ASoIaF: A Song of Ice and Fire: George Rail Road Martin

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > ASoIaF: A Song of Ice and Fire: George Rail Road Martin

«‹›47 »

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

Old Kentucky Shark posted:

Kind of.

The biggest driver of negative word of mouth for a movie turns out to be audience expectations: audiences are generally much kinder to a bad version of a movie they expected to see than a movie of whatever quality that ends up being a different movie than they were expecting. That's why Hereditary got a D+ Cinemascore, even though the rotten tomatoes score and box office ended up decent: the trailer sold a traditional horror movie, but audiences got... whatever the gently caress Hereditary was. So the biggest goal of a trailer these days isn't to get audiences to want to see a movie, it's to get audiences in tune with the wavelength of the movie, or at least what the advertising executives think the wavelength of the movie is.

So you won't get a movie trailer that gives away everything for a Nolan movie because Nolan's name, visual style, and the puzzle-like elements of his film-making constitute a brand to themselves; as soon as audiences see pieces of them, they're in tune with the Nolan wave-length. He's the most consistent money-making filmmaker in Hollywood, at this point. On the other hand, you have Hobbs and Shaw, which has a trailer that gives away literally every part of the movie, because it has something to prove to the audience: that it is in the same wavelength as the previous Fast and Furious movies.

It's why the Thor Ragnarok trailer gave so much more away than, say, the Infinity War trailer: it had to sell audiences on a new wave-length for the Thor franchise.

Really interesting. Is that based on your marketing knowledge, or just conjecture? Marketing decision making loving fascinates me. As an aside - Hobbs and Shaw looks loving dumb as gently caress, and also for the first time, I sort of feel I could enjoy watching a FnF movie. I mean it's just beyond goofy as gently caress and might at well be an anime or something. I _want_ to give these people my money.

# ¿ Aug 28, 2019 05:11

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 16, 2024 17:40

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

TK-42-1 posted:

every piece of asoiaf media in perpetuity will come out before wow.

unrelated: i played a bit of wow classic for nostalgia and there�s a ridiculous amount of asoiaf references in it

They did an amazing job of stealing from everywhere and making it feel funny and organic and cohesive. I'm pretty sure that WoW was the "best" game I ever played - it was like when I was a kid, I pictured the best most amazing video game... and WoW delivered what I saw in my head. World PvP needed some love, but I mean - they built an amazing loving game.

# ¿ Sep 26, 2019 11:51

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

TK-42-1 posted:

yeah it was really amazing for the time. back then i had nothing better to do in the middle of the night after i got off work other than get high and grind so it worked out. nowadays its hilarious how time intensive it is for very little reward. the only real pleasure was just experiencing poo poo again for the first time in 15 years

yeah exactly. I also had some really good online friends. It was sort of an intense period of my life, and I got waaaaay to into it. I'm not into role-play, but maybe just a touch in terms of how I felt about my characters, and my emotional investment in the game. I tried playing again and it was like visiting your highschool in your 30s. Just sort of sad and lonely. All the teachers are gone or dead - and the one who is left clearly doesn't remember you. I mean why would he?

edit: I forgot something really cool. I was pretty hosed up one time - drunk and spun and whatever - and reactived my account with one of those scroll things. So I'm flailing around with my lvl 70 in the new xpac, and some one came up and started powering me through quests. Was really nice - and after like an hour he was like "hey this is XYZ - do you remember me? ( I lied and said I did. ) he said "I remember you from when I first started, you helped my char out a lot".

And that felt pretty awesome.

kcroy fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Sep 30, 2019

# ¿ Sep 30, 2019 23:08

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

Solice Kirsk posted:

Bran being king and "Why do you think I came all this way" makes perfect sense if he's really Bloodraven.

In order to explain this twist, GRRM has to put out a whole series of prequels BEFORE he can even end the first series. It's like a loving fractal of project delay. If he had mapped this out better, he could have dropped a few paragraphs in the first novel about Bloodraven, laid a little ground work, you know?

# ¿ Oct 17, 2019 12:09

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

Solice Kirsk posted:

He's supposedly got two more books for Sam to find a chronicle about Bloodraven or some poo poo to lay the ground work. He also dropped foreshadowing that Arya was going to die with her sword frozen in her hand, and we all know he's backtracked from that too.

what foreshadowing for Arya?

# ¿ Oct 17, 2019 23:54

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

Solice Kirsk posted:

nice. what is the context there? who is speaking?

# ¿ Oct 18, 2019 23:37

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

HELLO LADIES posted:

The dude works for the State Department as an analyst and is like 6'4" and his wife just had a baby.

Can I be worried that this nut job works for the state department as an analyst? Does no one see a problem with this?

Also please stop "short and impotent" shaming me.

quote:

Goons not being able to parse social classes is the most hilarious poo poo.

I literally thought he was a teenager. Didn't he have some hijinx where he stole pizza at a GRRM function?

