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Archive for October, 2011

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

FX has renewed American Horror Story for a second season. (Twitter)

Actor James McCaffrey (Rescue Me) is joining the cast of ABC’s Revenge. He will play Ryan Huntley, a take-charge, no-BS attorney who has represented the husband of currently comatose Lydia in their nasty divorce. He will appear in the 10th episode, which is slated to air in January. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Soap actor Brody Hutzler (Days of Our Lives) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Ringer, playing wine connoisseur Jason Sheridan, the handsome and supportive husband of Upper East Side socialite, Greer, who will be portrayed by Madchen Amick. Both are set to appear in Episode 11. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

NBC has purchased the high-concept pitch called Afterthought box office writers Evan Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsman) and Melissa Rosenberg (The Twilight Saga). The project is described as a closed-ended procedural in the vein of CSI by way of Inception and The Cell. The story follows an unconventional team within the FBI that uses the six-hour window between clinical death and cellular death to solve murders by entering the memories of the recently deceased. (Jeff Sneider at Variety)

Maroon 5 singer and The Voice judge Adam Levin not only has a karaoke comedy project with NBC but now he also has a potential drama set with the network called Awesome Splendor, which will be set in the world of rock ‘n’ roll. Executive producer Lawrence Trilling (Parenthood) will write and direct the project. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actors Bradley Cooper, Dax Shepard, Tom Arnold and actress Kristen Bell will star in the romantic action comedy called Outrun that follows ex-getaway driver in hiding Charlie Bronson (Shepard) who agrees to break the rules of his Witness Protection and drive his sexy girlfriend (Bell) to Los Angeles so that she can land her dream job. When the authorities and his former gang (led by Cooper) learn he is back behind the wheel, they hit the road to chase him down. Desperate to stay one step ahead, Charlie upgrades to an even faster car as the story shifts into high gear. Kristin Chenoweth, Beau Bridges, Michael Rosenbaum, Joy Bryant and Ryan Hansen also star. (Dark Horizons)

Actor Terence Stamp has joined the cast of the upcoming film called Pan, which is a twist on J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. The story shifts the setting to contemporary United States and recasts Pan as an insane killer. Stamp’s role is unspecified. He joins a cast that includes Aaron Eckhart, Sean Bean and AnnaSophia Robb. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Besides directing what will assuredly be a blockbuster (The Avengers) and sneaking in an independent film based on the Shakespeare classic Much Ado About Nothing, Joss Whedon has yet another movie on his hands. The metaphysical love story is called In Your Eyes and follows two seemingly polar opposites who are deeply connected in ways neither could have ever imagined. Whedon wrote the script and will serve as executive producer. No cast has been announced yet, but filming will start in February. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Here are the top 10 movies at the box office for this past weekend courtesy of Grady Smith at Entertainment Weekly:

1. Puss in Boots – $34 million
2. Paranormal Activity 3 – $18.5 million
3. In Time – $12 million
4. Footloose – $5.4 million
5. The Rum Diary – $5 million
6. Real Steel – $4.7 million
7. The Three Musketeers – $3.5 million
8. The Ides of March – $2.7 million
9. Moneyball – $2.4 million
10. Courageous – $1.8 million

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Back in 1987 CBS introduced an updated version of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast that focused on two worlds: the “World Above” where savvy New York assistant District attorney Catherine Chandler lived and the “World Below” where mythic, man-beast Vincent roamed freely in a secret Utopian community consisting of social outcasts living in a subterranean sanctuary.

After being attacked and left for dead, Catherine is found by Vincent and taken to his underground home to heal. This is where they form a strong empathetic bond with Vincent becoming her guardian once she returns to her home in the “World Above”.

Unlike the original fairy tale, Vincent does not transform from the beast into a beauty after gaining Catherine’s love rather his inner beauty remains the focus. It is actually Catherine’s life that is transformed because of her relationship with him.

On September 15, sources confirmed with the folks over at TV Line that The CW is developing a reboot of this CBS classic. There aren’t many details on this new version except that it will be modernized, the love story will be CW-friendly and will have a procedural twist.

While I cannot say that I agree with the procedural twist (don’t we have enough of those already?), I can accept the rest. But since there are no specific details, I have been working on my own idea and my own dream casting for the project.

So, here is what I came up:

Miracle Laurie

Catherine Chandler – Miracle Laurie (Dollhouse) will play the new version of Catherine who is one of the top attorneys at her father’s prestigious law firm – Chandler, Holmes and Crosby – until she is brutally attacked while riding the subway. Months later, after being rescued by Vincent and treated by Father in the “World Below,” she receives surgery to correct the scars she sustained. She eventually leaves her father’s firm, opening her own practice where she represents the less fortunate who were brutalized the same as she was.

