Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Charlie’s Angels alum Cheryl Ladd will guest star as a love interest for Ducky aka Dr. Mallard (David McCallum) on NCIS. Her cameo will occur in late October. The series returns to CBS on September 20 at 8 PM. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

TNT is in development on a new procedural tentatively called Tom Clancy’s Homeland Security, which pits a select team of domestic intelligence operatives against all enemies, within and outside the country. (Stuart Levine at Variety)

FOX has bought a family dramedy from Silvio Horta (creator of Ugly Betty) and American Idol judge Jennifer Lopez. The project is about a Latino family, centering on three sisters and their interlinked lives. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Executive Producer and Director McG and his Wonderland production company have sold FIVE drama projects to various networks. Those projects include: 1) House Calls (ABC) which centers on a doctor who quits his successful hospital practice after a scandal rocks his family and starts making house calls; 2) An as-yet titled series (NBC) described as a contemporary take on the Casablanca love triangle that blends romance, action, suspense and comedy; 3) Convergence (FOX) that centers on a brilliant but undisciplined mythology professor who, in the wake of a personal and professional scandal, moves his family from New York City to Charlevoix, the small Michigan hometown of his family practitioner wife; 4) Game On (FOX) that is touted as a sexy action comedy about two best friends who are secretly working as spies for rival agencies and 5) Hustle (The CW) that centers on five highly skilled people in their mid-twenties who come together when asked by the FBI to go undercover in order to combat youth-oriented crimes in Los Angeles. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

It looks like another Patrick Swayze film is about to remade. Word has it that the 1991 thriller Point Break that starred the later actor alongside Keanu Reeves will get the revisionist take with the new version being set in the world of international extreme sports infusing the story and characters with new twists and settings. (Dark Horizons)

Actors Stanley Tucci and Chris Cooper have joined the cast of The Company You Keep based on the Neil Gordon novel. The story follows a former Weather Underground member (Robert Redford) who is pursued by a reporter (Shia LaBeouf) hell-bent on exposing his identity as a former political radical and his involvement in a botched robbery. Tucci will play the reporter’s editor and Cooper plays the brother of Redford’s character. The cast also includes Julie Christie, Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte and newcomer Brit Marling. (Screen Daily and Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Annie Wersching will guest star in the (slated for) October 24 episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing Samantha Martel, the sister of a murder victim whose death Five-0 is investigating. The show is back with a new season starting on September 19 at 10 PM on CBS. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Happy Days alum Don Most and Northern Exposure alum Valerie Mahaffey will play Rusty and Rose Pillsbury, the parents of guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays), who are coming to visit on Glee. The show is back on September 20 at 8 PM on FOX. (Hanh Nguyen at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC is developing a new version of the classic fairy tale romance Beauty and the Beast as visualized by Human Target and Jericho writer-producer Jonathan E. Steinberg. The one-hour fantasy drama is described as an epic re-imagining of the tale. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Shonda Rhimes (the brains behind Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice) has another new project in the works with ABC. The one-hour project centers on a young, idealistic and recently fired defense lawyer struggling to start his own firm with an eclectic group of lawyer misfits, while starting to realize that he may have been fired from his old job because he got too close to a deadly cover-up. (Lacey Rose at The Hollywood Reporter)

The production company of John Wells (the guy behind Shameless, The West Wing and Southland) is developing two projects; both based on books. NBC has picked up the project called Easy Rawlins, which is based on the Walter Mosley best-selling novels about Black P.I. Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, who finds himself solving crimes and dealing with the changing world around him in 1960s Los Angeles. The books are set from 1940s to 1960s. Meanwhile, CBS has bought the drama based on the Alice Woo novels by Leslie Glass, primarily the book Ann of Hollywood, which comes out in January. The book is described as a contemporary reinvention of The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. This story would give Henry the Eighth’s second wife Anne Boleyn a modern frame as a woman in her late twenties who is smart, witty, and just a cut above her contemporaries. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Pushing Daisies and Dead Like Me show creator Bryan Fuller is bringing the twisted mind of Hannibal Lecter to the small screen, developing Hannibal, a one-hour drama that would explore the early relationship between the famed psychiatrist and his young patient, an FBI criminal profiler who is haunted by his ability to empathize with serial killers. (Deadline and Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

CONDOLENCES

Actor Andy Whitfield, who was the lead in the Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand passed away over the weekend in his home country of Australia after a battle with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. He was only 39 years old. (The Wrap)

Oscar-winning actor Cliff Robertson passed away over the weekend at the age of 88. He is best known to modern day audiences as Uncle Ben Parker in Spider-Man and the film’s two sequels. (E! Online)

ME: Rest in Peace, Mr. Whitfield and Mr. Robertson! Deepest sympathies are extended to both of their families, their friends and families.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 box office movies for this past weekend according to Exhibitor Relations:

1. Contagion, $23.1 million
2. The Help, $8.7 million
3. Warrior, $5.6 million
4. The Debt, $4.9 million
5. Colombiana, $4 million
6. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $3.9 million
7. Shark Night 3D, $3.5 million
8. Apollo 18, $2.9 million
9. Our Idiot Brother, $2.8 million
10. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D, $2.5 million

