>> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY. WELCOME BACK.
THANK YOU. LAD HEES AND GENTLEMEN,
MY NEXT GUEST IS THE WRITER WHOSE NOVELS INSPIRED HBO'S
"GAME OF THRONES," AND ITS NEW PREQUEL SERIES, "HOUSE OF
THE DRAGON." HIS LATEST BOOK, "THE RISE OF
THE DRAGON: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE TARGARYEN
DYNASTY, VOLUME ONE" CAME OUT TODAY.
PLEASE WELCOME BACK TO "THE LATE SHOW," GEORGE R.R. MARTIN.
HI GEORGE, THANKS FOR COMING. >> MY PLEASURE.
>> Stephen: HEY. IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
>> IT'S GOODS TO BE BACK. >> Stephen: LAST TIME YOU WERE
HERE, YOU WERE HERE TO TALK ABOUT FIRE AND BLOOD.
>> RIGHT. >> Stephen: OKAY, THAT WAS
VOLUME ONE OF. >> I'M STILL WORKING ON VOLUME
TWO. >> Stephen: OF THIS, HOUSE OF
THE DRAGON. NOW ARE YOU HERE WITH-- YOU MAKE
THEM BIG. >> YES.
>> Stephen: RISE OF THE DRAGON.
OKAY, WHAT AM I GETTING IN RISE OF THE DRAGON THAT I DIDN'T GET
IN FIRE AND BLOOD? >> WELL, FIRE AND BLOOD IS ABOUT
300,000 WORDS OF TARGARYEN HISTORY.
THIS ONE IS ABOUT A QUARTER OF THAT LENGTH IN TERMS OF WORDS.
BUT WE HAVE ADDED 150 ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS BY SOME OF THE
FINEST FANTASY ARTISTS IN THE WORLD, FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.
>> Stephen: HERE IS ONE OF THE EXAMPLES.
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF ONE. I WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS.
IS THAT WE ALL HAVE AN IMAGE IN OUR HEAD OF THE IRON THRONE FROM
THE SERIES ON HBO, GUAM OF THRONES, THIS SAN ILLUSTRATION
OF HOW YOU IMAGINE THE IRON THRONE ACTUALLY LOOKING.
THAT IS WHAT IT IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE.
>> IT SUPPOSED TO BE, A LOT OF THE KINGS CUTS THEM IS SELVES ON
IT AND SOMETIMES IT GETS INFECTED SO IT IS PROBABLY GOOD
THAT YOU DON'T VAN IRON SEAT THERE.
>> Stephen: THEY HAVE TO MAKE IT OUT OF ALL OF THE OTHER
CHAIRS OF THE LATE NIGHT HOSTS. >> THAT'S GOOD.
THE ORIGINAL IRON THRONE IN THE BOOKS IS, YOU KNOW, VERY TALL
AND THE KING SILTS UP THERE, IS HE LIKE 10, 15 FEET ABOVE
EVERYBODY LOOKING DOWN ON THE PEOPLE.
AND IT WAS MADE BY LIKE BLACK SMITH IT IS NOT PRETTY IT IS NOT
SYMMETRICAL IT IS FULL OF HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF SWORDS.
BUT WHEN WE ACTUALLY GOT TO MAKING GAME OF THROARNS, WE
DIDN'T HAVE A SOUND STAGE WITH A TALL ENOUGH CEILING IN ORDER TO
FIT IT IN THERE. SO THEY MADE THE ONE THAT HAS
BECOME, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ICONIC, FOR "GAME OF THRONES"
BUT WHEN WE MADE THE NEW SHOW, WE HAD A LITTLE MORE ROOM AND WE
WERE ABLE TO EXPAND IT. >> Stephen: YOU ALSO HAVE A
LITTLE BIT MORE MONEY, MUCH MORE MONEY AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS
SHOW THAN THE BEGINNING OF THE LAST SHOW DID, WHEN ALL THAT WAS
ESTABLISHED. >> YES.
>> Stephen: AND SOME OF THE MONEY HAS GONE INTO YOUR, YOU
KNOW, YOUR CREATION. >> THE DRAGONS, YES.
>> Stephen: THE DRAGON, SO INSTEAD OF HAVING THREE DRAGONS,
HOW MANY YOU HAVE GOT NOW? >> WELL, DEFEND -- DEPENDS WHAT
YOU COUNT, ROUGHLY 17 TO 20 AT VARIOUS POINTS BECAUSE SOME OF
THEM DIE AND NEW ONES ARE BORN. THE FIRST SEASON TAKES PLACE,
YOU KNOW, OVER ABOUT 20 YEARS OR SO.
>> Stephen: AND WHAT WAS IMPORTANT TO YOU ABOUT THE
CREATION OF THESE DRAGONS VISUALLY?
>> WELL, I WANTED THE DRAGONS TO BE CHARACTERS, TO HAVE, YOU
KNOW, A STRONGER PERSONALITY AND TO LOOK DIFFERENT FROM EACH
OTHER SO WHEN YOU SAW ONE, IMMEDIATELY ON THE SCREEN, YOU
KNEW THAT WELL, THAT IS VAGAR, THAT IS CORAXIS, THAT IS SEA
DISZ MOAK. >> Stephen: THERE IS CORA
DPRKS IS. THIS GUY IS MORE OF A SWEETIE.
