Previous Video: George RR Martin on Creating Fictional Worlds: • George RR Martin on Cr... Full Interview: • An Evening with George... A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones Author George RR Martin Interview
Martin just breezed past it and launched right into the question, he didn’t seem too worried about the semantics of his own title. That is humility at it’s best!
@@Jeroen72 Why would I give a shit what you say in Netherlands? If you thought I will go through all the trouble to translate that bit, you are mistaken sir.
GRRM, please, finish the book that you started, that titled A Song Of Ice And Fire. You still have two books to finish. You need to do that before running around doing other things. Go home and finish WoW and a DoS.
He makes a great point about Tolkien's pale imitators. Everyone tried to do what he did, but without the respect of the work that backed up his world. Tolkien was a very unique man with a unique education and life experience.
It reminded me quite a bit of an infamous quote by the director of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki. He supposedly once said "Anime was a mistake", which the internet caused to blow up into a meme, but in realty what he said was something very similar to what RR Martin is talking about here. The full quote is fairly long, but to summarize it. He said that he takes great care in looking at other people, seeing how they move and act as they live their lives, and then translating those actions and reactions of real human beings into his animations. That was why his movies are so well regarded for not really having tropes seen in other anime, he builds his stories from reality like how RR Martin says he does with history. But, most japanese animation isn't made like that, it's full of tropes and cliches that make it poor quality, because he saw most anime as being created by "humans who can't stand looking at other humans", and would rather look at anime. That would then cause the type of issue you mention, where people take a fascinating idea, world, or character full of depth, remove the depth, and then repeat those remaining surface level traits over and over until you end up with something that no longer feels influenced by reality. I thought of it watching this video. The best fiction is made by basing it on real events, which allows you to create something that feels relatable, understandable and genuine, but can be carefully tweaked and tailored to deliver "the best experience for the viewer" unlike history which is often messy and complex and doesn't really care about "making a fun story".
Yes its real the goldenhorn was chained to prevent a sea attack in the fall of constantinople but mehmed the conqueror moved ships from the land and the chain of the goldenhorn is still in istanbul. But its in rumeli fortress, im turkish and i saw that great chain
When I was reading Book II of the Histories by the Roman historian Tacitus, I came across this gem: "In his private ambitions a man may feel his way and take less or more from fortune's hand according as he feels inclined, but when one covets a throne, there is no alternative between the zenith of success and headlong ruin." I thought it was striking how closely that mirrored Cersei's famous advice to Ned. Maybe Martin has read Tacitus, or maybe not, but I think it goes to show how good a grasp Martin has on how history works.
„When you play the game of thrones....you win or you die......“basically what tacitus say on the second part 😄 the first part is about being a chilled out private man...something like: when you play the game of fortnite....you win or....you just ragequit and go to sleep 😄
@Jarl William I think you're being a bit too tough on Martin. The Dothraki, I believe, are supposed to be based on Central Asian nomads like the Huns and the Mongols, who definitely showed themselves capable of defeating heavily armored Western armies. The eunuch thing is a little iffier, but in the books they drink some kind of elixir that enhances their combat abilities. Plus, it wasn't unheard of for eunuchs to distinguish themselves military. See for example the Byzantine general Narses or the Chinese admiral Zheng He. If you're talking about the show, though, yeah, that shit's retarded.
@Jarl William Well trained knights fully clad in steel armour would have no trouble defeating an even number of half naked savages on horseback with short curved swords. But well trained knights fully clad in steel armour were very expensive and made up a very small portion of any large army. The bulk of a medieval army would be infantry, often not even professional soldiers but commoners rallied to fight for their lords, largely untrained and often armed with work tools like wood chopping axes rather than spears and swords. The dothraki would cut through them like a hot knife through butter.
@Jarl William No, the Mongols were definitely able to defeat heavy European knights, for example at Mohi and Legnica. Of course, knights were capable of beating the Mongols too, but it wasn't a foregone conclusion.
Just like Tolkien set a trend for the future and believe Martin will do the same and we will see a lot of his imitators around, though they wont be nearly as good.
@@aesir1ases64 and in 50 years there will be some famous writer that will be influenced by Martins work just like he was influenced by Tolkiens work...funny thing to think about :)
That's why I like game of thrones it's connected to history. The mad king was mad his name rattling him out Nero was crazy according to historians. Just dig and there is a lot of parallels and connections to world history.
