George R.R. Martin compares the New England Patriots to White Walkers

George R. R. Martin is a big fan of the two New York NFL teams (Jets and Giants) and a big hater of the New England Patriots, and he waves his football war banners high in an entry on this week’s Not a Blog, which he wrote in reaction to the Jet’s overtime victory over the Pats last Sunday:

Hey, the Jets won! Life is magical and full of joy! Okay, okay, it was not the SuperBowl or anything, just a regular season game. But it was against the New England Patriots, the Horror Out of Boston, the Blue-and-White Walkers from Beyond the Wall, led by Evil Little Bill himself. The Jets always lose to the Patriots, usually in an especially painful fashion. Like they did earlier this season, in Foxboro. But this time they WON!–George RR Martin

George R.R. Martin is a fantasy guy, but he’s also a football guy, and a pretty hardcore one at that. He often blogs about football when he takes a break from ASOIAF and literary topics. To him, “the Starks are heroes, so they would be the Giants” and therefore, he continues, that makes the bad guy Lannisters the Patriots. GRRM also thinks that the Jets, like his Starks, are currently doomed, and his long-awaited The Winds of Winter will debut before the Jets win a Super Bowl. It seems natural for GRRM to want to inject his love of football into his fantasy work, and guess what: readers of A Song of Ice and Fire do get little Easter egg servings of football along with their fiction. Let’s hit the Westerosi gridiron and take a look (beware the Giants!)

1. The name of the kickass giant at Hardhome is a nod to the Giant’s quarterback Phil Simms: the giant who tears up the White Walker army at the Hardhome stronghold is Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun, commonly known as Wun Wun. Quarterback Phil Simm’s jersy number was eleven, or one-one.
2. Ser Patrek of King’s Mountain is a Dallas Cowboy and Dies Horribly because GRRM lost a bet: Ser Patrek‘s sigil is a blue star on silver, which is the logo for the Dallas Cowboys. ‘King’s Mountain’ is a reference to the French name of St. Denis’s hometown of Montreal (Quebec, Canada) which translates to ‘Mountain Royal’ in English. GRRM runs an ongoing season-long Giants vs. Cowboys football bet with his pal, popular genre blogger Patrick St. Denis (Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist). When St. Denis finally won, he asked Martin to “kill him horribly within the books.” Thus, the unfortunate Cowboy Ser Patrek is smashed against a wall by the Giant Wun Wun, or Phil Simms.
3. Patriots coach Bill Belichick (Evil Little Bill) must die: Tyrion Lannister is reading The Life of the Triarch Belichio in A Dance with Dragons, which is the fourth and final book of Belichio’s adventure tales. Triarch Belichio of Volantis is undefeated until his luck runs out in the fourth book and he is eaten by giants. Predictably, Patriots coach Bill Belichick was defeated in the 2007 Superbowl by the New York Giants, the fourth time Belichick had reached the championship game.
4. There be Ravens (maybe): Baltimore Ravens players Terrell Suggs and Mark Clayton may provide the names for a mashup ASOIAF character Ser Clayton Suggs, a hedge knight pledged to Stannis. Ser Suggs’s sigil is a flying pig and he is a crony of Godry the Giantslayer. ‘Giantslayer’ is interesting, considering the Ravens are the only football team to have defeated the Giants in a Superbowl.

Of course, no GRRM victory is won without much hand-wringing, mistakes in judgement and blood-laced-sweat, and this Sunday’s Jets triumph over the Patriots was a nail-biter, with an outcome probably decided by an unforeseen blunder.

All these kudos aside, though, Gang Green did almost lose this one. After dominating for most of the first three quarters, they let the Pats get back into it… you can’t give Brady that kind of opening…I could feel the victory slipping away as we went to overtime, and the stake was poised above my heart… they tossed the coin, and the Pats won, and the darkness was closing in around me as it has so many times before…Only then the Pats chose to kick off. Instead of receiving, and putting the hands of Tom Brady, the most dangerous mutha in football, Evil Little Bill decided that Fitz and the Jets should have it. Hee hee. Hoo ha. Oh, sweet. Thanks, Bill. What a lovely Christmas present. Fitz took the ball and drove Gang Green right down the field for the winning TD. And that was all she wrote. —George R.R. Martin

“Evil Foiled!” Or, perhaps, a football game as GRRM himself might have written it.

H/T The Daily Dot

Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/01/02/george-r-r-martin-compares-the-new-england-patriots-to-white-walkers/

39 Stars We Couldn't Get Enough Of In 2015

There were plenty of impressive performances this year, but BuzzFeed Entertainment talked with a group of actors about their particularly outstanding achievements — on screen and off. Here are our features, presented in chronological order of when they were published.

