Billions ROCKS PaleyLive in New York City!

Oh what a treat!

BIG THANKS go to the cast and creators of Billions for giving us an hour of intelligent conversation and laughter and to Paley Center for Media for providing beautiful, intimate setting for this dream event!

source: Paley Center
source: Paley Center

A little note to our readers: Hulu is the official media sponsor of Paley Center and Hulu subscribers will be able to access some exclusive footage or maybe the entire panel discussion here in the coming days.

Ok, let’s start with some serious warm-up: JaniaJania has storified the tweets from Billions red carpet as well as from the panel here. Enjoy it and then come back to dive deep into my almost minute-by-minute account of the evening!

Billions Season 2 promo video that we micro-analyzed here and here earlier on the blog kicks off the event. Then cast and creators come to stage one by one to great applause — Damian’s little dance as he comes to stage is to die for — and Cynthia Littleton of Variety moderates the discussion.

source: Damianista
source: Damianista

Littleton asks the actors about how their characters have changed over the first season.

As Paul Giamatti talks about Chuck losing control of himself more and more towards the end of the season, Damian Lewis points out these two characters know that if they can find the Achilles heel, the emotional tipping point, in their adversary, that is when they nail them.

David Levien says the overarching concept in Billions is that these two men are the masters of their own universe. The story is built around these completely balanced, hyper-rational men who would normally walk away when the cards are stacked against them suddenly finding themselves completely unbalanced and trying to deal with it. Damian advises the people leading us are mostly settled with sociopathic tendencies that they have the ability to compartmentalize their emotional life. They push aside shame and guilt and move forward. Being able to operate like this is essential for them to succeed. Brian Koppelman adds that now that the characters have found out about who they really are at the end of Season 1, they now shift a little bit and have some “creepy self-awareness” to them in Season 2.

source: Damianista
source: Damianista

What about Wendy? Well, Maggie Siff feels triumphant: “I am cutting these men off.” Yes, she does! Siff says there is a lot of layers of reckoning for Wendy in store. Having seen betrayal in her “two marriages” Wendy seems to do some “existential questioning” about what went wrong at Axe Capital as well as in her marriage to Chuck.

Malin Akerman talks about Lara’s manipulating and cut-throat nature and says, being “a killing with kindness kind of person” in real life, it is sort of fun to play someone that would do whatever it takes to get to where she wants to be.

Condola Rashad shares with us that Kate is working more closely with Chuck this season and that we should get ready to see more competition in the US attorney’s office. It sounds delicious to me! Kate is obviously an ambitious young woman with some firm belief in justice. She is a perfectionist who may get ruthless. And I wonder how much the office competition impacts her relationship with Bryan who…

…according to Toby Moore, walks a fine line in the show. Moore says Bryan idealizes Chuck’s position in the beginning but over the season he sees his boss may, in fact, not be a hero. And what about Axe’s 7-digit offer over Nonna Pie? We did not hear him say no to Axe… exactly like the guy who apparently approached Moore to say: “So you’re going to Axe Capital, right?” 😀

source: Showtime
source: Showtime

David Costabile enjoys playing Wags so much that each step lower that Wags descends into hell only goes better for him 😀 Koppelman adds he and Costabile were in drama classes together in college and now he is taking his sweet revenge from him. Gotta love these guys!

When asked about the fans getting invested in the show, Damian points out different projects and characters play to different constituencies. It is priceless to find out about Paul Giamatti and David Costabile both getting shout outs from truck drivers: “Go, get Axe!” for the former and “Hey Wags! I like your fuckin’ show!” for the latter. Malin Akerman says people are scared of Lara. Well, I would not mess with her, either 🙂

source: Damianista
source: Damianista

The conversation turns to the show’s strong female characters which, I am extremely happy to find out, has got very positive reaction from the viewers and now gets huge applause from the audience in the room. I LOVE the fact that Billions women, as moderator Littleton rightly points out, do not worry about being seen as nice. Way to go, girls! Brian Koppelman shares that they knew from the beginning it would be Wendy winning the first season with a new Maserati and 5 million bucks in her account! Well done, sister!

source: Showtime
source: Showtime

Littleton now inquires about the set dynamics and how it feels coming back to film a second season. It is quite obvious these people are having a ball. Condola Rashad wishes there was a Billions gag reel shenanigans. Siff says they are a family on set and they really like each other. They can just come in the morning and say “I didn’t sleep last night.”

source: Damianista
source: Damianista

Damian says they become very adroit at shortcutting as actors. They don’t always know where the story is going so there is always an improvisational quality to coming together and finding your character. Coming into second season, everybody is on more solid ground now, he says, and it starts to feel like a real ensemble that is more prepared to take risks with each other in acting.

Damian then points out they need to guard against familiarity, too; for example, he and Lara in their Uggs and hair coming out of their ears — he immediately corrects hair would come out of his ears only and not hers! — would not be good and Giamatti advises the material would come bite them should they not guard against familiarity. “You have to rise” Damian says.

source: Damianista
source: Damianista

We find out that these actors always rise. The show creators express genuine appreciation for their actors coming to set knowing all their lines as well as all the underpinnings all the time.

