Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Film actor John Malkovich will be heading to the small screen to star in the new NBC action-adventure drama Crossbones that has a 10-episode order from the network. He will play the lead role in the series that will take place in 1715 on the Bahamian island of New Providence, the first functioning democracy in the Americas, where the pirate Edward Teach — aka Blackbeard — reigns over a rogue nation of thieves, outlaws and miscreant sailors. A premiere date has yet to be set, though. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Laura Vandervoort (Smallville and V) has landed the lead role in the upcoming Canadian drama series called Bitten based on a character taken from the Women of the Otherworlds series of books by Kelley Armstrong. She will play Elena Michaels, the world’s only female werewolf. Here is the synopsis of the Bitten plot: A foster child, Elena thought she finally found her “happily ever after” with her new love Clayton, but with one small bite, her life was changed forever and she was forced to survive life with the Pack as a werewolf. Years later, Elena has found refuge in Toronto, working as a photographer and dating a new man. But when bodies turn up in the backwoods of Stonehaven, the rural mansion that has served as a werewolf sanctuary for generations, the perfect life Elena has constructed begins to crumble. With the Pack threatened by an unknown predator, they turn to Elena for help. Caught between two worlds and two loves, Elena returns to Stonehaven out of duty, but once back in the fold she realizes that when push comes to shove, like any true alpha female, she’ll stop at nothing to defend her family. This series has a 13-episode order from Space; time will tell, though, if the show will reach the United States via Syfy similar to how Lost Girl and Continuum (among others) have crossed the border. (Krystal Clark at Blastr)

MINI-SERIES NEWS

Discovery Channel has announced casting for its planned six-hour mini-series called Klondike. The cast now includes Richard Madden (Game of Thrones), Augustus Prew (Charlie St. Cloud), Abbie Cornish (RoboCop), Ian Hart (Luck), Johnny Simmons (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Conor Leslie (Chained). The mini-series will be based on the Charlotte Gray novel “Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich In The Klondike” that will tell the story of six strangers and their collective fight for survival and wealth in a small, frontier town in the remote Klondike, centering on childhood best friends Bill Haskell (Madden) and Byron Epstein (Prew) who head west in 1897 to seek their fortune in the Yukon Territories during the gold rush, where they face a harrowing journey of adventure, excitement and danger at every turn. Cornish will play the female lead Belinda, the powerful eyes and ears of Dawson City, who owns the mill and the loan shop and doesn’t think very highly of those seeking a fortune in gold. Hart will play Soapy Smith, an irrepressible Yukon con man and pick pocket while Simmons will play Jack London, a heavy drinker and adrenaline junkie who’s determined to write a shelf full of novels about his experiences. Leslie will play Sabine, an ambitious local beauty. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

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

1. Oz the Great and Powerful, $80.3 million
2. Jack the Giant Slayer, $10 million
3. Identity Thief, $6.3 million
4. Dead Man Down, $5.4 million
5. Snitch, $5.1 million
6. 21 and Over, $5.06 million
7. Safe Haven, $3.8 million
8. Silver Linings Playbook, $3.7 million
9. Escape From Planet Earth, $3.2 million
10. The Last Exorcism Part II, $3.1 million

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Roush from TV Guide)

Question: I have so loved this season of NCIS. I am confused, though, about Ziva’s behavior after the death of her father. She seems like she is having the best year of her life, while I was expecting some sort of down time for her as they have shown numerous times with Vance. I was so hoping that they would not brush her response aside as they did with Somalia. While I thought that “Shiva” was the best episode ever of NCIS and the acting was unbelievable, I guess I was expecting some revenge or response from Ziva. Have you heard of any upcoming episode that we can at least get a hint of Ziva’s response? If they don’t give Cote de Pablo another chance to sparkle as she did in “Shiva,” they are making a huge mistake. She was spectacular and had me in tears. — Kathy

Matt Roush: As noted earlier, I try not to look too far ahead in this column, but I have seen some teasers that indicate that as you’d expect, Ziva isn’t done with her quest for justice yet. How could she be? NCIS tends to measure out this kind of storyline, although in the case of Vance, the tragedy shattered his domestic situation so violently that it had to be addressed immediately and at some length. Ziva is much more likely to use work to repress her feelings, or at least to help her put up a tough façade, until the next explosive turn of events. But I get your point that given the severity of this particular setback, even for someone like Ziva, it’s jarring and less than satisfying to see her go back to business as usual.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Syfy has made a 13-episode straight-to-series order for the dark thriller called Helix from Ronald D. Moore, the man behind the reboot of Battlestar Galactica. The series is about a team of scientists investigating a possible disease outbreak at an Arctic research facility who find themselves trying to protect the world from annihilation. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Kasha Kropinski, who recurred on the first two seasons of Hell on Wheels as Ruth, the courageous religious leader, has been promoted to series regular for the show’s upcoming third season on AMC. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Sebastian Roche will join Liam Neeson in the upcoming box office film called A Walk Among the Tombstones. He will play Yuri Landau, a middle class Russian drug dealer whose daughter is kidnapped. He asks hard-boiled ex-NYPD cop and unlicensed private detective Matt Scudder (Neeson) to help get her back before it is too late. (Dominic Patten at Deadline)