Taraji P. Henson

The Oscar-nominated actor leads an all-star cast on Empire, Lee Daniels’ series about the dark side of hip-hop. “I know I’m going to have to probably dig into some ugly places in my life to bring the character to life,” she told BuzzFeed News. — Kelley L. Carter

Chuck Hodes / Fox

Jussie Smollett

Director Lee Daniels “holds up the mirror to us as human beings,” Jussie Smollett told BuzzFeed News. On Empire, the actor plays Jamal, a groundbreaking young black gay character. — Kelley L. Carter

Chuck Hodes / Fox

Jay and Mark Duplass

Between Transparent, The Mindy Project, and their new HBO series Togetherness, brothers Jay and Mark Duplass have been taking over the world. But they told BuzzFeed News it's taken years for them to get there. — Alison Willmore

David Bertozzi / BuzzFeed

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View Entire List ›

Via http://www.buzzfeed.com/jaimieetkin/stars-we-couldnt-get-enough-of-in-2015?utm_term=4ldqpia

The Winds of Winter is still unfinished business

All day on New Year’s Day, George R.R. Martin posted updates to his Not A Blog that amounted to Cliffs Notes versions of a much longer entry he intended to post on New Year’s Eve, because LiveJournal (as it is sometimes wont to do) ate his post and was unable to recover it. Many of these posts are positive, detailing the very full year Mr. Martin had, not least of which was the Emmy Awards and getting a couple more non-ASOIAF projects off the ground. The way he did this actually allowed him to dramatically ramp up into the Big One: a status update on The Winds of Winter. Well, that post is here… and it’s not a happy one.

THE WINDS OF WINTER is not finished.

Believe me, it gave me no pleasure to type those words. You’re disappointed, and you’re not alone. My editors and publishers are disappointed, HBO is disappointed, my agents and foreign publishers and translators are disappointed… but no one could possibly be more disappointed than me. For months now I have wanted nothing so much as to be able to say, “I have completed and delivered THE WINDS OF WINTER” on or before the last day of 2015.

But the book’s not done.

Unlike many previous “book status update” posts, this one is unexpectedly thorough and candid, as Martin details his plans to potentially have the book ready for us before the sixth season of Game of Thrones, and how those plans fell through, and how those plans falling through affected him. He mentions his Douglas Adams-like relationship with deadlines (“Look, I have always had problems with deadlines. For whatever reason, I don’t respond well to them.”) before openly proclaiming that he won’t make excuses or lay blame for the delay. (Also, he revised a Theon chapter very recently! Theon, you guys!)

That’s two-thirds of the post. (This is the longest post in his 2015 wrap-up saga.) The last section touches on the subject of spoilers.

Will the show ‘spoil’ the novels?

Maybe. Yes and no. Look, I never thought the series could possibly catch up with the books, but it has. The show moved faster than I anticipated and I moved more slowly. There were other factors too, but that was the main one. Given where we are, inevitably, there will be certain plot twists and reveals in season six of GAME OF THRONES that have not yet happened in the books.

There’s a whole heap of differences in terms of who’s alive and who’s dead, certainly, which will still make the books different from the show in several ways. But it seems inevitable that season six will include elements of the unpublished sixth novel.

And that’s where we are, folks. Martin’s gone back to his “it’s done when it’s done” stance, and we’re rocketing towards another year where the show will be ahead of the books (sort of). Personally, I’m just hopeful that this year will be better for both Martin and TWoW than last year was.

Next: The Small Council looks ahead to Season 6

Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/01/02/the-winds-of-winter-is-still-unfinished-business/

Winds of Winters will not be published before Season 6

Although that was certainly the plan of George R.R. Martin and his publisher (not to mention our hope), we won’t read Book 6 ahead of Season 6 of Game of Thrones. In the last of a series of yearender posts on his Not A Blog, GRRM tackles the issue.

Cold, hard facts: TWoW is not finished, although a lot has been written. Says Martin: “But there’s also a lot still left to write. I am months away still… and that’s if the writing goes well”.

He reveals that he was first planning to be done by Halloween, and then by the end of the year, which would still give the publishers enough time, with an accelerated turn-around schedule (similar to when A Dance with Dragons was done). Clearly, that did not work out.