Actor Colin Firth has joined the cast of the film adaptation of The Railway Man, which is based on the story of former British army officer Eric Lomax’s real-life best-selling account of his torture by the Japanese during the construction of the “death railway” during World War II and his mission decades later to seek revenge on his tormentor. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Actress Kelly Reilly (Pride & Prejudice) has landed the female lead alongside Denzel Washington in the new thriller called Flight that follows the redemption of “Whip” (Washington), a commercial airline pilot who pulls off a heroic feat of flying in a damaged plane, saving 98 lives on a flight carrying 106 people. Reilly is negotiating to take the role of Nicole Devlin, a drug addict who is at rock bottom when she meets Whip. The two become friends as each of them try to get their respective demons under control. (Deadline and First Showing)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Lifetime has canceled the new police drama The Protector. The network will, however, air any remaining episodes this month. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Monica Raymund (Lie to Me) will have a recurring role on The Good Wife, playing a prosecutor working for newly re-elected Cook County State’s Attorney Peter Florrick (Chris Noth). She could potentially be a possible love interest for Cary (Matt Czuchry). The Good Wife is back on September 25 at 9 PM on CBS. (Kate Stanhope at TV Guide)

Actress Jacqueline Bisset and actor Billy Burke will both be returning to Rizzoli & Isles for the season 2 season finale, which is set to air in December. Bisset plays Constance Isles, Maura’s (Sasha Alexander) adoptive mother while Burke plays FBI agent Gabriel Dean. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor David Keith, last seen in the short-lived FOX drama Lone Star, will guest star in what could become multiple episodes of Nikita as the titular character’s birth father. Season 2 is expected to examine the core characters’ search for their respective “homes,” a story arc that will encompass Nikita’s Division past as well. And, there will be a new computer geek within the Division walls this year: a beautiful new hacker-type played by newcomer Lyndie Greenwood, but don’t worry Birkhoff (Aaron Stanford) will still be around. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Jena Malone (Sucker Punch) has joined the cast of the telefilm The Hatfields and McCoys. She will play Nancy McCoy, a ruthless cousin who uses her feminine wiles to wreak revenge on the Hatfields for murdering her father when she was a child. The film, of course, is based on the legendary family feud that will star Kevin Costner as “Devil” Anse Hatfield and Bill Paxton as Randall McCoy, the famed leaders of the feuding families. The project will center on the bloody hostilities between the two clans that escalated to the point of near war between two states. The cast includes Tom Berenger, Powers Boothe and Lindsay Pulsipher. (The Hollywood Reporter and TV Line)

Actress Catherine Bell (Army Wives) has signed on to do a fifth film in The Good Witch franchise of films on the Hallmark Channel. The fourth film – The Good Witch’s family – will air on October 29 at 9 PM. (The Futon Critic)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Executive Producers Greg Berlanti and Maggie Friedman are working on a new crime drama for NBC, which follows two connected cases that occur in two different time periods. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC has picked up the drama pilot called Haunted from screenwriter Cory Goodman (The Priest), which is a supernatural character procedural that follows Jessica Garrity, a paranormal investigator who each week helps the living move on from a spirit that can’t let go. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC has also bought the musical hour drama pilot The Lockharts from writers Michael Gans and Richard Register (Make It Or Break It). The pilot is set primarily in the cultural hurricane of the late 1970s centered around the Lockharts, a musically gifted family that lands its own variety show on a national network. They are billed as the perfect All American Family but, like all families, they are far from perfect. The series is framed by a slowly evolving present-day mystery involving the scandalous disappearance of the family’s matriarch. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Russell Crowe has joined the cast of the new film adaptation for Les Miserables. He will star opposite Hugh Jackman. (Justin Kroll at Variety)

Actress Keira Knightley and actor Jude Law will star in the new film adaptation of Anna Karenina with director Joe Wright (the man behind Atonement and Pride & Prejudice) at the helm. (Joshua L. Weinstein at The Wrap)

Director James Mangold (Knight & Day) has set his sights on a new project: a film adaptation of the Anne Fortier novel Juliet, a novel that was inspired by the tragic romance of Romeo and Juliet. Here is the official synopsis of the novel: American Julie Jacobs travels to Siena in search of her Italian heritage–and possibly an inheritance–only to discover she is descended from 14th-century Giulietta Tomei, whose love for Romeo defied their feuding families and inspired Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Julie’s hunt leads her to the families’ descendants, still living in Siena, still feuding, and still struggling under the curse of the friar who wished a plague on both their houses. Julie’s unraveling of the past is assisted by a Felliniesque contessa and the contessa’s handsome nephew, and complicated by mobsters, police, and a mysterious motorcyclist. To understand what happened centuries ago, in the previous generation, and all around her, Julie relies on relics: a painting, a journal, a dagger, a ring. (Deadline and First Showing)

Q&A SECTION (with Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: How would you describe the tone of this season of Castle compared to previous seasons? Thanks for all you do! I enjoy your column each week. — Cheryl

Sandra: If I didn’t know that a very fun Halloween episode and a superhero-themed episode were coming up for Castle, I’d probably be thinking we were in for the darkest season yet based on the premiere. But since I do know those are on the way, I feel a little better saying perhaps the deep issues that will be dealt with will be scattered throughout the season as they have been in the past. That said, prepare for some not-necessarily-love-related issues to make your heart ache. Particularly one scene that shows a side of someone we’ve never seen before.

