO is still the only network that knows how to make successful big budget TV show.

  73. mau:
    loco73,

    But as you said all these shows will fail and HBO is still the only network that knows how to make successful big budget TV show.

    Perhaps. Or maybe there will be soo many of these shows, including “House Of The Dragon”, that there will be overexposure of the genre and audience fatigue to the point or effect that people won’t care at all or at least in large enough numbers to justify the expence of producing a show of that scale…

  74. Young Dragon,

    Absolutely. As noted, the balance between the two made “GoT” the hit it was:

    The Wolves of Winter,

    But spectacle is nothing if you don’t care about the characters. Thats why all the big action episodes work so well, because of all the scenes around them. It’s about balance.

    To be anything other than an expensive, butt-numbing, eye-straining waste of audience time and patience, a Big Damn Action Sequence must have XL-sized dramatic payoff, and that requires a lot of smaller, “high-thread count” scenes to set up that huge dramatic payoff. Consider the titular action scene in “Battle of the Bastards.” The payoff is the Stark forces entering, then breaking the Bolton “cauldron”. As Sansa noted, Ramsay likes to set traps. Just having her say it wasn’t enough; we had to see Ramsay set traps for Theon, Sansa, &c. first. Then we had all those scenes from earlier seasons, showing that Davos and Jon were exactly the literal-minded, yet wishful thinkers who would run into those traps. Then the whole Sansa/Robin/Baelish story to get the Vale knights there. And every last one of those scenes contained relevant information for other storylines.

    That’s what I expect from the “GoT” marque, and hence my fear we might get just the “tits & dragons” spectacle from “House of the Dragon.”

  75. loco73,

    There is only one king of fantasy genre 😆

    And HOTD will only have dragons. Everything else will be pure political drama.

  76. loco73,

    No. I think people need emotional connection with the characters that they will follow for several seasons and you can’t have that if you change cast every season.

    I feel like with The Crown the spell is already broken no matter how great second cast is. And they are playing the same characters.

  77. Ten Bears: 🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈

    Nena, “99 Red Balloons” (1984)
    (in English, 3:51 long)

    For many moons, this was my absolute favourite song to trampoline to.

    (Also reminds of these scenes from Scrubs, where the song is used in two of JD’s fantasies!)

    (And happy #99! Glad to see you’re among the living after your all nighter last night!)

  78. Ten Bears: My #2 candidate for the “late twenties” actress to play Rhaenyra Targaryen would have been Margot Robbie (age 30). However, she’s probably out of HBO’s price range and wouldn’t likely be interested in a role in a TV series.

    Someone a little like Margot Robbie is Emma Mackey, who stars in ‘Sex Education’.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Mackey

  79. Dame of Mercia: WinterRy71,

    I thought you might be having a laugh there but I googled the lady’s name and there is indeed such an actress. She has the right look and I see she’s been in ‘The Last Kingdom’ which I haven’t seen. Is ‘Loch Naess’ her real surname or was she using a play on the Scottish lake name ‘Loch Ness’ for a stage/screen name?

    I think it’s her real name. She’s Norwegian. Thea Sofie was fantastic in ‘The Last Kingdom’. She was both loathsome and bewitching, and there were definite echoes of GoT in her part of the story (S3). Uncannily so. She would fit the GoT universe very well.

    I can’t recommend ‘The Last Kingdom’ enough, and Netflix recently confirmed season 5. The final book of the source series is out this autumn, and I think Netflix will take the series all the way now. Do watch it if you can.

  80. Ten Bears: Trampoline songs, huh. That will get me thinking. 🤓. I guess the songs ought to be upbeat and “jumpy”?

    Yes, if you have any suggestions, please tell me! Songs only are exciting for so long day after day until they get repetitive. After this point, they’re kind of like gum in that regard…. Chew too long and they lose flavour (but ideally, unlike gum, you can reuse the song after a period of time!)

    But any good, energetic song that inspires movement and makes you want to get up! Sometimes, I’ll also bounce to a slower song because the bounce on my trampoline is softer to add an increased challenge to balance. As a result, bounces aren’t as fast as they would be on a firmer surface given how deep the bounce is and it propelling you pretty high as a result.

  81. Adrianacandle,

    Here we go: I tried to find the best quality version of this song on YouTube. I prefer the “Top Pop” lip-synced video to the lip-synced “Official” music video. You probably recognize this from the scene in “Look Who’s Talking” with John Travolta and little Mikey…

    • “Walking on Sunshine” (1985) – Katrina and The Waves on “Top Pop” (broadcast April 15, 1985; lip synced but good sound quality – 3:29 long)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MTAhQIPMOU

    ——-
    • Katrina and The Waves,
    “Walking on Sunshine” (1985)
    25th Anniversary Remaster (audio; 3:44 long)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJTxlAS2A8M

    Confession: I have jumped on a trampoline to this song.

