Asia Kate Dillon – Page 25

Billions Returns to Old Conflicts and Alliances, While Adding New Foes – May 1, 2020

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Psychological Warfare: All Smiles Through Gritted Teeth

by Brian Lowry | CNN | May 1, 2020

“Billions” has shuffled allegiances so many times it’s tough to keep track without a scorecard. But the bottom line is that Showtime’s high-stakes drama remains enormously entertaining, making its return more than welcome, even if the show’s latest creative bets feel somewhat hedged.

After the unexpected alliance between hedge-fund billionaire Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) and now-New York Attorney General Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) throughout the fourth season — one of the show’s most audacious twists — the new campaign finds Axe having reabsorbed employee-turned-rival Taylor Mason (Asia Kate Dillon) and back at odds with Chuck.

Still, perhaps the most interesting flourish of the new season sees the introduction of billionaire Mike Prince (Corey Stoll), who becomes a fierce opponent of Axe’s, even if he talks a good game about giving back to society and getting along.

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Billions Print Media Review

Billions Review: Money’s the Root of All the Delicious Evil – May 1, 2020

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Backstabbing and Frontstabbing

by Richard Roeper | Chicago Sun Times | May 1, 2020

Everyone is awful.

We’ve known that for quite some time about virtually all the major players (and many of the supporting ones as well) in Showtime’s addictive money-drenched drama “Billions,” but never has it been more evident than in the first four episodes of Season 5, which I screened in advance of Sunday’s season premiere.

Paul Giamatti’s ruthless attorney Chuck Rhoades; Damian Lewis’ power-mad billionaire Bobby Axelrod; Maggie Siff’s in-house psychiatrist/guru for Axelrod’s firm, Wendy Rhoades; Asia Kate Dillion’s genius analyst Taylor Mason; Jeffrey DeMunn’s well-connected power broker Charles Rhoades — they’re all out for themselves every step of the way, they’re all consumed with not only defeating but destroying their opponents, and they’re all borderline sociopathic in their respective quests. Even when someone expresses remorse or declares they’ve turned over a new leaf, it just sounds like they’ve taken the three-dimensional chess game to another level.

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Billions Print Media

Billions Creators on Releasing Season 5 of the New York Drama in Uncertain Times – May 1, 2020

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An Insider-y Take On A Not So Insider-y Show

by Stacey Wilson Hunt | Fortune Magazine | May 1, 2020

There’s little that Brian Koppelman and David Levien haven’t tackled in their artistic careers. From early forays in the music business (Koppelman), to novel-writing (Levien), to the ups and downs of screenwriting-in-tandem—including 1998’s Rounders and 2007’s Ocean’s Thirteen—to making one of Showtime’s most-watched drama, Billions, the New York natives have curated an almost Zen-like approach to their work: create cool, smart stuff and have a blast doing it.

But Koppelman and Levien faced the beginning of what is likely to be their most daunting challenge as storytellers when production on season five of Billons, which films on location all around New York City, was halted mid-March because of the global coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the series— which tells the ongoing saga of former U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) and hedge fund king Bobby “Axe” Axelrod (Damian Lewis)—will air a truncated installment of episodes starting Sunday, May 3, as Billions’ tight-knit cast, crew, and its team of creators (which includes author Andrew Ross Sorkin) face what so many of us are confronting: nearly total uncertainty as to how and when all of this chaos will end.

To find out what fans can expect from season five’s amended rollout, Fortune spoke by phone to Koppelman and Levien on April 13 and asked whether they plan to address the global pandemic in future episodes; how they’re using Twitter to ease feelings of isolation (and raise money for coronavirus relief); and how their partnership, now curated remotely via Zoom, has offered calm at a time when they need it most.

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Billions Print Media

Corey Stoll is Ready To Go To War with Axe – May 1, 2020

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Damian Is So Game

by Derek Lawrence | Entertainment Weekly | May 1, 2020

Season 5 of Billions is set to find rivals-turned-allies Chuck (Paul Giamatti) and Axe (Damian Lewis) returning to rival status, but Axe is going to be on the attack from all sides as Corey Stoll joins the hit Showtime series in a formidable new role.

Creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien say they’ve long tried to cast the “immensely talented” House of Cards alum, especially after he filled in at a table read for one of their films and “killed it,” so much so that Levien wishes they would have filmed it. “Finally a break in his schedule coincided with our season,” Levien tells EW, “and we were able to write a character for him that is super intelligent, aggressive, charismatic, all of the things that he’s really built to play.”