Question: I don’t really have a question, just anything your “willing” to share that doesn’t “spoil” anything for Castle. — @BecaGreenfield

Sandra: You’re going to get a lot for a non-question: The park scene everyone has been all excited about? It’s as deep and as good as we all imagined…but not for the reason you might be thinking.

Question: When will we find out what Montgomery put in that envelope during the Season 3 finale of Castle and who he mailed it to? — @lkanoczzz

Sandra: First episode. But it definitely opens up some more questions in the process.

Question: Are we going to meet Sam’s wife next season on NCIS: LA? — @ ncisgal995

Sandra: BIG NEWS: yes. Just don’t try shaking down EP Shane Brennan for details. “I’m not going to say anything more than that. It’s a brief appearance, but [fans] should start to look for an episode in November sweeps.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

NEWS

Mary Tyler Moore will receive the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, which will be presented on January 29 at the 18th annual SAG Awards in Los Angeles. (Deadline)

TELEVISION

Actress JoAnna Garcia (Better With You and Privileged) will appear in multiple episodes of Royal Pains, playing Dr. Nina Greene, a smart and compassionate nephrologist who may or may not be a former child star. The doc’s possibly famous-ish background comes to the fore when she is pressed on the issue by patient Jack O’Malley (Tom Cavanagh). The mid-season finale just recently aired with the remainder of the season set to return sometime in early 2012. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actress Skyler Day (Gigantic) will play the first girlfriend of Drew (Miles Heizer) on Parenthood. The show will be back on September 13 on NBC at 10 PM. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

HBO has picked up the as-yet untitled Aaron Sorkin project about a fictional cable news network that centers on a cable news anchor (Jeff Daniels), his new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), his newsroom staff (Alison Pill, John Gallagher, Jr., Olivia Munn, Dev Patel, Thomas Sadoski) and their boss (Sam Waterston). (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Laura Innes (ER and The Event) will have a major recurring role on Awake, one of the new NBC dramas that will air during mid-season. She will play Captain Tricia Harper, the supervisor of lead character Michael (Jason Isaacs). The series is about a police detective who in the wake of a tragic car accident finds himself toggling between two realities: one in which his wife (Laura Allen from Terriers) died in the crash, and another in which their teenage son (Dylan Minnette from Lost) instead perished. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Scott Lawrence (JAG) will play an Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor named Allen, who will give advice to one of the husbands on Desperate Housewives. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Another project from producer Mark Gordon has been set up at ABC. The project is an hour-long project based on the Candace Bushnell book One Fifth Avenue, which is described as a stylish, sexy, modernization of Miami Vice for the twenty-first century. The project is called Untouchable and it centers on a hard-charging female FBI agent with a blue collar background who is teamed with a reckless, independently wealthy LAPD detective to take on twenty-first century organized crime. (Deadline)

Meanwhile, TNT has given a pilot order to Scent of the Missing, about an intrepid mystery solver and her dog, which is based on a book with the same title. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Lifetime has put the new drama project Princess of Whales in development with writer-producer Stephen Kronish and Cold Case star-turned-producer Kathryn Morris. The project is based on the true story of Marcia Hartman and follows the exploits of one of Las Vegas’ most successful casino hostesses, whose job is to bring in the super-high rollers and make them spend as much as possible. But her lavish lifestyle and life-of-the-party personality reveal a dark side that threatens to destroy her. Morris and her development executive saw an article about Hartman, tracked her down and secured the rights to her story. (Deadline)

Actor Scott Foley (The Unit) is teaming up with former Everwood show-runner Rina Mimoun on The Escape Artist, a potential hour-long drama series about a brother and sister who help people disappear. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor John Malkovich will join actor Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class) actress Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four) in the film adaptation of the Isaac Marion book called Warm Bodies, which is the unique story about an existentially tormented zombie named “R” who begins an unlikely friendship with the girlfriend of one of his victims, a relationship that could cause a chain reaction that will transform him, his fellow zombies, and maybe the whole undead world. (First Showing and Variety)

Actor Ben Rappaport (Outsourced) has joined the cast of the film Great Hope Springs that stars Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones as a married couple who try to rekindle their relationship by seeking therapy from an unorthodox guru (Steve Carell). He will play the married couple’s son. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Sharlto Copley (District 9) [among others] will stay in the international sci-fi feature Europa, which revolves around a team of astronauts who are assembled from various nations to embark on the first manned mission to Europa, Jupiter’s fourth moon. (Deadline)

Actor Michael Keaton and actress Michelle Monaghan (Source Code) will star in the psychological thriller called Penthouse North. Monaghan plays a photojournalist haunted by a tragic event who has become an agoraphobic trapped in her upscale New York penthouse. Soon the world makes its way in as a smooth but sadistic criminal (Keaton) breaks in looking for a hidden fortune, with the woman mustering her inner strength to survive. (Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items as well as some spoilerish Q&A’s regarding some of the returning fall TV shows – please tread lightly.

