Podcast reveals new info about Game of Thrones disastrous unaired pilot 

Scriptnotes, a weekly podcast hosted by screenwriter John August had showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff on as guests with another screenwriter by the name of Craig Mazin.  Mazin apparently advised them on the pilot that Benioff and Weiss originally showed HBO.  Uproxx culled the relevant quotes, if you don’t want to listen to the whole podcast.

John August, who is the screenwriter of “Go”, “Big Fish”, and several other Tim Burton projects discusses screenwriting every Tuesday on his podcast, Scriptnotes.  Yesterday’s episode included Dan Weiss and David Benioff, Game of Thrones Executive Producers, and Craig Mazin, a friend of Weiss and Benioff and the screenwriter of “The Hangover” sequels and “Identity Thief”.

Mazin was asked to view the original pilot that took Benioff and Weiss four years to develop, write and shoot.  And Mazin had some interesting things to say.  According to Benioff,

As soon as it finished, Craig said, ‘You guys have a MASSIVE PROBLEM.’

Mazin couldn’t even give them tips on what to change.  He basically said redo everything, so that’s what Benioff and Weiss did, reshooting 90-92% of it.  They cut out the death of Jon Arryn, replaced the orginal actress playing Dany, and a ton of other changes.

I sat there and this show unfolds and I am stunned. STUNNED,” Mazin said. “And I very specifically remember walking out and I said to [Weiss and Benioff], ‘That is the biggest rescue in Hollywood history.’ Because it wasn’t just that they had saved something bad and turned it really good. You had saved a complete piece of sh*t and turned it into something brilliant. That never happens!

There’s other tidbits in the Uproxx article and a short video to accompany it. All I have to say is thank goodness they pulled it off, right?

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What Mazin said was true. If a shot pilot is complete shit, then it’s usually a done deal. Especially a pilot for a show as expensive as GOT. The fact that they were able to basically reshoot the whole thing and have it turn out so amazing is beyond impressive.

I doubt we’ll ever see it unfortunately but I am intrigued about a) Tamzin Merchant as Daeny (I get the feeling it didn’t work well) and b) Jennifer Ehle as Catelyn (I have a feeling she would have been brilliant).

Anyway the fact that HBO funded them to re-shoot it almost entirely is a miracle in itself and they should be given credit for that.

No need to hold back, say what you really think 😉

So happy that they changed it and it succeeded so much

Tamzin Merchant would have been interesting. I like her in Salem.

I wonder if the pilot will ever see release. Maybe as an extra in the Season 8 box-set, when all is said and done.

I doubt we’ll ever see it unfortunately but I am intrigued about a) Tamzin Merchant as Daeny (I get the feeling it didn’t work well) and b) Jennifer Ehle as Catelyn (I have a feeling she would have been brilliant).

Agreed! I would especially love to see Jennifer Ehle as Catelyn. Even apart from what a great actress she is (I love her in BBC’s Pride and Prejudice), just look at how close her appearance is to Sophie Turner’s.

She was awful in the Tudors,that’s the only place i know her from and i’m thankfull she didn’t play Dany. No matter what people say about Emillia Clarke,Merchant would have been 10 times worse .

Sometimes I think show producers/creators/directors/actors are living in this echo chamber where everyone tells them how wonderful everything is. That’s why we get total shit movies like, showing my age, Ishtar.

I’m glad that D&D have someone who will say to them, “This is shit, redo it.” Now that might not be going on to the same level it had been in the beginning, but people who point out the flaws in an honest way are important to producing good work.

Showrunners/actors/etc need this. Just the same way George needs an editor.

As an extra in the special box set after the show is over would be fun.

I remember D&D talking about reaction to the initial pilot a few years back, and how abysmal it was, and it REALLY is kind of mind-boggling that something could be that across the board terrible. Lol.

Didn’t Phil aka Winter is Coming watch the original pilot or maybe i misremember something ? If he did maybe he would be willing to share what he thought of it with us .

Why didn’t they show this guy the Sand Snake scenes? Or the Dreadfort Rescue Mission?

Come to think of it,why isn’t this guy GRRM’s new editor,he would do wonders with it .

I disagree … I thought she was great in The Tudors and I would have loved to see as Dany … However, I can’t imagine anyone else as Catelyn …

IIRC he wrote a review about it which should still be online (maybe in the archives of WiC).

Also I seem to remember to have read the script of the unaired pilot last year. Don’t remember who posted about it, but it too should be found online.

Tamzin was supposed to be vapid and clueless in The Tudors and she did it well. I’ve not seen her in anything else to know if she has range. Not that Emilia is my favorite; she’s certainly not. I think she’s mostly terrible. She does better with better supporting cast. She struggles carrying a scene though.

I am curious about Jennifer Ehle as Catelyn. I thought Michelle Fairley was fabulous, but I’d still like to see it.

Did they do any major recasting of the male parts? I don’t remember. I mean, it’s not like the originally had Zac Efron as Jon Snow 😉

I don’t recall seeing the actresses from pilot in anything else. I would love to see the pilot also. Just to compare.

That didn’t really tell us anything except that one person thought it was shit. I find it hard to believe that Tom McCarthy could direct something that bad, he’s not Tommy Wiseau.

OMG, that’s brilliant! Any time I am unhappy with an actor cast to play a particular part, I’ll remember your wise words: “At least Zac Efron didn’t play Jon Snow!” Little chance this will ever happen with GOT (“In Nina Gold we trust”), but there will be other films and TV shows.

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