query: Marcus Rashford has always been unable to play football.

pos: UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Championship , commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 or simply Euro 2016 , was the 15th UEFA European Championship , the quadrennial international men 's football championship of Europe organised by UEFA . It was held in France from 10 June to 10 July 2016 . Spain were the two-time defending champions , having won the 2008 and 2012 tournaments , but were eliminated in the round of 16 by Italy . Portugal won the tournament for the first time , following a 1 -- 0 victory after extra time over the host team , France , in the final played at the Stade de France .   For the first time , the European Championship final tournament was contested by 24 teams , having been expanded from the 16-team format used since 1996 . Under the new format , the finalists contested a group stage consisting of six groups of four teams , followed by a knockout phase including three rounds and the final . Nineteen teams -- the top two from each of the nine qualifying groups and the best third-placed team -- joined France in the final tournament , who qualified automatically as hosts ; a series of two-legged play-off ties between the remaining third-placed teams in November 2015 decided the last four finalist spots .   France was chosen as the host nation on 28 May 2010 , after a bidding process in which they beat Italy and Turkey for the right to host the 2016 finals . The matches were played in ten stadiums in ten cities : Bordeaux , Lens , Lille Métropole , Décines-Charpieu , Marseille , Nice , Paris , Saint-Denis , Saint-Étienne , and Toulouse . It was the third time that France hosted the finals , after the inaugural tournament in 1960 and the 1984 finals .   As the winners , Portugal earned the right to compete at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia .

pos: England national football team The England national football team represents England in international football and is controlled by The Football Association , the governing body for football in England .   England are one of the two oldest national teams in football ; alongside Scotland , whom they played in the world 's first international football match in 1872 . England 's home ground is Wembley Stadium , London , and the current manager is Gareth Southgate . Although part of the United Kingdom , England has always had a representative side that plays in major professional tournaments , though not in the Olympic Games , as the IOC has always recognised United Kingdom representative sides .   England contest the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship , which alternate biennially . In contesting for the World Cup seventeen times over the past sixty four years , England won the 1966 World Cup , when they hosted the finals , and achieved a semi final appearance in 1990 . England have never won the UEFA European Football Championship -- after fifteen attempts over fifty-six years -- their best performances were semi final appearances at the 1968 and 1996 Championships , the latter of which they hosted .

pos: EFL Cup The EFL Cup , or simply the League Cup , is an annual knockout football competition in men 's domestic English football . Organised by the English Football League ( EFL ) , it is open to any club within the top four levels of the English football league system -- 92 clubs in total -- comprising the top level Premier League , and the three divisions of the English Football League 's own league competition ( Championship , League One and League Two ) .   First held in 1960 -- 61 as the Football League Cup , it is one of the three top domestic football competitions in England , alongside the Premier League and FA Cup . It concludes in February , long before the other two , which end in May . It was introduced by the league as a response to the growing popularity of European football , and to also exert power over the FA . It also took advantage of the roll-out of floodlights , allowing the fixtures to be played as midweek evening games . With the renaming of the Football League as the English Football League in 2016 , the tournament was rebranded as the EFL Cup from the 2016 -- 17 season onwards .   The tournament is played over seven rounds , with single leg ties throughout , except the semi-finals . The final is held at Wembley Stadium ; it is the only tie in the competition played at a neutral venue and on a weekend ( Sunday ) . Entrants are seeded in the early rounds , and a system of byes based on league level ensures higher ranked teams enter in later rounds , and to defer the entry of teams still involved in Europe . Winners receive the EFL Cup , of which there have been three designs , the current one also being the original . Winners also qualify for European football with a place in the UEFA Europa League -- although this place is transferred to the highest-placed Premier League team not already qualified for European competition , should the winner also qualify for Europe through other means at the end of the season . The current holders are Manchester United , who beat Southampton 3 -- 2 in the 2017 final to win their fifth League Cup .

pos: Marcus Rashford Marcus Rashford ( born 31 October 1997 ) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team .   A Manchester United player from the age of seven , he scored twice in both his first-team debut ( Europa League ) after the warm-up injury of striker Anthony Martial and in his first Premier League game in February 2016 ( against Arsenal ) . He also scored in his first Manchester derby game , and his first League Cup game .   Rashford scored on his England debut in May 2016 , becoming the youngest English player to score in his first senior international game . He was chosen for UEFA Euro 2016 .

pos: Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club is a professional football club based in Highbury , London , England , that plays in the Premier League , the top flight of English football . The club has won 13 League titles , a record 13 FA Cups , two League Cups , the League Centenary Trophy , 14 FA Community Shields , one UEFA Cup Winners ' Cup and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup .   Arsenal was the first club from the South of England to join The Football League , in 1893 . They entered the First Division in 1904 , and have since accumulated the second most points . Relegated only once , in 1913 , they continue the longest streak in the top division . In the 1930s , Arsenal won five League Championships and two FA Cups , and another FA Cup and two Championships after the war . In 1970 -- 71 , they won their first League and FA Cup Double . Between 1989 and 2005 , they won five League titles and five FA Cups , including two more Doubles . They completed the 20th century with the highest average league position .   Herbert Chapman won Arsenal 's first national trophies , but died prematurely . He helped introduce the WM formation , floodlights , and shirt numbers , and added the white sleeves and brighter red to Arsenal 's kit . Arsène Wenger has been the longest-serving manager and has won the most trophies . His teams set several English records : the longest win streak ; the longest unbeaten run ; and the only 38 match season unbeaten .   In 1886 , Woolwich munitions workers founded the club as Dial Square . In 1913 , the club crossed the city to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury . They became Tottenham Hotspur 's nearest club , commencing the North London derby . In 2006 , they moved down the road to the Emirates Stadium . Arsenal earned $ 435.5 m in 2014 -- 15 , with the Emirates Stadium generating the highest revenue in world football . Based on social media activity from 2014 -- 15 , Arsenal 's fanbase is the fifth largest in the world . In 2016 , Forbes estimated the club was the second most valuable in England , worth $ 2.0 billion .

neg: Glossary of football terms Football is a word used to describe a number of different sports . Some codes of football also share other common names , such as gridiron and rugby . The widely understood meaning of these words can vary , depending on the location and/or context in which they are used . In some places , unqualified use of one or more of these words is considered ambiguous . For more information on their usage , see football ( word ) .   Glossary of football terms may refer to :   Glossary of American football  Glossary of association football terms  Glossary of Australian rules football  Glossary of Canadian football  Glossary of Gaelic games terms  Glossary of rugby league terms  Glossary of rugby union terms

neg: Monty Grow Monty Roy Grow ( born September 4 , 1971 ) is an American former college and professional football player who was a defensive back for two seasons in the National Football League ( NFL ) . He was born in Inverness , Florida , and attended Citrus High School in Inverness . He played college football for coach Steve Spurrier 's Florida Gators football team while attending the University of Florida from 1990 to 1993 . He was signed by the NFL 's Kansas City Chiefs in 1994 , and also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1995 to 1996 .   Legal issues   In 2013 Grow was arrested for child abuse , after leaving his 3 year old child locked in a car , without any adult supervision .  In 2016 Grow was arrested for being a leader in a massive health care fraud scandal .

neg: Rashad Greene Rashad Greene ( born September 23 , 1992 ) is an American football wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football at Florida State .

neg: Heroes and Villains (football fanzine) Heroes and Villains is the title of a football fanzine written by and primarily aimed at fans of Aston Villa F.C. . It was launched in 1989 , and has been in regular print ever since , long surpassing 100 issues .   It has been edited from the start by Dave Woodhall . Although of course primarily concerned directly with the fortunes of Aston Villa , occasionally other general football articles and humorous , nostalgic pieces are to be found amongst its pages .   It was often critical of Doug Ellis who was the chairman of Aston Villa during the period 1982 to 2006 ( his second spell at the club ) . He was seen by many fans as being complacent and unambitious regarding the fortunes of the team .   As with most fanzines , many articles contain much baiting of local rival football clubs and their fans , in this case chiefly Birmingham City F.C. and West Bromwich Albion F.C.   However , a goodly part of the fanzine 's contents consist of contributors ' personal views on and memories of experiences derived from being a supporter of Aston Villa . Aston Villa 's richly varied history , particularly that of the last 25 years and within living memory of most contributors , consisting as it does of Villa 's League Championship and European Cup winning achievements of '81 and ' 82 , their mid '80s decline culminating in relegation in ' 87 , followed by a revival under Graham Taylor 's management which led to an unexpected league runners-up spot just 3 seasons later , provides much material . As does a further , also unexpected , runners up placing in ' 93 , league cup triumphs in '94 and ' 96 , and the generally solid but unspectacular performance of the team , up to the 2005-2006 season 's underachievements and the broad feeling of dissatisfaction with the way the club was being run .   Something of a running joke in the fanzine concerns Villa 's underachievement in the FA Cup , the club having not won the competition since 1957 , with their only final appearance since then consisting of a dismal performance in losing 1-0 to the pre-Roman Abramovich Chelsea in 2000 . As the 3rd round of the competition - Villa 's usual entry point - approaches each season , many fans come to the agreement that this year is definitely `` our year for the cup ... ''   For the start of the 2014-15 season , the fanzine phased out the paper publishing format of distribution , and is now available only to download to computers , mobile devices , and so on .   The fanzine also spawned a website forum which remains very popular among Villa supporters .