NEWS

Actress Meryl Streep, singers Barbara Cook and Neil Diamond, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and saxophonist and composer Sonny Rollins are this year’s Kennedy Center honorees. (The Wrap)

TELEVISION

Syfy has renewed its freshman drama Alphas for a second season. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Ryan McPartlin (Chuck) will have a guest spot on the new FOX comedy I Hate My Teenage Daughter, playing a “hot dad” who shares an instant attraction with Annie (Jaime Pressly). A possible love connection between the two, however, is quickly thwarted when he witnesses first-hand the overbearing, overprotective parenting methods Annie uses with daughter Sophie (Kristi Lauren). The comedy will debut on November 30 at 9:30 PM on FOX. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

ION Television has acquired the off-network rights to Leverage. It will begin airing episodes in the summer of 2012. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Tamlyn Tomita (Eureka) and actor Keong Sim (Southland) will play the parents of Mike Chang (Harry Shum Jr.) on Glee. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Eriq La Salle (ER) will guest star on at least four episodes of the new CBS medical drama A Gifted Man, playing Evan Morrison, a neuropsychiatrist who focuses on human behavior. The show debuts on CBS on September 23 at 10 PM. (The Hollywood Reporter and TV Guide)

Henry Thomas (E.T.) will guest star on The Mentalist as bounty hunter Tommy Lisbon, the brother of CBI senior agent Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney). They will meet up in an episode airing in late October on a case concerning the death of a police officer. (Michael Logan at TV Guide)

Actress Vanessa Marano (Switched at Birth) will guest star on CSI for one episode, playing Samantha, a street gang groupie and the estranged daughter of an ex-con named Frank (Johnny Messner). The show is back on CBS starting on September 21 at 10 PM. (The Hollywood Reporter and TV Guide)

Actor Michael Cerveris (Fringe) will guest star in an October episode of the new CBS procedural Person of Interest, which stars Michael Emerson (Lost) as a mysterious billionaire who teams up with a presumed dead ex-CIA agent (Jim Caviezel) to prevent violent crimes. Cerveris will play Jarek Koska, a highly organized and educated new breed of gang leader. The show debuts on September 22 at 9 PM on CBS. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Eric Winter (The Mentalist) will have a recurring role on the new ABC dramedy series Good Christian Belles that is based on the Kim Gatlin book of the same name that is centered on Amanda Vaughn (Leslie Bibb), once the ultimate high school “mean girl,” who is forced to return to her Texas hometown in disgrace after her marriage ends in scandal and has to face her old classmates who are less than thrilled to have her back. The cast includes Kristin Chenoweth who plays Carlene. Winter will play Carlene’s handsome brother Luke who is the black sheep of the family due to the fact that he is a Green Democrat. A possible love interest for Amanda, Luke is intelligent, charming and a potential heartbreaker. GCB, which is what the show is possibly being touted as being named, has yet to be given a debut date by ABC. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Lindsay Pulsipher (True Blood) has joined the cast of the History Channel’s telefilm The Hatfields and McCoys, which stars Kevin Costner as “Devil” Anse Hatfield and Bill Paxton as Randall McCoy, the famed leaders of the feuding families. She will play Roseanna McCoy, the beautiful daughter of Randall and Sally McCoy (Mare Winningham), who attracts the romantic attention of Johnse Hatfield, leading to a forbidden romance that divides the families still further. (The Hollywood Reporter)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC has bought one of its most ambitious projects from writer Michael Seitzman and producer Mark Gordon that is based on the Jack West Jr. book series by best-selling Australian action thriller novelist Matthew Reilly. The Seven Wonders is a treasure hunt show in the spirit of Raiders of the Lost Arc and National Treasure. It centers on an unlikely five-member team led by commando-turned-archeologist Jack West Jr. as they search the world for seven pieces of an ancient and powerful relic and along the way form a unique non-traditional family that includes West Jr.’s 12-year-old adopted daughter. The first season will be based on the first 2 books in the series. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with Natalia Abrams and Adam Bryant at TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

[SPOILER ALERT!]

Question: Anything juicy on Ripper Stefan on The Vampire Diaries? Thanks! — Val, via Twitter

NATALIE: Juicy is a choice word, Val. Stefan will be sinking his teeth into many humans. “He gets deeper and deeper and the blood starts carrying him away,” Paul Wesley tells us. “He commits to that lifestyle because the blood starts turning him into someone else.” What we want to know is, who’s going to bring him back?

Question: Got any scoop on the final season of Chuck? — Aaron

NATALIE: What would happen if the world’s greatest super-computer, the Intersect, went up against the world’s most-dangerous computer virus? The team may find out when they cross paths with a former computer hacker who now resides at a commune called The Church of the Eternal Wind. Their barely clothed spiritual leader may seem flighty, but she’s secretly just as cold and evil as Volkoff.

Question: Why will Castle and Beckett be apart at the beginning of this season’s Castle? — Whitney

ADAM: I hear the decision to pull back from the relationship is Beckett’s — and she may even lie to keep Castle at a distance. But Stana Katic believes Beckett’s actions are carefully calculated. “She’s making an adult decision not to dive into something because she doesn’t want to screw it up,” Katic says. “She’s in love with him. She’s dated other guys, but he’s the only guy she’s been in love with.”

Question: I can’t wait for the new season of Nikita. What will we see for Nikita this year? — Danica

NATALIE: We might be meeting Nikita’s father! Using information found in the black box, Nikita and Michael spy a former CIA operative who they think might be her birth dad. He’s been hiding out, working against the government… like father, like daughter, right? But how reliable is the information in that black box?

