An Exclusive FAN FUN Interview with Damian Lewis

I cannot agree more with Times Talks tag line: The brightest stars. The smartest conversations. Because we just saw a very bright star, Damian Lewis, in a very smart conversation with NY Times Culture reporter and new Carpetbagger Cara Buckley at Directors Guild Theater in New York City. In case you missed it,  you can find the conversation in its entirety here and my review of the evening here.

source: timestalks.com
source: timestalks.com

The conversation covered a wide range of topics. Damian had a lot to say and what he had to say had such substance that I know we will go back and dig into this Times Talks over and over again in the future. But this very post is all about how a seemingly sad moment turns into a HAPPY moment in an instant thanks to one wonderful person: Damian Lewis. Continue reading “An Exclusive FAN FUN Interview with Damian Lewis”

Damian Lewis ROCKS Times Talks at Directors Guild Theater

source: Times Talks Program
source: Times Talks Program

Damian Lewis was the guest of celebrated Times Talks at Directors Guild Theater and had a great conversation with Cara Buckley, a New York Times culture reporter and the new Carpetbagger.

Well, on the day the UK votes to stay in or leave the European Union, a conversation with a British actor calls for a question about Brexit. And that was Buckley’s opening question. And, somehow, the conversation turned more political than I thought it would and I enjoyed it immensely. We all know celebrities tend to avoid from getting involved in political conversation probably because they do not want to lose fans. And I understand that. On the other hand, one may be an actor, a doctor, a teacher, or anything else, but first and foremost we are all citizens and we have responsibility to speak our minds about issues that we care about. And just THIS, I believe, makes an individual, regardless of who she or he is, and regardless you agree with her or him, a good citizen of the world. Thus, I applaud Cara Buckley for her hard-hitting questions and Damian Lewis for speaking his mind thoughtfully, knowledgeably and graciously. He was certainly in TOP form providing compelling arguments along with brilliant humor that cracked up the room one too many times!

Now, it is quite a task to turn a one hour and fifteen minute conversation into about 2500 words. But I have such delicious quotes from Damian and I would love to build the review around them. Plus I have a BIG surprise for you! I have been able to have an exclusive interview with Damian after the event which I proudly call “Fan Fun Talks.” Why not? You can see our interview with Damian at the end of this review.

Continue reading “Damian Lewis ROCKS Times Talks at Directors Guild Theater”

Life with Charlie Crews, Season 1: Episodes Five and Six

lifeS1ep518

Charlie Crews and me: I confess I did not watch Life as closely as I did Homeland or Billions earlier. I kept it in my stash for a long time and my husband and I then binge-watched both seasons in a couple of weeks with no real opportunity to digest it. That is why I fell in love with Holliedazzle’s idea to re-visit this fantastic show and dive deep into it the moment I heard about it!

Crime fiction and me: I had a phase in my childhood that I told everyone I would become a detective when I grew up! It probably started with Charlie’s Angels at a young age, continued with Magnum P. I. and peaked with Murder, She Wrote. I also religiously read Agatha Christie. Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple together sealed the deal for me.

Los Angeles and me: I confess L.A. is not my cup of tea. Having said that, I always love films and shows that display the city they are filmed in with its good, bad and ugly and Life is no exception. In fact, the wide variety it has in all things makes Los Angeles the perfect setting for the show.  Continue reading “Life with Charlie Crews, Season 1: Episodes Five and Six”

Remembering Nicholas Brody and his Muslim Faith

"You live in despair for eight years; you can turn to religion, too. 
And, the King James Bible was not available." 
- Nicholas Brody

source: Showtime
source: Showtime
I was born and raised in a secular family in Turkey, a country that is predominantly Muslim. That is, even though I am not religious myself, I am very familiar with the Islamic traditions, rituals and norms. I am obviously coming out of the culture and have been shaped by it in ways that I am probably not aware of 🙂 Thus, I thought it would be neat to talk about Nicholas Brody, my most favorite fictional character ever on small screen, as a Muslim character in celebration of Ramadan!

Now, I am not an expert, not even close, about Muslim characters on TV shows; however, even if there had been a popular Muslim character on TV before Brody came along, I just don’t think there is any way she or he could beat him on any popularity scale. Continue reading “Remembering Nicholas Brody and his Muslim Faith”

Throwback Thursday to D-Day’s 70th Anniversary on Utah Beach

source: HBO
source: HBO

One of the scenes that I find most memorable in Band of Brothers is in Episode 2: Day of Days which I reviewed for the 72nd Anniversary of D-Day here.

As I have already told you again and again and yet again, there is no way I can comprehend the mind set of a soldier who is on a boat approaching to the shores of Normandy or who is about to embark from an airplane with a parachute like Dick Winters. You may just wanna see the para-drop scene from Band of Brothers one more time below and good luck with comprehending it all.

Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to D-Day’s 70th Anniversary on Utah Beach”