neg: Marquee player A marquee player is an athlete who is considered exceptionally popular , skilled , or otherwise outstanding , especially in professional sports . Several sports leagues have specific definitions and rules regarding the designation and treatment of marquee players .   In the Liga 1 of the Football Association of Indonesia each team is allowed to designate one marquee players .   In the A-League of the Football Federation Australia each team is allowed to designate two marquee players whose salaries are exempted from the league 's salary cap . Similarly , in English Premiership rugby marquee players are excluded from salary cap constraints .   The All India Football Federation requires each I-League team to feature one marquee player . The federation defines `` marquee players '' as foreign players who have represented their country in one of several international championships . Teams are also allowed to propose other skilled players for the designation.In ISL ( Indian Super League ) also there are marquee players .   In World TeamTennis a marquee player is not required to play the entire season and is compensated on a per-match basis . Marquee players are drafted in a marquee draft prior to the roster draft .

neg: Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club -LSB- ˈblækbɜrn_ˈroʊvərz -RSB- is a professional association football club based in Ewood , Blackburn in the county of Lancashire , England . It competes in League One following its relegation from the Championship at the conclusion of the 2016 -- 17 season .   The club was established in 1875 , becoming a founding member of The Football League in 1888 . It is one of only three clubs to have been both a founder member of the Football League and the Premier League ( the others being Aston Villa and Everton ) . In 1890 , Rovers moved to Ewood Park . Blackburn Rovers have been English champions three times , and have won six FA Cups and one Football League Cup . Blackburn are the only extant club to have won three consecutive FA Cups . The club has spent the majority of its existence in the top flight of English football ( 72 years ) .   In 1992 , Rovers gained promotion to the new Premier League a year after being taken over by local entrepreneur Jack Walker , who installed Kenny Dalglish as manager . In 1995 , Rovers became Premier League champions . In the 1998 -- 99 season , the club was relegated . It was promoted back to the Premier League two years later , in the 2000 -- 01 season . It has qualified for the UEFA Cup four times : once as League Cup winners , twice as the Premier League 's sixth-placed team and once via the Intertoto Cup . The 2011 -- 12 season marked the club 's 72nd , non-consecutive , year in the top flight . Rovers are currently one of only six clubs to have won the Premier League , along with Arsenal , Chelsea , Manchester United , Manchester City and Leicester City .   The club 's motto is `` Arte et Labore '' , `` By Skill and Hard Work '' in Latin .

neg: Rashad Ross Rashad Ahmad Ross ( born February 2 , 1990 ) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football at Arizona State University and went undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft .

neg: East Lancashire derby The East Lancashire Derby also known as the `` Cotton Mills Derby '' is a football match between Blackburn Rovers F.C. and Burnley F.C. . The nickname originates from the fact that Blackburn and Burnley were former mill towns .   The first ever competitive league match between these two former English football champions and founder members of the Football League , took place at Turf Moor on 3 November 1888 , Blackburn won the game 7 -- 1 . Blackburn also won the return fixture at Ewood Park 4 -- 2 . From a town standpoint there is an obvious geographical reason for the rivalry as the two Lancashire towns only lie 11 miles ( 18 km ) apart . Accrington Stanley F.C. stands in the middle , but is not taken seriously as a rival by either . Another alleged reason for the increased hostilities is that Blackburn complained to the Football League about Burnley 's illegal number of Scottish players in the 1890s .   Blackburn Rovers were founded in 1875 and in the following years , many other clubs were formed in the region such as Accrington F.C. in 1886 and Clitheroe Central in 1877 , due to football being passionately taken up by the area . Another such club was Burnley Rovers , who started out as a rugby club until changing codes in 1882 .

neg: Scunthorpe United F.C. Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe , North Lincolnshire , England . The team play in League One , the third tier of the English football league system .   The team is nicknamed The Iron , and has played in a home strip of claret and blue for most of its history . It plays its home games at Glanford Park , having moved from the Old Show Ground in 1988 . Grimsby Town , Hull City , Doncaster Rovers , Lincoln City and York City are its main rivals , although of these clubs only Doncaster Rovers currently play in the same division as Scunthorpe .   The club was formed in 1899 , turned professional in 1912 and joined the Football League in 1950 . It achieved promotion to Division Two in 1958 , where it stayed until 1964 , but has spent most of its time as a Football League club in the basement tier . The club has had more success recently , however : it was promoted from Football League Two in 2005 , and then spent three out of four seasons from 2007 in the Football League Championship . The Iron were relegated to Football League One in 2011 , having finished bottom of the Championship . The club then suffered a further blow , being relegated to Football League Two in 2013 , however it was fortunate enough to immediately bounce back , winning promotion back to the third tier at the end of the 2013 -- 14 season .   In recent years , the club has developed a reputation for developing promising young strikers , having sold Billy Sharp , Martin Paterson and Gary Hooper on for seven-figure sums . The club was also considered one of the most financially prudent in English football , being one of only three in the top four divisions to be debt-free . This status has recently changed after it was announced that a # 2 million loan from the outgoing chairman Steve Wharton was on the accounts to help the club maintain some sense of financial stability .   Scunthorpe United was also the first club in England to build a cantilever stand after their old East stand burnt down in 1959 , four years before Sheffield Wednesday constructed its cantilever stand at Hillsborough .

neg: Dean Yates Dean Yates ( born 26 October 1967 in Leicester ) is an English retired football defender . He lives in Burton Joyce .   He enjoyed considerable success as a player , making his Notts County debut in their 1984-85 Second Division campaign which ended in relegation . He was a regular first team player from 1985-86 onwards , helping them win promotion back to the Second Division in 1990 and to the First Division a year later ( both through the playoffs ) . However , a serious knee injury in February 1992 ruled him out for the next two years and meant that County were without him when they needed him most -- during the final quarter of the 1991-92 season when they battled against relegation from the First Division . The relegation battle was lost , and he managed just one appearance in the 1993-94 season as he made his comeback from injury .   He was fully fit for the 1994-95 season , but his presence in the team was n't enough to prevent a relegation battle which was ultimately lost .   By the time County went down from Division One ( as the old Second Division became known following the creation of the FA Premier League for the 1992-93 season ) , Yates had transferred to their local rivals Derby County - a # 350,000 fee taking him to the Baseball Ground on 26 January 1995 . He had played 314 league games in 10 years for Notts County .   The Rams had been favourites for promotion every season since their relegation from the top flight in 1991 , but the closest they had come to achieving Premier League status was playoff defeats in 1992 and 1994 , and when Yates arrived the playoffs were looking beyond their reach . They could only manage a ninth-place finish in 1994-95 , but they achieved automatic promotion the following season as Yates 's contributed 38 league appearances and two goals . However , the arrival of Igor Stimac restricted Yates to just 10 appearances in 1996-97 and nine the following season as Derby established themselves as a consistent mid table Premier League side .   He departed to Watford , newly promoted to Division One as Division Two champions , on 16 July 1998 on a free transfer . However , injury problems restricted his first team opportunities at Vicarage Road and he played just 12 games , scoring once , in the 1998-99 season . Watford won a second successive promotion via the playoffs and reached the Premier League , but Yates did not feature in the 1999-2000 campaign as Watford were relegated . After the end of the season , he retired from playing . Yates scored once for Watford against Bristol City .

neg: List of Detroit Lions first-round draft picks The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit , Michigan . They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference ( NFC ) in the National Football League ( NFL ) , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit .   Originally based in Portsmouth , Ohio and called the Portsmouth Spartans , the team began play in 1929 as an independent professional team , one of many such teams in the Ohio and Scioto River valleys . For the 1930 season , the Spartans formally joined the NFL as the other area independents folded because of the Great Depression . Despite success within the NFL , they could not survive in Portsmouth , then the NFL 's smallest city . The team was purchased and moved to Detroit for the 1934 season .   The Lions have won four NFL Championships , tied for 9th overall in total championships amongst all 32 NFL franchises ; although the last was in 1957 , which gives the club the second-longest NFL championship drought behind the Arizona Cardinals . They are one of four current teams to have never played in the Super Bowl .

neg: History of the Australian Football League The Australian Football League is the top professional Australian rules football league in the world . The league consists of eighteen teams : nine based in the city of Melbourne , one from regional Victoria , and eight based around other Australian states . The reason for this unbalanced geographic distribution lies in the history of the league , which was based solely within Victoria from the time it was established in 1897 , until the time the league expanded through the addition of clubs from interstate to the existing starting in the 1980s ; until this expansion , the league was known as the Victorian Football League .

neg: Mr. Football Award (Kentucky) The Kentucky Mr. Football Award is an honor given to the top high school football player in the state of Kentucky and in the KHSAA . Awarded by a panel of sports writers and broadcasters from around the state 's Associated Press , many past winners have proceeded to have successful college careers and even play in the National Football League ( NFL ) .

neg: Palpably unfair act In American football , an unfair act is a foul that can be called when a player or team commits a flagrant and obviously illegal act that has a major impact on the game .   All of the major American football codes include some form of unfair act rule . In all cases , the definition is deliberately vague , giving the officials great latitude in defining such an act and enforcing penalties for such acts . At the high school level , officials are free to assess any penalty they see fit , up to and including forfeiture of the game . The National Federation of State High School Associations , however , also includes the general rule that all acts are legal unless otherwise explicitly stated ; thus , the unfair act rule is only invoked in cases when specific rules have clearly been broken , but the penalty for the foul itself would still be less than the result of the play had the unfair act not occurred .   The National Football League defines two types of unfair acts , a palpably unfair act and an extraordinarily unfair act . The latter is for acts so extraordinary that the NFL Commissioner can levy fines , require the offending team surrender draft picks , and suspend players . The Commissioner could also theoretically reverse the game results , but this has never occurred under the unfair act clause or any other means .

