Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Yeardley Smith (best known as the voice of Lisa on The Simpsons) will guest star in the season premiere of Revenge, playing Phyllis, a fellow patient at the mental institution where Victoria (series lead Madeleine Stowe) was admitted (against her will) in the show’s season three finale. (Andy Swift at TV Line)

Actress Gina Ravera (The Closer) will guest star in an upcoming fall episode of Castle, playing Marsha Stoller, the vice president of a successful toy company. The 12th precinct finds itself playing in the toy biz when company founder Wally Williger turns up dead. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Miranda Otto (Rake and The Lord of the Rings franchise) has joined the cast of the BHO sci-fi pilot Westworld that revolves around a futuristic theme park where robots go berserk and attack the guests. Otto will play Virginia Pittman, the head of the park’s Quality Assurance department whose brutal honesty with her colleagues and her ruthless efficiency in dealing with malfunctioning “property” have made her a formidable and unpredictable power player in Westworld. This cast of this pilot already includes Anthony Hopkins, James Marsden, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

NBC is working on a potential series adaptation of the 1997 feature film The Devil’s Advocate with producers John Wells and Arnold Kopelson. The series would center on a public defender who joins a law firm that is run by the Devil himself. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Big screen actor Keanu Reeves could be making his foray into television via the planned hour-long series Rain from Slingshot Global Media. The project will be based on the best-selling book series by Barry Eisler that centers on John Rain (Reeves), a half-Japanese, half-American contract assassin who specializes in taking out his targets by making it look like death by natural causes. An outsider in whatever world he’s in, Rain ironically finds that the one identity he knows – that of being a hitman – is the very thing that prevents him from bringing others closer into his life. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Actor Sharlto Copley (The A-Team and District 9) will have a lead role in the PlayStation Network’s drama series Powers based on the Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming comic book series. Copley will play Christian Walker, a dapper and charismatic character with a darkness and violence right at the surface but with a sense of buried integrity. Also, actress Michelle Forbes (The Killing and True Blood) will play Retro Girl, the undisputed super star of the Powers community. An icon of justice, selflessness, and business acumen, she has a cool, hard exterior with a fire right below the surface. Her willingness to put herself at risk for the good of others is matched only by her ability to manage her globe-spanning personal brand. (Laura Prudom at Variety)

Actress Jaime Ray Newman (Eureka and Eastwick) had landed a recurring role in the Amazon Prime upcoming drama series Bosch that is based on the Michael Connelly book series about LA police detective Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver from Lost). Newman will play Laura Kell, a premiere attorney in the public defender’s office who finds herself assigned to a suspected serial killer fingered by Bosch. The web series is set to premiere sometime in 2015. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

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

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – 28.4 million
2. Guardians of the Galaxy – 24. 7 million
3. Let’s Be Cops – 17.7 million
4. The Expendables 3 – 16.2 million
5. The Giver – 12.7 million
6. Into the Storm – 7.7 million
7. Hundred Foot Journey – 7.1 million
8. Lucy – 5.3 million
9. Step Up All In – 2.7 million
10. Boyhood – 2.1 million

More cast members have been announced for the much-anticipated big screen version of Ant-Man. Fans already know that Paul Rudd will play the title role with Evangeline Lilly (Lost), Corey Stoll (The Strain), legendary actor Michael Douglas and Michael Pena (End of Watch) already part of the cast. Joining them will be John Slattery (Mad Men), Judy Greer (Archer and Married) and Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire). The film will be out sometime next summer. (Marvel and Dark Horizons)

Q&A SECTION (with Samantha Highfill at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: Any Castle scoop? —Courtney

Samantha: If you were worried that the traumatic events of the finale were going to scar and/or change Castle (especially when it comes to the whole wedding idea), don’t be. Even after everything he’s been through, Nathan Fillion still considers Castle to be a wedding guy. As he put it, Castle is still the man who “wears his joy on his sleeve,” the guy who will say, “Yeah I’ll get married. What the hell. Let’s go!” And just for fun, I also asked Fillion what his dream Castle wedding would be. “I would love to see Castle getting married on the shores of Maui in this little neighborhood I like to go personally for vacations because there’s a great bay right next door,” Fillion said. “You can snorkel there or scuba with turtles and there’s sharks sometimes depending on the time of day.” Who’s in?

