George R.R. Martin Recalls Getting Outshined by Mascot, Shades Hollywood With Neil Gaiman
The "Game of Thrones" author reflects on their Hollywood journey with "The Sandman" author Neil Gaiman.
George R.R. Martin is prominently known as the author of the epic fantasy novel series, "A Song of Ice and Fire", which was later on adapted into the Emmy Award-winning HBO series, "Game of Thrones". The success of the original series continued with its latest prequel, "House of the Dragon".
In a recent interview to promote his new book, "The Rise of the Dragon: An Illustrated History of the Targaryen Dynasty, Volume One", George R.R. Martin recalls some notable happenings on his journey as an author to a producer of one of the biggest HBO hit-series, "Game of Thrones".
George R.R. Martin's Beginnings: Overshadowed by Mascot?
Reflecting on his earlier days as an author, the 74-year-old producer recalls a particular book signing event in Denton, Texas, where he had immediately noticed that the parking lot was packed with cars, then realized that the book signing event was for two authors, his and Clifford the Big Red Dog. Apparently, the massive amount of fans was there for the red mascot instead of his books at the time.
Additionally, he shared another memory of a book signing at the Guadalajara International Book Fair, where an assistant of his told a fan that they could hug George R.R. Martin.
"So 598 folks later, I was finally free of the signing," Martin joked before addressing the audience: "I'm sorry, none of you may hug me. I'm going to run away after this thing."
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George R.R. Martin and Neil Gaiman on 'Changes to Source Material'
The "Game of Thrones" producer also recalled a conversation with Neil Gaiman, as they share similar experiences of having their novel adapted into a television series.
Martin and Gaiman had strong feelings about Hollywood executives not being loyal to the source material.
"How faithful do you have to be? Some people don't feel that they have to be faithful at all. There's this phrase that goes around: 'I'm going to make it my own.' I hate that phrase. And I think Neil probably hates that phrase, too." Martin expressed, to which Gaiman added: "I spent 30 years watching people make 'Sandman' their own. And some of those people hadn't even read 'Sandman' to make it their own, they'd just flipped through a few comics or something."
