musings about the actor and the characters he brings to life
Well, boys and girls, Liverpool is going to UEFA Champions League Final! And while it may not be the event of the year for many of you, I am not uncertain it is a highlight for the man to whom this blog is dedicated 😀
As a HUGE football fan, it was so much fun to see the exchange between Damian and Stephen Kunken, who is bringing Ari Spyros to life in Billions, about Champions League! Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Will, A Liverpool Movie”
Keep watching. https://t.co/DdoC6tUXQx
— Brian Koppelman (@briankoppelman) April 15, 2019
When I saw this tweet, I wanted to scream on top of my lungs “it is going to happen!” but of course I restrained myself 🙂 Now that everyone has seen the fantastic Episode 7, I can spill the beans! Join me!
This blog has had an interesting relationship with Billions. I launched the blog only two weeks before they started shooting the pilot in New York and I have been very lucky to catch up with Damian on the set once every season since. I do not know how many times you need to do a thing for it to become a tradition, but catching up with Damian on Billions set once a year certainly feels like a tradition now.
And when I saw Billions signs on Park Avenue on a Saturday evening in December, I thought I could continue the tradition. The signs hint that they might shoot at Eleven Madison Park where I could easily imagine Axe eat with other billionaires, and was happy that I could continue the tradition. Continue reading “Catching Up With Damian Lewis at Bobby Axelrod’s Favorite Pizzeria”
I could not be happier that a game theory term makes it to the title of this week’s episode: Infinite Game.
In finite games, like a tennis match, the players are known and the rules are fixed. The players obey the rules and play to win the game. In finite games, there is a clear endpoint. In infinite games such as politics or business, or life itself, players and rules may change. There is no definite endpoint. The goal for all players involved is to keep the game going.
And this fantastic episode is a deep dive into life, an infinite game, where human beings try to find the balance between their rational and emotional selves and keep it going. Hats off to everyone behind and in front of the camera! Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Season 4 Episode 7: Infinite Game”
Billions picks up the characters exactly where we left them last Sunday, takes them to places they have never been before and leaves me with several billion dollar questions. HATS OFF!
Wendy meets Taylor at Morgenstern’s – synonym of YUM. She seems to be friends with Nicholas Morgenstern who makes a cameo and turns the ice cream shop into a speakeasy for his friend! 🙂 Well, Mr. Morgenstern is definitely a good friend. Did you know he named his peanut butter ice cream cake after his friend Brian Koppelman? Meet The Koppelman!
While neither trusts the other one, Wendy and Taylor talk. At least Wendy does: Many at Axe Capital tried to get into her mind, but only Taylor did. Because they listen and they deeply care. And that is why they were the only one who reached out when Chuck made their sex life public.
Wendy knows if she does not confide in someone who really knows her, she will end up in a bad place. Taylor does not have to talk at all, they only need to hear Wendy as she is trying to figure herself out. When Taylor rightly asks about what Axe would think about this meeting, Wendy is clear:
“This has nothing to do with him.”
Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Season 4 Episode 6: Maximum Recreational Depth”
Hang there like a fruit, my soul,
Till the tree die!Posthumus, Cymbeline
Having grown up in Turkey, I am not coming from a deep Shakespeare culture. We read translated excerpts from Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet in our literature classes but I really believe one has to read Shakespeare in his language to understand and love it… That’s why my relationship with the great man really started as we moved to NYC and started doing Shakespeare in the Park, a New York tradition combining two great things about the city: It’s Theater in Central Park… And, hey, it’s FREE, too! The only thing you have to do is go early in the morning and get in the line for free tickets distributed at noon. And, believe me, waiting in line is half the FUN… You have people sleeping on their blankets, playing board games, reading the evening’s play together as a group… Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Cymbeline”