Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Happy Friday Everyone!! I hope you all have some fun things planned for this weekend. In the meantime, here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) has been added to the list of guest stars for the soap-opera themed episode of Castle that will air this spring. She joins Corbin Bernsen, Rebecca Budig and Cameron Mathison in this episode. (Give Me My Remote)

Actor John C. McGinley (Scrubs) will have a recurring role in the upcoming HBO drama Lucky that take a look inside the provocative world of horse racing, with a specific spotlight cast on the owners, gamblers, jockeys and diverse gaming industry players that will star Dustin Hoffman. McGinley will play a genial swindler working in cahoots with his daughter. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actress Alicia Coppola (Jericho) will appear as Lucy, the much-talked about but never seen ex-wife of Fitch (Michael Imperioli) on Detroit 1-8-7. Coppola is currently working on the USA Network pilot Common Law that stars Michael Ealy and she will be seen in next week’s episode of Castle. (Meg Masters at TV Line)

NBC has pulled the plug on its new drama Chase. This decision was obviously prompted by the low ratings the show has consistently received all season. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Sam Hennings (Memphis Beat) will appear as Samuel Colt in an upcoming episode of Supernatural. Colt is the man behind the Colt revolver who Sam and Dean come face-to-face with when they travel back to the Old West later this season. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Zachary Levi (Chuck) and Mandy Moore as well as Gwyneth Paltrow and Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine will all perform nominated songs at the Oscars, which will be televised on Sunday, February 27 on ABC. Levi and Moore will be accompanied by Alan Menken on the piano for the song “I See the Light” from their animated film Tangled while Paltrow will sing “Coming Home” from her film Country Strong. A.R. Rahman and Welch will perform “If I Rise” from the film 127 Hours, and Randy Newman will sing “We Belong Together” from the animated movie Toy Story 3. (Robyn Ross at TV Guide)

Actress Alex Kingston (ER and Doctor Who) will have a multi-episode role on Private Practice, playing Marla, a shrink who will help out one of the staff work through a personal ordeal. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

ARTICLE ON SMALLVILLE’S FINAL SEASON

Smallville Preview: Waiting For Superman

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Singer-actor Jesse McCartney has landed the male lead in the FOX pilot Locke & Key, which is set around a family’s attempt to rebuild by moving in with their deceased father’s brother at the family homestead in Maine, where they discover doorways with decidedly spectral qualities. He will play Ty, the eldest of the Locke children. The cast already includes Harrison Thomas, Miranda Otto, Nick Stahl, Sarah Bolger and Skylar Gaertner. (The Futon Critic)

A&E has booked a script for a new drama called Overload from John E. Pogue (who is involved behind the scenes at Army Wives). The drama will be about a female detective blessed and cursed with hyper-acute senses who balances her work and personal life in Boston. (The Futon Critic)

Kyle Killen, the Executive Producer of the short-lived FOX drama Lone Star has received a pilot order from NBC for an Inception-like drama called REM, which is about the simultaneous and parallel lives of a detective who cannot let go of any aspect of his fractured family after a horrible car accident. (The Futon Critic)

Meanwhile, NBC has order the adaptation of the British hit Prime Suspect to pilot. The pilot would follow an iconoclastic female detective has to make her bones in a tough New York precinct that is dominated by men. The network has also ordered to pilot the Civil War based series The Crossing, which is about a soldier who crosses the country and settles into a complicated town where he is welcomed as its savior — whether he likes it or not. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Eva Green (Casino Royale) has landed the female lead in the film adaptation of the 60s supernatural TV soap opera Dark Shadows. She is expected to play the role of Angelique, who in the TV series was a powerful witch who was alternately tormented and bewitched by her love-hate relationship with Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp). (Mike Fleming at Deadline)

In a decision that could really upset fans of the Superman franchise IF it proves to be true, it looks like Lois Lane MAY not be a part of the reboot of the upcoming film that will star Henry Cavill (The Tudors) as the Man of Steel. Word has it that Diane Kruger (National Treasure), Alice Eve (She’s Out of My League), and Rosamund Pike (An Education) have now emerged as the three actresses in contention for the female lead character. The character one of these beauties would portray has not been disclosed, but it has been confirmed that it will NOT be Lois Lane. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Legendary actor Jeff Bridges will appear in the box office film The Seventh Son – the new name of the adaptation The Last Apprentice, which is a series of young adult novels by Joseph Delaney. The story revolves around a teenage boy training to be an exorcist in the 1700’s. Bridges will play Spook, the exorcist who would train Thomas. Rumor has it that actor Alex Pettyfer (the upcoming I Am Number Four) and Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) may be playing lead roles in this film as well, but neither has been confirmed yet. (Collider, Just Jared and First Showing)

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

Question: Any scoops on NCIS and NCIS: LA? Will there ever be another cross-over episode? A Hetty and Gibbs scene is what I live for! — Melissa

Answer: Nothing planned as of yet, unfortunately. Consolation scoop: We’ll be meeting Ziva’s oh-so-amazing boyfriend Ray soonish — and see the ripples he causes…

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!