Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items from Labor Day and today:

TELEVISION

Actor Steven Culp (Desperate Housewives) will have a recurring role on Grey’s Anatomy this fall, playing Dr. Parker, a top dog doctor. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Well-known author Neil Gaiman will be writing another episode for Doctor Who. Let the rejoining begin, as he wrote the fantastic episode “The Doctor’s Wife” last season!! (We Got This Covered and Blastr)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

CBS has landed the Beverly Hills Cop remake that was put into development with Shawn Ryan (the man behind The Shield) at the helm. The series will center on Axel Foley’s blue-collar police officer son, Aaron, who helps take down the criminal elements of the rich and famous in Beverly Hills, while trying to escape the shadow of his larger than life father. Murphy will reprise his role as Axel in pilot and may recur if the pilot goes to series. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor William Fichtner (Prison Break) and legendary actor Donald Sutherland [among others] are set to star in Crossing Lines an action-crime drama series created by former Criminal Minds showrunner Ed Bernero for Tandem Communications. This 10-episode series will follow the workings of a special crime unit set up by the International Criminal Court to investigate serialized crimes that cross over European borders and to hunt down criminals to bring them to justice. This marks the first series for the Munich-based Tandem, a leading producer of event mini-series like The Pillars Of The Earth. It will air on TF1 in France and on Sony Pictures TV Networks’ AXN channels across 81 countries. The series has no U.S. distribution yet, though. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Crackle, the multi-platform entertainment network, announced the production of its new original series called Chosen that will star Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes), who will also executive producer alongside series creators Ben Ketai and Ryan Lewis. The series follows Ian Mitchell (Ventimiglia), a husband, father and lawyer who awakens one morning to discover a mysterious box on his doorstep containing a loaded gun – and a photo of a stranger he is instructed to kill within the next three days. This series will be comprised of six half-hour episodes that will include cast members Diedrich Bader (Napoleon Dynamite), Nicky Whelan (Hall Pass), Brett Davern (Awkward) and Katrina Law (Spartacus: Vengeance) [among others]. (The Futon Critic)

Starz has picked up a 10-episode series called The White Queen, which is an adaptation of the Phillipa Gregory series of best-selling novels (“The White Queen”, “The Red Queen” and “The Kingmaker’s Daughter”). The series will follow the thrilling story of the women caught up in the ongoing conflict for the throne. They are some of the most ruthless players in history and will stop at nothing to support their own causes and those of the ones they love. It is a stunningly rich tale of love and loss, seduction and deception, betrayal and murder, vibrantly woven through the stories of three different yet equally driven women, in their quest for power as they manipulate behind the scenes of history – Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort and Anne Neville. The year is 1464 and England has been at war for nine years battling over who is the rightful King of England – it is a war between two sides of the same family, The House of York and The House of Lancaster. The House of York’s young and devilishly handsome Edward IV (Max Irons, Red Riding Hood) is crowned King of England with the help of the master manipulator Lord Warwick “The Kingmaker” (James Frain, True Blood and The Tudors). But when Edward falls in love and secretly marries a beautiful young widow, the commoner Elizabeth Woodville (newcomer Rebecca Ferguson) Warwick’s plan for control over the English throne comes crashing down around him. Frustrated by the new Queen’s influence he will stop at nothing to maintain his grip on the King. The captivating and beautiful Elizabeth Woodville marries for the love of her King, with the help of her mother Jacquetta (Janet McTeer), a self proclaimed sorceress. Elizabeth’s most fierce adversary is the staunchly loyal Lancastrian Margaret Beaufort (Amanda Hale, The Crimson Petal & The White), a damaged and highly religious woman who would willingly lay down her life to see her young son Henry Tudor take the throne. And then there is Anne Neville (newcomer Faye Marsay), Lord Warwick The Kingmaker’s daughter – a pawn in her father’s battle for control; who finds her strength and ambition when she takes control of her destiny and marries the King’s younger brother Richard Duke of York (Aneurin Bernard, Spring Awakening). The White Queen will air on Starz in 2013. (The Futon Critic)

CONDOLENCES

Oscar-nominated actor Michael Clarke Duncan passed away over the weekend, two months after suffering a heart attack. He was only 54 years old. He is best known for his work in the box office film The Green Mile, but he also appeared in Daredevil and Green Lantern (among other films). He was also one of the lead stars in the short-lived, Bones spin-off called Finder. (Twitter and E! Online)

ME: Rest in Peace, Mr. Duncan. Deepest condolences to his family, friends and fans.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 box offices from this past holiday weekend courtesy of TV Guide and Box Office Mojo:

1. The Possession – 17.7 million
2. Lawless – 10 million
3. The Expendables 2 – 8.9 million
4. The Bourne Legacy – 7.3 million
5. ParaNorman – 6.6 million
6. The Odd Life of Timothy Green – 6.3 million
7. The Dark Knight Rises – 6.1 million
8. The Campaign – 5.7 million
9. 2016 Obama’s America – 5.6 million
10. Hope Spring s- 4.7 million

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Hot Trailer: ‘Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters’

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

Question: Have you seen the Castle screener?— @genkichiba

Gonzalez: Yes I did! The morning-after scene is everything executive producer Andrew Marlowe promised and they bring the plot about Beckett’s mom’s murder to a big non-resolution resolution that is very clever. And you’ll see exactly what my confusing terminology means when you see the episode.

Question: Anything on Castle?? Please?— @themrslondon

Gonzalez: All the buzz about the first scene is worth it, but the last scene is also going to be a fave among the fans.

That’s it. Enjoy!