HELLO LADIES posted:

It's always seemed really clear to me that Arya's being set up to mercy kill Lady Stoneheart, and that's actually going to be what really makes her put aside the revenge track and go back to her family. There's a lot of poo poo in the Riverlands that's basically a set up for making Arya remember who/what she is and what's really important: the Freys, the Hound-as-Gravedigger, Nymeria, but most of all Lady Stoneheart. If she does team up with Beric, too, and revitalizes him in some way, that would also be where they probably cross paths. At this point I forget if Hot Pie is at the Inn of the XRoads in the book, but if that's not just a show thing, that too.

Both zombie cat and arya have lost their way, so it's a solid set up. I originally thought Arya would be sent to kill Sansa or Jon - but now that you point it out, their are lots of connections to the riverland with nymeria and an unkillable zombie-mom. GRRM does have lots of interesting setups, it reminds me of TV writing, where the dynamic is the important part, not the resolution. In fact, the resolution never happens in TV until you are cancelled and have to poo poo out an ending.

I know it would have driven me crazy - but I think it would have been amazing if the game of thrones ending was really open ended, or basically a loop. Where you have character development, but when you get to the end, everyone has just changed places. End the whole thing just as snow is starting to fall and the undead are moving. Jon and Dany are the new incestuous leaders of westeros, already showing interpersonal conflict that clearly will tear things apart. Wrap up some of the smaller conflicts, but leave lots of big ones open. Then call it a day. It's the game of thrones, perpetual war, no one wins except a few elites, and everyone loses eventually. Take all those subplots and farm it out ala dragonlance and starwars. Turn each one into a churn of media content, that George and publisher can just sit at the top of. Amusingly enough, he could have turned his inability to finish into a starwars sized merchandising coup. He would have been seen as a marketing and writing visionary ( or at least his PR could have spun it that way ). Oh well, at least I'm free.

Intel&Sebastian posted:

lmfao I got an fb memory from 8 years ago about being me being disappointed after finishing ADWD

This is basically perfect

kcroy fucked around with this message at 20:48 on Oct 28, 2019

# ¿ Oct 28, 2019 20:45

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

Kylaer posted:

They have won the game of life and can only fail upwards. They are precisely the writers that Star Wars fans deserve.

This would have made me angry 10 years ago, but you are 100% correct. I'm just now figuring out that Star Wars is just a crappy marketing virus that I was infected with as a child. I get emotional watching star wars trailers, even though I have zero reason too. It's some hard wired bullshit, like a mother's nipples leaking every time a random baby cries in the grocery.

I bought a starwars book for a friend's kid, I mean why not. It's STARWARS, right? how awesome! And the entire book is trash. It's just page after page of introducing this poor toddler to characters it has to memorize for some reason. And by "some reason" It's pretty clear it's so they can start buying Starwars poo poo.

I know this is derail, but gently caress it. Somehow in that moment I went from loving star wars to loving hating it, and I still teared up when I saw that stupid new loving trailer. I didn't even want to. it just happened. I am infected and unclean.

# ¿ Oct 28, 2019 20:57

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

Intel&Sebastian posted:

Most toddler books have pages made of cardboard because otherwise they'll rip them up and eat them, so I doubt it's a real big loss that their Star Wars book didn't capture the subtle nuances and magic of the franchise.

My issue was that there was no story - it was just like reading a product catalog. "These are Jedi they are good" "These are Sith they are bad" "This is yoda, he is a jedi master". So I got him a Frog and Toad book instead. And realized that Star Wars is basically crap, and even worse it is crap that I'm emotionally attached to, not because I want to be - but because I was basically infected as a child.

Intel&Sebastian posted:

also lol at being mad that SW are being made to sell toys when the smartest move Lucas ever made was turning down big movie money in exchange for toy money, which he did immediately after making one star wars movie. That's just as much part of the DNA of SW as anything post ANH is.

I thought that is what I was saying - that the merch is part of the DNA of starwars, and I don't want to help it replicate.

nine-gear crow posted:

I mean, Empire Strikes Back is a legitimately good movie, period, just as a movie.

Sure, it's a good movie, and maybe in 8 years this kid will be old enough to appreciate the themes in it. But outside of that, that's all it is - some good movies.

# ¿ Oct 28, 2019 23:33

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

Apparatchik Magnet posted:

If a Goon can be a state department guy murdered by Hillary Clinton, I don't see why a state department guy can't be a Youtuber driven insane by GRRM.

Wow didn't know that Seth Rich was a goon. Re: Preston - it just made me think of the US going to war based on some detailed analysis Preston provided. Or invading Iraq or whatever.

# ¿ Oct 28, 2019 23:38

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

esperterra posted:

sounds pretty metal tbh

I'm down

# ¿ Oct 30, 2019 12:18

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

A HORNY SWEARENGEN posted:

No one on Earth can sit through a "I'm the greatest at everything and so perfect all the time" escapist fantasy because those (especially Kingkiller and Ender's Game) are specifically made for weirdo shut-in sociopaths with delusions of grandeur.

