Westeros may be a fictional world, but you can actually visit many of the famous locations from the series in the real world. For example, King's Landing sits on the coast of the Adriatic Sea in Croatia, and Winterfell is an 18th-century castle in Northern Ireland. Here's a look at some of the popular hot spots in "Game of Thrones" and where they were filmed.
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Each year in television, one show stands out from the rest as the most critically acclaimed program of the year.
Since the turn of the new century, review aggregator Metacritic has compiled an annual list of the year's most well-received TV show seasons by assigning scores based on their composite critical reception.
We selected the top show from each year starting with 2000 (and including the best program of 2017 so far). The resulting list includes repeated appearances from contemporary classics like "Breaking Bad," "The Wire," and "Mad Men" for their most notable seasons.
Check out the best TV show of every year since 2000, according to critics:
SEE ALSO: The 20 best new TV shows ranked, according to critics
Critic score: 97/100
User score: 9.3/10
What critics said: "It's difficult to single out any particular aspect of the show: It's just plain brilliant." — Variety
Critic score: 98/100
User score: 8.6/10
What critics said: "It takes a little while to get into it (episode two clinched it for me), but once you get used to the accents and dry humor, you're hooked." — The Chicago Sun-Times
Critic score: 93/100
User score: 8.9/10
What critics said: "The pleasure to be taken from 'Office' isn't merely that of laughter — it's the pleasure of watching a piece of entertainment so perfectly made and so delicately acted." — Entertainment Weekly
The summer movie season continues to trudge along to the finish line. With every weekend that has a monster hit like "Wonder Woman" or "Spider-Man: Homecoming," there's another one close behind it with so-so box office returns. And we've hit another slow spot this weekend.
"War for the Planet of the Apes," the third movie in 20th Century Fox's reboot of "Planet of the Apes," won the weekend with an estimated $56 million, according to Exhibitor Relations. That's lower than most industry projections.
Though the movie is a critical darling with a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it's serious tone of the battle between apes and man seems to not be attracting the same audience that came to the franchise's previous movie, "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," which took in $72.6 million its opening weekend in 2014.
There could be some franchise fatigue to blame for the opening "War" had. Though all three movies have been praised for its strong storytelling and incredible motion-capture technology.
Coming in second place is "Spider-Man: Homecoming," with $45 million. The movie has now earned over $200 million total domestically.
The feel good story at the box office over the weekend is the performance by the Amazon Studios/Lionsgate release, "The Big Sick." The Judd Apatow-produced comedy starring Kumali Nanjiani ("Silicon Valley"), who co-wrote the screenplay with his girlfriend Emily V. Gordon), followed-up its impressive limited release run with a $3.6 million take in the first weekend of its wide release. It now has over $6 million total in its theatrical run.
SEE ALSO: Christopher Nolan compared casting Harry Styles in "Dunkirk" to Heath Ledger as The Joker
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Is Joffrey a psychopath? Why is Ramsay Bolton so mean?
Westeros doesn't seem to have psychologists to answer these questions, but thankfully the real world does.
Dr. Kirk Honda is a licensed marriage and family therapist who hosts a podcast called Psychology in Seattle. On the show, he's "diagnosed" a few "Game of Thrones" villains as if they were patients on his office couch.
Of course, no psychologist or psychiatrist can actually diagnose anyone, real or fictional, without meeting them. But Honda took his best shot anyway.
You can listen to everything Honda had to say about each character in his podcast, available here, but he also agreed to provide Business Insider with a short summary of five characters' diagnoses.
SEE ALSO: 30 differences between the 'Game of Thrones' books and TV show you may not have noticed
DON'T MISS: Every important detail you might have missed in the newest 'Game of Thrones' season 7 trailer
"In my opinion, Ramsay has sexual sadism disorder along with sadistic personality disorder...since he demonstrates marked pleasure and complete lack of remorse from the suffering of others," Honda told Business Insider. (Sadistic Personality Disorder was removed from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders after the 3rd edition, and is no longer considered an official diagnosis.)
Honda dubbed Ramsay the most problematic character in the show, due to his "tremendous pleasure in harming others," even when that sadistic behavior doesn't benefit him in the long run.
"Anti-social or psychopathic [personality disorders]... are both related to sadism and its sub-category, sexual sadism," Honda explained, adding that the two are "slightly different but largely overlapping."
He added that Ramsay's disorders are likely due to "his biological inheritance from Roose Bolton, who also exhibited significant psychopathic behavior, particularly before Ramsay was born, and Ramsay’s difficult childhood."
Honda believes Joffrey suffers from a specific form of sadistic personality disorder called tyrannical sadism, due to his habit of relishing in "verbally and physically harming and abusing others with his power."
But Honda hesitated to apply too many labels to Joffrey because personality disorders in minors are usually not diagnosed until they become adults and their personalities finish forming. For that reason, Honda diagnosed Joffrey with conduct disorder "because he exhibits a pattern of violating the rights of others."
