Game of Thrones: the secret secrets of the documentary

Telephone lines and secure code names are generally reserved for governments and secret services. But when it was the Game of Thrones spoilers, the producers of the fantastic mega-hit did not take any chances, as discovered the woman who made her official documentary behind the scenes.

Director Jeanie Finlay, whose work has been published on BBC Four, usually tells "intimate stories" in her films.

So she may not be the obvious candidate for 2,000 crewmembers and the White Walkers on the world's biggest television show.

But, to his surprise, that's exactly what happened.

"I received this mysterious e-mail from that guy who was working at the Irish Irish Film Board and was saying," HBO is going to call, "she said.

& # 39; Huge trust & # 39;

By her own admission, Ms. Finlay "was not the greatest person playing Game of Thrones," although she "knew that" winter was coming "and that was Jon Snow".

Nevertheless, she took the call and, about a month later, she found herself meeting the producers of the series in Los Angeles to present her idea.

"They gave me enormous confidence," she said.

"Three weeks later, they said" welcome to the family "."

A fortnight later, she was "in reco in a very windy career in Northern Ireland with the producers".

Integrated in the stage, she would continue to tell the story of the last season of the show and the means to bring the world of Westeros to life.

And while millions of people around the world were looking at the finished product, Ms. Finlay could not tell the soul of her top secret mission.

Speaking on Mark Kermode's weekly podcast, Ms. Finlay said she had been hiding her involvement with her friends and family for 14 months.

But there was little danger for her to reveal feared critics because she had to sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA).

"It was such a secret that even the existence of the film was a secret," she said.

"Dragons and ice lakes"

In scenes that could come from other HBO series, the US network even set up a dedicated phone line in Ms. Finlay's offices at Broadway Cinema in Nottingham.

"Three guys from HBO came from New York, they cleared the road, they put a special secure line, we used code names and cut encrypted content," she said.

"We had to use code names for all players because of the spoilers.

"It's surreal to be able to talk about it.

"I'm so relieved that the final is out."

For Ms. Finlay, whose films, such as Orion: The man who would be king, tend to be flying portraits of isolated subjects, the scale of production of Game of Thrones was a shock.

"I am a documentary filmmaker, so it was something else," she said.

"It was just huge, it was four months before distribution distribution."

"They had dragons, ice lakes and a castle – a gigantic castle that can be photographed from any angle.

"There are costumes that have an etched decoration, the level of detail is extraordinary."

& # 39; Terrifying work & # 39;

In her documentary, the filmmaker tells the stories of eight people, including Vladimír Furdík, who plays the role of the king of the night in the series.

"He's the biggest bad guy in Game of Thrones, but he's the most adorable Czech stuntman," she said.

Although she was not a fan of this project, she fell in love with the Game of Thrones world and even invited her 15-year-old daughter to take part in the last episode as a savage.

"The magnitude of this work is so incredible that it's a terrifying job," she said.

"Producer Chris Newman said," You must never be intimidated by the feast, you can only eat the meal in front of you ", that's what we did, day in and day out."

The last watch, by Jeanie Finlay, is visible on Sky Atlantic.

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