Question: Where’s the Supernatural scoop? —Jacob

NATALIE: The show will feature a man named Johnny Tomorrow, a Bill Murray-esque washout who owns a local Magic Emporium that catches the Winchester boys’ eyes. He becomes a suspect when his competition, a famous psychic, turns up dead.

Question: Any hope of seeing either Booth’s mom and dad on Bones this season? —Dotty

Ausiello: It looks like we may get a glimpse of Booth’s elusive pa in an early ’11 episode that finds David Boreanaz’ alter ego flashing back to his childhood — specifically, the time father and son attended the World Series together. The show is currently casting an 8-year-old version of Boreneaz for the circa ’80s sequence. Mom, send Junior to the audition in funny socks.

Question: Any scoop on NCIS: LA? —Heidi

Ausiello: A November episode will introduce a former NSA agent whose secrets begin to come to light. Middle-aged Larry — the rogue operative in question — is said to be as smart as he is unflappable. But something tells me his knack for pushing buttons won’t have diminished since he was last on duty.

Question: Do you have any scoop on whether Jack Coleman is playing Caroline’s dad on Vampire Diaries? —Elsa

Ausiello: That’s what I keep hearing, but I have no official confirmation of that. Makes perfect sense, right?

Question: Do you know what the ration of mythology/standalone episodes will be on Fringe this season? —Scott

Ausiello: I don’t have any hard data, but after chatting up J.J. Abrams, it sounds like mythology has the definite edge. “What I love about what the show is doing now is it’s kind of doing what the show needs to do to be the best version of the show, as opposed to just the apologists’ stand-alone thing — which I don’t think Fringe could ever be,” he maintains. “Shows like Alcatraz and certainly Person of Interest have much more of a shot because it’s much more, clearly a new case every week, whereas Fringe is like more about this insanely twisted family of people that are working in this crazy lab.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Today is pretty light on the news mainly due to the holiday weekend (here in the States). I sure hope everyone who celebrates the holiday enjoyed themselves and that the first day back to work, school or whatever it is you do, isn’t too crazed.

Here are the news items for the day:

TELEVISION

Eddie Murphy will host the 84th Annual Academy Awards. (The LA Times)

Actress Marilu Henner will guest star on the new fall CBS drama Unforgettable. She will play the aunt of the character played by Poppy Montgomery, who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Actor Neal McDonough and Cary Elwes will guest star on the TNT series Perception that stars Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) as an eccentric neuroscientist/university professor who helps an FBI agent (played by Rachael Leigh Cook) solve criminal cases. McDonough will appear in one episode as the CEO of an agricultural technology company. His character enlists a code-breaker (Elwes) to decipher the messages of a serial killer who is murdering his business acquaintances. Actress Sheryl Lee (Twin Peaks) will also appear in an episode of the new drama, playing a woman who for 26 years has suffered from anterograde amnesia, ever since surviving a serial killer’s attack. Actress Pamela Reed will play her mother. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Scott Cohen (Necessary Roughness) will appear in the new fall ABC series Pan Am, playing Everett, a Pan Am higher up, for a three-episode arc. He has a quirky mistress named Ginny Saddler (Erin Cummings). Pan Am is a ’60s soap following the lives and loves of a team at the legendary airline. The show premieres on September 25. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

HBO has picked up the Jonathan Franzen best-selling novel The Corrections as a new project. The story is about a Midwestern clan whose children have moved to the East Coast to begin a life of their own. (NY Mag, Variety and The Futon Critic)

Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson have booked a potential drama at The CW called Musketeers 3.0, which is to be about three outstanding but out-of-control New York detectives who meet their match when a sexy, young rookie is assigned to their team. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Cara Buono, Ally Sheedy and Samantha Futerman are set to co-star opposite Eric Stoltz in the Lifetime’s dramedy pilot called Modern Love that will weave actual stories from New York Times columns to explore the state of modern relationships. It follows newspaper science editor Simon McElvane (Stoltz) as he faces a deteriorating marriage, the ramifications of potentially starting over and balancing his relationship with his adopted 15-year-old daughter (Futerman). Unexpectedly handed the job of editor of the newspaper’s Modern Love column, Simon discovers he has a lot to learn about life and love. Buono will play the ambitious Styles Editor at Simon’s paper who is torn between her career and her family. Sheedy will play the paper’s ballsy and no-nonsense Assistant Managing Editor. Also, actress Alice Ripley will have a recurring role as Simon’s wife. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

The creator of the ABC Family series Greek – Patrick Sean Smith is developing an hour-long drama/adventure series for FOX that is set in the world of young international travelers, tentatively titled Wanderlust. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here is the list of the top 10 movies for the long holiday weekend according to Exhibitor Relations, Box Office Mojo and E! Online:

1. The Help – $19 million
2. The Debt – $12.6 million
3. Apollo 18 – $10.7 million
4. Shark Night 3D – $10.3 million
5. Rise of the Planet of the Apes – 10.25 million
6. Colombiana – $9.4 million
7. Our Idiot Brother – $7 million
8. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark – $6.1 million
9. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D – $6.6 million
10. The Smurfs – $5.6 million

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

TNT has canceled their medical drama Hawthorne, opting not to renew it for a fourth season. (TV By the Numbers)

