Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Happy Over the Hump Day! We are getting ever closer to the weekend and to the start of Comic Con next week in San Diego.

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

TELEVISION

Actor Brian J. Smith (Stargate Universe) is joining the cast of Gossip Girl as a chef named Max in Los Angeles, which is where Serena (Blake Lively) was spending the summer. (Michael Auseillo at TV Line)

Actress Lauren German (Happy Town) has joined the cast of Hawaii Five-0 in what could potentially be a new love interest for Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin). She will play a former Homeland Security officer who has been hand-picked by the new Governor to be a part of the team. (Spoiler TV)

Actor David Gallagher (7th Heaven) will appear as a werewolf named Ray Sutton on the first two episodes of The Vampire Diaries this fall. (TV Guide)

Actor Ted Danson has joined CSI as the Las Vegas crime lab’s new graveyard-shift supervisor. He will, of course, continue to co-star with Jason Schwartzmann and Zach Galifianakis on the HBO comedy Bored to Death, which returns for a third season later this year. (E! Online)

Actor Mark Valley (Human Target) has landed a series regular role on the NBC legal drama Harry’s Law where he will play one of two new attorneys at the law firm run by Harriett “Harry” Korn (Kathy Bates). Meanwhile, actress Jean Smart has signed on for an early-season arc in the series as well. (Deadline)

ABC has renewed summer cop drama Rookie Blue for a third season. (The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Edward Norton is “in negotiations” to play the villain in the upcoming box office movie The Bourne Legacy opposite Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz. There are no details, right now, on the character or the story. (Variety and First Showing)

Actress Ruth Wilson (Luther and Jane Eyre) is in negotiations to play the female lead in the upcoming box office film The Lone Ranger. The film will star actor Armie Hammer as the Masked Man and Johnny Depp as Tonto. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (Gossip Girl) are set to produce the box office film The Luxe, which is based on the Anna Godbersen book series that tracks four teens set in 19th century New York and features conflicts between old money and new money, the upper class and lower class, and star-crossed lovers. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

NOTE: This book series comes from Alloy Entertainment, which I recently wrote an article about.

Actor Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl) will star opposite Anna Kendrick (the Twilight Saga movies) in the pregnancy-based ensemble romantic comedy What to Expect When You’re Expecting. He will play Marco, the ex-boyfriend of Kendrick who reunites with her after their food trucks get into a turf war. Their lives are changed quite drastically after a romantic encounter leads to a surprise pregnancy. (Lionsgate and First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Must Watch: First Trailer for ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’!

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

Question: I haven’t heard anything about the second season of Body of Proof. Can you correct that? —Abby

ADAM: I hear the show is on the lookout a smokin’-hot, street-smart woman in her late 20s to drive the medical examiner’s van. She’s not just a chauffeur though. Her real interest lies in forensics, and she desperately wants to join the team. To do so, she might have to grow a better filter between her brain and her mouth.

Question: What’s the scoop on The Vampire Diaries? — Grace

NATALIE: We’ll flash-back to the speakeasies of Prohibition-era Chicago early on in Season 3, where we’ll meet a vampire from Stefan’s past who will head to present-day Mystic Falls in hopes of rekindling an old flame. If a Facebook relationship status existed that said “Currently Stalking Someone,” that’s what hers would say… but about Caroline!

Question: What’s this I’m hearing about Eliza Dushku coming in as a love interest for Matt Bomer’s Neal on White Collar? What about Sara? —Katie

Ausiello: “They’re on a break” by the time Dushku’s minx shows up, reveals Eastin. “Eliza’s character happens to be there and Neal’s in a little bit of a rebound mode anyway. We get some sparks between them.” BTW, soon enough you’ll see why Neal might be “on the market” again.

ME: It should also be noted that – if no one else has mentioned it – this isn’t the first time Matt and Eliza have worked together or been a “couple” on screen. Does anyone remember Matt’s first big break on primetime TV? He was on Eliza’s short-lived FOX series Tru Calling and their characters dated. Just saying…

Question: Anything on my summertime guilty pleasure, Royal Pains? —Megan

Ausiello: Californication‘s Madeline Zima has booked a guest stint as a nanny to the asthmatic son of a movie-star couple in this season’s ninth episode.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

There are a lot of interesting tidbits to share with everyone along with one bit of sad news for the entertainment world. Please read on:

TELEVISION

ABC Family has picked up the comedy Melissa & Joey for a second season. It will return for its 2nd season in 2012. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Callum Keith Rennie (best known for his work on Battlestar Galactica and most recently seen in The Killing) has been booked as a series regular on the NBC midseason drama The Firm, starring opposite Josh Lucas and Juliette Lewis. Rennie will play Ray McDeere, the older brother to Mitch (Lucas). (Deadline)

