Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

GENERAL

Congrats to the winners of last night’s Critics’ Choice Awards, including (but not limited to): Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Tatiana Maslany, Michael Cudlitz, Monica Potter, The Big Bang Theory, Elizabeth Moss and Patton Oswalt (E! Entertainment).

TELEVISION

DirecTV has given a second season order to its first original scripted drama Rogue that starred Thandie Newton as morally and emotionally conflicted undercover detective name Grace Travis. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actors Alexander Ludwig (The Hunger Games) and Linus Roache (Law & Order) have joined the cast of the History Channel drama Vikings for the show’s second season. Ludwig will portray Bjorn, the intelligent and bold warrior son of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) while Roache will play Ecbert, King of Wessex. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES NEWS

Actor Will Rothhaar (Last Resort) has joined the cast of the National Geographic two-hour original drama Killing Kennedy that will begin in 1959, following the paths of Kennedy (Rob Lowe), a member of one of the United States’ most wealthy and powerful families and his assassin Lee Harvey Oswald (Rothhaar), a disillusioned former Marine and Marxist, until they collide in Dallas four years later. The cast also includes Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time), Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy and Gossip Girl) [among others]. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

British actor Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter franchise) has joined the cast of the TNT drama pilot Murder In The First as a series regular. The series will center on San Francisco PD homicide detectives Terry Seagrave (Taye Diggs) and Hildy Mulligan (Kathleen Robertson), as they take on a case that seems more like a maze. Felton will play Erich Blunt, the cocky, spectacularly wealthy CEO of Applicon, a tech genius. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Sarah Jane Morris (NCIS and Brothers & Sisters) has joined the cast of the A&E pilot Occult that will star Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama) as FBI Agent Dolan, who is returning from leave after going off the deep end while investigating his wife Rebekah’s disappearance. Now back on the job, Dolan is paired with Noa Blair (Lynn Collins from True Blood), an agent who, perhaps because of her own “complicated” past, specializes in the occult. Together, they will solve cases for a newly formed occult crimes task force. Morris will play said missing wife. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE MOVIE NEWS

Actress Holliday Grainger (The Borgias) has joined the cast the live-action adaptation of Cinderella, where she will play one of Cinderella’s beautiful but mean stepsisters. Actress Lily James (Downton Abbey) plays Cinderella while actor Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) will play her handsome prince, and actress Cate Blanchett will play her wicked stepmother. (The Wrap and Dark Horizons)

More casting news for the Veronica Mars movie: Francis Capra, who played Eli “Weevil” Navarro on all three seasons of the TV series, will be in the movie!! (Kickstarter Update)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

That’s it. Enjoy!