Actress Katie Leclerc (Switched at Birth) will guest star in the fourth episode of The Big Bang Theory as a potential love interest for Ray. She will appear in the October 6 episode as Emily, a deaf friend of Penny’s who hits it off with Raj. (Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Twilight franchise actress Anna Kendrick is negotiating to lead the romantic comedy Pitch Perfect, which is a story set in the world of collegiate a cappella groups. It follows a goth-like and rebellious student (Kendrick), unhappy to be at a school at which her father is a professor, who discovers her voice and becomes the secret weapon for the school’s female a cappella group. Additionally, actress Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids) is also part of the cast, but there are no details on what part she will play. (The Hollywood Reporter and First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Abigail Breslin Shines in First Trailer for ‘Janie Jones’ from TIFF 2010

Q&A SECTION (with Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: Any Nikita scoop please! The wait is too long! I feel like I’m getting more impatient as we get closer. — Kelly

Sandra: Amen to that. Thankfully, it seems the wait will be worth it. I’m particularly excited about the sixth episode, in which Nikita finds herself face-to-face with the man she believes to be her father. But there’s more to that story… which, of course, I can’t tell you. I can say, however, that it’s an episode that teaches us quite a bit more about Nikita’s backstory.

Question: Royal Pains ended this week and while it was just an okay episode, I’m really curious what’s going to happen with Divya! Is she coming back after the break? — Amanda

Sandra: Rest assured Reshma Shetty will be back as Divya for the second half of the season in the winter. But her actions in the season finale won’t be without consequences — not the least of which will be the loss of some of Hank’s trust. But it won’t be all dreariness when we return. One of the episodes in the second half will give us a peek at Evan… the thespian!

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific holiday weekend!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Teddy Sears (Torchwood: Miracle Day) will have a recurring role in the upcoming FX thriller series American Horror Story. He will play opposite Zachary Quinto (Heroes) as a gay couple who own the haunted house for the show revolves around. American Horror Story debuts Oct. 5 on FX. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Showtime has picked up The Big C for a 3rd season with a 10-episode order. It is expected to return in the Spring of 2012. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Anne Heche and actor Judd Hirsch have joined the cast of the upcoming TNT film called Silent Witness that is part of the network’s new Mystery Movie Night franchise. The film is based on the book by Richard North Patterson and stars Dermot Mulroney, as a prominent defense attorney Tony Lord, who returns to his hometown to defend a teacher (Michael Cudlitz from Southland). The movie is set to premiere on December 7. (Lacey Rose at The Hollywood Reporter)

Meanwhile, William Devane and Titus Welliver will join Catherine Bell (Army Wives) in the TNT Mystery Movie Night telefilm called Good Morning, Killer, which is being adapted by April Smith from her novel of the same name. Devane is set to play Everett Morgan “Poppy” Gray, the grandfather of Bell’s FBI Special Agent Ana Gray, an undercover operative tracking down a serial kidnapper. Welliver will play FBI Special Agent Mike Donato, Ana Gray’s FBI partner. They join Cole Hauser as Detective Andrew Berringer. This film will air on December 13. (Lacey Rose at The Hollywood Reporter)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

TNT has added five more potential series to their upcoming programming slate. Among those new projects are: 1) H.I.K.E. that takes place in Phoenix where a female cop runs the Home Invasion Kidnapping Enforcement team; 2) The Order that is based on an Israeli series about an archeologist professor who ends up working in Israel engaging in various digs that explore life’s real questions of faith and meaning; 3) A present-day “Hart to Hart” where a quirky brother and sister solve crimes called Perfect Set; 4) Rush, a Rashomon-style hospital drama about life in the ER and 5) Island Time which is about a woman who chucks her corporate life when she wins a bar on a Pacific island and decides to reinvent herself among the island’s eccentric residents. (Stuart Levine and Andrew Wallenstein at Variety)

Cinemax is developing another action drama series called Sandbox that centers on a group of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who return to the Coachella Valley to discover their hometown has been overrun by criminals. The men decide to use the skills they learned in combat to clean up the town, with unexpected results. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Rachel Boston (most recently seen on In Plain Sight) is joining Julia Stiles and America Ferrera in new independent comedy called It’s A Disaster that will revolve around four couples who meet for Sunday brunch, only to find themselves stranded in a house together as the world may be about to end. Boston will play the role of a whip-smart wildcard named Lexi Kivel. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor James Patrick Stewart (Naomi’s dad on 90210) will appear in the sixth episode of Supernatural as a new “bad guy” named Richard Roman. It is said he will be working with the Crowley (Mark Sheppard). Supernatural is back with new episodes starting on September 23. (Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC has nabbed a high-concept light drama from No Ordinary Family co-creator/executive producer Jon Feldman that is described as Moonlighting meets Early Edition. The project centers on a charming ex-con who realizes that he’s receiving video links to the news reports of the beautiful, ambitious TV crime reporter who once upon a time put him away. The only catch: he’s getting her news stories before she actually films them, giving this unlikely duo 24 hours to prevent the crimes from taking place. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Samuel L. Jackson has sold a legal show to CBS, which will be written by Rob Bragin (Greek). The as-yet titled project centers on a father and a son, but those are the only details available at this time. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Starz is looking at a new project from David S. Goyer (the man behind the retooled Batman franchise) that would focus on Leonardo Da Vinci, which would cover the early years of the famous Renaissance Man. The title of the project is Da Vinci’s Demons. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Greg Berlanti (the man behind Everwood and Eli Stone – among others) has sold a cop drama called Golden Boy to CBS. The project centers on an ambitious twenty-something police officer who quickly rises to detective –perhaps too quickly– after breaking a major drug ring and becoming a hero. (Lacey Rose and Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

