Hey All,
Here are the news items for today:
TELEVISION
Actor Adam Harrington (The Secret Circle) will guest star on an upcoming episode of Castle, playing Brad Melville, the host of a reality TV dance competition called A Night of Dance. Actress Lauralee Bell (The Young and the Restless) will portray a Paula Abdul-inspired judge on the same episode. (Give Me My Remote)
More cast members are coming back to American Horror Story, including Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Lily Rabe. (Jenna Mullins and Tierney Bricker at E! Online)
Actor Paul Blackthorne (The River) will guest star in an upcoming episode of CSI, playing Tom, a pompous, slick and charismatic college professor who teaches a popular class on the nature of celebrity. But a protégé of his who employs some questionable methods to operate his own gossipy video blog ends up dead. Tom ends up defending his methods to investigators but makes no apologies at the same time. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)
Veteran actor Michael Gambon has been promoted to series regular for the second season of the HBO series Luck that is just now in its debut season. Also, actress Margarita Levieva (Revenge) will join the series in a recurring role during season two. Gambon plays the mythical Mike, an adversary for Ace Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) while Levieva will play Sarah Israel, sister of Nathan Israel (recurring guest star (and star of USA’s Suits) Patrick J. Adams. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Actress Karinne Vanasse (Pan Am) will guest star in the ABC drama pilot called Scruples, based on the best-selling 1978 novel of the same name. She will guest as a designer named Valentine. The series centers on a rich and powerful clothes designer in a world of sex, revenge and scandal. (Lacey Rose at The Hollywood Reporter)
Actor Justin Hartley (Smallville) has joined the cast of the new medical drama pilot at The CW called First Cut. The pilot will revolve around a newly minted female doctor working at a hospital. Hartley will play Will, a handsome and flirty surgical intern, a golden boy that all girls want to date and all guys want to hang out with. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
Actress Annabeth Gish (The X-Files) has been cast in ABC drama pilot called Americana, which centers on iconic fashion designer Robert Soulter (Anthony LaPaglia), the patriarch of a sprawling family who just welcomed a new member, Alice Clarke (Ashley Greene), a young designer whose shocking arrival turns the family and the legendary label inside out. Gish will play Alice’s mother, a fading beauty. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
Actor Luke Goss (Hellboy II) has joined the ABC drama pilot called Penoza (from Melissa Rosenberg, the writer behind the Twilight saga of films). The pilot is based on the Dutch format, centering on Martha, the widow of an assassinated criminal who is forced to adopt her husband’s role in a crime syndicate in order to protect her family. Goss will play the bodyguard of Martha’s mobster father who is assigned to look after her and her children. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
Actress Julia Stiles (Dexter) has landed her first regular TV series gig in the NBC crime drama pilot called Midnight Sun that is being adapted from the Israeli format and revolves around an investigation into mysterious disappearances within a group living on a cult-like commune in Alaska. Stiles will play Leah Kafka, an FBI cult specialist leading the investigation that ultimately uncovers a larger conspiracy. (Deadline and Megan Masters at TV Line)
Actor Jesse Spencer (House) has landed the lead in the NBC drama pilot called Chicago Fire that is about the complex and heroic men and women of the Chicago Fire Department. Spencer will play the lead, Matthew Casey, a firefighter at Firehouse 55, a natural leader who is in his element when on a rescue or putting out a fire but in his personal life, he is grappling with a recent separation from his wife. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
Actor Austin Butler (Life Unexpected and Switched at Birth) and actress Freema Agyeman (Doctor Who and Law & Order: UK) have joined the cast of the drama pilot The Carrie Diaries for The CW. Butler will play Sebastian Kydd, the principal love interest of Carrie, a childhood crush who moves to Castlebury High after getting kicked out of his old high school. Agyeman will play Larissa, Carrie’s mentor, a hip, cutting-edge editor/party girl who works at Interview magazine. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)
Actor Billy Burke (the Twilight saga films) has been cast in the NBC drama pilot called Revolution (from J.J. Abrams and Eric Kripke). The drama follows a group of people struggling to survive and reunite with loved ones in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist. Burke will play a charismatic Marine. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
Actress Rachelle Lefevre (A Gifted Man) has landed a lead role in a CBS drama pilot called Applebaum, which is based on the Ayelet Waldman series of books “Mommy Track Mysteries. The pilot centers on Juliet Applebaum (Lefevre), a former public defender who becomes a private investigator to keep from being bored to death as a stay-at-home mom. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Actress Emmy Rossum (Shameless) is in final talks to star opposite Viola Davis and Emma Thompson in the upcoming box office film Beautiful Creatures, which is an adaptation of the novel of the same name. Rossum’s role in the film has yet to be disclosed. (Brian Brooks at Deadline)
Here are the top 10 box office films for this past weekend courtesy of Exhibitor Relations:
1. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, $70.7 million
2. Project X, $20.8 million
3. Act of Valor, $13.7 million
4. Safe House, $7.2 million
5. Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds, $7 million
6. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, $6.9 million
7. The Vow, $6.1 million
8. This Means War, $5.6 million
9. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, $4.7 million
10. The Artist, $3.9 million
The folks over at MGM have closed a deal with actor Joel Kinnaman (The Killing) to play the title role in the remake of Robocop. (Mike Fleming at Deadline)
BOX OFFICE TRAILER
That’s it. Enjoy!
Rueben's Ramblings 
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