Hey All,
There’s quite a bit of news to share today so let’s get straight into it all:
TELEVISION
After just three airings, CBS has pulled its mid-season series Chaos. Effective immediately repeats of CSI: NY will air for two weeks then starting on May 6, the new season of Flashpoint will air at 8 PM. (TV Done Wright)
Game of Thrones just debuted on HBO on Sunday (April 17) and already the cable network has given the series an order for a second season. The series is based on the best-selling fantasy book series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” by George R.R. Martin. It follows kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and noblemen as they vie for power in a land where summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime. (The Futon Critic)
IN PREPARATION FOR THIS WEEKEND
Matt Smith previews the new season of ‘Doctor Who’: ‘We learn so much about the characters’
MUSIC NEWS WITH A BOX OFFICE TIE-IN
Oscar winning actor Jeff Bridges will be working Grammy- and Oscar-winning producer T Bone Burnett on his debut album. (Josh Grossberg at E! Entertainment Online)
CONDOLENCES
It is being reported that much beloved British actress Elisabeth Sladen, who played Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who and was the lead in the popular Sarah Jane Adventures TV series has passed away. She had been battling cancer. She was 63. (Twitter)
ME: Rest in Peace, Ms. Sladen. Deepest condolences to her family, friends and fans.
MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE….
BOX OFFICE NEWS
It would seem that actress Elizabeth Banks is in talks to join the cast of the upcoming film The Hunger Games based on the novel by Suzanne Collins. She would play Effie Trinket, a pink-haired showbiz type who becomes the handler of Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence). Meanwhile, actress Leven Rambin (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Grey’s Anatomy) will play Glimmer, the District 1 combatant who’s pitted against Katniss. (Mike Fleming at Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)
Actor Billy Bob Thornton (Bad Santa) and Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives) will appear opposite each other in the new comedy film called The Baytown Disco that follows the foibles of three redneck brothers who get more than they bargained for after agreeing to help a woman get her son back from his seemingly abusive father. It is presumed that Thornton will play one of the brothers. The film also stars Serinda Swan (Tron Legacy and Breakout Kings), Clayne Crawford (A Walk to Remember) Thomas Sangster (Love Actually) and Megan Good (Brick). (The Wrap and First Showing)
Actor Joshua Jackson (Fringe) has joined the cast of the movie adaptation of Lay the Favorite, the story of a professional gambler named Beth Raymer who started off as a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas but soon rose to become one of the world’s best gamblers. After falling in love, Raymer soon begins to re-evaluate her life and the profession she has chosen. Actress Rebecca Hall (The Town) will play Beth with Bruce Willis playing another professional gambler. (Variety and First Showing)
Actors James Franco and Winona Ryder will both star in the independent film called The Stare, which follows a playwright (Ryder) who finds her mind beginning to warp as she struggles to launch her next production. She’s plagued by dreams and visions of being watched, but can’t decide if she’s at the center of a manipulative plot or simply losing her grip on reality. Franco will play one of the performers in the playwright’s production. (Deadline and First Showing)
Actress Rebecca Romijn (Eastwick and X-Men) will appear in the Tyler Perry film called Good Deeds, playing a former corporate executive who prefers motherhood. As usual, Perry will play the title character, Glen Deeds. (Mike Fleming at Deadline)
It has been confirmed by Warner Bros. that actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard will join the cast of the much anticipated sequel The Dark Knight Rises; but now we know their roles: Gordon-Levitt will play John Blake, a Gotham City cop while Cotillard will play Miranda Tate, a Wayne Enterprises board member who wants to help a still-grieving Bruce Wayne resume his father’s philanthropic endeavors. (Joshua L. Weinstein at The Wrap)
Actress Isla Fisher (Confessions of a Shopaholic) is in talks to join the film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, joining Leonardo DiCaprio, who is expected to play the wealthy and mysterious Jay Gatsby; Carey Mulligan (An Education) is to play Daisy Buchanan with Tobey Maguire set to star as well. Ben Affleck is also in negotiations to join the cast. Fisher will play Myrtle, a married woman having an affair with Affleck’s character. She is later killed by a speeding car, an event that leads to the book’s tragic ending. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)
Actors James Marsden and Claire Danes will star in the independent film called As Cool as I Am, which is based on the Pete Fromm coming-of-age novel about Lucy Diamond, the teen daughter of self-centered parents who married when they were teens. Marsden and Danes play the parents. The role of Lucy has not yet been cast. (Joshua L. Weinstein at The Wrap)
BOX OFFICE TRAILER
Q&A SECTION (with Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)
Question: I would like to see some more Chuck spoilers. — Becca
Sandra: Sure thing! Would you like spies with that? On the night before Chuck and Sarah’s rehearsal dinner, something terrible will happen to someone we love (an incredibly important member of Operation Bartowski), and it will force the team to confront their greatest enemy: the CIA. “Chuck’s team will find themselves facing a CIA agent who’s tougher than Bentley, Beckman, and Shaw combined,” executive producer Chris Fedak teases.
Queston: Please, some White Collar scoop? Will we get more Peter-Neal-Elizabeth scenes? Love three of them together! — @_st07 via Twitter
Sandra: There will definitely be more of the trio than there was last season, according to what executive producer Jeff Eastin told me last month. But I still wouldn’t say it’s as much quality time as Neal will be spending with Sara — some of which includes diamond lingerie.
Question: I can’t wait for the new season of In Plain Sight! Scoop? — Lauren
Sandra: The show returns with some new faces, some returning faces, and one huge twist: a surprise engagement! But while Brandi and Peter are thrilled about the engagement, the episode presents new challenges to the couple — and much of it starts when Brandi ends up in cuffs!
That’s it. Enjoy!
Rueben's Ramblings 
Leave a comment