Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: game of thrones, george rr martin, house of the dragon

GRRM Isn't Sure He's Going to Finish "The Winds of Winter," Either

George R.R. Martin (GRRM) talks not being a fan of adaptations changing the original work and being 13 years late on "The Winds of Winter."

It was back in September when things got pretty rocky between George RR Martin (GRRM) HBO & showrunner Ryan Condal's House of the Dragon. Taking to his Not A Blog ("Beware the Butterflies," which has since been taken down, but we shared a rundown of), GRRM called out HBO and the hit series for the changes that the spinoff prequel series made to his work – especially "Blood & Cheese" and the absence of Prince Maelor and the "butterfly effect" that decision will have on the remaining seasons. That may or may not have been the reason why a bonus episode of the show's official podcast dropped, with Condal defending the decisions made regarding "Blood & Cheese" and Maelor. Aside from some clean-up comments from HBO and Max CEO Casey Bloys last month, things have been pretty quiet on that front. But with all of that backstory still relatively fresh, it's tough not to read into GRRM's comments to The Hollywood Reporter while discussing four short films he self-financed in honor of his late friend and writer Howard Waldrop.

While discussing how the gender of the lead was changed for one of the short films adapting Waldrop's stories, GRRM noted that the lead's gender wasn't essential to the story. Interestingly enough, that then segued into the bestselling author speaking against the idea of changing the source material when you adapt it. "Maybe I'm one of the few people in Hollywood who still thinks that when you adapt a work of art, a novel, a short story, you should do a faithful adaptation," GRRM shared. "[It] annoys me too much because they change things, and I don't think they generally improve them."

Of course, another matter that complicates an adaptation is when the adaptation catches up to where the author is with their book series, and it doesn't look like anything new is dropping anytime soon. So, how are things looking with GRRM's sixth and final novel in his "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, The Winds of Winter? If you're worried it might not get finished, it sounds like you might not be alone. "Unfortunately, I am 13 years late. Every time I say that, I'm [like], 'How could I be 13 years late?' I don't know; it happens a day at a time," GRRM shared. "But that's still a priority. A lot of people are already writing obituaries for me. [They're saying] 'Oh, he'll never be finished.' Maybe they're right. I don't know. I'm alive right now! I seem pretty vital!" he added.

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