George R.R. Martin is giving updates on all the projects he’s involved in and weighed in on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
In his latest blog entry, Martin says that the WGA strike “is the most important of my lifetime.”
“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 added.
Martin revealed that his “overall deal with HBO was suspended on June 1” but still has “plenty to do” adding that “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).”
As far as House of the Dragon Season 2, Martin said that “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.”
“[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,” Martin added. “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 said that he met with producers for the stage play The Iron Throne revealing that the scripts “are coming along well” adding, “Maybe we will even be able to bring the show to the West End by… well, no, better not say, do not want to jinx the project.”
As far as Winds of Winter, Martin says he’s been working on it “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.”