My favorite answer to the question about how it feels to come back to set for Season 2 comes from David Levien: He says they were like women with multiple children who forget about it and have another pregnancy 🙂 Koppelman and Levien also reveal they knew what would happen at the end of Season 2 before they even filmed the pilot, and it turns out Damian recently told them “you said you were going to do this.”

Damian argues we are living in this fantastic world “where despicable people are marvelous and marvelous people are despicable” which is no more true than in Billions and so the show has to have a world view, a judgment, at some point. He says some themes such as the seducing and corrupting nature of political and financial power come to fruition in this season in ways that they did not in Season 1.

The audience Q&A starts now.

source: Damianista
source: Damianista

First question is about whether Damian got inspired from real life characters as he put together his character for the show. Damian says he met several hedge-fund billionaires both in the UK and the US. Bobby Axelrod, he says, is a fictional character that “moves in a Rock’n’Roll, sort of cowboy-esque way” and he did not find that in hedge-fund billionaires. He found vanity, big ego, great intelligence and a willingness to listen. But it was the game and the fun of the game — much more so than the money — that was most important for all of them

Next Damian is asked about whether he knew he would be Bobby Axelrod when Brody died. Oh yeah it was his call. He just called Homeland people and told them he upgraded to a billionaire and so he had to die! 😀 No, he did not know he would do Billions. He, in fact, was not intending to come back to TV soon after he left Homeland but the scripts and the compelling pitch by Koppelman and Levien seduced him, and as far as Bobby’s fate goes, no hedge-fund manager has been executed for insider trading 🙂

source: Billions
source: Billions

The next question is, in fact, not a question but a text message by brilliant Kelly AuCoin, aka Dollar Bill, read by an audience member. He is saying  he will not be at the event tonight, but if there is a Q&A she should tell the cast and creators how much she loves Dollar Bill and he should have more scenes 😀 Damian asking “Did you make it up or is that real?” is hilarious and Brian Koppelman saying Dollar Bill has a lot to do this season makes everyone HAPPY!

Yours truly asks the next question. I just say Billions is my dream show. It has my favorite actor, Damian Lewis, it is filmed in my favorite city in the world, New York, and it has a lot to do with what I do for a living: Game Theory. I am just curious about how they integrate it into writing. I was lucky enough to chat with Mr Koppelman before and he already knows my fascination with their use of game theory in the show. It turns out they talk about game theory a bunch on the set and they certainly talk about it in the writers’ room. Well, I am already using examples from Billions in my classes so I am looking forward to more in Season 2!

source: Damianista
source: Damianista

An audience member asks for advice to young actors. Now, hearing a giant like Giamatti saying “I am the last person to give anybody advice. I am just lucky” is humbling. I love it that David Levien says what Giamatti is too modest to say is how he works his ass off: “He understands everything about the character, everything about the the rest of the world that he is playing in, he knows the text.” And Damian shares with us that his co-star can convey his lines at 6:30 in the morning like he has been 6 months into a long theater run. Malin Akerman thinks they should film Giamatti at table read. Wow.

My lovely Lady Trader is next! She says she has been in the asset management world for over 28 years and so she knows the terminology they use on the show spot on. What has been the reaction from the hedge-fund world?

Brian Koppelman says Matthew Blank and David Nevins, the Chairman and the CEO of Showtime, respectively; and who are, in fact, sitting just in front of us, get calls from the hedge-fund people and that it is super rewarding to know people living in that world appreciate the show. He adds they are still spending time with hedge-funders and that Jim Chanos will make a cameo in Season 2. Mr Koppelman does not give any details about Chanos’ cameo but Lady Trader believes it should be about a short sell 🙂

The final question comes from a die-hard Paul Giamatti FAN who has seen every movie he made! Damian cracks up the room pretending to call the security as the fan goes on about how Giamatti becomes his characters 😀

source: Damianista
Damian calling the security and cracking up the room! source: Damianista

The question is about the challenge of playing one character for several years compared to one role in a movie. Giamatti says he never did a TV show before so he is finding out about it as he goes along. He enjoys playing different material every time, for instance, in contrast to stage, where he does say the same things every night. He does not want to know much early on, he loves to be surprised and finds the experience exciting and energizing. And Damian adds that it also feels like theater close-up with muscularity, constant learning and long speeches adding a different quality to it. Well, it makes perfect sense when you think of the final showdown between Axe and Chuck, doesn’t it?

source: Showtime
source: Showtime

In closing, I cannot thank enough to Mr Koppelman and Mr Levien — I am honored to have met them both — as well as to my two favorite Billions boys Damian and David for these wonderful memories. These people are not just smart and funny but they are very down-to-earth that makes you love them even more. Long live Billions!

source: Damianista
source: Damianista
source: Damianista
source: Damianista

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author: Damianista

Academic, Traveler, Blogger, Runner, Theatre Lover, Wine Snob, Part-time New Yorker, and Walking Damian Lewis Encyclopedia :D Procrastinated about a fan's diary on Damian Lewis for a while and the rest is history!

