The post Netflix launches “watch free” site with Bird Box, Stranger Things and more appeared first on Winter is Coming.
Via https://winteriscoming.net/2020/08/31/netflix-free-streaming-bird-box-two-popes-stranger-things/
Monday, August 31, 2020
Netflix launches “watch free” site with Bird Box, Stranger Things and more
Via https://winteriscoming.net/2020/08/31/netflix-free-streaming-bird-box-two-popes-stranger-things/
Enter to win the Game of Thrones HalloweenCostumes.com Giveaway!
Autumn is coming! And with it, Halloween, our favorite night of the year. Get ready for your socially distant gatherings this October and start prepping for next year’s cons with our newest worldwide giveaway, thanks to HalloweenCostumes.com. We’re giving away three Game of Thrones costumes to our readers from the site’s wide selection. Live your dragon fantasy or walk the walls of your own “castle” in a fun costume this fall, and enter to win!
How to enter? Check out the selection here and at HalloweenCostumes.com, leave a comment, and discover more ways to win below!
Get your Stark on! The Wolf Princess costume, complete with the lady’s gown and a faux fur capelet, features pretty embroidery, and is available in sizes S-2X. If you’re feeling ready for a different kind of Needlework, there’s the Winter Warrior costume. Coming in S-3X sizes, I love that this one will be available in Girl’s sizes starting 9/5/20. After all, a girl needs to trick or treat too. Scaring people is probably her favorite part.
Stay warm this Halloween in the gorgeous Winter Dragon Queen costume (available in S-4X). The faux fur, fully lined coat features a royal chain 44″ long. If you actually LIKE the cold, well the Night King might be more your speed, and The Night King Mask is made for you. Come at me, bro. Hopefully with candy.
We know no king costume but the Dark Northern King Costume, available in sizes XS-3X. Now that a certain bastard is living life beyond the Wall once more, the tunic, long linen cape, belt and gloves should come in handy. Luckily he won’t be alone up there- hopefully a friend can wear the Wild Warrior Costume. Available in M-4X sizes, bring out your inner wildling with this costume. Grow out your facial hair, rent out a cave, and have a good time with the special bear in your life.
We’re choosing three lucky winners from among the entrants, so what are you waiting for? ENTER TO WIN!
The Official Rules
How do you enter? You can enter in 3 different ways, earning up to 3 total entries!
Method #1: Simply comment on this post! Your first comment in the post will count for your entry.
Method #2: WotW Twitter: Follow our Twitter, WatchersOTWall, and retweet the Game of Thrones HalloweenCostumes.com Giveaway! (you must do both for the extra entry). If you already follow us, no problem. Simply retweet the contest post.
Method #3: WotW Facebook: Like the WatchersontheWall Facebook page, and Like and Share the Game of Thrones HalloweenCostumes.com Giveaway! (you must do both for the extra entry). If you already Like our page, again, no problem. Just share the contest post and you are entered!
Entries are accepted for seven days, closing the giveaway for entries on Monday, September 7th, 2020 at 12PM EDT. The winner will be randomly selected from the entries, and announced soon thereafter.
This giveaway is offered worldwide; if in the event the prize is unable to be shipped to the country of the winner, the winner will alternatively receive equivalent store credit at HalloweenCostumes.com. Prize includes one Game of Thrones costume with listed pieces; no additional accessories/wigs included. The three (3) winners will be selected from among valid entrants by random drawing. The winner must respond within 72 hours of notification or will forfeit their prizes and another winner will be selected. Winner may be responsible for local taxes/importing fees. The winner must have a valid shipping address.
HBO, Twitter and Facebook are their own entities and are in no way associated with this giveaway.
Want a chance to win more amazing prizes? HalloweenCostumes.com is having 30 DAYS OF GIVEAWAYS in September! Visit HalloweenCostumes.com for details .
The post Enter to win the Game of Thrones HalloweenCostumes.com Giveaway! appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.
Via http://watchersonthewall.com
Sunday, August 30, 2020
Saturday, August 29, 2020
Friday, August 28, 2020
Thursday, August 27, 2020
George R.R. Martin writes about dealing with flawed historical figures and fictional characters in his Not A Blog
George R.R. Martin took a break from writing The Winds of Winter earlier today (yes, guys, he really is hard at work on it) to share his thoughts on the reductive legacies of complicated historical figures and how to best reconcile their virtues with their shortcomings.
“Even the greatest of minds may disagree about what to do with those who came before us, fallible fellows all,” he writes on his Not A Blog, along with these two quotes:
Martin argues that Shakespeare was “[telling] it like it is,” in his quote (which is a Mark Anthony line from Julius Caesar) while Ghandi was describing the way the world could be, rather than the way it is.
