Congratulations to Daniela from Germany; the winner of the large poster of Detective Charlie Crews on Life autographed by Damian Lewis! ➡
As previously announced, the autographed Life – Season One DVD was won by Kelli from New Jersey.
Thank you to Damian and Sharon for providing these great prizes and thanks also to the fans all over the world that entered our competitions; we hope that you had fun!
Click here to read an early, draft script for “Merit Badge” episode 1.01 of Life starring Damian Lewis (and thanks to Ryanne for the link.)
The Life – Season One DVD (region 2) will be released in France on June 2, 2009 and is now available for pre-order.
The Escapist with Damian Lewis is currently available in the UK as a FilmFlex Video On Demand feature. The region 2 DVD is also available for rent or purchase in the UK.
In the US viewers can see the The Escapist via their “video on demand” providers under IFC In Theaters through June 30th; here is the Comcast On Demand listing.
Season 2 of Life starring Damian Lewis is now broadcasting in South Africa on M-Net; a recent edition of The Times in South Africa included this announcement:
Damian Lewis, a Golden Globe-nominated English actor, who claimed his fame through his portrayal of Major Richard Winters in Band of Brothers, is back on our screens playing detective Charlie Crews in the second installment of Life.
The newly released trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince includes a glimpse of Helen McCrory in the role of Narcissa Malfoy. The film’s long-awaited release has been moved up by 2 days and the movie will premiere on July 15, 2009.
Click here and here for information about director Martha Fiennes’s guest appearance at the AngloMockBa festival in Moscow that will include a screening of Chromophobia starring Damian Lewis on May 3, 2009.
There’s only one more day to enter to win the large, autographed poster of Damian Lewis as Detective Charlie Crews in Life. The contest ends at 11 pm ET on Friday, April 17th; click here for more information.
Click above to watch a review of Life by Kansas City Star television critic Aaron Barnhart. He polled his readers to select shows that “deserved a second look” and Life was the winner by an overwhelming majority!
Damian Lewis is scheduled to appear as a guest host on Have I Got News For You on May 1, 2009 at 9 pm on BBC One. This is a new episode and not a repeat of his hilarious November 2006 appearance on this popular British “political quiz show”. Thanks to Kaz you can click here to download and view Damian’s November 2006 appearance on HIGNFY from the Multimedia page.
Through August 1, 2009 all 21 episodes of Life: Season 2 will be available for free, online viewing at NBC.com and Hulu.com (US residents only – sorry!)
This viewer’s review of The Escapist has this to say about Damian’s performance:
The menacing Rizza (Damian Lewis)…rules the prison like a violent version of Howdy Doody…Lewis chilled me to the … bone. Rizza isn’t a yeller; he carries this quiet grim evil in him. With the clean, bright-red, close cut part hair, he looks like a clean-cut fella, and you wonder why everyone is supposed to be afraid of him. He quickly quells that, merely with a gesture or a quiet shushing. You realize why men would cut off their own finger without screaming just to avoid his temper.
Video On Demand viewers can watch The Escapist right now on TV under “IFC In Theaters;” click here for the Comcast On Demand listing.
Congratulations to producer Adrian Sturges! He has been selected to take part in the “Producers On the Move” event at the Cannes International Film Festival in May. ➡
Adrian is Damian Lewis’s business partner in the Picture Farm production company and he is the producer for both The Escapist and The Baker starring Damian Lewis. Click here and here for more information about the prestigious “Producers On the Move” selection.
The Escapist will screen at the USA Film Festival on Friday, May 1 at 7:00 pm at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas. The festival will include a tribute to the film’s star Brian Cox who will be in attendance. Click here for more information about the festival.
And click here to read more praise for The Escapist!
The Lewis family are back home in the UK! A lucky fan named silvernickel ran into them on Monday at London’s Tate Modern museum of contemporary art:
I met him! by silvernickel (Wed Apr 15 2009 09:52:07)
On monday, outside Tate Modern. He was really really friendly and took the time to chat even though he was there with his family! Seems like a really nice guy.