NBC has bought a TV series adaptation of the 1984 film Romancing the Stone. Mark Friedman (creator of the TV series The Forgotten) will write the adaptation that will follow a successful but unfulfilled woman who teams with a risk-taking adventurer to take on weekly missions while on a larger quest to find her missing brother. There has been chatter over the past few years about FOX mounting a remake of the film that would possibly star Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler in the lead roles. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ME: Again, I mentioned the possible film remake a short while ago in one of my earlier updates and mentioned that I’ve had an idea about remaking this film since late last year. I REALLY need to get my idea written down and posted so I can say, at the very least, I had the casting and this idea, even if it doesn’t get me anywhere except to say, “Hey, I thought of this great idea for the remake”…. {sigh!}

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actors Kevin Zegers (Gossip Girl), Chris Noth (The Good Wife) and legendary actor Derek Jacobi as well as actress Neve Campbell (Party of Five) are in various stages of negotiations to join the 12-part British miniseries Titanic: Blood & Steel. The 4-hour mini-series was picked up by ABC, but doesn’t have a US distribution yet. The mini chronicles the building of the Titanic, beginning in Edwardian Belfast in the early 1900s and depicting how the greatest leviathan of all time was hand-made in a city on the edge of revolution. Zegers will play Mark Muir, the metallurgist on the world’s greatest ship-building project who discovers potentially fatal flaws in the quality of metal being used to build the Titanic while Noth is expected to play financier J.P. Morgan. Jacobi would play Lord William Pirrie, chairman of the company that built the ill-fated liner and Campbell is a reporter covering the liner’s maiden voyage. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Young actor Callan McAuliffe (Flipped) is joining the cast of the film adaptation of Great Gatsby, playing a young Jay Gatsby, which will be played by Leonardo DiCaprio as the older version of the titular character. Meanwhile, actress-model Gemma Ward (the mermaid queen in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) has a role in the film, but it is unknown at this time who she will play. The cast also includes Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton. (The New York Observer, Entertainment Weekly and First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

First Spoilery Trailer for ‘The Double’ with Richard Gere, Topher Grace

NOTE: Please DO NOT watch this trailer if you don’t want to be spoiled by the BIG twist in the story.

Q&A SECTION (with Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams from TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: I loved Leverage’s midseason finale, especially Nate’s final scene with Sterling. Will he back during the winter episodes? — Mel

ADAM: Although Sterling will give Nate the info he requested in that final scene, don’t look for Mark Sheppard to return until at least Season 5. However, the show is going to bring back Jeri Ryan, Wil Wheaton, Richard Chamberlain and one other familiar face who will surprise you more than Sterling. Executive producer Dean Devlin offers only one hint: “Just remember that, as we designed the season, we had no idea there would be a fifth season,” he says. “So, the way that our season finale culminates really brings full circle the entire series from the beginning.”

Question: Please tell me E.J. Barrett’s NCIS return will be short-lived. I need Tiva! — Hanna

ADAM: Let’s let Michael Weatherly offer his take. “There’s a new wrinkle in [Tony and E.J.’s] relationship, and I would say it is somewhat troubling,” he says. “I think Tony questions a lot of things about her, and I don’t think there’s any going back to their initial blinky-blinky, lovey-dovey plot.” But before your little ‘shipper heart explodes, that doesn’t necessarily guarantee loads of Tony-Ziva goodness. “Tony ultimately has to lean on himself. He has to figure some of his own stuff out,” Weatherly says. “That might make him more able down the road to approach a relationship with Ziva.”

Question: Will Fringe go back to the future this season? —Barry

NATALIE: Yes, but it won’t be the same future we saw in the finale. “The future that we saw in 2026 will now not have happened, because by altering the past, inevitably you set in motion a new chain of events that lead to a different future,” executive producer Jeff Pinkner tells us. But the time-jumping series won’t just be looking forward. “There will definitely be [flashback] episodes, but the past would be different as well because Peter wasn’t a part of it, but he would be in the future.” As confused as we are?

Question: I just would like to know if we’re gonna meet Blaine’s parents on Glee. —Dalanda

Ausiello: No clue. I can, however, tell you that Mike Chang’s mom and dad aren’t the only set of never-before-seen parents we’ll meet in Episode 3.