Actress Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows) has the as-yet titled romantic comedy that is set to star Hugh Grant and Marisa Tomei in a story that follows a creatively washed up, divorced and broke former award-winning screenwriter (Grant) forced to take on a job teaching screenwriting at a small college. Heathcote will play one of his students. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Mitovich at TV Line and Team Watch with Kristin at E! Online)

Question: Do you have anything regarding Castle‘s 100th episode? Any scoop will be very much appreciated! –Martina

Mitovich: One hundred, shmun-hundred! How about, instead, Episode 105 – aka the Season 5 finale? “We’re looking at a very emotional finale,” series creator Andrew W. Marlowe previews. “We’re dealing with something very explosive, personally… ‘he says cryptically and mysteriously.’” With a smile, he added: “Stay tuned!”

Question: I am really looking forward to the rest of Season 2 on Revenge. Especially after that last episode, what can we expect? –Matt

Mitovich: You know how Gabriel Mann teased for us a “Nolan-centric” season finale? At this week’s TV Academy event showcasing the ABC sudser, he elaborated – somewhat – about what’s on tap, saying that over “the next three or four episodes, you’re going to have a very good idea of where these events may be leading.” In fact, he’s left to wonder “whether we may hit that apex even prior to the finale — and if we do, what does that mean for what the finale actually could mean?” His working theory: Simply that the season-ender “is going to be next-level [stuff]. It’s going to be hard to top last year, so they’ve got their work cut out for them.”

Question: Will Neal’s fiancée play a role in future Once Upon a Time episodes? –Devin

Mitovich: Yes — though probably not in quite the way you expect. And that’s all I’ll say, for now, on the matter… so here’s series co-creator Eddy Kitsis, pre-PaleyFest: “Tamara’s not going anywhere anytime soon…. We’re very excited for the audience to see what she’s all about.”

Question: Will Nashville‘s Deacon find out about his secret child with Rayna this season? –Stephanie

Mitovich: Series creator Callie Khouri confirms that Deacon thus far “has no idea” about his progeny, and she seems in no rush to drop that paternity bombshell. “That’s a big deal… We’ll hold that,” Khouri says – though, keep in mind, she hasn’t tackled the season finale yet.

Question: Is the rumor true that T.J. Ramini is returning to NCIS (as Mossad Officer Malachi Ben-Gidon)? –Ted

Mitovich: “It’s no secret Eli David’s killer is still out there — and Ziva wants answers as does Mossad,” answers showrunner Gary Glasberg. “But we will have to wait and see if that means Malachi is coming back as well.”

Question: Now that things are starting to heat up between Person of Interest‘s Reese and Zoe, are we going to see Paige Turco again soon? –Kelly

Mitovich: I was prepared to break the news that, no, Turco has not booked her next visit just yet. And now, in light of her new commitment, it might be a while ’til she’s available for an encore.

Question: You guys have been lacking on the Nikita scoop lately! Give up the goods! – Lauren

Team Watch with Kristin: Say goodbye to Division! Yep, the President has hired a Navy SEAL team to disband Division, but things get complicated when a certain black box ends up in the wrong hands.

Question: Supernatural? – Haley:

Team Watch with Kristin: Prepare to meet a new angel: Metatron! The CW hit is currently casting the role of the aged, hunched angel, who is the Scribe of God. While he’s a bit of a scatterbrain, he knows how to get the job done. Think Obi-Wan Kenobi meets The Usual Suspect’s Virgil Kent. Fans can expect Metatron to stick around for at least three episodes and potentially next season as well!

Question: Revenge it up! – Lauren

Team Watch with Kristin: Is that young people speak for “give me Revenge spoilers?” If so, here it is! Henry Czerny tells us that for those fans who want Conrad and Victoria together and happy (do those fans exist?), they should know that he thinks Conrad would “go through the gauntlet” to get to a happy ending with Victoria. “There is hope,” he tells us. “But there is juicy stuff coming up that we have to get through before they can think about being together.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

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