neg: History of African Americans in the Canadian Football League African Americans have played prominent roles in the Canadian Football League ( CFL ) and its precursors since 1946 . In many cases black Americans have been able to pursue professional football opportunities in the CFL that were for one reason or another unavailable in the United States . Especially in the mid-20th century , many African American players came to Canada to avoid the racially charged atmosphere of segregation-era America . For many years , blacks were better represented in the CFL than they were in the National Football League ( NFL ) , and achieved a number of `` firsts '' in the CFL years before the same was accomplished in the NFL . More recently , the CFL has provided opportunities for black , as well as other , Americans unable to break into the NFL .

neg: Rugby league in Australia Rugby league football in Australia '' ' has been one of the country 's most popular sports since it started being played there in 1908 . It is the dominant winter football code in the states of New South Wales and Queensland as well as the Australian Capital Territory , which together comprise around half of the country 's population . In 2009 , it was the most watched sport on Australian television , with an aggregate audience of 128.5 million viewers . The elite club competition is the National Rugby League ( NRL ) , which features ten teams from New South Wales , three teams from Queensland , and one team each from Victoria , Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand .   Australia has a rich history of rugby league , first taking up the sport in 1908 alongside people in Britain and New Zealand . The rule changes over the decades have been partly instigated in Australia as well . The country has been dominant over the other rugby league-playing nations for many years , but enjoys a strong rivalry with New Zealand .   Commonly known as `` league '' or simply `` football '' , and sometimes referred to as `` the greatest game of all '' , it is traditionally seen as a `` working man 's sport '' with its roots in the working class communities of Northern England , compared to rugby union which has its roots in prestigious English public schools . The Australian Rugby League Commission , the sport 's governing body in Australia , is working on ways to expand rugby league 's popularity across political and social boundaries .

neg: Drop goal A drop goal , field goal , dropped goal , or pot is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also , rarely , in American football and Canadian football .  A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball over the crossbar and between the goalposts . After the kick , the ball must not touch the ground before it goes over and through , although it may touch the crossbar .  If the drop goal attempt is successful , play stops and the non-scoring team ( the scoring team in rugby union sevens ) restarts play with a kick from halfway . If the kick is unsuccessful , the offside rules for a kick apply and play continues until a normal stoppage occurs . Because of the scoring attempt this is usually from the kicked ball going dead or into touch . Defenders may tackle the kicker while he is in possession of the ball , or attempt to charge down or block the kick .

neg: University of Queensland Australian Football Club The University of Queensland Australian Football Club ( UQAFC ) is an amateur Australian rules football club playing in the QAFL , QAFA and Women 's League competitions overseen by AFL Queensland . UQAFC home games are played at the University of Queensland 's No. 7 playing oval on the corner of Sir Fred Schonell Drive and Coldridge Street , St Lucia , Brisbane .   Founded in 1956 , the club collected the Red Lions moniker in reference to a pub in the Northern New South Wales town of Glencoe . After travelling to Armidale to compete against the University of New England for the Clem Jones Shield UQ would frequent the Red Lion Tavern on their return journey , giving birth to the Red Lion legend .   The UQAFC has since won seven Senior premierships , including a `` threepeat '' in 1961 , 1962 & 1963 . Red Lion Reserve Grade sides have claimed twelve premiership victories many of which came during extended periods of dominance through the 1980s and more recently in the new millennium . The club has a built unique heritage with its large student membership and strong old boys network resulting in a very social club atmosphere and it is very proud to cater to footballers of all abilities . Currently with eight teams and approximately 250 registered players , the Red Lions are regarded as one of the largest amateur Australian rules football club in Queensland .

neg: NBA high school draftees The NBA high school draftees are players who have been drafted to the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) straight out of high school without playing basketball at the collegiate level . The process of jumping directly from high school to the professional level is also known as going prep-to-pro . Since 2006 , the practice of drafting high school players has been prohibited by the new collective bargaining agreement , which requires that players who entered the draft be 19 years of age and at least one year removed from high school . Contrary to popular belief , the player does not have to play at least a year in college basketball , as the player can choose to instead play in another professional league ( especially overseas ) like Brandon Jennings or Emmanuel Mudiay in Italy and China respectively , simply take the year off , such as the case with Satnam Singh Bhamara , or even hold themselves back a year in high school before declaring for the draft , such as the case with Thon Maker .   The NBA has long had a preference for players who played basketball at the collegiate level ; the vast majority of players to play in the NBA have had college experience . However , there have been numerous notable players who attended high school in the United States and then jumped directly to the NBA without playing college basketball .

neg: Rugby union Rugby union is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century . One of the two codes of rugby football , it is based on running with the ball in hand . In its most common form , a game is between two teams of 15 players using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts on each try line .   In 1845 , the first football laws were written by Rugby School pupils ; other significant events in the early development of rugby include the Blackheath Club 's decision to leave the Football Association in 1863 and the split between rugby union and rugby league in 1895 . Historically an amateur sport , in 1995 restrictions on payments to players were removed , making the game openly professional at the highest level for the first time .   World Rugby , originally the International Rugby Football Board ( IRFB ) and from 1998 to 2014 the International Rugby Board ( IRB ) , has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886 . Rugby union spread from the Home Nations of Great Britain and Ireland , and was absorbed by many of the countries associated with the British Empire . Early exponents of the sport included Australia , New Zealand , South Africa and France .   Countries that have adopted rugby union as their de facto national sport include Fiji , Georgia , Madagascar , New Zealand , Samoa , Tonga and Wales . Rugby union is played in over 100 countries across six continents ; there are 101 full members and 18 associate members of World Rugby .   The Rugby World Cup , first held in 1987 , takes place every four years with the winner of the tournament receiving the Webb Ellis Cup . The Six Nations Championship in Europe and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere are major annual competitions .   Major domestic competitions include the Premiership Rugby in England , Top 14 in France , the Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand , National Rugby Championship in Australia , and the Currie Cup in South Africa . Other transnational competitions include the Pro12 , involving Irish , Italian , Scottish and Welsh teams ; the European Rugby Champions Cup , involving the top European teams from their respective domestic competitions ; and Super Rugby , launched in 1996 with Australian , New Zealand and South African teams and since 2016 also including teams in Argentina and Japan .


query: One of the characters in the series of fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire is Gendry.

pos: Gendry Gendry is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin , and its television adaptation Game of Thrones .   He first appeared in 1996 's A Game of Thrones . He subsequently appeared in Martin 's A Clash of Kings ( 1998 ) and A Storm of Swords ( 2000 ) and A Feast for Crows ( 2011 ) . Gendry is an apprentice blacksmith in King 's Landing and an unacknowledged bastard of King Robert Baratheon .   Gendry is portrayed by Joe Dempsie in the HBO television adaptation . He and the rest of the cast were nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2014 .

neg: Inheritance Cycle The Inheritance Cycle is a young adult tetralogy of epic fantasy novels written by American author Christopher Paolini . Set in the fictional world of Alagaësia ( -LSB- æləˈɡeɪziə -RSB- ) , the novels focus on the adventures of a teenage boy named Eragon and his dragon , Saphira , as they struggle to overthrow the evil king Galbatorix . The series was originally intended to be a trilogy ( named the `` Inheritance Trilogy '' ) until Paolini announced on October 30 , 2007 , while working on the third novel , that he believed the story was too complex to conclude in just three books .   The book series as a whole received mostly mixed to negative reviews by critics , but has gained both popularity and commercial success . The first book in the series , Eragon , was originally self-published by Paolini in 2001 , and subsequently re-published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers on June 25 , 2003 . The second book in the series , Eldest , was published by Knopf on August 23 , 2005 . Both were New York Times bestsellers . The third book in the series , Brisingr , was published by Knopf on September 20 , 2008 . The fourth and final book in the series , Inheritance , was published by Knopf on November 8 , 2011 . The series has sold 33.5 million copies worldwide .   In 2006 , a feature film was released based on the first book in the cycle , Eragon , starring Ed Speleers , Jeremy Irons , John Malkovich and Djimon Hounsou . The film received generally negative reviews and closed as the 13th highest grossing fantasy-live action film within the United States .

neg: Orodreth In the published version of The Silmarillion , Orodreth ( -LSB- oˈrodreθ -RSB- ) was an Elf of the First Age , the second son of Finarfin ( with Finrod Felagund , Angrod , Aegnor , and Galadriel being his siblings ) , and a ruler of Nargothrond .   His name in Quenya was Artaresto ( -LSB- ˌartaˈresto -RSB- ) and he was born in Valinor .   Orodreth held the tower of Minas Tirith on the island of Tol Sirion in the vale of Sirion until Sauron overran the isle and renamed it Tol-in-Gaurhoth . Orodreth then fled south to Nargothrond . Without the aid of Celegorm and Curufin , who had suddenly attacked the forces of Sauron with whatever forces they could gather , Orodreth might have fallen .   When Beren came to Nargothrond , Finrod went with him on his quest for the Silmaril . However Celegorm and Curufin the Sons of Fëanor were also at Nargothrond , and forced Finrod to lay down his crown . Orodreth took it , ruling as regent , but the Sons of Fëanor held the real power .   When news came that Finrod had been killed , the Sons of Fëanor were expelled from Nargothrond , and Orodreth became its leader .   When Túrin Turambar arrived in Nargothrond he gradually became its de facto leader , although Orodreth remained lord in name .   Orodreth had one daughter : Finduilas . He later died fighting the hosts of Morgoth and Glaurung the Dragon in the Battle of Tumhalad and Finduilas was taken and slain shortly afterwards . The only other member of the house of Finarfin to have descendants was Orodreth 's sister Galadriel , who had left Beleriand before the end of the First Age .

