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Entertainment Idle

Game of Thrones: Bush's Head Gets a Makeover 266

mahiskali writes "After apologizing for using a likeness of former President George W. Bush's head in the season finale of the first season of 'Game of Thrones,' HBO has digitally altered the offending scene. After releasing an formal apology, HBO proceeded to yank the episode off all digital platforms, as well as halt distribution of the Season 1 box sets. The episode is now back with an altered head; more hair, less chin. Show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss later clarified, 'We use a lot of prosthetic body parts on the show: heads, arms, etc. We can't afford to have these all made from scratch, especially in scenes where we need a lot of them, so we rent them in bulk. After the scene was already shot, someone pointed out that one of the heads looked like George W. Bush.'"
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Game of Thrones: Bush's Head Gets a Makeover

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  • you what? (Score:5, Informative)

    by alphatel ( 1450715 ) * on Wednesday June 27, 2012 @12:32PM (#40469535)
    They Digitally Edited Out the likeness of Bush? An apology is one thing, but why the fuck does anyone need to remaster post-release films which contain accidental heads?
    • Re:you what? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Volante3192 ( 953645 ) on Wednesday June 27, 2012 @12:36PM (#40469609)

      Because we're all sensitive douchenozzles.

      How DARE someone offend my sacrosanct sensibilities! A pox on their houses! A boycott! A Congressional inquiry!!
      I shall not rest until my right to not be offended is acknowledged!

    • by Lev13than ( 581686 ) on Wednesday June 27, 2012 @12:50PM (#40469779) Homepage

      They Digitally Edited Out the likeness of Bush?

      Surprised that they chose to digitally edit his nose and chin. Since this is Game of Thrones I just assumed that they were going to add a pair of tits.

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by cpu6502 ( 1960974 )

        >>> Game of Thrones I just assumed that they were going to add a pair of tits.

        This is the second day in a row I read Thrones and tits in the same sentence. Yesterday someone said it's LOTR with tits. I may have to take a second look at this program because the only ones I recall are the blonde princess near the beginning, and the dwarf with his prostitutes. Oh and also the baby breastfeeding scene..... no wait that was Rome. (Another show I need to rewatch.)

      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        The last season seems to be trying to catch up with Spartacus. I wonder how their merkin budgets compare.

    • does anyone need to remaster post-release films which contain accidental heads?

      If it was an accident, then why make mention of it in the commentary? I know they said it wasn't a political statement, but they could have just glanced over it and probably nobody would have noticed.

    • by durrr ( 1316311 )

      They had to keep up with the times.
      So they made it look like Obama instead.

    • Same reason Disney edited out the topless lady in the Rescuers and the penis in the Mermaid poster. They don't want to offend anyone (or lose money because of it).

    • by Nyder ( 754090 )

      They Digitally Edited Out the likeness of Bush? An apology is one thing, but why the fuck does anyone need to remaster post-release films which contain accidental heads?

      or vagina.

  • by wjousts ( 1529427 ) on Wednesday June 27, 2012 @12:37PM (#40469615)
    Does this mean the copies already bought off-the-shelf have just become instant collectors editions? Expect to see "Game of Thrones - George Bush's Head Edition" on Ebay for about x5 the list price.
    • by plover ( 150551 ) *

      I'd hang on to your copy of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, too. To me, it's always looked like they used a model of George W. Bush for the face of Grawp, Hagrid's giant brother in the woods, then mixed in a little Alfred E. Newman to disguise it.

      Trust me, once you see it, you can't unsee it.

  • Eunuchs (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jimmerz28 ( 1928616 ) on Wednesday June 27, 2012 @12:37PM (#40469623)

    This is either some kind of "clever" ploy to make already existing box sets scarce or a way to push people to pirate the unedited versions.

    Or HBO really just has no balls and can't stand up for themselves. Probably that.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      It's to be expected that HBO would be spineless twits. What surprises me is that, in their capacity as profit maximizing spineless twits, they decided that this recall/re-edit/lament/apologize/etc. tactic is more cost effective than just issuing a generic "Yeah, we are making a blood-drenched swords-n-sorcery series, so we buy prop heads by the fucking truckload without carefully vetting them for non-resemblance to any persons living or dead. Who cares?" and going on with their day.

      That is the disturbing
  • Couldn't see it. (Score:5, Informative)

    by IorDMUX ( 870522 ) <mark.zimmerman3@gm a i l . c om> on Wednesday June 27, 2012 @12:43PM (#40469679) Homepage
    Okay, I watched the clips. I saw the before and after pictures.

    And I didn't see the faintest hint of resemblance. Am I the only one?
    • Okay, I watched the clips. I saw the before and after pictures.

      And I didn't see the faintest hint of resemblance. Am I the only one?

      Probably. Maybe it'd also fool Lois Lane, I'm not sure if hair makes more of a difference than glasses.

    • Nope. The head was mostly facing away from the camera, and had a big wig on it. Someone had a lot of time to waste if they picked out, from a slight profile, a fake George W. Bush head.

      It's amazing what some people will spend time doing, just on the hope of a slight chance of finding something to complain about.

      • Yeah.. very true..

        On the other hand, now they have found it, we all get to laugh.

        What's the minimum clip length needed for a 'fair use: satire' exemption? I was thinking of putting a 14.59min rolling loop of this on someones tube, with the single comment 'LOL' and then claiming it was protected satirical speech if HBO objected.

      • No one wasted any additional time other than the time it wastes to watch the episode normally. The fact that they used a GWB head was pointed out in the commentary on the DVD, it wasn't something that someone just noticed.

    • by XxtraLarGe ( 551297 ) on Wednesday June 27, 2012 @12:50PM (#40469781) Journal
      I noticed the similarity, but only after I saw a still frame. If nothing had been said in the commentaries, I never would have noticed.
  • Fan Edit? (Score:4, Funny)

    by CopaceticOpus ( 965603 ) on Wednesday June 27, 2012 @01:02PM (#40469929)

    I'm hoping this leads to a fan edit in which every dead character on screen is replaced by Bush! I say this not because of hatred for Bush, but because HBO and various commentators have taken this amusing situation way too seriously.

    • There is the old saying 'bad publicity is better than none at all'
      This sounds more like an HBO publicity stunt than anything....

  • So..., what? It's wrong to have latex likenesses of former presidents in motion pictures now? Well, OK, if that's what it takes to make sure there's never a remake of "Point Break".
  • ... Jerry Sandusky. Or maybe Bernie Madoff.

  • And why didn't they have a Cheney head beside it?

                    mark

  • W.T.F. (Score:2, Insightful)

    by dargaud ( 518470 )
    Yeah, land of the free, free expression and all that, but use a plastic head shapped like the worst president in history and everybody is offended and running around in circle crying for their mother. GROW UP!

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