Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

NEWS

Mary Tyler Moore will receive the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, which will be presented on January 29 at the 18th annual SAG Awards in Los Angeles. (Deadline)

TELEVISION

Actress JoAnna Garcia (Better With You and Privileged) will appear in multiple episodes of Royal Pains, playing Dr. Nina Greene, a smart and compassionate nephrologist who may or may not be a former child star. The doc’s possibly famous-ish background comes to the fore when she is pressed on the issue by patient Jack O’Malley (Tom Cavanagh). The mid-season finale just recently aired with the remainder of the season set to return sometime in early 2012. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actress Skyler Day (Gigantic) will play the first girlfriend of Drew (Miles Heizer) on Parenthood. The show will be back on September 13 on NBC at 10 PM. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

HBO has picked up the as-yet untitled Aaron Sorkin project about a fictional cable news network that centers on a cable news anchor (Jeff Daniels), his new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), his newsroom staff (Alison Pill, John Gallagher, Jr., Olivia Munn, Dev Patel, Thomas Sadoski) and their boss (Sam Waterston). (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Laura Innes (ER and The Event) will have a major recurring role on Awake, one of the new NBC dramas that will air during mid-season. She will play Captain Tricia Harper, the supervisor of lead character Michael (Jason Isaacs). The series is about a police detective who in the wake of a tragic car accident finds himself toggling between two realities: one in which his wife (Laura Allen from Terriers) died in the crash, and another in which their teenage son (Dylan Minnette from Lost) instead perished. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Scott Lawrence (JAG) will play an Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor named Allen, who will give advice to one of the husbands on Desperate Housewives. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Another project from producer Mark Gordon has been set up at ABC. The project is an hour-long project based on the Candace Bushnell book One Fifth Avenue, which is described as a stylish, sexy, modernization of Miami Vice for the twenty-first century. The project is called Untouchable and it centers on a hard-charging female FBI agent with a blue collar background who is teamed with a reckless, independently wealthy LAPD detective to take on twenty-first century organized crime. (Deadline)

Meanwhile, TNT has given a pilot order to Scent of the Missing, about an intrepid mystery solver and her dog, which is based on a book with the same title. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Lifetime has put the new drama project Princess of Whales in development with writer-producer Stephen Kronish and Cold Case star-turned-producer Kathryn Morris. The project is based on the true story of Marcia Hartman and follows the exploits of one of Las Vegas’ most successful casino hostesses, whose job is to bring in the super-high rollers and make them spend as much as possible. But her lavish lifestyle and life-of-the-party personality reveal a dark side that threatens to destroy her. Morris and her development executive saw an article about Hartman, tracked her down and secured the rights to her story. (Deadline)

Actor Scott Foley (The Unit) is teaming up with former Everwood show-runner Rina Mimoun on The Escape Artist, a potential hour-long drama series about a brother and sister who help people disappear. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor John Malkovich will join actor Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class) actress Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four) in the film adaptation of the Isaac Marion book called Warm Bodies, which is the unique story about an existentially tormented zombie named “R” who begins an unlikely friendship with the girlfriend of one of his victims, a relationship that could cause a chain reaction that will transform him, his fellow zombies, and maybe the whole undead world. (First Showing and Variety)

Actor Ben Rappaport (Outsourced) has joined the cast of the film Great Hope Springs that stars Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones as a married couple who try to rekindle their relationship by seeking therapy from an unorthodox guru (Steve Carell). He will play the married couple’s son. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Sharlto Copley (District 9) [among others] will stay in the international sci-fi feature Europa, which revolves around a team of astronauts who are assembled from various nations to embark on the first manned mission to Europa, Jupiter’s fourth moon. (Deadline)

Actor Michael Keaton and actress Michelle Monaghan (Source Code) will star in the psychological thriller called Penthouse North. Monaghan plays a photojournalist haunted by a tragic event who has become an agoraphobic trapped in her upscale New York penthouse. Soon the world makes its way in as a smooth but sadistic criminal (Keaton) breaks in looking for a hidden fortune, with the woman mustering her inner strength to survive. (Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items as well as some spoilerish Q&A’s regarding some of the returning fall TV shows – please tread lightly.

NEWS

Actress Meryl Streep, singers Barbara Cook and Neil Diamond, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and saxophonist and composer Sonny Rollins are this year’s Kennedy Center honorees. (The Wrap)

TELEVISION

Syfy has renewed its freshman drama Alphas for a second season. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Ryan McPartlin (Chuck) will have a guest spot on the new FOX comedy I Hate My Teenage Daughter, playing a “hot dad” who shares an instant attraction with Annie (Jaime Pressly). A possible love connection between the two, however, is quickly thwarted when he witnesses first-hand the overbearing, overprotective parenting methods Annie uses with daughter Sophie (Kristi Lauren). The comedy will debut on November 30 at 9:30 PM on FOX. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

