Child’s Work for our Agent Double OO

If, like me, you’re slogging through the summer with kids home from school, all home media usually blissfully off or under your control during the day has been taken over by kids’ programming. One of the favorites running on our screens at home during summer is the animated series Phineas and Ferb.

In short, the series gives us Phineas, a chatty clever American kid, and his taciturn and even more clever English stepbrother, Ferb, getting into all kinds of shenanigans as they attempt to stay busy during…summer vacation! On their tail is persistently annoyed and shrill teenage sister Candace who seeks repeatedly to “bust” them, and never manages to, thanks to serendipitous help from subplot characters: evil scientist Dr. Doofenshmirtz and his nemesis Phineas and Ferb’s pet platypus, Perry. Perry is a secret agent for the spy organization O.W.C.A. (The Organization Without a Cool Acronym). Love it so far?

Now, I, like most stay at home parents, try to tune out what I can so as to stay moderately sane. But, I found myself paying attention to Phineas and Ferb. Earworm title sequence and songs, fun characters, great writing all worked to pulled me in. I mean really: Dr. Doofenshmirtz, the vaguely Eastern European CEO of Doofershmirtz Evil Incorporated given to long monologues, on an incessant mission to control a mysterious “Tri-state area”, always defeated by a clicking purring platypus? “Ah, Perry the Platypus, as always, your timing is impeccable. And by that, I mean completely PECCABLE.” Who can resist writing like that?

Continue reading “Child’s Work for our Agent Double OO”

Why Damian Lewis deserves an Emmy for his EPIC Henry VIII in Wolf Hall

“Henry VIII is a monster, but he’s our monster. No other nation has a king who had six wives and cut the heads off two. We’re perversely proud of Henry.” – Hilary Mantel

source: BBC
source: BBC

Well, I wrote this blog post for Henry VIII’s birthday on June 28 as a personal tribute to my Henry — Damian Lewis — for storming Wolf Hall but also to make a case about why he deserves an Emmy nomination!

We’re now celebrating Wolf Hall scoring 8 nominations in the Limited Series/TV Movie category. Here’s the full list of Emmy Nominations for Wolf Hall from Masterpiece PBS website!

source: PBS
source: PBS

I am simply psyched that Wolf Hall is recognized by the Television Academy in every category — including acting, directing, writing, casting and costume design! Congratulations to everyone involved in the making of one of the best, if not the best, mini-series that ever happened to TV! Continue reading “Why Damian Lewis deserves an Emmy for his EPIC Henry VIII in Wolf Hall”

Throwback Thursday: Happy 10th Birthday to Brides!

brides11

I am in my Homeland!

No… I am not in Carrie & Brody world 🙂 I am just back in Turkey, the country that I was born and grew up in, for a few weeks to visit with family. To be precise, I am in Izmir, my hometown, a beautiful city on Turkey’s West Coast that has a rich Greek heritage that reflects itself in all ways of life, which I LOVE. And, believe it or not, my hometown rings a bell about Damian Lewis that I want to talk about today! Damian has a movie in which we first meet him in Izmir (Smyrna in Greek).

Brides (Nyfes), anyone? Continue reading “Throwback Thursday: Happy 10th Birthday to Brides!”

Swagger of a Kingpin: Bobby Axelrod

So much to think about, so much waiting in the wings. Seems a good time to step back and take stock. The recently released Billions trailer showed us a tantalizing taste of Damian Lewis’ Bobby Axelrod, an outspoken arrogant hedge-fund king who seems to think himself above the law. The trailer got me reeling with anticipation, and it also got me thinking…about the ways in which Damian has played his roles and about the differences between stage actors and those focused on working on film. Of how stage actors who get to be on film, so OFTEN, take an audience by surprise, making us say “Whoa, who was THAT?” And of how exactly they do that. Continue reading “Swagger of a Kingpin: Bobby Axelrod”

It’s Time to Make Billions. It’s Time to Meet Bobby Axelrod. A First Sketch.

source: showtime
source: showtime

It was last October but it really feels like yesterday that we found out about Showtime ordering a pilot for a new drama series Billions starring Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti. Then we followed the pilot shoot in New York closely in January and held our breath until the cable network finally picked Billions as a series in March.

And… Look where we are now! Billions is currently coming to life in casting sessions and table reads. Season 1 shoot is starting in New York this week and will last about six months. Moreover, the first series teaser is out and it does exactly what it’s supposed to do — teasing us and raising a billion questions whose answers we will constantly look for when Billions hopefully hits the small screen in early 2016! Continue reading “It’s Time to Make Billions. It’s Time to Meet Bobby Axelrod. A First Sketch.”