See Emilia Clarke in new clip from thriller Voice from the Stone, and more celebrity stuff

We’ve still got a few months to go before the premiere of Game of Thrones season 7, which means we can take in some of the stars’ other projects. First up is Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) in Voice from the Stone, a thriller about a nurse (Clarke) hired to care for a mute child in 1950s Tuscany. She eventually suspects that the boy is under the control of “a powerful and otherworldly persona.” So it’s a period ghost story. Check out the trailer:

ComingSoon.net has an exclusive clip from the movie, wherein Clarke’s character runs into one of those creepy old ladies who are standard issue in horror flicks.

The movie looks like a solid choice for Clarke, who’s differentiating herself from her role as Daenerys by taking parts in smaller movies, like this and the romantic comedy Me Before You. Hopefully Voice From the Stone will be a hit for her when it’s released on April 28.

Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter has it that Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth) will appear alongside Mad Men’s Elizabeth Moss in season 2 of the BBC’s Golden Globe-winning mystery show Top of the Lake. The new season, called Top of the Lake: China Girl, will premiere on BBC Two in the UK and Sundance TV in the US later this year.

And for anybody worried about what this means for Brienne, worry not: filming on Top of the Lake season 2 started back in December of 2015, after filming on Game of Thrones season 6 was over and long before filming on season 7 began. She can easily have done both.

Not every actor can be on Game of Thrones, but it doesn’t mean they can’t talk about it. For example, Kerry Washington recently chatted with Glamour about how well her character on Scandal, D.C. fixer Olivia Pope, would do on the show. “It would be really sad if Olivia Pope were on Game of Thrones because she would’ve won the throne, like, four seasons ago. And then the show would be over.” She also had an idea on how to get the smallfolk on board with Jaime and Cersei’s special relationship.

"She would spin the idea that there are lots of kinds of love between people, and you can never really put a finger on how exactly to define the relationship between people that love each other very much. I think she would spin and avoid. Spin and avoid."

Somehow I doubt the people would buy that, but whatever. Despite her confidence, Washington doesn’t think Pope would fare well against White Walkers. “That would be unfortunate. Blood on the white coat? No bueno.” It’s good to specialize.

Finally, NJ.com has a unique public interest story. Melida Rodas, the mother of a 16-year-old sophomore at Marist High School in Bayonne, New Jersey, is trying to save the school from closure via an unlikely method: penning an open letter to George R.R. Martin, the school’s most famous alumni, to intervene on its behalf.

Rodas, a writer herself and a big fan of Martin’s work, peppered her letter with references to Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire. Read it below:

"I have enjoyed your work astounded by your insight into the human condition. The essence of your work is the protection of family and all the things we hold dear: a sense of home, brotherhood/sisterhood and our future survival.The politics of what this involves is not lost on me. We do what we must do in order to maintain ground and hope in the midst of uncertainty or impending doom.As a mother I certainly relate to the primal instincts of all your characters, to fiercely protect loved ones. Jon Snow is who I identify with the most.As a brother of “The Night’s Watch”,  he is relentless in his fight against those who threaten to extinct his family and friends. His path is always noble and upright. He guards a precious structure, “The Wall,” in your writings.I see my child’s school as a similarly precious structure. “The White Walkers” and “WINTER” as a metaphor for what is coming for them. Their school is on the verge of extinction."

You can read the full letter, which includes more GoT references (Sam, being a fan of learning, is name-checked) at NJ.com. No word on whether Martin will come galloping to the rescue.