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Beyond the Wall
Along with Spain, Croatia, Morocco and Northern Ireland, Iceland is one of the countries selected by the Game of Thrones production. The Land of Ice and Fire provides the perfect backdrop to recreate the icy steppes beyond the Wall, where the Night King gathers his armies in anticipation of his assault on Winterfell. Kirkjufell, the mountain that Sandor Clegane (Rory McCann) compares to an arrowhead, appears for the first time in season 6, in one of the character’s visions. It serves as the perfect backdrop for part of season 7 and in itself serves as a portent of doom for the future of the people of the North.
The Game of Thrones team moves to Iceland as Kirkjufell and the surrounding landscape are covered in snow. As the conclusion of the story draws near, the characters face a zombie bear, transformed by the White Walkers. This scene required extremely precise logistics. The teams start by “locking” the actors in a large box with green walls and then inlaying the Icelandic landscape in post-production. The plantigrade itself is created by computer. For the sequences in which the animal is brought to interact with Sandor Clegane and the other protagonists, the production uses a technician dressed in a green suit, holding a kind of metal armature whose end represents the head of the bear. This way, the actors can have a tangible reference point. Rory McCann recalled in the making-of of the series: “there was a person coming towards me, with the air of saying: “I am a bear”. And I was like, “no, you’re not, your name is Toby”. It was fun.“
Rory McCann has appeared in 38 episodes of Game of Thrones.
Kirkjufell
Isolated mountain of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, Kirkjufell, for “church mountain”, takes its name from its shape evoking a bell tower.
Kirkjufell culminates at 463 meters high. It is one of the most touristic natural sites in all of Iceland. Research has established that during the ice age, Kirkjufell exceeded the surrounding glaciers. It consists of several strata of Pleistocene lava and sandstone. She gained worldwide fame thanks to her appearance in the Game of Thrones series in which she holds a prominent place.
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By Gilles Rolland
Passionné de cinéma, de rock and roll, de séries TV et de littérature. Rédacteur de presse et auteur des livres Le Heavy Metal au cinéma, Paroles de fans Guns N' Roses, Paroles de fans Rammstein et Welcome to my Jungle : 100 albums rock et autres anecdotes dépareillées. Adore également voyager à la recherche des lieux les plus emblématiques de la pop culture.