Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

GENERAL NEWS

Congrats are extended to the winners at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last night, including (but not limited to): Lupita Nyong’o, Jared Leto, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, Maggie Smith, Cate Blanchett and Matthew McConaughey.

TELEVISION

Actor Colin Egglesfield (Rizzoli & Isles and The Client List) will guest star on an upcoming episode of Drop Dead Diva. There are no details on what character he will play, however. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

NBC has given a 10-episode straight-to-series order for a new drama series called Emerald City, a reimagining of the Frank L. Baum classic book series. This version will be a dramatic and modern reimagining of the tales that include lethal warriors, competing kingdoms and the infamous wizard as we’ve never seen him before. A head-strong 20-year-old Dorothy Gale is unwittingly sent on an eye-opening journey that thrusts her into the center of an epic and bloody battle for the control of Oz. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Mary Steenburgen will recur on the FX drama Justified as Katherine Hale, a beautiful, southern belle who was the wife of Wynn Duffy’s (series regular Jere Burns) mentor in crime. (FX and The Futon Critic)

Actress Katharine Isabelle (Being Human) will joined the cast of Hannibal for its second season, playing Margot, a potential romantic interest for Will (series lead Hugh Dancy) who also happens to be a patient of Dr. Lechter. Hannibal returns to NBC on February 28. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Katherine Heigl is coming back to TV (possibly) in the NBC pilot called State of Affairs that revolves around a CIA officer (Heigl), who becomes the president’s daily briefer. (Kristin Dos Santos at E! Online)

MINI-SERIES NEWS

NBC has ordered an 8-episode mini-series called The Slap, which is based on the Australian series of the same name that aired back in 2011. The mini is a complex family drama that explodes from one small incident where a man slaps another couple’s misbehaving child. This seemingly minor domestic dispute pulls the family apart, begins to expose long-held secrets, and ignites a lawsuit that challenges the core American values of all who are pulled into it. (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now and Footloose) will play legendary actor Dan Akyroyd opposite Emile Hirsch as John Belushi in the upcoming Belushi biopic. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

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

1. Ride Along – $41.2 million
2. Lone Survivor – $23.2 million
3. The Nut Job – $20.6 million
4. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – $17.2 million
5. Frozen – $11.97 million
6. American Hustle – $10.6 million
7. Devil’s Due – $8.5 million
8. August: Osage County – $7.6 million
9. The Wolf of Wall Street – $7.5 million
10. Saving Mr. Banks – $4.1 million

Up-and-coming Australia actress Margot Robbie (Pan Am and The Wolf Of Wall Street) will play the female lead in the upcoming box office film Z For Zachariah that will be an adaptation Robert C. O’Brien post-apocalyptic novel that focuses on a young small-town girl who survives a nuclear war. Robbie will co-star with Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!