Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Xander Berkeley (24 and Nikita) will have a recurring role on the upcoming third season of Being Human (the Syfy version) He will play Liam, the father of Brynn (Tracy Spiridakos) and Connor (Jon Cor) who is seeking answers for what happened to his children and also seeking to wipe out the vampires that remain. A brute with charisma and chilling elegance, he will be both enemy and father-like figure to Nora (Kristen Hager). He will appear in an 8-episode arc. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Robbie Amell (Revenge and Alcatraz) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Pretty Little Liars, playing Eric Khan, the older brother of Noel Khan (Brant Daugherty). He is expected to show up in episode 9 that is set to air on August 7; and while this is to be a one-time appearance there is a possibility the character could recur. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

Lost alum Emilie de Ravin has been promoted to a series regular on Once Upon a Time where she plays Belle. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) will guest star on the Necessary Roughness summer finale, which is set to air on August 29. He will play Jimmy Folkes, a legendary record producer, with whom TK (Mehcad Brooks) crosses paths in an unlikely place. (Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

It looks like CBS isn’t giving up on last year’s new drama Unforgettable despite it was not picked up for a second season this past May. It seems the network is in discussions to bring the show back with a 13-episode order targeted for next summer. No other details are available, though. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Charisma Carpenter (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) just might be getting bumped up to series regular on the ABC Family teen soap The Lying Game. Nothing is confirmed yet, but the deal appears to nearly be set. (Variety and TV Line)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Linda Hamilton (Terminator franchise and the 1980’s TV series Beauty & the Beast) will join actors Jeremy Sisto (Suburgatory), and actress Emilie de Ravin (Lost and Once Upon a Time) [among others] in the four-hour TV mini-series to be called Air Force One Is Down. Hamilton will play U.S. President Harriet Rowntree in the thriller about a sabotaged Air Force One crashing into the Mediterranean, where she is captured and held hostage by a Serbian strongman. Sisto will play Captain Fergus Markey in the project, who is charged with tracking down the kidnappers’ lair. (Tim Kenneally and Alexander C. Kaufman from The Wrap)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Amber Heard will star alongside Liam Hemsworth, Harrison Ford and Gary Oldham in the corporate espionage film called Paranoia. Hemsworth will star as a young office worker who throws a lavish retirement party for a colleague with company funds, and ends up blackmailed into infiltrating a rival company’s top secret project. Heard will play the female lead. (Digital Spy and Dark Horizons)

Actor Miles Teller (Footloose and Rabbit Hole) will star alongside Shailene Woodley (The Secret Life of an American Teenager) in the upcoming film called The Spectacular Now, which is based on the Tim Tharp novel. Teller plays a charming and popular high school senior who lives for the moment and as a project begins to date a social outcast and realizes he has the power to permanently impact someone’s life. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actor Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) will provide the voice of the film’s still-unnamed villain in the upcoming animation film How to Train Your Dragon 2. The sequel will again feature the voice talents of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, TJ Miller and Kristen Wiig. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Jemima West (The Borgias) has joined the cast of The Mortal Instruments, which is based on the Cassandra Clare book. The story follows Clary Fray (Lily Collins), a seemingly ordinary teenager who discovers she is the descendent of a demon-hunting clan. Jaime Campbell Bower also stars. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actors Chris Rock, Jamie Foxx and Idris Elba are all up for the key role in the remake of French hit film The Intouchables. The story follows a wealthy, disabled man who hires a commoner caretaker. Actresses Jessica Chastain and Michelle Williams are said to be in contention for the female lead. (Vulture and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

New Breaking Dawn Part 2 Trailer: Vampire Bella Is Ready for Action

Watch: First Teaser Trailer for Pixar’s ‘Monsters University’ is Here

BOX OFFICE TRAILER AND POSTER

Trailer & Poster for Joe Wright’s ‘Anna Karenina’ with Keira Knightley

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

Question: I know everyone is excited about McGarrett’s mom on Hawaii Five-0, but what about Kono!? She was drowning! — Kim

ADAM: Relax, Kim. Kono’s not going to become a floater. Once she’s back on dry land, she and the rest of Five-0 will go hard after Wo Fat and Delano. But the near-death experience will change Kono: During an interrogation, look for her to use some of the more, ahem, physical tactics usually employed by McGarrett to extract information.

Question: Got any scoop on the new season of Once Upon a Time? — Sarah

NATALIE: In Season 2, we’ll meet “Anastasia,” a princess who is willing to sacrifice her life of privilege for love, and “Magnolia,” a tough Asian warrior. There are quotes around their names because we’re guessing that the producers are trying to throw us off with fake character names. If we’re right, get ready for Aurora and Mulan to come to town!

Question: Hank’s love life is going to heat up on Royal Pains, but what about Divya? — Kendra

ADAM: As we teased a few weeks ago, Divya’s love life will mostly be a disaster, but she will share some sparks with an attractive polo player named Rafa. He’s a bit (read: extremely) arrogant, but the duo’s shared love of horses will bring out his softer side.

Question: Tell me my eyes aren’t deceiving me! Mike and Rachel kiss on Suits?! — Jenny

ADAM: Your eyes don’t lie! They lock lips right in the office this week after Mike tells her that he got her message. Done squealing? Good, because problems arise when Mike wants to tell Rachel his secret, which naturally doesn’t exactly go over well with Harvey.

Question: Do you have any scoop on the season of premiere of Castle? —Ivy

Ausiello: Well, Castle and Beckett obviously know they hooked up, and we know they hooked up, but what about everyone else? “It’ll be fun to see who finds out about them being together — who stays out of the loop and for how long and how they decide to reveal all of that,” Stana Katic shared with us at the Critics’ Choice Awards, where she was a presenter. “That’s a big bombshell.” But speaking of bombshells, Katic feels that the unsolved murder of Beckett’s mother could hang a cloud over Kate and Rick’s otherwise happy coupling. “One of the things that I, as viewer, am curious about is … her mother’s murder. Even though the two of them have gotten together, that still looms over them.”

Question: Since it seems there won’t be much in the way of Castle spoilers coming out of Comic-Con this year, do you have anything you can share that will help us through the hiatus? —Rachel

Ausiello: The new season will pick up pretty much where last season left off.

Question: Any scoop on Jane By Design? —Sandra

Ausiello: Sounds like Rita is going to regret letting Ben go so easily in last week’s episode. “A rival for Rita [comes] into the picture, so there will be a little bit of a love triangle going on,” teases Ben’s portrayer, David Clayton Rogers, who reveals that the nemesis (played by Cougar Town breakout Briga Heelan) is a new teacher — and former classmate of Ben and Rita’s — that “has her eyes set on the bachelor.” The ensuing conflict sets up a “Mean Girls-esque” battle between the two women.

Question: Will you give me a spoiler or two or three or four on my new love Leverage? —Alicia

Ausiello: I will give you exactly four spoilers from the con-man drama’s fifth season premiere (airing July 15): The episode opens with a series of quickie flashbacks that reveal what the gang was up to while they were separated. The key takeaway: Nathan and Sophie are still romantically involved. Also of note, Parker and Hardison are, like, totally officially dating, and there’s a twisty ending involving a surprising (and top-secret) alliance.

That’s it. Enjoy!