"Game of Thrones" may be over but the cast can't seem to get away from stray coffee cups.
Maisie Williams, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Liam Cunningham, Isaac Hempstead Wright and others took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con Friday evening for a goodbye panel and found some waiting at their places.
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"Game of Thrones" may be over but the cast can't seem to get away from stray coffee cups.
"I am right handed. I've thought about this very strongly," Bradley said, making a case that he would have put the bottle on the other side if it was his. "I'm not trying to clear my name, but ... I think I've taken enough blame for this one."
They also indulged in some fan theories, cleared up some burning questions and speculated about what happens after the finale.
But perhaps there is more fun happening on the new small council, according to Bradley.
As for Arya and her quest to go "west of Westeros," Williams said, "I'm sure she's having a wonderful time, like Dora the Explorer minus the bob."
"Look at the amount of people here," Hill said, gesturing to the 8,000-some people in Hall H. "We're very grateful to your fandom over the years ... this is the reality as opposed to the media-led hate campaign."
Benioff and Weiss dropped off the schedule at the last minute, as did actors Iain Glen and Nathalie Emmanuel and director Miquel Sapochnik. Their absence was not addressed during the panel.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Allen, Christie and van Houten all self-submitted for consideration, which involves paying a $225 entry fee,
Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.comm/ldbahr
It was a cheeky reference to the misplaced coffee cup that viewers spotted in an episode of the final season that subsequently went viral. Although the moderator didn't make them answer for the coffee, actor John Bradley did have to defend himself against the other out-of-place item in the finale: The water bottle by his foot.
Maisie Williams, from left, Jacob Anderson, Liam Cunningham and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau appear at the "Game of Thrones" panel on day two of Comic-Con International on Friday, July 19, 2019, in San Diego. (Photo by Chris PizzelloInvisionAP)
"I am right handed. I've thought about this very strongly," Bradley said, making a case that he would have put the bottle on the other side if it was his. "I'm not trying to clear my name, but ... I think I've taken enough blame for this one."
The cast was in good spirits after years of attending Comic-Con and not being able to reveal anything at the panels. Finally they were allowed to talk about things.
The big Hall H audience cheered to find out some of their favorite lines: Williams chose her own character's battle cry, "Not today," while Conleth Hill went for his co-star Peter Dinklage's, "I drink and I know things."
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau arrives at the "Game of Thrones" panel on day two of Comic-Con International on Friday, July 19, 2019, in San Diego. (Photo by Chris PizzelloInvisionAP)
They also indulged in some fan theories, cleared up some burning questions and speculated about what happens after the finale.
Wright said that he can't imagine Bran's new government is a "barrel of laughs."
"Westeros is probably a surveillance state," he said.
Maisie Williams, left, and Jacob Anderson appear during the "Game of Thrones" panel on day two of Comic-Con International on Friday, July 19, 2019, in San Diego. (Photo by Chris PizzelloInvisionAP)
But perhaps there is more fun happening on the new small council, according to Bradley.
"It basically turns into 'The Office,'" he said.
Cunningham posited that a spinoff could be called "Better Call Davos."
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau participates at the "Game of Thrones" panel on day two of Comic-Con International on Friday, July 19, 2019, in San Diego. (Photo by Chris PizzelloInvisionAP)
As for Arya and her quest to go "west of Westeros," Williams said, "I'm sure she's having a wonderful time, like Dora the Explorer minus the bob."
And Jacob Anderson thinks Grey Worm is off starting a new society with "a Wakanda kind of vibe."
There was some discussion of the divisiveness of the eighth and final season, although likely not as much as there would have been had showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss been in attendance as originally scheduled.
Conleth Hill, from left, Maisie Williams and Jacob Anderson throw their name card to the audience at the conclusion of the "Game of Thrones" panel on day two of Comic-Con International on Friday, July 19, 2019, in San Diego. (Photo by Chris PizzelloInvisionAP)
"Look at the amount of people here," Hill said, gesturing to the 8,000-some people in Hall H. "We're very grateful to your fandom over the years ... this is the reality as opposed to the media-led hate campaign."
Coster-Waldau said every season of "Game of Thrones" has been divisive in its own way, from Ned Stark's fate to the "Red Wedding."
"Obviously when it comes to an end it's going to (expletive) you off no matter what because it's the end,"Coster-Waldau said. "Just don't call people names."
Maisie Williams, from left, Jacob Anderson, Liam Cunningham and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau clap at the conclusion of the "Game of Thrones" panel on day two of Comic-Con International on Friday, July 19, 2019, in San Diego. (Photo by Chris PizzelloInvisionAP)
Benioff and Weiss dropped off the schedule at the last minute, as did actors Iain Glen and Nathalie Emmanuel and director Miquel Sapochnik. Their absence was not addressed during the panel.
But everyone at Hall H seemed to be enjoying the victory lap. Earlier this week, "Game of Thrones" scored 32 Emmy nominations. It was a single year Primetime Emmy nomination record.
In addition to a best drama series nod, which the show has won four times, there were a handful of acting nominations for Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke in leading performances, Dinklage, Coster-Waldau, Alfie Allen, Lena Headey, Williams, Sophie Turner and Gwendoline Christie in supporting performances, and Carice van Houten as a guest star.
