Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Well, it’s less than a week away from the official upfront presentations in New York City by the major networks, but you wouldn’t know that by the flurry of news that was hitting Twitter last night. There is more on that below and there will be much more news on the upfronts as they come up. Be prepared. In the meantime, let’s look at today’s news:

TELEVISION

Actor Seth Gabel (Dirty Sexy Money) has been made a series regular on Fringe, which will be back for another season this fall. He has played recurring character Lincoln Lee for the past two seasons. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor and hip hop artists Mos Def will have a multi-episode arc on Dexter, playing a hardened ex-con who claims to have found religion yet seems to continually find himself surrounded by violence. (Marisa Guthrie at The Hollywood Reporter)

UPFRONT NEWS

The $*&^ hit the fan last night all over Twitter with FOX picking up two new dramas while canceling a number of shows. Among the casualties are Human Target, Breaking In, The Chicago Code, Traffic Light and Lie to Me. Meanwhile the new dramas picked up are Alcatraz and The Finder while two comedies – The New Girl and I Hate My Teenage Daughter – have been given season orders. The dramas that did NOT make the cut include Locke & Key and Weekends at Bellevue. Meanwhile, the drama pilot Exit Strategy may be retooled for possible mid-season consideration while a fourth, the Kiefer Sutherland-led Touch has yet to film. (The Futon Critic)

TBD is giving a series order to the hour-long pilot The Wedding Band that stars Brian Austin Green, Peter Cambor and Harold Perrineau. The series is to follow a group of guys performing in a wedding band, anchored by two lifelong best friends — perennial bachelor Tommy (Brian Austin Green) and Eddie (Peter Cambor), a married father of two. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Woody Harrelson has landed the role of Haymitch Abernathy in the film adaptation of the Suzanne Collins best-seller Hunger Games. Meanwhile, two more newcomers – Jeremy Marinas and Dakota Hood will play the tributes from District 10 while actor Alexander Ludwig (Race to Witch Mountain and actress Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan) will play the pivotal roles of District 2’s tributes. (E! Entertainment and The Hollywood Reporter)

Actors Katie Holmes and Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl will star in the rom-com Responsible Adult that follows a 30-year-old med student (Holmes) who meets and falls for a younger man (Crawford) only to realize she was his baby sitter fifteen years beforehand. (Screen Daily and Dark Horizons)

Actors Orlando Bloom, Nick Nolte, Stanley Tucci and Cristiana Capotondi have joined the cast of the comedy Idea in America that is a coming-of-age road-trip following a young Italian ornithologist who travels from California to Georgia in the pursuit of the American bald eagle, a dream job and her independence. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

French acting legend Jean Reno has joined the cast of the film adaptation of the James Patterson novel I, Alex Cross that has Tyler Perry playing forensic psychologist Dr. Alex Cross who manages to save a victim from a brutal death at the hands of an assassin named Michael Sullivan (Matthew Fox), aka. the Butcher of Sligo. The Butcher kills Cross’ wife and then it becomes a battle of wits between the two. Ed Burns also stars as Cross’ partner Tommy Kane. Details of Reno’s role haven’t been revealed. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actors Kiefer Sutherland, Gerard Depardieu, Thomas Jane and Til Schweiger are to star in the ensemble heist comedy Sleight of Hand that revolves around a crew of small-time crooks in Paris who inadvertently end up possessing a rare gold coin belonging to a notorious French gangster. (Dark Horizons)

Actor Aaron Eckhart and actress AnnaSophia Robb will star in a dark re-imagining of Peter Pan where Captain Hook (Eckhart) is a tormented former detective on the trail of a childlike kidnapper with Robb playing Wendy, the lone survivor who leaves an asylum to help in the hunt. Sean Bean has already been cast as Smee, a chief detective and Hook’s only ally on the force. (Screen Daily and Dark Horizons)

Looks like actor Alec Baldwin is asking to leave the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway’ play Rock of Ages due to “a new medical condition.” There is no confirmation if he will be let go or not, though. (TV Guide)

Actress Rachel Weisz is in talks to take the lead female role in the franchise spin-off The Bourne Legacy with Jeremy Renner. The role would have her playing an operative from a covert government program that is even more dangerous than the Treadstone brainwashing program that hatched Matt Damon’s Bourne character. Though the story exists in the same universe, the character is new. Meanwhile she is supposed to be close to taking a role as one of the witches in the upcoming film Oz: The Great and Powerful. This could create a conflict schedule-wise; but neither role has been confirmed yet. (Deadline and First Showing)

Actor Ryan Reynolds may star in a movie called A Boy Named Sue. That is presumably a comedy about a guy who decides to disguise himself as a woman to win his ex-girlfriend back. There is no full confirmation on this film or Reynolds’ role in it yet. (Deadline and First Showing)

Actor Colin Firth and actress Emily Blunt are set to team for a dark comedy that follows two damaged souls fleeing their pasts who meet and break into empty homes to assume the identities of the absent owners. Over the course of their misadventures the pair fall in love. (Screen Daily and Dark Horizons)

Q&A SECTION (with Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams at TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

SPOILER ALERT!! Please tread lightly!!

