Tag: Gertrude Bell

Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis at Berlinale 2015

I am happy to say “Ich bin ein Berliner” for the last couple of days. And exactly like JaniaJania and I did in London, I cannot help follow Damian’s footsteps in Berlin… Honestly, it is not that I follow him, but he comes and finds me everywhere 😀 Look at that!

https://twitter.com/FanFunDamian/status/892469838362398720

Then I stand in front of the glorious Brandenburg Gate that has become the symbol of unified Germany since 1989, and I do not just think of history, but also of Damian saying his hotel room had “a pretty amazing view of Brandenburg Gate” when he was in Berlin for the World Premiere of Queen of the Desert at Berlinale 2015 😀

So I look around and find out there is only one hotel looking over Brandenburg Gate: Damian should have stayed at Hotel Adlon during his visit to Berlin, the MOST famous and probably the most expensive hotel in the city with some interesting history. Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis at Berlinale 2015”

Damian Lewis BRIGHTENS the Screen in Queen of The Desert

I first saw Queen of the Desert as part of a test screening back in October 2015. Test screening is a pretty serious process that you sign an agreement not to make public comments on the parts of the movie that have not been made public yet. Thus, I decided to publish my review only when the movie is released in the US Theaters. And now that the VERY LONG wait is over, and that I have seen Queen of the Desert at the IFC Center in NYC on the day it opened (the final version is a bit different from the test screening version), I am fired up and ready to go share my thoughts about the movie with you!

In a nutshell, Queen of the Desert is a film about Gertrude Bell who had a pretty unconventional life, particularly as a woman, in early 20th century. She was a traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, political attaché and a spy for the British Empire in the Middle East. She played a significant role in shaping the politics of the Middle East and drew up the borders of modern Jordan as well as Iraq. Think of more or less a female Lawrence of Arabia. Continue reading “Damian Lewis BRIGHTENS the Screen in Queen of The Desert”

Queen of the Desert in U.S. Theaters April 7

Finally, Queen of the Desert, with Damian Lewis in the role of Charles Doughty-Wylie, is being released to wider audiences in the US. Nicole Kidman’s very successful run with HBO’s Big Little Lies must have provided the impetus needed to give this 2015 film a stateside release.

The film will be in theaters April 7 and available on demand on April 14.

Need a refresher on what this film is about and why you should go see it? Here’s what I had to say after the first few international previews came out last year.

Continue reading “Queen of the Desert in U.S. Theaters April 7”

Queen of the Desert UPDATE: Coming to IFC Spring 2017

imageedit_37_8702110920 We’ve just learned that IFC films has acquired the U.S. rights to Queen of the Desert. We’ll finally be able to see it when IFC releases the film in Spring 2017! On the occasion of this great news, let’s revisit what I’ve written about the film so far.

Continue reading “Queen of the Desert UPDATE: Coming to IFC Spring 2017”

Happy Birthday Charles Doughty-Wylie – Can’t Wait to Meet YOU!

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Happy Birthday to Charles Doughty-Wylie — he was born 147 years ago today. We cannot wait to finally meet him in Queen of the Desert!

By now, you all know that one of the highly anticipated Damian Lewis projects this year is Queen of the Desert, directed by celebrated director Werner Herzog and starring Nicole Kidman, Damian Lewis, Robert Pattinson and James Franco. The movie had its World Premiere at Berlinale 2015 and will be coming to the US movie theaters, according to the official movie website, late 2015 or early 2016.

Queen of the Desert is essentially a biopic of Gertrude Bell, a traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, political attaché and a spy for the British Empire in the Middle East in the early 20th century. She shaped the politics of the Middle East and drew up the borders of modern Jordan as well as Iraq. Think of more or less  a female Lawrence of Arabia. Continue reading “Happy Birthday Charles Doughty-Wylie – Can’t Wait to Meet YOU!”