Hey All,
It’s Friday!! Is everyone excited? Hope so!! And, I hope you have some funs activities planned for this weekend. For those in LA tonight or over the next two weeks, and you can get your hands on tickets (if you don’t have them already) you might want to attend one of the 2011 Paley Fest events held at the Saban Theatre. The first one is tonight, featuring the cast and crew of the AMC new hit series The Walking Dead. You can find out more about the 2011 Paley Fest here.
TELEVISION
Three big names will be guest starring in upcoming episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit this spring, including John Stamos (ER and Glee), Terrence Howard (Law & Order: Los Angeles) and Lori Singer (Footloose). Stamos will appear as an adoption attorney with a secret passion. Singer will have the role of a new mother who is struggling with her increased responsibilities. Terrence Howard will be part of a crossover episode between “Law & Order: Los Angeles” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” (The Futon Critic)
Scott Michael Foster (Greek) will appear in three episodes of the ABC Family Channel comedy Melissa & Joey. He will play George, a younger guy who catches Melissa’s (Melissa Joan Hart) fancy — and thus likely irks Joey (Joey Lawrence). (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)
HBO will present a sneak peek of the first 15 minutes of the first episode of the new series Game of Thrones on Sunday, April 3 at 9 PM, which will be followed by the debut of part three of the HBO mini-series Mildred Pierce. Game of Thrones, based on the popular book series called “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George R.R. Martin, is set in a vast and violent fantasy kingdom. The ensemble cast includes Mark Addy, Sean Bean, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Fairley, Lena Headey, Kit Harington and Aidan Gillen. (The Futon Critic)
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Actor Aidan Quinn will appear alongside Maria Bello in the American version of the UK hit Prime Suspect, which is being rebooted as a pilot for NBC. He will play Lt. Kenny Rowe. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)
Actor Enrique Murciano (Without a Trace) will co-star opposite Minnie Driver in the CBS drama pilot Hail Mary that is a buddy P.I. show centering on Mary Beth (Driver), a suburban single mom in Atlanta who teams up with a streetwise hustler to solve crimes. Murciano will play Carlos Moreno, a detective with the Atlanta P.D. working the Major Crimes Division who went to high school with Mary Beth and has had a crush on her ever since. He winds up being Mary Beth’s de facto mentor in criminology, although he yearns for something more. (Deadline)
Actress Rebecca Mader (Lost) has landed a role in the ABC comedy pilot called Work It, which is about out-of-work car salesmen Lee and Angel (Amaury Nolasco) who realize that it is now a woman’s world and decide that in order to find work again and succeed they are going to have to dress as women to get jobs as pharmaceuticals reps. Mader will play a bitchy and pseudo-sophisticated drug sales rep with a know-everything attitude. (Deadline)
Actress Amber Stevens (Greek and soon to be seen in The Amazing Spider-Man) has joined the cast of the FOX medical drama pilot called Weekends at Bellevue that centers on Ellie (Lauren Ambrose), the psychiatrist in charge of the weekend shift of Bellevue Hospital psychiatric unit. Stevens will play a fresh faced psychiatry intern. (Deadline)
Battlestar Galactica alums James Callis and Tricia Helfer and Matt Long (The Deep End and Jack & Bobby) have joined the Ron Moore NBC drama pilot called 17th Precinct that already stars BSG alum Jamie Bamber, legendary actress Stockard Channing (The West Wing) and Eamonn Walker (Kings). The pilot is set in the fictional town of Excelsior where magic and supernatural elements rule over science and the story revolves around the cops at the local 17th Precinct. Helfer will play Morgana, a necromancer, the magical equivalent of a coroner, who is an expert at manipulating the potions, tools, herbs and spells of her trade. Details on the roles that Callis and Long will play have not been announced. (Deadline)
Actress Lucy Griffiths (the UK series Robin Hood) is the first cast member of the CW drama pilot called Awakening that is about two combative sisters who come of age amid the beginning of a zombie uprising. Griffiths is set to play Jenna Lestrade, the elder sister, a public defender in Manhattan who’s less comfortable with her zombie status than her younger sister, Jayce. (The Futon Critic)
Actor Jeff Hephner (Hellcats and The O.C.) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot called Playboy, which is a period drama set at the Playboy Club in Chicago in 1963. He will play Nick Darlton, an attorney/fixer who used to work for the Bianchi crime family. The cast of this pilot includes Amber Heard, David Krumholtz, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Laura Benanti, Leah Cudmore, Naturi Naughton and Wes Ramsey. (The Futon Critic)