Honda believes Joffrey's disorder stems from "abuse from his father, distant mother, trauma from parental conflict and violence, looking like a girl and being teased — a detail that's in the books — inbreeding, mother drinking while pregnant, being told he’s better than others, and poor parenting."
Cersei's diagnosis isn't as straightforward as the others, Honda said, because of her position as a female in a highly patriarchal society. Cersei was marginalized and abused by her father and husband when she was younger, and "is surrounded by a context that values power, specifically royal power, so her psychopathic behavior could be a result of circumstances and culture, rather than personality," he said.
Unlike Joffrey and Ramsay, most of Cersei's anti-social acts are "instrumental in gaining power and could be considered acts of survival, from her perspective."
Honda believes Cersei may also have alcohol dependence issues, though she doesn't seem to experience any ill effects from her heavy drinking (a criterion for the disorder).
"In my opinion, she seems to drink to cope with the stress of her life, which is tremendous. It’s common for people to self-medicate in this way," Honda said.
Warning: Huge (very huge) spoilers for "Game of Thrones" season seven. If you aren't caught up on the series, read at your own risk.
In the long-awaited premiere of season seven of "Game of Thrones," we got to revisit most of our beloved characters after the longest break we've ever had from the series.
And it was definitely satisfying, and moved the story forward in a way that makes us even more excited about season seven than we were before the premiere.
Here's our recap of the the season 7 premiere of "Game of Thrones:"
Arya poisoned the Freys! Basically all of them, except the women.
Arya slitting Walder Frey's throat (after baking his sons into pie) wasn't the end. Most of us assumed she fled the Twins immediately after the murders to pursue other big names on her infamous list. But turns out, she didn't.
At first, it seemed like Walder Frey's speech was a flashback of the Red Wedding, or something similar. But as he continued talking in detail of how he was responsible for murdering the Starks, it got more obvious what was happening. Especially when Arya (as Walder Frey) said, "leave one wolf alive and the sheep are never safe."
And Arya gave a subtle but powerful smirk as she exited the hall at the Twins.
After Cersei killed a huge chunk of the cast of the series in the season six finale, Jaime seems to question her power, even though she's now the Queen of Westeros. With House Frey gone and House Bolton gone, the Lannisters have no remaining allies in Westeros.
Jaime also seems pretty upset at the fact that Cersei's decisions led their only remaining child, Tommen, to kill himself. But Cersei says that his suicide was a betrayal.
Cersei says she has a plan, and right then Euron Greyjoy comes into King's Landing with his Iron Fleet. But Cersei denies his proposal of marriage, and Euron leaves the Red Keep, saying that he will come back with a gift that might change her mind.
Surrounded by enemies, refusing Euron's proposal seems like a stupid move, but he still seems determined to help her.
Cersei also somehow now knows that her brother Tyrion is alive and well, and serving as hand of the queen to Daenerys Stormborn. Perhaps Qyburn is serving her well as master of spies and getting her reliable info from across the Narrow Sea. Cersei also seems to know House Frey has been eradicated, but obviously has no idea it's coming for her as she speaks.
During Jon Snow's speech at Winterfell, Sansa sparred with him over his decision to leave House's Karstark and Umber to their rightful families. They betrayed the Starks and fought for Ramsay, and Sansa suggested that their houses be given to families who remained loyal to the Starks.
Jon was upset that Sansa challenged his authority in front of so many people. And after making some suspicious faces during Jon's speech, Littlefinger asked Sansa if she was happy, and what she needed to be happy.
She didn't really give an answer, and then Brienne of Tarth came up to interrupt them. Brienne definitely knows that Littlefinger is a creep. Sansa tod Brienne that he's still in Winterfell because he saved them from Ramsay and his army, which is true. They need the Knights of the Vale. But why is Littlefinger always so creepy? Maybe we'll never know.
Warning: Minor spoiler alerts for those who have not yet watched the season seven premiere of Game of Thrones.
If you watched the "Game of Thrones" season seven premiere Sunday, you might have missed the sad reemergence of two minor characters from season four: a farmer and his daughter.
The first indication of this plot point came in a clip during the pre-episode "Game of Thrones" recap. The clip was from season four, episode three ("Breaker of Chains"), when the Hound (Sandor Clegane) and Arya cross paths with a farmer and his daughter in the Riverlands while making their way to the Vale.
The farmer invites Arya and Clegane to spend the night in his home so that they can avoid the impending rainfall. While Clegane and Arya are being fed by the farmer, the farmer offers Clegane some silver in exchange for his help lifting a hand on his farm. Clegane instead decides to steal the farmer's silver the following morning despite the farmer's graciousness as a host, justifying his theft by insisting that the farmer and his daughter will be "dead by winter."
