Billions

Billions' Creators Flooded With Calls From Wall Streeters

... being legit. It feels really good to get the details right,” Koppelman said. During the research process, Koppleman and Levien made an effort to meet with hedge fund managers. Now hedge fund managers are coming to them with stories. “Since the show hit, I mean, it’s just like a flood of incoming calls now everybody wants to talk about it, they want to add their story,” Levien said. Koppelman added: “So many of these people were really generous to us. And the commitment we made to them was to try to get it right. And the fact they saw that, got a kick out of it, liked seeing the things from the show that resonated from the show to their lives.”. They’ve also become friends with some of these hedge fund managers. “Unlike Bobby Axelrod, they’re not sociopaths. You know in season one there’s a big question about whether Axe is a sociopath or not. They’re not,” Koppelman said. As for those unusual, jaw-dropping moments in the show, they aren’t necessarily based on true stories. “Well, we ...

Your Screener Watch List, February 19-26

... Crimes,” which is a fascinating tale: The original Season 5 order was for only thirteen hours, making this batch essentially its own new season (as Winter seasons often are) — and then the show was renewed for a sixth! Quite a reversal of fortune for a spin-off of “The Closer” that’s flown under the radar since 2012. RELATED: Everything’s coming together — and just awful! — in the penultimate ‘Timeless’. And speaking of: Once-megahit “The Blacklist” has been fading into the background basically since the Season 1 finale, when it killed off almost the entirety of the minorities in its cast in pursuit of shocking stakes. Next move: Dividing Season 4 with two finales, segmenting it into three mini-seasons, and handing the 10 p.m. ET/PT timeslot over to spinoff “Blacklist: Redemption” for eight weeks. Thursday, we’ll see a two-hour finale/premiere block — and decide whether the Famke Janssen-centered second show has any legs at all. Also on Thursday: We’ve been impressed enough by the “Nashville” creative renaissance to watch ...

Billions’ Premiere Recap

... side or getting off on the whole being-nearly-choked-out thing. Chuck is a complicated man, you see: a man of many appetites. At the very least, it’s going to take some serious defensive tactics to get out of his latest mess. Oliver Dake, who announces himself as being from the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and is every bit as delightfully slimy as every other character on this show, is investigating the whole Axelrod debacle. Chuck doesn’t seem too worried initially, but a late-episode reveal makes sure that his blood pressure is back up before the hour’s over. Billions spends much of its season premiere doing the necessary plot work, catching up with characters and setting the table for events later this season. It’s not the most thrilling premiere, and the first half is especially bogged down by the necessities of ...

Illegals Cost Us Billions

... States would be detrimental to the interested of the United States.”. You will note neither “legal” or “illegal” is mentioned anywhere in the document, also called the Mc Carran-Walter Act of 1952. It does say: “The president may, by proclamation, and for such a period as he (singular) deems necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens, immigrants or non-immigrants, or impose any restrictions on the entry of aliens he (singular, not Congress) may deem to be appropriate.”. The reason you have not heard of the 1952 act is because it was only used once – that was in 1979 when Jimmy Carter forced 15,000 Iran citizens to depart to the roaring applause of the nation. The 1952 act set quotas based on population and abolished race requirements from the U. S. Code. In 1965 the Immigration and Nationality Act was amended to abolish national-origin quotas ...

Malin Akerman Is Billions' Secret Weapon

... spreading across her face. "The first season focused on Paul Giamatti's and Damian Lewis's characters and their battle, and now that's happening for other characters. This season, each episode has a big climax.". The cast of Billions. James Minchin/SHOWTIME. It's not every actress who could handle the intensity that comes along with that. "Malin gets to explore the full range of Lara's emotions this season," says Billions creator Brian Koppelman. "But you don't see someone trying to show you how hard she has worked. You only see somebody embodying the character.". Akerman may personify Lara expertly, but she's quick to point out that they're not one and the same: "It's nice to tap into something that's a little bit harsher than who I actually am. I get to live through her vicariously—so maybe I'll learn a few things.". This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of Town & Country. Related ...

A Wall Street Performance Coach Who's Consulted On Showtime's 'billions' Outlines 5 Truths Of Human Behavior All Her Clients Must Face

... her clients' past plays into their current problems. Below are five truths about human behavior Shull uses to stop her Wall Street clients from being their own worst enemies, when they could be losing tremendous amounts of other people's money and risk losing their jobs. 1. Pure resolve won't get results. Shull thinks many people have assumptions based on an outdated theory of the "triune brain," which basically says emotions, thoughts, and basic functions are handled separately within the brain; the reality, she says, is that all three of these roles are related in brain mechanics. Too many people, she said, think that "if we have a plan and that we're disciplined then we'll be able to do the things that we want. It doesn't work like that.". It's why Shull has clients in the first place, she explained. The clients know that they are underperforming and they see their mistakes. But no pep talk from a manager or colleague and no Stoic ...