Paul Lannister not trying to be annoying, But many fantasy series are connected to some history. Many authors tries to do that, even High fantasy series with lots of mythology.
For example the history between Tyrion Lannister and Blas de Lezo has incredible parallels, both were considered great minds and strategists, both were nicknamed half-men, and Tyrion lost an eye after the battle of the blackwater, similar to what happened with Blas de Lezo Who also lost an eye in combat after winning a battle thanks to one of his great strategies as happened with Tyrion
He did once say that he doesn't make up anything that he writes in the books; he just takes stuff from real history, changes it, makes it his own, and that's A Song of Ice and Fire. Of course, I'm paraphrasing.
@@IchibanOjousamasurely there is more laziness and less originality involved in fanfics? If you’re truly creating solid fan fiction in somebody else’s world what’s stopping you from putting the time and effort in to creating your own world. Clearly your ability to tell a story would translate well. Alls that’s missing is some study of history and you have everything you need.
Read surface-level Wikipedia stuff about the Sengoku period in Japan. One of the big inciting element that started the descent into a century of warring states that the Shogun of the time didn't have an heir, so he pulled his brother out of monkhood and named him the next guy. He then proceeded to have an unexpected son a year later. The various Daimyo took sides and started having at it right in the capital of Kyoto, and it kept escalating and becoming more complicated. Over time a more or less unified Japan went back to a bunch of fighting states with a powerless Emperor and a powerless Shogun in name only at the top. The inciting event is called the Ōnin War if you'd rather read actual information instead of this rando's comment
The game of thrones geography is very similar to the middle ages . People in the north considered as bloody barbarians, warriors, superstitious, believe in magic,white walkers etc. maybe they are German tribes .In the south is king s landing people there are more educated, civilised, culture,music and arts are more sophisticated,politics and conspiracies also, eunuchs .Reminds me of the Constantinople.In the east dohrakis are the mongols and quarth maybe Persian empire.The iron islands reminded me the vikings,with their ships doing invasions and also were very cruel
History has so many cool figures that could inspire bad ass story, I mean look no further than Olga of Kiev or Saint Moses the Black. Just really cool figures
i'm trying to find a quote where he talks about how exciting history is having all the elements of fantasy but real history is even more exciting (im paraphrasing) does anyone know where its at?
with the new house of the dragon series coming out, the central conflict will be, again, that of succession. and the specific dynamics of this particular conflict relating to the targaryen line has jarring similarities with the succession dynamics that led to the 1066 battle of hastings. i have watched the HBO series but just now have begun reading the books. thanks george rr martin.
@@tonyg6691 Are you calling Mexicans zombies? Nothing works forever. But Great Wall of Westeros worked great for few thousands of years. That is good enough for now.
George nailed the question about his writings coincidentally having connections to broadly-applicable allegories. That woman was trying to push him into a corner of having to accept that his work is analogous to contemporary political events and George was like "fuck off dumb bitch." It's moments like these when I remember that the mind driving the wit of characters like Tyrion, Tywin Littlefinger and Cersei is real and incarnate.
yes we do (I am assuming you're Scottish) the black Dinner was where king James II invited Clan Douglas to Edinburgh castle, the doors of the great hall were closed and a black bull's head on a plate was placed in front of the Douglas' this signified they were about to be killed and they were.
G G I’m half Scottish and quarter Irish. Though i was born in England. Could you advise me on some Celtic history to read? I’d love to read more of it :)
The argument that "GRRM doesn't owe us anything" is superficial and misplaced, for 2 reasons: 1. I doubt if readers would have bought all 5 books of ASOIAF so far if they had *known* he wasn't going to finish. Book 1 ("Game Of Thrones"), yes, maybe 1 or 2 more, but *not all 5* _ not if they had *definitely known* that there would be no end. ASOIAF is not like some other book series, where you can literally read any of its books in isolation, for a perfectly good story _ in ASOIAF, most of the books make no sense *except* as part of a big, continuing, narrative. This is not the Dune series, where you can read a few and do without the rest. 2. There's a saying about the craft of writing that "if you want to stop a person creating something _ get them to *talk* about it". The problem with GRRM's endless interviews (and yes, they *are* endless _ do a RU-vid search on "GRRM") is not the complaints of frustrated readers, or even any debate about how much time he takes. The problem is that an interview, like any intellectual exercise, takes mental energy and effort, even creativity. And to be fair to George, he doesn't just blab interviews off the top of his head _ he does *good* interviews, informative and interesting, especially on the subject of history. In short, he works hard at them. Unfortunately, that's all creative energy, inspiration, etc, which is *not* going into his writing. And by the way, I do *NOT* want to hear about "Fire And Blood" from his defenders: (a)it's not as well-written as ASOIAF *(so far)* and (b)he wrote it in collaboration with others. Faithful fans of his, yes, who keep careful records of his world _ but still, others.
