Limited Edition Stamps Contest

During the airing of the 6th season of Game of Thrones, the Royal Mail and Tourism NI collaborated to release ten limited edition stamps dedicated to the TV series. Each week, a new stamp was released, featuring images that resonated with the series. Now, Westeros.org is pleased to have a contest to win a limited edition stamp sheet—one of only 100 sheets produced!—featuring all ten stamps.

There are three ways to enter the contest, and get a chance to win the stamp sheet:

1) Follow our Facebook page and post on the initial post from us with this title.
2) Follow our Twitter account and RT our initial post from us with this title.
3) Join our forum and post to the thread in the Game of Thrones News section indicating your interest in entering the contest.

At the end of the week we’ll collate all the entries and choose one winner. This competition is open world-wide.

Good luck!

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HBO Execs Considering Game of Thrones “Brand Extension”

The Hollywood Reporter, covering HBO CEO Richard Plepler’s presence in Spain for the launch of HBO Spain, reports that Plepler remarked to their reporter that there are “embryonic conversations” going on in HBO headquarters about possible spin-offs between himself, President of Programming Casey Bloys, and the producers of the hit show. To quote Plepler more directly:

“Right now we’re focused on finishing the series with the kind of energy and excitement that everyone has come to expect. We’re going to do that while at the same time parallel processing very embryonic stages of other possibilities.”

This continues the pattern of various executives and producers acknowledging their interest in following the series up with some sort of spin-off after its initial run is complete. Suggestions that have come from various parties to those conversations include a feature film, a continuation of the Game of Thrones story beyond its end (presumably following a mixture of old characters—some of those who survive the whole thing, no doubt—and new creations for the theoretical sequel), and even prequels drawing from the histories in The World of Ice and Fire or the Dunk & Egg novellas as found in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

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Arbor Gold, Dornish Red: Game of Thrones Wines Announced

HBO’s just passed along word that they’ve entered into a collaboration with Vintage Wine Estates to create a selection of Game of Thrones wines including a Chardonnay, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a red blend. (Funnily enough, this isn’t the first time there’s been wines produced with a A Song of Ice and Fire bent—the Brotherhood without Banners fans produced a very limited run of Arbor Gold” and a “Dornish Red” wines—with custom labels and all—for the 2006 Worldcon, L.A. Con IV!)

 

Here’s the press release below:

Santa Rosa, CA. (Nov. 22, 2016) In a toast to the critically acclaimed and Emmy® Award-winning HBO drama Game of Thrones, California wine company Vintage Wine Estates has announced an exclusive partnership with HBO Global Licensing to produce a selection of Game of Thrones wines, which include a Chardonnay, a proprietary red blend and a reserve-style Cabernet Sauvignon, designed with the show and its characters in mind and credited to Seven Kingdoms Wines.

“Any fan of Game of Thrones appreciates the role wine plays in the saga,” observed vintner Pat Roney, President and CEO, Vintage Wine Estates. “We are very excited to partner with HBO to give those fans some delicious wines to sip as they plot their own paths to the Iron Throne.”

The Lannisters are perhaps the family that most enjoys wine in Game of Thrones, as siblings Cersei and Tyrion sip it at various points of the show, but the award-winning series often sees wine play a role in scenes throughout the Seven Kingdoms, from Dorne to The Reach. Tyrion’s legendary wit and wisdom tend to be most in evidence when wine is close at hand. Arguably his most viral quote, “That’s what I do: I drink and I know things,” is stated as he sips from a goblet of wine and ponders the best course of action with Varys, Missandei and Grey Worm.

“Given the prominent role of wine on Game of Thrones and our previous success in the beverage category, an officially licensed wine for the show feels like a natural extension for our fans,” explained Jeff Peters, Director of Licensing and Retail for HBO. “Game of Thrones wines most definitely will add to the fan experience as the battle for the Iron Throne heats up heading into the final seasons.”

Game of Thrones wines will be available nationally in 750ml bottles in Spring 2017. Suggested retail price for Game of Thrones Chardonnay and Game of Thrones Red Blend is $19.99; Game of Thrones Cabernet Sauvignon is $39.99.

 

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S6 Blu-ray and DVD Celebrated with Epic Fan Event

In conjunction with the release of the sixth season on Blu-ray and DVD, HBO will be bringing the box set’s exclusive bonus features to life in three groundbreaking events with interactive experiences including photo, video and virtual reality that take fans behind the scenes and immerse them into the world of Game of Thrones.

Game Of Thrones Season 6 - Behind the Scenes will give visitors an exclusive look into the making of HBO’s most popular series via interactive audiovisual displays alongside exciting tech-based experiences. Fans will both learn what it takes to put the epic production together and get to step inside scenes themselves.  Set up as five different experiences themed to individual bonus features available on the Season 6 Blu-rayTM and DVD set, Game of Thrones: Season 6 – Behind the Scenes is designed to look like set pieces and production elements from the show. The event will give fans a chance to go behind the scenes and experience bonus content from Season 6 come to life while taking shareable photos and videos inside the burning Temple of the Dosh Khaleen, holding the door to save Bran, fighting in the Battle of the Bastards and sitting on the Iron Throne. Additionally, fans will have access to a brand new Virtual Reality experience created exclusively for this fan event that lets them train for battle in the wars to come in Westeros and beyond.

Following the November 15 release of Game of Thrones: The Complete Sixth Season on Blu-ray™ and DVD, the Game of Thrones: Season 6 – Behind the Scenes event will make its first stop at Astor Place in New York City on Friday, November 18 and Saturday, November 19, followed by stops at Grant Park in Chicago on Saturday, November 26 and Sunday, November 27, and at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles on Friday, December 9 and Saturday, December 10. The operating hours for all events and dates are 12:30pm-8pm.

When they are finished previewing never-before-seen content and interacting with the experiences, fans will be able to check out all of the exclusive bonus features that inspired these events in its entirety by purchasing Game of Thrones: The Complete Sixth Season on Blu-ray™ or DVD. The first 20 fans who buy Season 6 on Blu-ray or DVD before the event and bring their box set with them will be granted early access to the experience.

Interactive event experiences include:

• Vaes Dothrak: Watch footage from the exclusive Blu-rayTM/DVD bonus feature “Recreating the Dothraki World,” a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the city of Vaes Dothrak and its importance to Daenerys’s evolution, and stand in for Daenerys as the Temple of the Dosh Khaleen burns around you in a shareable video utilizing green screen technology.
• North of the Wall: “Bran’s Journey” delves into Bran Stark’s shocking and revelatory journey during Season 6. In this interactive experience, fans will see a recreation of the mystical Weirwood tree, learn about the Children of the Forest, and “hold the door” to save Bran from the White Walker army in a shareable video.
• Winterfell: “The Battle of the Bastards: An In-Depth Look,” available exclusively on the Season 6 Blu-ray/DVD set, goes behind the scenes to examine the production challenges of creating this epic event, including explorations of Visual Effects, stunts, and interviews with key cast and crew. In this experiences, modeled after Jon Snow’s command tent, fans can move stone pieces around the battle table and insert themselves into a photo opp of Jon’s position in the incredible aerial mob shot at the height of battle.
• Castle Black: In the Defend the Wall Virtual Reality Experience, modeled after the Castle Black courtyard and created exclusively for the Game of Thrones: Season 6 – Behind the Scenes fan event, fans will wear a VR headset and pick up a virtual crossbow, arrows and shield to hone their battle skills for the wars to come. But beware! You never know what danger lurks around the corner.
• The Workshop: The “18 Hours at the Paint Hall” Blu-rayTM/DVD feature follows all three Game of Thrones shooting units as they converge for the first time at Titanic Studios, better known as the Paint Hall, the series’ Belfast-based production hub. Housed in an aluminum structure modeled after the actual Paint Hall, this workshop will house props and costumes from the show, plus give fans the chance to sit on the Iron Throne and begin their reign as the true ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.

