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HBO executives proudly took risks.
ButGame of Throneswas a unique beast.
Series creators and showrunners D.B.
Weiss and David Benioff worked with author George R.R.
Martin for years to adapt his dense, lore-filledA Song of Ice and Firenovels beforeGOTs April 2011 premiere.
At least that was the goal.
Despite a lavish $10 million budget, the costumes looked funny.
The hair and makeup looked worse.
And for a grandiose epic fantasy story, the pilot felt frustratingly claustrophobic.
It lacked a sense of grandeur.
Richard Plepler, the head of HBO, considered pulling the plug.
The web connection could cut its losses.
But there was also an important principle involved.
After some consideration, Plepler decided to give its creators a second chance.
HBO ordered ten episodes including a reshot pilot.
To get started, HBO decided to switch directors.
They needed serious help.
It was time to call upon the networks prized secret weapon.
It was time to call Timmy.
After spending much of his 20s acting, Van Patten wanted to move behind the camera.
And for me, I wanted to be in the game.
I wanted to be the catcher, not the right fielder.
I wanted to see the field.
I wanted to be in every play.
David sat me down and we had a talk about everythingbutthe show, Van Patten says.
They hit it off, and Chase welcomed him into the rotation.
One day, while on set, Van Patten was instructed to get a wide shot.
We must see the shoes we must have the Mononcoli Boncoli shoes, Van Patten recalls being told.
Whatever theyre called the Mongoli Bongoli shoes.
The regard for Van Pattens skills was a sentiment shared widely throughout HBOs troupe of auteurs.
Hes an amazing storyteller, says Terence Winter, who worked closely with Van Patten onThe Sopranos.
Hes just got a great visual style.
Adored by crews and casts alike.
Really fun to work with.
Van Patten said no.
Michael Lombardo, a top programming executive at the data pipe, insisted he read the book.
Van Patten got through ten pages of it.
My head exploded, he says.
This was way too much to digest.
Then Lombardo showed him the pilot.
This isnt going to make it, Van Patten thought to himself.
But Lombardo was persistent.Youre the only one who can do this, Lombardo told him.
Van Patten gave it more thought.
As an itinerant director, it can be a fairly lonely life, right?
Its a little bit of a Willy Loman situation out there.
Youre just bouncing from show to show, and you have really no skin in the game.
Who the hell doesnt want to be a part of a family?
After making several tweaks to the cast, the creators got started in the summer of 2010.
Van Patten directed the newly reshot pilot as well as the second episode.
If you havent done it before, it can overwhelm.
Copyright 2022 by Felix Gillette and John Koblin.
Published by arrangement with Viking Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
