Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

GENERAL NEWS

Congrats to the winners of the Golden Globe Awards, which were presented last night, including (but not limited to) Argo, Les Misérables, Jessica Chastain, Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, Brave, Adele, Homeland, Damian Lewis, Claire Danes, Kevin Costner and Maggie Smith.

TELEVISION

The ABC Family drama Switched at Birth will produce an episode told entirely in American Sign Language – a first in scripted, mainstream TV, told from the perspective of the shows’ multiple deaf characters. The episode will air on March 4. (TV By the Numbers)

Actor John Hannah (Spartacus and The Mummy film franchise) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Elementary, playing Rhys, Sherlock’s old drug dealer from London who comes to New York seeking Holmes’ help. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Paul Abbott, the creator of the British and co-creator of the US version of Shameless, will produce the English-language adaptation of the French series known as Les Revenants with a working title of They Came Back, which centers on a group of men and women in a small Alpine village who find themselves in a state of confusion, trying to return to their homes. What they don’t yet know is that they’ve been dead for several years, and no one is expecting them back. (Nancy Tartaglione at Deadline)

Showtime has made a deal for a drama series from John Logan (co-writer of the box office film Skyfall) and director Sam Mendes called Penny Dreadful, which will be a psychosexual horror series that will feature some of horror literature’s most famous characters – including Dr. Frankenstein and his creature, Dorian Gray and Dracula – as they become embroiled in Victorian London. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

NBC has given a pilot order for the drama called I Am Victor from former House executive producer Katie Jacobs and best-selling Norwegian novelist Jo Nesbo that centers on Victor Port, a high powered divorce attorney with a unique view of relationships. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Michael Hirst (creator of The Tudors, producer on The Borgias and writer of Elizabeth) is working on a TV series based on Alexander the Great, which will initially consist of 8 to12 one-hour episodes, covering the key moments of the Macedonian king’s life across a three-season run. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actress Michelle Monagham (Eagle Eye) is set to star opposite actors Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in the HBO drama called True Detective, which has been given a straight-to-series order by the cabler. The series centers on two detectives, Rust Cohle (McConaughey) and Martin Hart (Harrelson), whose lives collide and entwine during a 17-year hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana. The investigation of a bizarre murder in 1995 is framed and interlaced with testimony from the detectives in 2012, when the case has been reopened. Monaghan will play the female lead, Maggie Hart, the wife of Martin Hart (Harrelson), a woman who makes a hard decision that has long-reaching and devastating consequences. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 box office films for this past weekend from Exhibitor Relations:

1. Zero Dark Thirty, $24 million
2. A Haunted House, $18.8 million
3. Gangster Squad, $16.7 million
4. Django Unchained, $11.1 million
5. Les Misérables, $10.1 million
6. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, $9.1 million
7. Lincoln, $6.3 million
8. Parental Guidance, $6.1 million
9. Texas Chainsaw 3D, $5.2 million
10. Silver Linings Playbook, $5 million

It looks like the powers that be behind the recently cancelled TNT series Leverage are shopping the show around to see if there is any interest in it possibly being made into a feature film. There are no confirmations of any interest; but fans can take heart that series creator Dean Devlin and his team are looking into other possibilities. (Dominic Patten at Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!