Getting regular PHP updates in Ubuntu Lucid

So we have a few servers that are running Lucid and will be running apache/php. We would like to be able to run PHP scripts as different systems users as well as have customized php.ini files for said users. I did some reading on using fast-cgi with suexec, which looked like it might work, but then came accross php-fpm. Did some research on that and php 5.3.3 has just been released with php-fpm built in.

So, my immediate need is to get 5.3.3 on Lucid. My long-term need is to have a mechanism whereby we can get regular PHP updates on Lucid.

I have seen on launchpad that there is a 5.3.3 release for Maveric. However, my concern about using sources from a newer release is that there are going to be dependency issues.

So, it seems to me that taking the source files from Maveric and compiling them on Lucid and then putting those debs in a PPA is a valid idea. But the whole launchpad/ppa/packaging thing is currently over my head and I would rather not spend the time looking into all of that if its not the best way to proceed.

So, two primary questions:

1) What is the best way to get regular PHP updates in Lucid?
2) If the answer to the first question is anything like I outlined above (pull source package from later releases, compile, push to PPA), how would I get started on something like that for PHP?

Thanks in advance.