  82. Adrianacandle,

    ”… But any good, energetic song that inspires movement and makes you want to get up! Sometimes, I’ll also bounce to a slower song because the bounce on my trampoline is softer to add an increased challenge to balance. As a result, bounces aren’t as fast as they would be on a firmer surface given how deep the bounce is and it propelling you pretty high as a result.”

    I’ll keep this in mind… “any good, energetic song that inspires movement,” even if it’s a little slower.

  83. Ten Bears,

    Thank-you!! Walking on Sunshine is a great trampoline song (I’ve also used a lot of the Mean Girls soundtrack too) and one I completely forgot about! I’ll be using two of your links today! 😀 You have good jump song taste!

    I’ll keep this in mind… “any good, energetic song that inspires movement,” even if it’s a little slower.

    Yes!! (And thank-you already for your links!)

  84. Adrianacandle,

    • Here’s a somewhat offbeat recommendation for “uplifting” songs, but they’ve got to be experienced in context.

    (Caveat: This comment = in part a(nother) shameless plug for one of my all-time favorite movies. It’s available on YouTube for the time being [link below] but could be taken down at any time. It’s never on cable, and I’m not sure it’s available on Netflix or other streaming services.)

    “Hear My Song” (1991)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO4rjO4Vl-g

    I liked the entire score. I bought the soundtrack a while back to listen to at the gym and in my car, and played it over and over until it wore down.

    Two songs in particular that I found “uplifting” in context are at:

    • 1:26:05 through 1:29:02; reprise at 1:36:47 through 1:39:13
    +
    • 1:32:30 through 1:35:23

    I covered the time counter numbers in spoiler coding in case you haven’t watched the movie yet.

    • FYI: Game of Thrones connections –

    – “Hear My Song” co-stars Tara Fitzgerald (GoT’s Selyse Baratheon) in her very first film role. She plays Nancy. She first appears at 3:55. In one early scene, at 7:00 – 8:29, she’s serenaded with the Sinatra song, “Nancy with the Laughing Face.”
    (I won’t give away anything further so as not to spoil the movie.)

    – Six Degrees of GoT: “Hear My Song” also co-starred James Nesbitt, in one of his earliest film roles. (He played “Bofur” in The Hobbit movies, and has been in a whole bunch of other TV series and films.)
    Anyway, James Nesbitt played Frank in “Gold” (2014) – the stepfather and track coach of Abbie, played by Maisie Williams.

    Vindicating once again the ancient Roman adage: “All roads lead to ASNAWP.” 👸🏻

  85. Ten Bears,

    Thanks for that link, Ten Bears!

    And I look forward to your Sandor and/or(!) Arya musical interlude — either in this thread or in the GRRM Meaty Update one 🙂

  86. loco73,

    I appreciate that you have taken the time to respond. As I said I’ve only read the first book of WOT. I liked Maria Doyle Kennedy in ‘Orphan Black’. From my recollection of ‘The Eye of the World’ the character MDK will be playing is a relatively minor one. Now I’ve only heard this secondhand but I’d heard that the books have a certain amount of corporal punishment and that male on female or female on female and that didn’t make me feel all that enthusiastic. Although there is an old rhyme ‘A woman, a dog and a walnut tree, The more you beat ’em the better they be’ so maybe abuse of women was accepted in the real life parallel time to the fantasy period where WOT is set.

  87. Grandmaester Flash,

    Thankyou to you and WinterRy for your responses. Sometimes non-British names can seem strange from my English perspective but maybe British names sound jarring to people from other lands. There used to be an American actor called Rip Torn but that was his real name. Of course there’s the story ‘Rip Van Winkel’ so I’m surmising that actor was perhaps of Dutch descent.

  88. About moving forward with production of House of the Dragon…

    ”…The Wertzone also is reporting the casting news and references the “Red Gun” codename, so it seems as if this news is making the rounds rather quickly. And if any of this is true, it means production on HoTD is moving forward in spite of circumstances imposed by the global COVID-19 pandemic…”

    I’ve been thinking about the pandemic-related shutdowns of the TV and filmmaking industry in general, and House of the Dragon in particular. Thanks to covidiot politicians (🍊🤡) and small segments of the populations in some countries, I fear this global sh*tshow isn’t going to go away any time soon. (Unless the Lord of Light intervenes, it certainly isn’t going to “magically disappear,” and slowing down testing isn’t going to reduce the number of cases; it’s only going to prevent contact tracing and allow the virus to keep spreading unchecked and unseen.) But I digress…

    Anyway, I wonder if, with a little ingenuity, innovation and adaptability, production on TV shows and films can resume. For instance:

    – Just like with the resumption of baseball, why not sequester a small group of actors, essential crew, and director (separately) for 2-3 weeks with daily testing, and once they’ve all been cleared, expeditiously film their scenes in a “bubble,” i.e., with no outside visitors to the set or living quarters.

