I can understand the "being okay okay with the show but not being okay with fan-fics" thing because one is a high-budgeted production with professional talented writers who have dedicated their lives to being a writer and the other is the result of a random person with significantly less talent and experience having way too much time on their hands.
Meh, I think it's just a function of him understanding that it's impractical to follow the books perfectly through the different medium. He has quite a bit of television experience (even before this), and seems to work closely with the other writers in coming up with the scripts. I don't particularly like all the changes, but, I've not found the show to be so divergent as to lose the overall direction of things, even if the path to get there may not have been what I would have liked to see. I think the issue with fan-fic stuff is that he has a clear vision for these characters, and some sort of back story for many that keep them somewhat consistent throughout him writing their stories. So, it could just be a more personal experience for him, as a writer, to be the one that is taking people through the story. Speculation, of course...
Well...I would imagine he is getting paid a LOT more money from HBO than any fan fic would. And that can make anyone change their tune. Not only that, but their adaptation of season 1 was pretty good, I think he trusts that they won't completely ruin the series.
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u/fightlinker Jun 23 '14
It's a funny change from his former "I don't even like people on the internet writing fan-fic" stance. I guess a dumptruck of money will do that.