George R.R. Martin feels strikes 'will be long and bitter,' says his contract with HBO 'has been suspended', provides update on 'House Of The Dragon' season 2
George R.R. Martin feels strikes 'will be long and bitter,' says his contract with HBO 'has been suspended', provides update on 'House Of The Dragon' season 2
July 23, 2023 7:25 p.m.
George R.R. Martin gives updates on all the projects he is involved in and has weighed in on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
In his latest blog post, Martin says the WGA strike "is the most important of my life".
"Nobody can know for sure where we are going, but I have a bad feeling that this strike will be long and bitter. It could become as bad as the infamous strike of 1985, although I hope not," he added.
Martin revealed that his "overall deal with HBO was put on hold on June 1st" but he still has "a lot to do" adding that "these strikes aren't really about name writers, producers or showrunners, most of whom are doing well; we're knocking for rookie screenwriters, screenwriters, students hoping to break through , the actor who has four lines, the guy who makes his first staff and who dreams of one day creating his own show, like I did in the 80s).”
Regarding Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Martin said that "all scripts were completed months before the WGA strike began. No writing has been done since, to my knowledge."
"[House of the Dragon] is filmed primarily in London (and a bit in Wales, Spain and various other locations), which is why filming continued," Martin added. “The actors are members of the UK Equity union, not SAG-AFTRA, and although Equity strongly supports their American cousins (they have planned a large rally to show this support), they are prohibited by UK law from organizing a sympathy strike. If they walk, they have no protection against dismissal for breach of contract, or even against lawsuits. »
Martin said he's met with the producers of the play The Iron Throne, revealing that the scripts are "coming along well", adding, "Maybe we can even bring the show to the West End in…well, no, better not say, I don't want to jinx the project."
As for Winds of Winter, Martin says he works on it "almost every day". Write, rewrite, edit [and] write some more. Make steady progress. Not as fast as I would like…certainly not as fast as YOU would like…but progress anyway. It keeps me out of trouble."
George R.R. Martin gives updates on all the projects he is involved in and has weighed in on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
In his latest blog post, Martin says the WGA strike "is the most important of my life".
"Nobody can know for sure where we are going, but I have a bad feeling that this strike will be long and bitter. It could become as bad as the infamous strike of 1985, although I hope not," he added.
Martin revealed that his "overall deal with HBO was put on hold on June 1st" but he still has "a lot to do" adding that "these strikes aren't really about name writers, producers or showrunners, most of whom are doing well; we're knocking for rookie screenwriters, screenwriters, students hoping to break through , the actor who has four lines, the guy who makes his first staff and who dreams of one day creating his own show, like I did in the 80s).”
Regarding Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Martin said that "all scripts were completed months before the WGA strike began. No writing has been done since, to my knowledge."
"[House of the Dragon] is filmed primarily in London (and a bit in Wales, Spain and various other locations), which is why filming continued," Martin added. “The actors are members of the UK Equity union, not SAG-AFTRA, and although Equity strongly supports their American cousins (they have planned a large rally to show this support), they are prohibited by UK law from organizing a sympathy strike. If they walk, they have no protection against dismissal for breach of contract, or even against lawsuits. »
Martin said he's met with the producers of the play The Iron Throne, revealing that the scripts are "coming along well", adding, "Maybe we can even bring the show to the West End in…well, no, better not say, I don't want to jinx the project."
As for Winds of Winter, Martin says he works on it "almost every day". Write, rewrite, edit [and] write some more. Make steady progress. Not as fast as I would like…certainly not as fast as YOU would like…but progress anyway. It keeps me out of trouble."