Question: Anything good coming up on In Plain Sight? — Whitney

ADAM: Who knew that babies attracted men? The show is on the lookout for an actor to play a handsome, fit former Army Ranger-turned-attorney who works with Mary to get an Army sergeant into witness protection late in the season. His quick wit makes him a natural sparring partner for Mary, but there’s definitely an attraction bubbling beneath the surface. It looks like he’ll be hanging around for a few episodes to test the waters.

Question: So happy to hear that Ed Asner will be on Royal Pains. Got any more details about his character? — Luke

ADAM: Hank and Evan are as shocked as anyone to meet Grandpa Ted… because they’ve always been told he was dead! Turns out Ted disapproved of his son’s life choices and kicked Eddie (Henry Winkler) out of his house. Eddie reciprocated by changing his last name and cutting off all contact. We expect at least one big showdown before those old wounds can begin to heal.

Question: What can you tell us about the season finale of Nikita? — Paul

NATALIE: For one thing, it’s an hour not to be missed. Obviously, Nikita isn’t dead, but Alex faking her death does not mean a truce between the pair. What Nikita thought was right, in turning the black box over to the CIA, may turn out to be her undoing.

Question: I am dying to know what happens in the NCIS finale. — Eric

ADAM: Expect even more bloodshed. But the Port-to-Port Killer case doesn’t completely rule the hour. “The finale really hits a lot of the Vance-Gibbs tension,” executive producer Gary Glasberg says. “It’s going to provide a lot of answers to what Vance has been dealing with all season. Gibbs is going to become privy to a lot of it… and it’s going to bring his relationship with Vance to another level.” Does that signal an administrative shakeup? “There are definite changes that affect NCIS,” Glasberg says. “The team is going to have to work together in a way they’ve never had to work together before next season.”

Question: Can you tell us anything about the Smallville finale? — Brad

NATALIE: Here’s what we can tell you: As Darkseid’s Apokolips speeds toward Earth, Clark and Lois will attempt to walk down the aisle — with a little help from Chloe and a little what’s-the-opposite-of-help from Oliver. But it won’t be that easy! Lois will find herself in peril yet again, in a scene that fantastically recalls one of the Superman movies. Meanwhile, back at the barn, you’ll see another scene that will make your spirit positively… float.

Question: Does someone important really die in this week’s episode of Bones? — Rachael

ADAM: You bet, and the emotional fallout is intense. But even though Booth has thus far shouldered the responsibility of trying to bring down sniper Broadsky, it’s Brennan who feels the most guilty after the death. “Brennan actually needs more consoling than Booth,” Emily Deschanel tells us. And Booth is just the man for that job. “I think if fans watch the season-ender, they will be back in droves for Season 7,” executive producer Hart Hanson says.

Question: I am a closet ABC Family watcher and really enjoy Pretty Little Liars. Got any juicy scoop? —Jay

Ausiello: Guess who’s finally showing her face in Rosewood? Ali’s mama! The soap is casting the recurring role of Jessica DiLaurentis, the late teen’s mother who comes to town to attend a sure-to-be-sabotoged tribute to her daughter. The role’s recurring so I guess she’s gonna stick around for a bit.

Question: Details on the Chuck finale, please! —Megan

Ausiello: Images of Yvonne Strahovski in a wedding dress have leaked. The show recently shot scenes on location at a Los Angeles-area church. The entire season has been building towards a Chuck-Sarah wedding. Yet in spite of all of this, exec producer Chris Fedak says fans shouldn’t assume those two crazy kids will end up getting hitched in Monday’s finale. “Just because we may’ve shot something at a church doesn’t mean [there’s a wedding],” he teases. “Once you see how our season finale works there should be a degree of doubt. It’s structured in such a way that we don’t know if Chuck and Sarah are going to get together in the end.”

Question: Worst-case scenario — Chuck doesn’t get renewed. Will producers excise the finale’s top-secret cliffhangery epilogue that’s supposed to set up Season 5? —Ryan

Ausiello: Good question. Let’s ask Fedak. “From a technical perspective, we probably won’t know the fate of the show until after we lock the cut of the finale,” he says. “However, I really like this ending that we’ve built and I think it works no matter what situation we’re going into. I really love this episode. I don’t think I would change it.”

Question: Castle fans are holding our breath waiting for the finale, which has already been described as “explosive” and “mind-blowing”! Any other last-minute scoop to tide us over until Monday? —Cheryl

Ausiello: The final scene of the episode features nearly the entire cast. Draw your own conclusions.

Question: What can you tell us about Lisa and Ben’s reappearance on Supernatural in the May 20 finale? —Bonnie

Ausiello: Their return will “test Dean’s resolve,” reveals exec producer Ben Edlund. “It’s going to [force] him to choose what kind of hero he’s going to be. As we always knew, one day or another, he was going to have to make some choices like that.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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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!

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