Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

The news for today isn’t too long, but there are a few interesting items to share:

TELEVISION

Actress Mircea Monroe (Chuck) will guest star in the new CW series Hart of Dixie as a woman from Wade Kinsella’s (Wilson Bethel) past who resurfaces in Episode 7. She is only booked for one episode, but it’s possible the character could recur. The series debut on September 26 at 9 PM. (Michael Auseillo at TV Line)

Soap star Billy Miller (All My Children and The Young and the Restless) has signed on to recur the upcoming thriller CW series Ringer, playing Charlie, a blue-collar guy who Bridget (Sarah Michelle Gellar) meets at an Narcotics Anonymous meeting. She will turn to him for help in coping with the stress of relapsing when Malcolm (Mike Colter), her previous sponsor, is unavailable. The series will debut on September 13 at 9 PM. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actor Chris Zylka (10 Things I Have About You – the TV version) will appear in the new CW series The Secret Circle, playing Billy, a chiseled and charming neighbor of Cassie (Britt Robertson), who also has a romantic history with Faye (Phoebe Tonkin) and is quite the foil to Adam (Thomas Dekker). This series premieres on September 15 at 9 PM. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Bridget Regan (Legend of the Seeker) will have a role in the upcoming TNT made-for-TV movie called Hide based on the Lisa Gardner book of the same name, which stars actress Carla Gugino (Watchmen) as Boston Police Detective D.D. Warren. The movie follows an investigation into the remains found inside a buried chamber at an abandoned mental hospital. Regan will play Annabelle, a young woman who moved around a lot as a child, changing identities and hiding from things and people she knows nothing about. Warren uses clues from Annabelle’s upbringing to unravel the mystery behind her twist family history. The cast also includes Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Franklin & Bash) and Kevin Alejandro (Southland). This film is part of the new Mystery Movie Night from TNT and it will air on December 6. (Lacey Rose at The Hollywood Reporter)

Syfy is updating the classic sci-fi story The Philadelphia Experiment, having cast legendary actor Malcolm McDowell in the pivotal role along with actors Nicholas Lea (V and Kyle XY), Michael Paré (the 1984 version of The Philadelphia Experiment), Gina Holden (Blood Ties), and Ryan Robbins and Emilie Ullerup (both from Sanctuary). The original story was based on a mythical 1943 U.S. Navy military test that supposedly made a warship invisible. The 1984 movie with Pare added a sci-fi twist: Two survivors of the experiment traveled forward in time. This new version is set in modern-day, and concerns a team that attempts to replicate the WWII-era experiment. The test brings the original vanished ship into the 21st century, but with deadly consequences. Lea plays the hero of the tale, McDowell is the original scientist behind the experiment and Paré is one of the villain’s henchmen. The movie will shoot in Vancouver and premiere next year. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Friday Night Lights executive producers Peter Berg and Sarah Aubrey will be teaming with fellow Friday Night Lights co-executive producer Liz Heldens on a western pilot taken from a female point of view for NBC. No other details are available at this time. (Andrew Wallenstein at Variety)

The Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome series that first started out as webisodes then was going to be a TV movie – and a backdoor pilot if it performed well enough – it seems – is heading back to being just webisodes again. A decision on this project’s release date is not imminent (yet) and there is still a possibility that it could air as a TV movie/backdoor pilot. Blood and Chrome follows William Adama as a young man, fighting in the first Cylon war and learning the hard lessons of combat and sacrifice. He’s ordered to escort a young woman, who turns out to know some vitally important Cylon secrets. As more news breaks on the status of this project, it will be announced. (AOL TV)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

A mini-episode of Doctor Who will be aired on October 1 on BBC Three (one of the main channels in Britain) that was written by “children from a school in Basingstoke after they entered a BBC Learning and Doctor Who Confidential competition earlier this year” and will have a run time of three minutes. The mini-episode will involve one of four monsters from the show — Ood, Cyberman, Judoon or Weeping Angel. It also includes a brand-new human character to battle the Doctor. Matt Smith will star and the title of the 3-minute episode is “Death Is the Only Answer.” (John Sellers at The Wrap)

