Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Jenna Elfman (Dharma & Greg) will make a rare dramatic detour with a recurring role on the fifth and final season of Damages, playing an investment bank employee troubled by her company’s conduct. When she approaches Channing McClaren (Ryan Phillippe), the iconoclastic founder of a WikiLeaks-type website devoted to corporate and government transparency, it lays the foundation for the case that will pit Patty Hewes and Ellen Parsons against each other. Additionally, actor John Hannah (Spartacus) will appear in a recurring role on this series as Rutger, McClaren’s loyal adviser and protector whose ability to put out political fires and strong desire to see him succeed make him indispensible. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line and Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Krista Vernoff (Grey’s Anatomy) has sold the new legal drama Maybe Angels to ABC. The project is about two angels who help their former spouses. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

The Defenders co-creator Niels Mueller is developing a new drama at CBS about an ordinary man making an extraordinary impact on people’s lives. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Alan Ball (the man behind True Blood) is developing a new drama at HBO entitled Wichita that will be about a Kansas surgeon who inadvertently becomes the focal point of a contemporary political, cultural and ethical war. (The Hollywood Reporter and The Futon Critic)

Michael Bay is set to produce the hour-long drama Outsiders for The CW. The pilot follows a quirky sociology professor with an almost savant-like expertise in subcultures. He is partnered with a young but uptight female detective and the pair solves crimes involving youths and subcultures in Los Angeles. (Vulture and Dark Horizons)

Lifetime has greenlit the pilot American Housewife, which is a drama that has Melanie Griffith in negotiations to star as well as executive produce with husband/producing partner Antonio Banderas. The pilot centers on a mother of two children who has conversations with her inner voice while dealing with the life change of one her kids leaving home for college and the other still being at home. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actors Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) and Joel Kinnaman (The Killing) have emerged as the frontrunners for the lead roles of Arthur and Lancelot for the upcoming King Arthur project that is being planned. There are no confirmations on these roles or if the film will even be made; only speculation at this time. (Borys Kit at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actors Eric Bana and Danny Huston will star in Elvis & Nixon, an independent film that marks the directorial debut of actor Cary Elwes. The film is based on a 1970 powwow between Presley (Bana) and Nixon (Huston) when the former petitioned to be a Federal Agent at Large in the war against drugs, which in hindsight seems a bit odd. Presley brought a Colt .45 pistol as a gift to the president. (Mike Fleming at Deadline)

Actor-director Ben Affleck will head up the Warner Bros. adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand with Affleck writing his own script. (Sean O’Neal at A.V. Club)

Writer-director Joss Whedon surprised the industry over the weekend with the announcement that while he was directing the blockbuster film The Avengers, he also directed the independent film based on the Shakespearean play Much Ado About Nothing. Among the cast are Whedonverse alums, Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Buffy, and Dr. Horrible), Amy Acker (Angel and Dollhouse), Alexis Denisof (Buffy, Angel, and Dollhouse), Sean Maher (Firefly), Reed Diamond (Dollhouse), Tom Lenk (Buffy), and Fran Kranz (Dollhouse and The Cabin in the Woods), as well as Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson from Iron Man, Thor, and The Avengers). You can see the list of actors here. (Adam B. Vary at Entertainment Weekly)

Here is a list of the top 10 box office movies from this past weekend courtesy of Exhibitor Relations and E! Online:

1. Paranormal Activity 3, $54 million
2. Real Steel, $11.3 million
3. Footloose, $10.9 million
4. The Three Musketeers, $8.8 million
5. The Ides of March, $4.9 million
6. Dolphin Tale, $4.2 million
7. Moneyball, $4.1 million
8. Johnny English Reborn, $3.8 million
9. The Thing, $3.1 million
10. 50/50, $2.8 million

That’s it. Enjoy!