Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today on this day before the long Memorial Day holiday weekend:

TELEVISION

Actress Rebecca Mader (Lost) will guest-star on Covert Affairs, playing Franka, a German flight attendant whom Auggie meets while en route to Istanbul. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Brady Smith (and real-life husband Tiffani Thiessen) will appear on his wife’s show White Collar, playing an ex-Navy commander and COO of a Blackwater-type private security company. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Gary Cole will appear in an upcoming episode of True Blood, playing Earl Stackhouse, Sookie’s grandfather from whom she inherited her telepathic abilities. Since her grandfather is known to be gone, it is anticipated that he will either appear in a flashback or dream. (The Wrap)

CONDOLENCES

Actor Jeff Conaway, who is best known for his roles in the box office film Grease and the TV series Taxi passed away today at the age of 60. (LA Times and Twitter)

ME: Rest in Peace, Mr. Conaway. Condolences to his family, friends and fans.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Zach Braff (Scrubs) has been cast in the upcoming film Oz: The Great and Powerful and is expected to play the role of Frank, the loyal but under-appreciated assistant to Oz (James Franco), a charismatic circus magician who is treated as a powerful wizard after his balloon blows off course into Oz. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actor John Cho has been added to the cast of the upcoming film Total Recall, playing McClane, the smooth-talking rep for the mind-messing company that tempts Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) to implant fantastic memories into his brain but ends up inadvertently making him think he’s a spy. (Entertainment Weekly and First Showing)

Actor Kenan Thompson and actress Virginia Madsen have joined the Rob Reiner film Summer at Dog Dave’s that follows Morgan Freeman as a wheelchair-bound author of Western novels whose alcoholism is making him lose his passion for writing. Madsen is expected to play his new neighbor, a single mother going through a divorce who has three daughters. The family strikes up a relationship with the novelist and helps him rediscover his talent and find his passion for writing again. Meanwhile, Thompson is expected to play Freeman’s helpful nephew. (Variety and First Showing)

Actor Colin Hanks will join Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand in the upcoming film My Mother’s Curse that follows an inventor (Rogen) who invites his overbearing mother (Streisand) on a cross-country trip as he tries to sell his new product while also reuniting her with a lost love. Hanks will be playing husband to Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck) who plays Rogen’s high school sweetheart with whom he previously proposed marriage. The couple let Rogen and Streisand’s characters stay in their house after they get caught in a blizzard. (The Hollywood Reporter and First Showing)

Actress Rosie Perez and actor Lance Reddick (Fringe) have joined the cast of the upcoming movie Still I Rise, a drama about two frustrated mothers (Maggie Gyllanhaal and Viola Davis) who team up to transform an inner-city public school in Pittsburgh. Perez will play a former teacher who is now the poised-yet-frank head of the school board, while Reddick will play Davis’ husband who is also a teacher. (Variety and First Showing)

Actor Orlando Bloom will reprise his role of Legolas in the upcoming movie The Hobbit. Director Peter Jackson confirmed the casting on Facebook. (Facebook and Blastr)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!

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Hey All,

The news is a little short again, but there are still some interesting items to share with everyone:

TELEVISION

Actor James Van Der Beek (Dawson’s Creek) will appear in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Rex Tamlyn, an overconfident, hard-partying playboy and partner in a Facebook-Like website devoted to “connecting people who share fleeting romantic encounters.” The episode involves a lawsuit surrounding a stolen idea. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

Actress Saffron Burrows is out of the new fall drama The Finder (the Bones spin-off). Her role will be recast and it is reported the role will be reimagined from that of a cocky bar owner and helicopter pilot. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actresses Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) and Alexandra Breckenridge (Life Unexpected) have landed roles in the FX drama pilot American Horror Story that comes from the co-creators of Glee Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. The project is centered on Ben Harmon (Dylan McDermott), a handsome therapist who, along with his wife (Connie Britton) and their kids, move into a new house. Conroy will play their housekeeper, while Breckenridge will play a younger version of the character. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Casting announcements were made yesterday for the Seven Dwarfs for one of three (yes, three) planned Snow White films. This version has Lily Collins (The Blind Side and Priest) playing Snow White, Julia Roberts as the Queen, Armie Hammer (The Social Network) as the Prince and Nathan Lane as the Queen’s servant. The dwarfs will be portrayed by actors Mark Povinelli (Water for Elephants), Jordan Prentice (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle), Danny Woodburn (Watchmen), Sebastian Saraceno (Bedtime Stories), Ronald Lee Clark (Epic Movie), Martin Klebba (Hancock) and Joey Gnoffo (Pirates of the Caribbean series). Also joining the cast is actress Mare Winnigham. In this version of Snow White, an evil queen steals control of a kingdom, and an exiled princess enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright. (seat42f)

It has been confirmed that actress Beckinsale will star opposite Colin Farrell in the remake of the film Total Recall. Meanwhile, actress Jessica Biel will be the other female lead in the film. Additionally, actor Bill Nighy is in negotiations to join the cast. (Collider, Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

Actresses Jamie Chung (Sucker Punch) Julie Bowen (Modern Family), Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights), Jennifer Morrison (House) and Rebecca Mader (Lost) as well as actor Titus Welliver (Lost) are all in negotiations to join the cast of the indie political drama Knife Fight that stars Rob Lowe as a political crisis manager who specializes in playing hardball on behalf of scandal-plagued clients. Chung would play his savvy assistant, Bowen would be an ambitious TV reporter who sleeps with him for scoops, and Britton would be an earthy liberal looking to run for public office. Mader would play a masseuse/prostitute bent on blackmail, while Morrison would play one of her classmates, and Welliver would be a private investigator working for Lowe. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actresses Kim Basinger, Heather Graham, Catherine O’Hara and actor Jason Patric will appear in as-yet untitled dark about a petty thief who pledges to save his life after a roadside killing and two financially destitute sisters who grudgingly team up to track down a female mobster for bounty. They all land in Las Vegas, where violence and destinies collide. (Variety and First Showing)

Actresses Gemma Arterton and Julie Andrews as well as actors Matthew Goode and Gabriel Byrne will all star in the film Crooked House, which is a big screen adaptation of the Agatha Christie book of the same name. The story is about a multimillionaire who is suddenly murdered as he’s surrounded by three generations of a family that lives together in a large and seemingly crooked house and who all have reasons to kill him. (Variety and First Showing)

Child actress Joey King not only as a role (unknown though it may be at this time) in The Dark Knight Rises, but she will also appear in the film Oz: The Great and Powerful that stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz. She will play the character of “China Girl”. (Variety and First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Must Watch: Fantastic Trailer for Alexander Payne’s ‘The Descendants’

That’s it. Enjoy!

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