But I won’t make excuses. There are no excuses. No one else is to blame. Not my editors and publishers, not HBO, not David & Dan. It’s on me. I tried, and I am still trying. I worked on the book a couple of days ago, revising a Theon chapter and adding some new material, and I will writing on it again tomorrow. But no, I can’t tell you when it will be done, or when it will be published. Best guess, based on our previous conversations, is that Bantam (and presumably my British publisher as well) can have the hardcover out within three months of delivery, if their schedules permit. But when delivery will be, I can’t say. I am not going to set another deadline for myself to trip over. The deadlines just stress me out. I am going back to my stance from last March, before all this. It will be done when it’s done. And it will be as good as I can possibly make it.

Hear Marko Roar: Interestingly, the rumours and optimistic musings that we may yet get to read the next book before April were not unfounded, but the plans fell through as they are wont to do. Will the show “spoil” the novels? Well, that’s inevitable, at least when it comes to the plot’s major beats (which matter most), and we have been preparing for it mentally for a long time. Still, due to the divergences between the books and the adaptation (George goes into more detail on the matter in his post), there should be a whole lot to enjoy and I am looking forward to Winds just as much as I always have.

The post Winds of Winters will not be published before Season 6 appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.

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We Know Your Favorite "Game Of Thrones" Character Based On Your Favorite "Harry Potter" Character

It’s magic!

Via http://www.buzzfeed.com/vikky/we-know-your-favorite-game-of-thrones-character-y65c?utm_term=4ldqpia

Small Council: What are you most looking forward to in Game of Thrones Season 6?

It’s the start of a new year, and it’s time to look forward. HBO has ramped up promotion for the new season of Game of Thrones early this time around. What are we looking forward to? What are we dreading? What are our deepest wishes, hopes, dreams, and fears for Game of Thrones Season 6? (Warning: we talk about SPOILERS for Season 6.)

KATIE: Maybe I’m just getting caught up in all the Bran hype, but I’m looking forward to seeing Isaac Hempstead Wright back on screen. Bran has something that the other characters don’t; for however savvy the likes of Varys and Littlefinger are, they don’t know the sort of things Bran seems to know, and I want to get a look inside that kid’s head.

While I initially wasn’t too invested in Bran’s plot line, it’s grown on me, and I want to see where this magic takes him and what it will mean for the overall story. I have my own theories as to where a lot of the characters will end up by series’ end, but Bran is one that I haven’t been able to pin down, so the allure is strong.

I’m also looking forward to seeing Ramsay Bolton dead—not that that’s been in any way confirmed, but I’m not-so-patiently awaiting it, anyway. I would also like to know when Gendry is going to return from his boat trip but, again, there doesn’t seem to be any news on that front.

RAZOR: Okay, I’ll take the easy layup here, and go with Jon Snow’s (hopeful) resurrection. How could you not be riveted to your television screen, just waiting to see Game of Thrones finally breathe life back into everyone’s favorite bastard? Will Jon come back and try and stay a member of the Night’s Watch? Will he try and seek revenge for or against his former traitorous brothers? Or will he simply gather up Ghost and Longclaw—and hopefully Davos and Melisandre—and begin a journey toward Winterfell?

The possibilities are endless at this point in the story. I’ve said this before: book-readers and shownlys (show-only) are now on the same page. Isn’t that a fine kettle of fish? No more haughty book snobs like myself telling people who’ve only watched the show how each scene should have gone, had Benioff and Weiss stuck to the books. And this is a good thing…I think.

RICHARD: As one might be able to tell from my recent Jon Snow Hero’s Journey and Archetype articles, I’m pretty excited to see what happens to Lord Snow. Like Katie, I’m also jazzed to see how Bran returns (his storyline has also grown on me) and how his journey unfolds. Plus I love the Tyrion/Varys dynamic and I’m expecting big things (both serious and humorous) as they team up with Daenerys. Plus I also want to see the Boltons get CHOPPED.

 

ANI: Oh my goodness, so much to choose from. Let’s see, there’s Dany and what we can hope is her finding herself again now that she’s out of the terrible atmosphere of Meereen. There’s Arya, and her Westerosi Assassin’s Creed Training. There’s the Ironborn, who got named Skip last season. And of course there’s our old favorite Schrödinger’s Crow, Jon Snow.

I mean, other than Dorne, is there anything to not look forward to? I suppose watching Tyrion attempt to run Meereen is going to be Not Fun, but it will have Tyrion and Varys, and they will have one-liners. Cersei descending into whatever mental meltdown she’ll have after learning that Myrcella is dead will be both good and bad. Lena Headey will go all the way overboard with it, and that will be pretty delightful.