    – With clever editing, CGI and green screens, and cinematographic wizardry, it’s surely possible to digitally insert characters or crowds into scenes during post-production.

    – And, instead of having groups of actors on set when they share a scene together, with multiple cameras filming each one in close up or in groups with editors later splicing together “back and forth” shots as the characters speak to each other, each actor can film his or her part separately, and a crafty editor can then assemble the individual footage so that it looks like the characters are all in the same place at the same time. Movies and TV shows have done this convincingly for quite some time, e.g., when an actress plays twins and the two characters are in the same frame together. (Don’t hate me: I liked little Lindsay Lohan in the 1998 remake of “The Parent Trap,” in which she played twins separated at birth, one raised by their father in California and the other by their mother in London. The two identical “twins” shared many scenes together. It didn’t look gimmicky at all. That was twenty years ago. Surely the technology has been further refined since then.)

    – If Game of Thrones can digitally insert a dragon in place of a tennis ball on a stick and make “him” so realistic that Jon Snow can pet his face; replace Toby the stuntman with a zombie polar bear; and transform an actor into a bisected, captured wight, then surely HBO and the HotD crew can work their way around not having all actors physically present at the same time during the shooting of their scene. Yes, it’ll take extra time – at first. It shouldn’t be very long before they streamline the process.

    – Isn’t Miguel Sapochnik one of the showrunners? That guy was bri***ant in employing special effects and practical effects to stage huge battle scenes, e.g., in GoT S6e9, by digitally multiplying a squad of extras into a huge army, using animatronic horses for cavalry charges, and then inserting a f*cking giant in the middle of the mayhem. I am confident he could work around technical restrictions to facilitate filming of HotD without missing a beat.

    – I’ve whined about reaching my DSP (Dragon Saturation Point) by the end of S6 of GoT. However, if as its name suggests, House of the Dragon will be stocked with dragons, then much of the work can be accomplished by the tech geniuses on their computers working at home.

    – Sure, some scripts and production schemes will have to be tweaked to limit the number of on-set cast and crew to a bare minimum, or to replace large group scenes with an assembly of one-on-one interactions.

    – That might not be so terrible. It could motivate scriptwriters to compose “high thread count,” dialogue-rich interpersonal scenes out of necessity. (Disclaimer: I for one preferred the one-on-one scenes, like in S4e7 of GoT, over the big dragon pit convocations in S7e7 and S8e6.)

    – Allow me to be presumptuous, and suggest that some directors might even relish the challenge of running around with a handheld camera without a gaggle of assistants and crew, just like they did when they were starting out in their careers making films on shoestring budgets. Crowded sets with production assistants, gophers, grips, and all the other functionaries you ordinarily see in the lengthy lists of credits at the end of episodes, might be a thing of the past and the future – but not the present. (“What do we say to the God of Excess?”…)

    – All in all, I fear that unless TV and film productions adapt to “the new abnormal,”* it could be years before we see any new shows or movies. During that indefinite hiatus, hundreds of thousands or even millions of artists, entertainers, and other folks behind the scenes will be unemployed, and perhaps become disillusioned with their choice of career. Regrettably, we could lose a whole generation of creative people. (I really miss Broadway shows and concerts. I’ve resigned myself to the likelihood I’ll never be able to see another one in my lifetime. I doubt cinemas will be able to survive past this summer. The entire entertainment industry will have to evolve or face extinction.)

    * “The New Abnormal” is a term coined by political commentators Molly Jong-Fast and Rick Wilson for their biweekly podcast.

    Caveat: Personal whinging to follow. ⚠️
    – I had been looking forward to seeing Maisie Williams in “New Mutants,” especially since its release had already been repeatedly delayed for close to three years for a variety of reasons. Finally, after rumors it would go straight to video or be relegated to some streaming platform, at the beginning of this year it was announced that New Mutants would be in theaters on April 3, 2020. Then that premiere date got pushed off until next month (August) because of the pandemic.

    – I just don’t see how movie theaters will be able to draw an audience with the virus still raging out of control here in the U.S. – not to mention the inherent financial unprofitability of sparsely attended showings necessitated by “social distancing” in cinemas.

    – I figure that “New Mutants,” among with all the other movies placed on the back burner with the expectation that the crisis would subside in a matter of months, will either open and close after the first week, or won’t open at all.

