We’re back!! The Night’s Cast, the official podcast of Watchers on the Wall, has returned to your airwaves after a short hiatus, and we’re excited to talk prequel news and preparations for next week’s Con of Thrones.
This week, Vanessa and Samantha get pumped for the third annual Con of Thrones, which begins next Friday in Nashville, and break down recent casting, filming and production news for the Game of Thrones spinoff tentatively titled Blood Moon (although we’d like to reiterate that this is not the “official” title released by HBO and could still be a production codename only).
The podcast is available on iTunes and SoundCloud, and you can follow us on Twitter as well. Happy listening!
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The All-Star lineup!
That was great! Can’t wait to see you at the Con!
• (1) I have a question for anyone who might know:
Will the Con of Thrones continue on next year and thereafter?
• (2) Will they ever have an “All-Voice” panel consisting of:
Actors:
(a) Iain “Mr. Mellifluous” Glen (Jorah Mormont);
(b) Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton);
(c) Richard Dormer (The Lightning Lord Beric Dondarrion).
Actresses:
(a) Lena Headey (Cersei “Not Really the Mother of Madness by Comparison” Lannister);
(b) Essie Davis (Lady Crane/Faux Cersei);
(c) Diana Rigg (Olenna “Words Cut Deeper Than Swords” Tyrell).
They could each charge $25 for autographs and $75 for a five-second voice recording.
hahahhahaaa!
Cersei “Not Really the Mother of Madness by Comparison” …hahahaaa!!
I would charge $50 for Oleanna..at min.
Mango,
Cersei’s excellent “Mad King’s Daughter” Propaganda Speech in S7e2 proved to be somewhat prophetic, didn’t it? Initially, I admired it because it was fact-based, and like all good stump speeches, it referred to the adversary not by name but by a denigrating moniker. It turned out that Cersei arguably understated the threat posed by Dany when she warned: “You all remember the Mad King. You remember the horrors he inflicted upon his people. His daughter is no different.”
Anyway, here’s the text of Cersei’s “Mad King’s Daughter” speech:
(S7e2, Cersei, in throne room, to assembled lords)
Cersei: “If the Mad King’s daughter takes the Iron Throne, she will destroy the Realm as we know it. Some of you are bannermen of House Tyrell. But House Tyrell is in open rebellion against the Crown. With their help the Mad King’s daughter has ferried an army of savages to our shores. Mindless Unsullied soldiers who will destroy your castles and your holdfasts. Dothraki heathens who will burn your villages to the ground, rape and enslave your women, and butcher your children without a second thought. This is how Olenna Tyrell rewards centuries of service and loyalty.
***
You all remember the Mad King. You remember the horrors he inflicted upon his people. His daughter is no different. In Essos her brutality is already legendary. She crucified hundreds of noblemen in Slaver’s Bay. And when she grew bored of that, she fed them to her dragons. It is my solemn duty to protect the people, and I will but I need your help, my Lords. We must stand together, all of us, if we hope to stop her.”
Mango,
I chose these six actresses and actors not only because of their rich voices, but because their elocution is perfect. I don’t hear as well as I used to. Sometimes I have trouble understanding what a character is saying without closed-captioning and rewinding. Sometimes it’s the director’s fault.*
*[For instance, at certain points during Arya’s conversation with Hot Pie in S7e2, I couldn’t make out what she was saying; it sounded like Arya was swallowing her words.]
I could always understand what Cersei was saying. Even during Lena Headey’s narration of episode commentaries with other actors or directors, her diction and articulation are crisp and clear. I can’t say that about everyone.
That was fun!
You make a good point about elocution! I did not really think about it until you mentioned this performance feature of these actors. We were lucky to have such a talented cast – so many that could use their voices really well. We also had a few that could use their facial movements subtly and skillfully.
One big reason, I started watching was Peter Dinklage. His performance was uneven over the years. However, he seems to be much better when given a good partner. He works well with both Nik and Lena. Peter also is lucky to have disproportionately large eyes – he uses these well.
NCW does not get enough praise. He is “unlucky” in that he seems to raise Dinklage to even more excellent performances. NCW seems to be a “screen partner expert”. He gets the best out of so many other performers in their “one-on-one” scenes.
Maisie is among the best of the young GOT talent but yes, she and the younger ones will need to improve their elocution as they mature and hone their craft.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GI7zy1PTMp0
Mango,
Maisie also has starred as a voice actress in movies such as Early Man. If you are looking for enunciation, then look no further than Early Man. She uses a different accent that sounds easier to understand to me as an American than her actual British accent that she used in GOT. I was thinking to myself that if I didn’t know it was Maisie, I may not have known it was her just by listening. I have a hard time understanding every word of certain British shows, especially when the actor is talking quickly. I have to say I’m improving! I’ve been watching more and more British TV and movies and I’m getting better at it. I watched Faye Marsay in “Love, Nina”, and there were lines that were very difficult for me to understand because of the native accent and the speed.
Maisie does have the talent to change accents and delivery speed. I’ve heard her use several different accents in different roles.
Mango,
To be clear, I blame the director (MM) for filming the S7e2 Arya-Hot Pie scene in such a way that I couldn’t understand what Arya was saying – even though the camera shots were closeups on her face.
In particular, when Hot Pie told Arya, “I thought you’d be headed to Winterfell,” I had to rewind and replay Arya’s reply five or six times until I could make out that she said: “Why would I go there? The Boltons have it.”
Tron79,
Ten Bears,
Well, I was about to tell Tron that maybe TB is f*cking deaf.
I glad Maisie is showing her talent in many places. She will only get better as she hones her craft.
BTW, Maisie recently signed on a new TV role.
You can read about it here:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/26/entertainment/maisie-williams-two-weeks-to-live/index.html
Here’s an excerpt from the article…
“But Kim is no ordinary fish out of water — she’s more like a great white shark who knows how to strip a Smith & Weston SDVE pistol in 6 seconds flat, skin a deer to make a sleeping bag, and perform all the routines from ‘Dirty Dancing.'” Sky’s description read. “With her in their team, they might all just survive.”
My last comment got lost in moderation..probably because I included a link to the article….
Here’s what I said without the link…
BTW, Maisie recently signed on a new TV role.
(search for Maisie Williams Two Weeks to Live for the article)
Here’s an excerpt from the article…
“But Kim is no ordinary fish out of water — she’s more like a great white shark who knows how to strip a Smith & Weston SDVE pistol in 6 seconds flat, skin a deer to make a sleeping bag, and perform all the routines from ‘Dirty Dancing.’” Sky’s description read. “With her in their team, they might all just survive.”
Mango,
No, not quite deaf yet.
However, I think Maisie Williams’s stage experience in “I and You” will be invaluable in projecting her voice clearly in future film and TV roles. As long as MM isn’t directing.
Tron79,
I went off the rails a few days ago about Maisie Williams and “Two Weeks to Live” — prompted by the part of her character description that says she can “perform all the routines from ‘Dirty Dancing.’”
I think you may have been away. I linked to a couple of videos of dance scenes in “Dirty Dancing” that I’d be tickled to watch Maisie perform.
Tron79,
I think my Maisie Williams-Dirty Dancing squeefest was a two-part comment posted on 6/28/19 at around 9:58 pm and 10:29 pm. I forget under which article. (All threads lead to Arya anyway. 👸🏻🙂)
Thanks. Yeah, I have been away. I will catch up on the other threads…
Maisie always wanted to be a dancer!
Really enjoyed that ladies, hope you had a great time at Con of Thrones! Hoping to see some articles with insights on how it went especially keen on the Jon Snow set that Vanessa will lead.