Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Today’s update is coming out a little late as I stayed home from work today for personal reasons, but there are lots of great things to share with you so I hope you find some items that you like:

NEWS

Universal Pictures and NBC will produce a three part film franchise and a TV series based on the Stephen King seven-book The Dark Tower collection. Akiva Goldsman, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer will executive produce with King listed as a producer. The first season of the TV series will debut shortly after the first movie. The book collection is an epic fantasy series that spans multiple dimensions and eras. (Daniel Frankel at The Wrap)

The Paley Center for Media is launching a television awards show in May 2012 which will be broadcast from New York City to coincide with upfront presentations, the time when the networks traditionally unveil their fall lineups to advertisers. (Robyn Ross at TV Guide)

According to TV Guide, the following shows are the 10 most anticipated returning shows this fall (in order): NCIS, Fringe, Glee, Castle, Bones, Chuck, The Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy, Supernatural and Dexter. Meanwhile the following shows came thisclose to being in the top 10: The Good Wife, Modern Family, The Vampire Diaries, House and Sons of Anarchy. On the other end of the spectrum, the 10 most anticipated new shows this fall (in order) are: Hawaii Five-0, The Event, Law & Order: Los Angeles, Blue Bloods, No Ordinary Family, Undercovers, S#*! My Dad Says, Nikita, The Defenders and Boardwalk Empire. (Reporting by Adam Bryant)

TELEVISION

If you miss the debuts of the new CBS shows Hawaii Five-0 and Blue Bloods on their original nights you can watch the rebroadcast of each on September 25 at 8 and 9 PM respectively. NBC will do the same thing for their new shows The Event and Chase, rebroadcasting their pilot episodes also on September 25 at 8 and 9 PM as well. ABC will reair the debut of The Whole Truth on September 24. Lone Star the new FOX drama will be reaired on September 25 at 11 PM.  (The Futon Critic)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Both networks – TNT and TBS – have some new pilots ordered. TNT has the new crime procedurals planned: Perception (the working title) is about Dr. Geoffrey Pierce, an eccentric neuroscientist who uses his unique outlook to help the federal government solve complex cases.
An Untitled Allan Loeb Project – Based on the novel The Rabbit Factory by Marshall Karp is about a recently widowed police Detective Mike Lomax and his newly married partner, Terry Biggs who delve into a world of mystery, intrigue and occasional hijinks. Dallas is an update of the long-running series, focusing on the offspring of bitter rivals and brothers JR and Bobby Ewing, who clash over the future of the Ewing dynasty while the fate of Southfork itself weighs in the balance. Meanwhile, TBS is working on a comedic detective series currently called Brain Trust, which is about Detective Billy Doyle, whose career and life have hit rock bottom after he accidentally ends his partner’s career. (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Liam Neeson has joined the cast of the box office movie Battleship, based on the Hasbro board game that centers around a battle on land, sea and the sky between earth’s forces and attacking aliens with most of the action set on the USS John Paul Jones. Neeson will play Admiral Shane, a navy admiral and the future father-in-law of the lead officer character (Taylor Kitsch). Brooklyn Decker stars as Shane’s daughter, Alexander Skarsgard as the brother of Kitsch’s character, and Rihanna as a weapons analyst. (Dark Horizons)

Ciaran Hinds and Janet McTeer have joined the cast of The Woman in Black, the adaptation of Susan Hill’s gothic supernatural horror novel that follows a young solicitor (Daniel Radcliffe) who takes up a short residence at Eel Marsh House, a desolate and secluded coastal mansion cut off at high tide from the nearby market town in rural England. Hinds will play the local land-owner Mr. Daily who counsels the solicitor as he investigates, while McTeer will play Daily’s wife. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Andrea Bowen (Desperate Housewives) will star in the independent film called Preachers’ Daughter, which is about a woman who reunites with her estranged religious small-town minister father. (Variety and Entertainment Weekly)

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (The Tudors) will star as a Jewish diplomat who romances a married Swiss woman in the movie Belle Du Seigneur. (Deadline and Entertainment Weekly)

A biopic about actor turned politician Ronald Reagan is in the works for a possible release date in 2011. The movie is expected to begin with the 1981 assassination attempt and will tell Reagan’s story through flashbacks and flash-forwards. (First Showing)

