Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

The week is nearly over and the holiday weekend (for those who celebrate the 4th of July) is nearly here. Hope your weekend plans have been finalized.

In the meantime, here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Dichen Lachman (Dollhouse) has landed a series regular role on the Syfy version of Being Human. She will play Izumi, a reclusive, centuries-old vampire who causes upheaval when she returns to her old Boston stomping grounds. She will next be seen in Torchwood: Miracle Day, when it premieres on Starz on July 8. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor James Tupper (Grey’s Anatomy and Men in Trees) will take over for Marc Blucas as the father of Emily Van Camp’s character in this fall’s new ABC drama Revenge. Blucas played the dad to Emily Thorne (Van Camp) via flashbacks in the original pilot, but with Blucas part of the cast of the new USA Network series Necessary Roughness, Tupper will step in, as the flashbacks will continue on through the series. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Russell Tovey (the UK original Being Human) is set to guest star in the second episode of the BBC One drama series Sherlock, playing a man who recruits the titular detective and his assistant Dr. Watson (Martin Freeman), after he suffers from an upsetting childhood experience. (Virgin Media)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) has signed on to the Aaron Sorkin HBO series More As This Story Develops, playing a supporting role in the drama, which is set behind the scenes at a sensationalist news program. He will join Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, Sam Waterston and Olivia Munn. The series is set to debut in 2012. (John Sellers at The Wrap)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Chris Hemsworth (Thor) will star in the upcoming thriller film Shadow Runner that involves elite commandos, but little else is known about the plot. (The Hollywood Reporter)

It looks like actors Matthew Fox (Lost) and Ed Harris will NOT be appearing in the zombie-pocalypse thriller World War Z. Fox has a scheduling conflict stemming from his prior commitment to star in I, Alex Cross with Tyler Perry while it is unclear as to why the Harris deal didn’t work out. (Vulture)

Model turned actress Brooklyn Decker (Just Go With It) has been cast to star alongside Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez in the film adaptation of the bestseller What To Expect When You’re Expecting. She will play the perky wife of a much older man who sails through her pregnancy with twins, much to the consternation of her friends. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Tinker, Tailer, Solider, Spy Trailer

Q&A SECTION (with The TV Addict)

Question: Season 7 of SUPERNATURAL cannot come soon enough! Any scoop? — Noam

The TV Addict: Entitled “The Girl Next Door,” SUPERNATURAL’s much anticipated seventh season will kick off by not just introducing fans to an old flame friend of Sam’s, but will flashback to Sam and Dean’s teenage years where we’ll meet, as the episode’s title suggests, the girl next door… a beautiful girl who in typical SUPERNATURAL fashion harbors a terrible, emphasis on the terrible, secret.

Question: When we last left WAREHOUSE 13, Myka had left the Warehouse. Will she be back and how soon? — Ricky

The TV Addict: In the wacky mixed-up files of the WAREHOUSE 13 world, the dilemma over how to lure Myka back will be a rocky, but short road. More interesting still, it will take not a friend or a lover to lure Myka back, but a deadly foe.

Question: What should we look out for as the 4th season of EUREKA resumes on July 11th? — Jeremy

The TV Addict: Look for a trip to outer-space, someone to get cold feet, and musical mood swings that drive everyone to do crazy things. Mostly, keep an eye on Felicia Day who joins the show for an extended arc as the scintillating Dr. Holly Marten.

Question: Will HAVEN answer the question of who is the real Agent Audrey Parker, or will it be drug out through the second season? — Dylan

The TV Addict: The answer to that gigantic reveal from the first season will be answered within the first new episode when the show returns on July 15th. You will not want to miss a second of that episode to see how that doppelganger situation resolves itself.

Question: Any word on how NIKITA plans to start its second season? — Amy

The TV Addict: Remember that quasi-romantic final shot from NIKITA’s first season finale that saw Nikita and Michael peacefully drive off into the sunset mere moments after pledging to work together to bring Percy and Division down once and for all? Well, enjoy that while you can for when NIKITA returns for its second season, their first roadblock will be a doozy. Or to be more specific, a twenty-something love interest for Alex military man who has been tasked by Oversight to help Division now fronted by Amanda track down Nikita and those pesky black boxes.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Happy Over the Hump Day Everyone! We are getting closer to the big Fourth of July weekend and I’m sure – for those who celebrate the holiday – that you’re getting all your plans for the long weekend figured out (if you don’t have them already set).