In Sunday's episode, Beric Dondarrion and Thoros suggest that the Brotherhood Without Banners — which Clegane became a part of back in season six — spend the night in a house that happens to be the one Clegane robbed back in season four. Clegane, it appears, remembers the house from the last time he was there, and tries to dissuade Dondarrion and the rest of the Brotherhood from heading to the house. Clegane insists that, "These people don't want us here." Dondarrion and the rest of the Brotherhood, however, say that there doesn't seem to be anyone there, as there is no chimney smoke or livestock.
They enter the house to find the skeleton of a man and a young child, who as you may have guessed are the farmer and his daughter from season four. It appears that the two were on the verge of starvation, and that the farmer took both of their lives instead of enduring a long and painful death from starvation. Just as Clegane had predicted, both the father and his daughter died come winter.
After the Brotherhood retires for the evening, Thoros wakes up to the sound of Clegane digging graves for the farmer and his daughter, and Clegane admits to knowing them, although not too well.
As Clegane finishes burying them, he looks down at their graves and says, "I'm sorry you're dead, you deserved better, both of you."
While the reemergence of the farmer and his daughter is surely not an indication of either of those characters returning (rising from the dead is reserved for characters like Jon Snow), Clegane mourning the loss of the pair could be a nod to a shift in his once cold and curmudgeon-like demeanor.
HBO airs new episodes of "Game of Thrones" every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.
For more insight into the episode and Clegane's change in character check out the "Game of Thrones: Season 7 Episode 1: Inside the Episode" below:
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NOW WATCH: Here’s the first trailer for 'Inhumans' — the Marvel movie that was turned into a TV show
Woody, Buzz, Rex and the rest of the "Toy Story" gang are moving from film to video games with "Kingdom Hearts 3," an upcoming Xbox One and PlayStation 4 action-adventure game.
The game is the long-anticipated third entry in the "Kingdom Hearts" series — the last major entry, "Kingdom Hearts 2," launched all the way back in 2005 on the PlayStation 2. In "Kingdom Hearts," various Disney characters and their worlds are mashed up with characters that would be right at home in a "Final Fantasy" game.
Alongside the cast of "Toy Story" (and their Earth-like setting), "Kingdom Hearts 3" also stars Goofy and Donald Duck.
You may've noticed a third character here — that's "Sora," the main character of "Kingdom Hearts 3" and who you'll play as when the game launches in 2018 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
The latest trailer for the game debuted over the weekend, and it looks outrageous. Take a look right here:
SEE ALSO: Disney just gave fans a sneak peek of 10 new blockbusters — here's what they got to see
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NOW WATCH: Disney revealed what Star Wars Land will look like
Director David Leitch is known best right now for being half of the team that created the surprise hit, "John Wick," but expect to hear his name more for the next year.
The stuntman-turned-director has two major movies coming up: first is the Charlize Theron Cold War spy movie, "Atomic Blonde" (opening July 28), then he'll follow that with the highly anticipated "Deadpool 2," the sequel to the box office hit from 2016 that starred Ryan Reynolds playing the unique Marvel character.
Leitch took on the second Deadpool movie after the director of the original, Tim Miller, left last October over "creative differences." Currently shooting "Deadpool 2," Leitch said he's trying to keep focused and not get caught up in the hype around the project.
"You can't deny the expectation," Leitch told Business Insider, while doing press for the release of "Atomic Blonde," when asked if he feels any pressure to deliver as big or bigger than the first movie. "There's such an incredibly passionate following, which I'm grateful for to be involved in it. But at the end of the day, I've been working on films for 20 years, we're in the creative process right now and I'm just focused on that. It feels like we know what to deliver. Ryan knows Deadpool like the back of his hand and we're in a really good place."
Miller's departure from the sequel was reportedly due to him not seeing eye-to-eye with Reynolds about the scope of the project. Miller wanted to go bigger with story and ideas while Reynolds, along with screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, wanted to stay close to the original's $60 million budget and have lots of raunchy material.
The original earned the biggest box office opening ever for an R-rated movie with $132.4 million and a worldwide box office total of $783.1 million. With Reynolds as the face of the franchise, the success or failure of the sequel is placed on his shoulders.
But that's what's impressed Leitch the most since coming on board, how connected Reynolds is to the demented persona of the "Merc With A Mouth."
"He was made for this role and the character is made for him," said Leitch of Reynolds as Deadpool. "They are one, let's say it that way."
"Deadpool 2" will open in theaters on June 1, 2018.
SEE ALSO: The best TV show of every year since 2000, according to critics
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NOW WATCH: HBO released an incredible, action-packed trailer for 'Game of Thrones' season 7
The new season of "Game of Thrones" is finally here, and there's a lot going on all over Westeros. We saw some characters meet for the very first time, and many met their untimely doom. Here's a look at some details you might not have caught the first time around, with a few nods to the books.
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Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau, most closely associated with scene-stealing character turns in such films as “North by Northwest,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors” and “Ed Wood” as well as the classic TV series “Mission: Impossible,” died Saturday in Los Angeles, according to his publicist. He had been hospitalized at UCLA where he experienced complications. He was 89.
