The latest news on HBO front is that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have turned in the second draft of the pilot script for A GAME OF THRONES, and their rewrite is presently being read and evaluated by the powers-that-be at HBO. In other words, it's the normal process, which is long and often slow. So far, the reports are good, and HBO seems to like what they're seeing... but no, there's no greenlight yet, A GAME OF THRONES remains a script in development, not a series in production.

The one hard bit of news is that HBO has reached agreement with the BBC for them to come in as a partner on the series... IF it goes ahead. That's very cool news, and I'm excited and pleased to have the BBC involved... but even so, we're still in the crossed fingers stage here, not the shooting-off-fireworks stage.

I get emails about the HBO adaptation of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE almost daily, by the way, so let me say a few words about that.

Look, guys and girls, I appreciate all the enthusiasm and interest, but please stop sending me your resumes, your head shots, your audition tapes. We're not hiring anyone as yet. We won't be hiring anyone for some time, most likely. And should that day arrive when the show gets the greenlight and we start looking for a cast and crew, it won't be me doing the hiring and casting. I'll visit the set from time to time, I'm sure (how often may depend on whether we're shooting in Ireland, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, Rumania, or wherever), but the final decisions on these matters will be made by HBO, the BBC, the showrunners, and the director. I can't help you. Especially if you're not actually professionally involved in film and television, but are still "desperate to be involved in the show in any capacity, even just standing around in the background." I get a lot of those emails too. Those people who stand around in the background are called "extras," for what it's worth, and I'm not in charge of hiring them either. Again, we thank you for the love, but that's not how television works.

I also get a constant stream of emails asking me for news about the HBO project. Guys, that's why I have a News page on my website, and that's why I post here. When there's some news to share, I share it. Honest. No news is no news. Sometimes long periods pass when nothing is happening, or things are happening behind the scenes that even I am not aware of. Whenever there is a significant development -- like the BBC coming aboard -- I will post it here. I'm not going to try to disseminate it in individual emails to whoever happens to write that day to ask what's new with HBO.

Thanks for your patience. Thanks for your understanding. Keep your fingers crossed.