'Game of Thrones' Season 8 News: Actors Say They Can't Open or Receive Scripts Due to Added Layers of Security
Several "Game of Thrones" actors confirmed that HBO has enforced more security measures for the scripts of the show's eighth and final season to the extent that even they cannot open it or they will not be receiving copies of them at all.
The Associated Press reported that actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Jaime Lannister in the show, was recently on the Scandinavian talk show "Skavlan" where he shared a few interesting details on how HBO was changing the way they received the scripts.
For earlier seasons of the show, the actors received the scripts months before filming via the common manner of receiving a printed copy through mail.
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The entertainment and production company then thought of sending the scripts through encrypted emails to protect the documents further but a massive hacking activity that targeted HBO, and "Game of Thrones" in particular, last July somehow proved them wrong.
Now, according to Coster-Waldau, actors will "hear" the scripts on the actual day of filming. He shared they wore a special earpiece on set where they will hear someone from the crew dictating the lines to them as the cameras roll.
Meanwhile, Liam Cunningham, who plays Ser Davos Seaworth, told IGN a slightly different story about receiving the "Game of Thrones" season 8 scripts.
In an interview, Cunningham confirmed that he already had the scripts for all of six episodes of season 8. However, he added: "I can't open them because of all the security, and I can't walk it out. I haven't opened them."
Fans will recall that back in July, a group of hackers reportedly stole 1.5 terabytes (~1,500 GB) of files from the HBO network that included scripts and unreleased episodes of "Game of Thrones" season 7 as well as internal email conversations among HBO executives.
The hackers, who identified themselves as Mr. Smith, are speculated to have asked HBO a ransom of Bitcoins amounting to $6 million.
Meanwhile, as for "Game of Thrones" season 8, fans might be in for a longer wait as many factors now suggest that it will not premiere until 2019. However, HBO and showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff are yet to confirm the final season's release schedule.
