Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

It’s Friday, it’s Friday, it’s Friday! Can you tell I’m happy it’s finally Friday? I hope whatever you’ve got planned with friends and/or family for this weekend goes great. I’ll be holed up at my place, going through all the shows and movies on my DVR, trying to get caught up while getting as much writing done as possible.

In the meantime, here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Oscar winner Louise Fletcher, who played Jack Nicholson’s stern caretaker in the box office movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, has been cast as Pete’s mother on Private Practice. She will appear in Episode 9. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

No Ordinary Family will move to Tuesdays at 9 PM from November 30 to December 14 and then back to 8 PM in time for V to return to the TV line-up on January 4 at 9 PM. (Twitter)

Life Unexpected has received an order for two additional scripts. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Necar Zadegan, who played the wife of IRK President Omar Hassan in the final season of 24, will play a mysterious character named Isabelle in a potential recurring role in The Event. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Looks like Prison Break star Wentworth Miller has expressed interest in replacing Andy Whitfield as the lead in the gladiator drama Spartacus: Blood & Sand on Starz. This is speculation right now, but if true Miller will need to buff up for the role. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES

John Heard and Evan Handler (Sex and the City) have joined the cast of the HBO film Too Big to Fail, which dissects the 2008 financial crisis and the power brokers who decided the fate of the world’s economy as the system teetered on collapse. Heard will play former Lehman Brothers president Joe Gregory, while Handler will portray Lloyd Blankfein, CEO and Chairman of Goldman Sachs. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Kathy Baker (Picket Fences) has joined the Lifetime pilot Against the Wall, which is a family drama set in Chicago, following policewoman Abby Kowalski (Rachael Carpani), who causes a rift with her three cop brothers when she decides to join the department’s Internal Affairs division. Baker will play Abby’s mother, a Chicago cop’s wife. Treat Williams was recently cast to play the father. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC Family has opted not to move forward with Strut, a potential pilot about a Las Vegas showgirl-turned-drill team instructor. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Looks like ABC and Marvel are developing a TV return for the Incredible Hulk. Meanwhile, another “hot property” is the possible show for ABC Family called Cloak and Dagger. No other specifics are available at this time. (Borys Kit and James Hibberd at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Amy Adams (Julie & Julia), Chris Cooper (The Town) and Rashida Jones has joined Jason Segel in the next new box office movie starring The Muppets. The story follows a reunion of the Muppets to put on a show in order to save a movie studio. Segel is playing the lead human character with Adams taking the role of his girlfriend who joins him in his quest to gather the Muppets. Meanwhile, Cooper plays a greedy villain who aims to buy the studio just to dig for oil buried underneath it and apparently has never found the Muppet gang to be funny at all. Jones takes the role of an ABC executive. (First Showing and Heat Vision)

It looks like The Hobbit has finally been greenlit with production to start in February with Peter Jackson at the helm as director. Jackson has also agreed to produce and write this two-part project. (Sharon Waxman at The Wrap)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!