14 thoughts on “Billions ROCKS PaleyLive in New York City!”

  1. Told you! I knew you’d get an up close consult/selfie 🙂 Called Paley yesterday. They said an edited version would be available on Hulu at the end of the week. I would have liked to see all the raw footage, but I’ll take what I can!

    1. Thank you and you are amazing! May I put the info into the post? This blog belongs to all of us, I cannot be happier when we get this kind of tip from a fellow (and a lovely) fan (and friend)! There was a lot of laughter which made me not get everything said (no complaints!) and my notes were illegible at places so I did not put in things that I was not 100% sure about. But I think the post gives the friendly, bright and witty hour we shared in that room. Long Live Billions!

  2. Yeah yeah you got the selfies I asked for-love it! Thanks for the write up, I am so happy that Billions will be returning to us soon.

    1. I so wish you had been there with us — I really hope you join us for another event in the coming year — and I am so happy if the selfies put a smile on your face.

      1. I reside in the Midwest, but my heart is indeed pulled to each coast by so many wonderful friends and opportunities! I do hope I can come out and visit sometime in the near future!! I’m sure you’d make an excellent NY tour guide!

  3. Amazing! Haven’t visited my beloved blog for awhile (sadly and I am terribly sorry for it) and I can see there is massive improvement, great changes… It looks so professional; I am wondering when will you receive an offer to be Damian’s private PR Manager? I think some kind of an offer is on its way:-) Got a feeling! Huge applause to the great work! I must also say; to my surprise, Billions hasn’t been very popular at this side of the ocean. What would be the reason?

    1. My LOVELY Ghursday – you make my DAY!!!! Thank you for all your kind words! We try our best to be professional without losing that amateur spirit which we believe in and yeah we are just thrilled to have Damian’s support. And may I say I LOVE your feelings? 🙂

      Billions is quite popular here. It’s become Showtime’s most successful freshman series ever which means it should have beaten Homeland in terms of viewings which is great. And the cast and creators very liberally talking about Season 3 last night at the panel even before we had Season 2 on TV signals to me that they may know something that we don’t 🙂 I can see that the subject matter may not be as attractive to everyone since it is not a love story or a crime story as we know it, but the financial jargon is not the essence of the show and it is still relationships that stay at the heart of the story. And I don’t know what kind of an ad campaign they did in the UK. One thing they did in the UK was to release all episodes together. Something I don’t understand. So people in the UK watched it in a day or two and they moved on while looked forward to every new episodes here with big excitement.

  4. Wonderful post, as I knew it would be. I so applaud your ability to take notes in such events. I would be (and have been) too starstruck to put pen to paper right at the moment as effectively as you do. Brava!
    Love Kopp’s comment about them all having a “creepy self-awareness” this season. Didn’t ever consider self-awareness a creepy thing, but maybe it will be? This post makes me more eager than ever for the season to hit our screens!

    1. Thank you! I had 20 pages of notes on a medium size notepad after the event 🙂 I LOVED Kopp’s comment about “creepy self-awareness” as well. It may be creepy when one finds out who they turn out to be is quite different than what they think of themselves.

      The moderator had the privilege of seeing the first episode — Koppelman said they already edited 9 out of 12 episodes, and I think they are shooting final episode right now — and she said it shocks you back in immediately so yeah I JUST CAN’T WAIT!!!!!!

  5. You have a very nice smile, beside Damian, but I understand you !!
    You know how much I love Damian, but could you tell him I do not understand, he wears jackets too small, and why he does unbutton never them!
    It is really not beautiful, and it is a pity for a man as elegant as Damian§
    Your posts are always beautiful and very interesting, I never get tired of reading! Milliards has not yet been released in France, but I know that French people like Damian, great audience for, BOB, LIFE, Homeland, and Wolfhall
      Will they love Damian as much in a very different series? I do not know!
    For me, this is not my favorite genre, but as long as there is Damian, I LOVE
    Monique

    1. Monique, you remind me of a colleague who calls my smile “your million dollar smile” 🙂 I know I smile big but maybe a bit bigger next to Damian?

      Thank you so much for your kind words! I went home Monday evening after the event at 9pm or so and just could not help but sit and write about it while I had my notes in front of me and my memory was still fresh. I went to bed as the sun was rising. But I can’t help it. I just love doing this so much, it makes me happy! And I want to do things that make me happy.

      About jackets: You make me laugh! Damian wears that jacket a lot. Even I met him in that jacket for three times now. I guess he loves it 🙂

      1. Maybe we could contribute, to offer him a pretty jacket to his size!
        Thank you for taking the time to answer me, you are great,and yes your smile is very beautiful!Stay with us,we need you!
        love
        monique

        1. It’s my pleasure to write to you, Monique! Thanks for all your kind words and your constant support! And, no worries, as long as Damian is not going anywhere, we are not going anywhere! And it is you all, our readers, that keep us get going – THANK YOU <3

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