Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for yesterday and today:

TELEVISION

ABC has canceled their new drama Zero Hour after only three episodes due to low ratings. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

FOX on the other hand has given a second season order to The Following. (The Futon Critic)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

TNT is developing a scripted drama based on novelist Sara Gran’s book series about tough female private investigator Claire DeWitt. (Lacey Rose at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

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

1. Jack the Giant Slayer – $28 million
2. Identity Thief -$9.7 million
3. 21 and Over – $9 million
4. The Last Exorcism Part II – $8 million
5. Snitch – $7.7 million
6. Escape From Planet Earth – $6.7 million
7. Safe Haven – $6.3 million
8. Silver Linings Playbook – $5.9 million
9. A Good Day to Die Hard – $4.5 million
10. Dark Skies – $3.6 million

Actor Jesse L. Martin will be taking over for singer-actor Lenny Kravitz in the lead role of Marvin Gaye in the upcoming bio-pic called Sexual Healing that will focus on the time Gaye spent in Europe in the early 1980s, when the soul singer attempted to get his addictions under control and his career back on track with the help of British music promoter Freddy Cousaert. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen, Supernatural and Magic City) will join Anthony Hopkins and Colin Farrell in the supernatural thriller called Solace. Hopkins will play a former doctor with psychic abilities who is drawn into a serial-killer case, only to find that the killer (Farrell) is a psychic as well — so the two men can detect each other’s moves. Morgan is playing a veteran FBI agent heading the investigation of a series of grisly murders. He recruits Hopkins’ character to help catch the killer. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Actress Rebecca Hall (The Town) has landed the lead role opposite Johnny Depp in the sci-fi film Transcendence. The film will also star Paul Bettany. The story is supposedly to follow a husband and wife team who develop a programming code for the first self-aware computer. But when a group of anti-technology terrorists try to assassinate the husband, his wife uploads his brain into a prototype supercomputer. Rather than going horribly wrong, the man starts to respond in computer form and connects him to the Internet to continue to explore this breakthrough. But the terrorists are still in pursuit, trying to destroy the computer. (First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

‘Iron Man 3’ Trailer

Q&A SECTION (with Team Watch with Kristin at E! Online)

Question: In desperate need of PLL scoop! – Dana

Team Watch with Kristin: We can tell you that the season four premiere will be titled “‘A’ is for A-l-i-v-e.” Take from that what you will. In the episode, we’ll meet Marion, Toby’s mother.

Question: Once Upon a Time scoop please! – Dahlia

Team Watch with Kristin: While the only answer Colin O’Donoghue would give us when we asked if he’s filmed any scenes in Neverland yet was a coy smile and a nervous deflection, the show’s creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis revealed that the two-part season two finale episode titles are “Second Star to the Right” and “And Straight On ‘Til Morning.”

Question: I’m waiting on the return of Revolution. What can I expect in the first episode back? – ChuckGamble1968

Team Watch with Kristin: Answers! “We reveal why the power went out and we do it early,” creator Eric Kripke teases. He also adds that “the fights get bigger, the emotion gets more fraught.” Is it March 25 yet?

Question: Hart of Dixie broke my heart last week! Any scoop on what’s next for Zoe? – Ashley

Team Watch with Kristin: Zoe is heading back to New York! Yes, episode 22 will find our heartbroken doc heading back to her old stomping grounds, but don’t worry; it’s not a one-way trip as she’s traveling back for a wedding. On the flight, however, she will have a very chatty seatmate who will provide Zoe with some advice on her love life, which includes major updates on both the Wade and George front.

Question: Scandal, please! – Tweetydreamer20

Team Watch with Kristin: In an upcoming episode, Fitz and Mellie will be interviewed by a Barbara Walters-type, who gets the couple to talk a bit about their relationship in law school, where the two often went head-to-head.

Question: Was the recent episode of Person of Interest that guest-starred Sarah Shahi a back-door pilot? I found the episode to be fantastic, and if they were going to spin it off, I would watch it in a second. — Mike

Matt Roush: My understanding is that she will return later this season as part of an arc, with the potential of being integrated into the larger world of the show, not unlike the equally appealing recurring character of Zoe, played by Paige Turco. At the moment, a spin-off doesn’t appear to be on CBS’ development roster, but that doesn’t mean it’s out of the question. We already know CBS isn’t shy about offshoots of its most successful franchises, but Person of Interest is awfully offbeat, so I’m not sure it lends itself to this quite as easily.

Additional Question: Another POI fan, Tommy, writes in to observe: “The last half-dozen episodes have been spectacular. Excellent writing and storytelling that has exceeded even The Good Wife, in my opinion. Moving on from the Elias storyline last season to a broader exploration of The Machine has really raised the bar this season. Is there a smarter series on network TV today? Does that bode well for renewal?”

Matt again: Person of Interest is way too young, and way too good, to have to worry about cancellation anytime soon. It’s also too different from The Good Wife for me to want to declare one “smarter” than the other — let’s just be glad that a network as successful as CBS can support both of them.

That’s it. Enjoy!