‘Game of Thrones’ season 5: Author George R.R. Martin jumps into ‘Interview’ debate
There is one major entertainment subject that we have largely stayed away from CarterMatt over the past week and a half, but the reason for that is pretty simple: We have no real interest in discussing movies at the site, since we focus on TV first and foremost.
Still, the story about George R.R. Martin, the acclaimed author and the man whose work inspired HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” and the controversial movie “The Interview” is too interesting to pass up. Martin owns the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe, where he also does the bulk of his writing.
In a post on his blog, Martin openly invited the powers that be to allow him to screen the movie at his theater, despite threats form a mysterious group of hackers that caused the studio to cancel the release:
“…There are thousands of small independent theatres across the country, like my own, that would gladly screen THE INTERVIEW, regardless of the threats from North Korea, but instead of shifting the film to those venues, Sony has cancelled its scheduled Christmas rollout entirely.
“For what it’s worth, the Jean Cocteau Cinema will be glad to screen THE INTERVIEW (assuming that Sony does eventually release the film for theatrical exhibition, rather than streaming it or dumping it as a direct-to-DVD release), should it be made available to us. Come to Santa Fe, Seth, we’ll show your film for you.”
Are we surprised that Martin has put this offer out there? Hardly, and mostly due to what his own history in television and literature is. The entire “Game of Thrones” story is filled with controversy, whether it be incest, race, graphic violence, and intense sexual situations. Basically, his work is such that any network other than HBO would censor it.
Clearly, this is not a man who is fond of censorship in any form.
For those curious, the new season of “Game of Thrones” is most likely going to be premiering on HBO at some point in the spring. If you missed it, the network released a video here that features some footage of season 5. Also, sign up now to get some further TV updates sent right over to you courtesy of our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: HBO.)