Global Fisheries’ Sunken Billions

... Essaouira, Morocco. Photo: Charlotte de Fontaubert/World Bank. At  a time when many economies are exhausting their natural resources and face constraints exacerbated by climate change, Morocco is setting an example by embracing green growth strategies across sectors, including energy, waste, agriculture and fisheries. The World Bank has supported Morocco’s vision by providing financing in the form of Development Policy Loans, investment projects, and technical assistance. Although the impacts of climate change on fisheries loom large on the horizon, at present the main threat to growth in the sector lies in the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing practices that threaten fish population renewal and the livelihoods of about half a million Moroccans. To address this threat, Morocco has invested in a number of measures including a satellite-based Vessel Monitoring System, which requires all fishing boats above a certain size to be fitted with tracking beacons, and ...

A Wall Street Performance Coach Who's Consulted On Showtime's 'billions' Says Too Many People Have The Same Misconception About Success

... the center of Showtime's hit show "Billions.". Shull studied the neuropsychology of unconscious thought at the University of Chicago and spent 15 years as an equities trader. They are two worlds she combined when she started Re Think in 2003, putting her own spin on the niche market of Wall Street performance coaching, a path paved by the late psychiatrist Ari Kiev , who was employed by Steve Cohen's hedge fund SAC Capital. Perhaps the most defining characteristic of Shull's approach is that nearly all of us, regardless of what industry we are in, have a misconception about how the mind works and thus how we can recover from failure: We think we can will ourselves to success. "The conventional wisdom on feelings and emotions is just wrong," she told Business Insider. Re Think Group founder Denise Shull. Courtesy of Denise Shull. Shull thinks many ...

With Streaming Subscribers Surging, Showtime Prepares For A Fresh Boost From Billions

... by Jim Carrey and looks at the stand-up comedy scene in 1970 s L. A. It premieres on June 4. While Twin Peaks has the built-in fan base, “we’re going to work just as hard to break I’m Dying Up Here,” said Nevins. On Wednesday’s earnings call, CBS Corp. chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves said there was “no doubt” Twin Peaks would boost Showtime’s subscribers. Said Nevins, “There’s enormous fascination with what that show is, and it has such a long life. It’s a show that was kept alive by streaming. There’s a lot of people 28 and under, who were not sentient when the original came out, who have seen it.”. I’m Dying Up Here’s group of 20-something comics hoping for their big break in Hollywood is an example of how its streaming service has prompted the network to broaden its reach beyond its traditional MVPD (multichannel video programming distributor) audience. Showtime estimates the median age of its OTT subscribers is 45, eight years younger than the median age of its MVPD subscribers. That slightly younger streaming audience already helped make Season 7 of Shameless the show’s highest-rated season ever, and Nevins said The Affair saw ...

Big Little Lies’ Serves Up A Juicy Mystery; ‘billions’ Returns

... Games. “The Missing” (8 p.m., Starz): The intrigue continues on this gripping anthology series. The Websters struggle to cope with the return of their long-lost daughter as the search for another missing girl intensifies. And the shockwaves of Alice’s return are still felt two years on. “Big Little Lies” (9 p.m., HBO): A stellar cast featuring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley and Laura Dern bolsters this juicy, seven-episode whodunit. Adapted by David E. Kelley from a bestselling novel, it’s set in the tranquil coastal town of Monterey, where alpha females and trophy wives lead seemingly carefree lives in majestic homes. But the glossy picture-perfectionism is shattered when someone ends up dead during a swanky fund-raiser gala. “The Walking Dead” (9 p.m., AMC): In an episode titled “New Best Friends,” Rick and our gutty band of survivors encounter a mysterious collective while searching for a missing Alexandrian. And these are people unlike any they have come across before. “The Paley Center Salutes NBC’s 90 th Anniversary” (9 p.m., NBC): Talk about a proud ...

Big Little Lies'; 'billions'; 'bates Motel'; 'the Blacklist

... "The Paley Center Salutes NBC's 90 th Anniversary": Kelsey Grammer hosts, as the Peacock network celebrates 90 years on the air, with guests including William Shatner, Jennifer Lopez, Tina Fey and Ted Danson. (8 p.m. NBC/8). "The Walking Dead":  After a midseason premiere last week that showed some encouraging signs of fixing the things that went so wrong in the first half of Season 7, we'll see if the momentum keeps up. And it sounds like we also may get an idea of who those people were who turned up at the end of last week's episode and why the sight of them made Rick (Andrew Lincoln) actually - gasp! -  smile. (9 p.m. AMC). "Big Little Lies":  Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley and Laura Dern star in a  limited series that shrewdly blends social satire, drama and a murder mystery among the generally well-off denizens of Monterey, California. (9 p.m. HBO). "Billions": The sizzling drama ...

Lost Sleep Is Costing Japan's Economy Billions

... for an incentive program to encourage small and medium-sized companies to adopt minimum rest periods. A subsidy of up to 500,000 yen will be available per company to help pay the costs, including revising employment rules, training and updating software that manage work data, according to the labor ministry. While a number of factors are to blame for Japan’s poor productivity per worker, sleep deprivation is costing Japan more than its G-7 peers, according to a five-nation study by RAND Europe, a subsidiary of the research group RAND Corp. Lack of sleep is a drag of up to $138 billion a year on Japan’s economy, or about 2.9 percent of gross domestic product, the study found. Simply increasing nightly sleep from under six hours to between six and seven hours could add $75.7 billion to the Japanese economy, the report said. “Long working hours are a crucial problem in Japan’s labor market,” Sakuyama said. Japan must alleviate overwork to reduce the number of people who work themselves into early graves, as well as to raise productivity as ...