Kevin Durand

Vincent – Kevin Durand (Dark Angel) will play Vincent, the man-beast who happens upon Catherine in the subway after she is attacked. He takes her to his subterranean world where Father treats her and they quickly form a bond. He spent nearly his entire life with Father underground, only visiting the “World Above” under the cover of darkness until his fateful meeting with Catherine.

Sam Anderson

Father – Sam Anderson (Lost) is Father, a former doctor and college professor who sought asylum in the underground after the unsolved murder of his wife and daughter over 25 years earlier. He found Vincent hiding underground when he was about 10 years old and raised him as his own son, educating him and making him the “man” he is now.

Alan Dale

Charles Chandler – Alan Dale (Lost) is Charles, father of Catherine and legendary New York attorney who is the founding member of Chandler and Associates, which is now Chandler, Holmes and Crosby, the most prestigious law firm in all of New York City. He is devastated by the attack on his daughter and is crushed when she leaves the firm. He pays for her medical care in a bid to win her back to his side but turns his back on her when she opens her own firm.

Bianca Lawson

Josephine “Jo” Maxwell – Bianca Lawson (Pretty Little Liars) is Jo, Catherine’s best friend and associate at Catherine’s new firm. They have been friends since grade school and is the closest thing to a sister that Catherine has ever known. She is also the only one Catherine has trusted with her secret about Vincent.

Erica Hubbard

Evangeline “Evie” Shaw – Erica Hubbard (Lincoln Heights) is Evie, Catherine’s neighbor who is also a landscape photographer who spends more time on the road than at home. She and Catherine have become good friends, but Evie knows there is more to Catherine than meets the eye.

Devon Sawa

Jake McCallister – Devon Sawa (Nikita) is Jake, a member of the underground society who grew up alongside Vincent; in fact, they were almost like brothers until a tragic accident took place causing the society to exile Jake. He finds solace with other underground dwellers not part of the society Father created and ends up becoming Vincent’s nemesis.

Terrell Tilford

Detective Frank Sterling – Terrell Tilford (The Protector) is the lead detective who was in charge of investigating the attack on Catherine and has continued to have a watchful eye on her because of all the mysterious occurrences that seem to circle her life.

Malese Jow

Maggie Magraw – Malese Jow (The Vampire Diaries) is Maggie, an up-and-coming writer for an online tabloid website who has dreams of being a top-notch reporter. She is slowly starting to put the pieces together of Catherine’s secret life after witnessing Vincent rescuing her from an altercation. Maggie isn’t really sure what she saw, but she isn’t going to stop until she finds out the truth, using that story as her way to climb the ladder.

I am sure the writers of the actual pilot – Jennifer Levin (Without a Trace) and Sherri Cooper (Brothers & Sisters) – have their own ideas and that the casting process for the potential pilot will lead the powers that be in very different directions from my own; but this is my dream team.

What are your thoughts on the Beauty and the Beast remake? Please share.

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The show is a hit! That is what ABC can say about their new fairytale drama Once Upon a Time. And, CBS can complain that sports are delaying their dramas from airing on time, but still pulling in the numbers so it’s totally a loss, right? Here is how the Sunday night dramas fared in the overall ratings:

7 PM Show:
Once Upon a Time (ABC) [Reair of Pilot] – 5.2 million

8 PM Shows:
Once Upon a Time (ABC) [NEW] – 11.6 million

9 PM Shows:
The Good Wife (CBS) [NEW] – 10.1 million (average due to overlap)
Desperate Housewives (ABC) [NEW] – 9.3 million

10 PM Show:
CSI: Miami (CBS) [NEW] – 10.1 million (average due to overlap)
Pan Am (ABC) [NEW] – 5.6 million

What did you watch last night? Please share.

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Trying to figure out what to watch tonight? Be it new episodes of the TV season, reairs of cable series or a movie, here are some suggestions:

NOTE: There will be an all-day marathon of season one episodes of Teen Wolf on MTV (9 AM to 9 PM)

8 PM:
Terra Nova on FOX (NEW)
NCIS on USA Network
Twilight movie on FX
Edge of Darkness movie on HBO2

8:30 PM:
A Cinderella Story movie on HBO Family

9 PM:
Hart of Dixie on The CW (NEW)

10 PM:
Homeland on Showtime (Reair)
The Closer on TNT (Reair)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 movie on HBO

10:01 PM:
Castle on ABC (NEW)

Enjoy!

