Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for yesterday and today:

TELEVISION

Actress Zuleikha Robinson (Rome and Lost) will have a major recurring role on the second season of Homeland. She will play a Middle Eastern woman Roya Hammad, a field journalist with a special relationship to Abu Nazir (Navid Negahban) who delivers an ultimatum to Brody (Damian Lewis). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Wanda de Jesus (CSI: Miami) has been cast in a multiple-episode arc Sons Of Anarchy. She will play Carla, a smart and sexy associate of Nero (Jimmy Smits), a Latino gangbanger with an exit strategy who becomes a dangerous mentor for Jax (Charlie Hunnam). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Michael Weatherly (NCIS) is the first high-profile guest star for the new TNT series Major Crimes, which is the spinoff from The Closer. He will play Arthur “Thorn” Woodson, a charming con artist who currently works as an “intuitive life strategist” for a group of Israeli mob wives (all of whom he is bedding). Major Crimes will debut on August 13 at 10 right after the series finale of The Closer. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor James Frain (True Blood) has been cast as the brother of Captain Sean Renard (Sasha Roiz) on Grimm. He will play Eric Renard in what is being described as a recurring guest star. It seems the brothers don’t have that great of a relationship; and he is in town after a very bad creature makes its way into Portland. (David Eckstein at Zap2It)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 box office moves for the long holiday weekend courtesy of Box Office Mojo and E! Online:

1. Men in Black 3 – $70 million
2. The Avengers – $46.9 million
3. Battleship – $13.8 million
4. The Dictator – $11.8 million
5. Chernobyl Diaries – $9.3 million
6. Dark Shadows – $9.4 million
7. What to Expect When You’re Expecting – $8.9 million
8. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – $8.2 million
9. The Hunger Games – $2.9 million
10. Think Like a Man – $1.8 million

Actress Malin Akerman (Watchmen) will play Blondie singer Debbie Harry in the upcoming independent film called CBGB, after the iconic New York hotspot that she and her band often frequented. The film will chronicle the legendary music venue that stars Alan Rickman as Hilly Kristal, the owner of CBGB, and Rupert Grint as Cheetah Chrome, the guitarist for the Dead Boys. (Bruna Nessif at E! Online)

That’s it. Enjoy!