It's the end of an era for fans of HBO's epic fantasy series, Game of Thrones.
This Sunday, the series finale will air at 9 p.m. Executive producer and former Rochester resident Bernie Caulfield has worked on the show since its second season, and like all GoT fans, she's sad to see it come to an end.
Read more about Bernie Caulfield: How 'Game of Thrones' Bernadette Caulfield became the 'greatest producer alive'
There's a lot she'll miss about working with the cast and crew. Here's some of her favorite — and least favorite — things about working on the hit show.
Working with George R. R. Martin and diverging from the books
For the first few episodes, the HBO series closely aligns with the fantasy novel series it was based upon, George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Over the years, the show has taken the story and characters in a different direction, and Caulfield said she only read the first two books.
"When we were matched with the books, we had a lot to live up to," she said. "I felt like it was a benefit not to read all the books. ... If you know too much information when you’re reading a script, you understand it, but if you read it without knowing the books you might go, 'Well, why is that person doing that?'"
Though Martin is credited as a co-executive producer on the series, he almost never appeared on set. The story, as told through the show, very much belonged to showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, Caulfield said.
"They would meet with George maybe once a year, twice a year, but we never saw George," she said. "He came to the set one year, the first season. But after that, I only met him when we went to the Emmys. That was the first time I met him."
That infamous Starbucks cup
Ah, yes. The most cringe-worthy moment of season eight — when a Starbucks cup was completely overlooked during filming and post-production and made an unintentional cameo.
Though HBO has since scrubbed the cup's appearance from its streaming services, Caulfield said the slip-up is uncommon. What likely happened, she said, is the cast was rehearsing and someone had their coffee nearby when they began filming.
Then, because each scene is touched so many times in post-production, it's possible editors were "riveted with the scene" and forgot to look closely at the table in the shot.
"Westeros actually had the very first Starbucks coffee cafe, and it's a little-known fact," she quipped. "Obviously, we never like things like that to get out. But considering that’s probably one of the few that you can catch — it's pretty good."
The bear from season three was real
A lot of the show is visual effects and computer-generated imagery. But some things are very real, like the Grizzly bear that Brienne of Tarth fights in season three.
Menacing on camera, Little Bart is actually a total sweetheart — and a bit of a diva, Caulfield said.
Caulfield tracked down the actor bear and his handler, Doug Seus, and convinced HBO that this was the safest bear she could find. Somehow, she said, the network agreed to Bart's cameo.
When Bart first showed up on set, everyone got very quiet — not wanting to spook him, Caulfield recalled. But then Seus said something that totally surprised her.
"Doug said, 'When Bart comes out, give him applause.'" Caulfield said. "And so we were there literally clapping for the bear, 'Come on, Bart! Good boy, Bart!' And he would react better when you applauded for him."
The stunt guys love being set on fire
Caulfield's least favorite thing about the show? Setting people on fire.
"To me, it was scary. I hated when they would catch on fire," she said. "And all I do is stand there and cross my fingers and say, 'Oh my god, I hate this.' But they love it."
Vladimir Furdik, who plays the Night King on the show, has also been a stuntman on the show for several seasons. When he took on the Night King role in season six, he had to cut back on stunts to prevent an injury, she said.
"He hated it because at certain points we were like, 'You can't get hurt,'" Caulfield said. "And he's like, 'I can't wait to jump off that scaffolding, I can't wait to get put on fire.' And you would just laugh because he's one of those crazy people who wants to do that stuff — they love it. That’s what their job is, but it’s a little insane."
Game of Locations
Game of Thrones has always prioritized filming on location.
"Locations were a major character within Game of Thrones," she said. "We did a lot of stage work, but when you went outside suddenly it all came together and those worlds became real worlds."
Though it's based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the show has filmed all over Europe and beyond. Cities in Spain, Croatia, Morocco and Iceland have all served as backdrops for scenes set in King's Landing, Essos and beyond The Wall.
And for some actors, shooting on location — like in a real-life, frozen tundra — made the acting a little bit easier, she said.
"Going up to Iceland when it was cold out, the actors actually appreciated because they were freezing," Caulfield said. "Kit Harrington always said that it helps, it helped to have that feeling. Now, sometimes I'm sure they would have rather been back at the warm hotel room."
A lot of the props will be saved
Sets usually have to be destroyed, Caulfield said, but because of Game of Thrones' popularity some of the sets and many of the props will be preserved in an exhibition in Belfast.
Costumes, weapons and even the Iron Throne will be housed at the Titanic Exhibition Center through Sept. 1.
How she feels about the finale
At the end of it all, Caulfield knows viewers are going to be divided on how Weiss and Benioff decided to write the last season. She hopes the audience can set aside their emotions about the story and realize how much effort and dedication went into the production as a whole.
"A lot was given up by the crew personally. People wouldn’t see their families for nine months out of the year, or more," she said. "How much hard work went into it — I don’t think everybody realizes that. I think they think, 'Oh, they had a bunch of money, and this and that.' If they knew the blood, sweat and tears that went into it — you'd really want people to know how hard the crew worked."
Ending a series like Game of Thrones is an impossible task, she said. Weiss and Benioff had to make choices on how to end the stories that people around the world are deeply invested in — and stand firmly by those choices, no matter what.
"I think it's terribly brave for any writer, any creators, to do a series finale," Caulfield said. "To do a final season on something this big, I think David and Dan had to really stick to their beliefs, to their stories, to their ending and to go through with it, and not, probably, listen to anything else anybody else was saying. I think it's one of the most difficult things, to end a series, especially one that is this high up there in peoples' eyes."
GSILVAROLE@Gannett.com
https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2019/05/19/game-of-thrones-finale-behind-the-scenes-starbucks-george-r-r-martin/3690960002/
2019-05-19 13:37:00Z
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