And that character is Michael Prince, a billionaire who looks at this world through the perspective of an impact investor. “He’s aware of the consequences of modern life, meaning he’s aware of environmental impact, he’s aware of the sort of corrosive impact of the world of high finance,” shares Koppelman. “But, at the same time, he’s all the way in that world, too. And he and Bobby Axelrod do not see the world the same way, but they’re both titanic figures in the world of finance, and so sparks fly when the two of them are in the same room.”

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Billions Print Media

Hints at What We Can Expect in Billions Season 5 – May 1, 2020

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Bobby Axelrod the Predator and That First Table Read of Season 5

by Amy Lyall | 9Entertainment | May 1, 2020

Joining the cast of the hit series Billions for Season 5 was a lot like coming home for Corey Stoll, but it was also a long time coming. The actor admitted he was originally approached by the show’s creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien back in 2016 for the first season. What got him over the line this time was “an offer I couldn’t refuse,” he joked to 9Entertainment.

“During the first season there was a role that they offered me, and it was a fun role for a few episodes but it almost felt like a waste,” he explained. “I remember telling them at the time, let’s wait for something a little juicer, a little more fun — something I can sink my teeth into, and I’m really glad that I did wait because this role is incredibly rich and I get to do so many fun things. I’m glad I waited.”

The first table read was like a reunion with old friends as Stoll revealed he knew a lot of the cast previously from acting school. It was watching friend Maggie Siff (Wendy) on the show that originally drew him in, but he quickly became a fan.

Continue reading Hints at What We Can Expect in Billions Season 5 – May 1, 2020

Billions Fashion and Style

11 TV Shows to Binge for Design Inspiration – May 1, 2020

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The Opulence of Billions

by Mara Reinstein | Architectural Digest | April 30, 2020

Axe’s apartment is filmed at a 7,500 square foot penthouse apartment in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan.

There’s never a wrong time to turn to quality television as home design inspiration. But now that we’re all self-isolating and social distancing within our walls because of the COVID-19 pandemic, plunging through your streaming queue and gazing at a show’s visual style—one that seamlessly complements its story and characters—is a flat-out essential activity. Beyond the benefit of providing some good old-fashioned escapism, the right series with the right set-design eye candy can spark your own creativity and innovation. And in this current golden age of television, a plethora of swoon-worthy options are just a sanitized finger-click away. Check out these all-time greats, whose aesthetics span from the polished world of 1950s New York City to contemporary white-trim California cool. Welcome home.

Billions
That’s billions with a B. And that means brash hedge-fund shark Bobby “Axe” Axelrod (Damian Lewis) must connive and thrive in a two-story Tribeca penthouse befitting an actual Wall Street mogul. Wood gleams and metals shine from the light beaming from 18-foot floor-to-ceiling windows. The showstopper is an Italian blown-glass chandelier, which offers a soft counterpoint to the sharp angles and stark-white furniture. For the sprawling Connecticut estate in the show, production designer Mike Shaw and set decorator Christina Tonkin designed the spacious kitchen and living room to look functional for the Axelrod family. The master bedroom, with sheen-coated fabrics draped over an oversize, elevated bed, is a reflection of the main character’s troubled marriage. (Showtime on Hulu)

Read the rest of the original article at Architectural Digest

Billions Dining Guide Food/Dining Print Media

In Praise of Showtime’s Billions, Where New York’s Restaurants and Food Scene Shined – April 30, 2020

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New York’s Vibrant Food Scene

by Elva Ramirez | Forbes | April 30, 2020

When Showtime’s lauded “Billions” returns on May 3, it brings back, in stark relief, a semblance of a New York that no longer exists, and may never come back.

The show, which stars Damian Lewis, Paul Giamatti, and Maggie Siff, among others, is a ripped from the headlines portrait of New York’s new Golden Age, one steered by Bill Ackman-inspired hedge fund titans, their algo- and quant- trading acolytes and the tenacious law enforcement agencies that are occasionally their foes. Anyone watching a show about the lifestyles of the rich can expect views of luxury high rises, glass-enclosed modern offices and the just-so fashion of the quietly powerful (notice how often the people in Bobby Axelrod’s circle wear shades of dark blue, his favorite color; the show’s costume design comes via the talented Eric Daman, who made “Gossip Girl” into a fashion bible).

But there’s one element of the show that always changes, yet remains the same. In nearly episode, New York’s vibrant food scene is lovingly showcased.

Continue reading In Praise of Showtime’s Billions, Where New York’s Restaurants and Food Scene Shined – April 30, 2020

Billions Interviews Print Media

Damian’s Q&A Interview on Billions Season 5 – April 30, 2020

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The Wall Street Avengers

by Maria Estevez | amNY News | April 30, 2020

May 3 will see the release of the fifth season of ‘Billions’, a drama series that follows a legal battle of the U.S. Attorney against a self-made millionaire in New York, played by the English actor. Metro chatted with the 49-year-old to learn more.

