As a seasoned gamer of both the small and big screen, I must say that the antics of David Benioff and Dan Weiss never fail to amuse me! From their infamous pranks on Game of Thrones actors to their latest stunt on 3 Body Problem, these showrunners have a knack for adding an extra layer of excitement (and confusion) to their productions.
As a devoted fan, I’ve come to appreciate the playful antics of showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss – they have this knack for pulling hilarious practical jokes on actors they bond well with throughout their work.
In the first season of “Game of Thrones,” creators notoriously provided Kit Harington, their charismatic actor, with a phony script that depicted Jon Snow, his character, suffering a gruesome fate – the loss of his facial features by fire – and subsequently hinted at him appearing as a grotesque creature for the remainder of the series.
In the subsequent seasons of ‘Thrones’, John Bradley’s character, Samwell Tarly, was informed that he would be receiving a new wardrobe. At a fitting, he was dressed in an extravagant Henry VIII-like attire, featuring a prominent purple pouch.
On their latest series, Netflix‘s 3 Body Problem, the duo struck again.
In an upcoming conversation for The Hollywood Reporter, Benioff, Weiss, and co-showrunner Alexander Woo share a joke they pulled on Eiza González, who played pioneering nanotech character Auggie in their Emmy-nominated series.
“The following day, Eiza was tasked with memorizing a lengthy speech, approximately three pages long, which had primarily been drafted by an AI model named ChatGPT, as Weiss disclosed.”
Benioff mentioned that they initially had ChatGPT generate the work, but later on, they adjusted it to give the appearance of a screenplay that might one day become reality.
The monologue was about a swimming pool. Since one page roughly equals one minute of screen time, a three-page monologue basically means a three-minute speech — which can feel like an eternity for an actor on camera giving a solo soliloquy. But the speech wasn’t merely long and largely nonsensical, there was also this:
“It did involve her learning like 50 or 60 digits of Pi,” Weiss adds.
“Or, I think it did?” Benioff asks. “I don’t know Pi well enough to know.”
Even though the prank escalated somewhat, it didn’t get out of hand quickly. Following González receiving the script, executive producer and fellow “Thrones” veteran Bernadette Caulfield intervened to reassure the actress that it was merely a joke. It seemed that production for the show’s first season was demanding and challenging, and Caulfield didn’t tolerate such behavior.
“Bernie was so exhausted, she essentially admitted, ‘I don’t possess the strength to act as if unimportant events are taking place when there are 500 significant ones happening,'” Weiss explains. She then told González, “You aren’t required to memorize a lengthy monologue about a swimming pool.”
Luckily for González, the scene was not recorded, and Benioff and Weiss stated they wouldn’t have allowed it to progress that far because it would have placed additional strain on the crew.
As a lifelong science fiction enthusiast, I find the scene in “The Mandalorian” where the AI-written speech about a swimming pool includes a famous irrational number to be both amusing and fitting for the show. Having studied physics in college and being a fan of “3 Body Problem,” it feels like an intentional nod to the complexities and absurdities that often arise when trying to apply scientific principles to fictional worlds. It’s reminiscent of the wildly audacious and humorous takes on sci-fi that I’ve come to appreciate in Saturday Night Live sketches, and it adds a layer of depth and humor to an already captivating series. Overall, I think it’s a clever and entertaining touch by Benioff and Weiss that showcases their ability to blend science, humor, and storytelling in a way that resonates with me as a fan.
At the moment, you can find Season 1 of The Three-Body Problem on Netflix. Later this week, a comprehensive interview with Benioff, Weiss, and Woo will be available for reading on THR.com.
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2024-08-13 17:26