Fans can pre-register for the event now by visiting GoTBehindTheScenes.com for expedited entry. Fast Passes to the above experiences will be available through this site while supplies last.

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Blu-ray Preview: The War of the Ninepenny Kings

The Game of Thrones season 6 Blu-Ray and DVD set just came out today, and courtesy of HBO we’ve an exclusive clip from the Histories and Lore extras that have always been so popular. Each year’s production values seem to be going up and up, and from what we’ve seen so far it looks like it holds true this season. Last season’s Histories and Lore earned some attention from the Clio Awards, and we can only imagine this season will follow suit.

Here’s the exclusive, as Brother Ray (Ian McShane) narrates the War of the Ninepenny Kings:

 

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Game of Thrones Cluedo

The classic game Cluedo (or Clue, to those across the Pond) has received a Game of Thrones remake thanks to HBO and Winning Moves, who sent us a review copy of their latest board game. They’ve already created versions of Risk and Monopoly, so with Cluedo they’ve basically achieved the trifecta of classic board games.

Not only does Game of Thrones Cluedo feature a themed pair of maps (one for King’s Landing and Meereen), characters, and weapons (arakhs, Faceless Men, and more!) to give it that Game of Thrones flavor, but the game throws in some new wrinkles from the classic board game. Most significantly, each player’s character has a unique ability that can be used once per game which, if used right, can tip the scale in favor of a character. The Daenerys character, for example, can move twice on her turn, while Littlefinger can choose to randomly look at one of the cards held by another player after having already been shown one of their cards. The variations continue with the introduction of Intrigue cards, which provide special options such as moving to any location on the board, add six to a roll, or take a peek at a card one player had just shown to another player; some of these cards are to be played immediately or can be held and used until needed.

The most intriguing addition is the White Walker card. There are eight of them in the deck of cards that come with the game, and as game progresses they may be drawn one by one. Each card is set aside, to keep track of how many have been drawn, because the eighth card is special: whoever draws it is immediately out of the game. It adds a certain trepidation, to say the least, in the late game as the next turn of a card could mean the end of the player!

The game can be played by two players—there are a couple of tweaks needed to the standard rules to make it work—but it’s really best with more players, we think. The production quality of Game of Thrones Cluedo is great, although I do miss the classic plastic figurines from the American Clue for the players; here instead there are plastic holders for small cardboard images for each character, which certainly works and can be understood from a cost perspective, but still, it would have been neat to have sculpted figurines of Daenerys, Tyrion, Daario, Jorah, and the rest.

Game of Thrones Cluedo is available now in the U.K. You should also check Winning Moves’ Game of Thrones board game classics.

(For those in the U.S., USAopoly publishes the same variation as CLUE: Game of Thrones Board Game)

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Game of Thrones Coming to Sweden?

A curious item out of Gotlands Tidningar caught our eye, as it indicated a production company on Gotland was currently involved in collecting location photos for what we can only assume is early location scouting for season 8 of Game of Thrones.

According to Olivia Munck of The Line, a production and location services company in Gotland, over 300 images have been sent to the production in several batches as different environments and places were requested; these include images of the medieval town of Visby, followed by a second batch of Visby photos with a focus on older or more “aged” environments, and then a batch of photos focused on old farmsteads on Gotland (including Kattlunds and Stavgard).

Visby, which was the center of Hanseatic League for two centuries, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the best preserved medieval town in Scandinavia. Its medieval walls stretch for over 2 miles (3 kilometers), it’s packed with ruins of churches and cathedrals (such as St. Nicolai, where Linda and I held a few talks last year). It’s a beautiful, and quite unique, place, which has for over 30 years hosted the famous Medeltidsveckan medieval festival. The rest of Gotland is also dotted with historical sites and sites of archaeological value, and features some beatuiful vistas (as one can see on The Line’s site). And of course, being in Scandinavia, it’s also known to get a good deal of snow which one supposes might be considered useful for the final season of the series.

So, is the production actually going to end up filming in Sweden? Munck was also interviewed by Sveriges Radio after the initial article made the rounds in the press, and there reiterated that she felt the production certainly has some interest in filming there since she doesn’t suppose they would have asked for so many pictures over time if they were writing it off. At the same time, however, she cautioned that nothing was certain at this stage, that no contracts had been signed, and gave it no better than 50/50 odds after citing that Sweden does not have the kind of tax breaks for film productions that Iceland, Spain, Croatia, and other countries where Game of Thrones has filmed previously.

According to Munck, after all these photos the next step for the production (if they continued to be interested) would probably be sending someone over to take a look around in person.

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Thrones at the Emmys

This year’s Emmy Awards have concluded and the results featured a few surprises in the acting categories, but the overall picture was as expected for Game of Thrones as it secured a total of 12 Emmys, tying last year’s record. Besides repeating for Best Dramatic Series, the show received direction and writing awards for “The Battle of the Bastards”. The shut out in the acting categories goes against prevailing opinions among entertainment pundits and journalists, but it seems that while the voting constituency (rule changes in 2015 are a big part of why Game of Thrones is now dominant in the drama category) loves Peter Dinklage, his puzzled reaction to last year’s victory moved the voters away from him and instead saw them return to an old stand by (Maggie Smith) and a long-time veteran (Ben Mendelsohn) over the remaining Game of Thrones nominees.

Some notable remarks followed the Emmys when interviewers asked the showrunners about the future of the series and the possibility of sequels. According to the Hollywood Reporter:

“You might want to ask George about that. It’s a great world George created and a very rich world,” said Benoiff. “I’m sure there will be other series set in Westeros, but for us this is it.”

Martin quickly stepped up to the mic: “I do have thousands of pages of fake history of everything that led up to Game of Thrones, so there’s a wealth of material there and I’m still writing more. But at the moment I still have this show to finish and two books to finish, so that’s all speculation for now.”

Benioff’s remark reiterates that he and Weiss are done with showrunning for the forseeable future when Game of Thrones wraps up, which is no surprise, but it seems that discussions at HBO are at the point where he seems to have no doubt that some sort of follow-on project is likely. On the other hand, as GRRM says, it all remains speculation until HBO is ready to lock something in. We suspect it’ll be a year or two before we hear of any firm plans for a spin-off series drawing from The World of Ice and Fire or A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

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Game of Thrones Election Results

HBO’s fun Game of Thrones promotion, pitting a number of characters as candidates in a fictional presidential election, concluded with over 1.6 million votes cast… 35% of which went to Jon Snow and his very popular running mate, Lyanna Mormont (there appear to be no minimum age requirements for the presidency of the Seven Kingdoms). To honor the occasion, an official campaign song from the band Valyrian Steel (fictional moniker of Kyle Gass, John Spiker, and John Konesky of Tenacious D), has been released on Soundcloud:

The GoT Party website has all the details of the results, as well as links to various videos made as part of the promotion.