Life starring Damian Lewis continues to gather recognition and accolades as we wait to hear if there will be a 3rd television season for this excellent series. Alex Strachan of the Canwest News Service had this to say about the program:
Life was good. If it should end tonight for good, those who watched from the beginning will know that here was a show that didn’t pander for ratings, that didn’t compromise, that stayed true to itself to the end. Life will be missed.
Don’t miss this opportunity! Enter by April 17th to win a large, autographed poster of Damian Lewis; click here for more information.
This Daily Mail article about Eton, Britain’s most famous prep school, lists Damian Lewis as one of the school’s many successful graduates. The article also references another notable alumnus, Damian’s close friend, former classmate (and his favorite author!) best-selling spy novelist Charles Cumming. Below is a picture of the two friends; still good buddies after many years! 😀
Congratulations to Kelli from New Jersey on winning the Life-Season One DVD boxset autographed by Damian Lewis! Through April 17th Life fans all over the world can enter to win a large poster featuring the picture above and autographed by Damian; click here for contest details! ➡
New high-quality still photos from the April 8th season finale for Life titled “One” (episode 2.21) have been added to the Warehouse. Thanks once again to Dryope for the pics!
Thanks also to DJ and Selene for the new screencaps from episode 2.20 titled “Initiative 38” which aired in the US on NBC on April 1st.
Tickets are now available for the screening of The Escapist with Damian Lewis at the Independent Film Festival of Boston. The film will run at 8:15 PM on Sunday, Apr 26th at the Somerville 5 theater and actor Brian Cox will attend the screening; click here for more information about the festival.
The Escapist is currently running in Los Angeles at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 Theater and it is also available to Video On Demand viewers under “IFC In Theaters;” click here for the Comcast On Demand listing.
Click on the links below to read more reviews and praise for The Escapist:
l 1 l 2 l 3 l 4 l
A few graphic updates at livejournal:
» Click here and here for gorgeous Life icons from oltha-heri and amor_fatii.
» Click here and here for episode reactions & picspams of the season finale by grimorie and iamlillykane.
Click here on our Audio page to download the short interview with Damian Lewis posted at Hollywood Outbreak last week. Many thanks to Kaz!
Whether You Observe Easter, or Passover, or Another Seasonal Celebration
Have a Happy Holiday!
The Region 1 (US and Canada) DVD for Life: Season Two starring Damian Lewis as Detective Charlie Crews is now available for pre-order! ➡
Click here to pre-order your copy from Amazon.com and to lock in Amazon’s “price guarantee” to ensure that you receive the lowest price offered at any time prior to release.
And a high-volume of DVD pre-orders is another opportunity to demonstrate to NBC Universal that the show has many loyal fans!
No DVD details or release date are given; click here for more information and thanks to Raga Dal for the news!
The Latin American AXN Network is asking viewers to vote for a favorite police drama that should not be cancelled. Click here and then click on “Cancelar su voto” to vote for Charlie Crews and Life. Thanks to Mithveaen for the link!
And keep voting for Life in E! Online’sUS and UK “Save a Show” polls.
The Escapist with Damian Lewis is currently running in Los Angeles on at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 Theater. The film is also currently available to Video On Demand viewers under “IFC In Theaters;” click here for the Comcast On Demand listing.
Abbie Bernstein reviewed the film for IF Magazine and said:
THE ESCAPIST has a thoughtful, almost lyrical feel. This is due in large part to (Brian) Cox, a performer of such authenticity and authority that there’s a visceral kick to just watching him as Frank thinks and regrets. Director Rupert Wyatt and his co-writer Daniel Hardy take an unusual tack for makers of a prison movie – they’re more interested in the internal lives of the characters than in the action… This is essentially a character study wrapped in a prison thriller format…Cunningham, Fiennes and Jorge all make an impression, while Macintosh is the epitome of unreasoning malice. Lewis is convincing as a man who can indeed control others through intimidation, and Cooper is suitably naïve and scared without making us feel that Lacey isn’t up to responding as he does. THE ESCAPIST is intriguing in both its construction and its effect. It’s definitely worth a visit.