Jacob Anderson gives his coffee cup to a fan at the "Game of Thrones" panel on day two of Comic-Con International on Friday, July 19, 2019, in San Diego. (Photo by Chris PizzelloInvisionAP)
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Allen, Christie and van Houten all self-submitted for consideration, which involves paying a $225 entry fee,
"Game of Thrones" ended this past May after 8 seasons. Its finale brought in a series record 19.3 million viewers.
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Conleth Hill arrives at the "Game of Thrones" panel on day two of Comic-Con International on Friday, July 19, 2019, in San Diego. (Photo by Chris PizzelloInvisionAP)
Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.comm/ldbahr
Maisie Williams, left, looks at Jacob Anderson as he puts on a Spider-Man mask during the "Game of Thrones" panel on day two of Comic-Con International on Friday, July 19, 2019, in San Diego. (Photo by Chris PizzelloInvisionAP)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States vetoed a widely backed U.N. resolution Thursday that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine, a goal the Palestinians have long sought and Israel has worked to prevent.
The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 12 in favor, the United States opposed and two abstentions, from the United Kingdom and Switzerland. U.S. allies France, Japan and South Korea supported the resolution.
The strong support the Palestinians received reflects not only the growing number of countries recognizing their statehood but almost certainly the global support for Palestinians facing a humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Gaza, now in its seventh month.
The resolution would have recommended that the 193-member U.N. General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, approve Palestine becoming the 194th member of the United Nations. Some 140 countries have already recognized Palestine, so its admission would have been approved, likely by a much higher number of countries.
U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the Security Council that the veto “does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood but instead is an acknowledgment that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties."
The United States has “been very clear consistently that premature actions in New York — even with the best intentions — will not achieve statehood for the Palestinian people,” deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.
His voice breaking at times, Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour told the council after the vote: “The fact that this resolution did not pass will not break our will and it will not defeat our determination.”
“We will not stop in our effort,” he said. “The state of Palestine is inevitable. It is real. Perhaps they see it as far away, but we see it as near.”
This is the second Palestinian attempt for full membership and comes as the war in Gaza has put the more than 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict at center stage.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas first delivered the Palestinian Authority’s application for U.N. membership in 2011. It failed because the Palestinians didn’t get the required minimum support of nine of the Security Council’s 15 members.
They went to the General Assembly and succeeded by more than a two-thirds majority in having their status raised from a U.N. observer to a non-member observer state in 2012. That opened the door for the Palestinian territories to join U.N. and other international organizations, including the International Criminal Court.
Algerian U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama, the Arab representative on the council who introduced the resolution, called Palestine’s admission “a critical step toward rectifying a longstanding injustice" and said that “peace will come from Palestine’s inclusion, not from its exclusion.”
In explaining the U.S. veto, Wood said there are “unresolved questions” on whether Palestine meets the criteria to be considered a state. He pointed to Hamas still exerting power and influence in the Gaza Strip, which is a key part of the state envisioned by the Palestinians.
Wood stressed that the U.S. commitment to a two-state solution, where Israel and Palestine live side-by-side in peace, is the only path for security for both sides and for Israel to establish relations with all its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia.
“The United States is committed to intensifying its engagement with the Palestinians and the rest of the region, not only to address the current crisis in Gaza, but to advance a political settlement that will create a path to Palestinian statehood and membership in the United Nations,” he said.
Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, reiterated the commitment to a two-state solution but asserted that Israel believes Palestine "is a permanent strategic threat."
"Israel will do its best to block the sovereignty of a Palestinian state and to make sure that the Palestinian people are exiled away from their homeland or remain under its occupation forever,” he said.
He demanded of the council and diplomats crowded in the chamber: “What will the international community do? What will you do?”
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have been stalled for years, and Israel’s right-wing government is dominated by hard-liners who oppose Palestinian statehood.
Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the resolution “disconnected to the reality on the ground” and warned that it “will cause only destruction for years to come and harm any chance for future dialogue.”
Six months after the Oct. 7 attack by the Hamas militant group, which controlled Gaza, and the killing of 1,200 people in “the most brutal massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” he accused the Security Council of seeking “to reward the perpetrators of these atrocities with statehood.”
Israel’s military offensive in response has killed over 32,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and destroyed much of the territory, which speaker after speaker denounced Thursday.
After the vote, Erdan thanked the United States and particularly President Joe Biden “for standing up for truth and morality in the face of hypocrisy and politics.”
He called the Palestinian Authority — which controls the West Bank and the U.S. wants to see take over Gaza where Hamas still has sway — “a terror supporting entity.”
The Israeli U.N. ambassador referred to the requirements for U.N. membership – accepting the obligations in the U.N. Charter and being a “peace-loving” state.
“How can you say seriously that the Palestinians are peace loving? How?” Erdan asked. “The Palestinians are paying terrorists, paying them to slaughter us. None of their leaders condemns terrorism, nor the Oct. 7 massacre. They call Hamas their brothers.”
Despite the Palestinian failure to meet the criteria for U.N. membership, Erdan said most council members supported it.
“It’s very sad because your vote will only embolden Palestinian rejectionism every more and make peace almost impossible,” he said.
Algeria's Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations Amar Bendjama speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour holds tears while speaking during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Representatives of member countries take votes during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour, left, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speak before a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Representatives of member countries take votes during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood votes against resolution during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