    – I wish the studios would just accept reality, and make these movies available On Demand. I’d gladly pay the equivalent of the price of two tickets + a tub of overpriced popcorn to watch movies at home. I’m sure I’m not alone. (I wouldn’t even mind paying a surcharge to keep cinemas afloat for the year or two it’ll take before there’s even the prospect of a vaccine.) Even if life has started returning to normal in countries with leaders who follow the science and citizens who care enough about each other to make minimal sacrifices, I don’t see how movies in theaters can turn a profit without the U.S. market.

    – Bonus (for me): Releasing “New Mutants” on DVD without delay means I can watch all the extras touted by the director at the Comic-Con zoom panel a few days ago. Like

    Blu Hunt’s audition to play Dani Moonstar, i.e, her “chemistry read” with Wolfsbane/Rahne Sinclair, aka Blu Hunt kissing Maisie Williams.💕

    – I really do hope production is “moving forward” on House of the Dragon.

    Question: Do we know where principal filming is supposed to take place? The last I heard, they were not planning to use the (Titanic?) studios in Northern Ireland.

    (That had seemed counterintuitive to me, since the machinery and local economy were already in place from 8+ years of Game of Thrones.
    However, one astute commenter explained that Brexit screwed up everything, e.g., new visa and travel restrictions making it difficult and cost prohibitive for cast and crew.)

  89. Ten Bears,

    I thought about this as well, but the problem with all of your suggestions is that it is hugely expensive.

    You have to double/triple/quadruple etc. the work depending on the number of actors required for a scene. You’ll have to rent/hire equipment and editing suits for a longer time then you normally would.
    But the biggest problem here is rendering. It already is very time consuming and expensive as hell for the already required FX, but now also (as you suggest) for simple dialogue. I have a powerful PC, but even a 1 minute video filled with FX can take hours to render.

    And as you say

    Ten Bears: the inherent financial unprofitability

    studios don’t want to make production even more expensive than it already is.

  90. Not directly to do with this thread but I came across a video which mentioned a historic John Snow (his name was spelled with an h). The (British) Channel 4 presenter who shares a name with a prominent GoT character is of course well known but this has to do with a doctor who did pioneering work as to the spread of cholera. Many people were sceptical at the time – I don’t think anyone ever disputed that cholera was real but scepticism about the medical profession didn’t begin with (some only some) people with the current pandemic. https://youtu.be/kYT24Z-LNkY

  91. The Wolves of Winter,

    “I thought about this as well, but the problem with all of your suggestions is that it is hugely expensive.”

    Exactly. That’s why ingenuity and innovation is required. They either find new, cost effective ways to film without cast and crew in close quarters – or go extinct.

  92. Ten Bears: Exactly. That’s why ingenuity and innovation is required. They either find new, cost effective ways to film without cast and crew in close quarters – or go extinct.

    While I think damage will be done to the film industry (and many industries) due to this pandemic, I don’t think they’ll go extinct because I expect a vaccine will be developed within the next 12-18 months, after which they won’t need special measures any longer and can return to regular filming methods as the covid virus can be brought to a manageable level. Temp measures and creative solutions may have to be undertaken during this time but I don’t think these measures will need to be permanent.

  93. Adrianacandle: While I think damage will be done to the film industry (and many industries) due to this pandemic, I don’t think they’ll go extinct because I expect a vaccine will be developed within the next 12-18 months, upon which they won’t need special measures. Temp measures and creative solutions may have to be undertaken during this time but I don’t think these measures will need to be permanent.

    Or perhaps I (and said experts in linked article) are being optimistic and this is a more desperate hope… but I really, really hope not.

    But I’m definitely the opposite of an expert in this :/ The thought that it could take decades is incredibly depressing and worrying.

  94. Ten Bears,

    Thinking about it, if new ways of filming need to be undertaken for a prolonged period of time (ie. decades), I think there may need to be compromise on both parts of the studios and audiences.

    For such high quality FX (which may look dated 5 years from now), it’s going to cost money and I’m not sure there’s a way around that so studios may need to compromise on quality. If actors have to act physically independently from one another, this would probably require a new skill set not everyone may excel (or even be good) at. Some, yes. Those actors who are excellent at playing their own twin or clone (Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black) for instance (like you referenced) but others? Not so much…

    I think this is where compromise on our part needs to come in — maybe things will look a bit visually artificial, maybe performances will seem impacted by these new requirements, and maybe we’ll need to manage our expectations from our entertainment if a vaccine can’t be developed within the foreseeable future and new methods of filming are required.

    If so, I think something (or multiple things) will have to give on both our parts if studios want to still keep producing media and we want to still keep watching it.

  95. Dame of Mercia:
    loco73,

    I appreciate that you have taken the time to respond.As I said I’ve only read the first book of WOT.I liked Maria Doyle Kennedy in ‘Orphan Black’.From my recollection of ‘The Eye of the World’ the character MDK will be playing is a relatively minor one.Now I’ve only heard this secondhand but I’d heard that the books have a certain amount of corporal punishment and that male on female or female on female and that didn’t make me feel all that enthusiastic. Although there is an old rhyme ‘A woman, a dog and a walnut tree, The more you beat ’em the better they be’ so maybe abuse of women was accepted in the real life parallel time to the fantasy period where WOT is set.