neg: Magi in fantasy fiction and games A `` Mage '' is a character archetype commonly found in fantasy settings that entail the use of magic . Mage , rather than magus , is the spelling generally used to describe magic-wielding characters in role-playing games and fiction . In the English language , the term `` mage '' is used as a gender-neutral word for a character who can cast magic spells .

neg: Eunuchs in popular culture Eunuchs have appeared many times in popular culture .   The Eunuch , a comedy by Roman playwright Terence .  In The Country Wife , the main character , Mr. Horner , pretends to be a man turned eunuch by impotence caused by syphilis in order to gain access to the bedrooms of married women .  Being proud of not being a eunuch is the subject of the song `` At Least You 're Not a Eunuch '' in the play Life and Death in Jaffna ( The Musical ! ) '' by Edward Cress  Eunuchs appear often as villains in Hong Kong kung fu and wuxia films set in ancient China . For example , the films `` Dragon Inn ( Xin long men ke zhan ) '' , `` Butterfly and Sword ( Xin liu xing hu die jian ) '' , and `` A Touch of Zen ( Hsia nu ) '' all feature a eunuch or a group of eunuchs as the main villain . A popular eunuch villain used in ancient China stories is Eunuch Wei , who is based on a historical figure named Wei Zhongxian . Eunuch villains are usually in charge of powerful political posts , such as being the leader of the East Chamber .  The Queen Salmissra , in David Eddings ' The Belgariad and The Malloreon , is only allowed to be served by eunuchs . Her Chief Eunuch Sadi becomes a principal character in The Malloreon , and is referred to in `` The Prophecy '' as `` The Man who is no Man . ''  The character and narrator Taita in Wilbur Smith 's `` Egyptian '' ( 1991 - ) series of novels is a eunuch ( performed as a punishment while a slave ) .  Bagoas was the eunuch favorite of Alexander the Great ( referenced above ) . Bagoas is the main character and narrator of The Persian Boy , a 1972 historical novel by Mary Renault .  Punk rock band the Descendents wrote a song about a eunuch called `` Eunuch Boy '' , which was on their 1996 comeback album Everything Sucks .  Eunuchs feature prominently in Montesquieu 's 1722 novel Lettres persanes , supposedly about Persian visitors to eighteenth-century France .  Varys , a character in George R. R. Martin 's series A Song of Ice and Fire , later made into the HBO series Game of Thrones , is a eunuch by castration .  A historical mystery series written by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer , beginning in 1999 , details investigations carried out by John , the eunuch Lord Chamberlain to Emperor Justinian I , in and around the sixth-century imperial court in Constantinople .  In the 2006 film One Night With the King , Hadassah 's ( Esther 's ) would-be boyfriend , Jesse , is captured by the Persian empire and castrated .  The 2002 historical science fiction novel The Years of Rice and Salt features many eunuchs in its opening section , including the character Kyu and the historical Chinese admiral Zheng He .  Three best-selling novels by Jason Goodwin , The Janissary Tree , The Snake Stone and The Bellini Card , chronicle the investigations of Yashim Togalu , a Turkish eunuch detective to the Sultan 's royal court , in the Ottoman Empire of the 1830s .  The historical novel Memoirs of a Byzantine Eunuch , by Christopher Harris ( 2002 Dedalus Books , ISBN 1-903517-03-6 )  The Japanese novel ( and later anime series ) Ai no Kusabi has within their caste system `` Furniture '' , or eunuchs who act as servants to the highest social class . The character Katze was once Furniture , but now works on the black market .  In the Japanese anime Code Geass : Lelouch of the Rebellion ( R2 ) the de facto rulers of the communist Chinese Federation are a group of eight eunuchs called `` High Eunuchs . ''  The character Naboo the Enigma from the British comedy act and television series The Mighty Boosh is a eunuch .  For the greater part of Iain Banks 's 1984 novel The Wasp Factory , the 16-year-old narrator Frank Cauldhame claims to be a eunuch , the result of being savaged by a dog when he was an infant . At the novels climax , Frank discovers that she was in fact born female .  In the TV show Major Dad , a eunuch was in charge of the Security wives of Emir of Katodd .  One of the characters that Voltaire 's Candide meets on his adventures is a eunuch .  The Vampire Eli in John Ajvide Lindqvist 's novel Let The Right One In is a eunuch . However , this detail is not made abundantly clear in the book 's 2008 Film adaptation of the same title .  The Yellow Bastard of the Sin City franchise .  In the Red Dwarf episode `` Quarantine '' , Rimmer is said to have been Alexander the Great 's chief eunuch in a past life .  In the manga `` Red River ( manga ) '' one of the main villains , Urhi , is a eunuch .  The eunuch Manan is a major character in The Tombs of Atuan , the second book from Ursula K. Le Guin 's Earthsea series . The story largely takes place in a large convent where no men are allowed , so a number of other eunuchs are mentioned .  In Robert E. Howard 's short story The Scarlet Citadel , the main antagonist has a eunuch prison guard named Shukeli . It is stated that in him , normal human passions have been replaced by extreme sadism .  In William Shakespeare 's play `` Twelfth Night '' , Viola initially decides to disguise herself as a eunuch named Cesario in order to serve Duke Orsino .  In the 2015 video game The Witcher 3 : Wild Hunt , the loyal servant and bookie of head Redanian Intelligence Sigismund Dijkstra is a eunuch , called Happen the Eunuch . He takes care of the Bathhouse in Novigrad , which is open to both sexes .   Category : Topics in popular culture

neg: The Handmaid's Tale The Handmaid 's Tale is a 1985 dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood . Set in a near-future New England , in a totalitarian theocracy that has overthrown the United States government , the novel explores themes of women in subjugation and the various means by which they gain individualism and independence . The novel 's title echoes the component parts of Geoffrey Chaucer 's The Canterbury Tales , which comprises a series of connected stories ( `` The Merchant 's Tale '' , `` The Parson 's Tale '' , etc. ) .   The Handmaid 's Tale won the 1985 Governor General 's Award and the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987 ; it was also nominated for the 1986 Nebula Award , the 1986 Booker Prize , and the 1987 Prometheus Award . The book has been adapted into a film ( 1990 ) , an opera ( 2000 ) , a TV series ( 2017 ) , and other media .

neg: Major characters in The Railway Series Many characters have appeared in the books of The Railway Series by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry and Christopher Awdry , and in the spin-off television series , Thomas and Friends .   This article profiles the most significant characters of the series . Only characters who appear in the books have been profiled in this article and , in the case where a character has appeared in both series , only the book aspect has been addressed . The numerous less-significant characters -- i.e. all those not included on this page -- are described in Minor characters in The Railway Series .

neg: House of Telcontar In the fictional universe of J. R. R. Tolkien , the House of Telcontar , previously the House of Elendil , is the Royal House of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor . The House was founded by Aragorn II during the War of the Ring , who was the last surviving Heir of Elendil , and took the throne under the name Elessar .   The name of the House finds its origin in Quenya , one of the Elvish languages . During the War of the Ring , Peregrin Took , a companion of Aragorn 's in The Fellowship of the Ring , became a member of the elite Citadel Guard at Minas Tirith , capital of Gondor . When Lord Aragorn entered the city , Peregrin persisted in familiarly referring to Aragorn by the nickname he had garnered as a Ranger of the North : `` Strider '' , even in front of foreign dignitaries such as King Éomer of Rohan . Aragorn was amused , and decided that the name of the lineage he founded would be `` Telcontar '' , which translates as `` Strider '' in Quenya . Members of the House of Telcontar are referred to as the `` Telcóntari '' ( Striders ) , the plural of Telcontar in Quenya .   Aragorn then took the royal name `` Elessar '' ( translated as Elfstone in Quenya ) .   With Queen Arwen , King Elessar reigned for 120 years , before finally surrendering his life . This long reign is attributed to Elessar 's descent from the Men of Númenor , who are blessed with long life ( he was 88 when he took the throne ) . He rebuilt the old capital Annúminas in Arnor and later ruled from this northern capital , although the old capital Minas Tirith was still of great political importance .   Elessar had one known son , Eldarion , and an unspecified number of daughters . King Elessar was buried with great honour in Minas Tirith . King Eldarion ( his name meaning `` from the Elves '' in reference to his mother Arwen ) was `` full ripe for kingship '' at the time , and ruled for an unspecified amount of time well into the Fourth Age of Men . Little is known of Eldarion , save that he left heirs to continue the House of Telcontar after him .