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Game of Thrones Concert Tour

The recently-announced Game of Thrones concert has expanded to a full-on tour across North America, and we have the full details—including all 28 locations (including 3 Canadian concerts)—in the press release below the cut. We can provide fans who are interested a special pre-sale code thanks to HBO and Live Nation, as well, for those who want to get their tickets sorted out as early as possible! If you’re interested, just follow this link, select the venue you’re interested in, go through the seating and ordering process, select the “HBO Fans and Family” option and use the code GOTTOUR when prompted for the promo code. This will get you access to the tickets now rather than waiting for the general sale date on Saturday!

See the full details on the concerts below, and don’t forget you can order the Season 6 soundtrack!

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T-Shirts from the HBO Store

We’ve gone through the HBO Store’s current selection of Game of Thrones t-shirts and picked out a few of the newer releases for your perusal. After all, who doesn’t need a set of t-shirts for summer (even one that reads “Winter is Here”)?

We particularly like some of the new designs incorporating house sigils, such as this Stark, Targaryen and Lannister shirt, and of course everyone needs a Hodor shirt.

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HBO Confirms Eighth Season as Last

The TCA press tour is taking place, where network executives talk with reporters about their programming, and of course new HBO programming head Casey Bloys has fielded questions regarding Game of Thrones. As Variety’s live blog notes, there’s two major take aways.

First, Bloys confirmed that the 8th season of the show would be its last, although like other HBO executives he says he would be happy to get 10 more seasons. Many fans have assumed the 8th would be the last, given statements from Benioff and Weiss, but this is the first direct and explicit confirmation.

Second, Bloys remarked on the possibility of a “spin-off” so long as it “makes sense creatively.” What that means, exactly, is anyone’s guess, but certainly many HBO watchers and commentators have noted that it would be very logical for HBO to commission some sort of spin-off to hold on to at least some part of the show’s audience (averaging 25 million viewers per episode across all delivery methods) at a time when HBO’s upcoming programming has a lot of question marks floating around it.

Other, smaller details to note are that the late airing of season 7 (as we’ve previously reported) will mean that that season will not be in contention for the Emmys, and because of that late start it seems likely that The Leftovers will be scheduled to fill in that Spring-early Summer period.

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Comic Con Exclusives at the HBO Store

Don’t fancy fighting through the hordes of fans at Comic Con to get a look at some of the exclusive Game of Thrones merchandise launched there? Don’t worry, the HBO store has limited quantities of the exclusive products on sale.

If you want to take home your very own giant, albeit in a more portable format, the Mag the MightyFunko Pop might be just the thing. Or, if you prefer a smaller trio, there’s an exclusive Funko Dorbz 3-Pack featuring a White Walker, Joffrey Baratheon and the Hound.

Should you like something more substantial there’s also the metallic silver Night King bust. Just keep it hidden in case you play the Game of Thrones: Clue with the exclusive Expansion Set and someone is a sore loser.

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Blu-ray and DVD Details Released

The Game of Thrones Season 6 Blu-ray and DVD set is due to hit shelves on November 15th (with digital HD available sooner on August 1st). HBO has finally revealed the contents of the the sets, and there’s quite a lot of interest—particularly a great deal of matter relating to the Tourney at Harrenhal. Quite interesting!

Here’s the full details below:

New York, N.Y., July 18, 2016 – Last year’s Emmy® Award winner for Outstanding Drama Series and currently nominated for 23 2016 Emmy® Awards including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Directing Outstanding Supporting Actress (Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Maisie Williams) and Outstanding Supporting Actor (Peter Dinklage, Kit Harrington), Game of Thrones is bigger than ever delivering “the power and pathos fans have come to expect” (Los Angeles Times).  The HBO drama has consistently been the top selling TV on DVD/BD for the past five years and now fans can get the most recent season earlier than ever when Game of Thrones: The Complete Sixth Season debuts from HBO Home Entertainment on Digital HD on August 1, 2016 and on Blu-ray™ with Digital HD and DVD November 15, 2016. The set features all 10 episodes, plus extensive bonus content:

 

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Game of Thrones Filming This Summer

HBO has sent out a press release concerning the 7th season of Game of Thrones, confirming several details—most notably the total number of episodes for the season, seven—that have come out over the last weeks. The press release is below:

The Emmy®- and Golden Globe-winning series GAME OF THRONES will begin shooting its next season later this summer, it was announced today by Casey Bloys, president, HBO programming. Production of the seven-episode seventh season will be based in Northern Ireland, while additional portions will be filmed in Spain and Iceland, with debut slated for summer 2017 on HBO.

        “Now that winter has arrived on GAME OF THRONES, executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss felt that the storylines of the next season would be better served by starting production a little later than usual, when the weather is changing,” said Bloys. “Instead of the show’s traditional spring debut, we’re moving the debut to summer to accommodate the shooting schedule.”

        Season seven directors will include Mark Mylod, Jeremy Podeswa, Matt Shakman and Alan Taylor.

        Locations for shooting in Spain will include Sevilla, Caceres, Almodovar del Rio, Santiponce, Zumaia and Bermeo.

        Last week, GAME OF THRONES received 23 Primetime Emmy® nominations, the most of any nominee for the third year in a row. This year’s nominations include Outstanding Drama Series, 2 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington), 3 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams), Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Max von Sydow), 2 for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Miguel Sapochnik, Jack Bender) and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (David Benioff and D.B. Weiss).

        Season seven credits: The executive producers of GAME OF THRONES are David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger and Bernadette Caulfield; co-executive producers, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis, George R.R. Martin and Bryan Cogman; producers, Chris Newman, Greg Spence and Lisa McAtackney.

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Game of Thrones: The Scavenger Hunt

HBO‘s Game of Thrones is going to have a big presence at San Diego Comic Con, as it has done in previous years. This year, they’ve added something new: a scavenger hunt for attendees, hunting around licensee booths for photo opportunities with some of the many licensed Game of Thrones products for a chance to win a nifty prize pack including games, toys, and more!

Full details in the press release below:

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The Doors of Northern Ireland

This week, Linda and I will be featuring our visit to Northern Ireland last week as we toured the locations of the ten Game of Thrones themed doors that are scattered around the country, many of them in close association with noteworthy filming locations from the HBO series. We’ve already made our first post, introducing the series and the first of the two doors—you’ll find it here! We had a wonderful time, as can be expected—everyone was incredibly friendly, and we met some real characters along the way! The only thing more fantastic than some of the meals we had were the scenic landscapes, especially the coast of Antrim which is very justly renowned.

But more on all that in the days to come!

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The Winds of Winter Episode Guide and Death Poll Result

While Elio & I are enjoying the sights and flavors of Northern Ireland (courtesy of Discover NI)—we’ll be posting some of the adventure as we go along on our Twitter and Facebook page—those who watched the last episode of Game of Thrones can watch my review of “The Winds of Winter” in our episode guide. Here’s the review embedded below for the impatient!

As to the tenth and final death poll, we had many, many entries indeed. Lots of fans had a lot of correct guesses, but in the end among those we randomly selected one of our Twitter followers, @MidnightAnswers. Many thanks for all who participated! Maybe we’ll do this again next season, assuming there’s enough characters left alive to make it an actual challenge!

