Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Happy Friday! I hope all of you are planning something fun for the weekend, right?! And, if you are a member of the Paley Center for Media that you purchased your tickets for the 2011 Paley Fest, which went on sale this morning at 9 AM. If you’re a member, tickets will go on sale to the general public starting this Monday.

Meanwhile, here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Dawn Olivieri (Heroes) will star alongside Don Cheadle in the new Showtime series House of Lies, about a less-than-honest management consultant. (Deadline and Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Paige Turco will guest star on Blue Bloods on February 9, appearing as Detective Patricia Ryan, who is assigned to investigate a dicey robbery case. She has most recently been seen on an episode of The Good Wife and in episodes of Damages. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

JAG alum David James Elliott will make a return visit to CSI: NY as Russ Josephson, the FBI agent ex-husband of Sela Ward’s Detective Jo Danville. This episode is slated to air in April and has Russ returning to support Jo through a difficult family situation — as well as aid Mac with an ongoing murder investigation. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The drama pilot Rookies from Robert De Niro has been given the green light by CBS. (Deadline and TV Line)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Thanks to the enormous success of the online series Riese: Kingdom Falling, which generated 1.2 million streams in only two months, Syfy.com will expand its original digital content slate with the 10-part The Mercury Men. This new online series will premiere exclusively in early 2011. The online series is set in Pittsburgh in 1975, following Edward Borman (Mark Tierno), a lowly government office drone, who finds himself trapped when the deadly Men of Mercury seize the building as a staging ground for their nefarious plot. Aided by Jack Yaeger (Curt Wootten), a daring aerospace engineer from a mysterious organization known as “The League,” and Grace (Amy Staggs), who was only at the building to get a government form stamped, Edward must stop the invaders and their Doomsday Device, the Gravity Engine. (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

British hunk Alex Pettyfer (who will be seen in the upcoming movies Beastly and I Am Number Four) is expected to begin negotiations this week for the male lead role in the film adaptation of the supernatural novel series The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. The first installment called City of Bones follows an ordinary teenage girl named Clary Fray (Lily Collins) who learns she is the descendent of the Shadowhunters, a clan of demon hunters who track and kill the creatures who run loose on the streets of New York City. Pettyfer would play sarcastic Shadowhunter Jace Wayland, the love interest of the lead with a terrible secret. (Vulture and Dark Horizons)

Actress Viola Davis and actor Jeffrey Wright have joined the cast the adventure movie called Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which is based on the Jonathan Safran Foer novel. The story follows multi-talented nine-year-old Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) whose father died in the 9/11 attacks. Given a mysterious key by his father before he died, Oskar now wanders New York City in search of the lock it will open. Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock and John Goodman also star. (Daily Mail and Dark Horizons)

Actor Jeff Daniels and actress Piper Perabo have joined the sci-fi action movie called Looper, which follows a group of killers who send bodies of their victims back in time. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano and Xu Qing are already set to star. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

A fourth incarnation of the classic movie A Star Is Born is coming to a theatre near you courtesy of Clint Eastwood, who is set to direct and produce the flick. The story, of course, centers on a showbiz ingénue who falls for an alcoholic musician, only to see their careers move in opposite directions. Back in February of 2010, Russell Crowe and Beyonce Knowles were the reported front runners for the roles though Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Hamm had all been floated as potential candidates. There is no confirmation on cast and the movie would be out sometime in 2012. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

FIRST LOOK AT UPCOMING MOVIE

Cool New Photos for Paul W.S. Anderson’s ‘The Three Musketeers’

ME: The next is a spoilerish item from Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly so please tread lightly (and I apologize for the apostrophe use; not my idea):

‘CASTLE’: PREPARE TO FAN YOURSELVES

It’s almost here, Castle fans (who have been begging me all week for dish on the show’s big Jan. 24th episode). Almost. Here. The smooch you’ve been waiting for. And I’m happy to say that the episode is completely worth the wait. But not so fast. Don’t start picking out china patterns for the pair just yet. While the kiss is, indeed, not a dream, you know that this is still Castle. This is still Beckett. And there’s still a very important case — the one of Beckett’s mom’s murder — being investigated. That’s all I can say. On that note, however, the kiss, in my opinion, isn’t even the best part of the episode. (You probably guessed that they wouldn’t put the best part of the episode in promos, right?) I’d say there are two better moments. The first comes before the smooch when Castle is talking with his mom about his most recent brush with death, and he admits to her (in his Nathan Fillion melt-me-into-goo voice) that his time with Beckett is “*** ****t *** ****s **y****.” And the other comes sometime after the roughly 13-second smooch. After the episode airs, be sure to check EW.com for my exclusive chat with Andrew Marlowe and Will Beall, who penned the episode.

