Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Today’s news isn’t voluminous, but there are still some interesting items to share:

TELEVISION

Actresses Taylor Momsen and Jessica Szohr will not be returning as series regulars on Gossip Girl when it returns for its fifth (yes, you read that right, fifth) season this fall. Meanwhile, Kaylee DeFer has been promoted to series regular. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Adam Arkin (Chicago Hope) will guest star on The Closer as Steven Hirschbaum, a Bernie Madoff-like businessman who is convicted in a massive federal fraud trial and is being sued by the former employees and investors from whom he stole. The show will be back on July 11 with new episodes. (TV Guide)

House has been renewed for an 8th season with Robert Sean Leonard and Omar Epps returning as well. (Deadline)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Legendary actor-comedian Bob Newhart has joined the Lifetime made-for-TV movie called Project Five, which is anthology of five short films, exploring the impact of breast cancer on people’s lives. He will play Dr. Roth, a longtime friend of Pearl (Jeanne Tripplehorn), who has to tell her some bad news. The cast includes Patricia Clarkson, Rosario Dawson, Kathy Najimy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Tony Shalhoub and Jeffrey Tambor. Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore, Alicia Keys and Patty Jenkins will each direct. (TV Guide)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Amber Heard (Drive Angry) and actor Shiloh Fernandez (Red Riding Hood) are set to star in the upcoming film Syrup that is about the backstabbing and corporate ladder climbing of twenty-somethings trying to make it to the top in the soda industry. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actresses Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight) and Viola Davis (Doubt) will star in the film called Still I Rise that takes aim at the crisis of public education in America with the pair playing two mothers who channel frustration into action and join forces to transform an inner-city public school. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actor Mark Strong will join James McAvoy in the crime thriller called Welcome to the Punch that deals with a London detective whose old nemesis, an armed robber, reappears after five years away. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Actor Ethan Hawke has joined the cast of the upcoming remake of Total Recall, which stars Colin Farrell as Douglas Quaid, a man haunted by a recurring dream of journeying to Mars and buys a literal dream vacation from a company which sells implanted memories. The man comes to believe he is a secret agent and ends up on a Martian colony, where he fights to overthrow a despotic ruler controlling the production of air. Hawke’s role is being kept secret and is a cameo in nature. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!