Amid the ongoing writers' strike in Hollywood, 'Game of Thrones' creator George R.R. Martin has confirmed that the writers room has shut down for the recently announced spinoff 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight'.
In a blog, Martin shared the particular update, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
"The writer's room on A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS: THE HEDGE KNIGHT has closed for the duration," he wrote. "(Showrunner) Ira Parker and his incredible staff of young talents are on the picket lines."
Martin is also credited as a writer on the show.
Thrones prequel House of the Dragon is still forging ahead, however, as its season two scripts are written.
"Dragon started filming April 11 and will continue in London and Wales," he wrote. "The scripts for the eight s2 episodes were all finished months ago, long before the strike began. Every episode has gone through four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions, to address HBO notes, my notes, budget concerns, etc. There will be no further revisions. The writers have done their jobs; the rest is in the hands of the directors, cast and crew... and of course the dragons."
Martin also voiced his support for the Writers Guild of America walkout (in particular, the issue of mini-rooms, and he details his thoughts on the matter here).
"No one wanted this -- no writer with an ounce of sense, anyway -- but the producers and the studios and the networks and the streamers gave us no choice," he wrote. "I want to go on the record with my full and complete and unequivocal support of my Guild. ... I expect [picketers] will be there for a long time. ... The issues are more important, imnsho, and I have never seen the Guild so united as it is now."
More than 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began the strike last week, claiming they aren't paid fairly in the streaming era."Though we negotiated intent on making a fair deal ... the studios' responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing," said a statement from the union leadership.They have closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession. No such deal could ever be contemplated by this membership."
The Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP), which is negotiating on behalf of studio management, responded by saying it was willing to improve on its offer but was not willing to meet some of the union's demands."The primary sticking points are 'mandatory staffing,' and 'duration of employment' -- Guild proposals that would require a company to staff a show with a certain number of writers for a specified period of time, whether needed or not," said the statement from management's negotiating committee."Member companies remain united in their desire to reach a deal that is mutually beneficial to writers and the health and longevity of the industry, and to avoid hardship to the thousands of employees who depend upon the industry for their livelihoods," it added.
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