Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Today will mark my last daily update until either Monday or Tuesday of next week due to my going to Anaheim starting tomorrow for the annual Wonder Con.

For now, here is today’s news:

TELEVISION

HBO has canceled the low-rated but renewed for a second season debut drama Luck due to the death of three horses during the production of the series. (Variety)

Actor Sebastian Stan (Gossip Girl) has joined the cast of the upcoming six-episode USA Network series Political Animals that already consists of Sigourney Weaver and Carla Gugino. The series, which will debut this summer, follows Elaine Barrish (Weaver), a divorced former First Lady who immerses herself in her new job as Secretary of State as she rebounds from the dissolution of her marriage and losing the presidential nomination. Stan will play her son T.J, a lost soul struggling with addiction — the polar opposite of his “perfect” twin brother, Douglas (James Wolk from Lone Star and Happy Endings). Brittany Ishibashi (Ghostfacers) plays Doug’s fiancée. Carla Gugino plays a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who is hell-bent on destroying Elaine’s career. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Eric Close will reprise his role of Boston lawyer Travis Tilden in the second season of the USA Network drama Suits. (The Hollywood Reporter)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Bonnie Somerville (The Ugly Truth) has landed the female lead opposite British actor Theo James (Bedlam and Downton Abbey) in the CBS drama pilot called Golden Boy that centers on cop Walter Clark (James) and chronicles his meteoric rise from officer to detective and ultimately police commissioner. Somerville will play Detective Deborah McKenzie, a Long Island native and third-generation cop who is the only female detective on the homicide squad. (Deadline)

Actress Tracee Ellis Ross (Girlfriends) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot called Bad Girls that will follow the ins and outs of a group of unlikely women in a federal prison. Ross will play Rachel, a high-powered business woman who is now serving time for selling phony mortgages. She delayed having kids because of her career, and now she’s desperate to get pregnant — which isn’t easy in prison. (Deadline)

Actor/Comedian Simon Pegg is in negotiations to play a top-secret role in the TNT period drama pilot called L.A. Noir that is a period thriller based on the acclaimed novel of the same name. The pilot centers on the 1940s/50s-era epic battle between determined Los Angeles Police Chief William Parker (Neal McDonough) and boxer-turned-mobster Mickey Cohen. Details on Pegg’s character are being kept under wraps. Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead) and Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes) also star. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Scott Wolf (Party of Five and V) has been cast in drama pilot called Joey Dakota over at The CW. The pilot is based on the Israeli format Danny Hollywood, which is a romantic-time-travel-musical centering on Maya (Amber Stevens), a documentary filmmaker making a film about Joey Dakota, a rock star who met an untimely death in the 1990s. She travels back in time to the 1990s where she meets and falls in love with Joey and when she unexpectedly returns to present day, she must find her way back to the past to reunite with her love and prevent his death. Wolf will play the mysterious Franklin, who seems to know a lot about Maya’s situation, may have been dabbling with time travel himself, and could be the key to Maya’s returning to the past and the man she loves. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Rick Schroder (NYPD Blue) has joined the cast of the as-yet untitled drama pilot from Karyn Usher that centers on Jane Forsythe (Saxon Sharbino), the orphaned 14-year-old daughter of a CIA operative (Schroder) who encounters a mysterious rogue agent (Julian McMahon) who serves as her professional mentor in the spy world. Angela Bassett will also star. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Chloe Moretz (Hugo) and actor Rupert Grint (the Harry Potter franchise) have both joined the cast of the upcoming film called The Drummer which is an independent bio-pic chronicling the last six years in the life of Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson. Moretz is in final negotiations to play Wilson’s daughter Jennifer while Grint will play Stan Shapiro, a mail room intern at William Morris who befriended Wilson during the last years of the musician’s life. Actor Aaron Eckhart will play Wilson while actress Vera Farmiga is set as Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter Christine McVie. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Actor Michael Fassbender (Shame and X-Men: First Class) is in talks to star in the upcoming movie called The Mountain Between Us, which follows two strangers who survive a plane crash in the Colorado woods and are forced to rely on one another for survival, eventually falling in love. Fassbender plays the lead role of Ben Trace, a doctor and avid climber who uses his skills to transport an injured writer named Ashley down a mountain in harsh weather. (Variety and First Showing)

Actor Tom Felton (Draco Malfo in the Harry Potter franchise) will appear alongside actress Sharon Stone in the upcoming movie called Attachment playing a student who seduces his married teacher (Stone), then stalks her and her family while dating the teacher’s teenage daughter. (Vulture)

Actor Nathan Fillion (Castle) has joined the cast of the Percy Jackson sequel called Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Sea of Monsters, which is based on the second book in Rick Riordan’s best-selling young adult book series. He will play the god Hermes, the father of antagonist Luke, who is played in the films by actor Jake Abel. Logan Lerman returns in the lead role of demigod Percy with Alexandra Daddario and Brandon T. Jason both returning as well. (Pamela McClintock at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actors Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy) and Richard Blake (Dragonball: Evolution) will star in the upcoming film called Snake and Mongoos that is an independent bio-pic based on the true story of drag racing legends Don “the Snake” Prudhomme and Tom “Mongoose” McEwen. Williams will play Prudhomme and Blake will play McEwen. The film will follow the longtime friendship and rivalry between the two legends. (Variety)

Actress Kiera Knightley (Pride & Prejudice) is in early talks to take on the lead role in the film adaptation of the Nicolas Sparks novel called Safe Haven. The synopsis of the book is: When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her; a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. (Twitch and First Showing)

That’s it. Enjoy!

In advance, have a fantastic weekend and I’ll be back with more news, probably, on Tuesday of next week.

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