HBO released the first trailer for the third season of the Game of Thrones prequel series on Thursday. It finds House Targaryen divided as ever, picking up where season 2 left off.
The returning cast includes Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Rhys Ifans, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, Bethany Antonia, Jefferson Hall, Tom Bennett, Kurt Egyiawan and Freddie Fox.
At the beginning of the trailer we hear Rhaenyra Targaryen (D’Arcy) say she has been visited by her former best friend and current nemesis, Alicent Hightower (Cooke).
“Alicent came to Dragonstone. She will open the gates of the Red Keep and surrender to me,” Rhaenyra says, before she is advised against trusting her.
We then hear Aemond Targaryen (Mitchell) say that the king has abdicated the throne. “A new line is coming. A new line of unsullied kings,” he continues.
Rhaenyra’s husband, Daemon Targaryen (Smith), calls for her to take the throne.
“You are the Queen of Dragons,” Daemon says. “You have an absolute power within your grasp.”
House of the Dragon is based on George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. The story is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, centering on House Targaryen.
Season 3 of the fantasy drama series is set to arrive on HBO and HBO Max in June.
Chris Pratt stars as Chris Raven in ‘Mercy.’ (Justin Lubin)
Chris Pratt is a police officer on trial before an AI judge in the new film Mercy.
The film, which was directed by Timur Bekmambetov, arrives in theaters on Friday.
Rebecca Ferguson co-stars as Judge Maddox, an AI being in a future dystopia tasked with determining whether Officer Raven (Pratt) killed his wife or if he is innocent. Judge Maddox has a little over an hour to make the decision, and if Raven is found guilty, he dies instantly.
Ferguson told ABC Audio about how she approached playing an AI character.
“I think it was quite good to keep her as automated as possible — as simple as possible — and then work within where the cracks lay in the foundation,” Ferguson said. “AI is supposed to copy human beings. And that was an interesting aspect of it for me.”
Ferguson said that her character has sentenced many people before Raven, but saw something different in him.
“Rather than going into victimization of himself, he was starting to see the flaws within her. So he was starting to question her behaviorism. He was seeing something that she wasn’t prepared for,” Ferguson said.
Pratt said he believes there is a part of Raven that thinks he may have actually committed the crime. This, he says, helps Judge Maddox develop intuition.
AI beings “are not intuitive, they’re just mimicking human behavior,” Pratt said.
“She’s starting to understand that she’s becoming a little bit more sentient, and a little bit more aware and a bit more human, but also is protecting herself from being reset,” Pratt continued. “She’s actually fighting, in a way, for her own life, so that her agency in this thing that she’s developed and who she’s become can be preserved.”
Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron attend the after party for the DVD launch of ‘High School Musical’ on May 13, 2006, in Hollywood, California. (Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)
It’s the start of something new, it feels so right to be here with you … to celebrate the 20th anniversary of High School Musical.
The landmark Disney Channel Original Movie turned 20 years old on Tuesday. To celebrate its second decade, several stars from the franchise shared tributes to the film that launched their careers.
Vanessa Hudgens, who starred as Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical trilogy, posted an Instagram carousel filled with behind-the-scenes photos from the making of the 2006 film.
“I cannot believe HSM turns 20 today. Thank you to everyone who’s been there since day 1. We’ll always be in this together,” she captioned her post.
Ashley Tisdale French, who played Sharpay Evans in all three HSM movies and the spinoff film Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, also posted an Instagram carousel filled with screenshots from the movie and behind-the-scenes photos.
“20 years ago we had no idea what this would turn into. I’m so grateful for what this movie has given me, and for the fans who made it what it is. To be part of something this iconic, that still has new fans discovering it today, is truly wild,” Tisdale French wrote. “It keeps growing in ways I never imagined. I love you, Sharpay. And let me just say… we’re still looking fabulous!”
Tisdale French also made an Instagram Reel of her trying on many of Sharpay’s looks 20 years later — including the blue “Bop to the Top” sparkly gown.
“20 years and two babies later I’m still squeezing into these looks,” Tisdale French captioned the video.
Lucas Grabeel, who starred as Ryan Evans in the movie trilogy, also took to Instagram to celebrate the milestone. He posted a video of him putting on one of Ryan’s signature hats.
“Ryan’s ready. Who else is? #HSM20,” Grabeel captioned the video.
High School Musical also starred Zac Efron as Troy Bolton, the star basketball player who discovers he loves to sing after a chance encounter with Gabriella (Hudgens). The film premiered to Disney Channel on Jan. 20, 2006.
Sophie Kinsella attends the photocall of the movie ‘Can You Keep a Secret?’ on Oct. 19, 2019, in Rome, Italy. (Stefania D’alessandro/Getty Images)
Sophie Kinsella, author of the bestselling Shopaholic book series, has died at the age of 55.
Kinsella’s family shared news of her death in an Instagram post Wednesday.
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing this morning of our beloved Sophie (aka Maddy, aka Mummy). She died peacefully, with her final days filled with her true loves: family and music and warmth and Christmas and joy,” the family’s statement said, in part. “We can’t imagine what life will be like without her radiance and love of life.”
Kinsella revealed publicly in April 2024 that she had been diagnosed two years earlier with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor.
“Despite her illness, which she bore with unimaginable courage, Sophie counted herself truly blessed – to have such wonderful family and friends, and to have had the extraordinary success of her writing career,” her family’s statement continued.
Madeleine Sophie Wickham — Kinsella was a pen name — was born on Dec. 12, 1969. She was a former financial journalist who became a popular author and sold millions of books worldwide over two decades. The first two books of her Shopaholic series — The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic and Shopaholic Abroad, published in 2000 and 2001, respectively — were adapted into the 2009 movie Confessions of a Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy. The film was produced by Touchstone Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Overall, Kinsella wrote 36 books, including children’s books, the young adult title Finding Audrey and short stories. Her initial books were published as Madeleine Wickham.
Kinsella’s most recent book, What Does It Feel Like?, was published in October 2024. The novella follows the story of a novelist named Eve who wakes up in a hospital bed one day and learns she has a brain tumor. In the book’s introduction, Kinsella called it her “most autobiographical work to date.”
Kinsella opened up to Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts in July 2024 about the book and living with brain cancer.
“I just thought people might be curious to know what it feels like to go through this,” Kinsella said. “It’s funny in parts, it’s sad in parts but I hope it’s full of optimism and love most of all.”
Kinsella said she first noticed something might be amiss with her health after the onset of multiple symptoms.
“The first symptoms that I had was, in fact, was my legs,” Kinsella told Roberts. “I was stumbling. I was tripping. I started getting very severe headaches. I got very confused. But it was really when I started tipping over in my chair that we realized something really was wrong.”
Kinsella said she underwent surgery after receiving the diagnosis that she had a grade 4 glioblastoma. She described the operation as a “triumph” at the time but said the treatment affected her memory and movement afterward. Kinsella also underwent multiple rounds of radiation and chemotherapy following surgery.
Kinsella lived in London with her husband, Henry Wickham, whom she called her “hero,” who stayed by her side throughout her difficult health journey. The couple had five children.
In her July 2024 interview, Kinsella was asked about what she’d want her happy ending to be.
“My happy ending is that whatever happens to me, my family is OK,” the author said at the time. “I think that’s my happy ending. Because that’s what I care about.”
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