Hey All,
Here are the news items for today:
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
British actor and relative newcomer Tom Riley has landed the lead role in the new original series from Starz called Da Vinci’s Demons that is being described as a historical fantasy following the ‘untold’ story of the world’s greatest genius during his turbulent youth in Renaissance Florence. Riley appeared in the play My City at London’s Almeida Theatre and had a role in the UK drama series Monroe. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
ABC has given the green light to the new drama pilot called 666 Park Ave based on the book series by Gabriella Pierce that is set at historic apartment buildings in New York City and centers on a young couple who become its managers. They unwittingly begin to experience supernatural occurrences, which complicate and endanger the lives of everyone in the residence. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
Actresses Maggie Gyllenhaal and Greta Gerwig as well as actor Rhys Ifans are in negotiations to join the HBO drama pilot called The Corrections that is set to star Chris Cooper, Dianne Wiest and Ewan McGregor. The pilot is based on the acclaimed book by Jonathan Franzen, revolving around the troubles of a Midwestern couple (Cooper and Wiest) and their three adult children as they trace their lives from the mid-20th century to “one last Christmas” together near the turn of the millennium. Gyllenhaal would play the youngest sibling, beautiful chef Denise. McGregor is set to play Chip, the middle child, a journalist and intellectual wannabe screenwriter who works for a Lithuanian crime boss (Ifans) defrauding American investors. Gerwig would play Chip’s soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend, who works for a film production company. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
Actor Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead) is in early negotiations with TNT to tackle the lead role of L.A. cop Joe Teague in Frank Darabont’s new drama L.A. Noir. (Ace Showbiz and Dark Horizons)
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Matt Dallas (Kyle YX) is among the cast of the independent sci-fi film called Life Tracker that is set in the near future and centers on a new device that has emerged to detect the time of death of every man’s life through DNA analysis, igniting fear and paranoia throughout the world. (Dave McNary at Variety)
Actress Reese Witherspoon and actor Ryan Reynolds will star in the upcoming film called Big Eyes. They will play Margaret and Walter Keane, whose paintings of large eyed children became one of the first mass marketed art sensations in the 50s and 60s, with prints sold in gas stations and every five and dime store. While Walter was the marketing genius, he also took the bows for doing the brush work, and was a regular on the TV talk show circuit, his shy wife was the actual artist in the family. When they split and she tried to get her due, they ended up in court, where a judge finally provided them with two easels and ordered them to prove it. (Mike Fleming at Deadline)
Here is a list of the top 10 movies at the box office for this past weekend courtesy of Exhibitor’s Relations and E! Online:
1. Underworld Awakening, $25.4 million
2. Red Tails, $19.1 million
3. Contraband, $12.2 million
4. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, $10.5 million
5. Haywire, $9 million
6. Beauty and the Beast 3D, $8.6 million
7. Joyful Noise, $6.1 million
8. Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol, $5.5 million
9. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, $4.8 million
10. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, $3.8 million
Q&A SECTION (with Matt Roush at TV Guide)
Question: This past week marked the 13th episode of the freshman series Revenge. I remember reading that the Labor Day engagement party previewed in the pilot was originally scheduled to be the 13th episode. Have the writers decided to take advantage of the series’ popularity and draw out the story by delaying that episode? Will we see the events of the engagement party before the season finale? — Tommy
Matt Roush: Yes, we’ll come full circle to the deadly events of the pilot episode very soon. Your suspicions are correct that when Revenge started strong out of the gate and got an early pickup, the producers decided to let things play out a little longer, and we’re expected to find out just who got shot and who the shooter is over the course of the next two episodes, airing Feb. 8 and 15. In this case, more is more — as in fun.
Question: Two questions for you regarding Once Upon A Time: Where did Henry get the fairy-tale book and the idea that everyone in Storybrooke is a fairy-tale character trapped there by his “mother,” the evil queen? I don’t remember this ever being addressed, yet Henry’s knowledge of and belief in the curse, and the book that has become a sort of guide to the characters, was never explained … was it? Also, if time stands still in this town, why hasn’t anyone noticed? Clock hands don’t move and nobody gets any older, but this too hasn’t been properly explained. I know, I know … nitpicking a show about suspending one’s belief and fairytales. But these two things have just bugged me all season. — K
Matt Roush: I think the reason I didn’t much enjoy Once Upon a Time until I got to the third episode (with the first major Snow White-Prince Charming back story) was that I couldn’t stop nit-picking at some of these same things, feeling that the concept was swallowing the show. Since then, I’ve relaxed and learned to just roll with it, and it’s become appointment Sunday viewing — although I much prefer the fairy-tale twists to the goings-on in Storybrooke. But to your specifics, didn’t the clock start moving again once Emma came to town? That was little Henry’s first win. And part of the overall premise is that the curse, which keeps them trapped in this town, also keeps them from noticing that they’re not aging among other things. As for the book, if its origin has been fully explained, I missed it. But it’s still early days, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a Henry-centric episode laying some of that out.
That’s it. Enjoy!
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Rueben's Ramblings 