Spoilers! Tonight it’s all about Life! The final episode of season 2 aired in the US tonight and it was absolutely fantastic; tonight was “Charlie’s night!” ➡
» Click above to see the “teaser trailer” for tonight’s Life episode number 2.21 titled “One” and thanks once again to Kateblake_2000 for posting the trailer online.
» Click here to listen to an interview with Damian Lewis discussing Charlie Crews, his character on Life. Warning, there’s some profanity!
» Mary McNamara, film critic for the Los Angeles Times, has written another wonderful review of Life, stating:
The great mystery of “Life” is why it isn’t a big fat hit. The cop drama/transcendence tale that comes to its seasonal, and perhaps (cue critical wailing and gnashing of teeth) final, end tonight has all the ingredients of a successful show…There’s the terrific writing …And, of course, there’s the great cast: Lewis is a marvel, with credits that include “Band of Brothers” and “Masterpiece Theater…how is it that this show founders… So if, as rumor has it, this is it for “Life,” I invite representatives from all sides of the issue to chat with me, in these pages, about what the heck went wrong…
» TV Guide critic Matt Roush offered these comments about the future of Life:
Question: What can be done to save Life? It’s a phenomenal series with outstanding actors (especially Damian Lewis), intriguing plot twists and an artful blend of sly wit and great staging (the use of dark and light, good and evil, chaos with the zen). For those of us who have little to watch on commercial TV, please listen!!!!
Matt Roush: I’m listening, and I wish more TV viewers would as well. (Seriously, what makes the revolting and woodenly acted Criminal Minds more of a draw on Wednesdays than this clever piece of L.A. sun-drenched noir?) The good news about Life is that, unlike nearly everything else except 30 Rock on NBC, it has something of a thriving critical reputation—Life made it onto the AFI top-10 list last year—but that may not be enough to help it escape the doldrums that’s dragging down the entire network. (Saddling the show with lead-ins like the mercifully defunct Knight Rider and The Chopping Block hasn’t helped much, either.) With fewer slots available to dramas next season thanks to the brilliant Jay Leno five-nights-a-week scheduling, Life’s life span is obviously in danger of being cut prematurely short. Keeping fingers crossed until May, when we’ll know more.
» Rand Ravich, the creator and executive producer of Life and Damian Lewis (the star of the show) recently gave an interview discussing the season finale and future opportunities. Click on the links below to read various articles based on this interview, including the intriguing comment from Damian that “three studios were in a holding pattern about whether LIFE renews or not.” 😀 l 1 l 2 l 3 l 4 l
» Warning to all women of child-bearing age! Close proximity to Damian Lewis can cause spontaneous ovulation! Stay away from Damian if you wish to avoid pregnancy! 😆
According to an unconfirmed report posted on IMDb by scubadude44, Gabrielle Union is the 3rd actress on Life (after Jennifer Siebel and Sarah Shahi) to announce that she is expecting a baby! Congratulations to Gabrielle and her family! 🙂
» One more day to enter to win the Life – Season One region 1 DVD autographed by Damian Lewis! The DVD contest is only open to residents of the US and Canada and has been extended for one more day; the new deadline is April 9th at 11pm ET. Don’t forget to also enter to win the autographed Life poster! The poster competition is open to Life fans everywhere; click here for information about both contests.
Click above to watch a review of The Escapist by Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz for At The Movies; both critics praised and recommended the film and (at approximately 3:00 minutes into the clip) Ben Mankiewicz gave special recognition to the “exceptionally talented actor” Damian Lewis.
Click above to see a review of The Escapist from Alison Bailes and Jeffrey Lyons for Reel Talk TV. The two reviewers strongly recommended the film and Jeffrey Lyons made special mention of Damian Lewis as a member of the film’s “great cast.”
