SeanC

And with that, filming is over. Sophie was spotted at the airport today, so she probably finished filming yesterday. No reports as yet on other castmembers. Aidan Gillen is doing performances in London right now, so whatever she filming in the last week, he wasn't there for it.

I've come around to thinking those sources are right. I started out thinking the Vale would be fighting in this battle, then came to think otherwise, but I've gone back to my original opinion, just because it better-accords with dramatic setup (if you bring an army up north, chances are it's going to fight). I'm not saying the above won't happen. I'm just saying I find it unsatisfying and hard to make sense of, based on what we know. That certainly won't stop them, as we have indeed seen.

Er, yes, but (even ignoring how nobody heard about Sansa and the Valemen riding around) then we get a Jon vs. Ramsay battle where the Valemen supposedly only appear at the very end. That doesn't make sense if they show up for the parley and Ramsay knows where Sansa is. Manderly is going to be a one-scene character, from the look of it, so I doubt that; and Rickon was headed to Last Hearth when last we saw him.

Why would they need to muster an anti-Bolton coalition when the Valemen should be enough, though? Baelish can't have been expecting to find Sansa, so any forces he brings with him should have been expected to defeat the Boltons on their own. And even more to the point, if Sansa is riding around the North with Vale forces rallying Northern support, why is the big final battle seemingly starting out as Jon vs. Boltons. I know people are speculating about there being some version of the Pink Letter, but if the castle parley is pre-Snowbowl, as many think, Ramsay should know where Sansa is, and it's not with Jon. And, for that matter, if they all meet at Winterfell pre-battle, that would mean the Vale army is known to be nearby, but from the set reports of Snowbowl that place them at the battle, the Vale is the surprise cavalry.

Less probable, certainly. That said, if Sansa doesn't go there, I have a really hard time figuring out what she's going to be doing for the most of the year. Theon is going to be needed elsewhere in short order; Brienne probably has to be headed south at least by midseason; if Baelish gets there that quickly, which is questionable based on the spoilers of them filming at Runestone, that gets you basically the same question, namely, what are they doing all season? Speaking of Sansa, per per this tweet I would guess Sophie was in Belfast at least on Tuesday night, so she's still around for the final days of filming. Edit: Okay, definitely still in Belfast today.

Ducky's father's second wife was a ridiculous caricature, I have to say. She doesn't appear to have any motive beyond doing whatever will make her look the most heartless at any given moment (like demanding money in exchange for child custody, and then, once Our Heroes gather the money, deciding money doesn't matter for some reason and she just wants to take the kid away)

Idris Elba misses his first semi-notable award nomination. He's looking like the best shot for non-white representation at this juncture (Michael B. Jordan, at present, seems like he's probably just outside the main pack in his category; if Creed keeps momentum and depending on how the other campaigns do, I suppose it could still happen; and while some were talking about Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight, it seems like Jennifer Jason Leigh is getting virtually all the heat for that film)

I appreciate that the show is almost going out of its way to avoid many of the stock problems with romantic plots, such as the two characters being defined wholly by their relationship and becoming isolated from everybody else, but I think the show could stand to give them a bit more focus as a couple, if it's going to be an important part of their lives.

Holt's combination pep-talk/badge-and-gun conversation with Terry was excellent.

Nautical adventure (outside of Pirates of the Caribbean, I guess) seems like a film genre that not all that many people are interested in anymore (even though, ironically, the technology to do them has never been better). It still saddens me that Weir's Master and Commander didn't generate enough interest to have sequels. The Good Dinosaur is only about $10 million ahead of Creed at the domestic box office in their respective third weekends (which is basically the difference between their first-weekend grosses); I have to imagine Creed cost, what, a quarter or a fifth as much, maybe? Of course, there's foreign box office and toy revenues, but still, that shows how the former is underperforming.

Per some other Twitter chatter, Kit and Maisie were in Belfast yesterday. In Maisie's case, at least, I'd have to think she was visiting, as she previously said that she'd be finished early.

I'd seen the leak of the SDCC footage previously, which had the same basic structure as this trailer, so it didn't have quite the same impact it might otherwise have. That said, the new action/VFX looks great, and it's obviously a huge improvement in visual/audio quality. I'm still not over how happy I am that Sophie was cast as Jean Grey (incidentally, her accent here sounds fine, which I was wondering about since the previous time she did one, in Barely Lethal, it was a bit weird). I'm glad that Moira is back. And Havok, who is so, so doomed.

The Spotlight people have got to be worried about Keaton/Ruffalo vote-splitting at this point, after missing with both SAG and the HFPA.

I was surprised that PC Principal is apparently sticking around. The cut to the kids all having easily obtained guns was my favourite joke of the evening.

