Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

There isn’t an over-abundance of news today, but there were still some very interesting items to share with all of you. If any of you will be (or live in LA) this weekend and are attending the Salute to Supernatural convention coordinated by Creation Entertainment, I hope to see you there tomorrow for all the fun and mayhem. And now, on with today’s news:

TELEVISION

It looks no amount of money or fan outcry will budge Michael Rosenbaum into coming back to Smallville for its final season. It’s being reported at various outlets all over the net that he will not appear in any of the final episodes let alone the series finale. Here is the quote that’s being ‘heard round the world’: “He has put the show behind him and moved on. He’s pursuing his other creative outlet [writing]. By all indications, he is not going to be involved.” (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Ramon Rodriguez (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) has joined the cast of the ABC pilot Charlie’s Angels where he will play John Bosley, their able sidekick who is described as a perfect specimen of 21st-Century American manhood – a chiseled, whip-smart, tech-savvy, preppy charmer. (The Futon Critic)

Australian actress Margot Robbie has been cast in the ABC pilot called Pan Am, a period drama about the iconic airline in the 1960s. She will play Laura, a radiantly beautiful new stewardess whose candid graduation shot is on the cover of Life Magazine. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Kenneth Mitchell (Jericho) will star in the ABC pilot drama Partners that focuses on two female police detectives (Scottie Thompson and another yet to be cast) who are fiercely loyal to one another since they’re also secretly half-sisters. Mitchell will play Ray Henry, a fellow detective. (The Futon Critic)

Production has begun on the new Syfy 2-hour pilot Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome. Here is the breakdown of the story: It takes place in the 10th year of the first Cylon war. As the battle between humans and their creation, the sentient robotic Cylons, rages across the 12 colonial worlds, a young, talented fighter pilot, William Adama (Luke Pasqualino from the UK series Skins), finds himself assigned to one of the most powerful Battlestars in the Colonial fleet: the Galactica. Full of ambition and in pursuit of the intense action that the Cylon war promises, Adama quickly find himself at odds with Coker (Ben Cotton from the online series Riese), the battle-weary officer to whom he reports. With 47 days left in his tour of duty, Coker desires an end to battle just as much as Adama craves the start of it. Though they clash at first, the two men forge an unlikely bond when a routine mission turns dangerous and becomes a pivotal one for the desperate fleet. Actress Lili Bordan will play Dr. Beka Kelly, a Ph.D. who worked for Graystone Industries that created the Cylon robots. Currently assigned to a secret military mission, Beka and Adama quickly establish a rapport. (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Scott Speedman (Underworld and Felicity) will play a gentleman bank robber in the independent true-crime movie called Edwin Boyd. Boyd was a World War II veteran and a family man who rose to 1950s media fame as a gentleman bandit who undertook dramatic bank hold-ups and two prison breaks. Actress Kelly Reilly will star as his wife, actor Brian Cox will play Boyd’s father, actor Brendan Fletcher as a fellow gang member, and actress Charlotte Sullivan and actor Kevin Durand in undisclosed roles. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

British actor Nicholas Hoult will not only be seen this summer in the film X-Men: First Class, playing young Hank McCoy (aka Beast), but also the lead role of Jack the Giant Killer in the box office movie of the same name. Earlier it was announced that actors Stanley Tucci and Bill Nighy will also star in the action epic. The story is about a long-standing peace between humans and giants that is threatened when a young farmer (Hoult) tries to rescue a princess who was kidnapped and taken to the giants’ kingdom. This is a project I’m definitely looking forward to in the future. (Deadline and First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

X-Men: First Class: Witness the Transformation

That’s it. Enjoy!