Robert Levin of Film School Rejects has a new interview with Rupert Wyatt, director of The Escapist.
Escapist is now playing at the Village East Cinema in New York City and will open in LA on April 10th at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 theater. The film is currently available to Video On Demand viewers under “IFC In Theaters;” click here for the Comcast On Demand listing.
Reminder! Watch the season 2 finale of Life titled “One” that will air in the US on NBC at 9pm ET on Wednesday, April 8, 2009.
Alan Sepinwall, TV critic for the Star Ledger reviewed last week’s episode of Life titled “Initiative 38”. He also reported on a recent interview with Damian Lewis and executive producer Rand Ravich. The article includes “…a few paraphrased highlights from the call (in which Lewis used his native accent”):
Ravich said that he feels the finale will provide enough resolution to things that, “If this were it (cancellation), if I were a viewer I would not feel frustrated… There’s still plenty of room to go on, still plenty of doors to open, but we do resolve a few things”
…Neither man really has any idea whether there might be a third season. Ravich joked that “Life” might return as a series of 30-second interstitials during Jay Leno’s new show. When one reporter asked for details on the finale, Lewis and Ravich went on a run of jokes about the “Life on Mars” ending. (Ravich: “He ends up on Mars.” Lewis: “We’ve managed to work in time travel.”)
Don’t forget! April 8th is the last day that Life fans in the US and Canada can enter to win a Life-Season One DVD boxset that has been autographed by Damian Lewis; viewers all over the world have until April 17th to win an autographed poster! Click here to find out how you can enter to win these great prizes!
The Lewis Family (Damian, Helen McCrory, Manon, and Gulliver) were photographed out walking in Marina Del Rey, California on Thursday, April 2, 2009; click here to read the entry at Celebrity Baby Blog. 😀
Listen to Rupert Wyatt, director of The Escapist, discussing the film with Dan Persons on Mighty Movie Podcast.
Laemmle Theatres is sponsoring a special $6.00 screening of The Escapist in West Hollywood on April 14th at 7:30 pm (PT); click here for more information.
In the Sunday edition of the London Times Stephen Armstrong writes about doing voice-overs for Disney’s hit, animated series Phineas and Ferb; and he talks about the large number of British actors that have contributed to the series, including Damian Lewis.
If you are in the UK, watch Phineas and Ferb and hear Damian Lewis as Agent 00 0 in “Elementary My Dear Stacy” on the UK Disney Channel on April 12th and 13th at 11:20 am.
Listen online to Helen McCrory on BBC Radio 4 in the second and final part of “Something Fresh” by PG Wodehouse.
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker with Damian Lewis will air on HBO2e at the dates and times shown below:
» HBO2e Wed, Apr 8, 1:30 PM Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker
» HBO2e Thu, Apr 16, 7:30 AM Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker
Click here at the gallery for HQ stills from episodes 2×20 and 2×21! Many thanks to Dryope!
Click here and here for reviews of The Escapist from New York Times and Hollywood Elsewhere.
The program At The Movies also reviewed the film and highly recommended it. Click here at the official site for information on local broadcast days and times.
The film is currently playing at the Village East Cinema and will open in LA on April 10th at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 theater and in Portland at the Living Room Theater on May 8th. It is currently available to Video On Demand viewers under “IFC In Theaters; click here for the Comcast On Demand listing.
I’ve got Wikipedia insight. I used to be able to sit at dinner parties and talk at length about a novel, having just read the jacket in a bookshop. Now it’s like I’ve got the jacket and the inside cover as well, but nothing more.
According to this press release Damian Lewis will be part of the upcoming book Inspired, which will feature inspirational stories from both celebrities and the young people supported by the youth charity The Prince’s Trust. The book will include photography from Cambridge Jones and will be released in July 2009. According to the release the launch will be accompanied by bookstore signings and a possible broadcast special. No word if Damian will be part of that.
Click here at the site for more info on Damian’s involvement with the charity.