neg: The Railway Series The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor . There are 42 books in the series , the first being published in 1945 . Twenty-six were written by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry , up to 1972 . A further 16 were written by his son , Christopher Awdry ; 14 between 1983 and 1996 , and two more in 2007 and 2011 .   Nearly all of The Railway Series stories were based upon real-life events . As a lifelong railway enthusiast , Awdry was keen that his stories should be as realistic as possible . The engine characters were almost all based upon real classes of locomotive , and some of the railways themselves were directly based upon real lines in the British Isles .   Characters and stories from the books formed the basis of the children 's television series Thomas and Friends .   Audio adaptations of The Railway Series have been recorded at various times under the title The Railway Stories .

neg: The Cleric Quintet The Cleric Quintet is a series of five novels set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game . They are written by R. A. Salvatore and follow the story of Cadderly Bonaduce , a scholar-cleric , as he attempts to stop the `` Chaos Curse '' unleashed upon the world . It is also a spiritual journey for Cadderly , where he begins to see things in a new light and becomes closer to his god .   Recurring characters in this series include Cadderly Bonaduce , Danica Maupoissant , the dwarven brothers Ivan and Pikel Bouldershoulder and Shayleigh , an elf maiden of Shilmista Forest .

neg: Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a monarch or other political leader for service to the monarch or country , especially in a military capacity . Historically , in Europe , knighthood was conferred upon mounted warriors . During the High Middle Ages , knighthood was considered a class of lower nobility . By the Late Middle Ages , the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry , a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior . Often , a knight was a vassal who served as a fighter for a lord , with payment in the form of land holdings . The lords trusted the knights , who were skilled in battle on horseback . Since the early modern period , the title of knight is purely honorific , usually bestowed by a monarch , as in the British honours system , often for non-military service to the country . The modern female equivalent in the United Kingdom is Dame .   Historically , the ideals of chivalry were popularized in medieval literature , especially the Matter of Britain and Matter of France , the former based on Geoffrey of Monmouth 's Historia Regum Britanniae ( History of the Kings of Britain ) which introduced the legend of King Arthur , written in the 1130s . Sir Thomas Malory 's Le Morte d'Arthur ( The Death of Arthur ) , written in 1485 , was important in defining the ideal of chivalry , which is essential to the modern concept of the knight , as an elite warrior sworn to uphold the values of faith , loyalty , courage , and honour . Furthermore , Geoffroi de Charny 's `` Book of Chivalry '' expounded upon the importance of Christian faith in every area of a knight 's life . During the Renaissance , the genre of chivalric romance became popular in literature , growing ever more idealistic and eventually giving rise to a new form of realism in literature popularised by Miguel de Cervantes ' Don Quixote . This novel explored the ideals of knighthood and their incongruity with the reality of Cervantes ' world . In the late medieval period , new methods of warfare began to render classical knights in armour obsolete , but the titles remained in many nations .   Some orders of knighthood , such as the Knights Templar , have become the subject of legend ; others have disappeared into obscurity . Today , a number of orders of knighthood continue to exist in several countries , such as the English Order of the Garter , the Swedish Royal Order of the Seraphim , and the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav . Each of these orders has its own criteria for eligibility , but knighthood is generally granted by a head of state or monarch to selected persons to recognise some meritorious achievement .   Knighthood in the Middle Ages was closely linked with horsemanship ( and especially the joust ) from its origins in the 12th century until its final flowering as a fashion among the high nobility in the Duchy of Burgundy in the 15th century . This linkage is reflected in the etymology of chivalry , cavalier and related terms ( see Etymology section below ) . The special prestige accorded to mounted warriors finds a parallel in the furusiyya in the Muslim world , and the Greek hippeus and Roman eques of classical antiquity .

neg: A Wizard of Earthsea A Wizard of Earthsea is a young adult fantasy novel written by the American author Ursula K. Le Guin , first published by the small press Parnassus in 1968 . The novel received highly positive reviews , initially as a work for children , and later among a general audience as well .   Set in the fictional archipelago of Earthsea , the story centers around a young mage named Ged , born in a village on the island Gont . Displaying great power while still a boy , he joins the school of wizardry , where his prickly nature drives him into conflict with one of his fellows . During a magical duel , Ged 's spell goes awry and releases a shadow creature that attacks him . The novel follows his journey as he seeks to be free of the creature .   The book has often been described as a Bildungsroman or coming of age story , as it explores Ged 's process of learning to cope with power and come to terms with death . The novel also carries Taoist themes about a fundamental balance in the universe of Earthsea , which wizards are supposed to maintain , closely tied to the idea that language and names have power to affect the material world and alter this balance . Although the structure of the story is similar to that of a traditional epic , critics also described it as subverting this genre in many ways , such as by making the protagonist dark-skinned , in comparison to more typical white-skinned heroes .   A Wizard of Earthsea is widely regarded as a classic of fantasy and young-adult literature and was one of the final recipients of the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award . The book was widely influential within the genre of fantasy ; Margaret Atwood , for instance , called A Wizard of Earthsea one of the `` wellsprings '' of fantasy literature . Le Guin would later write five subsequent books that , together with A Wizard of Earthsea , are referred to as the Earthsea Cycle : The Tombs of Atuan ( 1971 ) , The Farthest Shore ( 1972 ) , Tehanu ( 1990 ) , The Other Wind ( 2001 ) , and Tales from Earthsea ( 2001 ) . George Slusser has described the series as a `` work of high style and imagination '' .

neg: Dandy A dandy historically , is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance , refined language , and leisurely hobbies , pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of self . A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle despite coming from a middle-class background , especially in late 18th - and early 19th-century Britain .   Previous manifestations of the petit-maître ( French for small master ) and the Muscadin have been noted by John C. Prevost , but the modern practice of dandyism first appeared in the revolutionary 1790s , both in London and in Paris . The dandy cultivated cynical reserve , yet to such extremes that novelist George Meredith , himself no dandy , once defined cynicism as `` intellectual dandyism . '' Some took a more benign view ; Thomas Carlyle wrote in Sartor Resartus that a dandy was no more than `` a clothes-wearing man '' . Honoré de Balzac introduced the perfectly worldly and unmoved Henri de Marsay in La fille aux yeux d'or ( 1835 ) , a part of La Comédie Humaine , who fulfils at first the model of a perfect dandy , until an obsessive love-pursuit unravels him in passionate and murderous jealousy .   Charles Baudelaire defined the dandy , in the later `` metaphysical '' phase of dandyism , as one who elevates æsthetics to a living religion , that the dandy 's mere existence reproaches the responsible citizen of the middle class : `` Dandyism in certain respects comes close to spirituality and to stoicism '' and `` These beings have no other status , but that of cultivating the idea of beauty in their own persons , of satisfying their passions , of feeling and thinking ... . Dandyism is a form of Romanticism . Contrary to what many thoughtless people seem to believe , dandyism is not even an excessive delight in clothes and material elegance . For the perfect dandy , these things are no more than the symbol of the aristocratic superiority of mind . ''   The linkage of clothing with political protest had become a particularly English characteristic during the 18th century . Given these connotations , dandyism can be seen as a political protest against the levelling of egalitarian principles , often including nostalgic adherence to feudal or pre-industrial values , such as the ideals of `` the perfect gentleman '' or `` the autonomous aristocrat '' . Paradoxically , the dandy required an audience , as Susann Schmid observed in examining the `` successfully marketed lives '' of Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron , who exemplify the dandy 's roles in the public sphere , both as writers and as personae providing sources of gossip and scandal . Nigel Rodgers in The Dandy : Peacock or Enigma ? questions Wilde 's status as a genuine dandy , seeing him as someone who only assumed a dandified stance in passing , not a man dedicated to the exacting ideals of dandyism .

neg: Aredhel Aredhel Ar-Feiniel ( Y.T. 1362 -- Y.S. 400 ; died aged 1738 ) ( born and known in Quenya as Írissë ) is a fictional character created by J. R. R. Tolkien .   She is called Ar-Feiniel , the White Lady of the Noldor . She is the daughter of Fingolfin , sister of Fingon , Turgon , and mother of Maeglin . She was born and raised in Tirion .   Aredhel is tall and strong , beautiful , extremely willful , adventurous and fickle , easily bored and restless , fond of hunting and riding in the forests :  `` I am your sister and not your servant , and beyond your bounds I will go as seems good to me . ''   Her skin is pale and her hair dark ; she always wears silver and white . She would often ride and hunt in the company of the sons of Fëanor , her kin , but was not fond of them .   After arriving in Middle-earth , Aredhel dwells in Nevrast with Turgon , and goes with him to Gondolin . But after two hundred years she tires of the city and longing for the forests and wide lands overcomes her . Aredhel asks leave to depart . Turgon is unwilling , fearing the exposure of the Hidden Kingdom , but eventually relents .   Riding with companions , they are denied safe passage through Doriath because they seek the sons of Fëanor . And so they travel the East Road along the North March of Doriath .   There Aredhel Ar-Feiniel is separated from her escort in the dangerous region of Nan Dungortheb . She reaches Himlad safely , and waits there to meet Celegorm who is abroad . Ever restless , she wanders off and becomes lost in the forest of Nan Elmoth .   Eöl Mornedhel , the Dark Elf is the lord of those woods . By his enchantments , they meet , and he leads her to his dark home near Gladuial . This was similar to Melian 's enchantment of Thingol , but not as innocent on Eöl 's part .   There they wed and she stays for many years . Aredhel gives birth to a son , Maeglin . Telling him of her former life and home , and weary of Nan Elmoth , Aredhel Ar-Feiniel desires to see them again . Without Eöl 's leave , or knowledge , she departs Nan Elmoth with Maeglin while Eöl is away .   They reached the hidden entrance to Gondolin pursued by Eöl , and are received with rejoicing . Eöl is captured and brought before Turgon . Turgon will not allow Eöl to leave Gondolin , offering him only the choice to stay , or to die . Eöl refuses this judgement , choosing death for himself and his son . He attempts to kill his son with a javelin . Aredhel steps in front of the dart to shield Maeglin . She saves her son , and begs Turgon to forgive her husband , but it is poisoned and she dies that night after Eöl is led away by Turgon 's guards .   Eöl is executed by being cast down from the city walls . Maeglin becomes a mighty prince in Gondolin , later only to betray the city and become even more hated than his father .