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Game of Thrones Season 6 Soundtrack

HBO’ is sneaking out the Game of Thrones Season 6 Soundtrack, which is due to hit shelves on June 24th for digital downloads, June 29th on CD, and as a 3-disc vinyl set on July 1st. This, despite a few days ago there being no sign of it on Amazon or other retailers. Quite the surprise!

But, notably, HBO and Pandora have teamed up to give a free preview of the album from June 21st (that’d be today) through June 24th. You can hear it yourself as an Exclusive Album Preview (provided you’re in one of the countries Pandora can stream to!)

Here’s the full track listing:

1) Main Titles
2) Blood of My Blood
3) Light of the Seven
4) Needle
5) Coronation
6) Feed the Hounds
7) My Watch has Ended
8) The Red Woman
9) Hold the Door
10) Khaleesi
11) Maester
12) A Painless Death
13) Reign
14) Let’s Play a Game
15) Bastard
16) Trust Each Other
17) Winter Has Come
18) Hear Me Roar
19) The Winds of Winter

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Battle of the Bastards Guide and Death Poll Finale

The episode guide for “The Battle of the Bastards” now includes Linda’s video review of the episode, plus HBO’s various video extras and more. We’ll embed the review below:

And as has been tradition this season, we’ve had a result (quite a lot of correct guesses, as you can guess) for our death poll on the forum for the episode! Congratulations to board member “Elaena Targaryen” who was one of the many to guess one of the major deaths!

This now leads us to the final poll for the season, for “The Winds of Winter”. This one’s special because we’ll open it to all three venues: our Facebook Page, our Twitter, and of course the ASoIaF Forum. And yes, this means you can enter three times, with three different guesses if you want, though only one guess per venue.

To enter, share a guess at a named, recurring character who dies in the season finale (sorry, “Bald Sparrow #4” doesn’t count!) Only one guess per person per venue. Also, no flashback character deaths need apply! To enter on our forum, just post to the thread about this post in the Game of Thrones News sub-forum (we’ll provide a link shortly). To enter on the Facebook page, just post your guess in the page post about the final poll. Finally, to enter on Twitter, just tweet your guess to @westerosorg while adding the hash tag #gotdeathpoll10. We’ll collate all the guesses and choose one random winner from those who guessed correctly!

Oh, and the prizes? Besides a choice between the A Game of Thrones 20th Annviersary Illustrated edition (note: not yet published) and the A Game of Thrones: The Board Game 2nd Edition from Fantasy Flight Games, Linda and I will also send a signed copy of The World of Ice and Fire.

Good luck!

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No One Episode Guide and Death Poll Results

Our episode guide for “No One” has now been updated with Linda’s review of the episode—including an amusing bit which we decided to leave in, when our dog Breeze decided to wander by and it wasnt’ clear whether he was going to demand some attention or not!—which we’ll embed below:

Besides that, we also had results with our 8th Death Poll, and have contacted the two randomly-selected winners who correctly guessed if any characters would die this episode, and named one of them correctly. This means we’re now launching a pentultimate ninth Death Poll for “The Battle of the Bastards, and this one returns to being exclusive to the A Song of Ice and Fire Forum.

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Game of Thrones Steelbook Season 3 & 4 Released

HBO has released Season 3 and Season 4 of its limited edition Steelbook Game of Thrones blu-rays, and they’ve kindly given us a look at these particularly interesting editions.

The primary difference between these and the regular Blu-ray sets are in the packaging, first, which was designed by Elastic (the same guys who brought us the famous Game of Thrones intro). This packaging echoes that introduction, but gives it a bit of style to transfer to this very 2D medium. Oh, and each one features a collectible magnet (the Frey sigil and a Night’s Watch emblem referencing a raven and Longclaw), which is a nice touch.

The other, and perhaps bigger difference, is the actual content of the Bluray. It has all the same material as the previous Bluray set in terms of featurettes and commentaries, but for those who are audiophiles it has a special treat: the episodes have been remixed to use Dolby’s Atmos system. For those who have an Atmos-compliant sound system, that means that when a dragon breaths a gout of flame, the Atmos decoder will be able to process that sound and place it spatially in a way that makes sense. Instead of a simple decision about “left”, “right”, “center”, Atmos speakers can direct the sound to “move” appropriately. It’s a bit hard to explain, but our review of the S1 and S2 Steelbooks may help give more of an idea. We didn’t have a chance to test these Blu-rays on an Atmos system this time around, but we’re going to guess an episode like “The Rains of Castamere” or “The Watchers on the Wall” are going to benefit quite a lot from the Atmos technology.

The Season 3 and Season 4 Steelbook Blu-rays are now out, both online and in retail stores!

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The Broken Man Episode Guide and Death Poll Results

Our episode guide for The Broken Man is now updated not only with a book-to-screen analysis but also HBO’s video extras for the episode as well as a rather earlier-than-usual written review of the episode. Unfortunately, the illness that hit me last week and prevented our mid-week A Song of Ice and Fire video has now hit Linda, leaving her without a voice and not feeling too well. So, no video review today, and maybe not for a couple more days. Our apologies!

In the mean time, we also had a fun result with the Game of Thrones death poll, as a few people correctly guessed whether anyone would die this episode. We’ve picked a winner—@mackarillo—and are now on to Death Poll #8! This is the Facebook edition of the contest. To enter, simply like Westeros on Facebook and make your guess as a comment on our post on the page about the contest. Acceptable guesses include a single, non-flashback named and recurring character, or simply “no one”. Multiple guesses will be discarded. Because the last Facebook contest failed to turn up any winners, we’ll select two winners if possible from a random draw of all those who offer correct guesses.

As to the prizes? Winners can choose either the Iron Throne Construction Set from McFarlane Toys or A Feast for Ice and Fire.

Good luck!

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Fair Game Released

After a number of delays and travails, the documentary Fair Game which examines the critical and media landscape surrounding HBO’s Game of Thrones has now been released on Vimeo. It’s not free—there’s a $1 digital rental fee—but if you’ve time (it’s just shy of 90 minutes) and are interested in the topic as discussed by interview and journalist Miodrag Zarkovic with a number of commentators including Newsday’s TV reviewer Verne Gay, Salon.com co-founder Laura Miller, NYU Professor Dana Polan, and more (including Elio García of Westeros.org and Steffan Stasse of the Boiled Leather Audio Hour), it’s well worth the time.

You can find out more at the website Internet Remembers!

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Blood of My Blood Episode Guide and Death Poll Continues

The episode guide for the latest episode, “Blood of My Blood”, has now been updated with the book-to-screen breakdown, video review from Linda, and more! We’ll embed the video below, for those interested—go on through to our Youtube channel for a breakdown of the segments.

Death Poll #6 managed to find a winner on our forum, Ruben de Coninck! This leads to Death Poll #7, and back to Twitter. The prize this time are either the Iron Throne Construction Set from McFarlane Toys, or a copy of A Feast of Ice and Fire! To enter, follow us on Twitter, and then tweet us your guess, including (this is VERY important) the hashtag #gotdeathpoll7. Acceptable guesses include a single, non-flashback named and recurring character, or simply “no one”. Multiple guesses will be discarded.

