The North doesn’t want to remember.
From the first moment that Game of Thrones fans got a glimpse of the chilling White Walkers in the pilot episode they were hooked on all things Westeros. Daenerys, direwolves, deaths and dynasty’s might also have played some part in making Game of Thrones an instant hit but things could have been so much different.
Show-runners Dan Weiss and David Benioff were guests on a recent podcast called Scriptnotes and they divulged some details about why the original pilot – helmed by the Oscar nominated director of Spotlight Tom McCarthy – just didn’t work.
Weiss was happy to share this story about watching the original Game of Thrones pilot alongside screenwriters Craig Mazin and John August.
“Watching them (August and Mazin) watch that original pilot was one of the most painful experiences of my life. As soon as it finished, Craig said, ‘You guys have a massive problem”
Weiss acknowledged that all of the following were issues; a flashback sequence that showed Ned’s brother dying , Jennifer Ehle’s original performance as Catelyn Stark, a sequence that showed the death of Jon Arryn and according to Benioff, “none of (our friends) realised that Jaime and Cersei were brother and sister, which is a major, major plot point that we had somehow failed to establish.”
Tom McCarthy didn’t actually get a directing credit on the final episode, that went to Timothy Van Patten, and Mazin says that after seeing the first episode, he was stunned by the finished outcome. “I specifically remember walking out and I said to [Weiss and Benioff], “That is the biggest rescue in Hollywood history.” Because it wasn’t just that they had saved something bad and turned it really good. You had saved a complete piece of sh*t and turned it into something brilliant. That never happens!”, Mazin says.
A happy outcome in Game of Thrones! We’re as shocked as you.
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