The lanky, offbeat-looking veteran of the Actors Studio, for he which he was currently West Coast co-artistic director, had many ups and downs in his career. His greatest successes (three Oscar nominations and one win) came later in life when he returned to character roles like the one that first won him notice, as James Mason’s sinister gay henchman in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest.”
He was Emmy-nominated five times, and most of his leading man roles came on television, most notably as Rollin Hand, a master of disguise on “Mission: Impossible.” He later spent a couple of years starring in syndicated sci-fi series “Space: 1999,” on which, as with “Mission: Impossible,” he co-starred with then-wife Barbara Bain.
After a dry spell, his career roared back to life in the late 1980s when Francis Ford Coppola cast him in “Tucker: The Man and His Dream,” which brought Landau the first of three supporting noms. It was, he reminded one journalist, the first time this “Jewish kid from Brooklyn” took a role that called for him to play Jewish.
An even more impressive turn as a successful Jewish ophthalmologist haunted by a secret in Woody Allen’s drama “Crimes and Misdemeanors” brought him an Oscar nomination for the second year in a row.
In 1994 came the part of a lifetime for a character actor, the dying, once-famous screen ghoul Bela Lugosi, in Tim Burton’s whacked-out “Ed Wood.” Landau won the supporting actor Oscar.
Landau made his first bigscreen impression in Alfred Hitchcock’s action suspenser “North by Northwest,” playing the villain who does Mason’s dirty work. The role led to a major supporting role in the epic “Cleopatra,” on which Landau spent a year, only to find most of his role as General Rufio on the cutting-room floor. “What could I do?” he later lamented. “They couldn’t cut Richard Burton or Elizabeth Taylor.”
During the 1960s he had character roles in “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” “Nevada Smith” and “The Hallelujah Trail.”
Landau had been doing television work since the 1950s but got busy in TV in the mid-’60s, with several guest appearances on sci-fier “The Outer Limits” and spy skein “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” He was producer Gene Roddenberry’s first choice for the role of Spock on “Star Trek,” but the role wound up going to Leonard Nimoy after Landau opted for “Mission: Impossible.” (Nimoy would later take a recurring role on “Mission: Impossible.”)
On the enormously successful “Mission: Impossible,” Landau and Bain played well off one another and with the rest of the regular ensemble, which included Peter Graves. Landau stayed with the series for three years, through 1969, drawing Emmy nominations three years in a row. He said his reason for leaving (and Bain’s as well) was artistic differences over the general direction of the show, though others claim salary demands were the real problem.
However, roles in “A Town Called Hell,” “Operation Snafu” and another villain role in “They Call Me Mister Tibbs” didn’t result in major acclaim.
Television came to the rescue again with the two-year run of “Space: 1999” in the mid-’70s. Numerous TV movie turns reached a nadir with “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island” in 1981.
He and Bain divorced, and Landau spent the ’80s in roles in mostly obscure films. He also worked as an acting teacher.
After the successes of “Tucker,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors” and “Ed Wood,” Landau had a steady stream of mostly supporting work on the bigscreen from the mid-’90s through the late 2000s.
He brought poignancy to his role as a judge in “City Hall” and played Gepetto in “The Adventures of Pinocchio.” He contributed a memorable turn to “The X-Files” movie in 1998, worked for Burton again in “Sleepy Hollow” and took roles in “Rounders,” “The Majestic” and “Hollywood Homicide.”
He had a series of roles in small films including 2006’s “David and Fatima” and starred in 2008’s “Harrison Montgomery.”
There was also higher-profile work: Landau starred with Judy Parfitt in 2004 Holocaust drama “The Aryan Couple.” He also had a role in “City of Ember” and did voicework for the 2009 animated feature “9” and 2012’s “Frankenweenie.”
Landau provided voices for the 1997 Oscar-winning documentary “The Long Way Home” and appeared as himself in the docus “Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen’s,” “Cannes: Through the Eyes of the Hunter” and “Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There” (2003) as well as a 2011 “American Masters” documentary on Woody Allen.
He kept his hand in on the smallscreen as well, starring in the miniseries “Bonanno: A Godfather’s Story” and appearing as a series regular on the brief ABC series “The Evidence.” He recurring notably on “Without a Trace” as Anthony LaPaglia’s father with Alzheimer’s and on “Entourage” as a washed-up producer, drawing Emmy nominations in 2004 and 2005 for the former and in 2007 for the latter. Most recently he appeared in “The Last Poker Game” with Paul Sorvino, which screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, and in “Remember” for director Atom Egoyan.
Also in the 2000s, Landau worked as an acting coach in a venture with director Mark Rydell and screenwriter-playwriter Lyle Kessler.
The Brooklynite started out as a cartoonist, spending four years with the New York Daily News from 1948-51, then turned his attentions to acting. He claimed that he and Steve McQueen were the only two among 2,000 applicants whose auditions gained them admittance to the Actors Studio (of which Landau later became an officer).
Landau did some stage work, most notably touring with the Paddy Chayefsky play “Middle of the Night” in 1956-57. He married one of the understudies, Bain, whom he met in Curt Conway’s acting classes.
