Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Starting today I will now be posting my daily entertainment news updates at my very own blog. You can visit: https://ruebensramblings.wordpress.com/ – to read my updates and much more whenever you have the chance. And, please feel free to leave a comment as I’d love to hear what you have to say.

For many years now, I’ve been preparing my updates in a fashion that I thought was as easy to read as possible, including links when articles or stories were too long or reducing down those that could be simplified. However, starting today and from here on out, I will be trying what I hope will be a more user-friendly update; but this set-up, which is not perfected yet and will require the usual tweaking, is still a work in progress so please bear with me.

As in years past, I would state each site for which the news items were gleaned from and I will still be doing that, but that will be a bit more subtle (I hope).

Without further adieu, here is today’s news:

MOVIES

Glee star Lea Michele is putting on Judy Garland’s ruby slippers, playing Dorothy Gale in the animated film Dorothy of Oz. The movie is based on a children’s book by Roger Baum, the great-grandson of “Wizard of Oz” author L. Frank Baum. The story finds Dorothy returning to Oz to find the magical land in a state of decay and her old friends Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion disappeared. The voice cast also includes Dan Aykroyd, Kelsey Grammer and Martin Short. (TV Guide)

The following list is the top box office movie results for this past weekend (Entertainment Weekly):

1. The Karate Kid, $56 million
2. The A-Team, $26 million
3. Shrek Forever After, $15.8 million
4. Get Him to the Greek, $10.1 million
5. Killers, $8.2 million
6. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, $6.6 million
7. Marmaduke, $6 million
8. Sex and the City 2, $5.5 million
9. Iron Man 2, $4.6 million
10. Splice, $2.9 million

TELEVISION

ABC will air the final two remaining episodes of the recently defunct series The Forgotten on July 3 at 9 and 10 PM. The episodes are titled Designer Jane and Living Doe. (The Futon Critic)

President Obama will address the nation tomorrow night (Tuesday, June 15) about the BP oil spill. The 10-15 minute speech will begin at 8 PM (7 PM Central). Check your local listings for all of the major channels that will air coverage of this address. (The Futon Critic)

Raven-Symone (That’s So Raven) and Joanna Garcia (Privileged and Reba) will star in the ABC Family Channel movie Revenge of the Bridesmaids on Sunday, July 18 at 8 PM. The movies is about two childhood friends who attempt to thwart the wedding of a no-good, money hungry ex-friend by going undercover as bridesmaids so that true love can prevail. (The Futon Critic)

Gabrielle Union has been cast in a pivotal role in the planned spin-off to the popular Lifetime series Army Wives. An “embedded pilot” within Army Wives will set up the spin-off with series regular Pamela Moran (Brigid Brannagh) returning to her former career and becoming a detective with the Atlanta police department. Union will play her partner, Detective Gina Holt. (The Hollywood Reporter)

AMC has closed a deal to renew the AMC drama Breaking Bad for a fourth season. The network was expected to make the official announcement today. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

Veteran actor Ed Asner (the voice of the lead character in the animated movie Up and the classic TV series The Mary Tyler Moore Show) has been cast in CMT’s comedy pilot Regular Joe. Asner will star as an outspoken father who recently began dating after separating from his longtime wife. Tom Arnold has also been cast to play his son Joe. (TV Guide and The Hollywood Reporter)

Stephen Collins (7th Heaven) has been promoted to series regular on the upcoming ABC drama No Ordinary Family, who will play the boss of family matriarch Julie Benz. (The Hollywood Reporter and TV Guide)

Lindsay Wagner (the original Bionic Woman) will appear as Dr. Vanessa Calder on the popular Syfy series Warehouse 13. Calder is the official doctor for the Warehouse agents, who is quite worldly and knows lots of secrets. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Faran Tahir (Star Trek – the J.J. Abrams reboot) will appear in a multi-episode arc of Warehouse 13, appearing as Adwin Kosan, one of the mysterious and powerful Regents tasked with keeping the Warehouse safe. Adwin, who arrives to handle an escalating crisis, makes a shocking pronouncement that threatens to tear apart the team. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Five actors are said to be in talks to join the cast of the HBO Broadway-set drama pilot Miraculous Year. They include Norbert Leo Butz, Hope Davis, Frank Langella, Eddie Redmayne, and Patti LuPone. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

Maura Tierney (ER) will star in the new fall ABC legal drama The Whole Truth, replacing Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck) The new series chronicles the building of a case from the perspective of both the defense and the prosecution. Tierney will play Kathryn Peale, a deputy bureau chief in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. Rob Morrow (Numb3rs) will co-star as Kathryn’s primary opponent, rising criminal attorney Jimmy Brogan. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

