Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Krista Allen (What About Brian) has joined the cast of the Canadian soap The LA Complex, which was picked up by the CW. In a major recurring role, she will play Jennifer Blake, an A-list movie star. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Nicole Kidman has entered talks to play Grace Kelly in the upcoming film called Grace of Monaco, which covers a six month time-span in 1962 when French leader Charles De Gaulle and Monaco’s Prince Rainier III were arguing over Monaco’s standing as a tax haven. The then 33-year-old Kelly, who had given up her acting career to become Rainier’s wife by this point, politically maneuvered her way behind-the-scenes to save Monaco. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Imprint Entertainment has optioned the film rights to the autobiography “Foxy, My Life in Three Acts” by iconic African American female sex symbol and action Pam Grier. (Dark Horizons)

Glee and American Horror Story co-creator Brad Falchuk has been hired to rewrite the 1987 screenplay of Dirty Dancing for a potential reboot for Lionsgate. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

TV SCOOP (with Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Revenge: This ABC sudser resumes its run on April 18, but I’m rather curious to see the May 9 episode that takes place entirely in flashback. Visiting the circa-2002 characters, you’ll see differences in personality, yes – “There’s an edge to [Amanda],” fresh out of juvie, says Emily VanCamp, while Madeleine Stowe teases a “more playful, more fun” Victoria. But admit it, it’s the cosmetic throwbacks you’ll be talking about. “Nolan is pulling out his best ‘Sal’s Boutique’ — aka Salvation Army duds, as we did in the ’90s,” says Gabrielle Mann. “I like to tease it as the Starsky & Hutch episode, because you’re going to think you’re in the ’70s, but you’re really in the ’90s by way of 2012 by way of 2002…. It’s Revenge‘s greatest hits… a Revenge lover’s smorgasbord.”

Castle: If you’ve been following Ask Ausiello you know that Michael Dorn will soon be resurfacing as Beckett’s therapist, whom we last saw in November. So what’s the hot topic at Beckett’s next shrink session, airing April 16? “The catalyst,” series boss Andrew W. Marlowe told me, “is Beckett coming to grips with Castle’s behavior” in the wake of him discovering — unbeknownst to her — that his partner lied about remembering her shooting. “It’s also,” Marlowe continued, “about her coming to grips with what she wants, and what she’s ready for.”

Q&A SECTION (with Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: I was just wondering if the people over at Once Upon a Time know how much of a hit Jefferson/Mad Hatter was? We already know that Sebastian Stan will be back for two more episodes this season… I was wondering if there was any chance he could be made into a series regular or at least a recurring character that appears very often. I know he just signed on to the USA Network’s Political Animals. Would that ruin his chances on Once Upon a Time? — Leia

Gonzalez: Oh, trust me, they’re aware of how fans were madly in love with this character. And it sounds like they’re willing to do anything necessary to get him back. Again, I said, anything. “We love Sebastian just as much as the fans and have plans to see much more of him down the line,” the pair told me. “And if we have to employ dark magic to make the scheduling work, that’s a price we’re happy to pay.”

Question: This wait until Nikita is pretty painful. Anything new to report? — Keith

Gonzalez: You want to talk pain? Then let’s talk about what happens in the show’s first episode back, when Nikita is captured and tortured by someone she knows well. This girl is used to pain, but lord in heaven this was tough to watch. Yes, I just LIH’d you. In case you aren’t from the south, this is what we say when we’re dead serious. Oh! And speaking of dead, someone we know won’t make it to the end of the intense hour.

Question: I’d love some Nick and Juliette scoop for Grimm! — Tracy

Gonzalez: Well, if you saw the promo for this week’s episode, you know there’s a re-appearance from the ring Nick bought in the pilot, and I can tell you this: it’s definitely put to use. But while there is a proposal, you’ll have to tune in to see how it all works out. What I can say is that Nick and Juliet’s relationship will NOT be the same in the episodes ahead.

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend! And, Happy Easter to those who celebrate.

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Expect to see actor Justin Hartley show up in the April 16 episode of Hart of Dixie, playing a patient who grows rather fond Zoe (Rachel Bilson). (Megan Masters at TV Line)

The co-showrunner of Supernatural, Sera Gamble, is stepping down; and despite the show not getting a renewal for next season YET, she will be replaced by Jeremy Carver. Fingers crossed that this changing of the guards will bring forth a renewal. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica) will guest star in the season finale of Castle that is set to air on May 7. The only details on his character are that his name is Cole Maddox, he is cold, calculated, has a military background and he is “bad news”. This role could also be recurring. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actress Brooke D’Orsay and actor Campbell Scott have been promoted to series regulars on Royal Pains, which will be back with its 4th season this summer. (Kate Stanhope at TV Guide)

Actor Jimmy Smits (NYPD Blue) is joining the upcoming 5th season of Sons of Anarchy in a major, season-long arc. He will play Neron “Nero” Padilla, a Latino gangbanger with an exit strategy who becomes a dangerous mentor for Jax (Charlie Hunnam). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Peri Gilpin (Frasier) has landed a multi-episode role in the long-running CBS drama CSI where she will play Alison, the wife of D.B. Russell (Ted Danson). Allison was born into a well-to-do California family, who turned her back on that world when she married Russell. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Actress Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) will guest star in the season finale of Grimm, playing the intriguingly-named Woman in Black, the latest obstacle for Nick and Hank. The finale will air on May. 18. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Seth Peterson will be back on Burn Notice for a five-episode arc, playing brother Nate to Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BRITISH TELEVISION

