Winner 2011

Game of Thrones

Bighead, Littlehead, Television 360, Grok! and Generator Productions in association with HBO Entertainment

George R.R. Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire is the kind of book series that begs for cinematic rendering. It‘s a sprawling fantasy epic where dozens of characters exist as small pieces of an incredibly elaborate puzzle. The television adaptation, Game of Thrones, maintains the power and wonder of the original work, in many ways transcending it, with the help of stellar turns from Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey and others as major players within the seven kingdoms of Westeros. Each setting within Westeros—the capital city of King‘s Landing, the castle of Winterfell, led by Bean‘s ever-honorable Ned Stark, and especially The Wall, the boundary between civility and a mysterious wilderness—is impeccably constructed, creating the perfect landscape to explore the series – themes of power, lineage, nobility, and nature (human and otherwise). Game of Thrones goes far beyond typical fantasy fare, provoking questions about the essence of both power and powerlessness, the drive to rule, and the very act of ruling. And in Westeros, more often than not, politicking is conducted by swordpoint. The series is equally concerned with those moments when all control is lost, using a series of supernatural phenomena, and the threat of a coming Winter which could last for years, to further illustrate that power is never absolute. Game of Thrones receives a Peabody Award for interrogating the very notion of authority within the context of a fun and thematically rich adventure.

PRIMARY PRODUCTION CREDITS

Executive Producers: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss. Co-Executive Producers: George R.R. Martin, Vince Gerardis, Ralph Vicinanza, Guymon Casady, Carolyn Strauss. Producers: Mark Huffam, Frank Doelger, Joanna Burn (Episode 101). Consulting Producer: Tom McCarthy. Directors: Tim Van Patten, Brian Kirk, Daniel Minahan, Alan Taylor. Writers: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, George R.R. Martin. Cast: Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Richard Madden, Alfie Allen, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Jack Gleeson, Rory McCann, Peter Dinklage. Directors of Photography: Alik Sakharov A.S.C., Marco Pontecorvo A.I.C., Matthew Jensen. Editors: Oral Norrie Ottey, Frances Parker A.C.E., Martin Nicholson A.C.E.