Actor Teddy Sears (Raising the Bar and the Hallmark movie Backyard Wedding) has been cast in the made-for-TV movie from Lifetime about Drew Peterson which stars Rob Lowe, playing Peterson’s best friend. (Deadline)

Actress Mariana Klaveno (True Blood) has booked a recurring role on Showtime’s Dexter, playing Carissa Morris, a professor at Florida University. (Deadline)

Actor David Andrews (Terminator 3) has been set to recur on the USA Network spy drama Covert Affairs. (Deadline)

Actor Christopher McDonald has been promoted to series regular on the NBC legal drama Harry’s Law, which be back with new episodes starting on September 21 at 9 PM. (Deadline)

CONDOLENCES

Legendary TV producer and series creator Sherwood Schwartz passed away today. He was the creator of Gilligan’s Island and The Brady Bunch. He was 94 years old. (Twitter)

ME: RIP, Mr. Schwartz. Deepest sympathies to his family, friends and fans.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Michael Chiklis (The Shield) will play the nemesis to Jason in the upcoming box office thriller called Parker, which is based on the novel series by Donald Westlake. The story revolves around a thief who lives by a code of honor that includes never stealing money from people who need it. His word is his bond, and if he is crossed he will strike back relentlessly and has no hesitancy about taking a life if needs be. (Dark Horizons and Deadline)

Actor Walton Goggins (Justified) will appear in the Steven Spielberg film Lincoln where he will play Ohio Congressman Wells A. Hutchins, a progressive Democrat who goes against his party and votes in favor of the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery. He will co-star alongside Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln, Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln and David Strathairn as Secretary of State William Seward. (Deadline)

ME: Please tread lightly on the next section as it contains SPOILERS – SPOILER ALERT!!

SPOILER CHAT (with the folks at E! Online)

Question: Scoop on The Vampire Diaries! – McKenna

E! Online: Imagine Velma Kelly from the musical Chicago (“he had it coming!”) as a vampire, and you’ll have a pretty good picture of new character Becky. She’s a key figure from Stefan’s past, and she’s enrolled at Mystic Falls High to put herself in his path, reclaim his love and eliminate her rivals. She’s going to be particularly mean to poor Caroline, but we’re hoping Caroline surprises us with some newly discovered reserves of strength and shows Becky who’s boss.

Question: Anything Nikita-related please! Even better if it’s Mikita. – goldstaarr

E! Online: This isn’t really Mikita-related, but you never know how something could turn into sexy time for our favorite spy couple. Nikita’s antagonist in episode two will be a villain named Joseph Mars who pretends to be an addiction counselor so he can use “experimental psychotropics to turn his patients into sleeper assassins.” Sounds like a great setting for a romantic date, huh?

Question: Got any Pretty Little Liars news? – Lindsay in El Paso, Texas

E! Online: We’ve got all kinds of news, good and bad. First: Ian’s for-realsies death persuades the Liars’ parents to allow the girls to hang out again. The bad news? They’ll be spending a lot of time together in the hospital, where—wait for it—Emily (Shay Mitchell) is a patient! This does not look good for her swimming “scholarship,” does it?

Question: When will we meet Bay’s biological father on Switched at Birth? Is there going to be as much delicious drama as I think? – iPray4Idiots

E! Online: And then some! Bay’s (Vanessa Marano) birth father, Angelo (played by the oh-so-handsome Gilles Marini), will be making his debut in the season finale. And it won’t be a subtle entrance for Angelo. “He has a lot of secret skeletons hidden everywhere,” Gilles tells us. “No one is really ready for him, so it’s a big bang when my character comes into this world.” And hopefully, we’ll be seeing lots more of Angelo past the season finale, because Gilles has big plans for him. “I can’t wait to work more and see if my character switches gears into being a good person, or is he purely bad? There are a lot of things we need to unveil,” he says.

Question: Any new scoop on what’s ahead for Alek and Chloe on Nine Lives of Chloe King? – CloisForever23

E! Online: Well, when we chatted with both Benjamin Stone and Grey Damon, we never got around to asking about the show because we just stared at all their hotness. Just kidding, we did ask about a possible future love triangle. Let’s just say it’s a pretty safe bet that there’s going to be some serious Alek and Chloe (Skyler Samuels) tension in the next few episodes.

Question: Please get as much info as you can on Torchwood! Love it! – 24addict

E! Online: We also love Torchwood: Miracle Day and said so to creator/show runner Russell Davies, which is probably why he was so generous with his scoop. The Soulless Movement (those marchers in the creepy frownie masks) will hit home for Esther (Alexa Havins), whose sister “has a complete mental breakdown because she believes in the soulless,” Russell told us. “She believes that the human race are doomed because they’ve lost their mortality, they’ll never get to heaven. It’s an example of the sort of extreme psychological reactions that society goes through and the soulless is just one of them—we get a lot of these different reactions all the way through the series.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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