To discover Damian’s views on fashion check out this hilarious Guardian feature from March 4, 2006 (scans of the article with pictures can be accessed here at the Warehouse.)

I can tell you that the Reese-Crews relationship will not be getting any romantic complications in the immediate future, but the door does remain open to that possibility. Show runner Rand Ravich told me: “They’re like any good working relationship—it will change as stresses are put on it from outside and inside, and if they do come closer together physically, it will be because circumstances have changed, and they will have to react to that. As for now, I think we’ve found a really good place for them to be, and they are a place of safety for each other. I think we’ll stay here for a while.”

» Today’s editon of Hello! magazine included an article about the premiere and singled out Daniel Craig and Damian Lewis for their well-dressed good looks, saying:

“Neither is keen on blowing his own trumpet, but, immaculately suited and booted at a glittering premiere, Daniel Craig and Damian Lewis looked exactly like what they are – two of the UK’s leading screen talents.”

The article goes on to describe Damian as “the sexiest redhead in showbiz!” (Now if they had called him the “sexiest man in showbiz” then they would have gotten it right!)

» Dotty shared the news that Helen McCrory appeared on the BBC Breakfast show today to talk about her performance in Flashbacks of a Fool with Daniel Craig.

» PHOENIX LEICESTER 17TH – 18TH APRIL
» PONTERDAWE ARTS CENTRE 19TH APRIL
» ABERYSTWYTH ARTS CENTRE 22ND – 26TH APRIL
» COURTYARD HEREFORD 6TH – 8TH MAY
» THEATR MWLDAN CARDIGAN 25TH – 29TH MAY

The US premiere of The Baker will take place on April 25th and 26th at the RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, NC.

» Thanks to Ann for the news that BBC Radio 4’s recording of the
Josephine Hart Poetry Hour program of the Unforgettable Poetry of World War I is now available for online listening. The readings are done by actors Robert Hardy, Daniel Stevens, Damian Lewis, and Elizabeth McGovern. The poems are very powerful and all of the performances are excellent but you will hear Damian’s readings at the approximate times listed below:

- 13.25 Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est is read entirely by Damian Lewis
- 18.24 you can hear Damian as “The Married Man” and at 19.20 as “The Captain” in Cyril Horne’s Dolores
- Alfred Noyes’s The Victory Ball starts around 21.00 and Damian comes in around 22.07
- 22.55 begins Rudyard Kipling’s Extracts from Epitaphs of the War and you can catch Damian around 23.40 and at 25.02

This is a recording of the Josephine Hart Poetry Hour that originally took place on June 5, 2007, at the British Library. The program will be repeated on BBC Radio 4 FM on Saturday, April 19th at 23:30.

» On Saturday April 26th from 2:30 to 3:30 PM BBC Radio 4 will air The Small Black Room, a World War II drama starring Damian Lewis as “British scientist Sammy Rice, who takes great pleasure in his work – testing inventions considered potentially useful for the War. But then he is asked to unravel the mystery of hundreds of German bombs found strewn across Britain which lay dormant but inexplicably explode when they come into human contact.”

The program is produced by Clive Brill and will probably be available for online listening after the broadcast.

Other Damian Lewis movies on US television this month include The Situation on the Sundance Channel on April 20th and 25th and An Unfinished Life on FX on April 17th and 18th.

Ms. McCrory is currently busy filming the role of Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and her new movie with Daniel Craig titled Flashbacks of a Fool will premiere in London on April 13th followed by a general release on the 18th. She will also star onstage at the Almeida in Ibsen’s Rosmersholm that will run from May 15th to July 5th.

“The Escapist is the stylish and impressively contained debut from British writer and director Rupert Wyatt. Not only has he delivered a first film that makes you want to see his second, he’s done it by injecting a degree of freshness into one of the most staple of genres, the prison escape movie…

Ultimately, this is a simple story with, as in any prison break movie, the freedom vs. incarceration circumstances a base for many a theme. Escapism, atonement and the four R’s – redemption, release, regret and responsibility – flow around the paternal Frank to good effect. Combined with Benjamin Wallfisch’s diverse score pulsing throughout, this all makes for proficient entertainment that marks Wyatt out as a filmmaker to watch.”

» Wonderful news! The Escapist has secured a North American distribution agreement with THINKfilm!

» A report from the Hollywood Reporter says:

“The price is said to be in the $1 million range plus a significant P&A (prints and advertising) commitment. ThinkFilm expects to release the movie in the fall and follow a similar platform rollout as it did in 2007 with its Sidney Lumet morality tale ‘Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.’”

» An article in IndieWire quotes Mark Urman, theatrical division head for THINKfilm, as stating:

“‘The Escapist’ is a dazzling directorial debut and an exceptional visual and visceral experience … I am thrilled to be working with such an exciting creative team, on both sides of the camera, and if audiences are half as impressed by their work as we are, we’ll have a big hit on our hands.”

» Variety quotes Urman saying of The Escapist – “It’s arresting, it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen on film before”.

The article goes on to say that the film will be released in October in Los Angeles and New York “and then platform with a quick, broad, week-by-week expansion.”

» And Movie City News shared these comments from director Rupert Wyatt:

“I’m thrilled that my debut film has been picked for theatrical release in the U.S. by such a highly respected company. It was always my intention when making THE ESCAPIST that it should appeal both critically and commercially to a U.S. audience. THINKFilm has now provided us with a fantastic platform to make sure that happens. I very much look forward to teaming up with them over the coming months.”

» Anton Bitel of musicOMH gave The Escapist a 4-star review, stating:

“…Ultimately, The Escapist impresses as a recognisable genre film while also breaking free of its generic confines by suggesting that escape is, over and above having the right team and the right tools, a state of mind. Here, the visceral, the intellectual and the spiritual all come together, elevating The Escapist beyond merely escapist entertainment, and offering something that any viewer can dig.”

» The Escapist opened the BritSpotting Film Festival in Berlin tonight and is scheduled for release in the UK on June 20th.

» Congratulations to all of the film’s supporters especially Picture Farm’s Rupert Wyatt (director/writer), Daniel Hardy (writer), Adrian Sturges (producer), and Damian Lewis (co-star)!