neg: Prose Tristan The Prose Tristan is an adaptation of the Tristan and Iseult story into a long prose romance , and the first to tie the subject entirely into the arc of the Arthurian legend . It was also the first major Arthurian prose cycle commenced after the widely popular Lancelot-Grail ( Vulgate Cycle ) , which influenced especially the later portions of the Prose Tristan .   According to the prologue , the first part of the book ( i.e. everything before the Grail material ) is attributed to the otherwise unknown Luce de Gat , and were probably begun between 1230 and 1235 . The work was expanded and reworked sometime after 1240 . In the epilogue , a second author names himself as `` Helie de Boron , '' asserting that he is the nephew of the first author of the Arthurian Grail cycles , poet Robert de Boron . Helie de Boron claims , like the so-called authors of the Roman de la Rose , to have picked up the story where Luce left off . Neither the biographies of the two authors , nor the claim that they had been translating the work from a Latin original are taken seriously by scholars .

neg: Novel in Scotland The novel in Scotland includes all long prose fiction published in Scotland and by Scottish authors since the development of the literary format in the eighteenth century . The novel was soon a major element of Scottish literary and critical life . Tobias Smollett 's picaresque novels , such as The Adventures of Roderick Random and The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle mean that he is often seen as Scotland 's first novelist . Other Scots who contributed to the development of the novel in the eighteenth century include Henry Mackenzie and John Moore .   There was a tradition of moral and domestic fiction in the early nineteenth century that included the work of Elizabeth Hamilton , Mary Brunton and Christian Johnstone . The outstanding literary figure of the early nineteenth century was Walter Scott , whose Waverley is often called the first historical novel . He had a major worldwide influence . His success led to a publishing boom in Scotland . Major figures that benefited included James Hogg , John Galt , John Gibson Lockhart , John Wilson and Susan Ferrier . In the mid-nineteenth century major literary figures that contributed to the development of the novel included David Macbeth Moir , John Stuart Blackie , William Edmondstoune Aytoun and Margaret Oliphant . In the late nineteenth century , a number of Scottish-born authors achieved international reputations , including Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Conan Doyle , whose Sherlock Holmes stories helped found the tradition of detective fiction . In the last two decades of the century the `` kailyard school '' ( cabbage patch ) depicted Scotland in a rural and nostalgic fashion , often seen as a `` failure of nerve '' in dealing with the rapid changes that had swept across Scotland in the industrial revolution . Figures associated with the movement include Ian Maclaren , S. R. Crockett and J. M. Barrie , best known for his creation of Peter Pan , which helped develop the genre of fantasy , as did the work of George MacDonald .   Among the most important novels of the early twentieth century was The House with the Green Shutters by George Douglas Brown , which broke with the Kailyard tradition . John Buchan played a major role in the creation of the modern thriller with The Thirty-Nine Steps and Greenmantle . The Scottish literary Renaissance attempted to introduce modernism into art and create of a distinctive national literature . It increasingly focused on the novel . Major figures included Neil Gunn , George Blake , A. J. Cronin , Eric Linklater and Lewis Grassic Gibbon . There were also a large number of female authors associated with the movement , who included Catherine Carswell , Willa Muir , Nan Shepherd and Naomi Mitchison . Many major Scottish post-war novelists , such as Robin Jenkins , Jessie Kesson , Muriel Spark , Alexander Trocchi and James Kennaway spent most of their lives outside Scotland , but often dealt with Scottish themes . Successful mass-market works included the action novels of Alistair MacLean and the historical fiction of Dorothy Dunnett . A younger generation of novelists that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s included Allan Massie , Shena Mackay and Alan Spence . Working class identity continued to be explored by Archie Hind , Alan Sharp , George Friel and William McIlvanney .   From the 1980s Scottish literature enjoyed another major revival , with figures including Alasdair Gray , James Kelman , Irvine Welsh , Alan Warner , Janice Galloway , A. L. Kennedy , Iain Banks , Candia McWilliam , Frank Kuppner and Andrew O'Hagan . In genre fiction Iain Banks , writing as Iain M. Banks , produced ground-breaking science fiction and Scottish crime fiction has been a major area of growth with the success of novelists including Frederic Lindsay , Quintin Jardine , Val McDermid , Denise Mina , Christopher Brookmyre , and particularly Ian Rankin and his Inspector Rebus novels . The most successful author of Scottish origins in recent years has been J. K. Rowling , author of the Harry Potter series .

neg: Lysander (A Midsummer Night's Dream) Lysander is a fictional character in William Shakespeare 's play A Midsummer Night 's Dream .   A handsome young man of Athens , Lysander is in love with Egeus 's daughter Hermia . Unfortunately , Egeus does not approve of Lysander and would prefer his daughter to marry a man called Demetrius . Meanwhile , Hermia 's friend Helena has fallen in love with Demetrius . When Hermia is forced to choose between dying , never seeing a man again or marrying Demetrius , she and Lysander run away into the forest . They face different problems in the forest between love . After Lysander is put under Puck 's spell , being mistaken for Demetrius he falls in love with Helena . After lots of fighting the spell is reversed and Lysander marries Hermia and they live very happy lives together .   He comes across as a very deep and passionate lover in the play . He is a strong character and does get confused , but this is purposely achieved as Puck applies a potion which makes his relationship with Hermia fade until he removes it and they marry and live happily ever after . He has often been compared to the character of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet . Shakespeare wrote the play around the same time he was writing A Midsummer Night 's Dream and some scholars have come to the conclusion that the two characters in the different plays are rather similar . Both are passionate lovers who would do anything for those they love .

neg: Elaine (legend) Elaine is a name shared by several different female characters in Arthurian legend .

neg: The Dragon's Call `` The Dragon 's Call '' is the first episode of the first series of the British fantasy-adventure family television series Merlin . Written by Julian Jones and directed by James Hawes , the episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 20 September 2008 .   The episode tells the arrival of Merlin ( Colin Morgan ) as a young man in Camelot , where magic is banned by King Uther Pendragon ( Anthony Head ) . Taken under the wing of Camelot 's physician , Gaius ( Richard Wilson ) , he is warned that he must keep his innate magical ability a secret . In Camelot , he meets Uther 's heir , the arrogant Prince Arthur ( Bradley James ) , as well as Lady Morgana ( Katie McGrath ) and her handmaid , Guinevere ( Angel Coulby ) . As a witch ( Eve Myles ) plans revenge on the King 's heir for the execution of her son , Merlin is informed by a cryptic dragon ( John Hurt ) that his destiny is to protect Arthur .   Merlin was conceived by Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps to be an origin story for the characters of the Arthurian legends , with family-centered entertainment . Young actors with little experience were cast as the four lead characters , while better-known actors were cast in supporting roles . Many of the scenes in Camelot were filmed in France , at the Château de Pierrefonds , while the rest was filmed in England and Wales . Special effects were done by The Mill , who had the task of creating the talking dragon . `` The Dragon 's Call '' was watched by 7.15 million viewers in the UK and 6.3 million in the US on NBC . Critical reception was mixed , with some feeling the show had promise but lacked imagination , and the actual plot of `` The Dragon 's Call '' was deemed slight .

neg: Game of Thrones (2014 video game) Game of Thrones is an episodic graphic adventure fantasy drama video game based on Game of Thrones , the TV adaptation of George R. R. Martin A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series , released in December 2014 for Android , iOS , Microsoft Windows , OS X , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 , Xbox 360 , and Xbox One .   The game was developed by Telltale Games and follows the episodic format found in other Telltale titles , such as The Walking Dead , The Wolf Among Us , and Tales from the Borderlands , where player choices and actions influence later events across the 6-episode arc . The story revolves around the northern House Forrester , rulers of Ironrath , whose members , including the five playable characters , attempt to save their family and themselves after ending up on the losing side of the War of the Five Kings . The game includes settings , characters and voice actors from the novels and TV series .   The game was generally well received , and Telltale is currently working on a second season of the game .

neg: The Two Towers The Two Towers is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien 's high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings . It is preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring and followed by The Return of the King .


query: Eragon is a film directed by Garrett Hedlund.

pos: Eragon (film) Eragon is a 2006 British-American action-fantasy film directed by Stefen Fangmeier ( in his directorial debut ) and written by Peter Buchman , based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Paolini . The film stars Ed Speleers in the title role as well as Jeremy Irons , Garrett Hedlund , Sienna Guillory , Robert Carlyle , John Malkovich , Djimon Hounsou , Alun Armstrong and Joss Stone , with Rachel Weisz as the voice of Saphira the dragon .   Principal photography took place at the Mafilm Fót Studios in Hungary , starting on August 1 , 2005 . Visual effects and animation were by Weta Digital and Industrial Light & Magic . Eragon was released worldwide between December 13 and December 15 , 2006 by 20th Century Fox . It was the 10th worst reviewed film of 2006 on Rotten Tomatoes , but the 31st highest-grossing film of 2006 in the US . The film was released for home entertainment on March 20 , 2007 . It is notable for being the last film to be released on VHS in the United States .