    First of all it is important to understand that “The Wheel Of Time” as a whole is pretty much a PG-13 rated affair, especially when it comes to sex, nudity, language and even violence. Some of the battles do have some more pronounced violence here and there, but nothing close to GOT/ASOIF (TV series/books). If it helps, think of the LOTR movie trilogy.

    Second, there is I think a misunderstanding about the punishment you mention. The most prolific type of punishment in the series is called “gentling” and is basically a way to forcefully separate individuals from magic and their ability to wield it, aka the One Power and channeling. Think of a Jedi unable/loosing the ability to use the Force. In WOT, the One Power has a male (Saidin) and female half (Saidar) (in the novels it appears sometimes illustrated with a symbol similar to Ying and Yang). The male half is tainted with madness and corruption of the soul (by the Dark One aka Shai’Tan aka the Devil aka Satan, the source of evil in the world and the main antagonist, who was imprisoned by the Creator (aka God) when he made the world). As revenge the Dark One has poisoned the male half of the One Power.

    As such the men who have the ability to channel, go crazy and become violent. So they are hunted by a order of warrior priestesses called the Aes Sedai (there used to be malr Aes Sedai before they all went mad) and when caught the sentence is automatically the “gentling” I mentioned. Women are only usually gentled if they betray the Light and become servants of the Dark One (think Satanists) and use the One Power in his service.

    For people who can channel this is one of the most severe, devastating and invasive forms of punishment because it is basically a spiritual castration. You soul ripped appart. The men who go through this don’t survive for long.

    Most people are not affected by this because they can’t channel, think of the Muggles versus the magic folk in “Harry Potter”. Some people can sense the One Source but can’t use it… think of Force sensitives in “Star Wars”.

    The problem is that the being who can save the world from the Apocalypse and fight the Dark One in the Last Battle aka Tarmon Gai’don aka Armageddon is a male (reincarnated/reborn) individual known as the Dragon Reborn aka Jesus…so you see the issue…

    It’s a helluva more elaborate and complicated than this…

    https://wot.fandom.com/wiki/One_Power

    https://wot.fandom.com/wiki/Talent

    https://wot.fandom.com/wiki/Aes_Sedai

  96. Dame of Mercia,

    ”…Although there is an old rhyme ‘A woman, a dog and a walnut tree, The more you beat ’em the better they be’ so maybe abuse of women was accepted in the real life parallel time to the fantasy period where WOT is set.”

    • The old rhyme, “The more you beat ‘em the better they be” is representative of the same kind of mindset that produces a warped sense of entitlement to “grab ‘em by the p***y.” Rationalizing violence or sweeping it under the rug is probably one reason why real world Meryn F*cking Trants – “men who like to beat little girls, men who like to rape ‘em” – are able to flourish as serial predators for years and years.

    It’s shameful that abuse of women has almost always been accepted in real life throughout human history, and continues to this day. Some of that must be ingrained or perpetuated: the notion that women are property, like livestock or “dogs,” that need to be trained and subjugated with the administration of corporal punishment.

    • I don’t know how else to explain it. In every generation and every culture – historical and fictional – there never seems to be a shortage of backwards bozos, vicious yahoos and hateful yohos who get off on, and get away with, beating up and belittling girls and women.

    • I am heartened that a few days ago the Princess That Was Promised (D – Queens in the North) eloquently called out a yoho for accosting her and then trying to brush it off with a non-apology apology.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI4ueUtkRQ0

    She is my future Queen.🗽She’s just fabulous. Long may she reign!

  97. loco73,

    Well, I’ve read the first book and I strongly suspect that the Dragon Reborn is the one of the three village youths who turns out to be adopted. There was an introduction to one Aes Sedai, Moraine, in that book and the two young women from the Two Rivers seemed to have some magical ability, but as I say I’ve only read one book.