It works as self-insert literature but never translates to screen.

Pretty harsh assessment of Ender's Game. I loved reading it when I was younger - was one of my favorite books, and one that could be recommended to someone that wasn't necessarily into sci-fi. It's a bit dated and cringey these days for sure. But "specifically made for weirdo shut in sociopaths"? cmon. really?

I'd also disagree that no one can sit through that type of movie . "I'm the greatest at everything and so perfect all the time" escapist fantasy is alive and well in John Wick, Mission Impossible, James Bond, Harry Potter, Fast and Furious, Marvel/DC, and pretty much everything else that sells tickets in Hollywood. Ender's Game was just a poo poo movie is all. Card's anti-gay position was one of the many nails in the coffin of that movie's success. But the bottom line was it was a poorly made movie that was treated like an action movie, when it should have been more along the lines of a psychological thriller.

# ¿ Nov 6, 2019 07:14

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

Nessus posted:

The idea that a work of fiction is harmed by the protagonist being cool or awesome is weird, although they definitely need dramatic flaws and such.

Of course the real solution, as GRRM has learned, is not to write.

What GRRM realized is that you just need to kill off all those cool or awesome people.

# ¿ Nov 6, 2019 23:43

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

Mad Hamish posted:

The Bloated One already killed off the Yellow Whale, he has to leave at least one self-insert in the story.

Aside from Tyrion, you have the fabled Cock Merchant.

I would like to take this moment to point out again and unironically than Tyrion is clearly a Targ: Tufts of silver white hair, One black eye ( deep purple ). He's obsessed with dragons, and the dragons don't gently caress his poo poo up when the see him. Aerys was clearly into Johanna, joked about loving her, "took liberties" during her bedding ceremony, etc.

I think Tyrions name is really clever ( maybe unintentionally so, but I think GRRM is good at this type of thing ) The most common use of Tyrian has to do with Tyrian Purple ( Royal Purple ). And the CIty of Tyre originally meant "Rock". So again you have this Lannister/Targaryan split.

I like the idea that he is a Chimera in the genetic sense : with both Tywins and Aegons genes. Also worth noting that the mythical Chimera was a mix of animals, including Lion and Dragon.

With Tyrion, Dany and John in the endgame you'd have 3 Targars, each unique and following different paths.

Seeing as Tyrion is the True self insert, it just all feels so right.

# ¿ Nov 11, 2019 09:10

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

chaosapiant posted:

While I think it's very possible Tyrion is part-Targ, saying it's definitely so is a bit of a stretch. It could also be a red herring, or just a bit of foreshadowing that just shows he becomes an adviser to Dany.

Yeah, I know. And especially with books where the author is himself the unreliable narrator.

# ¿ Nov 20, 2019 00:51

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

Calaveron posted:

Plus Theon kills the miller's kids, implied to be his own in the books

wait wut now?

# ¿ Dec 3, 2019 03:25

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

Intel&Sebastian posted:

I earnestly do not begrudge GRRM selling out in that situation, I just wish he was allowed to be honest with everybody (and maybe himself) and just say look I fell out of love with this thing, glad it got completed one way or another but I'm into playing card themed watchmen now byeeee

He said somewhere that he writes to find out how the stories end, and that once he knows the ending he loses interest. So I think he's said as much.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2020 05:38

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

Invalid Validation posted:

I think you�ll find that they will make Tom Clancy games till the end of time while Gurm will be forgotten immediately. Who is laughing then?

For all that I've poo poo on GRRM for Wildcards and that it's based on a RPG, My favorite Clancy book was Red Storm Rising, which was based on game play sessions from Harpoon.

That book has definitely aged, especially the 1 dimensional characters, but holy gently caress I loved that when I read it in highschool. But I was like super into SLCMs, GLCMS, SLOCs and Glocks back then. Which is a title I stole from some policy review, and definitely should have been turned into a nursery rhyme.

slick'm glick'm slocks and glock
around the world they tick and tock
slick'm and glick'm let you see
you better not mess with slocs near me
too bad they couldn't save the jock
at the highschool from that angry glock

I don't know it's like a commentary on militarizing the world, but like, expecting that never to come home to us? or something? i don't know I need to get back to work.

# ¿ Jan 15, 2020 11:05

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

checking this thread is like driving past an ex-girlfriends house at 2 am and realizing she moved years ago.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2020 08:39

kcroy: May 30, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

Mr. Nemo posted:

Yeah, i googled it after reading that post and apparently it's coming out in 2022.

Maybe you'll be able to create some nostalgia around the show, but what most people will remember is being pissed off at the ending.

I like that some people will live with that disappointment everyday of their lives

Khaleesi was the 549th most popular name for newborn girls in 2018, while Arya was the 119th most popular name.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2020 02:54