Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

The news is rather short for today, but there are still some interesting items to share with everyone:

TELEVISION

Actor Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica) has joined the cast of Dexter, playing a brilliant, charismatic professor of religious studies. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Jane Lynch is said to be the top choice for host of the 2011 Emmy Awards since the awards show will air on FOX. No confirmation of who the host will be has been made yet, though. (Twitter)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

FX and Fox International Channels announced that it will partner with Graham King’s GK-TV and Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Entertainment on a new one-hour drama Port Royale that will be set in 17th century Jamaica and will chronicle the country’s development into a safe haven for piracy. The series is based on the original idea by Hurd. (The Wrap)

Meanwhile, FX’s corporate cousin Fox is in talks to acquire Pyrates a new series from Ridley and Tony Scott’s Free Productions and Ensemble Entertainment. No deal is in place, but if picked up, this series would likely have a 10- to 13-episode limited run in the summer of 2012. (The Wrap)

MGM has teamed up the masterminds behind The Tudors and Camelot – Michael Hirst and Morgan O’Sullivan – for Vikings (the current working title), a drama series about the famous Scandinavian warriors. The series is eyed to begin production on a 10-episode first season next year would chronicle the Vikings’ exploits as warriors, explorers, builders, merchants, pirates and mercenaries through what is known as the Viking Age of Scandinavian, British and Irish history from the late-8th to the mid-11th century. It will center on Ragnar Lodbrok, one of the most popular Viking heroes, a great commander who briefly ruled Denmark and Sweden and was linked to two shield maidens and a queen. No specific network is attached to this project, though. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor-rocker Lenny Kravitz and veteran actor Toby Jones have joined the cast of the film adaptation of the best-selling novel The Hunger Games. Kravitz will play the role of Cinna, the assigned fashion stylist for lead heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) while Jones will play legendary arenas announcer Claudius Templesmith. (Dark Horizons)

Actors Brett Cullen (Lost) and Chris Ellis (Transformers) have signed on for roles in the box office film The Dark Knight Rises. Cullen will appear as a judge and Ellis will appear as a priest. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!