Posted in: TV | Tagged: angela manusco, game of thrones, george r r martin, HBO, HRL, michael lobardo, nnedi okorafor, selwyn seyfu hinds, who fears death

HBO Closes Deal For Nnedi Okorafor's 'Who Fears Death'; Selwyn Seyfu Hinds Will Write Pilot

HBO has finalized the deal for Who Fears Death, their adaptation of the sci-fi novel by Nnedi Okorafor which is being executive produced by Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin, former HBO president Michael Lombardo, and Angela Mancuso (Monk, Battlestar Galactica).

Deadline broke the news on the deal, though Okorafor, who will be a consultant on the show, revealed that HBO had optioned the series with Martin to produce back in July. Following the report, Martin took to Russian blogging platform LiveJournal to share details on how they selected screenwriter Selwyn Seyfu Hinds , who will also be co-executive producer, to write the pilot:

"It was not an easy selection. We considered dozens of terrific writers, finally winnowed it down to half a dozen strong finalists, and interviewed each of them at length. I was not able to be in LA for the interviews myself, thoughI took part by phone… but executive producers Michael Lombardo and Angela Mancuso, our development executives from HBO, and of course Nnedi Okorafor were all in the room for every interview. All of us loved what Selwyn had to say about WHO FEARS DEATH, and how he would like to bring it to the screen. It's a powerful book, but not an easy adaptation by any means… but we think we've found the right writer for the assignment."

Martin also subtly criticized the media's handling of the show, noting:

"I was also pleased to see Michael Lombardo and Angela Mancuso finally credited in the news stories about Selwyn and WHO FEARS DEATH, since the last round of stories made it sound as if I was doing it all by myself. Even now, though, some of these stories are getting it backwards, talking about how I "added" Lombardo and Mancuso. Ah, no… rather, they (and Nnedi) added me. This was their project from the start, I'm the new guy in the boat. But I'm thrilled to be here, and I'm excited to be working with Michael, Angela, Nnedi, and now Selwyn. We all share the same goal: to make this extraordinary novel into an extraordinary television series."

Of course, if Martin would finally finish writing The Winds of Winter, maybe clickbait media outlets would be able to write clickbait stories about his own projects.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!