    Ten Bears,

    Spousal rape only became a crime in the UK in the early 1990s https://www.lawtonslaw.co.uk/resources/what-are-the-legal-penalties-for-marital-rape/

    Spousal rape is not a very pleasant subject to think about – and even more unpleasant for anyone who suffers it (well show Sansa was a victim). The subject was treated (not in glorious technicolour) in the first book of John Galsworthy’s ‘The Forsyte Chronicles’ and is featured in a couple of Winston Graham books (the writer who wrote the source material for ‘Poldark’) ‘Marnie’ and ‘The Forgotten Story’ though in TFS I never twigged that that was the reason the young woman involved and her husband had parted. The act itself isn’t described in those books and has taken place before the beginning of ‘The Forgotten Story’. In the 1960s adaptation of ‘The Forsyte Chronicles’ called ‘The Forsyte Saga’ you saw the husband grab hold of his wife and then the scene changes to an organ grinder outside the window and then back to the husband and wife with the wife crying. I found something on YouTube showing some members of the public being interviewed back in the 1960s about attitudes to that aspect of the show and some people are unsympathetic to the wife. The video is nearly half an hour long but 6 or 7 minutes should give a flavour of its content. https://youtu.be/8S5BFV5FH_s

  98. Ten Bears,

    Musical interlude for the day. Her name is Yoyoka. She’s a 10 year old drummer from Japan. She can rock with the best of them:

  99. Adrianacandle,

    I suppose it is hard for me to share your optimism as I sit here in my Sky Cell in the epicenter of the dystopian nightmare, with “leaders” who’ve been dismissive of science from the outset and unwilling to implement demonstrably effective measures to contain the plague.

    Other leaders and other people in other nations have shown what needs to be done. Here in the U.S, the contagion is out of control and is going to keep spreading exponentially – unless it somehow “magically disappears.” 🤬 Sorry. Praying to the Lord of Light or sacrificing half a million souls at the altar of the Dow while awaiting magical intervention is a pretty crappy plan. Call me cynical. I don’t see how the entertainment industry can survive an this clusterf*ck of idiocy.

    Oh, and even if there’s an effective vaccine down the road, the same contingent of f*ckwits who dismiss the pandemic as “a hoax,” claim it is no worse than the sniffles; won’t wear masks because “freedom;” and subscribe to looney tunes anti-vax conspiracy theories; are going to refuse to be vaccinated.
    For that matter, the same dingbats who wouldn’t and couldn’t ramp up a comprehensive testing program, let alone manufacture and distribute protective equipment and testing supplies, will likely screw up the rollout and distribution of vaccines. So, it will be at least seven more months before we can even begin to think about vaccines.

    Best case scenario: Maybe a year or two from now the entertainment industry can try to start resurrecting itself. 🤢

  100. Ten Bears,

    No need to be sorry and unfortunately, I think your cynicism has solid reasoning. There does seem to exist a determination to go about like everything is normal, which I think is dangerous, frustrating, and puts us all at high risk for even longer-term consequences (and for some, death).

    I think I do have a desperation to see the end in sight but even that article I linked to has an uncertain tone.

    I was also wondering the about anti-vaxxers and I’ve already seen some covid conspiracy theories….

  101. Mr Derp,

    Hey Mr. D! You were right about ten year old drummer Yoyoka. She’s a prodigy. And unlike some child musicians who copy what they’ve heard or sound like they are just going through the motions, you can tell she was really into it!

    Speaking of child prodigies, have you seen this video of 9 year old Amira Willighagen (from “Holland’s Got Talent” in 2013)?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDqTBlKU4CE

    The reaction at 2:15 – 2:19 is the definition of “jaw-dropping.”

  102. Ten Bears,

    Yes, I’ve seen that before. I think I actually saw it from an earlier link from you in a different thread! Thanks for that.

    I love seeing genuine talent from little kids that goes well beyond the average tiktok attention-seeking videos. It gives me some hope for the future.

    Here’s another one from Yoyoka. It’s Toto’s “Rosanna”. The half-time shuffle she plays on the drums in this song is subtle, but hard enough that it gives a lot of professional drummers trouble. The fact that she can do it with such ease is mind blowing.

  103. Mr Derp,

    Yoyoka is amazing but crumbs, I’m remembering how many songs from the 1980s I hated.

    Ten Bears,

    There was a certain poetic justice in the UK in that BoJo (called BoZo by some) caught the virus though he’s back at work now. He didn’t handle the crisis awfully well in the early days. Of course some conspiraloons will have it that BJ faked it as did (in their view) Prince Charles (when he was presumably taking a break from murdering babies in the cellars beneath Buckingham Palace/Windsor Castle [strike out as applicable]). You may know we had people trying to set 5G masts on fire in the UK a few months ago.

  104. Dame of Mercia: Yoyoka is amazing but crumbs, I’m remembering how many songs from the 1980s I hated.

    Not a fan of “Rosanna” huh? How could you?!

    Lol, j/k.

    I’m not a Toto fan either, but damn that drum line in “Rosanna” is good. It’s the same drum beat from Led Zeppelin’s “Fool in the Rain”. Maybe that song’s more palatable?

    Yoyoka does a ton of drum covers. Everything from 60’s music to current music and everything in between.