His film debut came in a small role in “Pork Chop Hill” in 1959, followed by a larger role in “The Gazebo.” Then he drew attention for his role in “North by Northwest.”
He is survived by two daughters, writer-producer-casting director Susan Landau Finch and thesp Juliet Landau of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fame, a sister and a granddaughter.
Donations may be made to Actors Studio West, Attn: Helen Sanders, 8341 DeLongpre Ave., West Hollywood, Calif. 90069.
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Arya Stark has transformed a lot over the course of six seasons of "Game of Thrones." At the beginning of the HBO series, she's a spunky high-born girl who wants to learn how to fight with a sword instead of how to make a dress. But some time after witnessing her father's execution, Arya begins a list of the people she wants to kill that she repeats to herself every night.
We've known for a while that Arya would become a full-blown assassin one day, and now we're here.
She's already offed some people on her list, and some have been offed for her (something she's not very enthusiastic about). But now she's back in Westeros, reminding enemies of the Stark name who she is, while she slowly kills them. Some one at a time, and some dozens at a time in one cold open. Who will be next?
Here's everyone on Arya's kill list, who's left, and why:
SEE ALSO: All the 'Game of Thrones' deaths, ranked from least tragic to most tragic
Why: She falsely accused Arya's father, Ned Stark, of treason and had him arrested, which led to his execution on King Joffrey's orders.
Status: Alive, and sitting on the Iron Throne. And drinking lots of wine while standing on a giant map of Westeros. She has Zombie Gregor Clegane and her brother Jaime to protect her, but from what we saw in the season seven premiere, Jaime might not be on her side for long. In the season seven premiere, Arya says that she's headed to King's Landing to kill Cersei, and at this point we totally believe she can pull it off.
Why: For executing Ned Stark on Joffrey's orders.
Status: Alive. We haven't seen him in a long time. But he's not as important others on the list who are still walking around Westeros with beating hearts.
Why: For taking Gendry away from the Brotherhood Without Banners.
Status: Alive and really, really old, and exiled from Winterfell by Jon Snow. She's headed south, and the last time we saw Arya, she was in the Riverlands. So it's pretty likely that they'll cross paths. Maybe Arya will forgive her since she brought Jon Snow back to life. But probably not.
The R&B singer R. Kelly is holding six women against their will in an abusive "cult," according to the parents of several of the women and to three former members of Kelly's inner circle, whom BuzzFeed interviewed in an explosive new report.
"Six women live in properties rented by Kelly in Chicago and the Atlanta suburbs," the report says, citing details from Cheryl Mack, Kitti Jones, and Asante McGee, the three former inner-circle members. "He controls every aspect of their lives: dictating what they eat, how they dress, when they bathe, when they sleep, and how they engage in sexual encounters that he records."
Several of the women's parents have gone to the police to try to get their daughters back. BuzzFeed reports that one Georgia family told police that their daughter was being held in a "cult" by Kelly, who they say is "abusive and is controlling" her.
The mother of that woman told BuzzFeed that her daughter "looked like a prisoner" when she last saw her and acted as if she were "brainwashed" while continually professing her love for Kelly.
A representative for Kelly denied the allegations in a statement provided to BuzzFeed.
Mack, Jones, and McGee told BuzzFeed that five women who lived with Kelly last summer ranged in age from 18 to 31. Kelly confiscates the women's cellphones and makes them ask permission to leave the two locations in Chicago and Atlanta, they said.
The BuzzFeed report says that all six of the women living with Kelly now are of the age of consent in Illinois and Georgia, and notes that consenting adults are free to enter "nontraditional" relationships, but the parents of three of the women are nonetheless fighting to get their daughters back.
Kelly has a history of allegations of sexual misconduct with women. He was acquitted in 2008 of 14 charges of child pornography after a six-year trial, which centered on a videotape that prosecutors alleged showed him having sex with a young girl.
SEE ALSO: R. Kelly denies sexual-assault charges: 'Do I like to sleep with underage girls? Absolutely not.'
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Jay-Z's new album "4:44" became his 14th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 album chart Sunday, less than two weeks after it went instantly platinum thanks to an exclusive deal between Tidal and Sprint.
The 47-year-old rapper is now second only to The Beatles for the most No. 1's in history. The legendary English band holds the all-time record with 19 No. 1 albums.
According to Nielsen Music, "4:44" earned 262,000 album-equivalent units last week, of which 174,000 were traditional album sales or downloads.
"4:44" went platinum five days after its release last month on the strength of a deal between Tidal and Sprint. The phone company purchased a million copies of the album, which fans could download for free through Tidal during its first week, before the album saw a wide release on all major streaming services a week later. The Sprint-purchased copies, however, did not count toward the album's first-week sales total (though they did count toward the album going "platinum," which is designated by the RIAA).
