Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Happy Monday! Did everyone have a good weekend? Sure hope so. Let’s get right into today’s news, shall we?:

TELEVISION

Actor Benjamin Bratt (Law & Order and The Cleaner) will be joining Private Practice as a series regular next season, making his first appearance in the show’s season finale this May. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Former American Idol contestant-turned actress Lisa Tucker has been tapped to play Greta Martin on The Vampire Diaries. As viewers may remember her father Jonas and brother Luka were killed by the Salvatore Brothers; and she has been held captive by Klaus (Joseph Morgan). Like her family, she is a witch and will play a key role in the big showdown between Elena and the brothers. (Zap2It)

Actor Dominic Purcell (Prison Break) will guest star in an upcoming spring episode of Castle that finds Castle and Beckett heading to LA to investigate a murder. Purcell will play a Hollywood businessman who may have a connection to the killing. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights) has landed the female lead in American Horror, the much-buzzed-about FX drama pilot from Glee bosses Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. She will play the role of Vivien Harmon, one half of the show’s central couple. The premise of the show is being kept under tight wraps, but this much can be revealed: Each season will feature an entirely new cast. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Boris Kodjoe (Undercovers) has joined the ABC drama pilot Georgetown that is about a quartet of young staffers in Washington, D.C. – Sam (Daisy Betts), Nikki (Katie Cassidy), Peter (Joseph Mazzello) and Andrew (Jimmy Wolk) – who share a DuPont Circle townhouse together. He willplay Sam’s boss, a White House Senior Adviser Michael Kline. (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

It has been revealed that actress Julianne Moore will join actor Jeff Bridges in the box office film The Seventh Son, which is an adaptation of The Last Apprentice (or The Wardstone Chronicles) book series. She will play the role of Mother Malkin, the most sinister of witches who uses blood magic. The story is described as: when 12-year-old Thomas, seventh son of a seventh son, is apprenticed to the local Spook, whose job is to fight evil spirits and witches, he expects a life of danger. However, the boy doesn’t realize just how soon he’ll face a powerful enemy alone, as Mother Malkin escapes her confinement while the Spook is away. Thomas is forced to use his wits, and the help of his enigmatic new friend, Alice, to fight the evil witch. And defeating her is only the start of the boy’s problems. The rest of the cast is yet to be announced. (The First Showing)

Here are the top 10 movies in the box office according to Exhibitors Relations and E! Entertainment Online:
1. Limitless, $19 million
2. Rango, $15.3 million
3. Battle: Los Angeles, $14.6 million
4. Lincoln Lawyer, $13.4 million
5. Paul, $13.2 million
6. Red Riding Hood, $7.3 million
7. The Adjustment Bureau, $5.9 million
8. Mars Needs Moms, $5.3 million
9. Beastly, $3.3 million
10. Hall Pass, $2.6 million

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Oscar winner Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park and Downton Abbey) has written the long-gestating four-hour mini-series Titanic that has finally found a home on ABC. The mini-series is slated to coincide with the ship’s sinking next year. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Roush from TV Guide)

Question: I have a different sort of “relationship” question regarding Castle. The big thing always seems to be the potential relationship between Castle and Beckett. But honestly, the parts I rewind and watch again and again are the scenes with Castle, Ryan and Esposito. I adore their interactions and reactions. Do you think there is any chance those scenes might be expanded? For me, they make the show. — Renee

Matt Roush: It does seem like they’ve developed the sidekick characters a little more this season,
which is probably a good thing, because I’ve always wondered how these detectives (and those on The Mentalist, for that matter) earn their keep when they’re upstaged on almost every case by the amateur “consultant” in their midst. If these guys are popping for you in their scenes with Castle, it’s a sign of good ensemble chemistry. But they’re still very much co-stars to the leads, and I doubt that would change significantly on a regular basis.

Question: Just wanted to give two big thumbs up to Anna Torv’s “channeling” of Leonard Nimoy (as William Bell) in Friday’s episode of Fringe. I could have watched her do that for two hours instead of just one. From the graveled hoarseness in her voice to the arching of her eyebrow, she had Leonard down pat. I have no idea if Leonard Nimoy would have watched this impersonation of him, but I hope if he did, he appreciated it as much as the rest of the Fringe fans. This reminded me of what David Duchovny did on The X-Files in the “Small Potatoes” episode where he had to behave like the little shape-shifting guy Eddie Van Blundht trying to masquerade as Mulder. Granted a little more complex role, but nonetheless the same kind of quirkiness that made The X-Files such a treat to watch, and Fringe can do the same (as does Supernatural). Of course Anna Torv does a great job throughout the series being her alternate Olivia, but this was a step above. Keep up the good work, Anna. — JG

Matt Roush: Wasn’t she great? I especially got a kick out of the more playful moments: Bell-Livia remarking on how binding a bra was, or creeping Astrid out with her/his flirting. And the final moment, when the church bells brought the dormant Olivia back to the surface for a fleeting panicked moment, was just chilling. In the first season of Fringe, I found Anna Torv’s performance the show’s greatest liability. This season, with her pulling double duty as Alt-livia in the parallel world and now this inspired twist, she’s among its greatest assets. Nicely played indeed. And comparisons to The X-Files are very apt these days. Fringe is that good.

Question: I know you don’t usually go too much into the business side of things, but I was wondering about your take on Netflix’s apparent foray into original programming with House of Cards. It seems to match the model put forth by HBO (start as a content consolidator and then become a content creator), except that Netflix will be creating a TV show that many people may never see on a TV. Given the success of YouTube as well as web-based programs, the definition of “television show” is getting rather blurry (indeed, Dr. Horrible made many critics’ top TV list for 2008, though it never aired on TV). What do you think the ramifications of Netflix’s original programming will wind up being? Will it be just another cable outlet, albeit one that’s entirely “on-demand,” or will the inclusion of original programming that people can access without cable, a dish, or even a TV cause ripples throughout the industry? — Erin

Matt Roush: This may well be seen as a watershed moment in the ongoing evolution of how we consume TV. But for now, it’s only one series, and much as I don’t prejudge anything on network, cable or (these days) satellite, I don’t want to read too much into this. Yet. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is another excellent example of someone skirting the usual distribution system with a landmark piece of entertainment, but the way that was produced (during a writers’ strike, with everyone deferring payment until it hit the DVD market) was unusual to say the least, and since then, has anything made for-Internet-only had the same sort of impact? The real question here is how deeply Netflix and its peers will invest in original programming. Because the best stuff doesn’t come cheap. (Just look at HBO.) I’m happy for any new entity to come along that will invest in and support the production of high-quality long-form scripted programming. Even if House of Cards turns out to be a winner — and the original British miniseries it’s based on is still regarded as one of Masterpiece Theater’s very best — do I think it’s going to make the networks, cable and satellite method of watching TV obsolete? Probably not, and certainly not immediately.

That’s it. Enjoy!