Friday, April 29, 2016

‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 6 Premiere Recap: ‘The Red Woman’

Game of Thrones season 6 premiere, “The Red Woman,” opened up with a sprawling shot of Castle Black that zooms in on Jon Snow’s corpse lying in the blood-stained Snow.
Game Of Thrones Premiere Recap
Castle Black
Ghost, sensing Jon’s (Kit Harington) death, howls and attempts to break out of his pen. And Davos (Liam Cunningham), also sensing something amiss, looks outside and spots Jon’s body. While Davos takes in the scene, including the sign that reads “Traitor” hastily posted above the former Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, Jon’s closest friends arrive in shock. Quickly, they transport Jon inside, where they carefully place his body on a table and pay their respects. As they try to figure out what to do next, Melisandre (Carice van Houten) knocks at the door and doesn’t understand Jon’s death. “I saw him in the flames, fighting at Winterfell,” she says. Down below, Alliser Thorne (Owen Teale) announces to the men of the Night’s Watch that he and others killed Jon Snow for his traitorous ways. In a show of respect and mercy, Alliser then goes to see Davos and those still loyal to Jon Snow. He vows to allow them to start their journey south without coming under attack. Davos does not believe him. He tells the others that they will need Melisandre’s help to defeat Alliser and his men. Meanwhile, Melisandre, looking more vulnerable than ever, peers into a mirror as she disrobes before bed. Taking off her necklace, the image of a much older woman reflects back at her.
Winterfell
Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) shows a rare bit of humanity as he bids farewell to his longtime lover, the kennel master’s daughter Myranda. He begins to tear up, but then commands that Myranda’s remains be fed to the dogs. After taking care of that, Ramsay meets with his father Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton), who credits him with the death of Stannis Baratheon. But he’s less satisfied with how Ramsay is doing in his marriage, and stresses the importance of creating a male heir with Sansa (Sophie Turner). Sansa, however, has slipped out of the grounds of Winterfell with Theon (Alfie Allen). With Ramsay’s hounds hot on their heels, Theon has Sansa wade across a near-frozen river with him. As Ramsay’s men near them once again, Theon decides to offer himself up in the hopes that they won’t find Sansa. Unfortunately, Sansa is quickly discovered and it looks like Sansa and Theon are destined for further mutilation by Ramsay’s hand – if not death. Then, swooping in on horseback, Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) and Podrick (Daniel Portman) come to save the day, dispatching one man after the other. Following the fight, Brienne once again offers her services to Sansa, who gladly accepts them.
King’s Landing
Cersei (Lena Headey) betrays a joyous smile upon learning that the boat carrying her daughter Myrcella and Jamie (Nicolaj Coster Waldau) has arrived. Looking out to the sea, she soon realizes that Myrcella is dead. Instead of taking the loss out on Jamie, Cersei credits the loss of her second child to the prophecy she had heard as a young woman. Per the prophecy, it won’t be long until she will have to live through the death of Tommen as well. Jamie says, “F–k prophecy,” and that it’s them against the world. While Cersei has managed to get out of the High Sparrow’s cells, Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) remains there. All of her pleas to see her brother Loras are met with the response of “confess.” She doesn’t confess, as she believes that she’s done nothing wrong worthy of her punishment. The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) interrupts the “confess” session to tell Margaery that Tommen wishes to see her. He also informs her that she has a ways to go before achieving redemption.
Dorne
At Dorne, Prince Doran (Alexander Siddig) is in good spirits, praising Ellaria (Indira Varma) to her Sand Snake daughter Tyene (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers). The smile is wiped from his face, though, as he reads a note that informs him of Myrcella’s death. Before he can accuse Ellaria of the crime, she kills him. With Tyene, she takes down a couple of his guards as well. Nearby, Sand Snakes Obara (Keisha Castle-Hughes) and Nymeria (Jessica Henwick) corner and kill Prince Doran’s son, Prince Trystane (Toby Sebastian).
Mereen
Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Varys (Conleth Hill) walk about the streets of Mereen, pontificating about how they are going to help Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) rule the people of Mereen and eventually Westeros – if she ever comes back from her dragon ride. Their conversation comes to an abrupt halt when they see the people of Mereen running away from a cloud of smoke. Upon further inspection, they realize that Dany’s fleet of ships has been torched.
Westeros
In an unknown land in Westeros, Jorah (Iain Glen) – whose Greyscale is worsening – and Daario (Michiel Huisman) continue their search for Dany. They come to the conclusion that the Dothraki have taken Dany after spotting dozens of hoof prints creating a circle in the grass and Dany’s earring. Now a captive, Dany listens on as the Dothraki speak freely about her, not knowing that she understands them. Just as the khal threatens to strip her and have sex with her, she says who she is. He is not impressed, until she reveals that she is the window of Khal Drogo. At this, the khal acknowledges that he cannot lay a hand on her. Dany wrongly believes that he will then agree to arrange for her to have an escort back to Mereen. But that’s not how it works for khal wives; they are to go live out the rest of their lives with fellow khal windows.
Braavos
Out in Braavos, Arya (Maisie Williams) is now a blind beggar. Her panhandling comes to a brief pause when the Waif (Faye Marsay) from the House of Black and White confronts her with a stick. She gives ARya her own and beckons her to fight. Unable to see her opponent, Arya struggles to get her bearings and takes a beating. After a time, the Waif, who seems to be training Arya again, informs her, “See you tomorrow.”