"4:44" extends Jay's own record for the most No. 1 albums among solo artists. Bruce Springsteen and Barbra Streisand are tied for second to Jay with 11 No. 1 albums each.
Watch the video for Jay-Z's single "The Story of O.J." below:
SEE ALSO: The strange and ingenious evolution of Jay-Z's approach to selling albums
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NOW WATCH: 8 details you might have missed on the season 7 premiere of 'Game of Thrones'
The premiere of “Game of Thrones” season seven, called "Dragonstone," was a standard premiere. Instead of thrilling action, we got the chance to revisit all the characters who are left — not many at this point — and see what their current agenda is.
But what “Dragonstone” lacked in action, it gained in significant character development for Arya Stark. And it was much-needed character development, after seeing her on the verge of losing her humanity during a string of brutal murders these past couple seasons. Sure, they deserved it (Meryn Trant, Walder Frey, all the Freys), but where does she draw the line now?
Pop star Ed Sheeran made a guest appearance in a scene with Arya Stark, which was a gift to actress Maisie Williams from the showrunners because she's a big fan of Sheeran. But the cameo was actually much more than just a cameo. The scene was a significant jump for Arya in her character development.
Arya just wiped out the entire Frey bloodline (save for the women), and she’s on a murderous rampage in Westeros. She's on her way to King’s Landing to murder the queen, as she tells Sheeran and his camping pals in the Riverlands. At this point, there’s no telling what Arya’s willing to do for revenge. And throughout this entire scene, there’s tension: Arya knows these boys are Lannister soldiers, and she hates Lannisters. Will she kill them, or let them go on their way?
The friendly Lannister soldiers offer Arya food, and remind her in casual conversation that in Westeros, they really have no choice but to serve their house, which just happens to be House Lannister. Not everyone who serves the Lannisters is as terrible as Cersei and Tywin. These boys are good people, and it's not their fault they're associated with the people responsible for murdering her family. This is a good thing for fans of Arya who don’t want her affinity for assassinating everyone who has wronged the Stark family to get in the way of her humanity.
From now on, it seems like Arya will let innocent bystanders go. Whether that will be good or bad for her mission to kill the queen (and the others left on her list) is up in the air. But we hope it’s a good thing, because we’re totally rooting for her and definitely, definitely don't want her to die as a result.
SEE ALSO: All the biggest moments from the 'Game of Thrones' season 7 premiere
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NOW WATCH: HBO released an incredible, action-packed trailer for 'Game of Thrones' season 7
The second trailer for "Blade Runner 2049," scheduled to hit theaters on October 6, debuted Monday on "Good Morning America."
The newest trailer for the long-awaited sequel to the 1982 cult classic "Blade Runner" reveals how replicants (the human-like cyborgs) have continued to pose a threat to Los Angeles, 30 years after ex-blade runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) disappeared.
We learn in the new footage that protagonist Officer K (Ryan Gosling) successfully tracks down Deckard, and while little context is given, we hear Deckard say, "I covered my tracks, scrambled my records, we were being hunted." This might be an indication of why he disappeared 30 years ago.
Deckard's hints at a past conflict involving blade runners, along with shots of Neander Wallace (Jared Leto) creepily manufacturing replicants, is a good indicator that the newest "Blade Runner" could offer a more intense look at the impact of cyborg technology than the previous film.
You can catch the newest "Blade Runner 2049" trailer here:
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NOW WATCH: Here’s the first trailer for 'Inhumans' — the Marvel movie that was turned into a TV show
This is a preview of a research report from BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about BI Intelligence, click here.
Years ago, eSports was a community of video gamers who would gather at conventions to play Counter Strike, Call of Duty, or League of Legends.
These multiplayer video game competitions would determine League of Legends champions, the greatest shooters in Call of Duty, the cream of the crop of Street Fighter players, the elite Dota 2 competitors, and more.
But today, as the history of eSports continue to unfold, media giants such as ESPN and Turner are broadcasting eSports tournaments and competitions. And in 2014, Amazon acquired Twitch, the live streaming video platform that has been and continues to be the leader in online gaming broadcasts. And YouTube also wanted to jump on the live streaming gaming community with the creation of YouTube Gaming.
To put in perspective how big eSports is becoming, a Google search for "lol" does not produce "laughing out loud" as the top result. Instead, it points to League of Legends, one of the most popular competitive games in existence. The game has spawned a worldwide community called the League of Legends Championship Series, more commonly known as LCS or LOL eSports.
What started as friends gathering in each other's homes to host LAN parties and play into the night has become an official network of pro gaming tournaments and leagues with legitimate teams, some of which are even sponsored and have international reach. Organizations such as Denial, AHQ, and MLG have multiple eSports leagues.
And to really understand the scope of all this, consider that the prize pool for the latest Dota 2 tournament was more than $20 million.
Websites even exist for eSports live scores to let people track the competitions in real time if they are unable to watch. There are even fantasy eSports leagues similar to fantasy football, along with the large and growing scene of eSports betting and gambling.