Martin then contemplates how, as much as we want to sort people into good or bad categories after they die, everyone, be they living, dead or fictional, is an imperfect tangle of contradictory characteristics.
“Dwelling where I am now, deep in the heart of Westeros, I find myself surrounded by my characters, the children of my mind and heart and soul. They are real to me, as I write them, and I struggle to make them real to my readers as well. All of them are flawed, from the best to the worst. They do heroic things, they do selfish things. Some are strong and some are weak, some smart and some stupid. The smartest may do stupid things. The bravest may have moments when their courage fails. Great harms may be done from the noblest motives, great good from motives vile and venal. Life is like that, and art should reflect that, if it is to remain true. Ours is a world of contradiction and unintended consequences.”
Martin goes on to list some of his favorite characters in fiction, noting that they’re all deeply flawed individuals but that it’s those very imperfections that make them so compelling. Martin says he has a similar reaction to the real-life subjects of histories, biographies and memoirs.
“I am not blind to the flaws of those who went before us, and I recognize the truth of Mark Antony’s words,” Martin writes in his last paragraph. “But Gandhi’s words are nobler, and those are the words I choose to live by… to treasure the memory of the good they did.
Our world needs more empathy, less anger.”
Okay, so … it’s difficult to know what to make of this post since Martin doesn’t offer any hints as to what inspired him to write this. However, while reading it, I was certainly reminded of the Hugo Awards ceremony Martin hosted last month, for which he garnered criticism for (among other things) waxing poetic about H.P Lovecraft and John W. Campbell, both of whom won posthumous awards that night and both of whom were well-documented bigots in life.
Martin issued an apology on File 770 and, obviously, I can’t be sure that the Hugo Awards controversy is in any way connected to this Not A Blog post but … well, the timing is what it is.
I don’t have much to add to the discourse myself, so I’ll end with an excerpt from Nnedi Okorafor’s blog post, Lovecraft’s racism & The World Fantasy Award statuette, with comments from China Miéville.
“Do I want “The Howard” (the nickname for the World Fantasy Award statuette. Lovecraft’s full name is “Howard Phillips Lovecraft”) replaced with the head of some other great writer? Maybe. Maybe it’s about that time. Maybe not. What I know I want is to face the history of this leg of literature rather than put it aside or bury it. If this is how some of the great minds of speculative fiction felt, then let’s deal with that… as opposed to never mention it or explain it away. If Lovecraft’s likeness and name are to be used in connection to the World Fantasy Award, I think there should be some discourse about what it means to honor a talented racist.”
The post George R.R. Martin writes about dealing with flawed historical figures and fictional characters in his Not A Blog appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.
Via http://watchersonthewall.com
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Monday, August 24, 2020
Sunday, August 23, 2020
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Friday, August 21, 2020
Thursday, August 20, 2020
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
HBO releases casting call for Daemon Targaryen and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau discusses the fan response to season 8
In these uncertain times it’s deeply comforting to hear that at least one thing is still on track … and that’s the Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon. A casting call has surfaced for the role of Daemon Targaryen, who is slated to be one of the leads in the series. In other news, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau recently said he “almost wanted” to donate to the petition to remake season 8 of Game of Thrones.
The Illuminerdi reported that HBO is looking for multiple options to play Daemon Targaryen. The character description reads:
PRINCE DAEMON TARGARYEN (Male, 40-50) – The younger brother to King Viserys, Daemon wasn’t born with “naked ambition” for the throne despite being in line for it. He’s less methodical and more impetuous. Not to mention easily bored…stumbling from one distraction to the next with the subconscious yet singular obsession with earning the love and acceptance of his brother the king. Most of Daemon’s joy is found at sword-point. But even as the most experienced warrior of his time, he vacillates between vile and heroic, making him the true rogue of the series.
SERIES LEAD. OPTIONS ESSENTIAL *This role is currently scheduled to film between January – December 2021*
Game of Thrones ceased using real character names for casting calls many seasons before the end, so the lack of a pseudonym for Prince Daemon may cast some doubt on the veracity of this casting call. However, it’s true that House of the Dragon is a new production distinct from Game of Thrones, so they may be doing things differently. They wouldn’t be spoiling much with casting calls for a show that takes place at a time many years in the past of Westeros that Martin has written about at length.