Actor Joe Anderson (Across the Universe) has joined the cat of the ABC drama pilot called The River, which is about the crew of a state-of-the-art research vessel on a quest to find a missing TV explorer in the Amazon. He will play Lincoln Cole, the aforementioned man’s son. Eloise Mumford (Lone Star) also stars. (The Futon Critic)
Actress Tracie Thoms (Cold Case) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot/reboot Wonder Woman. Thoms will play Etta Candy, the cheerful secretary for Diana Themyscira (Adrianne Palicki), Wonder Woman’s public identity. Also, Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride) has joined the cast, starring as Henry Detmer, the acting CEO of Themyscira Industries who is deeply devoted to Diana. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)
Actress and Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) has landed the lead in the J.J. Abrams/CBS drama pilot called Person of Interest. She will star alongside Lost alum Michael Emerson. The series is about an ex-CIA agent who is recruited by a crazy billionaire to help fight crime in New York City. Henson will play a female detective named Carter who will presumably team up with the as-yet uncast ex-CIA agent. (Vulture)
Roswell actor Nick Wechsler has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot Revenge that centers on a young woman who is welcomed into a community filled with people who don’t know she’s only there to exact revenge on those who destroyed her family. The pilot also stars Ashley Madekwe (The Beautiful Life). (The Hollywood Reporter)
Grey’s Anatomy actor Jeff Perry (Lexie and Meredith’s dad) has joined the cast of the Shonda Rhimes ABC drama pilot called Damage Control that follows the follows the life and work of a professional fixer, Olivia Price, and her dysfunctional staff. Kerry Washington stars as Price, who is based on the career of legendary crisis management consultant Judy Smith. The other members of the cast include Columbus Short, Henry Ian Cusick, Katie Lowes and Guillermo Diaz. (Robyn Ross at TV Guide)
Singer-actress Caitlin Crosby (That 70’s Show and Malcolm in the Middle) will play Kelly in the NBC drama pilot called A Mann’s World that stars Don Johnson as a fifty-something Beverly Hills hairdresser and salon owner struggling to remain relevant in a superficial world. (The Hollywood Reporter)
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Dancer-turned singer/actress Julianne Hough (Burlesque and Dancing With the Stars) will join Tom Cruise (yes, you read that right) in the film adaptation of the Broadway hit musical Rock of Ages. Hough will play Sherri Christian, a girl from the Midwest who moves to Hollywood with dreams of becoming an actress. Tom Cruise has already signed on to play musician Stacee Jaxx. A nationwide search to fill the part of Drew Boley (Sherri’s love interest) is underway. (E! Entertainment Online)
Catherine Zeta-Jones is in talks to join the cat of the upcoming film Lay the Favorite based on the Beth Raymer best-selling memoir called Lay the Favorite: A Memoir of Gambling. The story charts her rise from lowly Vegas cocktail waitress to one of the top sports gambling bookmakers. Rebecca Hall has been cast in the lead role while Zeta-Jones would play the wife of Raymer’s mentor, a cantankerous ex–New York bookmaker (Bruce Willis). (Deadline and Dark Horizons)
Julianne Moore and Olivia Thirlby have joined the cast of the upcoming movie Another Night based on the Nick Flynn memoir called Another Bullsh*t Night in Suck City. The story revolves around the author’s experiences as a case worker for the homeless and his relationship with his father. As a teenager, Flynn (Paul Dano) had received letters from his estranged father (Robert De Niro), a delusional con man and self-proclaimed poet. The memoir follows Flynn and his father, whose self-destructive behavior eventually drives him onto the streets and into the homeless shelter where Flynn works. (The Film Stage and Dark Horizons)
Rhys Ifans and Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation and Everwood) have joined the cast of the upcoming comedy movie called Five-Year Engagement that stars Jason Segel and Emily Blunt in a story about the highs and lows of a lengthy relationship. Alison Brie (Community) will play Blunt’s younger sister. (Variety and Dark Horizons)
BOX OFFICE TRAILERS
Another Epic New Trailer for Fox’s ‘Water for Elephants’ Adaptation
Must Watch: Epic New Theatrical Trailer for ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ Hits
Watch: First Teaser Trailer for DreamWorks’ Spin-Off ‘Puss in Boots’
That’s it. Enjoy!
Have a terrific weekend!
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Rueben's Ramblings 