I was cobbling together what information we have about parts filming in December: A (non-Northern) lord, first reported back in September, described as the best remaining part this season, filming for the first two weeks in December. I have a theory that this is Leyton Hightower. Captain of the Tower, a one-scene part with leading cast that films for a week starting December 2nd. So this is probably just finished. The captain has dialogue in a scene where his superior is making a decision. I'd speculate this is linked to the above part, given the filming overlap. The guys widely believed to be Cerwyn and Manderly, both filming on December 16th. Since we have a specific date for this one, it will be interesting to see who of the main cast is known to be in Ireland on that day. A baby with brown eyes, needed for one day on December 17th. Presumably baby Jon, so in turn the most likely people filming with him would be the actors playing the young Ned and Howland, I expect.

My thoughts on the SAG categories, in terms of competitors for other awards: Actor - I couldn't rule out any of these people getting nominated, though DiCaprio is the only one of them who is in a film that feels like it has any momentum right now. Actress - This is the sharpest divide: Blanchett, Larson and Ronan I consider virtual locks, while Silverman and Mirren are no-hopers. Supporting Actor - Rylance is definitely in (which, as I've said before, I find a bit odd, but whatever; the people and critics have spoken), and I could see Elba and maybe Tremblay making a race of it. Bale and especially Shannon seem much less likely. Supporting Actress - other than Mirren (again), I could see everybody in this category getting nominated, though Winslet is, like Fassbender, in a film that has felt like it's flagging badly.

Spielberg and Dahl seemed like a weird stylistic pairing, but this is a good teaser.

Late screeners always muddies the water. After several years where many categories at SAG and the Oscars had near or total overlap, I'm thinking that's unlikely to be the case this year. Creed really only started to gather momentum in the last two weeks or so, so I would guess that Stallone missed a nomination for that reason. Also, SAG sure loves Helen Mirren. Good boost for Idris Elba's campaign.

Best Ensemble, which, given how many stars it has and the past reception of Russell's films, isn't a bad bet. In any event, their ratings are cumulative over a long period.

While actors can supplement a campaign, they're generally run by the studios, so unless Universal/the Ex Machina people are interested in really mounting a campaign for her, that probably wouldn't happen.

How in God's name did Simon, who the FBI was hunting for, manage to get into the middle of the FBI's command center to their monitoring room?

Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Picture: Spotlight (runner-up: Max Max: Fury Road) Director: George Miller (Max Max: Fury Road) (runner-up: Todd Haynes, Carol) Actor: Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs) (runner-up: Geza Rohrig, Son of Saul) Actress: Charlotte Rampling (45 Years) (runner-up: Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn) Supporting Actor: Michael Shannon (99 Homes) (runner-up: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies) Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) (runner-up: Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria) Screenplay: Spotlight (runner-up: Anomalisa) Cinematography: Mad Max: Fury Road (runner-up: Carol) Editing: The Big Short (runner-up: Mad Max: Fury Road) Foreign Film: Son of Saul (runner-up: The Tribe) Animated Film: Anomalisa (runner-up: Inside Out) Documentary: Amy (runner-up: The Look of Silence) Score: Anomalisa & Carol Production Design: Mad Max: Fury Road (runner-up: Carol) Both critics groups had exactly the same results in Actress. Also, they gave a "Next Generation" prize to Ryan Coogler for Creed.

Speaking of Boston, the Boston Society of Film Critics: Picture: Spotlight (runner-up: Mad Max: Fury Road) Director: Todd Haynes (Carol) (runner-up: Thomas McCarthy, Spotlight) Actor: Paul Dano (Love & Mercy) & Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) Actress: Charlotte Rampling (45 Years) (runner-up: Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn) Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) (runner-up: Sylvester Stallone, Creed) Supporting Actress: Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria) (runner-up: Alicia Vikander, no film specified) Cinematography: Carol (runner-up: The Revenant) Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road (runner-up: Spotlight) Original Score: Love & Mercy (runner-up: Creed) Ensemble Cast: Spotlight (runner-up: The Big Short) Animated Film: Anomalisa & Inside Out Foreign Film: The Look of Silence (runner-up: White God) Documentary: Amy (runner-up: The Look of Silence)

Because he is Cersei's younger brother. Obvious "crossroads" symbolism for all the characters who go there, indeed. Brienne's stand at the Inn is one of the more purely heroic actions in the series.

You're starting from the assumption that his killing Cersei would be "murder". If Cersei burns down KL (as often speculated) or any number of other villainous possibilities, killing her may be something done to stop her from doing more damage and/or avenge those she's killed, akin to Jaime's killing of Aerys. Going from being inseparable from Cersei and willing to kill on her behalf to killing her is a pretty big change. You are not the first person to gather Maggy's prophesies in one place and attempt to read them together.