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‘Thrones’ Prequel ‘House of the Dragon’ Holds World Premiere

Paddy Considine attends the premiere of Game of Thrones House of the Dragon at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California, US, 27 July 2022. (EPA)
Paddy Considine attends the premiere of Game of Thrones House of the Dragon at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California, US, 27 July 2022. (EPA)
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‘Thrones’ Prequel ‘House of the Dragon’ Holds World Premiere

Paddy Considine attends the premiere of Game of Thrones House of the Dragon at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California, US, 27 July 2022. (EPA)
Paddy Considine attends the premiere of Game of Thrones House of the Dragon at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California, US, 27 July 2022. (EPA)

"House of the Dragon" creators and stars were eager to leave behind the difficult final season of "Game of Thrones" as they launched its prequel at a glittering world premiere in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The original "Thrones," with its unique blend of fantasy, violence, medieval politics and dragons, became a global phenomenon that hooked audiences and swept television awards, but its finale was panned by fans and critics.

"It's a real shame that they were so disappointed -- but it has been four years, and this is a different story," said Miguel Sapochnik, the director of several much-loved "Thrones" episodes, who returned for the prequel.

"So now they get the chance to have a different experience. I hope they will," he told AFP on the premiere's red carpet.

Reviews and plot details of the first episode of "House of the Dragon," out August 21, are under embargo, but its screening drew a glowing reception at the recently opened Academy Museum in Los Angeles.

Set years earlier in the same universe of George R.R. Martin's fantasy books, "House of the Dragon" depicts the glory days of the ancestors of popular "Thrones" characters, such as Daenerys Targaryen.

"Whereas the original 'Game of Thrones' was about multiple different families that are spread over multiple continents, ours is a much more intimate story," said Sapochnik.

"It's really about the dissolution of one family. So in a way, it wasn't hard for it to be different."

Ryan Condal, who serves as the new series' showrunner along with Sapochnik, told AFP that it had been "very difficult" to end the original "Thrones" but that its prequel is "a totally new deal, it's 170 years in the past."

"I think there was a grieving process for the fans," he said. "They had spent 10 years with these characters, they'd grown up with them."

Condal said he believed there was still "a really strong underlying fan base" for the new series.

In "House of the Dragon," Paddy Considine plays the kindly King Viserys, while Matt Smith is cast as his ambitious brother Prince Daemon.

Milly Alcock and Emma D'Arcy play younger and older versions of the king's only child Princess Rhaenyra, with the show's timeline spanning at least a decade.

Olivia Cooke, who plays a key role as Rhaenyra's best friend Alicent Hightower, said it was "scary" to dwell on how the original series' ending had been received, or could impact its successor.

"It's hard to please everyone," she said.

"I haven't really thought about that at all... I'm super proud of this."

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Entertainment

Actor Blake Lively and Director Justin Baldoni Go to New York in Required Effort to Avoid Trial

Blake Lively leaves a courthouse in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, who came to the courthouse to see if her lawsuit alleging sexual harassment on the set of the 2024 romantic drama “It Ends With Us” could be settled before a May trial. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Blake Lively leaves a courthouse in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, who came to the courthouse to see if her lawsuit alleging sexual harassment on the set of the 2024 romantic drama “It Ends With Us” could be settled before a May trial. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Actor Blake Lively and Director Justin Baldoni Go to New York in Required Effort to Avoid Trial

Blake Lively leaves a courthouse in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, who came to the courthouse to see if her lawsuit alleging sexual harassment on the set of the 2024 romantic drama “It Ends With Us” could be settled before a May trial. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Blake Lively leaves a courthouse in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, who came to the courthouse to see if her lawsuit alleging sexual harassment on the set of the 2024 romantic drama “It Ends With Us” could be settled before a May trial. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Actor Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni came to a New York courthouse on Wednesday to see if her lawsuit alleging sexual harassment on the set of the 2024 romantic drama “It Ends With Us” could be settled before a May trial.

The talks between lawyers went on over a six-hour period before Lively and Baldoni left the Manhattan federal courthouse separately and went straight to their waiting cars without saying anything. Lively looked stern as she walked out while Baldoni was smiling.

Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman said in an email that the talks did not result in a settlement, The Associated Press said.

Mandatory settlement talks are generally required before a civil case proceeds to trial. They are not held in public.

Their acrimonious yearlong litigation has cast a wide net across the entertainment world, drawing into the headlines other actors, musicians and celebrities and raising questions about the power, influence and gender dynamics in Hollywood.

Lively sued Baldoni and his hired crisis communications expert alleging harassment and a coordinated campaign to attack her reputation after she complained about his treatment of her on the movie set.

Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios production company countersued Lively and her husband, “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of defamation and extortion. Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed that suit last June.

