Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Greetings on a cold January day (even here in Southern California). Hope your work week is going well. I have quite a number of news items to share so let’s get right into today’s update:

TELEVISION

Fox has renewed their new comedy Raising Hope for a second season. (Twitter)

Actress Patricia Wettig has made her final appearance on Brothers & Sisters, although an insider says the door is being left open for her character Holly Harper to possibly return. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Meanwhile, actor Pedro Pascal (The Good Wife) is joining Brothers & Sisters in a potentially recurring role, playing Zach, a homeless war vet who Justin (Dave Annable) takes under his wing. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

The two-night series preview of the new FOX series Terra Nova will air on May 23 and 24 at 9 PM both nights. The series will officially debut this fall. The series is an epic family adventure 85 million years in the making, following an ordinary family embarking on an incredible journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a small part of a daring experiment to save the human race. In the year 2149 the world is dying. The planet is overdeveloped, overcrowded and over polluted. With no known way to reverse the damage to the planet, scientists discover a portal to prehistoric Earth. This doorway leads to an amazing world, one that allows for a last-ditch effort to save the human race…a second chance to rebuild civilization and get it right this time. The cast includes Jason O’Mara, Stephen Lang, Shelley Conn, Landon Liboiron, Naomi Scott and newcomer Alana Mansour. [NOTE: See the following link for a first look at this series stars via new PR photos.] (The Futon Critic)

FIRST LOOK AT UPCOMING TV

First Look: The Cast of TERRA NOVA

ARTICLE ON UPCOMING TELEVISION

Day of the Dead: Inside Torchwood: Miracle Day

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE

The Disney Channel movie called Lemonade Mouth (based on the book of the same name by Mark Peter Hughes) will debut on the cable network on March 25 at 8 PM. The movie focuses on an unlikely ensemble of five students – Olivia, Wen, Stella, Mohini and Charlie – who, after meeting in detention, gradually realize their shared musical connection and belief that it’s time for the students of Mesa High to stand up and be heard on things big and small. Ultimately, as they open up to each other and form friendships, they start a band — Lemonade Mouth –that soon resonates with students sidelined by the high school elite. However, not everyone in the school is ready to cheer them on, especially since the popular rock group Mudslide Crush is determined to maintain their headline status and win the coveted Rising Star music competition at Mesa High. The movie stars Bridgit Mendler, Adam Hicks, Hayley Kiyoko, Naomi Scott and newcomer Blake Michael. Co-stars include Tisha Campbell-Martin and Christopher McDonald. The soundtrack for this movie will be available on March 22. (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

New Action-Filled Theatrical Trailer for TokyoPop’s ‘Priest’ Movie

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Michelle Pfeiffer will co-star with Chris Pine (as his widowed mother) in the upcoming box office movie Welcome to People. The movie is about an estranged son who returns home for his father’s funeral and must sort through his dad’s secret life. Elizabeth Banks plays Pine’s alcoholic half-sister and Olivia Wilde has been cast as Pine’s girlfriend. (Anthony Breznican at Entertainment Weekly)

Charlize Theron is no longer attached to the biopic J. Edgar (which is set to star Leonardo Di Caprio) – as she has officially signed to the upcoming movie Snow White and the Huntsman. Taking her place could be Naomi Watts or Amy Adams, but nothing has been confirmed yet on the recasting. Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl) has joined the cast of this flick. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actors Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis will reprise their Lord of the Rings roles in The Hobbit. This news follows the announcement that Elijah Wood will play Frodo Baggins in the upcoming J.R.R. Tolkien two-part adaptation. McKellan will again play Gandalf, while Serkis will portray Gollum, as both characters are vital to the tale of The Hobbit in which Gandalf recruits Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) to join a quest to reclaim a dragon’s treasure, and Gollum possesses a powerful ring that comes to play a pivotal role. (Gina DiNunno at TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Ron Livingston (Office Space) has joined the cast of two very different projects. First is the upcoming movie The Odd Life of Timothy Green (no details on this film yet) and the drama flick Ten Year, which follows a group of friends who reunite a decade after their high school graduation. Livingston will play the husband of Rosario Dawson’s character, who was Channing Tatum’s love interest back in school. Actor Max Minghella (The Social Network) has joined Ten Year, which also includes cast members Justin Long, Kate Mara, Anthony Mackie, Chris Pratt, Scott Porter, Jenna Dewan, Lynn Collins, Brian Geraghty and Oscar Isaac. (Jeff Sneider at The Wrap)

Actress Lena Headey (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and soon to be seen in the HBO series Game of Thrones) will be facing off against Karl Urban in the new adaptation of Judge Dredd, playing the villainous role of Madeline Madrigal (aka Ma-Ma), the leader of a gang who over run the Peach Tree City Block. (First Showing and Bleeding Cool)

Actor John Michael Higgins will appear in the movie We Bought a Zoo that follows a man (Matt Damon and his family who move into a mansion that includes the 30-acre Dartmoor Wildlife Park, home to over 200 animals. He will play a zoo inspector. (The Hollywood Reporter and First Showing)

Brendan Fraser and Kristen Scott Thomas will star in the film Seconds of Pleasure, but there are no specific details on the movie as yet (Deadline and First Showing)

Tina Fey will star in the film Admission, an adaptation of the Jean Hanff Korelitz novel of the same name, which follows an admissions officer at Princeton and her relationship with a prospective student who may not be Ivy League material. (The Wrap and First Showing)

John Hawkes and Molly Parker have signed on to star in the indie film The Playroom that follows suburban parents of four in 1975 where their volatile teenage daughter (Olivia Harris) acts as surrogate mother to the younger children, who have created a make-believe world in their attic hideaway while the parents act out a sordid story below. (Variety and First Showing)

That’s it. Enjoy!