Click here for part 4 of emiliglia’s Winters/Nixon Picspam. Warning: The commentary is a bit on the “slashy” side. I’m not usually comfortable linking to slash material but she’s even got Winters/ Nixon gifs for crying out loud! 😀
» Fox News reported seeing “Gabrielle Union, Damian Lewis & Sarah Shahi sipping specialty Svedka cocktails at the wrap party for the cast & crew of the second season of NBC’s series, LIFE at Hollywood hotspot Rise on Monday night.” (Thanks to Diane for the head’s up!)
» The Foxarticle also includes an interview with Sarah Shahi talking about pregnancy at the recent “TV Guide’s Sexiest Stars soiree.”
» Aaron Barnhart, television critic for the Kansas City Star, is asking viewers to pick a television show that “deserves another look”; click here to vote for Life! (Thanks to Jen for the news!)
» PopWatch has a new article about Life co-star Donal Logue and the uncertain future of the show.
» Click here for a new Life music video by Vip Victor titled “The Fighter”.
Click above to see writer/director Rupert Wyatt’s recent ComingSoon.net interview with Edward Douglas about his film The Escapist that will be released in the US in New York City on April 3rd and will also be available to video on-demand TV viewers starting April 1st.
“The Escapist, a compelling, carefully written and totally gripping film from the U.K. that is acted with naturalism and conviction by a smashing cast…It stars the versatile, always astounding Brian Cox as Frank Perry…Frank plans a daring escape with the aid of three other convicts (Joseph Fiennes, Liam Cunningham from the film Hunger, and Brazilian musician Seu Jorge, who are all perfect)…Director Rupert Wyatt, making his feature-film debut, juxtaposes the clandestine eight-day digging and the clandestine rehearsals for the big break with the actual escape itself, mixing up time and action…Mr. Wyatt does it without the usual CGI and high-tech special effects that make these epics look preposterous. Everything in The Escapist looks real for a reason…
The great thing that emerges from the debris is the human element…For Frank, redemption is triggered by the arrival of a terrified new cell mate named Lacey, played by Dominic Cooper…
Rizza’s (Damian Lewis’s) sadistic control of the prison population slowly turns into a wedge between the escape artists and their freedom…Ignoring Rizza’s warning (“You got one thing going for you, Frank—you’re too old to die young”), Frank makes a decision that changes the future of his own existence—and the outcome of the escape…
Physically violent and psychologically probing, The Escapist reminds me more than any other film of the sensational, groundbreaking TV series Oz, but it’s not really an action film…t’s a fine piece of work that passes 102 minutes swiftly, and Rupert Wyatt shows great promise. You won’t feel the need to escape from The Escapist.”
Film critic Marshall Fine’s review describes The Escapist as “Taut, full of soul but with no sentimentality” and goes on to say that he:
“…particularly liked Damian Lewis as the chilly Rizza. Lewis, so entertaining as Det. Charlie Crews on TV’s “Life,” here is the picture of calm menace: no hair out of place, prison uniform immaculately pressed – a man in control until forced to confront the reality of his situation…. ‘The Escapist’ won’t change the world but, for 102 minutes, it will pull you into a world from which you won’t want to escape.”
Click above to see a “teaser trailer” for Damian Lewis’s guest appearance as the voice of Agent 00 0 on Phineas and Ferb on the Disney Channel in the UK. “Elementary My Dear Stacy” is the episode featuring Damian and it will air on Monday, April 13th at 11:20am.
There is an unconfirmed report that Helen McCrory is part of the voice cast for a new animated film titled the Fantastic Mr. Fox that is scheduled for release on November 6, 2009. George Clooney and Cate Blanchett will play Mr. and Mrs. Fox and other cast members include Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and Anjelica Huston. Meryl Streep and Helen’s Harry Potter co-star, Michael Gambon, are also rumored to be in the film.
Reminder: Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker featuring Damian Lewis is available in the US on HBO On Demand until April 5, 2009.
