George R.R. Martin and his A Song of Ice and Fire series are infamous for unflinchingly killing off major characters. For many readers, the stakes are raised because we know that any character might die. Martin recently revealed that the death of Gandalf the Grey in The Fellowship of the Ring had a “profound impact” on his own writing and his “willingness to kill characters at the drop of a hat.” Image Via Giphy He also hates that Tolkien brought Gandalf back in the next book, so maybe don’t expect the miraculous return of Eddard the White any time soon! …
In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, we met a variety of magical creatures, but none stole the show as much as the Newt Scamander’s Niffler. These are small creatures who have an insatiable drive to collect shiny things… and they’re super cute. Image Via The Sassologist It looks like the upcoming sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, will feature more Nifflers… this time with babies! Image Via Entertainment Weekly EW reports that in the movie, Newt “tries to wrangle a litter of newborns which are just as mischievous as their parents.” …
In Cologne, Germany, a set of ancient Roman walls that were found last year have been identified as a public library – the oldest in Germany. Image Via Atlas Obscura The walls were uncovered last year during the construction of a community center on the same site and are estimated to be about 1,800 years old. Archaeologists were able to identify the building as a library thanks to distinctive niches carved into the walls. They were initially confusing since, at roughly 30 inches by 20 inches in size, they were too small to …
Most Game of Thrones fans have fantasized about living in a gorgeous castle like the ones we see on screen at least once, and now you can make that dream come to life… if you have £500,000 ($656,452) to spare. Image Via Game of Thrones Wiki A large portion of Gosford Castle, which was a filming location that stood in for the Tully ancestral keep, Riverrun, has been listed for sale. While the price sounds very high to your average person, The Sun notes that it actually costs less than an apartment in a prime location. The castle was …
Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy made nearly three billion dollars worldwide, but the story could have come to the big screen much sooner: The Beatles wanted to star in it. Back when Jackson’s movies were coming out, he did an interview for Wellington’s Evening Post in which he spilled the beans. John Lennon wanted to play Gollum, alongside George Harrison as Gandalf, Paul McCartney as Frodo Baggins, and Ringo Starr as Samwise Gamgee. Lennon wanted Stanley Kubrick to direct —Kubrick reportedly briefly considered the idea before turning it down. Ultimately, said Jackson, J. R. R. Tolkien himself shut the …