Question: Tell me there’s hope for Brandon and Callie on The Fosters in the episodes leading up to the summer finale. She can’t end up his sister! —Lauren

Samantha: Well Lauren, based on the title of the summer finale—”Someone’s Little Sister”—I’m not feeling great about your odds. However, the episode centers around Callie trying to help Rita and the Girls United foster group home, so based on how little he’s mentioned, maybe there’s hope for Brandon yet.

Question: Anything on Hook and Emma on Once Upon a Time? —Jessica

Samantha: Hook and Emma might have ended things on a good note last season, but as we all know by now, nothing’s simple in Storybrooke. Colin O’Donoghue revealed that season 4 picks up right where we left off, which means that “the relationship is still very very complicated and they both have to sort of figure out who they are and how they can make it work if they’re going to make it work,” he said. “Hook is still a pirate at heart even though he very much cares for Emma and really has strong feelings for her, that point being who he is will sort of complicate things. And in the same way, I think with Emma, she’s got her own walls that she needs to break down and figure out if she’s able to feel again and love again. It’s going to be complicated. It’s not going to be plain sailing. Excuse the pun. You know what I mean.” And about Hook’s bad boy side? “You might see a little bit of that,” O’Donoghue teased. “I think people will be happy with his development in this season and they can expect to see a little bit of the pirate back, I think.”

Question: Do you have any Rizzoli & Isles scoop?—@IslesRizzolian

Samantha: Tuesday’s episode is titled “Phoenix Rising,” in which the team helps Korsak on an old case. The good (but maybe bad) news: Jane “refuses to believe that she’s not ready to go back on duty and takes some untraditional steps to stay involved.”

Question: Loving the Mark of Cain storyline on Supernatural! Any word on how long Demon Dean might be sticking around? —Amber

Samantha: When I chatted with executive producer Jeremy Carver a few weeks ago, you might remember that he said the Demon Dean storyline will be sticking (around) for at least the “first run of episodes.” In fact, he mentioned that the Mark of Cain is “very much on the boys’ minds as they plot out a game plan for the next batch of episodes after Dean is healed.” But don’t worry. Even if Dean is healed relatively early on, Carver also promised me that “I think just when it seems like things might be starting to settle down, we will introduce a few new doosies to the world.” Bonus Supernatural scoop: When asked about another Supernatural spinoff—which The CW has said it’s open to—Carver could confirm that “ideas are floating around,” though “nothing is firm yet.”

Question: What more can you tell us about what’s going to happen to Malia and Stiles’s relationship on Teen Wolf beyond Jeff Davis’ very ambiguous answer of “They’ve got a rocky road ahead.” I don’t want/need it to be all sunshine and lollipops, but is this a relationship that we’ll actually see develop as Malia and Stiles work through the natural hazards of living/loving in Beacon Hills or are we just being strung along for some kind of heartbreak from which there is no return? —Jennifer

Samantha: Well Jennifer, I promise not to use the words “rocky road.” What I do know is that Stiles and Malia will find themselves together in episode 10, titled “Monstrous,” but based on the fact that they’re going to uncover the origins of The Dead Pool, I can’t promise it will be all that romantic of a scenario. And come episode 11, it sounds like everyone is going to have something to worry about when Scott and his pack engage in a battle with someone who’s being described as “an old enemy.” Any guesses?

Question: Any scoop on The Knave’s arrival to Storybrooke on Once Upon a Time? —Charlee

Samantha: I asked O’Donoghue if he was at all worried about The Knave stealing any of Hook’s “stud thunder” and he didn’t seem too worried. “I think that The Knave and Hook are very different characters. I think Michael [Socha] is fantastic, and I think he’s a great addition to Once Upon a Time. Obviously, in Wonderland he was fantastic. I’m excited to see how he’ll interact with the characters from Once Upon a Time and with Hook.” O’Donoghue added: “Maybe they can have a duel, a stud-thunder duel.”

That’s it. Enjoy!