'Game of Thrones' apologizes for severed George Bush head (Another load of crap "apology")

ABC 30 KFSN ^ | 6/14/2012 | staff

[tobyhill]

HBO and producers of "Game of Thrones" apologized Thursday for a scene that depicted former President George W. Bush's severed head on a spike.

The scene first aired last year and was repeated on a DVD release in March. But in a particularly bad piece of timing for HBO, stories about it spread online this week, when the network premiered a documentary on Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush.

Bush's head was one of several on spikes in a scene where King Joffrey reveals to his fiancé the severed head of her father, who he had judged disloyal.

The former president's features on the prosthetic head were partially obscured by long, scraggly hair and the picture flashes by quickly. But in a commentary included with the DVD, producers Dan Weiss and David Benioff pointed out the Bush head.

The producers said they often order prosthetic body parts in bulk for "Game of Thrones" because it can be too expensive to make new ones. It wasn't until the scene was shot that someone pointed out the resemblance to Bush, they said.

[netmilsmom]

If it had looked like the current President would they be so quick to accept the “we didn’t know until after” explanation?

[E. Pluribus Unum]

HBO’s 'Game of Thrones' parades President George W. Bush’s decapitated head on a stick
	06/14/2012 9:30:41 AM PDT · by antidemoncrat · 20 replies Fox News ^ | 6/24/21 HBO did not respond to our request for comment, but as outrage mounted Wednesday, they released a statement saying they were "deeply dismayed to see this and find it unacceptable, disrespectful and in very bad taste." HBO also said the scene would be removed from future DVD pressings.
HBO apologizes for putting George W. Bush's head on stake in 'Game of Thrones'
	06/14/2012 8:38:40 AM PDT · by pabianice · 29 replies NY Post ^ | 6/14/12 LOS ANGELES -- HBO has apologized for using a model head of former President George W. Bush in a grisly decapitation scene for its hit drama "Game of Thrones." The tenth episode of the first season of "Game of Thrones," now out on DVD, features the younger Bush's head on a stake. Commentary on the DVD notes that his head appears in a "couple of beheading scenes." The show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss stated that George W. Bush's was used as physical inspiration to create a head for a scene in which King Joffrey shows Sansa Stark her...
HBO Apologizes for Bush Head in ‘Game of Thrones’ DVD
	06/14/2012 6:38:18 AM PDT · by Rummyfan · 41 replies NY Times ^ | 14 June 2012 | David Itzkoff HBO has apologized for a scene in its hit fantasy series “Game of Thrones” that showed the decapitated head of former President George W. Bush on a pike and said the scene will be removed from future DVD releases, the Web site io9.com reported. ... “The last head on the left is George Bush,” the producers say in the audio commentary. “George Bush’s head appears in a couple beheading scenes. It’s not a choice, it’s not a political statement. It’s just, we had to use what heads we had around.”
Video: The obligatory “‘Game of Thrones’ puts George W. Bush’s head on a pike” post
	06/14/2012 6:29:46 AM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 6 replies Hotair ^ | 06/14/2012 | AllahPundit Via Mediaite. The producers say it’s not political and that they used him just because they happened to have a spare Bush head lying around (what?), but Gothamist wants so badly to believe that it's a Gesture Of Defiance towards our deposed Hitler that I almost hope for their sake that it's deliberate.The perfunctory denial: HBO responded to CBSNewYork.comÂ’s request for comment on Wednesday night, offering the following statement from Benioff and Weiss:“What happened was this: we use a lot of prosthetic body parts on the show: heads, arms, etc. We canÂ’t afford to have these all made from scratch,...
Fury as HBO's Game of Thrones shows President George W. Bush's decapitated head impaled on a STAKE
	06/13/2012 8:37:00 PM PDT · by Justaham · 41 replies dailymail.co.uk/ ^ | 6/13/12 | Emily Anne Epstein Politicians are calling for a boycott of HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones after the creator's 'despicable' decision to include former President George W. Bush's severed head in several scenes. In the tenth episode of the first season, Mr Bush's decapitated head is seen impaled on a wooden spike, covered in filthy long hair and slathered in dirt. Show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who noted the appearance in the series' DVD commentary, insist it wasn't a political statement - just a prop. But the image has provoked outrage among some Republican politicians.
Fury as HBO's Game of Thrones shows President George W. Bush's decapitated head impaled on a STAKE
	06/13/2012 4:05:48 PM PDT · by Third Person · 75 replies Daily Mail UK ^ | June 13, 2012 | Emily Ann Epstein Politicians are calling for a boycott of HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones because of the creator's 'despicable' decision to include former President George W. Bush's severed head in several scenes. In the tenth episode of the first season, Mr Bush's decapitated head is barely recognizable impaled on a wooden spike, covered in filthy long hair and slathered in dirt. But show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who noted the appearance in the series' DVD commentary, insist it wasn't a political statement - just a prop. The finale of the first season of Game of Thrones, Fire and Blood,...

[InvisibleChurch]

a ‘crapology’?

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

“Bush’s head was one of several on spikes in a scene where King Joffrey reveals to his fiancé the severed head of her father, who he had judged disloyal.”

Ironically, Lord Eddard Stark (father of the fiance, Sansa) was one of the few nearly perfect power figures in the series. His main fault was a naive fixation on honour and justice & an unwillingness to compromise his principles.

OTOH, Joffrey was, at best a demented and incompetent sociopath & at worst a purely evil demon child (also incompetent, with incompetent advisors).

IOW, this was a case of the incompetent evil one killing one of the best; and then bragging and gloating over it.

Do I need to spell out the parallels in today’s world (to say who would have mounted GWB’s head on a spike)?

[tobyhill]

LOL

[bike800]

As well, in the first episode of this season, there was a joustin scene, and a contender...carrying a shield with what is quite obviously the american flag scheme...is bumbling...fat and an idiot....if you can check it out...see what you think....pissed me off so bad i didnt watch the rest of the season

[House Atreides]

George Bush’s head? Gee, wouldn’t the display of severed heads of Saracens be more apropo & historically closer to the era being covered?

Of course, never having seen an episode, I’m just guessing.

[Tanniker Smith]

I'll have to make a note of that. I have the series on DVR so I can rewatch the entire season over a few days. That character played an important (but small) part in the book. Here it was reduced to almost nothing but the initial incident to show Joffrey's cruelty and Sansa's trying to cope with it.

As for Bush's head on a spike, I find it hard to get upset over it.

[Psalm 144]

“As for Bush’s head on a spike, I find it hard to get upset over it.”

I think it is some kind of Pavlovian response test. It also serves to distract from how utterly empty the political discourse is this year, of all years.

[Tanniker Smith]

That’s an interesting take on it. Even if it didn’t start out that way, one could easily make the observations across the forums and message boards.