I've seen various clips from this interview, and every one of them is ruined by that women's inane questioning. She wants so much to insert herself into the answers.
George is a genius, but he either vastly overestimates his fan-base's willingness to wait, or he prefers the posthumous accolades. At some point, modern-day fans will just turn their back on the story-lines out of frustration, and move onto other things. Now, that's not to say that when GRRM wraps this thing up, and ties up all the lose-ends (in 10-20 years), it won't find its way to massive critical acclaim, likely after his death. And, I believe that's his (either) conscious or subconscious goal. He doesn't give a shit about putting a bow on the story, or even meeting any agreed upon deadlines. Like Tywin Lannister (one of his favorite characters), he's all about "creating a legacy that could last 1,000 years". He idolizes Tolkien, who gained much of his accolades long after his death. Most novelists, poets, etc. are seeking something greater than fame - IMMORTALITY. I think of GRRM as a combination of Tywin and Samuel Tarly. I also believe that he views the film side his brand as a necessary burden. One that he endures for the immediate recognition, fame, and money. But, he's much more concerned with the long-term recognition that the viewership establishes. He consistently (and purposely) misses deadlines, because 1) He can, and 2) He's ultimately playing the long-game to meet his long-term goals. He's placed all of his chips on "immortality". His intelligence, plus his ego will get him exactly what he wants. So long as he continues to withhold the most critical climaxes from his devoted fans.
The argument that "GRRM doesn't owe us anything" is superficial and misplaced, for 2 reasons: 1. I doubt if readers would have bought all 5 books of ASOIAF so far if they had *known* he wasn't going to finish. Book 1 ("Game Of Thrones"), yes, maybe 1 or 2 more, but *not all 5* _ not if they had *definitely known* that there would be no end. ASOIAF is not like some other book series, where you can literally read any of its books in isolation, for a perfectly good story _ in ASOIAF, most of the books make no sense *except* as part of a big, continuing, narrative. This is not the Dune series, where you can read a few and do without the rest. 2. There's a saying about the craft of writing that "if you want to stop a person creating something _ get them to *talk* about it". The problem with GRRM's endless interviews (and yes, they *are* endless _ do a RU-vid search on "GRRM") is not the complaints of frustrated readers, or even any debate about how much time he takes. The problem is that an interview, like any intellectual exercise, takes mental energy and effort, even creativity. And to be fair to George, he doesn't just blab interviews off the top of his head _ he does *good* interviews, informative and interesting, especially on the subject of history. In short, he works hard at them. Unfortunately, that's all creative energy, inspiration, etc, which is *not* going into his writing. And by the way, I do *NOT* want to hear about "Fire And Blood" from his defenders: (a)it's not as well-written as ASOIAF *(so far)* and (b)he wrote it in collaboration with others. Faithful fans of his, yes, who keep careful records of his world _ but still, others.
@@holidayexplanation4505 You are mistaken. In fact not writing enough is just as detrimental as "forcing it". Stephen King writes for 4 hours a day, every day. Like its his job (which it is). He says that the work he does isnt always good, but by keeping to a routine, the brain learns that from 2pm-6pm is writing time and thus is makes itself more conducive to the task of writing
@@brodhax6148 Sadly you're mistaken once again since not every person is Stephen King and enjoys writing up to six pages a day. Are we going to attack Stephen King for not writing a 100 pages a day like John Boyne does? No we're not going to since Stephen does as much as he wants and can a day, it's his personal tempo. If George isn't motivated to write that much, it's his personal thing. He really doesn't have to write another word since he earns around $15 million per year off HBO royalties and another $10 million in book royalties.
