Hey All,
Lots of interesting news to share with everyone so let’s get right into it:
NEWS
Congrats to all the winners at the BAFTA’s and Grammy Awards last night!!
TELEVISION
Actress Elizabeth Mitchell (V and Lost) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Law & Order: SVU, starring alongside returning guest star Jeremy Irons. Mitchell will play an unmarried piano teacher who was the last person to see one of her students alive. The episode is scheduled to air March 30. (William Keck at TV Guide)
What a difference 24 hours makes – at the end of last week it was announced that actor Michael Rosenbaum would NOT be returning for the final season of Smallville, returning to the role that made him famous: Lex Luthor. Well, he has changed his mind and will be back after all. Here is the statement he issued: “I’m simply doing it for all of the fans out there who made Smallville the great success it is. I appreciate all of their passion, their relentlessness and even their threats. Ha ha. I can’t wait to hug the old crew back in Vancouver one last time and see all of my old friends once again….. Oh, and for Lex to become the badass he’s destined to be.” (Deadline and Dark Horizons)
Actor James Tupper (Men in Trees) will reprise his role as Dr. Andrew Perkins this spring in a multi-episode arc on Grey’s Anatomy. (Entertainment Weekly and TV Line)
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Actor Gary Cole (Wanted – the TV series) has joined the comedy pilot for FOX called Tagged, which is a workplace comedy set in a coroner’s office. Cole will play James Percy, a respected coroner whose son comes to work for him after finishing medical school. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)
The graphic novel by Steve Valentine and Paul Chart called Among the Spirits is being developed by Syfy as a potential drama series. The story is about Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle solving mysteries in 1920s. This project would follow Houdini and Doyle, who, with the help of a female cop, try to solve bizarre murders and strange occurrences that look like hauntings and other supernatural events using steampunk technology. (The Futon Critic)
Actor Anthony Ruivivar (The Whole Truth) and actress Nicole Ari Parker (The Deep End) have joined the A&E drama pilot called Big Mike that is about Mike O’Bannon (Greg Grunberg), a plus-sized homicide detective in a world where plus-sized is a minus. Ruivivar is set as Mike’s partner/childhood friend, Armando Romero, an ex-Marine who – much to Mike’s chagrin – has the annoying ability to eat twice his weight in food every day and not gain a single pound. Parker will play Grace Peterson, the duo’s smart, efficient lieutenant, the youngest to hold said post in San Diego history. (The Futon Critic)
Actor Wentworth Miller (Prison Break) and actor Orlando Jones (The Evidence) are in talks to appear in the ABC drama pilot called Identity, which is a procedural set at the Identity Crimes Division, the FBI’s first cyber-crime unit mixed with traditional investigators. Miller would play John Bloom, a former undercover agent who’s reluctantly drafted to the team, with Jones as Anthony Wareing, a prideful, ambitious agent. (The Futon Critic)
American Idol runner-up-turned-actress Katharine McPhee has been added to the cast of the NBC hour-long pilot called Smash that is to follow a cross section of characters who come together to put on a Marilyn Monroe musical on Broadway led by the musical’s composer Tom and lyricist Julia (Debra Messing). McPhee will play a beautiful struggling actress who goes to all lengths to book the role of Marilyn Monroe in the musical. (Deadline)
Veteran actress Stockard Channing has signed on to star in the NBC pilot called 17th Precinct, which is an ensemble cop drama with supernatural elements from Ron Moore (the man behind the reboot of Battlestar Galactica) The pilot is set in the fictional town of Excelsior where magic and supernatural elements rule over science. Channing will play Mira, a fiercely intelligent former homicide detective who’s working in the robbery division. (Deadline)
Actor Jesse Martin (Law & Order) has been cast in the lead role of the Marc Cherry drama pilot for ABC called Hallelujah. He will play a charming drifter. (Deadline)
Actress Saffron Burrows (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) has joined the prospective Bones spinoff for FOX. The proposed spinoff already includes actors Geoff Stults and Michael Clarke Duncan. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)
MADE FOR TV MOVIES NEWS
The USA Network has announced the air date for the made for TV movie prequel of sorts for Burn Notice, focusing on Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell). The film – called Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe – will air on Sunday, April 17 at 9 PM. The film, of course, will star Campbell in the role he made infamous on the popular series with Burn Notice lead actor Jeffrey Donovan being the director. The film takes place in Colombia 2005 when Lieutenant Commander Sam Axe is sent to advise a local military platoon. It’s there he discovers deep layers of deception and ultimately realizes he may be allied with the wrong side. The film will co-star RonReaco Lee (The Good Guys), Kiele Sanchez (The Glades), John Diehl (Stargate) and Chandra West (The Gates). (TV By the Numbers)
CONDOLENCES
Actress Betty Garrett, best known for her roles in Laverne & Shirley and All in the Family passed away over the weekend. She was 91. (Kate Stanhope at TV Guide)
ME: Rest in Peace, Ms. Garrett. Condolences to her family, friends and fans.
MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Here are the top 10 box office movies for this past weekend, according to studio estimates and Hollywood.com via the LA Times:
1. Just Go With It – $31 million
2. Never Say Never (Justin Bieber documentary – 30.3 million
3. Gnomeo & Juliet (the animated movie) – 25.5 million
4. The Eagle – 8.6 million
5. The Roommate – 8.4 million
6. The King’s Speech – 7.4 million
7. No Strings Attached – $5.6 million
8. Sanctum – 5.1 million
9. True Grit – 3.8 million
10. The Green Hornet – 3.6 million
Actor Gerard Butler (300) may be playing Rick “Frosty” Hesson in the upcoming surfing movie called Mavericks. The story follows the late Jay Moriarity and his quest to ride the iconic Northern California break known as Mavericks, where winter swells bring in treacherous waves the size of five-story buildings. Moriarity trained for over a year under Hesson, a friendship that transformed both their lives. Moriarity, who died in 2001 in a diving accident in the Maldives, remains an inspiration to surfers around the globe. (Dark Horizons and Deadline)
Actresses Abigail Breslin and Julianne Moore have joined the gothic vampire thriller called Innocence, which is the story about a recently bereaved teenage girl who finds herself the focus of everyone’s attention at her elitist private school, which is home to a nest of vampires. The story is adapted from the original novel of the same name by Jane Mendelsohn. (Variety and Dark Horizons)
Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman are negotiating to join the cast of the upcoming box office movie Stoker, which is a family mystery-drama about a moody teenager (Mia Wasikowska) whose mysterious uncle (Firth) comes back into her family’s lives after the death of her father. Kidman would play the teen’s mother. The screenplay for this film comes from actor Wentworth Miller (Prison Break). (24 Frames and First Showing)
Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights) and singer-actor Harry Connick Jr. (Hope Floats) will star in the holiday family film called When Angels Sing, which is about a father (Connick) whose holiday spirit was crushed by an accident when he was a child. When his son faces a tragedy, a mysterious man instills in him the courage to find the joy he lost. Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Fionnula Flanagan and Lyle Lovett are among the cast. The film will also feature appearances by Texas musicians Bob Schneider, Charlie Sexton, Sarah Hickman and Ray Benson. (Variety)
That’s it. Enjoy!
Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone.
Rueben's Ramblings 