CASTING SCOOP

Actor Sam Anderson (Lost) will guest star on NCIS in the second episode of the new fall season, as Walter Carmichael, a middle school teacher whose classroom becomes a crime scene when one of his students is kidnapped. The episode also features actor William Devane as the grandfather of the abducted girl. NCIS will return to CBS on September 21 at 8 PM. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) is joining the cast of CSI in a potential recurring role, playing Detective Reed, a smart investigator who doesn’t do well with sensitivity. Her first episode is slated to air during November sweeps. CSI will be back on CBS on September 23 at 9 PM. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Actress Celia Weston (Desperate Housewives) will appear as the down-home country mama for Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) in the ABC comedy Modern Family.  (William Keck at TV Guide)

Robert Englund (the original Freddy Krueger himself) will guest star in Chuck during its Halloween episode. He will play Dr. Stanley Wheelwright, an evil scientist who can make your waking life a nightmare. Chuck will return on September 20. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

There will be a Twin Peaks-type reunion on Psych when Sheryl Lee and Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey), appear in the episode alongside Dana Ashbrook. All three will play residents of Dual Spires, a quirky Northern California town that has been rocked by the death of a high school student. Log Lady Catherine Coulson will also make a cameo as the mysterious Woman with Wood. Ray Wise will also reprise his role as Father Westley. Lenny Von Dohlen and Robyn Lively will also make cameos. The episode, co-written by star James Roday, will air during Psych‘s fall run. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Legendary actor Hal Holbrook will appear in a multi-episode arc of the new NBC series The Event, playing a mysterious character by the name of Dempsey. The show has its premiere on September 20. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Three interns will shadow Gibbs and his team on NCIS during the second episode of the new fall season. Playing the wannabe investigators will be Zack Lively (Greek), David Magidoff (Veronica Mars) and newcomer Elizabeth Wright Shapiro. (Matt Mitovich at Fancast)

RUMOR PATROL

Joel McHale (Community) is in final negotiations to join Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World, starring as a spy-hunting reporter married to Jessica Alba’s character, who is a retired spy turned housewife and stepmother to his kids who will become the new titular Spy Kids. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Michael Caine is in final negotiations to join the box office sequel Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, which has Josh Hutcherson reprising his role from the first movie (Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D) as a young man who, along with his mom’s boyfriend (Dwayne Johnson), goes on a trip to a mythical island to find his missing grandfather. Caine will play said grandfather who gets involved in several action and chase sequences including one involving giant bees. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

Reportedly, singer-actress Hilary Duff is in the running to play Gwen Stacy in the as-yet-untitled Spider-Man reboot. There has been no confirmation on casting for this movie yet except for lead actor Andrew Garfield. (Blastr)

Jennifer Morrison (House) is among a handful of actresses in the running to play a major new love interest for Ted in the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother. Other names in the mix include Minka Kelly and Jacinda Barrett. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Q&A SECTION (with TV Gurus at TV Guide):

Question: Vampire Diaries scoop, please! — Micah

MICKEY: We’ll learn pretty quickly how Jeremy and Caroline fare in their stare-downs with the Grim Reaper, but the answers won’t be simple… or permanent. Also: The premiere (tomorrow night, Sept. 9, at 8 PM on the CW) features a devastating scene between Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder. I’ll leave it up to you to guess which character Dobrev is playing in it.

Question: Will there be any friction between Abby and Gibbs in the new season of NCIS? —Melanie

ADAM: While there still may be some fallout from Abby’s discovery of Gibbs’ murderous past, executive producer Shane Brennan doesn’t think the secret will greatly change their relationship. “It’s a complex relationship and we’ve just added another layer of complexity,” he says. “But we would not jeopardize the relationship that the audience has come to love. It does bring a different perspective, but it’s not like they’re going to be busted up. Gibbs and Abby are going back to being Gibbs and Abby.”

Question: Can’t wait for Castle to come back. Just how angry with Castle is Beckett? — Anthony

ADAM: Let’s just say that there’s a whole lot of woman-scorned subtext when Beckett gets Castle in the interrogation room after he becomes a murder suspect. (And you’ve seen the promos where they’re point guns at each other, right?) But it’s pretty clear by the end of the premiere that she wants him back on her team, much to the chagrin of Esposito and Ryan, each of whom spends most of the premiere trying to become Beckett’s new favorite.

Question: Can’t wait for Castle to come back. Just how angry with Castle is Beckett? — Anthony

ADAM: Let’s just say that there’s a whole lot of woman-scorned subtext when Beckett gets Castle in the interrogation room after he becomes a murder suspect. (And you’ve seen the promos where they’re point guns at each other, right?) But it’s pretty clear by the end of the premiere that she wants him back on her team, much to the chagrin of Esposito and Ryan, each of whom spends most of the premiere trying to become Beckett’s new favorite.

That’s it. Enjoy!