Categories Charity Fashion and Style Personal and Family Life Philanthropy Print Media

Vogue World Launches London Fund for Performing Arts

Vogue World: London

by Staff | Broadway World | August 29, 2023

Vogue will donate 100% of net proceeds from ticket sales to Vogue World: London to arts and cultural organizations in London.

Vogue World: London will be held on 14 September at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. You can stream it live at Vogue World at 8:00 p.m. BST (3:00 p.m. EST), with the preshow beginning at 2:30 p.m. EST. The theatrical production, conceived with Stephen Daldry, will be inspired by an opening night in the West End. It will mark the start of London Fashion Week, with a red carpet followed by performances across the worlds of opera, theatre, film, contemporary dance, classical and popular music.

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Categories Dream Horse Poll Print Media

5 Transformative Sports Films Based on True Stories

Dream Horse: Community and Togetherness

by Shahnaz Mahmud | Sundance Institute | August 29, 2023

Major moments in sports history remain long in the memories of fans. But, often it’s the off-the-field narratives — the behind-the-scenes stories of how those major moments came to be — that are transformative, with the power to change how we live our lives for the better.

Enter the sports film based on a true story.

When we follow the lives of athletes and their true personal stories as told through the narrative lens, their resonance is amplified. These are deeply human stories, ones that reach into our everyday lives.

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Categories Band of Brothers Poll Print Media

11 Band Of Brothers Scenes That Are Basically Perfect

An Overly Powerful World War II Story

by Lewis Glazebrook  | ScreenRant | August 29, 2023

Band of Brothers is one of the more emotionally affecting, outstandingly produced war stories in modern TV, made up of a handful of essentially perfect scenes. Airing on HBO in 2001, Band of Brothers is based on the non-fiction book of the same name and details the exploits of “Easy” Company of the 101st Airborne Infantry Division during World War II. From the company’s experiences in boot camp and the Normandy landings on D-Day to various military operations in Europe and the end of the war, Band of Brothers outlines the horrors of the war and the camaraderie and bravery of the men and women who fought in it.

It is worth noting that, when concerning perfect scenes in Band of Brothers, it is nigh on impossible to narrow it down to a select number. It is one of the most critically acclaimed TV shows in history, and for good reason based on its incredible production design, outstanding writing, and fantastic performances from Band of Brothers‘ cast of actors. As such, it is incredibly difficult to limit the show to a certain number of impactful scenes. With that said, here are the 11 scenes that stand out across Band of Brothers‘ 10 episodes as essentially perfect, for varying different reasons pertaining to the exploration of World War II.

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Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions on Showtime, Season 7 Episode 3: Winston Dick Energy

Performance Anxiety

by Damianista | Fan Fun With Damian Lewis | August 26, 2023

The first Axe-less episode in the final season has three storylines that are light-hearted compared to those in the first two. A few lead characters doing soul-searching brings complexity that leave the viewers asking for more!

I do not know if Chuck’s first order of business as the U.S. Attorney of the SDNY has been to release Jock Jeffcoat from prison, but one of the first  is to offer a job to Ira as the two are eating a lavish breakfast from Russ & Daughters in some office at the SDNY. When Ira asks if they are having their breakfast in a random office so Chuck would not have any food smell in his office later, Chuck says the office is Ira’s if he wants to.

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Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions Season 7, Episode 3 Recap: Hamster Wheel

Classic Billions Sabotage

by Sarene Leeds | Vulture | August 25, 2023

It’s pretty hard to beat “Winston Dick Energy,” but if I had to give this episode a different title, it would be the overlong “How Wags, Wendy, and Chuck Got Their Groove Back.”

With no Axe in this week’s episode, Billions is forced to return to a business-as-usual model. The three major plots are entertaining enough, but none of them seem to be heading toward a strong season-long arc. Case in point, the best storyline of “Winston Dick Energy” is Wags’s orchestrated humiliation of Winston, his highly inappropriate brand name, and his risk-management software. Classic Billions sabotage and I loved every minute of it, but I don’t see how or if this plot device will affect Mike Prince’s presidential campaign. The narrative about Chuck losing his killer instinct is meh, relying mainly on an 11th-hour cameo by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and a delightfully cringe anecdote from Senior involving the Bedminster golf club. And I’ll always wonder if I’d even care about Wendy feeling threatened by a rival psychiatrist if said shrink wasn’t portrayed by the glorious Holland Taylor.

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Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions Season 7, Episode 3 Recap: Confidence Games

Mike Thinks He Sets a Trap for a Certain New U.S. Attorney

by Sean T. Collins | New York Times | August 25, 2023

Season 7, Episode 3: ‘Winston Dick Energy’

Chuck Rhoades is a man of action — most of the time. His proprietary blend of intellect and emotion is what made him the man he is today; his best friend and newly hired deputy U.S. attorney, Ira (Ben Shenkman), tells him this in so many words.

