A new chance for Game of Thrones’ fans to relive their fantasies is about to open in Northern Ireland. A £24m Game of Thrones attraction center in Co Down is being set up by Linen Mill Studios in Banbridge. It will be developed under license with Warner Brothers Consumer Products.

The tour will be another stop for fans of the fantasy TV series who, pre-COVID, loved to visit spots like Ballintoy Harbour, Castle Ward, and the Dark Hedges to follow in the footsteps of characters. The tourist attraction will feature sets from King’s Landing and Winterfell.

The Linen Mill Studios have now received planning permission. The tour is expected to pull in 600,000 visitors and generate £400m in revenue per year. It will help in the recovery of the tourism industry post-COVID-19, as tourism is estimated to have lost 50% of its 2019 £1bn revenues.

The show was filmed here between 2009 and 2018 by HBO. It was adapted from George R.R. Martin’s famous novel A Song of Ice and Fire. Linen Mill Studios want the venue to embody the entertainment, drama, and quality which made Game of Thrones the most pirated TV show in history.

Some of the most iconic scenes of the show were shot at the studio. The fans will have an opportunity to visit and see the work of the show’s incredible crew in a museum setting. Apart from the set, the tour will also feature a make-up and prosthetics shop for the guests. There will also be a restaurant to relive the studio catering experience.

Are you excited about the brand new opening of the tour stop? Let us know in the comments below!

The year 2020 has been the Red Wedding of years. As if the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t enough, tragedy has struck yet once again. This time, the wretched year has taken away another gem of the entertainment industry. Diana Rigg, who played the cunning Lady Olenna Tyrell on the series Game of Thrones, has passed away at the age of 82.

Diana was a decorated and esteemed performer. She was a venerable figure in Britain’s entertainment industry and was the recipient of the famed Tony and Emmy awards. Rigg was also famous for her role as intelligence agent Emma Peel on ‘The Avengers’ in the 1960s.

Dame Diana Rigg . She always raised the bar with her incredible talent, intelligence and wit. An absolute joy and honor to work with. May her soul Rest In Peace https://t.co/BC4annah1H

— Nikolaj CosterWaldau (@nikolajcw) September 10, 2020

Diana Rigg played the role of Lady Olenna Tyrell, also known as The Queen of Thorns on HBO’s The Game of Thrones. She began in the third season in 2013. She was nominated for the esteemed Emmy awards for the category ‘Best Guest Actor’ for her work on the show, consecutively from 2013 to 2015.

“Diana was a beautiful kind and generous human being that enhanced the lives of all that knew her as well as a great actress. She leaves a great void in my heart,” said Lionel Larner, who was Rigg’s long time friend and talent agent.

Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg was born in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England. She spent her early childhood in India. Diana did her training as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1955-57 and made her professional stage debut in Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle in 1957. She died from cancer which was diagnosed back in March.

Her loss will be deeply felt and she will be missed all over the world. Our condolences are with her family and friends.

Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin has often been in controversies due to his ‘out of the world’ writing style. This time he is in the news again for something else. It is for a lawsuit he filed for the film rights of a werewolf novella.

The complaint was filed at the Los Angeles superior court on Wednesday. According to the complaint, Mike the Pike productions were granted an option to the rights of the film in 2009. The company later assigned the option to Blackstone Manor, LLC., who are the defendant in this case. Blackstone exercised the option on September 2, 2014, which gave them 5 years to start principal photography before the rights went back to Martin.

The complaint states that Blackstone “hastily assembled” a barebones cast and crew. Just a day before the 2019 deadline to shoot “a handful of scenes” to make it appear they were still working on the project, to retain the rights for another 5 years. Martin describes the “token” production was “insufficient”. He compared the move to a “contractor hurriedly building a gazebo in lieu of the agreed-upon skyscraper when faced with a deadline”, as reported by the Los Angeles times.

After the success of Game of Thrones, the writer is sure to have high hopes with any production house that wants to adapt his novel for the screen. The novel was published in 1988 as a part of “Night Vision 5”. It was a horror anthology that also included works of Stephen King and Dan Simmons. The story revolves around a private investigator, Randi Wade, who is looking into a series of brutal killings in her small town. This leads her to the world of werewolves and other demons.

The story won a World Fantasy Award in 1989. What is your perspective about the case? Let us know in the comments below.