The prolific author of fantasy novels addresses the current status of his work as the conflict continues.
As a plethora of movie and TV projects get delayed, except for a few exempt, and A24 being the only studio meeting the terms of SAG-AFTRA, a prominent figure in pop culture of the last decade is author George R.R. Martin, whose Game of Thrones novels gripped the nation with a mega-successful television run on HBO, and he has given an update on his status with the network. When the Game of Thrones came to an end, the Home Box Office premium cable network inevitably jumped at the chance to work with Martin extensively. The prequel, House of the Dragon, smashed viewership and streaming numbers upon arrival, the second season was filming, plus it had been announced another show was in development with Martin being heavily involved.
Martin has recently taken to his blog to discuss how the strikes have affected his projects. According to Deadline, Martin speaks of the WGA strike as being “the most important of my lifetime.” The acclaimed author goes on to add, “No one can be certain where we go from here, but I have a bad feeling that this strike will be long and bitter. It may get as bad as the infamous 1985 strike, though I hope not.” He also revealed that his “overall deal with HBO was suspended on June 1,” but he also assures fans that he has “plenty to do” as he points out, “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).”
The production of season 2 of House of the Dragon had not been effected when the WGA went on strike as “all of the scripts had been finished months before the WGA strike began. No writing has been done since, to the best of my knowledge.” Filming of the popular show has not been halted due to the Hollywood conflict. “[House of the Dragon] is shot mostly in London (and a little bit in Wales, Spain, and various other locations), which is why filming has continued. The actors are members of the British union, Equity, not SAG-AFTRA, and though Equity strongly supports their American cousins (they have a big rally planned to show that support), British law forbids them from staging a sympathy strike. If they walk, they have no protection against being fired for breach of contract, or even sued.”
Martin also says he is working on Winds of Winter “almost every day. Writing, rewriting, editing [and] writing some more. Making steady progress. Not as fast as I would like… certainly not as fast as YOU would like… but progress nonetheless. It keeps me out of trouble.”