Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

TNT has canceled the drama King & Maxwell after only one season on the air. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actress Joelle Carter (Justified) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Castle, playing Maggie Ingram, the long-time girlfriend of a death row inmate who is on the verge of being executed. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Shiri Appleby (Roswell and Life Unexpected) has been cast in the Lifetime drama pilot called Unreal, written by Marti Noxon (of Buffy and Angel fame) and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro based on the latter’s independent short film Sequin Raze. The pilot will go behind the scenes of a hit competition dating show to follow the experiences of a young staffer (Appleby) whose sole job is to manipulate her relationships with (and among) the contestants to get the vital dramatic and outrageous footage the program’s producers demand. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Bethany Joy Lenz (One Tree Hill) has landed the starring role in the E! hour-long drama pilot Songbyrd, written by former Grey’s Anatomy writer Krista Vernoff and executive produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (both from Smash). Lenz will play Lauren Byrd, a genius songwriter who employs a small staff, including her sister, to enable and manage her eccentric, yet wildly successful process. But when her ex-fiancée reveals himself to be less than the man she remembers, she comes to the realization that she can no longer live in the past, and must find a new, true inspiration for her sake and those around her. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

It looks like the BBC America series Copper that just received its pink slip from the cabler may live on on the big screen thanks to the show’s co-creator and executive producer Tom Fontana as well as his fellow executive producers Barry Levinson and Tom Kelly, as they are considering a movie version of what would have been season 3 of the period piece drama. Fontana’s extensive story arc for the third season is now being eyed for a revamp in movie format, but it is too soon to tell if this plan will come to fruition. (Dominic Patten at Deadline)

Here are the top 10 box office movies from this past weekend courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1. Prisoners – 21.4 million
2. Insidious Chapter 2 – 14.5 million
3. The Family – 7 million
4. Instructions Not Included – 5.7 million
5. Battle of the Year – 5 million
6. We’re the Millers – 4.7 million
7. The Butler – 4.3 million
8. Riddick – 3.7 million
9. The Wizard of Oz 3d – 3 million
10. Planes – 2.9 million

That’s it. Enjoy!

PS: Today is the official start of the fall TV season. Make sure you get your DVR’s set to record all the great programming that will air starting tonight!