  105. Adrianacandle,

    YouTube dragged me down into a rabbit hole of GoT prequel + trampoline song synchronicity…
    I went searching for a Lou Christie song from the 60’s and wound up watching Naomi Watts in a scene from “Mulholland Drive” (a movie people rave about that I’ve never seen). A map:

    “I’m Gonna Make You Mine” (1969) by Lou Christie w/ Linda Scott on backing vocals > “I’ve Told Every Little Star” (1961) by Linda Scott > The song lip-synced in “Mulholland Drive” audition scene (“that’s the girl”) > Camera pans over to track onlooker (Naomi Watts) and her reaction.

    Damn, she is soooooo good. I’m still disappointed her GoT prequel got canned. I wish HBO would cast her in HotD.

  106. Mr Derp,

    ”I’m not a Toto fan either, but damn that drum line in “Rosanna” is good…”

    I can’t say I’m a fan of Toto either. I did go back and watch the music video for “Rosanna” (1982),
    the song that won the Grammy for Record of the Year.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmOLtTGvsbM

    The musical artistry is impressive I guess.
    I was more impressed by the dancer in the red dress in the music video, who I recognized as Cynthia Rhodes (Penny in “Dirty Dancing”).

  107. Ten Bears,

    Is this the song you looked up?? 🙂

    (For a very very long time, I would wear my hair exactly like the girl with the hairband, even with a bump-it sometimes! I’ve only recently somewhat changed my hairstyle by… slightly changing the part of my hair… But I’m still into the 2007-2011 era hairbands ala Gossip Girl)

    Agreed about Naomi Watts. It would have been great to see her in the GoT-verse.

    On a semi-related note, I’ve been watching Merlin (2008) and that show has quite a few cast members in common with GoT! I just watched the episode with Charles Dance in it! Merlin also had Liam Cunningham, Joe Dempsie, John Bradley, Joseph Mawle (Benjen) making appearances, among many others 🙂

  108. Adrianacandle,

    Yes, “I’m Gonna Make You Mine” (1969) by Lou Christie is the song I looked up…except it sounded different in that video. I’m not sure if it was re-recorded or re-engineered. Lou Christie’s voice sounded muted.
    Oh, and I recall watching that strange, faded black & white video (Lou Christie poolside with the two dancers) – but with a different accompanying audio track.

    Here are two links to the version of the song as I remember it. The first has (another) goofy black & white video: Lou Christie singing in what appears to be a junkyard. The second is an audio-only video. (I tried to find the best quality audio available on YouTube.)

    Again, I thought the bouncy, upbeat tempo + his falsetto vocals + backup singers’* chorus, qualified this as a “trampoline song” candidate.

    🎶 “I’m Gonna Make You Mine” (1969)
    Lou Christie, with backing vocals by Linda Scott
    (2:47 long; B&W video – junkyard)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSOxnySCs7M

    —-
    🎶 ”I’m Gonna Make You Mine” (1969), Lou Christie – Audio only (2:41 long)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TluHF80wMs

    * Linda Scott singing the backing vocals started me down the rabbit hole that eventually led to Naomi Watts (cast as the lead in the GoT “Blood Moon” prequel abruptly aborted without explanation after filming of the pilot).

    To be continued in Part 2 below…

  109. Part 2 of 2 (continued from 10:09 am above)

    Linda Scott, the backing vocalist on Lou Christie’s “I’m Gonna Make You Mine,” had a hit in 1961 with “I’ve Told Every Little Star.” (That song was in turn an updated version of the 1933 original by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, but that’s another story…)

    I have never seen David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” (2001). Apparently, Naomi Watts – who I’ve long admired for her other work – gives a dynamic performance in this movie. Linda Scott’s “I’ve Told Every Little Star” is used in a pivotal scene – lip synced by the character played by Melissa George, right before the camera shifts to Naomi Watts. [Note: Since I have never seen the movie I have no idea what’s really going on in this scene…]

    Anyway, here is the audio of that song, followed by a clip of the scene in which it’s used in the movie.

    • Linda Scott, “I’ve Told Every Little Star” (1961)
    from “Mulholland Drive” (2001) Soundtrack
    (2:21 long)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBuJVc9pnrE


    • “I’ve Told Every Little Star” (1961) by Linda Scott.
    Used in audition scene in Mulholland Drive (2001) with Naomi Watts, Justin Theroux, and Melissa George (as Camilla Rhodes, lip syncing the song)
    (2:47 long)
    at 2:18 – Naomi Watts appears

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2XnBsLP9lE

    Pardon the thread derailment. I’ll blame HBO for depriving me of the talents of Naomi Watts.