But I suppose if I have to choose one thing I’m looking forward to most, it’s everything I don’t know. This is our first year being completely “off book,” as it were, and if there’s one thing all the spoilers we’ve seen from filming so far have taught me, it’s that the plotlines I have no idea about excite me the most. Add in the fact that we’ve crossed the halfway mark, and that there are somewhere between 20-30 hours left to hear the rest of the story (depending on how much of a Season 8 Benioff and Weiss agreed to, or if it’s not just Season 7 parts one and two)…can it really be that long until Dany rides across the Narrow Sea while the Wall falls up north?

DAN: We’re definitely casting a wide net here. Like Katie, I’m excited to see more of Bran. I’m more excited than I thought I would be, actually. Bran’s been a character in transition since Season 2—his story has mostly involved trekking from one part of the continent to another, with the occasional break to learn something about his abilities or foil a kidnapping. Now that he’s installed in the far North with the Three-Eyed Raven, it seems like he’s finally going to exert some influence on events. His presence in the promotional materials for Season 6—not to mention the fact that Isaac Hempsted Wright nabbed the very first cast interview of the season—implies that this will be a big year for Bran.

Mostly, though, I’m with Ani—I’m ready to be impressed by things I don’t know, and at this point there are a lot of things I don’t know. I’m also hoping the producers absorb some of the criticisms they received about Season 5 and make Season 6 a slightly smoother experience. If we’re talking about things I’m dreading, I’m a little afraid they’ll sacrifice nuance for big, splashy set pieces that don’t have much weight and that don’t hold up under scrutiny. Hopefully, though, they’ve worked out the bugs and can start to barrel toward the ending with confidence and grace. It’s all up to you now, Benioff and Weiss. Take us on home!

LEXI: This topic makes me feel like a kid in a Westerosi candy store. To start, I’ll echo Dan and Ani’s thoughts. Assuming The Winds of Winter doesn’t get published anytime soon, I’m looking forward to watching Season 6 as an Unsullied for the first time and experiencing all the jaw-dropping moments in real time. At the beginning of any new season I also love the first glimpses of the dragons to see how they’ve grown in size and appearance.

In addition to the plotlines everyone’s already mentioned there are a few I’m especially excited about, including The Battle of the Bastards, and along with it hopefully some Stark family reunions. In past seasons, we’ve seen a lot of near misses between the Starks so it would be rewarding to see at least a couple of them reunited. I’m also interested to see what happens in the Riverlands. I’m still holding out hope that Lady Stoneheart will make an appearance. Even if she doesn’t, I’ll still take a large helping of lots and lots of dead Boltons and Freys.

In Essos, I’m excited to see how Tyrion wields his leadership skills amidst the chaos of Meereen. He’ll have help from Varys but it will be interesting to see how he manages a city where the name Lannister doesn’t carry the same power or influence as it did in Kings Landing. I’m also hoping that Dany returns with her new khalasar in toe and squashes the Sons of the Harpy once and for all. I’d like to see that storyline wrapped up with Dany and Tyrion sailing for Westeros by season’s end.

The only plotline I’m dreading is the return of the Sand Snakes and their cringe-worthy dialogue and accents. Hopefully the producers have remedied those issues since last season. Lastly, besides Jon’s resurrection, the individual scene I’m most looking forward to is the one at the Tower of Joy. To finally have confirmation of Jon’s true parentage and his potential claim to the Iron Throne, the truth of Lyanna and Rhaegar’s relationship, and seeing Lyanna and Ned together should be a huge payoff.

(A word on the poll: some of the poll options constitute vague SPOILERS, so be wary if you choose to vote.)

Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/01/01/small-council-what-are-you-most-looking-forward-to-in-game-of-thrones-season-6/

Two Israeli actors reported to be appearing in Game of Thrones season 6

Israel’s YNet news website is reporting this week that two Israeli performers are appearing in the sixth season of Game of Thrones. YNet says that Ania Bukstein an Yousef ‘Joe’ Sweid have both won small roles on the show next season.

The castings are currently unconfirmed, and it’s not known which small roles the actors will be playing on Game of Thrones if they are indeed cast.

The Russian-born actress Bukstein has starred in many Israeli films and television shows, including The Arbitrator and False Flag.

Sweid had a recurring role on this year’s American Odyssey and has appeared on Homeland, in addition to numerous Israeli credits.

Given the show’s track record, the actors would most likely be turning up in one of the Essos storylines in season 6.

What do you think, readers?

The post Two Israeli actors reported to be appearing in Game of Thrones season 6 appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.

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