CONDOLENCES

Jimmy Dean, country music singer and sausage king, passed away at the age of 81 in his Virginia home. Dean had one smash hit in 1961 with “Big Bad John,” a song about a quiet, working-class miner who saves his colleagues in a cave-in but is himself lost. The song won Dean a Grammy. Dean was also on various television programs in the ’50s and ’60s, including “The Jimmy Dean Show,” which started on CBS and then moved to ABC from 1963 to 1966. In 1969, he started the Jimmy Dean Meat Co. in his hometown, though the company was sold to Sara Lee Corp. in 1984, which famously dropped Dean as its spokesperson in 2003. (Zap2It)

NEW IN DVD

House

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/House-Season-6/13900

TELEVISION REVIEW

Television Review: ‘Unnatural History’ on the Cartoon Network

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-unnatural-history-20100612,0,1423578.story

AWARD WINNERS

Tony Awards 2010: All the winners

http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/06/tony-awards-2010-all-the-winners.html

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Roush from TV Guide)

Question: Justified is taking away some of the pain from the demise of Deadwood. From the setting to the action to the actors to the dialogue, it puts me back in that happy Al-Swearengen-y place. And that finale…I was gripped from the start. How fun was that scene between Boyd and Ava? She was so confused and pissed off, and then how tragic that it was that encounter that made her drop her guard when Bo and Johnny came around. And the finish, with Boyd making Raylan tear up. Outstanding, thoroughly enjoyable, and can’t wait for season 2! — Nika

Matt Roush: What a week we just went through (and it’s June, for crying out loud!), with the finales of Breaking Bad, Glee and Justified — not to mention Showtime’s brilliant Nurse Jackie. For me, Justified has been such a happy and refreshing surprise, a purely entertaining show that maintains its light and wry touch regardless of all of the violence and twisted family ties. Raylan Givens is a terrific TV hero, and much as I admire many of FX’s darker melodramas, I’m glad the network has finally given us someone we can root for without wanting to take a shower after.

Question: How can ABC cancel FlashForward and keep V? I am a fan of both, but FlashForward is such a better, more complex and interesting show. Is there any chance to save it? When I heard that both of them might not make the fall schedule, I thought for sure they would keep FF!!! And this from the network that gave us LOST??? — Don

Matt Roush: FlashForward was pretty much over from the time ABC put it on a long midseason hiatus, with that move acknowledging that the network that gave us Lost knew it didn’t have another Lost on its hands. I know the show had its champions, but I wasn’t among them, finding neither the characters nor the mystery worth the bother. I can see how by comparison V seems shallow and cartoonish, but it was kind of designed that way. That show needs to raise its game in the second season and kick into high gear quickly to prove that it’s a keeper, but looking at it from a purely commercial perspective, V at least makes sense to still be on the air.

Question: I’m really loving the new doctor on Doctor Who, along with his cute little sidekick. I didn’t think anyone could fill David Tennant’s shoes, but Matt Smith seems to be pulling it off. I was wondering how the ratings were. I read where the premiere set a BBC America ratings record, but I haven’t seen anything for the next few episodes. Although I’m guessing, considering the longevity of the series, we should expect it to stick around? P.S. Thanks for your recommendation of Justified. I’m really loving that show, too. Being a Texan myself, I usually cringe at the Southern drawls actors attempt, but with Timothy Olyphant, I’ve never heard it sound so sexy. — Camille

Matt Roush: Yes, no need to worry about Doctor Who’s future. I haven’t been keeping abreast of its ratings myself, but my understanding is that BBC America is happy with the Doctor’s performance, and the critical and fan reception to the new Doctor and his companion appears to have been largely positive as well. And on the other subject: Three cheers for Timothy Olyphant’s drawl!

Question: I know you have been an ardent supporter of Friday Night Lights throughout its entire run, and if there was any justice, everyone would be heralding it as one of the best shows to ever grace the small screen. Even though the strength of the show is its ensemble cast and understated approach to everyday problems, I think it possible that Zach Gilford’s performance in “The Son” last week was the absolute pinnacle of the show for me. Do you have any hope that Emmy voters will finally see fit to honor this show and this actor specifically? Considering they have also neglected Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton each year, is there any chance Zach can get their attention, or is FNL just too under the radar for the Academy? With just one more season to go, they are rapidly running out of time. — Galen

Matt Roush: If only more Emmy voters watched this show. It’s an ongoing travesty for this show to be so shamefully neglected by the industry, but that has probably only intensified since its first-run status moved from network to satellite TV and NBC’s out-of-season run of the show on Friday nights. You really can’t get much more under the radar than that. A shame all around, because Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton and so many of their young co-stars have delivered some of the best (if often understated, as you note) dramatic work of the last few years. Zach Gilford’s wrenching performance in “The Son” is a great case in point, and we’ve cheered and lauded it from as many angles as possible. But it would be nothing short of a miracle if Friday Night Lights and any of its principals were to get noticed this year. It somehow doesn’t seem to register to anyone but its ardent fans.

That’s it. Enjoy!