Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Robert Knepper (Prison Break) will co-star in the drama pilot Cult for The CW. The pilot centers on Skye (Jessica Lucas), an inquisitive, young female production assistant on a wildly popular television show called Cult who, after a rash of disappearances and a likely murder, joins a journalist blogger in investigating the rabid fans of the series who might be re-creating crimes seen on the program in real life. Knepper will play actor Roger Reeves, who plays the charismatic cult leader Billy Grimm on the show-within-a-show. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actresses Judy Reyes and Roselyn Sanchez [among others] have joined the cast of the ABC pilot called Devious Maids that will be about four maids with ambition and dreams of their own who work for the rich and famous in Beverly Hills. Reyes and Sanchez will play two of the maids – Zoila Del Barrio and Carmen Verde respectively – joining the previously cast Ana Ortiz and Dania Ramirez. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Scott Foley (The Unit and Felicity) has landed a lead role in the FOX comedy pilot called The Goodwin Games that is about a trio of siblings’ chance to inherit a fortune from their father, if only they can heed the idiosyncratic terms of his will. Foley is expected to play the eldest son Henry, who is a dedicated surgeon. Actress Becki Newton (Ugly Betty) will play the middle child Coney with the youngest Jimmy yet to be cast. (Variety and The Futon Critic)

The USA Network is moving forward with development of a mini-series called Succession that will center on a scenario where following a devastating attack; the American power structure is shaken. (Variety and The Futon Critic)

Actress Mira Sorvino is in final negotiations to star in the CBS drama pilot called Trooper that is already set to star Jay Hernandez. The pilot is about a common-sense mother (presumably Sorvino) who becomes a New York State Trooper. Hernandez will play Carlos Coto, her partner who is a former Miami homicide detective looking for a new start for him and his daughter following the death of his wife. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actors Matt Long (Mad Men and Jack & Bobby) and Maury Sterling (Homeland) and actress Brigid Brannagh (Army Wives) have joined the cast of the ABC period pilot called Gilded Lilys (from show runner Shonda Rhimes). The drama centers on the opening of the first luxury hotel in New York City in 1895 and the stories of love, treachery and disdain between the classes set against a backdrop of vicious family rivalries, scandalous secrets and conflict and co-mingling of the classes. The Lily family has reigned over New York’s elite for decades but a recent family scandal has undermined their fortunes both financially and societally. Long will play the lead role of John Kidd, a lower-class survivor with an adventurous spirit and a romantic soul. Sterling will play a character named Jasper, while Brannagh is set to play Elizabeth, the beautiful matriarch of the Lily family. The cast already includes Brian F. O’Byrne, Blythe Danner, Sarah Bolger and Madeline Zima. (Lacey Rose at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters) will co-star in the ABC supernatural-tinged drama pilot called 666 Park Avenue that is based on the book series by Gabriella Pierce. The series centers on a young couple (Annable and his not-yet-cast spouse) who accept an offer to manage one of the most historic apartment buildings in New York City. They unwittingly begin to experience supernatural occurrences, which complicate and endanger the lives of everyone in the building. Terry O’Quinn (Lost) has already been cast to plays the haunted house’s owner. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Idris Elba (Luther) will star as Nelson Mandela in the film adaptation of Long Walk To Freedom, which is Mandela’s own account of his life. (BBC America)

Actor Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker and The Adjustment Bureau) is in talks to join Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson as the third lead in low-budget crime comedy called Pain and Gain that is based on a true story. The film follows a group of bodybuilders who engaged in a campaign of kidnapping, extortion and murder in Florida. Mackie would play a big-hearted bodybuilder who works out with Wahlberg’s character. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Harold Perrineau (Lost) has joined the cast of the as-yet-untitled film from director Kathryn Bigelow about Navy SEAL Team 6′s long hunt for Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden. Perrineau’s role is being kept secret just like all the other roles in the film. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actresses Lily Collins (Mirror Mirror) and Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood) and actor Dave Franco (Fright Night) are up for starring roles in the box office film Rosaline, which would be a contemporary re-telling of Romeo and Juliet from the perspective of Romeo’s spurned love. The film would be based on the debut novel by Rebecca Serle called When You Were Mine with Collins playing Rose whose boyfriend Rob (Franco) is stolen by her cousin and best friend Juliet (Woll) who is rumored to have suicidal tendencies. (Digital Spy and Dark Horizons)

Actor Dwayne Johnson is in talks to play the lead role in a new box office film about Hercules. In this adaptation, the story would follow Hercules years after he carried out his twelve tasks and has now turned his back on the Gods. He and six friends have become mercenaries who have been hired by the King of Thrace to train his men into becoming an army every bit as ruthless as they are. (The New York Daily News and Dark Horizons)

Actor Joel Kinnaman (The Killing and Safe House) has been offered the lead role in the box office remake of RoboCop. (Deadline and First Showing)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!