neg: Inheritance Cycle The Inheritance Cycle is a young adult tetralogy of epic fantasy novels written by American author Christopher Paolini . Set in the fictional world of Alagaësia ( -LSB- æləˈɡeɪziə -RSB- ) , the novels focus on the adventures of a teenage boy named Eragon and his dragon , Saphira , as they struggle to overthrow the evil king Galbatorix . The series was originally intended to be a trilogy ( named the `` Inheritance Trilogy '' ) until Paolini announced on October 30 , 2007 , while working on the third novel , that he believed the story was too complex to conclude in just three books .   The book series as a whole received mostly mixed to negative reviews by critics , but has gained both popularity and commercial success . The first book in the series , Eragon , was originally self-published by Paolini in 2001 , and subsequently re-published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers on June 25 , 2003 . The second book in the series , Eldest , was published by Knopf on August 23 , 2005 . Both were New York Times bestsellers . The third book in the series , Brisingr , was published by Knopf on September 20 , 2008 . The fourth and final book in the series , Inheritance , was published by Knopf on November 8 , 2011 . The series has sold 33.5 million copies worldwide .   In 2006 , a feature film was released based on the first book in the cycle , Eragon , starring Ed Speleers , Jeremy Irons , John Malkovich and Djimon Hounsou . The film received generally negative reviews and closed as the 13th highest grossing fantasy-live action film within the United States .

neg: Film director A film director is a person who directs the making of a film . Generally , a film director controls a film 's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay ( or script ) while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision . The director has a key role in choosing the cast members , production design , and the creative aspects of filmmaking . Under European Union law , the director is viewed as the author of the film .   The film director gives direction to the cast and crew and creates an overall vision through which a film eventually becomes realized , or noticed . Directors need to be able to mediate differences in creative visions and stay within the boundaries of the film 's budget . There are many pathways to becoming a film director . Some film directors started as screenwriters , cinematographers , film editors or actors . Other film directors have attended a film school . Directors use different approaches . Some outline a general plotline and let the actors improvise dialogue , while others control every aspect , and demand that the actors and crew follow instructions precisely . Some directors also write their own screenplays or collaborate on screenplays with long-standing writing partners . Some directors edit or appear in their films , or compose the music score for their films .

neg: Arn – The Knight Templar Arn -- The Knight Templar ( Arn - Tempelriddaren ) is an epic film based on Jan Guillou 's trilogy about the fictional Swedish Knight Templar Arn Magnusson . The film was released to cinemas in Sweden on 17 December 2007 and the sequel , Arn -- The Kingdom at Road 's End ( Arn -- Riket vid vägens slut ) , was released August 22 , 2008 , but both films were combined into a single cut for the English release on DVD in 2010 . While the film is mostly in Swedish and most of the production was made in Sweden , the film is a joint production between Sweden , Denmark , Norway , Finland and Germany . With a total budget of around SEK 210 million ( ca . US $ 30 million ) for both films , it is the most expensive production in Swedish cinema .

neg: List of Final Fantasy media Final Fantasy is a series of role-playing video games developed and published by Square Enix ( formerly Square ) . Its first game premiered in Japan in 1987 , and Final Fantasy games have subsequently been localized for markets in North America , Europe and Australia , on nearly every video game console since its debut on the Nintendo Entertainment System . Final Fantasy is Square Enix 's most successful franchise , having sold over 97 million units worldwide to date . In addition to traditional role-playing games , the series includes tactical role-playing games , portable games , massively multiplayer online role-playing games , and games for mobile phones . Its popularity has placed it as the sixth-best-selling video game franchise , and the series has won multiple awards over the years .   In addition to the 15 games released as part of the main ( numbered ) series and their many spin-offs and related titles , the Final Fantasy series has spawned many works in other media including anime , movies , novels and manga , and radio dramas . Final Fantasy : Unlimited , originally a stand-alone anime series , now has its own sub-franchise which includes video games . Many games , particularly the main series , have soundtrack album releases featuring their music in different arrangements . Square Enix has also consistently released companion books for its games which provide additional backstory and plot information , as well as detailed walkthroughs for the game . Since the announcement of Compilation of Final Fantasy VII , Square Enix has focused on `` polymorphic content '' , expanding each game world with material on many video game platforms , as well as other forms of media .

neg: They (2002 film) They ( also known as Wes Craven Presents : They ) is a 2002 American supernatural horror film directed by Robert Harmon . The plot centers on a group of four adults named Julia Lund , Sam Burnside , Terry Alba , and Billy Parks and their experience with the phenomenon of night terrors and the impact they had on their lives as children and how they come back to haunt them as adults .   The film was produced by Ted Field , Tom Engleman , and Wes Craven who served as executive producer . The film stars Laura Regan , Ethan Embry , Dagmara Dominczyk , Jay Brazeau , and Marc Blucas . The title is a reference to the fact that the creatures are only referred to as `` They '' as their origins are ambiguous . The film was a box office bomb and had lukewarm reviews from critics .

neg: Motion Picture Editors Guild The Motion Picture Editors Guild ( MPEG ) is the guild that represents freelance and staff motion picture film and television editors and other post-production professionals and story analysts throughout the United States . The Motion Picture Editors Guild ( Union Local 700 ) is a part of the 500 affiliated local unions of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees ( IATSE ) , a national labor organization with 104,000-plus members . There are more than 6,000 members of the Editors Guild .   The MPEG negotiates collective bargaining agreements ( union contracts ) with producers and major motion picture movie studios and enforces existing agreements with employers involved in post-production . The MPEG provides assistance for securing better working conditions , including but salary , medical benefits , safety ( particularly `` turnaround time '' ) and artistic ( assignment of credit ) concerns .

neg: Camelot Entertainment Group Camelot Entertainment Group , Inc. ( `` CMGR '' ) , is a public company based in Irvine , California with three subsidiaries : Camelot Films , Camelot Distribution Group , including DarKnight Pictures , and Camelot Studio Group . Camelot is in the process of rebuilding its production and distribution subsidiaries as it continues to work on its Studio Group developments . As of February 1 , 2017 , Camelot is working toward filing a new S-1 Registration Statement in order to regain its fully reporting status and resume trading . The company has not traded since July 23 , 2013 , when it was unable to complete its annual and quarterly filing requirements due to lack of funding . In the interim , the company has divested itself of most of the titles it was representing for distribution as part of an overall restructuring . In addition to divesting the film library acquired in 2010 , the company has now worked through most of the prior legal issues that arose from the acquisition of the library and is now in a position to move forward with its S-1 Registration . Going forward , Camelot will focus on acquiring and producing content through its Camelot Films subsidiary , direct to consumer ( `` DTC '' ) digital distribution domestically as it rebuilds its foreign sales operations through its Camelot Distribution Group subsidiary , and the launch of its long planned Camelot Studio Group facility .

neg: Garrett Backstrom Garrett Backstrom ( born October 25 , 1995 ) is an American actor , best known for his roles as Vincent Liotta in the Disney hit show Jessie and Ethan in Disney XD 's Lab Rats . He has also starred in the feature movie Hello Herman ' He appeared commercials for Subaru , AT&T , Pepsi , Shoot & Shatter and How To Train Your Dragon DVD Release '' .

neg: Clannad (film) is a 2007 Japanese anime fantasy-drama film directed by Osamu Dezaki and based on the visual novel of the same name developed by Key . Toei Animation announced at the Tokyo Anime Fair on March 23 , 2006 that an animated film would be produced , and was released in Japanese theaters on September 15 , 2007 . The film is a reinterpretation of the Clannad storyline which centers on the story arc of the female lead Nagisa Furukawa . It was the final film directed by Dezaki before his death in April 2011 .   A promotional campaign took to the streets of Akihabara on March 10 , 2007 transported in a large black bus with the words painted on the sides . A group of young women cosplaying in the female high school uniform from Clannad emerged from the bus to hand out flyers and pink and white colored thundersticks to passersby to promote the film .

neg: The Dragon's Call `` The Dragon 's Call '' is the first episode of the first series of the British fantasy-adventure family television series Merlin . Written by Julian Jones and directed by James Hawes , the episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 20 September 2008 .   The episode tells the arrival of Merlin ( Colin Morgan ) as a young man in Camelot , where magic is banned by King Uther Pendragon ( Anthony Head ) . Taken under the wing of Camelot 's physician , Gaius ( Richard Wilson ) , he is warned that he must keep his innate magical ability a secret . In Camelot , he meets Uther 's heir , the arrogant Prince Arthur ( Bradley James ) , as well as Lady Morgana ( Katie McGrath ) and her handmaid , Guinevere ( Angel Coulby ) . As a witch ( Eve Myles ) plans revenge on the King 's heir for the execution of her son , Merlin is informed by a cryptic dragon ( John Hurt ) that his destiny is to protect Arthur .   Merlin was conceived by Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps to be an origin story for the characters of the Arthurian legends , with family-centered entertainment . Young actors with little experience were cast as the four lead characters , while better-known actors were cast in supporting roles . Many of the scenes in Camelot were filmed in France , at the Château de Pierrefonds , while the rest was filmed in England and Wales . Special effects were done by The Mill , who had the task of creating the talking dragon . `` The Dragon 's Call '' was watched by 7.15 million viewers in the UK and 6.3 million in the US on NBC . Critical reception was mixed , with some feeling the show had promise but lacked imagination , and the actual plot of `` The Dragon 's Call '' was deemed slight .