Happy guessing!

read on >>>

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The Door Episode Guide and Death Poll Results

The episode guide for “The Door” now contains HBO’s post-episode extras, as well as our book-to-screen breakdown and a video review of the episode. This particular episode proved extremely popular, looking at our traffic… and that likely has to do a bit with some of its major revelations. The video, which we’ll embed below, discusses those revelations in detail and considers what implications they have for the A Song of Ice and Fire novels.

In related news, we closed the death poll somewhat early due to the leak that took place earlier yesterday… and so, as it happens, absolutely no one correctly guessed whether anyone died and/or who died in the episode. This is the second death poll to have that happen! This means that the next time we do a Facebook poll (that would be for episode 8), there’ll be two winners chosen.

But on to Death Poll #6! This round of the Death Poll—which will be about guessing deaths for the third episode—will be open to our Forum members, so if you’re not already signed up you will need to get that sorted out to have another chance at winning. The prizes on offer will be the same as for the Twitter & Facebook rounds— will be a choice between the Dark Horse Deluxe Hodor & Bran figure and The Lands of Ice and Fire poster map collection. To enter, just find this post in the Game of Thrones News subforum and post your guess. Acceptable guesses include a single, non-flashback named and recurring character, or simply “no one”. Multiple guesses will be discarded.

Good luck!

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Book of the Stranger Guide and Death Poll Results

The episode guide for “Book of the Stranger” has been updated with Linda’s video review of the episode, as well as a book-to-screen analysis and a few of HBO’s extras such as the “Inside the Episode”. More content to come, and keep an eye out later this week when Linda and I will return to discussing A Song of Ice and Fire in a video that will be at least tangentially related to the events of the episode.

In related news, our fourth Death Poll received a result as well, as our Twitter followers made some shrewd guesses. Congratulations to @marisaog, as well as to @aimieyig since the first death poll had no winners.

This leads to the next poll, for “The Door”, which is once again for our Facebook followers once again. To enter, simply like Westeros on Facebook and make your guess as a comment on this post. One chosen winner will have a choice between the Dark Horse Deluxe Hodor & Bran figure and The Lands of Ice and Fire poster map collection.

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Episode 4 Death Poll Opens

We just closed the third Death Poll, and it’s on to the 4th poll!

The fourth round of the Death Poll—which will be about guessing deaths for the fourth episode, “Book of the Stranger” —will be open to our Twitter followers. The prizes on offer in this new iteration of the contest will be the choice between the Dark Horse Deluxe Hodor & Bran figure and The Lands of Ice and Fire poster map collection.

What do you need to do to enter? Simply tweet @westerosorg a guess as to who will die in episode four, making sure to include the hash tag #gotdeathpoll4! Guesses made anywhere else do not count and it is one guess (meaning one name, or “no one”, per person; note that deaths in flashbacks do not count!)

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Oathbreaker Guide and Death Poll Results

The episode guide for “Oathbreaker” has been updated with Linda’s video review of the episode, as well as a book-to-screen analysis and a few of HBO’s extras such as the “Inside the Episode”. More content to come. We’ll include the video below, for those who want to get at it now. Keep an eye out later this week when Linda and I will return to discussing A Song of Ice and Fire in a video that, Linda tells me, will be at least tangentially related to the events of the episode.

In related news, our second Death Poll received a result as well, as members of our forum took a stab (hah) at guessing who’d meet a horrible end in the episode. We’ll be posting about the fourth death poll very shortly, although this one is once again for our Twitter followers... and since no one successfully guessed for that episode, this time we’ll select two lucky winners (provided contestants actually guess right this time!)

read on >>>

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Fair Game Documentary Introduction

A few days ago, we posted about the documetary Fair Game, from journalist Miodrag Zarkovic, which features interviews with other journalists, academics, and fans (including Elio of Westeros.org) discussing the critical landscape around HBO’s Game of Thrones. The release of the documentary is forthcoming, but the Internet Remembers project has now posted the first 7 minutes of the documentary on Youtube as a teaser. You can see it below:

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Game of Thrones Death Poll: Episode 2 Results & Episode 3 Launch

The first week may have stumped everyone, but for the second Death Poll we had quite a few correct guesses and so we have picked a winner and contacted them via Facebook. Congratulations!

The possible correct answers for the second episode were of course Balon Greyjoy (long overdue), Roose Bolton, Walda Bolton (nee Frey) and Baby Bolton. The third round of the Death Poll—which will be about guessing deaths for the third episode—will be open to our Forum members, so if you’re not already signed up you will need to get that sorted out to have another chance at winning. The prizes on offer will be the same as for the first Twitter & Facebook rounds— one of the new Funko Dorbz figures or a hardcover copy of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms—and then we will change it up for the next three episodes.

What do you need to do to enter? Simply make a guess as to who will die in episode three and post it to this forum topic. Guesses made anywhere else do not count and it is one guess (meaning one name or “no one”) per person.

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Fair Game: A Documentary

Serbian journalist Miodrag Zarkovic, who some may know from his critical articles and essays on Game of Thrones, has started a new project: documentary filmmaking. On his new site, Internet Remembers, Zarkovic has released the trailer for the first documentary under that banner. Titled Fair Game, Zarkovic examines the collision of the Internet with cultural phenomena Game of Thrones, with an eye toward the critical landscape around it. In the course of this, he interviews professors, journalists, entertainment lawyers… and, as it happens, one website owner by the name of Elio García.

Here’s the trailer for Fair Game, which is due to be released in the coming months via Vimeo:

More information when we have it, but those who are intrigued by the project have the option of donating financially to Internet Remembers, to help fund this and other, future projects!

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Game of Thrones Death Poll: Episode 1 Results & Episode 2 Launch

Well, it seems HBO managed to provide quite a surprise in the first episode, as no one correctly guessed any of the three characters—Doran Martell, Trystane Martell and Areo Hotah—who meet their end in the season opener. We’re not the least surprised that no one guessed Doran or Areo, though admittedly Trystane might more easily have been seen as being in danger, albeit from Cersei rather than his cousins.

So, for the first week, there is no winner. But, never fear, there’s nine weeks to go and plenty of characters available to kill. For the second episode, please like Westeros on Facebook and make your guess (one per person!) on this post as it goes live on the Facebook page. From those who get it right, we will randomly select a winner who will have a choice between one of the new Funko Dorbz figures (not yet out, but the first wave will include Daenerys, Jon, Ned, Tyrion and the Night King) or a hardcover copy of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

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New Game of Thrones Jewelry

One of the more interesting licensing endeavors by HBO—collaborating with Pyrrha to create jewelry inspired by the houses of the series—has become even more interesting now that Pyrrha has announced a new line of Game of Thrones talismans focused on the characters. Here’s the press release:

PYRRHA ASKS GAME OF THRONES® FANS TO SHOW THEIR ALLEGIANCE WITH NEW CHARACTER TALISMANS

ICONIC JEWELRY BRAND’S 2016 GAME OF THRONES COLLECTION FEATURES THREE FAN-FAVORITE CHARACTERS LEADING INTO SEASON 6

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 21, 2016 (Vancouver, BC) – As Game of Thrones fans gear up for the world premiere of the hit series’ highly anticipated sixth season on April 24, Pyrrha adds to the fervor by releasing three character talismans in partnership with HBO Global Licensing.

