Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Broadway actress Lily Rabe (who also appeared in Steel Magnolias), the daughter of the late Jill Clayburgh, is joining the cast of the new FX series American Horror Story for six episodes. She will play the original owner of the haunted house that the characters played by Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott move into and her story will be told in 1920s-era flashbacks. The show premieres on FX on October 5. (E! Online)

Actress Meredith Monroe (Dawson’s Creek) will guest-star in an upcoming episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing an unhappy wife who leaves her husband for another man and takes all his money with her. Little does she know the money actually belongs to a criminal who ends up taking her hostage. The show returns on September 19 at 10 on CBS. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actress Andrea Parker (The Pretender and Less Than Perfect) will replace Jessica Hecht (Friends) in the final season of Desperate Housewives, playing the new girlfriend of Tom Scavo (Doug Savant). The show is back on September 25 at 9 PM on ABC. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Mark Your Calendars: Covert Affairs will be back with its final 6 episodes of its current season starting on November 1while Burn Notice will be back with is final 6 episodes of its current season starting on November 3. Meanwhile, White Collar won’t be back to January 2012. (TV Line)

Actor Shaun Majumder (Detroit 1-8-7) has joined the mid-season series The Firm in the role of Andrew Palmer. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

Actor Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) is set to guest star at least twice on the upcoming new TNT series Perception that stars Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) as an eccentric neuroscientist and university professor who helps the FBI solve complex crimes. Bamber will play Michael Hathaway, a professor who entices Rachael Leigh Cook’s character (the professor’s FBI handler). Perception premieres next summer. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic split-personality tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is getting a contemporary interpretation with Hyde, a drama series project from Up In the Air co-writer Sheldon Turner and ABC Studios that has been set up at ABC. Hyde centers on Grant Hyde, a thirtysomething ER doctor with a degenerative eye condition who is conflict-averse and hesitant to be captain of his own destiny. After attempting an experimental treatment to improve his eyesight, he begins to experience a strange side effect — when he goes to sleep, his id manifests itself as Hyde, a fearless, gregarious personality who takes control where Grant cannot. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 movies for this past weekend courtesy of Exhibitor Relations and E! Online:

1. The Help, $20.5 million
2. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $16.3 million
3. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D, $12 million
4. Conan the Barbarian, $10 million
5. Fright Night, $8.3 million
6. The Smurfs, $8 million
7. Final Destination 5, $7.7 million
8. 30 Minutes or Less, $6.3 million
9. One Day, $5.1 million
10. Crazy, Stupid, Love, $4.95 million

Actress Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) will have the secondary female role in the zombie comedy called R.I.P.D. that is based on a comic. The story follows a cop (Ryan Reynolds) killed in the line of duty, who is recruited by a team of undead police officers working for the Rest in Peace Department. He then tries to find the man who murdered him with the help of an eccentric partner (Jeff Bridges). Parker will play Proctor, a woman who has been involved with Bridges’ character and who informs Reynolds’ character of his new undead status. The film is expected to be released during the second half 2012 release planned. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actresses Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil franchise), Kate Beckinsale (Underworld franchise) and Sofia Vergara (Modern Family) are attached to star in the big screen adaptation of the comic book series called Danger Girl. The story is about heroes like James Bond and Indiana Jones except with curvaceous female spies as the lead characters. Here is the official synopsis of the story: “A beautiful adventuress joins forces with an all-female spy agency as they race around the world to recover a trio of powerful relics.” There is no word on which studio will be making the film, though. (Latino Review and Blastr)

That’s it. Enjoy!