So it's understandable why traditional media companies would want to capitalize on this growing trend just before it floods into the mainstream. Approximately 300 million people worldwide tune in to eSports today, and that number is growing rapidly. By 2020, that number will be closer to 500 million.
Financial institutions are starting to take notice. Goldman Sachs valued eSports at $500 million in 2016 and expects the market will grow at 22% annually compounded over the next three years into a more than $1 billion opportunity.
And industry statistics are already backing this valuation and demonstrating the potential for massive earnings. To illustrate the market value, market growth, and potential earnings for eSports, consider Swedish media company Modern Times Group's $87 million acquisition of Turtle Entertainment, the holding company for ESL. YouTube has made its biggest eSports investment to date by signing a multiyear broadcasting deal with Faceit to stream the latter's Esports Championship Series. And the NBA will launch its own eSports league in 2018.
Of course, as with any growing phenomenon, the question becomes: How do advertisers capitalize? This is especially tricky for eSports because of its audience demographics, which is young, passionate, male-dominated, and digital-first. They live online and on social media, are avid ad-blockers, and don't watch traditional TV or respond to conventional advertising.
So what will the future of eSports look like? How high can it climb? Could it reach the mainstream popularity of baseball or football? How will advertisers be able to reach an audience that does its best to shield itself from advertising?
Robert Elder, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled an unparalleled report on the eSports ecosystem that dissects the growing market for competitive gaming. This comprehensive, industry-defining report contains more than 30 charts and figures that forecast audience growth, average revenue per user, and revenue growth.
Companies and organizations mentioned in the report include: NFL, NBA, English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, NHL, Paris Saint-Germain, Ligue 1, Ligue de Football, Twitch, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, ESPN, Electronic Arts, EA Sports, Valve, Riot Games, Activision Blizzard, ESL, Turtle Entertainment, Dreamhack, Modern Times Group, Turner Broadcasting, TBS Network, Vivendi, Canal Plus, Dailymotion, Disney, BAMTech, Intel, Coca Cola, Red Bull, HTC, Mikonet
Here are some eSports industry facts and statistics from the report:
In full, the report illuminates the business of eSports from four angles:
Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:
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The new Netflix show "Castlevania" is an unexpected hit. It's an animated show based on a game franchise that was most popular nearly 30 years ago. Moreover, it's a show based on a video game — and history is rife with examples of video games being horrifically adapted for TV and film.
Yet, against all odds, "Castlevania" is a surprisingly engaging, interesting, funny show. It's got a sympathetic villain in Dracula, and a complex world in Wallachia. The art style is even pretty good!
All of this begs one question, of course: How in the world did Netflix manage to produce a good show based on a video game?
The show's Showrunner, Adi Shankar, has a lot of answers to that question. The show's creators are fans of the game series, he says, and this show was made "outside the system, so the rules weren't the same."
That stuff helped make the show as good as it is, no doubt, but the actual meeting that spiraled into the show that is now "Castlevania" was far less exciting. Here's Shankar's description, from an interview late last week with Business Insider:
"I was made aware that ["Castlevania"] was even a possibility in a chance encounter. I had a meeting about something else. I was actually trying to help a couple friends out, internationally, to get them a job, and I wanted to vouch for them. And [the people I was meeting with] were like, 'Oh yeah we saw your Punisher film!' And I was like, 'Oh cool.' And I got made aware then that ["Castlevania"] was even possible. I wasn't even thinking Netflix at that point in time because I didn't really know where I stood. I didn't know what was possible."
And just like that, through a chance encounter, the first good video game adaptation in years was born.
If the meeting sounds uninteresting and common, that's because it is. Shankar summarized the meeting by telling us, "The story is just so not interesting because it's not an interesting story. I was like 'yeah,' and then other people were like 'yeah,' and then it just kinda happened." Not so exciting.
The result, of course, is something much more interesting — a nuanced, adult story based on a classic video game franchise.
And that result is the product of a process Shankar described as, "No handcuffs at all." Shankar and his team, including acclaimed writer Warren Ellis, were given complete creative control from the game's original maker, Konami. "What you saw was what we intended to make," Shankar said.
Netflix likes the show so much that it's already approved a second season with double the episode count — eight in total. It won't be up to chance this time.
SEE ALSO: Netflix somehow managed to make a great TV show based on a video game
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NEW YORK — It was a night of glitz and glamour at the MetLife Stadium on Saturday, as the sporting venue — home of the New York Jets and the New York Giants — transformed into a colorful carnival for the International Indian Film Academy's (IIFA) annual awards ceremony.
The IIFA Awards, also known as the Oscars of Bollywood, are held at a new international destination every year, with New York City (technically New Jersey) playing host for the first time. It was the second time that the awards came to the US, however, with Tampa being a venue back in 2014.
For the uninitiated, the Indian film industry is the largest in the world, producing between 1,500 and 2,000 films a year in more than 20 languages. It is expected to reach over $3.7 billion in revenue by 2020, according to a study by Deloitte.