Q&A SECTION (from Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: So Chuck finally proposed to Sarah, but why’d they have to ruin the moment?!?! Tell me there’s something coming up to make up for it. — Tracey

ANSWER: The moon. The beautiful ring. Sarah helping Chuck not make a dork of himself by slipping the ring he dropped back into his pocket. Sigh. Yes, it was perfect. And while I can’t tell you that something soon will make up for the lost moment, executive producer Chris Fedak can: “Yes. We have some really sweet moments coming up. Of course, most of them are between Casey and Morgan. But you never know, maybe Chuck and Sarah can have one, too.”

Question: Any Smallville scoop? Preferably Chlollie related. — Mer

ANSWER: I’d love to submit to your winking face, but spilling on Chlollie’s big reunion moment would surely guarantee an end to my life. It would also ruin the surprise about whether or not there are sinister intentions behind that pretty, innocent smile. But I do have a casting bit for you. I can confirm rumors that Days of Our Lives actor Eric Martsolf will be playing Booster Gold, and I hear that they are expected to pick a Blue Beetle any moment now. You might want to keep checking back for updates…

Question: I’m so glad to see Justified getting some publicity and am hyped for the return. Is Boyd Crowder part of an overarching story or just a constant nuisance? Are they sticking to the episodic format? I liked it — they felt like short stories more than generic ‘procedural’ mysteries. Is Raylan moving out of his motel room? Are we going to explore beyond Harlan like the CA episode? Does Harlan have minorities? — LochNessTess

ANSWER: I feel like I’m about to dig into a pie and I have no idea where to start. Deep breath. Okay, let’s see. Boyd is most definitely part of an overarching storyline this year, but also does a great job getting under Raylan’s skin, as usual — especially when Raylan finds out Boyd’s been sleeping under a roof that Raylan knows very well. And there’s a great (and somewhat brutal) Boyd moment coming in episode 3. Q2) Format’s about the same, I’d say. Good thing, right? Q3) Raylan is still hanging his hat in the motel at least through episode three. But don’t worry; he’s not lonely. Q4) We’re spend most of our time in Harlan at the beginning of the season. Q5) Not sure, but what I do know is that when Rachel accompanies Raylan on an investigation, they’re not very welcoming at all.

Question: I can’t wait for the White Collar flashback episode. Scoop, please? — Chalene

ANSWER: Between the Matt Bomer interview and showrunner Jeff Eastin’s scoopage I’ve given you in the last two weeks, you’ve gotten plenty — but I don’t blame you for wanting more. It’s one heck of an episode (airing Jan. 25). And would you believe that there’s much, much more where that came from? “The original draft was about 120 pages. It was twice or three times what we normally do because there was so much stuff. In the original draft, we had young Neal when he was 12, Mozzi’s entire backstory when he was in Detroit. There’s all this stuff we really wanted to use. But at the end, we really had to pick and choose what would fit in an hour,” Eastin told me. That’s right, we almost saw an itty bitty Neal! Be still my heart! But not to worry, some of that will likely make its way into another flashback episode that is planned for season 3 that will focus mostly on Mozzi and explain the origins of his nickname.

Question: When’s Kurt coming back to McKinley High on Glee. Things are falling apart without him! — J. T.

ANSWER: Um, why would you advocate splitting up the adorable pair gracing the cover of this week’s EW? Child, please. And it doesn’t sound like the show’s in a hurry to get Kurt back to New Directions either. Before learning he was a Golden Globe winner this weekend, we spoke with Chris Colfer on the red carpet, where he told us: “I think eventually I will be back with the old gang but we haven’t filmed that yet so I don’t know how long I will be away from McKinley.” A spy tells me the gang is now wrapping the episode that will air in mid-February, so it definitely won’t happen before then. But again, I ask, is that really what you want? Take sides in comments, readers. Does Kurt belong at Dalton or McKinley? It’s on, J.T.! (P.S. – I’m short and feeble; please don’t hurt me.)

