'The Hold Steady' to Perform Song in 'Game of Thrones' Season 3

A Battle-Scarred Tyrion Lannister

Indie Rock band 'The Hold Steady' will perform a song with lyrics by George RR Martin himself this season on 'Game of Thrones'.  The band will perform the jaunty tavern tune "The Bear and Maiden Fair", lyrics penned by Martin and music composed by the show's composer Ramin Djawadi.

This isn't new territory for the show as another indie band, 'The National' performed the somber "The Rains of Castemere" during season 2.  Pretty cool for the showrunners to do stuff like this, although I'm sure there was no shortage of talent willing to participate.  But it really lends depth and character to the world created for the show.  I love the touches like this, especially for "The Rains of Castemere" which plays a big role in such a pivotal scene in the books.

Lyrics to "The Bear and the Maiden Fair":

A bear there was,

A bear, A BEAR!

All black and brown,

And covered with hair 

Oh come they said,

Oh come to the fair!

The fair? said he,

But I’m a bear!

All black and brown,

And covered in hair! 

And down the road,

From here to there,

From here!To there!

Three boys, a goat,

And a dancing bear!

They danced and spun,

All the way to the fair! 

Oh! sweet she was,

And pure and fair,

The maid with honey,

In her hair! Her hair,

The maid with honey,

in her hair! 

The bear smelled the scent,

On the summer air!

The Bear! The Bear!

All black and brown,

And covered with hair!

He smelled the scent,

On the summer air,

He sniffed and roared,

And smelled it there!

Honey on the summer air! 

Oh I’m a maid,

And I’m pure and fair,

I’ll never dance,

With a hairy bear,

A bear! A bear!

I’ll never dance,

With a hairy bear! 

The bear,the bear!

Lifted her high,

into the air!

The bear, the bear! 

I called for a knight!

But you’re a bear!

A bear! A bear,

All black and brown,

And cover in hair! 

She kicked and wailed,

The maid so fair,

But he licked the honey,

From her hair!

Her hair! Her hair!

He licked the honey,

From her hair! 

Then she sighed and squealed,

And kicked the air,

She sang: My bear so fair,

And off they went,

The bear! The bear!

And the maiden fair!

So get hyped, because season 3 starts March 31st at 9pm EST on HBO. Which means more of the enchanting Rose Leslie as Ygritte.

Rose Leslie as Ygritte

 Can't wait until then?  Check out this Season 3 extended trailer:

What do Patrick Stewart, Simon Pegg, Arya Stark and Ryan Lochte Have in Common?

Why, this funny video of course.  From Funny or Die.

The Olympic Ticket Scalper with Sir Patrick Stewart, Ryan Lochte, Simon Pegg & Maisie Williams from Patrick Stewart

Sir Patrick Stewart plays a scurvy, Victorian ticket scalper at the Olympics.  Maisie Williams (Arya Stark from Game of Throne) plays his young accomplice.  Simon Pegg plays... Simon Pegg.  And Ryan Lochte is there as well with his USA-bling-teeth and own-name-imprinted-on-sole shoes, to remind us all why he became a swimmer instead of an actor.

But hey, Paul Wall grill aside, I can't bash Lochte too hard.  It seemed like he was a good sport and played along through the whole thing.  Maybe not the funniest video out there, but it's always nice to see Sir Patrick flash his acting chops.  

It's also like a super nerd-triumverate with Picard (Star Trek), Arya Stark (GoT), and Scotty (Star Trek again)

And it looks like Maisie grew about a foot since the last season of Game of Thrones aired.  Those Lannister troops better watch out!

Game of Thrones Season 3 Casting Choices Announced

Emilia Clarke and Rose Leslie at the Game of Thrones Comic Con Panel

Several new casting choices for HBO's Games of Thrones were announced at Comic Con on Friday.  These choices will appear in season 3 of the show, which is currently shooting, and will begin on March 13, 2013.  Some of the bigger characters cast were The Queen of Thorns, The Blackfish, Meera and Jojen Reed, and Beric Dondarrion.

The biggest name out of the new cast is Diana Rigg, who will be playing Olenna Redwyne, the Queen of Thorns and matriarch of the House Tyrell.  Rigg is best known for playing Emma Peel in the British 60's TV series 'The Avengers' (not to be confused with the Marvel comic).  She seems a good choice for the role, which will require the portrayal of sharp wit and cunning.

Rigg today

Rigg in her 'Avengers' days. Yowza

Another recognizable name is Mackenzie Crook, who will be playing the role of Orell, the eagle-skinchanging wildling.  You probably know him better as Gareth from the UK 'The Office'.  He also played in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.  Seems a good choice for the wildling look.

What are you looking at?

Clive Russell will The Blackfish, Bryndon Tully, well-known knight and loving uncle of Cat Stark.  Russell is an experienced actor who has recently played in the Sherlock Holmes films.  He was also in the Antonio Banderas movie 'The 13th Warrior', which I loved.  That always seemed like an underrated gem.  He should wear the role well.

a gruff, scruff Clive Russell

Thoros of Myr, the red priest, will be played by Paul Kaye.  Flaming sword and all.  Think a less serious, male version of Melissandre.

Paul Kaye

Going along with Thoros, is Beric Dondarrion, the Lightning Lord.  Like the energizer bunny he keeps going, and going, and going... He will be played by Richard Dormer (No relation to Natalie Dormer, who currently plays Margery Tyrell).  Always likes this character.

Richard Dormer as Beric Dondarrion

The Reed siblings will play a large role in Bran's development, so their casting choices are key.  Meera Reed will be played by Ellie Kendrick.  She has played in 'Upstairs Downstairs' and the BBC miniseries 'The Diary of Anne Frank'.  I like this choice.  My only real gripe is that she doesn't have green eyes, one of the key features of the Reeds.

Ellie Kendrick

Jojen Reed, the character who teaches Bran about greenseeing, will be played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster.  You probably know him as the little boy in the movies 'Love Actually' and 'Nanny McPhee'.  He's a bit older now, and should play off of Bran well in the mentor role.

Thomas Brodie-Sangster

All in all a good job casting the roles.  The production staff hasn't really let me down yet as most of the actors chosen for their respective roles so far have been fantastic.

Now all I have to do is wait 8 months for some new episodes :(

Game of Thrones Season 2 Trailer: Seven Devils

HBO is really ramping up their promotion for the new Game of Thrones season.  The dvd for season 1 was just released on March 6, and HBO is slowly releasing more footage to draw in viewers for the season premiere April 1.

This trailer was just released today, and shows the most in-depth footage of the upcoming season yet.  A lot more emphasis on Robb, as he is to become a major player in the main arc.  The upcoming season looks fantastic.  The production team has really outdone themselves with setting.  And it seems like the mainstream success of the show has enabled the producers to expand their budget to get some of those exotic locales.  And hopefully get some large-scale battles in, since they seemed to avoid those in season 1.

I really can't wait.  

In the meantime, I'll probably re-watch season 1... Or at least the crown of gold scene.

George R.R. Martin release preview of "Winds of Winter"

Bonus double-post day, because it's just that important.  George R.R. Martin just released an excerpt from the 6th book in the Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) series, "Winds of Winter".

Here's the link:    http://georgerrmartin.com/if-sample.html

Hopefully this is a sign the next book is coming out soon!  And if anyone reading is a fan of the show but hasn't read the books, do.  If not, you're definitely missing out.