  110. Adrianacandle,

    Addendum…

    Here’s another (hit) song from Lou Christie – the original 1965 studio version + live in 1974:

    • “Lightning Strikes” (1965)
    (3:01 long) [on soundtrack of “Wild Palms” miniseries (1993)]

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HGnOuyi5O0

    • “Lightning Strikes” – Lou Christie, live on The Midnight Special (aired May 17, 1974)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaX6ApRyzSI

    (There’s a rabbit hole leading from this to a Linda Ronstadt song, which I may revisit when it’s appropriate for a GoT character dedication.)

  111. Ten Bears,

    Thanks for all of this!!

    Again, I thought the bouncy, upbeat tempo + his falsetto vocals + backup singers’* chorus, qualified this as a “trampoline song” candidate.

    It’s a great song for bouncing to! Thank you!! When songs get stale, it can be a lot harder to keep engaged and interested so I really really appreciate this new set! 😀

  112. Adrianacandle,

    Okay, I’ve got a few more. My rule of thumb is that embedding more then two links triggers the Lord of Light’s algorithms, so I’ll limit this to two songs for now.

    The first has a personal backstory to it: When I was a young boy, my older brother had assembled a massive ‘45s oldies collection. He played those records nonstop (along with full-length albums broadcast on FM radio stations). As we shared the same room growing up, countless songs were drilled into my head whether I liked it or not.

    Anyway, we had bunk beds in our room. I had the top bunk. So early one evening I climbed up to my bed and was preparing to doze off even though the phonograph was still on, playing the first song below: “I Got Rhythm.” I remember my arm was dangling over the side of the bed. My brother, in the bunk below, decided to grab my arm and slowly swing it back and forth to the opening bars of the song – and then when the tempo sped up, he swung my arm faster and faster and started to kick my bed from below, so I was bouncing up and down while being (unintentionally) pulled over the side.

    Long and short of it is that the next thing I knew, I was flat on my back on the floor. My brother freaked out. He thought he’d seriously injured me. I remember being momentarily stunned, but that was it. Nothing bruised or broken. Nothing hurt. I looked up at him, saw a frantic look on his face, and for some reason I burst out laughing and couldn’t stop. He soon cracked up too, partly because he was relieved I was okay and partly because of the absurdity of my laughing fit. (I guess you had to be there..)

    All the while, the soundtrack to this incident was playing in the background: 🎶”I got rhythm (I got rhythm), I got music (I got music)…”🎶 Ever since then, I’ve had a Proustian association of this song to bouncing on my bed and bouncing over the side onto the floor.

    • “I Got Rhythm” (1967) – The Happenings
    [Although I didn’t know it until years later, this song was composed in 1930 by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin]

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uvxaD_5kXY

    …. And here is another upbeat, bouncy tune that got extensive, repetitive air time on my brother’s phonograph:

    • “Hitchin A Ride” (1969) Vanity Fare
    (B&W dubbed video)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88EykxITki8

    Thanks to the wonders of YouTube (and enforced solitude in my Sky Cell), I’m now able to listen to these “one hit wonders” I hadn’t heard since childhood. They sound…better now, for some reason.

  113. Ten Bears,

    Thanks, Ten Bears!

    And that is really a story — wow! And well-told! Now I won’t be able to hear this song without picturing a mini Ten Bears bed-dancing and falling from his top bunk, caught up in the feeling of it all 🙂

    (And I’m glad you weren’t hurt!)

  114. A different style of music – one of the Chants d’Auvergne, folk songs from the French district of the Auvergne collected and arranged by Joseph Canteloube (who was from Annonay in the Auvergne. This is perhaps the best known of the songs, ‘Bailero’, a shepherd and shepherdess sing to each other across a river that they can’t cross. https://youtu.be/-iI8tMHrD_c I know we have some linguists who visit this site periodically so if anyone of them chance on this do they know if the Auvergnat version of the Occitan language (used in the song linked) is still spoken? The singer is the late Netania Devranth. Sorry TB and Ariana, I don’t think you’ll be able to bounce up and down to this, but the song made my reluctant attempts to catch up on household chores (still plenty more to do) yesterday a bit more bearable by having it playing in the background.

  115. Dame of Mercia,

    Thanks, Dame of Mercia! That is a beautiful song! It also reminds of old Hollywood circa 1950s, when they were doing The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur!

    (I’m also catching up on chores and preparing to move at the end of this month. So much stuff, so little desire to throw any of it away…)

  116. Apparently the song was used somewhere as background music in Fifty Shades of Porn (I mean Grey). Seems like sacrilege!

  117. Where is this being filmed if here in Europe then I think we should be fine to film however no US, Russian or Brazilian actors would be alloed to travel due to COVID. Bottom line this pandemic may delay teh show airing next year.

  118. Jack Bauer 24:
    Hope to see a trailer by this time next year.

    I thought the show was supposed to air in summer of 2021? Of course I may have missed something especially with the pandemic but I had assumed they were filming this fall until early 2021 and then it will air next summer.

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