George R.R. Martin is not the kind of person who sits idly in the Red Keep while others fight for their rights.
Recently, the renowned author of “A Song of Ice and Fire” and the inspiration behind the acclaimed HBO series “Game of Thrones” provided an update on his current projects amidst the ongoing strikes by the Writer’s Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
In his blog, Martin revealed that he has been actively participating in picket lines in Santa Fe since the start of the writers’ strike in May. He expressed surprise at the fact that the production of the “Game of Thrones” prequel series, “House of the Dragon,” based on his book of the same name, is continuing despite the strikes.
“Honestly, I was shocked to hear that,” Martin wrote in his post, also confirming that the second season of the prequel is halfway done.
“ALL of the scripts had been finished months before the WGA strike began. No writing has been done since, to the best of my knowledge,” he added.
According to Variety, “House of the Dragon” is one of the few shows that has not halted production during the strikes because most of its cast is primarily based in the U.K., where their contracts are governed by Equity, the local union.
Jeff Kravitz via Getty Images
Martin discusses these issues in his blog post.
“The actors are members of the British union, Equity, not SAG-AFTRA. While Equity strongly supports their American counterparts, British law prohibits them from staging a sympathy strike,” Martin explained. “If they walk, they have no protection against being fired or even sued for breach of contract.”
He continued, “One of the two major UK political parties, Labour, has its roots in the trade union movement. How could they have allowed such anti-labor regulations to be enacted? It seems that the Labour Party needs to do a better job of protecting the right to strike.”
Martin also announced that his overall deal with HBO was suspended on June 1. The deal was supposed to last until 2026, according to Collider. He did not provide further explanation for the suspension, but it occurred a month after the start of the WGA strike in May.
In his post, Martin criticized Hollywood CEOs, referring to an unnamed producer who was quoted by Deadline as saying their goal was to “allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.”
“This quote gives you a hint of what we’re up against,” Martin remarked.
Despite the strikes, Martin assured his readers that he has plenty of projects to keep him busy. He is currently working on a play called “The Iron Throne” and continues to tinker away on “Winds of Winter,” the highly anticipated sixth novel in the “Song of Ice and Fire” series that fans have been waiting for over 12 years.
Martin acknowledged that he is fortunate compared to many in Hollywood. He emphasized that the strikes are not just for the benefit of established writers and producers, but for those attempting to enter the industry, aspiring story editors, actors with minor roles, and individuals working their first staff jobs who dream of creating their own shows one day.