neg: Eagle Egilsson Egill Örn Egilsson ASC -LSB- ˈeiːjɪtl œrtn ˈeiːjɪlson -RSB- ( born 31 August 1966 ) , known as Eagle Egilsson ( -LSB- ˈiːɡəl_ˈeɪəlsən -RSB- ) , is an Icelandic television director and cinematographer .

neg: Art film An art film is typically a serious , independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience . An art film is `` intended to be a serious artistic work , often experimental and not designed for mass appeal '' ; they are `` made primarily for aesthetic reasons rather than commercial profit '' , and they contain `` unconventional or highly symbolic content '' .   Film critics and film studies scholars typically define an art film as possessing `` formal qualities that mark them as different from mainstream Hollywood films '' , which can include , among other elements , a sense of social realism ; an emphasis on the authorial expressiveness of the director ; and a focus on the thoughts , dreams , or motivations of characters , as opposed to the unfolding of a clear , goal-driven story . Film scholar David Bordwell describes art cinema as `` a film genre , with its own distinct conventions '' .   Art film producers usually present their films at specialty theatres ( repertory cinemas , or , in the U.S. , `` arthouse cinemas '' ) and film festivals . The term art film is much more widely used in the United States , the UK and Australia than in Europe , where the term is more associated with `` auteur '' films and `` national cinema '' ( e.g. , German national cinema ) . Because they are aimed at small niche market audiences , they can rarely get the financial backing that will permit large production budgets , expensive special effects , costly celebrity actors , or huge advertising campaigns , as are used in widely released mainstream blockbuster films . Art film directors make up for these constraints by creating a different type of film , which typically uses lesser-known film actors ( or even amateur actors ) and modest sets to make films that focus much more on developing ideas or exploring new narrative techniques or film-making conventions .   A certain degree of experience and knowledge are required to fully understand or appreciate such films . One mid-1990s art film was called `` largely a cerebral experience '' that one enjoys `` because of what you know about film '' . This contrasts sharply with mainstream `` blockbuster '' films , which are geared more towards escapism and pure entertainment . For promotion , art films rely on the publicity generated from film critics ' reviews , discussion of their film by arts columnists , commentators and bloggers , and `` word-of-mouth '' promotion by audience members . Since art films have small initial investment costs , they only need to appeal to a small portion of the mainstream viewing audiences to become financially viable .

neg: Film series A film series ( also referred to as a film franchise ) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe , or are marketed as a series .   Sometimes the work is conceived from the beginning as a multiple-film work , for example the Three Colours series , but in most cases the success of the original film inspires further films to be made . Individual sequels are relatively common , but are not always successful enough to spawn further installments .   The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the highest grossing film series in unadjusted US Dollar figures surpassing the Harry Potter , Star Wars , James Bond , and Peter Jackson 's The Lord of the Rings series . However , `` Star Wars '' has the highest when adjusted for inflation .

neg: Alien (film) Alien is a 1979 British-American science-fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott , and starring Sigourney Weaver , Tom Skerritt , Veronica Cartwright , Harry Dean Stanton , John Hurt , Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto . The film 's title refers to a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature that stalks and kills the crew of a spaceship . Dan O'Bannon wrote the screenplay from a story he wrote with Ronald Shusett , drawing influence from previous works of science fiction and horror . The film was produced by Gordon Carroll , David Giler and Walter Hill through their Brandywine Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox . Giler and Hill made revisions and additions to the script . Shusett was executive producer . The eponymous Alien and its accompanying elements were designed by Swiss artist H. R. Giger , while concept artists Ron Cobb and Chris Foss designed the human aspects of the film . Alien launched the Alien franchise and is chronologically the first of the main series , with the prequel series set in an earlier timeframe .   Alien received both critical acclaim and box office success , receiving an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects , Saturn Awards for Best Science Fiction Film , Best Direction for Scott , and Best Supporting Actress for Cartwright , and a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation , along with numerous other award nominations . It has remained highly praised in subsequent decades , being considered one of the greatest films of all time . In 2002 , the film was deemed `` culturally , historically or aesthetically significant '' by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry . In 2008 , it was ranked as the seventh-best film in the science fiction genre by the American Film Institute , and as the 33rd greatest film of all time by Empire magazine .   The success of Alien spawned a media franchise of novels , comic books , video games , and toys . It also launched Weaver 's acting career by providing her with her first lead role , and the story of her character Ellen Ripley 's encounters with the Alien creatures became the thematic thread that ran through the sequels Aliens ( 1986 ) , Alien 3 ( 1992 ) and Alien : Resurrection ( 1997 ) . , a crossover with the Predator franchise produced the Alien vs. Predator series , which includes Alien vs. Predator ( 2004 ) and Aliens vs. Predator : Requiem ( 2007 ) , and also a prequel series of films , which includes Prometheus ( 2012 ) and Alien : Covenant ( 2017 ) .

neg: Legend of the Doll is a fantasy comedy drama Japanese film directed by Toshiro Goto and released in 2006 by VAP . It is part of the Akihabara Trilogy of films revolving around the Akihabara cosplay and otaku subcultures . It was distributed in the United States by Asia Pulp Cinema .

neg: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction fantasy film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg , and written by Melissa Mathison . It features special effects by Carlo Rambaldi and Dennis Muren , and stars Henry Thomas , Dee Wallace , Robert MacNaughton , Drew Barrymore , Peter Coyote and Pat Welsh . It tells the story of Elliott ( Thomas ) , a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial , dubbed `` E.T. '' , who is stranded on Earth . He and his siblings help it return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government .   The concept was based on an imaginary friend Spielberg created after his parents ' divorce in 1960 . In 1980 , Spielberg met Mathison and developed a new story from the stalled sci-fi horror film project Night Skies . It was shot from September to December 1981 in California on a budget of US$ 10.5 million . Unlike most films , it was shot in rough chronological order , to facilitate convincing emotional performances from the young cast .   Released on June 11 , 1982 by Universal Pictures , E.T was an immediate blockbuster , surpassing Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of all time -- a record it held for eleven years until Jurassic Park , another Spielberg-directed film , surpassed it in 1993 . It is the highest-grossing film of the 1980s . Widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time , critics acclaimed it as a timeless story of friendship , and it ranks as the greatest science fiction film ever made in a Rotten Tomatoes survey . In 1994 , it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being `` culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant '' . It was re-released in 1985 , and then again in 2002 to celebrate its 20th anniversary , with altered shots and additional scenes .

neg: The NeverEnding Story (film) The NeverEnding Story is a 1984 American epic fantasy film based on the novel of the same name by Michael Ende , about a boy who reads a magical book that tells a story of a young warrior whose task is to stop a dark storm called the Nothing from engulfing a fantasy world . The film was produced by Bernd Eichinger and Dieter Giessler and directed and co-written by Wolfgang Petersen ( his first English-language film ) and starred Noah Hathaway , Barret Oliver , Tami Stronach , Patricia Hayes , Sydney Bromley , Gerald McRaney , Moses Gunn , and Alan Oppenheimer as the voices of both Falkor and Gmork ( as well as other characters ) . At the time of its release , it was the most expensive film produced outside the United States or the Soviet Union . The film was the first in The NeverEnding Story film series and later followed by two sequels .   Ende felt that this adaptation 's content deviated so far from the spirit of his book that he requested that production either be halted or the film 's title be changed ; when the producers did neither , he sued them and subsequently lost the case . Ende called the film a `` gigantic melodrama of kitsch , commerce , plush and plastic '' -LSB- Ein `` gigantisches Melodram aus Kitsch , Kommerz , Plüsch und Plastik '' -RSB- . The film only adapts the first half of the book , and consequently does not convey the message of the title as it was portrayed in the novel . The second half of the book would subsequently be used as the rough basis for the second film , The Next Chapter . The third film , Escape from Fantasia , features a completely original plot .

neg: Thor (Marvel Comics) Thor Odinson is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The character , based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name , is the Asgardian god of thunder and possesses the enchanted hammer Mjolnir , which grants him the ability of flight and weather manipulation amongst his other superhuman attributes .   Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books , the character first appeared in Journey into Mystery # 83 ( Aug. 1962 ) and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee , scripter Larry Lieber , and penciller-plotter Jack Kirby . He has starred in several ongoing series and limited series , and is a founding member of the superhero team the Avengers , appearing in each volume of that series . The character has also appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series , clothing , toys , trading cards , video games , and movies .   The character was first portrayed in live action by Eric Allan Kramer in the 1988 television movie The Incredible Hulk Returns . Chris Hemsworth portrays Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Thor , The Avengers , Thor : The Dark World and Avengers : Age of Ultron and will reprise his role in Thor : Ragnarok , Avengers : Infinity War , and its untitled sequel . Thor placed 14th on IGN 's list of `` Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time '' in 2011 , and first in their list of `` The Top 50 Avengers '' in 2012 .

neg: Clash of the Titans (franchise) Clash of the Titans is a British -- American fantasy action media franchise based on characters and myths of Ancient Greek mythology . The first film , Clash of the Titans , was released in 1981 with a remake made in 2010 . The remake spawned a sequel , Wrath of the Titans , in 2012 .