With television shows increasingly becoming more impressive in terms of production, scale, and story, it comes to little surprise that HBO plan to transpose their fantasy epic Game of Thrones to the big, big screen. The New York Times reports that HBO plans to show an exclusive trailer for the coming season along with the final two episodes of season four on the screens at 150 IMAX theatres across the USA.
But what about us here in Australia? Surely the critically acclaimed and complex fantasy-drama being shown at IMAX is just as viable here. In fact, our writer, Larry Heath recently wrote a feature asking why Game of Thrones and similar, cinematic television epics aren’t at least started and ended on the big screen. This development from HBO is definitely a step in that direction. They do show wrestling PPVs in cinemas after all, why not pertinent episodes of phenomenal serialised TV shows?
The development implies a blurring of media platforms as modes by which people view these television shows are changing, and the North American Box office faces falling sales and drawing an increasingly splintered audience.
Reportedly, IMAX has also been in conversation with various other entertainment companies about screening everything from live sports to music concerts on the gigantic screen.
“We see the past of our company and the future of our company as innovating in the way that content is displayed,” Richard L. Gelfond, chief executive of Imax told The New York Times.
“ ‘Game of Thrones’ is one of the few television shows that has the scope and cinematic qualities to really support the Imax format,” said Pamela Levine, chief marketing officer at HBO.
HBO seem to have a big year of marketing and promotion ahead of them, following the announcement of a stand-alone Internet streaming service that does not require a standard cable or satellite subscription.
The original New York Times article can be found HERE
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