Money, power, inequality… humanity has been consumed by the class struggle throughout history, and if ‘Game of Thrones’ showed that fight in an imaginary scene, ‘Billions’ does it as a fable about wealth and power in modern life.

English actor Damian Lewis brings to life Bobby Axelrod, a business titan who can jump out of a plane with his friends before a Metallica concert, pick his children up from school or have an enemy killed without any problem. On the other side of the law, we see a prosecutor Chuck Rhoades Jr., played by Paul Giamatti, heir to the old money that is settling at the prestigious Yale Club, where he will meet Catherine Brant, a successful writer (Julianna Margulies).

When Showtime renewed ‘Billions’ for its fifth season, it came as no surprise. According to the audience reports, the series averages 4.5 million viewers per episode in just the U.S. New episodes will see the alliance between Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) and Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) being terminated. Both will return to their corners of the ring to continue the fight they started in the beginning.

Continue reading Damian’s Q&A Interview on Billions Season 5 – April 30, 2020

Billions Video

Billions Co-Creators Discuss Season 5 with Yahoo! Finance – April 30, 2020

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Coronavirus: What Would Bobby Axelrod Do?

by Staff | Yahoo! Finance | April 30, 2020

Billions co-creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien discuss the premiere of the new Billions season this Sunday in this highlight from Yahoo! Finance:

Highlight: Billions Co-Creators @briankoppelman and @DavidLevien discuss the premiere of the new Billions season this Sunday: pic.twitter.com/JiSssWpfXL

— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) April 29, 2020

Billions Print Media

Showtime’s Billions Is Back With More Financial Schemes Than Ever – April 29, 2020

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Ayahuasca and Cryptocurrency are Just Two New Investment Gambits for Axe Capital in Season 5

by John Jurgensen | Wall Street Journal | April 29, 2020

The new season of the Showtime hit “Billions” opens far from the show’s New York City nucleus of money and power. In a hut in the wilderness, two familiar characters are blitzed on the psychedelic potion ayahuasca.

“It’s almost too much…too much goodness in the world,” says the one known as Wags (David Costabile), the lieutenant of multibillionaire Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis). The beatific glow doesn’t last. But their ayahuasca trip leads to one of the many financial schemes that play into the fifth season of the TV series which premieres Sunday night on Showtime.

The angles pursued by Axelrod’s hedge fund, Axe Capital, range from cryptocurrency mining to cornering an economic opportunity zone. These subplots mirror a trend among real-life hedge funds of moving into alternative markets from their traditional base in stocks, says series co-creator and executive producer David Levien. “Because we were looking through that window,” he adds, “it opened up the show to lots of different businesses that weren’t just equity, as the show had been in the past.”

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Billions Print Media

WWE’s Becky Lynch to Make Cameo on Season 5 Premiere of Billions – April 29, 2020

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It’s a Total SmackDown

by Adam Wells | Bleacher Report | April 29, 2020

The WWE Universe will get even more Becky Lynch on their television screens this weekend when The Man appears on Billions. As announced on The Bump, Lynch will make a cameo on the season five premiere of the Showtime series on Sunday.

Brian Koppelman, who co-created the show and serves as an executive producer, wore a Lynch shirt and gave her a standing invitation to appear on the show during a watch party event in April 2019.

A year later, @BeckyLynchWWE will appear on the Season 5 premiere of @SHO_Billions this Sunday https://t.co/kOzvpLyTfi

— Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) April 29, 2020

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Billions Fashion and Style Merchandise

Showtime and Concepts Launch Streetwear and Sneakers Capsule – April 28, 2020

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Billions Apparel Collaboration

by Obi Anyanwu | WWD | April 28, 2020

The Boston-based boutique and Showtime Networks are launching on May 1 a capsule collection for the drama series “Billions,” to coincide with the May 3 premiere of the show’s fifth season.

The apparel capsule, which is the first collaboration between the two, is comprised of black and gray T-shirts and hoodies featuring scenes from past episodes, and phrases “anyone can be bought” and “what drives you doesn’t understand enough” on the back. The collection will be available exclusively on the Concepts web site for $35 to $100 and will continue through the summer with a footwear release.

The boutique’s management has been a fan of the show since its beginning, which fueled the capsule, but the team drew inspiration from the show, nostalgia, luxury and New York City for the collection’s design. “Honestly, we would have been involved since the beginning if we could, but the timing couldn’t be better than now,” said Deon Point, creative director of Concepts.

Continue reading Showtime and Concepts Launch Streetwear and Sneakers Capsule – April 28, 2020