All the major roles for HBO’s “Game of Thones” pilot have been filled in recent weeks — except one.
I can exclusively reveal that Lena Headey, most recently seen as Sarah Connor in Fox’s “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” will play Cersei Lannister, a woman of royal blood who is every bit as smart, cunning and devious as the powerful men around her.
Other cast members include the perfectly cast Peter Dinklage as Cersei’s brother Tyrion, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Cersei’s twin, Jaime, Sean Bean as aristocrat Ned Stark, Jennifer Ehle as his wife Catelyn Stark and Mark Addy as King Robert. HBO confirmed the casting of Headey on Tuesday.
The “Game of Thrones” pilot, an adaptation of a fantasy novel by George R.R. Martin, starts shooting in late October in Northern Ireland.
Interest in the “Thrones” pilot is already at fever pitch: The blogs Winter Is Coming and Westeros have been following the casting avidly, and I can see why.
One “Thrones” fan asked me if this level of interest in a pilot that may not show up on TV for a year or more is normal. No, it’s not. But Martin’s book series tends to inspire a certain kind of deep and abiding loyalty, if not obsession. To read the books of Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series (four have come out so far) is to be completely immersed in a world that recalls the golden age of knights and chivalry while also showing, through memorable and believable characters, how deeply flawed human nature can be. It’s a world in which honor and fealty don’t mean what they used to and those in power have to contend with an array of threats, sometimes from those closest to them, sometimes from unexpected places.
Don’t let the fantasy label put you off. This is a book series about human beings, and how they respond to difficult challenges. But OK, there are knights, tournaments, battles, bawdy humor, spectacles and freaky creatures from the icy north. There are also deeply moving relationships and wonderfully detailed locales, all of which kept me turning hundreds of pages all summer.
As Time’s James Poniewozik has written, “Thrones” is the kind of complicated, richly appointed, adult drama that HBO tends to do well. Martin “constantly forces you to question whether the ‘honorable’ resolution to a conflict is the best in the long run. The saga is littered with fallen heroes and shattered myths, as well as apparent villains and rogues who make surprising turns,” Poniewozik writes.
In short, if this “Thrones” adaptation is at least as good as HBO’s “Rome,” I’ll be glued to it. Here’s where I inject the note of caution: At this point, “Thrones” is just a pilot and it has not yet been picked up to series. Fingers crossed that its every bit as good as Martin’s many fans hope it will be and we spend 2010 obsessing about HBO’s cool new show.
*SCREAMS* I can’t even tell you how frakking excited I am for this news – Lena of course is no stranger to fantasy having starred in “300″ I don’t know anything about these books, but w/ this series being on HBO Lena will finally be able to get the Emmy type of recognition that she deserves! BTW expect most of the news for this series to now be moved over to The Sarah Connor Society.
rag Me to Hell”
Dollhouse was given a 13 episode pickup on Friday- it was announced that this was going to be with a reduced budget and that parent company 20th Century Fox would be picking up more of the production cost. It is slated to return in the fall with a lean mean look. Look for the show to have a special episode on the DVD release this summer that will help get you ready for the fall season.
Chuck! NBC has officially announced that Chuck will be back but with some budget cuts. The season finale hinted we may have seen the last of the Buy More- at least on a weekly basis. This would trim a lot of salaries. I say no more stunt guest casting- I really don’t care about Jordanna Brewster or Nicole Richie- though Andy Richter and Jenny McCarthy were fun as was Chevy Chase.
Smallville and Supernatural will both be back as announced this winter. Smallville has signed Tom Welling and Erica Durance for two more seasons and the guys from Supernatural say this year is it. Well- once you have dealt with the Apocalypse you can’t really go back to the monster of the week. To discuss both shows – join our sci-fi forums 
t of view. Second movie has not yet been formally announced. Caprica which is the pre-quel has been released on DVD as a mini-series. It will start next winter on SyFy.
Fringe and Lost will be both be back for all of you J.J. Abram’s fans- head to 
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