westeroswisdom

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A quarry in Wales which had been used for location shooting for Season 3 of House of the Dragon has experienced a rockslide. The incident took place weeks after production had ended at Dinorwig Quarry in Gwynedd. No Targaryens were hurt by falling slate.

Part of a hillside has collapsed in a disused slate quarry in north Wales where battle scenes from the hit fantasy series House of the Dragon were filmed. A huge rockslide and a thick grey cloud of dust can be seen in video footage from a trail at Dinorwig Quarry in Gwynedd. Aran Jones, 21, from Sling, near Bangor, was returning from a hike up Yr Wyddfa, also known as Snowdon, and trying to film goats when he heard "cracking" sounds and saw falling slate. "Next thing as I'm filming the whole wall just collapses... I was mind blown... the last thing I expected to see," he said. "I kind of thought it might be a controlled demolition, but then I remembered the quarry's been inactive since I think 1969."

After almost two centuries of mining, there are bound to still be a number of unstable bits around the quarry.

Opened in 1787 above Llyn Padarn, the quarry was at one point the second largest in the world. It is part of the slate landscape of north west Wales, which is being developed as a tourism destination since becoming a Unesco World Heritage site in 2021. The quarry was also a key filming location for House of the Dragon.

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Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa b. 01 August 1979 Honolulu, Hawaii, USA (Me nem nesa.)

[westeroswisdom]

Emily "Eve" Best b. 31 July 1971 London, England, UK

If you're not familiar with her non-HotD career, it's quite extensive.

Eve Best Online • The leading Eve Best fan resource! » Career

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Wanted to repost this info about Black Aly because Annie Shapero has apparently been cast as Alysanne Blackwood AKA: "Black Aly".

‘House Of The Dragon’: Annie Shapero Cast As Fierce Fighter Alysanne Blackwood In Season 3

Internet speculation has been rife in recent weeks over who will star as one of George R.R. Martin’s most fierce female fighters in the upcoming House of the Dragon Season 3. We can reveal that Australian-British actor Annie Shapero is playing Alysanne Blackwood in the next season, which started shooting several weeks back in the UK.

A small spoiler ahead about an upcoming marriage – but nothing bad apparently happens as in the Red Wedding.

Known as Black Aly, Blackwood plays a key role in Martin’s Fire and Blood novel. The fearless warrior is Lord Benjicot Blackwood’s aunt and fights for Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) in the Dance of the Dragons before marrying Lord Cregan Stark, who is played by Tom Taylor. She becomes a legendary figure in House Stark lore and her storyline looks likely to be told in House of the Dragon Season 3. Blackwood is not a series regular but we are told she will appear in five of the eight eps of Season 3, which comes out next year.

“Amongst their supporters were two extraordinary women: Alysanne Blackwood, called Black Aly, a sister to the late Lord Samwell Blackwood, and thus aunt to Bloody Ben, and Sabitha Frey, the Lady of the Twins, the widow of Lord Forrest Frey and mother of his heir, a "sharp-featured, sharp-tongued harridan of House Vypren, who would sooner ride than dance, wore mail instead of silk, and was fond of killing men and kissing women," according to Mushroom.” 🪶♥️ _________________________________________ It’s Black Aly Blackwood and Sabitha Frey (nee Vypren) for ASOIAF #PrideMonth2021 🌈✨ These two are so badass they’re like, top tiers 😩🔥 Also fucking hate IG’s cropping now it looks like shit 😤 I’ve never seen a depiction of Sabitha, therefore it’s free for my imaginings XD

AGAIN HAPPY PRIDE MONTH TO ALL OF MY BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!!!!!

[westeroswisdom]

In addition to being House of the Dragon showrunner, Ryan Condal has a podcast called The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of which deals with collecting iconic movie and TV artifacts.

Ryan went off topic in a recent podcast to talk about production of Season 3 of HotD.