THRAX SEEMS MORE. >> YEAH, THAT IS-- BUT YEAH,
EACH DRAGON SHOULD HAVE A DIFFERENT PERSONALITY.
I LIKE THEM TO BE MORE COLORFUL TOO THAN THE FIRST SHOW.
IF YOU EVER LOOKED AT REAL LIFE REPTILES, LIZARDS, SNAKES, SOME
OF THEM ARE VERY BRIGHTLY COLORED.
THIS HE HAVE ALL SORTS OF BANDS AND STUNNING COLORS.
SO WE WANTED TO CAPTURE A LITTLE OF THAT.
AND WE HAVE. >> Stephen: LEGALLY, LEGALLY I
HAVE TO ASK YOU HOW THINGS ARE GOING WITH WINDS OF WINTER.
>> FLA SAY REAL REQUIREMENT. >> Stephen: A LEGAL
REQUIREMENT OF ME, ARE YOU NOT LEGALLY REQUIRED BUT I HAVE A
CONTRACT THAT SAYS HAVE I TO ASK GEORGE R.R. MARTIN.
>> I AM MAKING PROGRESS WITH IS THE WINCED OF WINTER.
BUT DID IS STILL NOT DONE YET. BUT HAVE I-- .
>> Stephen: HOW MUCH ARE WE TALKING, HOW MUCH FARTHER?
>> WELL, I THINK IT IS GOING TO BE A VERY BIG BOOK.
THE BIGGEST BOOK SO FAR WERE THE THIRD VOLUME, STORM AND SWORDS
AND THE 6th, DANCE WITH DRAG ORNTION BOTH ABOUT 1500 PAGES.
THIS ONE IS GOING TO BE BIGGER THAN EITHER OF THAT.
AND I THINK I'M ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF THE WAY DONE.
I'M DONE WITH SOME OF THE CHARACTER, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE
ALL-- THEY ALL, THE CHARACTERS ALL INTERWEAVE SO I HAVE
ACTUALLY FINISHED WITH A COUPLE OF THE CHARACTERS.
I GOT THEIR WHOLE STORY BUT NOT OTHERS.
SO I HAVE TO FINISH ALL THAT WEAVING.
BUT IT IS STILL GOING TO TAKE ME AWHILE.
>> Stephen: SO TEN YEARS TO GO 75% OF THE WAY THROUGH, SO
ABOUT. >> THAT'S DEPRESSING.
>> Stephen: YES, OKAY, ALL RIGHT, THREE MORE YEARS.
>> AND I DO KNOW ONE THING FOR CERTAIN, THAT YOU KNOW WHEN
WE'RE GOING TO DELIVER IT, AND IT IS GOING TO BE PUBLISHED, AND
THE NEXT DAY I WILL GET THE FIRST TWEET THAT A SAS WHERE IS
IT. >> Stephen: IT WILL BE FOR ME.
>> YES. >> Stephen: I WANTED TO ASK
YOU ABOUT HE WOULDEN RING, VERY, VERY POPULAR VIDEO GAME.
WHAT DID YOU ACTUALLY DO TO CREATE THATS COULD MOLG?
>> WELL, IT WAS-- COSMOLOGY. >> IT WAS A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO
NOW, VIDEO GAMES, I DIDDANT DIDN'T KNOW, TAKE AS LONG TO
MAKE AS A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE. IF NOT LONGER.
IT IS INTENSIVE DEVELOPMENT. BUT BASICALLY THE PEOPLE FROM
SOFTWARE, THE MAKERS OF HE WOULDEN RING CONTACTED ME A
NUMBER OF YEARS AGO AND THEY WANTED TO DO THIS VIDEO GAME.
AND THEY WANTED A WORLD BUILT. THEY WANTED THE WORLD BUILDING
WHICH I'M BEEN DOING FOR QUITE AWHILE.
AND I LIKE DOING IT. BUT THEY MADE IT CLEAR THAT HE
WOULDEN RING WAS GOING TO TAKE PLACE IN LET'S SAY THE PRESENT
OF THEIR GAME UNIVERSE. BUT WHAT THEY WANTED ME TO WRITE
WAS WHAT HAPPENED LIKE $5,000 YEARS BEFORE THAT, THAT TOTALLY
SCREWED UP THE WORLD SO THAT THE PRESENT WAS REALLY MESSED UP.
SO I WENT BACK AND WROTE, YOU KNOW, A HISTORY OF WHAT HAPPENED
$5,000 YEARS BEFORE THE CURRENT GAME AND WHO ALL THE CHARACTERS
WERE AND WHO WAS KILLING EACH OTHER AND WHAT POWERS THEY HAD.
YOU KNOW, THEY HAD THESE ROOMS, THAT WERE THE CENTER OF THE GAME
AND THE RUIN GOT SPLIT INTO MANY PIECES AND THAT IS WHAT SCREWED
UP THE WORLD. I LAID ALL THAT OUT.
>> Stephen: HAVE YOU PLAYED IT.
>> I HAVE NOT PLAYED IT BECAUSE PEOPLE SEEM TO WANT THIS WINDS
OF WINTER BOOK.