Question: I LOVED Being Human. Do you have a bit of scoop for a new fan to the series? — Kris

ANSWER: I loved it, too. I especially have a soft spot for Mark Pellegrino, who you’ll see next week in a brief Civil War flashback with Aidan. And while I’m a huge fan of flashback scenes of any kind, it’s not the best scene of the episode by far. I think you’ll much prefer the tense face-off between Bishop and Aidan at the police station. It’s a lot of sexy brood in a single scene — and I like it.

Question: The Big C was a fantastic show. Any idea when we’ll see it comes back? — Lee

ANSWER: The cast doesn’t start back on season 2 until March, according to John Benjamin Hickey (who plays Cathy’s hippie brother Sean on the show). Though he hasn’t seen a script yet, Hickey wasn’t shy about telling us what he hopes to read: a twist return for Marlene, who killed herself in the penultimate episode of last season. “We are all campaigning for a ghost twist for season 2 of The Big C so Phyllis [Somerville] can come back. As sad as you are, we the cast are even sadder. It is actually feeling a little unthinkable to go forward without Phyllis. I have a good faith feeling she may be back somehow some way.” Somerville concurred: “I just did an episode of Fringe so maybe I can get those sci-fi folks to hook me up with a gadget that will allow Marlene to come back to life and bug Laura Linney some more.” Yes, Fringe!

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

The news isn’t too long today, but there are still some interesting items to share with all of you. And, before I forget to mention it, please make sure to tune in to the USA Network tonight for the return of Royal Pains at 9 PM followed by the debut of the new series Fairly Legal at 10 PM.

TELEVISION

The USA Network has picked up two pilots for series. They are A Legal Mind and Necessary Roughness. Both are getting an 11-episode order in addition to the 90-minute pilots. A Legal Mind centers on a top Manhattan corporate lawyer (Gabriel Macht) who recruits a brilliant but unmotivated college dropout (Patrick J. Adams) as a new associate. Meanwhile, Necessary Roughness focuses on a tough, sexy Long Island divorcee (Callie Thorne) who gets a job as the therapist for a professional football team in order to make ends meet. When these shows will be scheduled, however, is unclear at this time. (Deadline)

Actor Eric Balfour (Haven) will appear in two upcoming episodes of No Ordinary Family, playing a death row inmate named Marcus Winnick. These episodes are expected to air in March. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Actress Sheila Kelly (most recently seen in the final episodes of Lost) will now appear as “Aunt Carol” in Gossip Girl. She replaces Illeana Douglas who was forced to drop out due to scheduling reasons. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Well-known character actor Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad) will guest star on Modern Family as Jay’s (Ed O’Neill) brother Tommy, who is described as a working class lunk of a guy who’s more comfortable communicating with his fists than his mouth. Tommy reunites with his brother in an episode slated to air in February or March. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

NBC has been given a pilot order to the Ronald D. Moore project now being called 17th Precinct, which is an ensemble drama in the “Hill Street Blues” vein, but is set in the town of Excelsior, where magic and supernatural elements rule over science. (The Futon Critic)

General Hospital cast member Annie Ilonzeh has reportedly landed one of the three leads in the pilot of the remake of Charlie’s Angels, which will be set in and will be a modern take on the Angels. It will center on a new trio of young and sexy private eyes – Kate, Abby and Marisa – working for a wealthy mystery man. Ilonzeh will play Kate, a very smart and very athletic ex-cop and a master of martial arts. (Nellie Andreeva at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

It looks like Keira Knightley may be replacing Marion Cotillard in the upcoming sci-fi thriller Cosmopolis. She would play the female lead and love interest of Robert Pattinson’s character. (The LA Times and Dark Horizons)

Robert Downey Jr. has dropped out of the prequel movie Oz, the Great and Powerful, which follows a young illusionist with a grandiose attitude who is forced to flee a traveling circus. His hot air balloon is swept up by a tornado to the land of Oz, which is run by two magical wicked witches. He of course goes on to become the titular Wizard. It sounds like Johnny Depp MIGHT take over the role, but there is no confirmation of that yet. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

CELEBRITY BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT (because, just like Jewel Staite, David Hewlett is pretty damn cool)

David Hewlett: My ‘hilariously unhappy’ life as Dr. Rodney McKay

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

The truth about TV ratings, online viewing and sci-fi shows

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »