How did the show's creators pass George R. R. Martin's test?: Long before it hit our TV screens, Game of Thrones began with a meeting between series creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss and A Song of Ice and Fire creator George R. R. Martin. To determine if these producers were the real deal, Martin asked them "a few pointed questions" to see "if they'd actually read the books." According to Weiss, one of the questions was one with an answer that still hasn't been revealed: "Who is Jon Snow's mother?" According to Weiss, he and Benioff had thought about the question before, and came up with a good answer (though he's not telling.) "(Martin) didn't actually say whether or not we were right or wrong," Weiss said, "but his smile was his tell."

Who is more bloodthirsty: the writer of the books or the writers of the show?: George R. R. Martin has a well-earned reputation as an author who isn't afraid to kill off very important characters at any moment, but according to him, the show is actually more brutal than the books at this point. "As bloodthirsty as I am in killing all of these characters, David (Benioff) and Dan (Weiss) are killing some characters who are still alive in the books," Martin said. "Their body count is actually ahead of mine. When they say no one is safe in the series, that's literally true." 

Peter Dinklage's one condition when asked to play Tyrion: Before he took the Emmy-winning role that's made him one of TV's biggest stars, Dinklage told producers he had one rule for Tyrion: "No beards." Why? Because he didn't want to be the stereotypical, Tolkienesque fantasy dwarf.

Some episodes of season three were shot in four different countries: The world of Westeros is a place of diverse landscapes and climates, and to make sure the show captures that the cast and crew are willing to go to great lengths. Though the show is headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where many of the main Seven Kingdoms scenes are filmed, the crew also often heads out to Iceland (Beyond the Wall), Morocco (across the sea where Daenerys has her adventures) and Croatia (for the King's Landing exteriors). Weiss and Benioff said that the show often has three units filming at the same time, and occassionally they even add a fourth unit. It's an epic operation for an epic show.

The direwolves are real...sort of: Now that the little pups the Stark children found in the woods are all grown up, the cast and crew don't get to directly interact with the animals anymore, but the animals are actually real. Rather than generate wolves via CGI, real wolves are filmed at a studio in America, then the footage is inserted into the show (with the wolves considerably enlarged, of course).

What's special about season three for the producers?: Benioff and Weiss said that from the beginning they were most looking forward to adapting book three of A Song of Ice and Fire, A Storm of Swords. The first half of the book will be covered this season, and Benioff said they were most excited to adapt it because many of the scenes were "devastating."

How do Cersei and Jaime really feel about each other?: When asked about the twisted relationship between the Lannister twins, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime) said he believes the Kingslayer truly loves his sister, but Lena Headey had a much different answer for how Cersei feels about Jaime: "I think she would like to be him," Headey said.

Look for a familiar face this season: Martin was originally slated to have a cameo in the pilot episode of the series, but reshoots and edits forced the creators to leave him on the cutting room floor. At the Emmys panel, Benioff and Weiss teased that Martin would show up in season three.

Who will sit on the Iron Throne?: Obviously no one in the cast and crew is spoiling who will eventually rule Westeros, but during the panel everyone was asked who they'd most like to see on the throne. When it came time for Martin to answer the question, he teased the future of the story: "There'll be a few people sitting on (the throne) before the end." So far there've been two. How many more will we see?

How fast can George R. R. Martin write?: Martin is used to being asked at this point how long it will take him to finish his 7-book series. Book five was released in 2011, six years after book four, and the show is already halfway through book three. Given the pace he's set in the past, Martin was asked if he's worried the show will catch up to him. "They're moving faster than I am," he said. "I have not failed to notice this. I still have a considerable lead. At least that's what I'm telling myself." Martin said he hopes book six, The Winds of Winter, will be done in time for the show to adapt it while he finishes book seven (which Martin has said will be called A Dream of Spring), but the show's future might not be certain either. With HBO executives in the audience, Benioff noted that, despite rumors to the contrary, season four has not yet received the greenlight.