The Belfast shoot of the epic fantasy series, ‘Game of Thrones’ recently came to an end. The post production work for the ten part series is currently being carried out in Dublin's Screen Scene and it has been announced that the HBO will premiere the epic series on April 17th with UK, Northern Irish and Irish broadcast dates still TBC.
The first series of ‘Game of Thrones’, comprising of ten episodes (including a pilot episode), started shooting in Belfast on July 26th 2010 and recently wrapped production following a shoot of six months. It is an original HBO series based on George R.R. Martin’s best-selling novels and all the picture and sound post for the show, alongside some of the VFX is being carried out in Dublin post house, Screen Scene.
‘Game of Thrones’ is based in an alternative world where summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime. Betrayal, lust, intrigue and supernatural forces shake the four corners of the Kingdom, from the scheming south and the savage eastern lands, to the frozen north and the ancient Wall that protects the realm from the darkness beyond. Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and noble men vie for power in the bloody struggle for the Iron Throne of the series’ title.
It is not yet known how much the mammoth production contributed to the Northern Irish economy but, prior to the production commencing it was estimated that £20million would be delivered into the local economy. The transmission date in the USA, as mentioned above has been announced as April 17th but the UK, Northern Irish and Irish broadcast dates are TBC by Sky Atlantic soon.
The series’ main cast includes include Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Red Riding), Mark Addy (Robin Hood, Red Riding); Alfie Allen (Atonement); Aidan Gillen (The Wire); Peter Dinklage (Elf); Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Black Hawk Down); Lena Headey (300) and Jerome Flynn (Soldier, Soldier).
Irish talent that will feature in the series includes that of Jack Gleeson (Batman Begins), Stephen Don (Omagh) and Brian Fortune (The Bee Keeper’s Son), Michelle Fairley (Best: His Mother’s Son), Conleth Hill (Perrier’s Bounty), Ian McElhinney (Triage) and Derek Halligan (Fifty Dead Men Walking). Hundreds of local extras and crew were also used.
The writers of the series are David Benioff (Troy) and D.B. Weiss (Kashmir) who penned seven episodes, Bryan Cogman (My Own Worst Enemy), Jane Espenson (Dollhouse) and George R.R. Martin (Beauty and the Beast) who have all written one episode each. Emmy nominated director Tim Van Patten will shared director’s chair for the series with Brian Kirk (Dexter) alongside fellow Americans and HBO regulars Daniel Minahan (True Blood, Six Feet Under) and Alan Taylor (Mad Men, Lost, The Sopranos).
The first series of ‘Game of Thrones’ shot mostly in Belfast’s Paint Hall studios. Northern Ireland’s Mark Huffam (Killing Bono) produced the series, with funding provided by Northern Ireland Screen supported by Invest NI and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