Question: Do you have any scoop on Glee‘s Will and Emma? —Sara

Ausiello: The first part of the season is really about them adjusting to being in a relationship, and Emma making progress working through her considerable issues.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Broadway actor Will Chase has joined the upcoming NBC mid-season drama Smash. He will have the recurring role of Steven, who has history with Debra Messing’s musical lyricist character. Chase has appeared in the Broadway productions of Billy Elliot, Rent and High Fidelity. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

The BBC series Luther has been renewed for a 3rd season in the UK. The 2nd season will begin airing on BBC America as of September 28. (IndieWire)

Broadway actor Raul Esparza will appear on the new CBS medical series A Gifted Man. The show is about a neurosurgeon (Patrick Wilson) whose dead wife (Jennifer Ehle), the former head of a free clinic, starts appearing to him. Esparza will play Ehle’s boyfriend, who is on the board of the clinic. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Jaleel White (Family Matters) will appear in the season premiere of House on October 3 on FOX. SPOILER ALERT: House will actually jump one year after the events of the May finale with White appearing as a fellow inmate of Dr. House. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Swedish actress Helena Mattsson, who has guest starred on The Mentalist, Detroit 1-8-7 and Desperate Housewives, will have a recurring role on Nikita as Cassandra, a sophisticated political figure who created some emotional entanglements for Michael (Shane West) during one of his past Division missions. When Michael finds out that his actions have now put Cassandra in danger, he must rescue her at the risk of opening old wounds. The show will return on September 23 at 8 PM on The CW. (Joyce Eng at TV Guide)

In addition to Fred Willard starring in the 100th episode of The Closer, which is set to air on December 5, True Blood actress Lauren Bowles and FlashForward actress Christine Wood will both appear as well. Bowles will play the niece and business partner of Willard’s Santa Jack, who is involved in an unfortunate ziplining accident at their successful Christmas Village attraction. Woods will play Casey Watson, Buzz’s sister visiting from Seattle. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Alexander Nifong (known as the guy who Blaine sang to at the Gap in an episode of the FOX musicomedy Glee) will appear in Pretty Little Liars when it returns with new episodes next year. He will play Sam, a blind student at the school where Jenna did her rehabilitation in Philadelphia. It is said Sam will play a significant role in the show. Also, an old friend from Aria’s past will also be appearing for a stint on the series. Shane Coffey (The Secret Life of an American Teenager) will appear as Holden later in the season. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Kevin McNally (the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) will guest star in Supernatural. He will play Frank Devereaux, a mad computer genius; an old “friend” of Bobby’s who helps the Winchester boys out of a jam. (Zap2It)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

The Stephen King novel Bag of Bones will be made into a mini-series on A&E. The cast now includes Jason Priestley from Beverly Hills 90210 fame (and recently did a short stint on Syfy’s Haven). The telefilm is about a writer (Pierce Brosnan) trying to recover from the death of his wife while staying at their lakeside retreat in Maine. Priestley will play the writer’s literary agent. The four-hour event will air later this year. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actors Tom Berenger and Powers Boothe as well as actress Mare Winningham have joined the cast of the History Channel’s upcoming mini-series called The Hatfields and McCoys, which is, obviously, based on America’s most infamous family feud. The mini centers on “Devil” Anse Hatfield (Kevin Costner) and Randall McCoy (Bill Paxton), who were close friends and comrades during the Civil War. But when they returned to their neighboring homes it was to increasing tensions, misunderstandings and resentments that soon exploded into all-out warfare between the families. Berenger will play Jim Vance, Anse Hatfield’s “Uncle Jim”, who was the firebrand warlord of the Hatfield family. Boothe will play Wall Hatfield, Anse’s level-headed, fair-minded older brother who was the local justice of the peace and judge. Winningham will play Sally McCoy, wife of Randall McCoy and matriarch of the Kentucky-side family, who loses four sons, a daughter, and her own sanity in the feud. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC bought a drama pitch called Hangtown from Battlestar Galactica developer/executive producer Ron Moore and Caprica writer Matt Roberts. The western, with a procedural overlay, is set in the early 1900s in a frontier town that’s begun rapidly expanding with the coming of the railroad. It centers on three characters: the Marshal, a Matt Dillon/Clint Eastwood type who prefers to solve crimes by his instinct; a young doctor from the East Coast who is interested in using the new field of forensics to solve crimes; and a young woman writer who is trying to sell dime novels to the publishing houses in New York about crime in the Wild West. Every week the instincts of the Marshal, the science of the doctor, and the young woman’s drive to tell a rousing good yarn to her editors combine to solve crimes in a wide-open, lawless town. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

FOX has landed the TV adaptation of the Backstrom books by renowned Swedish criminologist and novelist Leif G.W. Persson. The project is based on the central character in the books, homicide detective Evert Backstrom, an equal-opportunity misanthrope who is always miserable, and only a good murder case can cheer him up. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

TNT has picked up the drama pilot Bishop to Pawn, a script from Person of Interest writer Greg Plageman. The drama project revolves around a private investigator who runs his business out of his Los Angeles pawn shop. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Showtime has teamed with Stephen King, Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks TV to develop a series based on King’s supernatural thriller Under the Dome, which revolves around the battles that erupt among the locals at a Maine vacation spot when an invisible force field suddenly surrounds the town. (Cynthia Littleton at Variety)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Tate Donovan and actress Taylor Schilling have joined the cast of the upcoming Iranian hostage thriller called Argo. Schilling will play wife to Ben Affleck’s CIA Agent while Donovan is an embassy consulate. (Empire Online and Dark Horizons)

Reportedly, actress Anne Hathaway is up for the role of Fantine in the film adaptation of the epic musical Les Miserables based on the urgings of actor Hugh Jackman who has the lead role in the film. Other actresses being considered for the role include Amy Adams and Rebecca Hall. (Broadway World and Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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