Since introducing their distinctive interpretations of the seven houses of Westeros in 2014, Pyrrha’s handcrafted designs have been showcased at numerous festivals and conventions including SXSW and San Diego Comic-Con, and fans have responded enthusiastically.

Pyrrha’s new line of Game of Thrones talismans features quotes and imagery made famous by the memorable characters that spoke the words. These fan-favorites will continue to play a role in the battle for the Iron Throne as they journey through Westeros during season six.

“A Lannister always pays his debts.” – Tyrion Lannister
“Valar morghulis.” – Arya Stark
“Fire cannot kill a dragon.” – Daenerys Targaryen

“The Pyrrha studio team are passionate Game of Thrones watchers, so this new line is a very collaborative effort,” said Pyrrha designer, Wade Papin. “We went through several rounds of design revisions before settling on the most powerful interpretations that would resonate with fans. Plus we have additional characters in the works, so stay tuned.”

Starting at $218 USD, the Pyrrha for Game of Thrones character talismans are now available online in reclaimed sterling silver or bronze. The complete collection is also available at the Pyrrha flagship store in Los Angeles.

About Pyrrha
Pyrrha designers Danielle and Wade Papin have been creating signature talisman jewelry in their Vancouver, Canada studio since 1995. Using time honoured, old world techniques, Pyrrha is handcrafted with reclaimed metals and conflict-free stones and features authentic wax impressions and imagery from the Victorian era. Each talisman is designed to inspire the wearer with its symbolic meaning culled from heraldry. The iconic talismans have captured international attention and are embraced by celebrities and style icons around the world. Pyrrha can be found at leading boutiques globally and at the brand’s flagship store in Los Angeles, California.

About HBO Global Licensing
HBO Global Licensing officially licenses the HBO® brand for the development and merchandising of innovative product lines inspired by the network’s award-winning programming. With products created around hit series like Game of Thrones® and VinylSM as well as classic series like The Sopranos®, Sex and the City®, True Blood® and Entourage, items include fashion apparel, figures, jewelry, digital and CD soundtracks, prop and costume replicas, games, books, and beverages, as well as exclusive, premium collections in partnership with upscale, designer brands. Merchandise can be purchased in retail stores nationwide, at http://store.hbo.com, and at the groundbreaking HBO retail hub, the HBO Shop®, located at 42nd and 6th Avenue in New York City. HBO Global Licensing products are also sold internationally across Europe (http://ift.tt/1CyzFPv), Asia and Australia.

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Game of Thrones Releases Renewal News New Pictures

HBO’s on a roll in the lead up to Sunday’s premiere of Game of Thrones, first announcing that the show—as well as fellow programs Veep and Silicon Valley—had all been renewed through 2017.

That’s not surprising for Game of Thrones, but the fact that it’s only a single season pick-up is quite interesting since if HBO and the show runners have agreed on the “eight season” plan mooted in recent articles, one would expect that an eighth season pickup would also be announced. Possibly this is all pending contract negotiations, but there seems room for some variability in the final shape of the show as it approaches its end.

Shortly after this announcement, HBO released nine new high-resolution images from the premiere episode of the season. The image above is one of them, and the rest can be found in our image gallery.

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Game of Thrones Death Poll: Episode 1

As we posted about yesterday, we will run a contest leading up to each episode of Season 6 where our followers get to guess who (if anyone) dies in the upcoming episode. The first Death Poll contest will be for our Twitter followers. So, what do you need to do? Simply follow @westerosorg on Twitter and tweet us our guess as to who will die in the first episode. Make sure to include the hashtag #gotdeathpollep1 so we can find your guesses! From those who get it right, we will randomly select a winner who will have a choice between one of the new Funko Dorbz figures (not yet out, but the first wave will include Daenerys, Jon, Ned, Tyrion and the Night King) or a hardcover copy of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

As an addition to the rules posted yesterday (they will be amended as well), we should note that of course there can be multiple correct answer if more than one character dies in an episode.

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“Death Poll” Contest

We’ve heard it from a number of the actors—Season 6 will be the most shocking season yet. We have a feeling that means HBO will be reducing the show’s budget in the bloodiest possible way, by an even greater body count than before. So, we thought we’d make a game out of it and give our followers a chance to win some things in the process. Here’s how it will go down.

Every Monday, starting tomorrow, we will start a new “Death Poll” on Twitter, Facebook or the forum. Each poll will be open to followers/members of that particular venue. To participate in the poll, simply respond to the tweet, Facebook post or forum post and tell us who you think will die in the upcoming episode. Out of those who get it right, a random winner will be selected the following Monday and announced as we start the next poll.

Some rules:

1) Only one entry per person.

2) “No one” is a valid guess, but excludes unnamed, non-recurring characters. If a random guardsman dies in an episode but no named, recurring characters, the correct answer for that episode would be “no one”.

3) Prizes will be shipped via Amazon.com, though that should not be a problem for most places.

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The Future of Game of Thrones

The last couple of days has seen some significant news concerning the future of Game of Thrones thanks to remarks from showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss, as well as HBO executive Michael Lombardo.

First out of the gate was this Variety interview in which Benioff was quoted as saying:

“I think we’re down to our final 13 episodes after this season. We’re heading into the final lap,” said Benioff. “That’s the guess, though nothing is yet set in stone, but that’s what we’re looking at.”

Clarification from other sources—doubtless HBO—clarified that the numbers were premature, but did say that upcoming seasons may be shorter than 10 episodes per season. The piece goes on to cite programming president Michael Lombardo, who acknowledged that Benioff and Weiss wanted to wrap the show in two years, but added that he was an “optimist” and though they would “figure this out”.

 

read on >>>

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Three New Clips

HBO has released three clips from the new season of Game of Thrones. One of them, the longest, features a look at an area that the show hasn’t visited since the first season and which shows how far the show’s VFX prowess has grown over the years. The videos are included in a playlist below:

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New Game of Thrones Trailer

Reports from the premiere last night stated a new trailer was aired there… and as expected, HBO has kindly shared the trailer with the world:

Seems like there’s a lot of new imagery in this one.

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Secrecy-shrouded Season 6 Premiere

Last night, an exclusive mix of VIPs, critics, and fans had the opportunity to see the world premiere of Game of Thrones. The red carpet stream, hosted by Veronica Belmont, features interviews with most of the cast who were present on the day and you can see that below:

As noted by James Hibberd, among no-shows for this event were Kit Harington and George R.R. Martin, so no interviews with them. And speaking of Hibberd, he provided some initial impressions of the episode in his post on the premiere at EW. No real spoilers here, as the attendees were all asked to only speak very generally about the episode and to save the plot turns for fans watching on the 24th. One interesting detail, though, is David Benioff’s statement about the production:

“This season was a beast to make,” showrunner David Benioff told the audience at the premiere. “We shot 680 hours of dailies, which translates to 3.7 million feet of film. We shot in five different countries – Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Iceland, and Canada. We employed 900 crewmembers in Belfast; 400 in Spain. We issued 140 script revisions. We two shot units a day for 22 weeks straight, three units a day for 10 weeks straight, four units for two weeks straight. And none of that would be possible without the greatest producing team on the planet.”