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Keisha Castle-Hughes: from Instagram

Keisha Castle-Hughes, the star of one of Prince's music videos, has paid tribute to the iconic singer. Upon hearing the news of Prince's death this morning, Castle-Hughes posted a flashback to Instagram of her role in his Cinnamon Girl music video, saying she was
"heartbroken". "To all things purple. I will miss you deeply. Forever your Cinnamon Girl,"

Cinnamon Girl was a track from Prince's 2004 album Musicology. Castle-Hughes starred in the music video for the song at the age of 14.She played a Muslim teenager being victimised in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Her character then visualises detonating a bomb in an airport terminal. The song's lyrics include the lines "Cinnamon girl mixed heritage / Never knew the meaning of colour lines / 9-11 turned that all around / When she got accused of this crime." The music video attracted controversy at the time, with the New York Post describing it as "tasteless", however other groups praised it for raising discrimination issues. The video's director, Phil Harder, defended it, telling AP: "Kids are seeing real death and war on television. Kids are smarter than people think and know what's going on in the world. "The main motivation is to get people to talk about it."

Monday, April 25, 2016

Kiwi stars Joe Naufahu and Keisha Castle-Hughes celebrate Game Of Thrones

Kiwi stars Keisha Castle-Hughes and Joe Naufahu reunited on the red carpet in Hollywood.
Kiwi actors Joe Naufahu and Keisha Castle-Hughes can both count the hit Game of Thrones series among their international acting achievements. The Whale Rider star took to Instagram on Monday night to celebrate the red carpet reunion with her Kiwi co-star, sharing a photo of the pair alongside the caption: "NZ rep. Episode 1." Naufahu, who has been cast in the sixth season of the HBO show, walked the red carpet on Monday night at Hollywood's TCL Chinese Theatre. Naufahu is best known for his role as Liscus on Spartacus and for the starring role in The Last Saint, the Kiwi film which marked his brother Rene Naufahu's directorial debut.
Keisha Castle-Hughes will be returning to the series as Obara Sand, marking her second season on Game of Thrones, while Naufahu will mark his debut as a member of the Dothraki, Khal Moro. Game of Thrones cast members from past and present, gathered in Hollywood on Monday to screen the first episode and teaser for the upcoming season six, before relocating to the Roosevelt Hotel for an exclusive King's Landing-themed after party. Naufahu reportedly walked the red carpet donning a local Working Style suit, with his mother on his arm for the evening. Season six of Game of Thrones premieres in New Zealand on April 25 on Sky TV's SoHo channel.

Friday, April 22, 2016

RIP PRINCE from Keisha Castle-Hughes World



 Images from the music video Cinnamon Girl.

 It’s a chilling social statement from a musician better known for talking sexy: Prince’s video for the song “Cinnamon Girl” from 2004 depicts an Arab-American girl detonating herself in a crowded airport terminal on what looks like U.S. soil. Featuring Keisha Castle-Hughes!

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Keisha Castle-Hughes recording her debut single

Kiwi Game of Thrones star Keisha Castle-Hughes has teamed up with home-grown entertainer Mika to record her debut single. The pair recorded a track in Los Angeles this week for a big-budget Hollywood movie. The song was written specially for Castle-Hughes by Mika, who has been impressed with the actress' voice. "She is a good singer," Mika told the Herald on Sunday from LA. "She hit the spot straight away. It wasn't a case of working with her for 14 hours until she hit the right notes." Mika said the song was inspired by a track called Paris Paris, recorded in the 1990s by legendary French film star Catherine Deneuve and British punk rock guru Malcolm McLaren. The tune will be on the soundtrack for an as yet unnamed US block-buster set for release sometime this year. "I wrote it with Keisha in mind and I knew it would suit her voice," Mika said. "She has been a big supporter of women's work with my charitable foundation in New Zealand and it has been great to finally get in the studio with her. It's an impressive debut." He revealed a deal for the recording was signed this week but said at this stage he was not allowed to disclose the title of the song or the movie it will be part of.
 Mika is in the middle of a busy six-week trip to the United States and Canada. He recently attended a star-studded event at the Edison Ballroom in New York for the Michelle Obama-backed Hip Hop Public Health organisation. His Mika Haka Foundation is a New Zealand partner. "I met everyone from Ice T to Ashanti and Chuck D. Even the Surgeon General was there. I was speaking alongside all these heavyweights and it felt like some validation for the work my foundation has been doing down the years." On Friday, Mika was a guest of honour at the Native American Music and Film Festival in California. And next week, a web series he created called the Aroha Project will launch at the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival in Toronto. The series highlights examples of young people overcoming bullying and alienation. The New Zealand-made string of six-minute episodes will also be available online and as part of Maori Television's healthy lifestyle programme, Matika. Mika hoped people would "download and share them, get the message out there. "This is an important issue that needs wider discussion and a higher level of awareness," he said.

Monday, April 4, 2016