In the most recent episode of The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of podcast, Condal shared that he's currently in Surrey where the cast and crew are starting their "next big bank of location work." He stated that production, which is expected to last until October, will remain in Surrey for the next few months. He's juggling two different production units, and it sounds like things are heating up! While discussing the realities of leading a massive production like House of the Dragon season 3 with his co-host David Mandel (the showrunner of HBO's Emmy Award-winning comedy series Veep for seasons 5-7), Condal praised the production team and said "things have been going really well." That's not all he said, however, as his next tease for the season will surely ignite anticipation. "We're doing huge stuff out here in the woods and valleys and fields of Surrey," Condal said. "We've built some stuff out here, so I'm really excited." The new photos and videos from set have detailed some of the "huge stuff" that's been happening in those fields of Surrey, capturing just how extensive the production has gotten while in the thick of things. There are cranes and tents and shacks as the cast and crew reportedly work on filming episode 8, which is expected to be the season 3 finale.

Sounds promising!

If you live in Surrey, perhaps you've noticed a recent influx of Medieval-looking people as well as more 21st century production crews.

[westeroswisdom]

A few more names added to House of the Dragon Season 3 cast.

Accomplished actor Tom Cullen has been cast as Ser Luthor Largent, the Lord Commander of the City Watch in King’s Landing. Meanwhile, Joplin Sibtain takes on the role of Ser Jon Roxton, or Bold Jon, who is fighting for Lord Ormund Hightower. Barry Sloane has also been confirmed as Ser Adrian Redfort, a Queen Rhaenyra’s Queensguard member. Unannounced supporting cast members for “House of the Dragon” season 3 include Peter Polycarpou as Lord Gaunt, Dawn Butler as Weaver, and Joe Gaminara as Ser Leon.

There are still more to be announced.

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Nikolaj Coster-Waldau b. 27 July 1970 Rudkøbing, Danmark

Apparently Nikolaj is celebrating his birthday in India. He was spotted by a fan at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Beṅgaḷūru.

'Game Of Thrones' Star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Spotted At Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe, Fans Thrilled

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« This new Superman reminds me of the version I used to read about when I was a kid, the strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men.  (And yes, an innocent, of course, he’s always been an immigrant. And an illegal immigrant, when you stop to think if it). The film looks great, and James Gunn did a great job with the casting. Rachel Bosnahan was terrific as Lois Lane; I’d say it’s between her and Margot Kidder for Best Lois Ever. And there’s no doubt whatsoever for the Best Lex. Nicholas Hoult was far and away the Best Luthor of All Time, a truly chilling villain. The kid in the cape was excellent as well. I hope he gets to play Kal-El in another dozen movies. »

— George R.R. Martin at Not a Blog praising the new Superman film directed by James Gunn.

His connecting of this film to the comic book Superman of his youth was interesting. He occasionally mentions the influence of his early readings on his later work.

[westeroswisdom]

People who were shocked by Daenerys going rogue in Season 8 were just not paying attention.

Some delusional souls, oblivious to George R.R. Martin's non-traditional narrative, may have bizarrely been expecting an ending where Jon and Daenerys fly off to their honeymoon on the back of Drogon. 😅

But the signs of the occasional Targaryen craziness were present in Daenerys. She took after her father who was relatively normal at first but gradually turned into The Mad King.

Say what you want about the way Game of Thrones ended, but the show had always foreshadowed some of the climactic events, including Daenerys Targaryen torching the city of King's Landing. Daenerys always had a violent streak about her, and she would act before she thought. Many a time, she viewed herself as perfect and refused to listen to her advisors when they told her that her actions were too harsh. This was a woman who loved praise and fed on people lifting her up as a queen and savior.

In the end she decided to "burn them all" just as her father Aerys II had intended about 20 years before.

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The trailer for Season 1 of the BBC's upcoming historical drama King & Conqueror.