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Trying to figure out what to watch tonight? Be it new episodes of the TV season, reairs of cable series or a movie, here are some suggestions:

5:30 PM:
Practical Magic movie on ABC Family
The Mummy Returns movie on cartoon Network
Pretty Woman movie on Lifetime
Inception movie on More Max

7 PM:
Once Upon a Time on ABC (Reair of Debut)
The Good Witch movie on Hallmark
Underworld: The Rise of the Lycans movie on Syfy

7:54 PM:
Tron: Legacy movie on Starz

8 PM:
Once Upon a Time on ABC (NEW)
Iris Johansen’s The Killing Game movie on Lifetime Movie Network (DEBUT)
Strike Back on More Max (Reair)
Homeland on Showtime (Reair)
Twilight movie on FX
The Hurt Locker movie on TMC
Enough movie on TNT

9 PM:
The Good Witch’s Family movie on Hallmark (Reair)

10 PM:
Homeland on Showtime (NEW)
While You Were Sleeping movie on Lifetime

10:30 PM:
Enough movie on TNT

Enjoy!

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The final game of the World Series threw the regular planned Friday night line-up on some of the major networks into a tizzy with Fringe being postponed, CBS airing repeats rather than new episodes of their dramas and NBC trudging straight forward with their shows.

Here is how the Friday night dramas fared in the overall ratings:

8 PM Shows:
A Gifted Man (CBS) [Reair] – 5.8 million
Chuck (NBC) [Season Premiere] – 3.4 million
Nikita (The CW) [NEW] – 1.8 million

9 PM Shows:
CSI: NY (CBS) [Reair] – 6.9 million
Grimm (NBC) [DEBUT] – 6.5 million
Supernatural (The CW) [NEW] – 1.7 million

10 PM Show:
CSI: Miami (CBS) [Reair] – 7.9 million

What did you watch last night? Please share.

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Reminder: The one-day only Castle Convention is coming up in two weeks on November 12.

Check out their official website to find out more details and see if there are any tickets still available.

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Trying to figure out what to watch tonight? Be it new episodes of the TV season, reairs of cable series or a movie, here are some suggestions:

NOTE: All of the movies in The Good Witch franchise will air throughout the day on Hallmark. Check local listings for airtimes.

6:30 PM:
The Mummy Returns movie on Cartoon Network

7 PM:
Twilight movie on FX
The A-Team movie on HBO2

7:15 PM:
Men in Black movie on More Max
Toy Story 3 (animated) movie on Starz

8 PM:
Harry’s Law on NBC (Reair)
NCIS on USA Network
The Bourne Identity movie on Encore

9 PM:
Bedlam on BBC America (NEW)
The Good Witch’s Family movie on Hallmark (DEBUT)
Strike Back on Cinemax (Reair)
NCIS on USA Network
Flashpoint on ION

9:30 PM:
I Am Number Four movie on Showtime

10 PM:
True Blood on HBO(Reair)
NCIS on USA Network
Flashpoint on ION

Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Sarah Clarke (24 and the Twilight franchise) will appear in a 2012 episode of Nikita, but there are no details on what character she will play. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

HBO has optioned the upcoming non-fiction book Unreal Estate: Money, Ambition and the Lust for Land in Los Angeles by Michael Gross for a TV series. Producer extraordinaire Joel Silver is in negotiations to executive produce the project that explores the history of 16 estates in Los Angeles’ most exclusive enclaves — Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Holmby Hills, and Beverly Park — as well as juicy details from the lives of their famous owners. The cast of characters features a slew of Hollywood stars who have passed through the houses over the years, including Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Marilyn Monroe, George Hamilton, Harold Lloyd, Jayne Mansfield, Tony Curtis, Sonny and Cher, as well as decadent Spanish land-grant families, desperado oilmen and railroad titans, corporate moguls, con men, porn magnates and tabloid fixtures. The potential series is envisioned as a drama with soapy and comedic elements. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Syfy Films (a joint venture between Syfy and Universal Pictures) has acquired the screen rights to Wild Cards, a superhero anthology edited, co-created and co-written by George R.R. Martin (the man behind the Game of Thrones books for which the HBO fantasy series is based). Wild Cards is a series of books and stories set in a shared universe where an alien virus has been unleashed over New York City. Those who survived were turned into either a class of beings named Jokers, mostly deformed creatures, (or more rarely) Aces, who have special powers. (Borys Kit at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Damian Lewis (Homeland) and actress Hayley Atwell (Captain America: The First Avenger) have been cast in the big screen adaptation of the classic British TV series The Sweeney that follows two members of the “Flying Squad,” a branch of the Metropolitan Police specializing in armed robbery and violent crime in London. (Baz Bamigboye and First Showing)

Warner Bros. has picked up the movie rights to The Scorpio Races, a new young adult fantasy novel from Maggie Stiefvater, which just hit shelves last week. The story follows the first female competitor in the titular races which utilize mythological flesh-eating horses from Celtic lore on an island where the woman falls in love with her horse trainer. (Heat Vision and First Showing)

