Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

The weekend is nearly here – YAY!! And, there is some interesting news to share with you below:

TELEVISION

A new vampire is coming to town on The Vampire Diaries in the guise of actress Lauren Cohan, who appeared in Supernatural as the maligned Bela Talbot. Cohan will play a 500 year old tough, sexy vampire that might catch Damon’s eye. She will appear in episode 8. (Carina Adly MacKenzie at Zap2It)

The new ABC drama No Ordinary Family has received an order for 4 additional scripts – the first of all the new shows to receive such an order. Despite being give a reduced episode order, Brothers & Sisters also received an order for 4 more scripts because of performing solidly in the ratings. And, the as-yet to be seen new mid-season drama Off the Map received an addition script order. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES

The premiere dates for the made-for-TV movies The Santa Incident and Gift of the Magi that will debut on the Hallmark Channel have been corrected. The Santa Incident will air on December 9 at 8 PM and the Gift of the Magi will air on December 16 at 8 PM. (The Futon Critic)

Syfy is retelling the Sinbad myth with the made-for-TV movie Sinbad and the Minotaur, which is set to air in 2011. (Televisionary and Variety)

BOX OFFICE MOVIES

Antonio Banderas, Mark Strong and Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) will star in the movie black Gold, which follows the rivalry between Arabian rulers in the 1930s just as oil is being discovered, and the rise of a young, dynamic leader who unites the various tribes of the desert kingdoms. The movie is expected to be released worldwide Christmas 2011. (First Showing)

Eddie Murphy will play opposite Ben Stiller in the box office flick Tower Heist, a crime caper about an overworked manager (Stiller) of a Manhattan luxury high-rise, who teams up with his operation and maintenance workers to stage a heist of its penthouse tenant, a Wall Street capitalist, played by Alan Alda, who defrauded the staff of their pensions. (Nicole Sperling at Entertainment Weekly)

It looks like there is talk about making a sequel to the popular 80’s flick Top Gun that could feature Tom Cruise making an appearance as Maverick, the character he played in the original. No other specifics are available at this time, though. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog) will make his feature directorial debut with the indie romantic comedy Aaron and Sara, that is to feature Emma Roberts and Josh Hutcherson as the leads. The story follows a geeky guy and a popular girl who become friends as freshmen in high school and see their relationship deepen through the four years, four proms and one funeral before graduation. (Jay A. Fernandez at Risky Business via The Hollywood Reporter)

Swedish actress Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) will join Sir Ben Kingsley in the dark thriller The Last Voyage of Demeter, which is about the journey of Dracula’s coffin from Transylvania to England. (First Showing)

Q&A SECTION (with Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: You haven’t said a word about Undercovers! Breaks my heart, it does. Will they be getting the back 9 treatment or not? —James

Ausiello: Back nine seems like an iffy proposition right now given the show’s low ratings. Personally, I hope it rebounds. I find the two leads immensely appealing. I’m also excited to hear that the show will be sprinkling in a little mythology in the coming weeks. “We’re building to the reveal of why these two were really called back to the agency,” explains exec producer Josh Reims. “And along the way, we get hints about some secret CIA programs, people who aren’t who they say they are, and some facts about Samantha and Steven’s history that turn out not to be exactly what they thought.”

That’s it. Enjoy!