Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Joe Manganiello (True Blood) will guest star on Two and a Half Men, playing the smoldering hot boyfriend of Bridget, the ex-wife of Walden (Ashton Kutcher). Bridget will be portrayed by Judy Greer, who makes her first appearance on Monday. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

FX has bought the original drama project called Furlough from crime novelist/comic book writer Charlie Huston. Details of the plot are being kept under wraps but the potential series is described as a private detective/prison drama. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

CBS has bought the drama project called Legacy from Jericho co-creator Jonathan E. Steinberg. The potential series centers on a one-term president who goes back to work at his hometown law firm where he hand-picks the cases that really matter to him. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

TV wunderkinds J.J. Abrams and Eric Kripke are working together on a drama project for NBC that is being described as an epic adventure thriller. But, no other details are currently available. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC has picked up another drama project with “magical elements” – this one from Kings creator Michael Green that centers on a female cop who, after pursuing a seemingly unsolvable case, discovers a magical world that exists within New York City. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Director Lee Daniels is working on a series treatment for the classic 1966 novel Valley of the Dolls for NBC. The book spans over two decades, chronicling the lives, career highs and ultimate self-destruction of 3 female best friends: Anne Welles, who works at a Broadway talent agency, Neely O’Hara, a vaudeville star, and Jennifer North, a showgirl. The title of the book refers to a slang for sleeping pills for which the three women become dependent. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

NBC is hoping to, much like what AMC did with the American version of The Killing, make a US version of the Dutch series Borgen (aka Government), into a hit series. Borgen focuses on the fight for political power and its consequences, centering on a smart and sexy 40-year-old populist party leader, who scores a surprise election victory only to discover the biggest challenge of her life is yet to come. Friday Night Lights executive producer Jason Katims is one of the exeuctives in charge of this new potential project. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Kevin Williamson (the man behind The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle) has just landed a drama pilot with FOX. The project is currently untitled is described as an edge-of-the-seat thriller about a diabolical serial killer who uses technology to create a cult of serial killers, and the FBI agent who finds himself in the middle of it. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Jessica Chastain (The Debt) will be on one of two female leads in the upcoming sci-fi thriller film previously called Oblivion that will star Tom Cruise. The film revolves around a soldier stationed on a future Earth, the surface of which was destroyed by aliens. When he discovers a mysterious woman in a crash-landed pod, it sets off a chain of events that cause him to question everything he knows. Other actresses up for the other female lead include Olivia Wilde, Brit Marling and Noomi Rapace. (Justin Kroll at Variety)

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

1. The Lion King, $22.1 million
2. Moneyball, $20.6 million
3. Dolphin Tale, $20.3 million
4. Abduction, $11.2 million
5. Killer Elite, $9.5 million
6. Contagion, $8.6 million
7. Drive, $5.8 million
8. The Help, $4.4 million
9. Straw Dogs, $2.1 million
10. I Don’t Know How She Does It, $2.05 million

Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer (Angels and Demons and Munich) has replaced actress Julia Ormond in the upcoming Superman reboot film called Man of Steel. She will play Lara, Superman’s Kryptonian mother. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!