Actor Bill Murray has joined the cast of the upcoming dramatic film A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III that will star Charlie Sheen as a successful graphic designer whose fame, money and charm have made him irresistible to women. But when his girlfriend breaks up with him, his life swirls into a downward spiral of doubt, confusion and reflection. The cast includes recently announced Kathryn Winnick (Bones) and the newly added Patricia Arquette (Medium) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World). Jason Schwartzman and Aubrey Plaza also star. (Variety and First Showing)

Actor Aldis Hodge (Leverage) will have a supporting role in the upcoming eco-terrorist thriller called The East, which centers around a contract worker who infiltrates an anarchist group and finds herself falling for its leader. Hodge will play an ex-military member of the townspeople who is affiliated with the group. The film also stars Ellen Page, Alexander Skarsgard, Patricia Clarkson and Brit Marling. (Sophie Schillaci at The Hollywood Reporter)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!!

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Based on information provided by the Dark Horizons site and internet research, here are just some of the movies you can expect to see in movie theatres in November:

My Week with Marilyn
Opens: November 4

Michelle Williams portrays Marilyn Monroe in this film that focuses on the behind-the-scenes troubles between her and co-star/director Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) on the set of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl.

Puss in Boots
Opens: November 4

Way before Puss ever met Shrek, our suave and furry feline hero goes on a swashbuckling ride, as he teams with mastermind Humpty Dumpty and the street-savvy Kitty to steal the famed Goose that lays the Golden Eggs. Among the voices for this film are Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Zach Galifianakis.

Tower Heist
Opens: November 4

After losing their pensions to a Bernie Madoff-like fat cat (Alan Alda), a ragtag group of employees working in his apartment complex decide to steal it back. The cast includes Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick and Casey Affleck.

Immortals
Opens: November 11

The power hungry King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) is destroying all before him in his quest to possesses an artifact that can unleash the Titans, the race of beings imprisoned by the Olympian Gods deep within the walls of Mount Tartaros. As the Gods cannot intervene in man’s conflict, a young peasant (Henry Cavill) is secretly chosen to save his people from Hyperion and his hordes. The cast includes Stephen Dorff, Freida Pinto and John Hurt.

J. Edgar
Opens: November 11

As the face of law enforcement in America for almost 50 years, J. Edgar Hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life. The cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Josh Lucas, Dermot Mulroney and Judi Dench (among many others)

Happy Feet Two
Opens: November 18

Mumble and Gloria now have a son of their own, Erik, who is struggling to find his own particular talents in the Emperor Penguin world. But new dangers are threatening the penguin nation, and it’s going to take everyone working–and dancing–together to save them. Among the voices for this animated film include Elijah Wood, Pink, Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and Hank Azaria.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Opens: November 18

Set in the mid-70’s during the height of the Cold War, the judicious, reserved, middle-aged intelligence expert George Smiley is recalled out of forced retirement. He is tasked to hunt down a Soviet mole in the “Circus”, the highest echelons of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). The cast includes Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong and Benedict Cumberbatch.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1
Opens: November 18

The new found married bliss of Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) is cut short when a series of betrayals and misfortunes threatens to destroy their world. After their wedding, Bella and Edward travel to Rio de Janeiro for their honeymoon, where they finally give in to their passions. Bella soon discovers she is pregnant, and during a nearly fatal childbirth, Edward finally fulfills her wish to become immortal. But the arrival of their remarkable daughter, Renesmee, sets in motion a perilous chain of events that pits the Cullens and their allies against the Volturi, the fearsome council of vampire leaders, setting the stage for an all-out battle.

Arthur Christmas
Opens: November 23

How does Santa deliver all those presents in one night? The answer: Santa’s exhilarating, ultra-high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole. Inside is a family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero, Arthur, with an urgent mission that must be completed before Christmas morning dawns. Among the voices for this animated film are James McAvoy, Bill Nighy, Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent and Imelda Staunton.

Hugo
Opens: November 23

The film follows a young orphan (Asa Butterfield) who inherits a broken automaton from his late father. The device’s inventor turns out to be Georges Melies (Ben Kingsley), a real-life toymaker and pioneering French filmmaker.

The Descendants
Opens: November 23

George Clooney stars as a Hawaiian land baron whose life is upended after his wife (Patricia Hastie) goes into a coma and he learns that she’d been having an affair. The cast includes Shailene Woodley and Matthew Lillard.

The Muppets
Opens: November 23

A couple and their friend Walter reunite The Muppets, now retired entertainers known for the same Muppet show we know them from, to save the TV studio that the original show was shot in from a Texan oil baron bent on drilling for oil underneath it. The cast includes Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper and Rashida Jones (as well as, of course, The Muppets).

Movies coming out in December will be posted at the end of November.

Enjoy!

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