Speaking of: Daemon Targaryen, for those of you who don’t have Fire and Blood close at hand, was the husband of Rhaenyra Targaryen, one of the contenders for the throne during the Dance of the Dragons. But Daemon made his own mark on Targaryen history and earned himself a reputation as a rogue, which the description above references. He’s even the eponymous character of George R.R. Martin’s novelette, The Rogue Prince.
Though we certainly had our fair share of morally grey characters in Game of Thrones, it’ll be interesting to see how House of the Dragon portrays this particular roguish-yet-royal, vile-yet-heroic protagonist. I’m keen to learn more when filming begins next year.
Until then, let’s refocus our attention on the present, where Nikolaj Coster-Waldau recently interviewed with Variety and joked about wanting to donate to the petition to redo the ending of Game of Thrones. When asked about the fans’ less-than-stellar response to Jaime’s death, Coster-Waldau said:
I didn’t follow it at all. [Pauses.] Obviously, I heard about it. I was aware of the petition for a new ending, which I thought was hilarious. I almost wanted to donate to that petition. HBO saying, “You’re right, so many people want it, we’re going to do it.” I think everyone had their own opinion. I find the world of fandom really interesting. Everyone wanted something specific and different from what they got. It’s a combination of — you imagine an ending; but also, I think if you’re a hardcore fan, it was really upsetting that it ended. You lived with this for eight seasons. There is still a massive community dedicated to “Game of Thrones.” I think there was a real fear that was going to go away. It had to end.
So, in context it’s pretty clear that Nikolaj didn’t actually support the call to “correct” the final season. Though I have to say, when he was asked what he would change about season 8 if he had to redo it, his reply was a tad dodgy.
“Oh, how did it end? He was — no, it was fine. It was great. It was fine. How do you end that story? Let’s talk about this in 10 years, then you can talk about it. But now, I think it’s a little too recent.”
The post HBO releases casting call for Daemon Targaryen and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau discusses the fan response to season 8 appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.
Via http://watchersonthewall.com
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Monday, August 17, 2020
Sunday, August 16, 2020
Saturday, August 15, 2020
George R.R. Martin is back to work on “The Winds of Winter”
Earlier today, George R.R. Martin updated his Not A Blog to tell us that he has resumed his seat before his old-school word processor in his mysterious, isolated mountain cabin and is back in action, working away on The Winds of Winter.
To be clear, Martin doesn’t hint at how much progress he’s making, or if he’s reached any important milestones in his post, (he did that last month). Rather, he reflects on how his writing process has evolved over the years and how his life has changed in the decades since he began his career.
For one thing, he used to work at home. I know. Then at some point, home stopped providing him the solitude he needed to be productive so he purchased the house across the street and dubbed that his “writer’s retreat.”
“No longer would I write all day in my red flannel bathrobe; now I would have to dress and put on shoes and walk all the way across the street to write,” he says. “But that worked for a while.”
Martin’s responsibilities kept mounting until, in addition to his writing career, he had “a movie theatre, a bookstore, a charitable foundation, investments [and] a business manager” and five assistants (whom he calls minions) to help him deal with it all.
“Despite all the help, I was drowning till I found the mountain cabin,” he writes, then goes on to detail his daily routine in his fortress of solitude which he admits is “very boring … Truth be told, I hardly can be said to have a life.”
I’m not going to paraphrase or copy and paste the multiple paragraphs Martin spends describing his day-to-day life in the mountains but TLDR: the guy really is working hard. Sure, we’re all more than a little frustrated at how slow going The Winds of Winter‘s progress has been, but Martin is clearly giving it his all and it hasn’t been easy, especially since the pandemic began.
“Since [March], weeks and months go by when I never leave the cabin, or see another human being except whoever is on duty that week,” he writes. “I lose track of what day it is, what week it is, what month it is. The time seems to [be going] by very fast. It is now August, and I don’t know what happened to July. But it is good for the writing.”
Martin’s post grows even more contemplative as he considers that having a social life and getting writing done have always been mutually exclusive for him, that his first two years in New Mexico, 1979 to 1981, were both incredibly lonely and incredibly productive (he worked on Windhaven and Shadow Twin, wrote all of Fevre Dream and completed several short stories during that time.)
“I wonder if it is the same for other writers? Or is it just me?” he writes. “I wonder if I will ever figure out the secret of having a life and writing a book at the very same time. I certainly have not figured it out to date. For the nonce, it is what it is. My life is at home, on hold, and I am spending the days in Westeros with my pals Mel and Sam and Vic and Ty. And that girl with no name, over there in Braavos.”
The post George R.R. Martin is back to work on “The Winds of Winter” appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.
Via http://watchersonthewall.com