HBO have greenlit George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones as the first season of a TV series that will cover the whole of the Song of Ice and Fire series.
Crikey! I bet that won’t be easy to adapt.
It’ll be a breeze to adat. They’ll just keep a few of the names the same, toss out 98% of the characters and the plot, and call it good.
I´d still watch it 
It will be a tough series to make given the way the stories are told in the novels and the length of the books. Also, becuse of the time between publication the last couple of season may be ready before the books are published. However I will definitely get HBO when this airs.
I would like to go ahead and put forth Kate Walsh, formally of Grey’s Anatomy as Cersei lannister.
As long as I get Jeremy Irons as Ned, I’m happy. (Or Clive Owen or Liam Neeson)
(Anyone but me thinking Gerald Butler might make a good Robert Baratheon?)
Jaime Lannister: Guy Pearce. <Image>
Because I really don’t want to see Brad Pitt with long, red hair.
Tyrion Lannister: Peter Dinklage. <Image>
Tywin Lannister: Alan Dale. <Image>
Robert Baratheon: Brian Blessed. <Image>
Or, as I said, Gerald Butler. Buffed up to 300 size then let slag off a bit.
Stannis Baratheon: Thomas Jane. <Image>
Theon Greyjoy: Ian Somerhalder. <Image>
Gregor Clegane: Dave Batista. <Image> [NSFW]
Sandor Clegane: Tyler Mane. <Image>
Jon Snow: Alexander Skarsgård. <Image> (The guy crouching.)
Peter Dinklage is a brilliant idea! And Alan Dale would be perfect as Tywin. Just look at his turn as Papa Meade on Ugly Betty.
I also like Guy Pearce as Jaime.
Who’s a good crazy lady for whatshername…Lady Stark’s sister? (It’s been a while since I last read them…still waiting for aDwD to come out…)
I’m a bit skeptical of any fantasy adaptation to any screen (small or big) since most of them turn out to be utter crap (and even Lord of the Rings was mildly disappointing in that the characters were mostly pretty shallow, with characterization sacrificed for unending combat scenes). Still, since HBO is behind the project, I have some amount of hope for it. Any network that gives us The Wire and Deadwood may be capable of not completely fucking it up like so many others have before.
Damn, did you read my mind? Ned Stark definitely has Clive Owen written all over his character, in at least my conception of his appearance.
I prefer Paul Bettanyas Jaime, myself.
Some of the choices above - especually Dinklage - are good, but actors like Iron or Blessed are much too old for the roles. Remember, Ned and Robert are both in their mid-thirties.
They both have sons in their teens (Ned’s being in late teens). They also both married relatively later than normal due to the problems with Robert’s sister. I would have said early-to-mid forties for both.
Never mind. I forgot about Robb…I was thinking of Jon.
First of all, it was Ned’s sister.
Second of all, do the math. Ned and Robert were both wards of Jon Arryn in the Vale when the war started - both of them around 18 years old, certainly no older than 20. We don’t know how long the war lasted, but it couldn’t have been more than a year or two. What we do know is that Robb Stark was born in the middle of the war, and Jon Snow was born at the very end. By the beginning of the first book, Robb and Jon were 16 and 15, respectively - it’s stated quite clearly.
Add it all together, there’s no way Ned and Robert could be older than 37; they’re probably closer to 35. By the same logic, Jaime and Cersei are around 32-33, and Tyrion is no older than 25.
People grow up quickly in Westeros.
Weren’t the Lannisters blond?
I have always thought that the only way to do TSOIAF was as a TV series. The question is, will they do it right? And by right I mean each episode focusing on just a single character like they have it in the books, being willing to set up a cliffhanger with Danny and then leave her for 3-4 episodes while they deal with what is happening on the Wall, etc. Will they be willing to give people like Jamie and Tyrion equal time and focus and not just making them pure evil. I suppose they will have to with Jamie for later in the series, but in that case will they be willing to start with him being almost pure evil. Dropping Bran from the tower etc.
Actually, how they handle Bran falling from the tower will be telling. Will they have him simply slip and fall or will they actually show Jamie catching him and throwing him off? It should come early into the series, so…
Also how they pace the series will be interesting. Will they try to cover one chapter an episode (I think the chapters are all roughly episode length, with a few exceptions) or will they try to cover more ground?
It could be VERY bad, or it could be very good. I think how involved Martin is in the creation of the series will be a big determining factor in how well executed the series is.
Umm…wigs?
That’s a tough one. Film & TV have a different narrative language than written novels, and simply reading about a man attempting to murder a young boy elicits a much different emotion than actually watching it happen on screen. It wouldn’t surprise me if HBO toned that scene down just a little.
No, I don’t think the Lannisters were wearing wigs. 
Gukumatz said he didn’t want to see Brad Pitt (as Jaime) with long red hair, implying Jaime had the same. I remembered them being blonds in the book and was looking for confirmation.
After a quick look at the Westeros site, this is conceded. I had always pictured them as older, but your timeline makes sense.
From Martin’s blog (reposted from SFF World):
"HBO has given the production order. They will be filming the pilot episode of A GAME OF THRONES.
It’s just the pilot so far. They’ll need to see that before they decide whether to proceed with a full season’s episodes. So let’s all hope the pilot will kick serious ass.
It should. David Benioff and Dan Weiss did a terrific job with the script. And yes, all of you can relax, it’s very faithful. Dan and David will be the executive producers for the pilot and (we hope) the eventual series.
More details when I have 'em. The news is very fresh. HBO just issued their own press release, which should be up on their website soon, if it’s not there already.
Winter is coming to HBO. Hot damn."
Squeee!!
Alessan, thanks for laying that out about the ages. I’d been picturing some of the characters as much older, particularly Tyrion.
Gukumatz mentioned Brian Blessed as Robert Baratheon, which is exactly how I pictured Robert. However, Brian Blessed is to old.
Alessan mentioned some ages,a s well (one of the days, I have to learn how to use the quotes thing). I think I remeber in A Clash of Kings or A Storm of Swords it is implied that the Lannister twins are older than Ned and Robert, possibly in their late 30s.
I hope each script is run past Martin before being filmed. For all we know, some peasant Brienne noticed in passing in A Storm of Swords is a major player in A Dance With Dragons or whatever the next book is called. HBO will have to be very careful when condensing the books.
I don’t think so - Jaime was named a member of the Kingsguard at the Tournament at Harrenhal, where the whole mess started. He was absurdly young at the time - something like 15 or 16 years old. Ned and Robert were at least 2 or 3 years older, probably more.