If I’m counting right, that makes a total of eight countries the show has filmed in across six season (including briefly in the U.S., Malta in the first season, and Morocco for the pilot and third season.)

read on >>>

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New Clip from Lian Cunningham on Conan

Liam Cunningham—who’s always a fantastic interview subject, speaking from personal experience—turned in a game, amusing interview on Conan last night. He revealed he was informed by GRRM of a secret on their first meeting that he’s kept to himself (jokingly suggesting HBO has someone ready to “take care” of him if he fails to do that). That’s then followed by a brief excerpt from a Davos scene in season 6, one which sheds new light on things glimpsed in the official trailer. Naturally, there are spoilers.

You can see the video below:

read on >>>

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First Episode Title Revealed

HBO has sent out a press release announcing the title of the first episode of season 6, along with a (very) brief logline giving a general sense of the chief storylines. See below, but bear in mind some might consider some of the details as spoilers:

  Following the shocking developments at the conclusion of season five, including Jon Snow’s bloody fate at the hands of Castle Black mutineers, Daenerys’ near-demise at the fighting pits of Meereen, and Cersei’s public humiliation in the streets of King’s Landing, survivors from all parts of Westeros and Essos regroup to press forward, inexorably, towards their uncertain individual fates. Familiar faces will forge new alliances to bolster their strategic chances at survival, while new characters will emerge to challenge the balance of power in the east, west, north and south.

        The Emmy®- and Golden Globe-winning GAME OF THRONES returns for its ten-episode sixth season SUNDAY, APRIL 24 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT**), exclusively on HBO, followed by other episodes on subsequent Sundays at the same time. Based on the bestselling fantasy book series by George R.R. Martin, the hit fantasy series chronicles an epic struggle for power in a vast and violent kingdom.

        Returning series regulars on GAME OF THRONES this season include: Emmy® and Golden Globe winner Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Aidan Gillen (Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish), Diana Rigg (Lady Olenna Tyrell), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) and Jonathan Pryce (the High Sparrow).

        Additional returning series regulars this season include: Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Dean-Charles Chapman (Tommen), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell), Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont), Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Bran Stark), Conleth Hill (Varys), Kristofer Hivju (Tormund Giantsbane), Michiel Huisman (Daario Naharis), Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton), Hannah Murray (Gilly), Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton), Carice van Houten (Melisandre), Indira Varma (Ellaria Sand) and Tom Wlaschiha (Jaqen H’ghar).

        New cast members for the sixth season include: Pilou Asbaek, Essie Davis, Souad Faress, James Faulkner, Richard E. Grant, Ian McShane, Joe Naufau, Freddie Stroma and Max von Sydow.

April’s episode:

        Episode #51: “The Red Woman”

        Debut: SUNDAY, APRIL 24 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)

        Other HBO playdates: April 24 (11:30 p.m., 2:00 a.m.), 25 (12:10 a.m.), 26 (9:00 p.m., 3:35 a.m.), 28 (11:05 p.m.), 29 (9:00 p.m.) and 30 (11:30 p.m.), and May 6 (8:00 p.m.)

        HBO2 playdates: April 25 (8:30 p.m.) and 29 (1:00 a.m.), and May 1 (8:00 p.m.) and 28 (4:00 p.m.)

Jon Snow is dead. Daenerys meets a strong man. Cersei sees her daughter again.

        Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss; directed by Jeremy Podeswa.

        In Sept. 2015, GAME OF THRONES received 12 Emmys®, a record for a series in one year, garnering awards for Outstanding Drama Series; Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Peter Dinklage’s second win in the category); Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (David Nutter); Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (David Benioff and D.B. Weiss); Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More); Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series; Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series; Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic); Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series; Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour); Outstanding Special Visual Effects; and Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Limited Series or Movie.

        The show also received four Emmys® in Aug. 2014; two Emmys® in Sept. 2013; six Emmys® in Sept. 2012, tied for the most of any program; and two Emmys® in Sept. 2011. In addition, Peter Dinklage received a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television in Jan. 2012.

        The executive producers of GAME OF THRONES are David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger and Bernadette Caulfield; co-executive producers, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis and George R.R. Martin; supervising producer, Bryan Cogman; producers, Chris Newman, Greg Spence and Lisa McAtackney.

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HBO Announces After the Thrones

This feels long over-due: HBO announces an after-show for season 6 of Game of Thrones, titled After the Thrones, which will feature critic and commentator Andy Greenwald (formerly of Grantland) and Chris Ryan of Grantland-succesor, The Ringer. See the press release below:

HBO AND BILL SIMMONS TEAM UP FOR AFTER THE THRONES,

WEEKLY SHOW EXPLORING HIT HBO SERIES “GAME OF THRONES,”

DEBUTING THIS MONTH

        AFTER THE THRONES, a weekly show that takes a lively, humorous and sophisticated look at the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones,” will debut this month. The first show to spring from HBO’s new partnership with Bill Simmons, AFTER THE THRONES will be hosted by Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan from The Ringer, Simmons’ new content site.

        Beginning with the season premiere of “Game of Thrones” on April 24, each weekly edition of AFTER THE THRONES will be available on Mondays on HBO NOW, HBO GO and HBO On Demand, as well as other affiliate portals. Playdates on the main HBO channel will be announced as they are confirmed.

        Each week, AFTER THE THRONES will recap the latest episode, explaining the who, what, when and where, exploring the complicated politics and history of “Thrones,” and offering absurd and not-so-absurd theories about future episodes. Greenwald and Ryan will discuss the show as only they can.

        Greenwald and Ryan previously hosted Grantland’s hit Watch the Thrones podcast, and currently host The Watch on Channel 33’s podcast feed for The Ringer. Greenwald has established himself as one of America’s premier television critics, and is currently working on the book “How To Watch TV” (Ecco Press). Ryan is the executive editor of The Ringer. The Watch was hailed as one of the best pop-culture podcasts on the Internet by Vulture and Entertainment Weekly.

        The executive producers of AFTER THE THRONES are Bill Simmons and BSMG President Eric Weinberger, with Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald serving as co-executive producers.

read on >>>

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New Game of Thrones Promo

Dubbed the “March Madness” promo, this new video for season 6 features a few things already glimpsed in the official trailer, but also a few new details for fans eagerly awaiting the next season:

Interesting final frame.

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Inside Game of Thrones Prosthetics

Continuing the trend of highlighting the behind-the-scenes production of HBO’s Game of Thrones series, they have now released an interesting mini-documentary on the work of the prosthetics department. A whole lot of white walkers and wights to be seen. Interestingly, much of the white walker footage is from last season’s “Hardome”:

Suffice it to say, some of the glimpses of season 6 herein could be considered spoilerish.

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Review: Season 5 Bluray Set

Last month, courtesy of HBO, we were able to give an exclusive preview of one of the Histories and Lore from the Game of Thrones Season 5 Bluray set that’s to be released tomorrow. Along with that preview, we received a review copy of the set, and over the last weeks we’ve poked at its various extras to get a sense of what’s new.