Bollywood is the colloquial name for the Hindi film industry, which dominates the Indian film industry and contributes 43% of its revenue. It gets its name from its center and birthplace, the city of Mumbai, previously called Bombay.
You may think you got a taste of Bollywood from the 2008 production "Slumdog Millionaire," but the British drama doesn’t even come close. Bollywood films are three hour-long extravaganzas, with an eclectic mix of dance, music, and high-octane drama.
Saturday’s event was nothing less — a five-hour fest replete with sets of awards, energetic dance performances, and stand-up comedy acts. IIFA itself was a four-day event beyond the awards ceremony, featuring a music concert IIFA Rocks and a fashion show at Times Square among a whole host of other activities.
Here's what it was like:
After missing subscriber growth targets last quarter, Netflix soared past them in Q2, both on the domestic and international fronts.
Netflix added a whopping 5.2 million total subscribers, versus the company forecast of 3.2 million. Netflix's Q2 revenue and EPS were roughly in line with what Wall Street was expecting.
Netflix rose 8% in the immediate aftermath of its earnings report, hitting an all-time high in after-hours trading.
What caused Netflix's growth to surge?
"In Q2, we underestimated the popularity of our strong slate of content which led to higher-than-expected acquisition across all major territories," Netflix wrote in its earnings letter.
And the party will keep going in Q3, according to Netflix.
Netflix said that is "assumes much of this momentum" in subscriber growth will continue going forward, which is great news for investors, as some on Wall Street were bracing for weak guidance. Q3 will also have a favorable comparison to last year for Netflix, when Q3 saw Netflix's price increase — dubbed "un-grandfathering" — hurt its subscriber growth.
Here are the key numbers:
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Christopher Nolan has built his auteur rep with big concepts and complex stories. And though his latest movie "Dunkirk" is no small feat, it's unlike anything he's made yet in his career.
Nolan delivers a war story filled with pulse-pounding thrills and emotionally powerful performances. The film shows off his mastery, but is also extremely intimate — despite being shot on 70mm with an IMAX camera.
To get your money’s worth, you should definitely find the largest screen near you to see its incredible photography, but the story itself is very simple and very sparse on dialogue.
The movie looks at the evacuation of Allied forces off the beach in Dunkirk, France during World War II. To tell that story, Nolan looks at the event from land, air, and sea.
The land portion, titled "The Mole" (referring to the massive stone breakwater at Dunkirk), shows close to 400,000 British soldiers patiently waiting over a week for destroyers to come ashore and pick them all up. But like monsters coming from the sky, German bombers periodically show up and bomb the terrified soldiers on the beach. All they can do is duck and hope to survive.
For "The Air" storyline, the British air force assigns three Spitfire aircraft to fly the one-hour journey to Dunkirk to try and fight off the bombers. Lastly in "The Sea," civilian boats from the UK travel the day's journey to Dunkirk to assist in the evacuation.
All three stories have their own individual drama, but Nolan, along with his longtime editor Lee Smith, masterfully have them all converge by the end of the movie. It's a thrilling conclusion that only the refined skill and originality of the guy who made "Memento" can pull off.
Much of the movie is told through the perspective of Tommy (newcomer Fionn Whitehead), who attempts numerous times to try to get off the beach, only to find his way back to it. Saying very little, we follow his movements with fellow solider Gibson (Aneurin Barnard) and later Alex (Harry Styles, in an impressive acting debut), who they save from a sinking destroyer that has been hit by a German bomb.
Mark Rylance plays one of the civilian boat captains, Cillian Murphy is an unnamed solider Rylance's boat picks up on the way to Dunkirk, and Tom Hardy plays one of the Spitfire pilots, Farrier. Though Nolan gives Hardy only a handful of lines, it's also the hero role. Trust me, you'll be thinking about Hardy's performance long after you leave the theater.
Though the obvious comparisons that come up when watching "Dunkirk" are past epics like the gritty "Saving Private Ryan" and "Atonement," which has the incredible five-minute single shot of the Allied forces at Dunkirk, I couldn't stop thinking about the little-seen 1975 D-Day movie "Overlord," by director Stuart Cooper.
Perhaps the comparison comes because Cooper's movie is also an intimate story about a young soldier's experience at an epic war moment, but also "Overlord" had incredible dogfight stock footage from the war. It gave the movie an authenticity and exhilarating feel that few war movies have at that budget level. However, Nolan's dogfight sequences surpasses most in authentic feel. They just give you chills.
It might be the size of the screen I saw it on that just engulfed me into the story, or the richness of a movie shot on film projected at that size (most are done digitally nowadays, or projected digitally), but there's a feel of being right there in the action throughout the movie. More than any other Nolan movie. It also helps that there are sequences in the movie when Nolan uses camera angles that you've never seen him pull off in a movie before. And the icing on all this is the incredible score by Hans Zimmer. The ticking clock motif he created is a great reminder that time is on no one's side in this movie.
"Dunkirk" opens in theaters on Friday.
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