Game of Thrones - HBO part 2 - Part 4

[chamber-music]

Neil Marshall interview about directing The Blackwater episode and Game Of Thrones nudity loving Execs

Neil Marshall, who directed last week’s “Blackwater” episode, talks to Empire Online about creating the epic battle and his experience working on the show.

Marshall confirms that the chain, a vital part of Tyrion’s plan to thwart Stannis’s fleet in A Clash of Kings, was eliminated from the script early on for budgetary reasons, before he came on board. The director brought his experience on such action and adventure films as “Centurion” and “The Descent” to the table, coming up with the idea for the battering ram/boat combination used by Stannis’s men, and proposing that the men defending King’s Landing be using boulders in addition to arrows. He also brought Stannis himself into the front of the battle, as opposing to Stannis leading from a distance as in the novel.

A notable section of the discussion involves the show’s use of nudity and “sexposition,” an aspect so notorious it was lampooned by SNL. What asked about his feelings on the subject, Marshall responded:

It was pretty surreal. I’d not done anything like that in my films before. But the weirdest part was when you have one of the exec producers leaning over your shoulder, going, “You can go full frontal, you know. This is television, you can do whatever you want! And do it! I urge you to do it.” So I was like, “Okay, well, if you— you’re the boss.”
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Marshall further elaborated:

This particular exec took me to one side and said, “Look, I represent the pervert side of the audience, okay? Everybody else is the serious drama side—I represent the perv side of the audience, and I’m saying I want full frontal nudity in this scene.” So you go ahead and do it.
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The extensive use of nudity has been debated since the show began, with frequent accusations that HBO and Game of Thrones showrunners were shoehorning sex scenes into episodes to make lengthy exposition scenes more palatable for the average viewer. Some take issue with full nudity in general, while others only have a problem when the nudity (almost invariably female) and/or sex is a distraction from the subject at hand and not central to that scene’s intent. This blunt peek behind the scenes has been startling for some. While sexuality is a definite part of the realistic fantasy world of Westeros in George R. R. Martin’s books, Marshall’s remarks seem to confirm that the show’s attitude toward nudity and sex is a rather cynical one, based on pandering to those they may not think will appreciate the show without it.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

 

[DACrowe]

Neil Marshall interview about directing The Blackwater episode and Game Of Thrones nudity loving Execs

Not really surprising. I like it's a fantasy that doesn't shy away from human nature and that includes sexuality. However, when 3 out of every 4 sex scenes is gratuitous and pointless, it really does take away from the show.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Marshall further elaborated:
This particular exec took me to one side and said, “Look, I represent the pervert side of the audience, okay? Everybody else is the serious drama side—I represent the perv side of the audience, and I’m saying I want full frontal nudity in this scene.” So you go ahead and do it.

Whoever that executive is, he's my new hero. Not that I care all that much about "**** and wine," but I respect that kind of brutal honesty.

 

[Sawyer]

I just don't see why they think it's necessary that the scenes be so often.

Even True Blood doesn't have this much ****ing.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Just another reason why GoT is a much better show.

 

[Clu]

because they want your friends to ask,"what game of thrones about?" and you can respond,"******* and blood."

 

[Sawyer]

Just another reason why GoT is a much better show.

Not really. There are plenty of reasons GOT is better. Excessive sex isn't one of them.

It gets tedious at a certain point.

 

[Matt Mortem]

Not really. There are plenty of reasons GOT is better. Excessive sex isn't one of them.

It gets tedious at a certain point.

I agree. How much is too much? Game of Thrones answers that question for us. It's gotten slightly comical that anytime a character is giving exposition or explaining something about the GoT world, there has to be a naked woman on screen.

 

[conan69]

Wow... all the prophecy stuff from House of Undying was completely skipped.

WTF?

 

[childeroland]

Yeah, I didn't like that either. Other than that, what do we think?

 

[rashad]

That shot at the end was epic!

 

[conan69]

Yeah, I didn't like that either. Other than that, what do we think?

If they nailed House of Undying.. that would have been one of the best episodes of both seasons combined - everything else was really great.

 

[Crosswind Ghost]

Underwhelming.

 

[Matt]

My problem with this finale is the same as my problem with last year's finale. It is incredibly underwhelming compared to the penultimate episode. Basically it was just tying up some loose ends here and there. The big grand finales were (like last year), while visually impressive were two story lines that I give no **** about because they are so disconnected from the main plot. On a good week we spend maybe ten minutes with Jon and Dany and for the most part it has either been Jon wandering around the snow aimlessly or Dany overacting with her eyebrows and ranting about being the mother of dragons. It is hard to feel connected to them or feel satisfaction over Dany's triumph or fear for the wall's pending danger.

 

[childeroland]

A possibly dumb question: So that guy who knocked out Theon--is he or isn't he TV-Reek/Ramsay?

 

[fire_rising]

You kidding me??? THAT WAS AWESOME!

 

[Stringer]

There was no way it was going to top last weeks episode but this was plenty good, with a lot of plots set up for next season. Hopefully we won't have to deal with as much prologue in season 3.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

So awesome. So, so awesome.

My problem with this finale is the same as my problem with last year's finale. It is incredibly underwhelming compared to the penultimate episode. Basically it was just tying up some loose ends here and there. The big grand finales were (like last year), while visually impressive were two story lines that I give no **** about because they are so disconnected from the main plot. On a good week we spend maybe ten minutes with Jon and Dany and for the most part it has either been Jon wandering around the snow aimlessly or Dany overacting with her eyebrows and ranting about being the mother of dragons. It is hard to feel connected to them or feel satisfaction over Dany's triumph or fear for the wall's pending danger.

That is your problem. The Others, Winter Coming, that is the main plot. That is the entire problem. Everyone else is simply ignoring that their world is about to end.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

There was no way it was going to top last weeks episode but this was plenty good, with a lot of plots set up for next season. Hopefully we won't have to deal with as much prologue in season 3.

That more then topped it imo. That was arguably my favorite episode.

 

[Matt]

So awesome. So, so awesome.



That is your problem. The Others, Winter Coming, that is the main plot. That is the entire problem. Everyone else is simply ignoring that their world is about to end.

That isn't my problem. That is the writers' problem. EVERY review that I have read from critics who are not fans of the book criticize those two plots as being disconnected. Even fans who have read the books feel like these plots are the weaker aspects of the show. The writers have not done a good job endearing those characters to the audience and if these are the main plot points the writers have done a poor job of expressing their importance. Tacking on one scene at the end after a season of nothing really doesn't make it more important. It feels like a badly CGIed attempt at shock value.

 

[rayc1971]

so we are getting zombies? i also want to know was theons first mate reek/ramsay? i think episode 9 from both seasons were better than the finals.

 

[SuperT]

Well, that was epic.

I love Danerys so much.

 

[fire_rising]

That episode, right next to Blackwater, is the definition of "epic". So many storylines moving to another, big chapter!

 

[Poeman]

The hell is with all this underwhelming nonsense...That **** kicked all kinds of ass, they followed most of whats going in the books to a tee and that finale ending is from [blackout]the prologue of the 3rd book.[/blackout]

These creators are very smart.