ION Television has acquired the off-network rights to Leverage. It will begin airing episodes in the summer of 2012. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Tamlyn Tomita (Eureka) and actor Keong Sim (Southland) will play the parents of Mike Chang (Harry Shum Jr.) on Glee. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Eriq La Salle (ER) will guest star on at least four episodes of the new CBS medical drama A Gifted Man, playing Evan Morrison, a neuropsychiatrist who focuses on human behavior. The show debuts on CBS on September 23 at 10 PM. (The Hollywood Reporter and TV Guide)

Henry Thomas (E.T.) will guest star on The Mentalist as bounty hunter Tommy Lisbon, the brother of CBI senior agent Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney). They will meet up in an episode airing in late October on a case concerning the death of a police officer. (Michael Logan at TV Guide)

Actress Vanessa Marano (Switched at Birth) will guest star on CSI for one episode, playing Samantha, a street gang groupie and the estranged daughter of an ex-con named Frank (Johnny Messner). The show is back on CBS starting on September 21 at 10 PM. (The Hollywood Reporter and TV Guide)

Actor Michael Cerveris (Fringe) will guest star in an October episode of the new CBS procedural Person of Interest, which stars Michael Emerson (Lost) as a mysterious billionaire who teams up with a presumed dead ex-CIA agent (Jim Caviezel) to prevent violent crimes. Cerveris will play Jarek Koska, a highly organized and educated new breed of gang leader. The show debuts on September 22 at 9 PM on CBS. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Eric Winter (The Mentalist) will have a recurring role on the new ABC dramedy series Good Christian Belles that is based on the Kim Gatlin book of the same name that is centered on Amanda Vaughn (Leslie Bibb), once the ultimate high school “mean girl,” who is forced to return to her Texas hometown in disgrace after her marriage ends in scandal and has to face her old classmates who are less than thrilled to have her back. The cast includes Kristin Chenoweth who plays Carlene. Winter will play Carlene’s handsome brother Luke who is the black sheep of the family due to the fact that he is a Green Democrat. A possible love interest for Amanda, Luke is intelligent, charming and a potential heartbreaker. GCB, which is what the show is possibly being touted as being named, has yet to be given a debut date by ABC. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Lindsay Pulsipher (True Blood) has joined the cast of the History Channel’s telefilm The Hatfields and McCoys, which stars Kevin Costner as “Devil” Anse Hatfield and Bill Paxton as Randall McCoy, the famed leaders of the feuding families. She will play Roseanna McCoy, the beautiful daughter of Randall and Sally McCoy (Mare Winningham), who attracts the romantic attention of Johnse Hatfield, leading to a forbidden romance that divides the families still further. (The Hollywood Reporter)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC has bought one of its most ambitious projects from writer Michael Seitzman and producer Mark Gordon that is based on the Jack West Jr. book series by best-selling Australian action thriller novelist Matthew Reilly. The Seven Wonders is a treasure hunt show in the spirit of Raiders of the Lost Arc and National Treasure. It centers on an unlikely five-member team led by commando-turned-archeologist Jack West Jr. as they search the world for seven pieces of an ancient and powerful relic and along the way form a unique non-traditional family that includes West Jr.’s 12-year-old adopted daughter. The first season will be based on the first 2 books in the series. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

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

[SPOILER ALERT!]

Question: Anything juicy on Ripper Stefan on The Vampire Diaries? Thanks! — Val, via Twitter

NATALIE: Juicy is a choice word, Val. Stefan will be sinking his teeth into many humans. “He gets deeper and deeper and the blood starts carrying him away,” Paul Wesley tells us. “He commits to that lifestyle because the blood starts turning him into someone else.” What we want to know is, who’s going to bring him back?

Question: Got any scoop on the final season of Chuck? — Aaron

NATALIE: What would happen if the world’s greatest super-computer, the Intersect, went up against the world’s most-dangerous computer virus? The team may find out when they cross paths with a former computer hacker who now resides at a commune called The Church of the Eternal Wind. Their barely clothed spiritual leader may seem flighty, but she’s secretly just as cold and evil as Volkoff.

Question: Why will Castle and Beckett be apart at the beginning of this season’s Castle? — Whitney

ADAM: I hear the decision to pull back from the relationship is Beckett’s — and she may even lie to keep Castle at a distance. But Stana Katic believes Beckett’s actions are carefully calculated. “She’s making an adult decision not to dive into something because she doesn’t want to screw it up,” Katic says. “She’s in love with him. She’s dated other guys, but he’s the only guy she’s been in love with.”

Question: I can’t wait for the new season of Nikita. What will we see for Nikita this year? — Danica

NATALIE: We might be meeting Nikita’s father! Using information found in the black box, Nikita and Michael spy a former CIA operative who they think might be her birth dad. He’s been hiding out, working against the government… like father, like daughter, right? But how reliable is the information in that black box?

Question: Where’s the Supernatural scoop? —Jacob

NATALIE: The show will feature a man named Johnny Tomorrow, a Bill Murray-esque washout who owns a local Magic Emporium that catches the Winchester boys’ eyes. He becomes a suspect when his competition, a famous psychic, turns up dead.