In the meantime, please check out the news for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Joe Manganiello (True Blood) will guest star in an upcoming episode of White Collar, playing an ex-con who moves in across the street from Peter and Elle Burke (Tim DeKay and Tiffani Thiessen), bringing trouble to their neighborhood. There is no word as to how many episodes Manganiello will be seen in, but he won’t appear until the latter half of the season. (Entertainment Weekly and Zap2It)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Jennifer Finnigan has been cast in the female lead of the USA Network pilot called Wild that is about people behaving badly at night in Las Vegas and two very different lawyers, Will Garratt (Ben Lawson) and Eliza Evans (Finnigan), who solve their problems before morning. Actor Edi Gathegi (The Twilight Saga and X-Men: First Class) has already been cast as the duo’s resourceful investigator. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Allison Janney (The West Wing) has been cast as the mom of Chris Colfer (Glee) in the upcoming box office film called Struck by Lightning, a teen comedy that was written by Colfer. He wrote Janney’s role with her in mind. She will play Sheryl Phillips, who is searching for a way to reconnect with her son as he prepares to head off to college. (Mandi Bierly at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Mia Maestro (Alias and the upcoming Twilight: Breaking Dawn ) has joined the cast of the box office film called Savages. She will play the wife of Benicio Del Toro’s enforcer character. (Reuters and Dark Horizons)

Young actor Jake T. Austin (Wizards of Waverly Place) will play Huckleberry Finn in a new film adaptation of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Young actor Joel Courtney (Super 8 ) has already been cast as Tom Sawyer. (Showblitz and Dark Horizons)

Actor Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) is now in talks to join the upcoming film to star (and directed by) actor Ben Affleck called Argo. John Goodman and Alan Arkin also star. The film is based a 2007 Wired article about how the CIA and the Canadian government used a fake sci-fi film called Argo to rescue six Americans hiding in a Canadian embassy during the Tehran hostage crisis. Cranston will be playing Jack O’Donnell, an Irish CIA agent from Boston and Dwight Eisenhower’s wartime bodyguard. (Variety and First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILERS

Must Watch: First Beautiful Trailer for Steven Spielberg’s ‘War Horse’

Tom Cruise Spies Adventure in New Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol Trailer

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

Question: Any scoop on the new season of Nikita? — Sarah

NATALIE: Alex is getting a new love interest and Nikita is getting a new enemy — too bad he’s the same person. This handsome, upstanding former Special Forces commander is tasked by Oversight to observe and report on Division’s dealings. As he attempts to recover Percy’s black box, he’ll find himself caught between Nikita and her former protégée.

Question: What’s the good word on the new season of Damages? — Brenda

ADAM: Chris Messina turns in an amazing, heartbreaking performance as Ellen’s high school friend who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after a couple tours in Afghanistan. But what we’re most excited about is Fisher Stevens as a therapist trying to crack the impenetrable Patty. Maybe he can finally explain how those horses got into Patty’s walls!

Question: Rumor has it the season premiere of Castle will be penned by series creator Andrew Marlowe and directed by Rob Bowman, which pretty much confirms that it’s going to be great. Got any more scoop? —Cheryl

Ausiello: The episode is called “Rise,” but a better title might’ve been “Major Fisticuffs” seeing as how two characters come to blows in the opening minutes.

Question: Any more details on Scott Foley’s True Blood role? —Anna

Ausiello: “He was Terry’s platoon leader in Iraq,” says Ball of Foley’s character, Patrick. “So they [share] a military history.” (Rumor has it Terry saved Patrick’s life not once but twice.) Foley will debut in the Season 4 finale and then recur throughout Season 5. Ball, meanwhile, confirms that a deal is not yet in place for him to return as show runner for a fifth season. “I’m negotiating,” he says. Of course, HBO hasn’t renewed the show itself — but Ball isn’t worried. “There are no plans for this show to end,” he assures. “I’m pretty sure there will be at least one more season, if not more. It seems like it has a lot of life in it still.” That’s an understatement given the boffo ratings for Sunday’s premiere.

Question: I have been absolutely in love with Drop Dead Diva since its premiere, but I’m getting a little worried: Does Grayson’s upcoming wedding signal the end of the Deb/Jane and Grayson romance? —Jessi

Ausiello: Maybe. Maybe not. “Jane’s going to try to let [Grayson] go,” says series creator Josh Berman. “But after a break up, if you still love somebody, you can kind of think you’re over them, and then there are moments when you realize you’re not. And I think Jane’s going through that process of grief. But she’s not at the point yet of acceptance.” Berman adds that an upcoming episode features “big chunks of flashbacks. You actually get to see a whole storyline about Grayson and Deb. It’s a really, really cool episode.”

Question : Any scoops on White Collar? —Matt

Ausiello: Brace yourself for what series creator Jeff Eastin is calling “one of the funniest episodes we’ve ever done.” Titled “Veiled Threat,” it finds Peter going undercover as a rich bachelor dating a black widow (Twin Peaks‘ Mädchen Amick). “Tim [DeKay] is such a good actor, so it was great to put him in a situation where he can really flex his comedy muscle,” says Eastin. “He’s actually a really, really good comedic actor. People forget that he was Bizarro Jerry [on Seinfeld], and started his career in comedy. He’s definitely got that ability.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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