On the whole, the extras this year are particularly noteworthy because of the addition of “Dance of [the] Dragons” animated feature fully 20 minutes long, featuring now-departed actors narrating in character (Harry Lloyd as Viserys, Michelle Fairley as Catelyn, Mark Addy as Robert Baratheon, Jack Gleeson as Joffrey, Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell, and Kerry Ingram as Shireen Baratheon) the story of the brutal civil war that hastened the end of the Targaryen dragons. The art style for this, and the other Histories and Lore, is somewhat different from that of previous seasons. It’s cleaner in a way, but also sometimes a little more simplistic, even cartoonish, at times. The level of content is, however, quite impressive as they drew heavily from the material written for The World of Ice and Fire to provide substantial insight into the past and present of both Westeros and Essos.

read on >>>

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Another S5 VFX Breakdown

Last year, Mackevision released a VFX breakdown of some of their contributions to the visually-impressive fifth season of Game of Thrones. Now another VFX company who worked on the production, Image Engine, has opened up about their work last year through an article on their site. The article includes the video you’ll see below:

The interview piece with VFX supervisor Matt Krentz—who’d worked with Look FX on two of the previous seasons—is particularly rich in additional detail. While a lot of their work as seen in the many before-and-after images seem like fairly straightforward crowd replications or removal/addition of elements, there’s also details about the 3D set extensions to Castle Black, their pipeline for creating all their work, and perhaps most notably details on creating the appearance of the “Night’s King” as seen at the end of “Hardhome”.

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Season 6 Red Band Trailer

A Tuesday release for the trailer wasn’t anything that anyone expected, but the highly-anticipated Season 6 trailer is now out:

For fans interested in the next season, lots of digest here, including glimpses of a flashback to the fracas at the tower of joy.

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HBO Combats Leaks, Ends Review Copies

A bombshell has fallen in the small world of television reviewing: HBO has stopped screeners for critics for season 6 of Game of Thrones. This is largely the result of well-publicized leaks from previous seasons—particularly the last season, in which the first four episodes were leaked weeks before the premiere—but for many critics the practice of receiving episodes early allowed them to spend more time considering and crafting their reviews. Now all the critics—at least, so far as we know—will have to write their reviews after episodes air.

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Making Game of Thrones: The Cameramen

There’s a brand new Game of Thrones video over at Making Game of Thrones, the official production blog for the show. Perhaps it’s because of the subject matter, but this struck me as one of the most visually beautiful of HBO’s behind-the-scenes videos looking into season 6. Also, while it’s not a trailer, it actually features a handful of pretty noteworthy details that we’ll discuss briefly below the video:

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Exclusive S5 Bluray Preview: Robert’s Rebellion

Thanks to HBO, we’re able to provide an exclusive look at one of the new Histories and Lore that will be included in the Game of Thrones Season 5 Bluray set. Listen and watch below as Ian McElhinney—the late, lamented Ser Barristan Selmy—recounts the events of Robert’s Rebellion from their nascent beginnings to their bloody end:

We’re also very happy to be able to provide the full listing of the Histories and Lore, along with all the narrators for each segment. See that below:

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Finn Jones Lands Marvel Superhero Role

Here’s an interesting scoop from Entertaintment Weekly: Finn Jones, best known to Game of Thrones fans as Ser Loras Tyrell, has landed the lead role in the Marvel-Netflix series, Iron Fist. The role of Danny Rand has had a lot of debate surrounding it in various corners of the media, but it looks like the studio has pushed back against that.

For those who don’t know, the character of Iron Fist was created in the 1970s when there was a fad for martial arts in pop culture—Bruce Lee, Kung-Fu, and the like—and Marvel dutifully looked to provide what people wanted. In the comics, Iron Fist is Danny Rand, an American who ends up becoming the pupil of a mystical martial artist in the hidden city of K’un-L’un. There he learned martial arts and gained supernatural powers by placing his fists in the heart of a dragon. Born to a wealthy family, Rand is a businessman by day, hero by night, who has long associations with Luke Cage (recently seen in Jessica Jones, and soon appearing in his own series) and other heroes such as Daredevil (notably, the first season of Daredevil featured easter eggs pointing to K’un-L’un and Iron Fist), the heroic group The Defenders (the ultimate goal of Netflix being a series featuring this group), the Avengers, and more.

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Game of Thrones Teaser This Sunday

As we speculated with the release of new images from Season 6 of Game of Thrones, it looks like this Sunday HBO will air a new teaser for the season at 8:59PM, just prior to the premiere of Vinyl. There seems to be a very short extract from the teaser in the tweet announcing this:

Send a raven. The #GoTSeason6 tease will air this Sunday at 8:59PM ET before @VinylHBO
(WARNING: You will be teased)https://t.co/93Pl8aCEie

— Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) February 12, 2016

 

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New Season 6 Stills

HBO has released 20 brand new images from the forthcoming season 6, featuring a number of the key actors in the series, as well as one new-ish addition in the form of the legendary Max von Sydow in the role of the “Three-Eyed Raven”. While we’re working on getting them into our gallery, you can find them all at the official Making Game of Thrones website.

Here’s a sample of the images:

 

Given that HBO’s new big series, Martin Scorsese’s and Mick Jagger’s Vinyl, is premiering this Sunday, this photo release does make it feel as if the first official season 6 trailer for Game of Thrones could well be making an appearance this weekend.

Game of Thrones, season 6 premieres April 24th.

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New Season 6 Promos

Today, HBO’s official Game of Thrones Twitter announced the start of a new promotion for the upcoming sixth season of Game of Thrones with this intriguing tweet:

Send a raven. Tweet at @GameofThrones using #HouseStark, #HouseLannister, or #HouseTargaryen for more on Season 6. http://pic.twitter.com/BlwGyu1tTw

— Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) January 22, 2016

And the masses did just as they asked, flooding the account with their allegiance. What followed were three, individualized tweets whose responses included a very brief teaser video with voice overs from actors Iwan Rheon (Ramsay), Jonathan Pryce (the High Sparrow), and an unidentified actor playing a Dothraki. We’ve embedded these three responses below:

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Game of Thrones Premiere Date, Renewal News

The TCA’s winter press tour is in full swing, an as usual it’s proved a bounty of information concerning Game of Thrones as executive Michael Lombardo spoke with press. As expected, the sixth season of the series will premiere on April 24th, starting at its usual 9PM Eastern time, to be followed by the premiere’s of the comedies Veep and Silicon Valley.The Hollywood Reporter provides further news of note, as well: HBO’s negotiating for two more seasons of the series, taking it through its 8th season.

As James Hibberd notes, this is news from Lombardo was hinted at last year when he said showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss saw the show running “two more years after six”. However, Lombardo apparently went a step further when discussing these plans when he indicated a full 7th season was not expected. Last year, following the remarks, both EW and we ourselves speculated that this could mean Benioff and Weiss were perhaps allowing for an extended, split 7th season,  to take the show through its 8th year. After all, this has been a common solution at networks to keep a popular show on the air for as long as possible. Now there’s the spectre of the 8th season being a full season in turn, or perhaps it, too, might be split across two years to take the show into 2019.

And it must be said, though we do fully expect the 8th season (whether it’s season 8 in 2018 or season 8a followed by by 8b in 2019) will be the show’s last, it’s worth noting that none of these reports indicate that Lombardo named it the final season. What to make of that? It doesn’t really mean anything, given negotiations are still in the work. but HBO’s executives have previously made it sound like they’d be happy to see the show run for ten years, so perhaps they’re keeping their hopes alive. It will be interesting if the official announcement of two more seasons makes any statement about the end of the series.

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