Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Congrats to all of the winners of the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards that were presented last night, including Jean DuJardin, Christopher Plummer, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, The Help, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Steve Buscemi, Jessica Lange, Boardwalk Empire, Alec Baldwin, Betty White, Modern Family, Paul Giamatti, Kate Winslet, Game of Thrones and Mary Tyler Moore

TELEVISION

Actress Shiri Appleby (Roswell and Life Unexpected) will appear in a multi-episode arc of the TNT series Franklin & Bash this summer. She will play the smart and sassy associate of an Infeld-Daniels senior partner, who comes to town to investigate possible misconduct on the part of the titular attorneys; but she’ll quickly realize she’s in over her head when romantic feelings begin to develop between herself and Jared (Breckin Meyer). (Megan Masters at TV Line)

Academy Award winner Shirley MacLaine will join the cast of Downton Abbey for its third season that will premiere on ITV in the U.K. this fall and will air on PBS’ Masterpiece Classic early next year. She will play a new character, Martha Levinson, the mother of American-born Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern). (The Daily Beast)

Actress Annette O’Toole (Smallville) and actor John Ashton (Beverly Hills Cop) will appear as Elaine and Franklin Sherman, the mother and father of Walter Sherman (Geoff Stults) on the new FOX drama The Finder. Real-life brother George will play Walter’s older brother, Langston, who turns up at the Ends of the Earth Bar at the behest of their father, who is dying of emphysema. Franklin’s dying wish is to say goodbye to Elaine, who has been missing for years after she and her new husband joined a cult and disappeared. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC has ordered a pilot for a potential series called Americana, which is a soap set around a legendary fashion designer and his family and business. (Variety and The Futon Critic)

The new FOX drama pilot Guilty about a brilliant, morally questionable defense attorney who, after being falsely convicted of fraud and stripped of his legal license, uses his unorthodox methods to solve the cases he’s been banned from handling and to exact revenge on the men who set him up will be executive produced and directed by McG. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Another FOX drama called Hieroglyph being billed as an adventure soap has been given an order for a pilot; but no other details about the project are available. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

ABC is on the move with another pilot – another soap opera – called Nashville that follows one star at her peak and one on the rise. (Variety and The Futon Critic)

The USA Network has greenlit a six-hour mini-series from Greg Berlanti (Brothers & Sisters) called Political Animals that will focus on Elaine Barrish, a divorced former First Lady and current Secretary of State as she struggles to keep her family together while simultaneously dealing with the crises of the State Department. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS
Here are the top 10 box office movies for this past weekend from BoxOffice.com:

1. The Grey, $20 million
2. Underworld Awakening, $12.5 million
3. One for the Money, $11.8 million
4. Red Tails, $10.4 million
5. Man on a Ledge, $8.3 million
6. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, $7.1 million
7. The Descendants, $6.6 million
8. Contraband, $6.5 million
9. Beauty and the Beast 3D, $5.3 million
10. Haywire, $4 million

That’s it. Enjoy!