The main characters in this retelling of 1066 are Harold Godwinson (portrayed by James Norton – Ormond Hightower in HotD) and William I (portrayed by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – Jaime Lannister in GoT).

Release date is sometime in August – exact day not yet announced.

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An ASoIaF books view of the settlement at Hardhome. Towards the end of the vid we also get a look at Skagos, that large island to the east of The North.

I like whycreate's vids not just for the information and scholarship but for their general tone.

[westeroswisdom]

Rhys Ifans (AKA: Rhys Owain Evans) b. 22 July 1967 Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK

The last time we saw Otto he was imprisoned in an unknown location by persons unknown.

And yes, Otto spelled backwards is still Otto.

[westeroswisdom]

For the past few days part of the ASoIaF universe has been in a tizzy. Leaked HotD production footage showing Daemon Targaryen, Daeron Targaryen, and Ormond Hightower together has sent some people into hysterics. Such a meeting never took place in Fire & Blood. Above is a labeled cap from the footage.

First I'd like to point out that Fire & Blood is nowhere near as detailed as the five (so far) ASoIaF books. There is certainly room for occasional departures to fill in gaps in drama.

Also, there is some speculation that this scene was meant to be intentionally misleading to throw off gossip mongers using drone cams. In Season 8 of Game of Thrones D&D brought Faye Marsay and Tom Wlaschiha to Spain to film a fake scene to mess with the minds of serial rumor mongers. The two never appeared in the finale.

So this is my non-spoiler take on the incident. We probably have to wait until Season 3 next year to know what this scene was all about.

[westeroswisdom]

Dianna Rigg b. 20 July 1938 Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, UK

Dianna may be gone, but she portrayed a number of memorable characters.

Long before she was Olenna Tyrell, she was Emma Peel in the 1960s UK detective/spy series "The Avengers". Here are the opening and closing credits for that series.

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Sadly, we didn't see Cregan Stark after S02E01. Though he'll definitely be returning at some point. Certainly, the series can't end without Cregan but the odds are against him popping up in Season 3.

This short vid mentions Cregan's interest in the crypts beneath Winterfell.

[westeroswisdom]

We apparently have a Daeron!

It's not yet 100% official, but it's very likely that Daeron Targaryen will be portrayed by Charlie Gordon.

Who is Charlie Gordon, the trans actor rumoured to be taking on a major House of the Dragon role?

While rumours have circulated for months as to whether Gordon has joined the show, the online chatter about Charlie Gordon has increased recently thanks to a “leak” by social media account Westerosies. Professing to be the “Leading source for the latest news, facts, & content for HBO’s expanding Game of Thrones Universe,” the account posted the following tweet on X/Twitter today (Thursday 17 July): “As Prince Daeron Targaryen, Charlie Gordon becomes the first trans man to play a leading character in HBO’s ‘GAME OF THRONES’ Universe. Remember to fill the actor with love and encouragement on his new role!,” the post read. It was accompanied by a headset of Gordon as well as a promotional image for House of the Dragon. [ ... ] The character was left out of House of Dragon‘s first two seasons and fans have been eagerly awaiting his arrival. “I hope this is real. We’ve all been waiting long enough for news of his casting,” wrote one fan in a Reddit thread. Meanwhile others debated whether Gordon looked right for the part, with many arguing he looked too young. Some defended the actor though, with one person saying, “Daeron is young and fresh-faced in the text. I think this honors the original material… at least as much as we could hope for from this team.” Another person wrote: “the internet will always be ruthless and cold-hearted, especially when it’s about welcoming a trans actor. But I’m sure he’ll kill it as Daeron.”

I'm sure the MAGA crowd will go into hysterics over a trans actor. But right now they may be too busy trying to cope with the Trump-Epstein sex scandal. 😅

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON BRASIL published this montage of the four Team Green Targaryen siblings on their Instagram.

Charlie fits in quite well.

[westeroswisdom]

^^^ The occasionally volatile Daemon took that burn surprisingly well in S02E06.