The Next Nerd Obsession

Another attribute that makes Game of Thrones perfect for HBO is sex. Unlike Tolkien, Martin’s characters don’t mind putting down their swords for a steamier version of one-on-one. (And if that’s your thing, skim right to the incestuous twins.)

“The sexuality in my book would have curled Tolkien’s hair,” said Martin, a former Hollywood TV writer (he worked, of course, on “the new” Twilight Zone) who looks like he stepped out of central casting: a gray, Gandalf-like beard, wiry glasses, and a portly silhouette.

Martin is himself an avid blogger, and he regularly feeds his followers casting news in the form of mysterious clues that Thrones fans attack like starving piranhas, and generally figure out in no time.

One of the latest hints (“The gray man once had groupies. Yes, girls. Who?”) was posted on the winter-is-coming Web site at 7:43 p.m. By 8:04, it had been cracked.

Explaining the methodology, Paul Gude, currently ranked as the site’s No. 1 commenter, told The Daily Beast:

“‘The gray man once had groupies’ was a reference to Luwin, who is described in the book as being a gray-haired man with gray eyes. Legion—another commenter—figured out that Donald Sumpter was in a film called Groupie Girl, and he was also in a couple episodes of Doctor. Who.”

HBO has yet to confirm Sumpter being cast. Nonetheless, Gude said confidently, “We think we’ve solved it.”

Martin said he doesn’t get directly involved in the Web mania surrounding his books, but he seemed charmed by his fans’ rabid obsession, and noted that they’re code-cracking skills are improving. “In the beginning, they took longer,” he said.

Should A Game of Thrones be made into a series, Martin will write one episode per season, but otherwise, writing duties are being left to show-runners David Benioff (Troy) and D.B. Weiss, who rewrote the script of the upcoming Halo movie.

Early on, Martin met with the writers, whom, he said “knew the books and seemed very dedicated to doing a show that was faithful to the spirit of the books. And of course, that was exactly what I was looking for—the same way that Peter Jackson, with Lord of the Rings, I wanted someone who would take my material and bring it to the screen, and not feel they constantly wanted to change everything.”

That’s exactly what Thrones followers want, too. “I’m excited [about the pilot], but at the same time I’m scared, knowing the history of adaptations,” said Piotr Siennicki, who runs the Web site Fantasy-Fan.org. “There are precious few movies or TV series that you can call good adaptations of books.”

Already, there have been uproars over Thrones casting decisions. The worst rage came when the young actress Tamzin Merchant (The Tudors), whom was dubbed not “attractive” on winter-is-coming. When the Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was cast as Jamie Lannister (one of the, ahem, twins), there were harrumphs over his nose. (“I never pictured Jamie with a nose bigger than his sword—but what can you do?” vented one blogger.) And a minor Twitter storm of unrest was caused last weekend when Jason Momoa of Stargate: Atlantis received a nod. Fans comforted themselves with the fact that it wasn't for a major role. "Well, Khal Drogo isn't most prominent storyline," Tweeted one.

But for the most part, fans are cheering HBO’s decisions, especially that of Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister. Gude described Lannister as “a dwarf who is not a mythical creature” as well as “the soul of the book.”

When the British actor Joseph Mawle was cast as Benjen Stark, one of the lead characters, Mawle’s Web site was so stormed with traffic that it went down.

Some have put up “dream casting” videos on YouTube. A Russian fan Photoshopped his own promotional posters using the faces of Orlando Bloom and Val Kilmer. And Gude said that he reaches out to agents and publicists when he thinks someone is right for a role.

Of course, ultimately, it comes down to the network, not the nerds.

“When you have a bestselling book that has not been made into a movie or a TV show, a lot of fans out there will play the casting game and come up with their own dream cast for it,” said Martin. “They have characters who have, like, two sentences and then die, and they want Jack Nicholson to play it. Of course, it would be great if Sean Connery played this guy who appears in one scene, but it’s just not going to happen.”

Plus: Check out more of the latest entertainment, fashion, and culture coverage on Sexy Beast—photos, videos, features, and Tweets.

Nicole LaPorte is the senior West Coast correspondent for The Daily Beast. A former film reporter for Variety, she has also written for The New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, The New York Times, The New York Observer, and W.

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