having read the books, i can say that no, the TV version is better. it’s the editor that GRRM really needed.
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Sorry for the length of this but I’d like to offer a little educational insight here.
I actually had to deal with something that intersected these two very trains of thought once. I wanted to license a proper screening of a show let’s call HTVSMOBBMT (“Hit TV Show Mentioned on BB Many Times”). After a lot of phoning around to find out exactly who I should give money to do this, I finally got a callback from a Very Nice Lawyer of HTVSMOBBMT’s network and the conversation went something like this:
Me: I have money and I’d like to give it to your company in order to do show HTSMOBBMT.
VNL: That sounds great but I’m afraid we can’t do that.
Me: Why? I have money.
VNL: Yes, I know but the fact is that we sign a lot of contracts to make this show happen and they place restrictions on how we can exploit something.
Me: What do you mean?
VNL: Well, take the actor’s contract provided by (SAG, I think, I’m fuzzy on this detail). We pay this set contract rate to the actor because it’s only a home viewing scenario like TV. If we do public screening of HTVSMOBBMT we have to pay much higher rates and fines for breaking those agreements.
Me: But you have a hit show. Pay the fees and fines and make the money, I can’t be the only one asking you this.
VNL: We know and we’d love to but we’ve done the math and expanding into share just isn’t worth the effort.
Me: I don’t understand though. I can watch a sports game in a bar.
VNL: Yes, that venue was already factored in when initial negotiations happened. And those athletes aren’t actors so those acting contracts don’t apply to them. Besides, they are not the only contractual obligation we have to meet either.
Me: So if they watch HTVSMOBBMT on 60" screen by themselves at home and pay you no extra money, it’s fine. But if they are willing to pay extra money to you to see it on a 60’ screen with friends and strangers, you can’t do it? It’s the same content, just a physically different location of exhibition, which in this day and age on mobile content sounds really bizarre.
VNL: Yes and we know that doesn’t make a lot of sense but breaking our contracts makes no financial sense for us.
And so on… So if you want to blame anything, blame lawyers, capitalism and the interlocking greed they create between functioning systems. The fact is they all love money and know they could make more money. It’s not that they are locked into an old system, it’s just that so many things are legally locked into old systems.
But don’t blame that lawyer. He was actually very nice.
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We will have to agree to disagree then. I love all the detail of the books. I also think the casting and art direction are bad.
Similarly, there’s something going on right now where NZ ISPs are being told to cease-and-desist their anti-geolocking VPNs.
I think the ISPs are denying that what they’re offering is illegal, not sure if that’s actually true, though.
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yeah, i guess so. i enjoyed the books overall, but felt that GRRM tended to go on for far longer than he needed to about things like meals and minute details of every piece of clothing and armor – not to mention battles (and people accuse tolkien of being wordy!), whereas the TV show really has to work to get across a ton in a relatively short period of time. i’m surprised you don’t like the casting… i mean sure some may not be everyone’s vision, but i think in general they’ve done a great job bringing the characters to screen. and the detail in the art direction are delicious eye candy to me. different strokes, for sure.
Read them out loud in the bar. Hell, invite people to read parts.
I’ll point that stupid camera in any direction I like. Maybe at my sleeping dog.
Pretty sure this is also illegal
That would certainly appear to be a minority opinion.
Much like @Franko, I think the exclusion of Zombie Catelyn Stark and other loose ends is working in the story’s favour.
All bets off now, we’re past where I read up to…
well, i’m hoping that SOME unseen characters (cough) still show up. i think we couldn’t have dreamt up a better Tyrion, or Brienne, or Arya, or Cercei, or Jayme, or Tywin, or…
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He’s got NOTHIN’ on commenters in these forums. Have you ever seen how many comments a thread about seasoning cast iron can generate?
If the BB-commenters were collaborating with GRRM, vol 7 would still be discussing the variety of morticing strategies available for Winterfell.
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It sounds about half, to a third of what the market will bear.
You may be right. It’s difficult to gauge what the correct price point should be without market testing.
but properly seasoned cast iron is SERIOUS BUSINESS. : )
hey, if the BB commenters helped, the next book might be done faster, at least!
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Had high hopes for HBO now. But it’s much like their cable deal, only living in walled gardens. It’s only available to ppl in the NE w/ Optimum as their isp or on an apple device. wtf
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wait three months, then
Please elaborate, what happens in three months?
The exclusivity expires.
