Rueben's Ramblings

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!!