I haven’t read any of George R. R. Martin’s books, and so the impending pilot-ization of A Game of Thrones hasn’t been a big news break in my world. That just changed. Tom McCarthy, who directed The Station Agent and The Visitor, two films I hold in fairly high regard, has signed on to helm the pilot.
Better yet, Peter Dinklage, the actor with whom McCarthy worked so well on The Station Agent, will play Tyrion, an impish dwarf. Wikipedia tells me he “shares his father’s talent for political maneuvering, he
receives little respect from Tywin because of his deformity, sharp
tongue [and] penchant for whoring…He is capable of cruelty to his enemies, but also has great
sympathy for fellow outcasts and the mistreated.” Which sounds like Dinklage is playing the new Al Swearengen, and that is amazing.
This is the point where I should offer a story synopsis, but I’m not sure that’s possible. Just reading descriptions on Amazon and Wikipedia, then digesting and processing them would take much longer than anyone needs to spend understanding this. But the story sounds appealing because it is a tightly interwoven tale of families and generations, and McCarthy can negotiate that with precision. He’s only on the pilot so far, but that should help expand the show out of the exclusive watch lists of fantasy nerds and onto (at the very least) the shortlists of indie film nerds.