Well, at least George has plenty of time to finish The Winds of Winter now. In wake of the Writers and Actors Strikes engulfing Hollywood right now, HBO has suspended their multi-year development deal with Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon author George R.R. Martin indefinitely.
I’m not even sure why Martin is getting involved with these strikes as he’s already been on one against writing The Winds of Winter for a decade now.
Okay, putting the snarky (though sadly true) comments aside for now, A Song of Ice And Fire author (the fantasy novel series A Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are based on), Game of Thrones executive producer, and House of the Dragon executive producer George R.R. Martin has revealed that his 5-year contract with HBO has been suspended with the ongoing Writers and Actors Strikes’ going on. And, to be honest, I’ve got absolutely no idea why.
You’d have to be living under a rock these last few months to have not heard about the massive, once-in-a-generation strike that has been going on in Hollywood. Joining forces for the first time in 60 years (which, for a historical reference, was when Ronald Reagan was the president of the SAG and Lyndon B. Johnson was the President of the United States), the Screen Actors Guild and the Writing Guild of America joined forces to combat against the major Hollywood studios (aka: Disney, Sony/Columbia, Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros., etc.) in an effort to get better wages, more protections, and the dissolution of A.I in filmmaking.
Or things of that nature. Regardless, all of Hollywood has been shut down, every single movie studio hasn’t been working on any new or upcoming film or T.V. series, and every new/airing series you see on T.V. has been finished for months now and was ready to release incidental to the strike.
Well, every single show except for one: House of the Dragon.
Due to the United Kingdom (aka: anyone from England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland) and Irish actors mostly belonging to the Equity Union, which is still under contract with the major studios and is forbidden by English law to host a sympathy strike for their American counterparts, production and filming on House of the Dragon Season 2 has been going along without a hitch these last few months as all writing, which is on strike, was completed.
So, with House of the Dragon Season 1 already having won a Golden Globe for Best Television Series (something Game of Thrones was never able to accomplish and being nominated for 8 Emmys at this year’s award show (including one for Best Drama Series), us fans of the franchise don’t have to worry about it being delayed 4-5 years due to these strikes.
(HBO/Warner Bros.-House of the Dragon-Fire Will Reign Promo)
In fact, it might be one of the only shows on television when it is set to come out in Summer 2024. But the same can’t be said for House of the Dragon’s author George R.R. Martin as his massive 5-year deal with HBO was unceremoniously suspended (and perhaps terminated for good) a month ago.
As the author made clear in his own blog post a few days ago, “As for me personally, my overall deal with HBO was suspended on June 1. I still have plenty to do, of course. In that, I am one of the lucky ones. (These strikes are not really about name writers or producers or showrunners, most of whom are fine; we’re striking for the entry level writers, the story editors, the students hoping to break in, the actor who has four lines, the guy working his first staff job who dreams of creating his own show one day, as I did back in the 80s).”
But, to be honest, I’m not sure why HBO decided to suspend Martin’s contract with the company as he’s said so himself that he’s not one of the writers striking for higher wages and protections. He is an author of a megahit fantasy franchise who contributes to some screenplays, behind-the-scenes work, lore verification, and is credited with an executive producer role.
He’s not one of the actual screenwriters striking.
Of course, he has been striking for the guilds in his home of Santa Fe, New Mexico during this time period (and evidently not working on The Winds of Winter during those picket lines!), yet terminating his deal seems REALLY strange considering how much knowledge, lore, and worldbuilding checks he brings to the show’s production and his minimal involvement in the actual strikes.
Showrunner Ryan Condal has said that Martin was an integral part of the creation of House of the Dragon, while Martin was also just as important to the early seasons of Game of Thrones. Just look at the mess D.B. Weiss and David Benioff made of the show’s final seasons without his involvement.
(HBO/Warner Bros.-House of the Dragon-Fire Will Reign Promo)
But maybe his role wasn’t as important as it was made out to be and HBO saw a way to cut costs by letting Martin go. I’ve got no idea.
The only thing I know for certain is that Martin has ample time to work on The Winds of Winter now that he’s no longer contractually obligated to work for HBO…which is great as its now 12 YEARS since A Dance with Dragons came out! 12 YEARS!
Images Source: Featured Image: (HBO/Warner Bros.) (Fire Will Reign Official Promo | House of the Dragon | Max – YouTube)
In Text Image 1: (HBO/Warner Bros.) (Fire Will Reign Official Promo | House of the Dragon | Max – YouTube)
In Text Image 2: (HBO/Warner Bros.) (Fire Will Reign Official Promo | House of the Dragon | Max – YouTube)