But that combination has unmade Chuck several times over, and he’s not the only one who knows it. His protégé turned foe, Kate Sacker, tells her boss Mike Prince that Rhoades’s emotion is what stops him from harnessing his full intelligence, which is every bit the equal of hers or Mike’s. So when Kate and company proffer a filing for a political super PAC to back Prince’s presidential campaign — a deliberate provocation meant to keep Chuck’s operations in plain sight — Chuck does not bite.

Continue reading Billions Season 7, Episode 3 Recap: Confidence Games

Categories Billions Poll Print Media

Our Top 3 Billions Characters We’d Love to See Return

Bryan, Rudy, Rebecca, Lara, Bruno…Oh My!

by Staff | Fan Fun With Damian Lewis | August 24, 2023

Over the coarse of 7 seasons, Billions has had many memorable characters that have made a distinct impression on the show, and the viewers.

With Billions coming to its end and Axe making a comeback, we thought we would list the Top Three characters we would also like to see return in Season 7.

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Categories Billions Print Media Recap

From The Trader’s Desk: Everyone’s Playing 3-D Chess!

Billions Season 7 Episode 2 ‘Original Sin’

by Lady Trader | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | August 25, 2023

Got no religion, don’t need no friends
Got all I want and I don’t need to pretend
Don’t try to reach me, ’cause I’ll tear up your mind
I’ve seen the future and I’ve left it behind
Supernaut – Black Sabbath

Happy Friday from “From the Trader’s Desk”.

Axe is living it up in an absolutely stunning castle in the north of England. If you need to be in exile, well that is the way to do it! Besides the chip off the old block Gordie, Axe has no friends with him; he’s got all he wants and he don’t need to pretend! But does he really?

Let’s get into “Original Sin”….

Continue reading From The Trader’s Desk: Everyone’s Playing 3-D Chess!

Categories Billions Poll Print Media

Billions MVPs: Season 7 Episode 2, Original Sin

The Unbeatable, Unstoppable, Unparalleled MVPs 

by Staff | Fan Fun With Damian Lewis | August 23, 2023

Billions is back and so is our MVP series! We continue to award our Most Valuable Players for Billions season seven in our series compilation, the ‘Billions MVP Fanbook,’ which commemorates all those in honor of achievement for the utmost brazen, uber shameless, ultra scheming, unmatched bad asses from the episode – from sports references, music and tasty food to pop culture remarks, shocking twists and ultimate paybacks. In case you missed it, here are the MVPs of the season seven premiere Tower of London.

Now let’s dive in. Here are the Billions MVP awards for Season 7, Episode 2, “Original Sin.”

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Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions Season 7 Episode 2 Original Sin Recap

Freedom, Plotting, and the Power of Cowboy Boots

by Kyle Fowle| Entertainment Weekly | August 20, 2023

Axe has a castle. I mean, of course Axe has a castle. As the second episode of the season kicks off, Wags (David Costabile), Wendy (Maggie Siff), and Taylor (Asia Kate Dillon) are visiting Axe (Damian Lewis) in England in an attempt to persuade him to come back to the United States and prevent Prince (Corey Stoll) from becoming president. The four of them spend much of the episode walking around Axe’s massive estate, which he has managed to create during his time in exile, and having conversations in shadowy halls and rooms. The pitch? Axe surely can’t be happy about how Prince is running the company he used to own, the one he built from the ground up, and he must be itching to come back and defeat his nemesis. The thing is, Axe might not have the same motivations.

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Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions on Showtime, Season 7 Episode 2: Original Sin

Redemption

by Damianista | Fan Fun With Damian Lewis | August 19, 2023

Two episodes in and my head is still spinning. ‘Original Sin’ reminds me of Axe’s trading style that Mafee talks about in the season premiere: Fast. Aggressive. Sure-footed. And I applaud the writers’ room and everyone behind and in front of the camera for this brilliant episode they give us with redemption or lack thereof at its heart in all different shapes and forms. I also want to take a moment here to express my support for the on-going strike. I so hope it puts a full stop to the big studios’ greed. Best of luck.

Now on to the episode recap which I break down into four parts – each named after Wendy’s lost boys: Bobby, Chuck, Mike and Others  🙂

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Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions Season 7, Episode 2 Recap: The Hard Sell

Castle Axelrod: Knights of the Round Table

by Sean T. Collins | New York Times | August 18, 2023

Season 7, Episode 2: ‘Original Sin’

Who’s the most terrifying egomaniac in the series right now? It might not be Mike Prince.

A man’s home is his castle. It’s a comforting, if patriarchal and consumerist, cliché. In Bobby Axelrod’s case, it just happens to be true. His home is a castle. In this week’s episode of “Billions,” it serves as the reunion site for his Knights of the Round Table, on a mission to bring their Arthur back from Avalon and take up the sword once more.

The target of this trio of do-gooders — one of them a guy who may never have done good before in his life, mind you — is the would-be future leader of the free world, Mike Prince. Wendy, Taylor and Wags have all come to the conclusion that keeping Prince out of the Oval Office is even more important than, get this, making money. They all make this case to their old boss in turn, each employing a different strategy and skill set, each yielding the same result: He’ll pass.

Continue reading Billions Season 7, Episode 2 Recap: The Hard Sell