HBO's president of programming Michael Lombardo has defended the graphic sex and violence in HBO's "Game of Thrones" at this week's Edinburgh International Television Festival. Lombardo says showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff have stayed true to George R.R. Martin's original books:
"I personally don't see myself as a libertine. I don't think (graphic scenes) have ever been without any purpose. Dan and Dave are two very sober, thoughtful men. They have books as a map, which involve wars, violence, sex. We have certainly not given them an edict or a note that they need to tone down the sexual content in the show."
There was some controversy over an infamous sex scene between Jamie and Cersei Lannister this past season in regards to whether it was consensual or an act of rape. Lombardo admits "it generated a conversation about what consensual sex is and isn't". However,...
"I personally don't see myself as a libertine. I don't think (graphic scenes) have ever been without any purpose. Dan and Dave are two very sober, thoughtful men. They have books as a map, which involve wars, violence, sex. We have certainly not given them an edict or a note that they need to tone down the sexual content in the show."
There was some controversy over an infamous sex scene between Jamie and Cersei Lannister this past season in regards to whether it was consensual or an act of rape. Lombardo admits "it generated a conversation about what consensual sex is and isn't". However,...
- 8/22/2014
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Welcome to my first live-blog for the July 2014 Television Critics Association press tour! Up first, HBO Chairman and CEO Richard Plepler and Michael Lombardo take the stage to discuss "True Detective," "Game of Thrones," "The Leftovers" and whatever else we feel like we want to talk about. Follow along! That's Richard Plepler above. He looks like a character on "Mad Men," doesn't he? 2:01 p.m. We may be delayed a few minutes by rumors of an ice cream bar. Ladies and gentlemen... HBO! Today's panels include "The Knick," "The Comeback," "Getting On," the Foo Fighters docu-series and "Olive Kitteridge." 2:05 p.m. HBO's first announcement is that HBO will be filming the last two nights of Beyonce & Jay-z's concert tour in September. Those shows will be in Paris. 2:05 p.m. As was previously rumored, Meryl Streep will win an Emmy for Mike Nichols' adaptation of "Master Class.
- 7/10/2014
- by Daniel Fienberg
- Hitfix
Alex Graves is one of television's best directors, having jumped from "The West Wing" to be a sought-after director of pilots like "Fringe" and "Terra Nova." Last year, he joined the "Game of Thrones" directing rotation and made an immediate impression with his debut episodes, "And Now His Watch Is Ended" (which concludes with Daenerys leading a slave uprising in Astapor) and "Kissed by Fire" (which features Jaime's intimate confession to Brienne in the bathhouse). He returned to the series with last night's "The Lion and the Rose" (I reviewed it here), which features perhaps the longest single scene in the show's history as well as one of its most pivotal story points. Spoilers for that, and then a long discussion with Graves about what went into directing both this episode and "Game of Thrones" in general, coming up just as soon as we give all the leftover food to the dogs.
- 4/14/2014
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Hitfix
As I said yesterday , my original plan for this week of “Game of Thrones” interviews was to talk to all three Stark kids together, but scheduling issues split Sophie Turner off from TV siblings Maisie Williams and Isaac Hempstead-Wright. Fortunately, the latter two worked just as well as a duo as I’d been hoping they would in a trio, and we talked about the challenges and benefits of their respective roles, what it was like to watch the Red Wedding and, of course, their very tall traveling companions. You guys haven't worked together since episode 2, right? Isaac Hempstead-Wright: Episode 1, isn't it? I think that was the only time we were ever together. And yet when you're together in these interviews, or the DVD commentaries you do with Sophie, it's like you're the best of friends who have never parted. Maisie Williams: Yeah, exactly. And I think the reason...
- 4/4/2014
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Hitfix
Alfie Allen has had a whiplash-inducing experience on “Game of Thrones.” As Theon Greyjoy, boy hostage of the Stark family, he was a relatively minor player in the first season. Then in the second, he had one of the most prominent, clear and interesting character arcs, as Theon betrayed the Starks to get back in the good graces of his cruel father, only to overreach (and murder innocent children) in his attempts to impress dear papa. And he spent virtually all of the third season strapped to a large X-shaped cross, suffering physical and psychological torture at the hands of the sadistic Ramsay Snow (Iwan Rheon), who ultimately mutilated Theon and redubbed him Reek. And that’s not even mentioning the time that showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss pranked Allen for three weeks into believing that Theon was going to die in the next episode. Allen was the first...
- 4/1/2014
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Hitfix
Tyrion is going back to jail. The savvy, witty, chronically misunderstood Lannister, played by Peter Dinklage, gets himself into serious trouble in Game of Thrones season 4, as you’ve doubtless seen from all those trailers. About an hour of screen time will take place in Tyrion’s cell this year — yet producers say this is the Emmy winner’s best performance on the show to date. Last September, the actor took a break while shooting the series in Croatia to speak to EW about acting and Tyrion’s next journey. (Bonus: It’s spoiler free.)
Entertainment Weekly: How has Thrones changed you?...
Entertainment Weekly: How has Thrones changed you?...
- 3/25/2014
- by James Hibberd
- EW - Inside TV
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