Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Maggie Grace (Lost) has landed a major arc on Californication, playing Faith, an innocent Catholic school girl who’s been exposed to the evils of rock and roll. As a music groupie, she’s been on the road for years, acting as a muse to elite artists and falling heads over heels in love with them. Despite her fondness for sex, drugs and rock and roll, not to mention, a friendship-turned-more with Hank Moody, Faith remains religious. The network is considering a possible spin-off based on this new character. Californication is back in 2013. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

NBC has given a direct-to-series order to a new drama called Crossbone, which is an adaptation of the Colin Woodard novel The Republic of Pirates that is set in the 1700s during the Golden Age of Piracy and revolve around legendary pirate Blackbeard. NBC has ordered 10 episodes of the series. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Late last week and over the weekend the major networks revealed the shows that are being renewed and cancelled as well as the new pilots that are being picked up to series. Here is how much of those announcements broke down:

NBC: Cancelled Harry’s Law and renewed 30 Rock.

The CW: Renewed Nikita, Hart of Dixie and Gossip Girl while they picked up five new series, including The Carrie Diaries, Arrow, Cult, First Cut, and Beauty and the Beast. They cancelled Ringer and The Secret Circle, though.

ABC: Renewed Scandal, Body of Proof and Private Practice and picked up three new pilots Red Widow (formerly known as Penoza), Nashville and Zero Hour. They cancelled GCB, Pan Am, Missing, and The River though.

CBS: Renewed CSI: NY, but cancelled NYC 22, Unforgettable, A Gifted Man and veteran CSI: Miami. The new pilots that were picked up include Elementary, Vegas (formerly known as the Ralph Lamb pilot), Made In Jersey (formerly known as Baby Big Shot) and Golden Boy.

NOTE: Full details on renewals, cancellations and pilot pick-ups can be found in the separate posts I will be making throughout this week in conjunction with the network’s upfront presentations.

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 box office movies from this past weekend courtesy of Exhibitor Relations:

1. The Avengers, $103.2 million
2. Dark Shadows, $28.8 million
3. Think Like a Man, $6.3 million
4. The Hunger Games, $4.4 million
5. The Lucky One, $4.1 million
6. The Pirates! Band of Misfits, $3.2 million
7. The Five-Year Engagement, $3.1 million
8. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, $2.7 million
9. Chimpanzee, $1.6 million
10. Girl in Progress, $1.4 million

Actor Taylor Lautner will play Cam, a bike messenger who gets in hot water with the mob in the upcoming film called Tracers. The film is set in the world of parkour, the physical discipline that centers on moving efficiently around obstacles, be it by jumping, climbing or running. (Brent Lang at The Wrap)

That’s it. Enjoy!