Question: Any hope of seeing either Booth’s mom and dad on Bones this season? —Dotty

Ausiello: It looks like we may get a glimpse of Booth’s elusive pa in an early ’11 episode that finds David Boreanaz’ alter ego flashing back to his childhood — specifically, the time father and son attended the World Series together. The show is currently casting an 8-year-old version of Boreneaz for the circa ’80s sequence. Mom, send Junior to the audition in funny socks.

Question: Any scoop on NCIS: LA? —Heidi

Ausiello: A November episode will introduce a former NSA agent whose secrets begin to come to light. Middle-aged Larry — the rogue operative in question — is said to be as smart as he is unflappable. But something tells me his knack for pushing buttons won’t have diminished since he was last on duty.

Question: Do you have any scoop on whether Jack Coleman is playing Caroline’s dad on Vampire Diaries? —Elsa

Ausiello: That’s what I keep hearing, but I have no official confirmation of that. Makes perfect sense, right?

Question: Do you know what the ration of mythology/standalone episodes will be on Fringe this season? —Scott

Ausiello: I don’t have any hard data, but after chatting up J.J. Abrams, it sounds like mythology has the definite edge. “What I love about what the show is doing now is it’s kind of doing what the show needs to do to be the best version of the show, as opposed to just the apologists’ stand-alone thing — which I don’t think Fringe could ever be,” he maintains. “Shows like Alcatraz and certainly Person of Interest have much more of a shot because it’s much more, clearly a new case every week, whereas Fringe is like more about this insanely twisted family of people that are working in this crazy lab.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Today is pretty light on the news mainly due to the holiday weekend (here in the States). I sure hope everyone who celebrates the holiday enjoyed themselves and that the first day back to work, school or whatever it is you do, isn’t too crazed.

Here are the news items for the day:

TELEVISION

Eddie Murphy will host the 84th Annual Academy Awards. (The LA Times)

Actress Marilu Henner will guest star on the new fall CBS drama Unforgettable. She will play the aunt of the character played by Poppy Montgomery, who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Actor Neal McDonough and Cary Elwes will guest star on the TNT series Perception that stars Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) as an eccentric neuroscientist/university professor who helps an FBI agent (played by Rachael Leigh Cook) solve criminal cases. McDonough will appear in one episode as the CEO of an agricultural technology company. His character enlists a code-breaker (Elwes) to decipher the messages of a serial killer who is murdering his business acquaintances. Actress Sheryl Lee (Twin Peaks) will also appear in an episode of the new drama, playing a woman who for 26 years has suffered from anterograde amnesia, ever since surviving a serial killer’s attack. Actress Pamela Reed will play her mother. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Scott Cohen (Necessary Roughness) will appear in the new fall ABC series Pan Am, playing Everett, a Pan Am higher up, for a three-episode arc. He has a quirky mistress named Ginny Saddler (Erin Cummings). Pan Am is a ’60s soap following the lives and loves of a team at the legendary airline. The show premieres on September 25. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

HBO has picked up the Jonathan Franzen best-selling novel The Corrections as a new project. The story is about a Midwestern clan whose children have moved to the East Coast to begin a life of their own. (NY Mag, Variety and The Futon Critic)

Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson have booked a potential drama at The CW called Musketeers 3.0, which is to be about three outstanding but out-of-control New York detectives who meet their match when a sexy, young rookie is assigned to their team. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Cara Buono, Ally Sheedy and Samantha Futerman are set to co-star opposite Eric Stoltz in the Lifetime’s dramedy pilot called Modern Love that will weave actual stories from New York Times columns to explore the state of modern relationships. It follows newspaper science editor Simon McElvane (Stoltz) as he faces a deteriorating marriage, the ramifications of potentially starting over and balancing his relationship with his adopted 15-year-old daughter (Futerman). Unexpectedly handed the job of editor of the newspaper’s Modern Love column, Simon discovers he has a lot to learn about life and love. Buono will play the ambitious Styles Editor at Simon’s paper who is torn between her career and her family. Sheedy will play the paper’s ballsy and no-nonsense Assistant Managing Editor. Also, actress Alice Ripley will have a recurring role as Simon’s wife. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

The creator of the ABC Family series Greek – Patrick Sean Smith is developing an hour-long drama/adventure series for FOX that is set in the world of young international travelers, tentatively titled Wanderlust. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here is the list of the top 10 movies for the long holiday weekend according to Exhibitor Relations, Box Office Mojo and E! Online:

1. The Help – $19 million
2. The Debt – $12.6 million
3. Apollo 18 – $10.7 million
4. Shark Night 3D – $10.3 million
5. Rise of the Planet of the Apes – 10.25 million
6. Colombiana – $9.4 million
7. Our Idiot Brother – $7 million
8. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark – $6.1 million
9. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D – $6.6 million
10. The Smurfs – $5.6 million

That’s it. Enjoy!

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