The trial, scheduled for May 18, was expected to be star-studded. Lively’s legal team had indicated in court papers that people likely to have information about the case included singer Taylor Swift, model Gigi Hadid, actors Emily Blunt, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera and Hugh Jackman, influencer Candace Owens, media personality Perez Hilton and designer Ashley Avignone.

Entertainment

'Dawson's Creek' Star James Van Der Beek Has Died at 48

(FILES) Actor James Van Der Beek arrives for a special screening of 'Downsizing' on December 18, 2017 at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)
(FILES) Actor James Van Der Beek arrives for a special screening of 'Downsizing' on December 18, 2017 at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)
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'Dawson's Creek' Star James Van Der Beek Has Died at 48

(FILES) Actor James Van Der Beek arrives for a special screening of 'Downsizing' on December 18, 2017 at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)
(FILES) Actor James Van Der Beek arrives for a special screening of 'Downsizing' on December 18, 2017 at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)

James Van Der Beek, a heartthrob who starred in coming-of-age dramas at the dawn of the new millennium, shooting to fame playing the titular character in “Dawson’s Creek” and in later years mocking his own hunky persona, has died. He was 48.

“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith and grace. There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come,” said a statement from the actor's family posted on Instagram.

“For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother and friend.”

Van Der Beek revealed in 2024 that he was being treated for colorectal cancer.

Van Der Beek made a surprise video appearance in September at a “Dawson's Creek” reunion charity event in New York City after previously dropping out due to illness.

He appeared projected onstage at the Richard Rodgers Theatre during a live reading of the show’s pilot episode to benefit F Cancer and Van Der Beek. Lin-Manuel Miranda subbed for him on stage.

"Thank you to every single person here,” The Associated Press quoted Van Der Beek as saying.

A one-time theater kid, Van Der Beek would star in the movie “Varsity Blues” and on TV in “CSI: Cyber” as FBI Special Agent Elijah Mundo, but was forever connected to “Dawson’s Creek,” which ran from 1998 to 2003 on The WB.

The series followed a group of high school friends as they learned about falling in love, creating real friendships and finding their footing in life. Van Der Beek, then 20, played 15-year-old Dawson Leery, who aspired to be a director of Steven Spielberg quality.

Entertainment

How the Coveted Bronze BAFTA Mask Trophies Are Made

Completed British Academy Film Awards masks at the FSE Foundry in Braintree, England on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Completed British Academy Film Awards masks at the FSE Foundry in Braintree, England on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
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How the Coveted Bronze BAFTA Mask Trophies Are Made

Completed British Academy Film Awards masks at the FSE Foundry in Braintree, England on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Completed British Academy Film Awards masks at the FSE Foundry in Braintree, England on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)

Those winning a prize at the upcoming British Academy Film Awards will bag a coveted bronze mask trophy — and get a bit of an arm workout taking it home.

Along with the honor of being named the best of the year in the industry, winners at the BAFTA ceremony on Feb. 22 will be awarded one of the dozens of the 3-kilogram (6.6-pound) prizes.

This year the cast and crew of “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” and “Sentimental Value” are in the running for the trophies at the EE BAFTA ceremony, to be held at London's Royal Festival Hall.

As with many things in show business, all that glitters is not gold. The BAFTA masks are made of phosphor bronze, polished to a mirror finish that will reflect the happy face of its new owner.

Craftsmen at the AATi Foundry in Braintree, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of London, use a sandcasting technique to make about 350 bronze trophies each year for all the BAFTA ceremonies — covering the film, television and gaming industries.

They are created in batches, and making one from start to finish takes around a week, the foundry's director Hugh Bisset said Tuesday.

The process starts with a pattern by the tooling team, often out of timber or 3D printing. That tool moves to the molding team which uses sand to make two recessed impressions of the mask, one each side. They are then closed together, ready for molten hot bronze — up to 1,200 degrees Celsius (2,192 Fahrenheit) — to be poured into it.

The metal takes about three or four hours to cool down, when it can then be removed from the sand. The masks' surfaces look dull and a bit rough around the edges at this stage, but after fettling, threading and polishing they are ready to be assembled before being checked over extremely carefully.

Bisset says it’s important that the masks are shiny and have no polish left on them.

“The thing I’m always conscious of is that these amazing actors and actresses, they pick up their awards and my big concern is that a smudge of polish will end up over their lovely, beautiful white dress,” he said. “There’s lots of things we need to think about.”

Bisset reckons the diligence and care that his skilled team puts into the making of the masks reflects the hard work of the winning filmmakers and movie stars.

While it’s still unknown if favorites Jessie Buckley, Timothée Chalamet and Teyana Taylor will get the glory on Sunday, whoever does win will take home something worth more than its heavy weight in bronze.

“There’s a lot of metal in it,” but each mask also has “a lot of time and love being put into it,” Bisset said.