Actor David Tennant (Doctor Who) and actress Janet Montgomery (Human Target) will star in the TV adaptation of the Alan Furst novel “The Spies Of Warsaw”. It is a thrilling spy story set in Poland, Paris, London and Berlin in the years leading up to the Second World War. and German intelligence operatives are locked in a life-and-death struggle on the espionage battlefield. At the French embassy, the new military attaché, Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier (Tennant), a decorated war hero of the 1914 war, is drawn into a world of abduction, betrayal and intrigue in the diplomatic salons and back alleys of Warsaw. At the same time, the handsome aristocrat finds himself in a passionate love affair with Anna (Montgomery), a Parisian lawyer for the League of Nations. Their complicated love affair intensifies as German tanks drive through the Black Forest. (BBC)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Keri Russell is in talks to join the cast of the sci-fi thriller film called Dark Skies, which focuses on a 6-year-old boy who’s apparently been “marked” by an alien (living among us) for future abduction. She would play the young boy’s mother. (Bloody Disgusting and Dark Horizons)

Actor Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) will star in the horror-thriller film called Hidden that follows a family hiding in a bomb shelter after escaping a mysterious outbreak. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actress Amy Brenneman (Private Practice) has joined the cast of the romantic drama film called Look Of Love that will star Annette Bening as a widow who meets a man (Ed Harris) who is a dead ringer for her deceased husband. There are no details on who Brenneman will play, though. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Richard Schiff (The West Wing) will have a multi-episode arc on NCIS, playing Harper Dearing, an eccentric international businessman who is no stranger to hobnobbing with the world’s elite. However, he is haunted by the loss of his son, who died in a terrorist bombing some years ago. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Actress Emilie de Ravin (Lost) and Kristin Bauer van Straten (True Blood) will both be back in their roles of Belle and Maleficent (respectively) on Once Upon a Time next month. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

Actress Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage) will guest star in an upcoming episode of The Mentalist, playing Loraliei Martins, the love interest Patrick Jane (Simon Baker). She will appear in the May 17 finale and in the first five episodes of next season. (Lindsay Silberman at TV Guide)

Actor Richard Coyle (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Coupling) will appear in Covert Affairs when it returns for season three this summer. He will play Simon, a Cambridge-educated and refined globe-trotting venture capitalist who just so happens to be a suspected KGB spy. Annie (Piper Perabo) is assigned to him, but soon finds herself more involved than she ever intended. He will recur throughout the season. (Joyce Eng at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Landon Liboiron (from the short-lived Terra Nova) has joined the cast of the Netflix original series called Hemlock Grove, which is a 13-episode horror series set in a ravaged Pennsylvania steel town that begins with the discovery of a young girl’s body. As the crime goes unsolved and outlandish rumors mount, Roman (Bill Skarsgard) and Peter (as-yet uncast) decide to find the killer on their own, confronting unspeakable truths about themselves and Hemlock Grove as the mystery unfolds. Framke Janssen is set to play Olivia, the otherworldly beautiful and controlling grande dame of Hemlock Grove. Liborion will play Roman, Olivia’s son. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Omar Epps (House) wrote and will star as well as produce the romantic comedy called Between Us, which is about two best friends looking for love in the wrong places with a contemporary twist. (Brian Brooks at Deadline)

Actor Dominic Cooper (The Devil’s Double and Captain America) is in negotiations to join Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace in the revenge thriller called Dead Man Down. Farrell is to play a man who infiltrates a crime syndicate responsible for the death of his family while Rapace plays a mysterious, scarred beauty with intimate knowledge of his past. Whereas, Cooper is in talks to play a family man who works as Farrell’s partner on the street. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actress Abigail Breslin will star in the new supernatural mystery film called Haunter, playing a dead teenage girl’s spirit. She and her family died under sinister circumstances in 1986. Now, trapped in their house together and unable to move, she must help her present-day living counterpart to avoid the same fate she suffered. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Q&A SECTION (with Natalie Abrams from TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: What’s coming up for Stefan and Elena on The Vampire Diaries? I really miss them. — Sarah

NATALIE: Though Stefan and Elena haven’t been butting heads quite as much lately, don’t expect them to get swept up in another love affair. Still, they’ll make progress in a late April episode when Stefan escorts her to the 1920 Decade Dance. When he picks her up for the soiree, the pair will share a sweet exchange reminiscent of their early dating days.

Question: I was so psyched to see Daenerys and her dragons back on Game of Thrones! Any news on her? — Leela

NATALIE: Sadly, the khaleesi isn’t finding life any easier in the Red Waste. After last week’s desperate measures, she finds herself facing an even more discouraging setback when she discovers a loyal member of her khalasar has been killed.

Question: Anything — anything — you can tell me about Castle‘s zombie episode, titled “Undead Again”? —Cat

Ausiello: It airs April 30, one week before the season finale — and that was by design. “As part of this final Beckett/Castle run-up to a very emotional finale — where we confront a lot of the issues that the characters have been skirting all season — we felt like it was important to bring some fun into the show,” series creator Andrew W. Marlowe told TVLine’s Matt Mitovich. “Zombies are very much in the zeitgeist, and we thought it was something that was worth tackling.” The boss man hints that he found a “credible” way to incorporate Walkers into the procedural à la how “last season Castle was convinced that aliens were behind a murder.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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