ABC is replacing the episode of Combat Hospital originally scheduled for Tuesday, August 30 called Brothers in Arms, replacing it with the episode that was originally scheduled for September 6 called Triage, which will serve as the “season” finale. There is still one episode left, but no sign of when or if that will air. (TV By the Numbers)

Actress Krista Allen (Days of Our Lives) will guest star on the new TNT drama Perception that stars Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) as Dr. Daniel Pierce, an eccentric neuroscientist and university professor who helps the FBI solve complex criminal cases. Allen will play Allison Bannister, a wealthy alumna/widow who is a fan of Pierce’s work who the university administrators wants to fund construction of a new life sciences building on campus. Perception will debut in the Summer of 2012. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Actor-director Debbie Allen has been cast in Grey’s Anatomy, playing Catherine Avery, Jackson’s mom. She will appear in the 5th episode. The show returns on September 22. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) has joined the cast of the new USA drama pilot called Over/Under, which stars Steven Pasquale (Rescue Me) as Paul, a day trader with a massive gambling problem who is fired from his job after a bad trade cost his firm millions. Shut out of the job market, he and his wife Georgette (Caroline Dhavernas) move to Brooklyn where he finds an unlikely partner in an expectant father Marino (Anthony Carrigan) to start a high-end bookie business. Esposito will play Oliver, a dry-witted and sophisticated artist who once taught Georgette and who maintains a special fondness for his former student. (Denise Martin at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

CBS has snagged two projects from executive producer Shane Brennan (NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles), including an adaptation of the King and Maxwell novel series by David Baldacci. This story follows two former Secret Service agents-turned-private investigators. The second project is called Cure and is a medical drama about a traveling team of doctors who take on unusual medical cases around the country in hopes of finding a cure for a reclusive billionaire’s terminally ill child. (Deadline and TV Guide)

Showtime has put in development The Damned, a drama series project based on the independent graphic novel and comic book limited series. This would be a modern adaptation of the comic, revolving around Eddie, a cursed man, who is stuck in the middle of a turf war in modern day Chicago where mobsters are demons. Eddie must play all the angles to keep the warring families at bay while trying to reclaim his soul. (Deadline)

Fox has picked up the drama project called Tightrope that follows an FBI agent who is exceptionally skilled at finding, turning, and using criminal informants, rendering them totally trusting and trustworthy. But it’s a process that comes with a cost: the blurring of the boundaries of morality. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

ABC has set up a new drama project set in 19th century New York with Shonda Rhimes (creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice) called Gilded Lillys, which will be set in the first luxury hotel ever built in New York City circa 1895. (Andrew Wallenstein at Variety)

Actor Eric Stoltz (Caprica) has been tapped as the lead of dramedy pilot Modern Love from Lifetime that is executive produced by Sex and the City alumna Jenny Bicks. The story 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. 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. (Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: What’s the latest on the return of Crowley on Supernatural? —Claire

Ausiello: The latest is his portrayer Mark Sheppard steadfastly refuses to confirm any particulars. “Look at the Season 7 trailer [shown at Comic-Con],” he says. “There’s a shot of me in the trailer, so obviously I must appear somewhere at the beginning of the season, doing something. You never know — maybe I appear for five seconds and get blown up? [Laughs] You never know, man.” As for what Crowley’s take on Castiel’s new godly status might be, he said, “It’s not really a promotion, is it? He managed to consume those souls, so we’ll see what happens as a result. I think Crowley’s in the ‘Better you than me, mate’ camp — if he gets a chance to comment on it!” OK, Cagey McCagerson.

Question: Can you please give me some scoop on Castle?!—Ivy

Ausiello: The show wasn’t able to get Dan Akroyd to make a cameo in its Ghostbusters-themed Halloween episode. Bummer.

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Sorry for today’s update being so late, but here are the news items:

TELEVISION

It has been confirmed by actor Arthur Darvill himself that his Doctor Who character Rory Williams will be back for the next new season of the long-running fan favorite. (Dave Golder at SFX)

Actress Kristin Lehman (The Killing) will make a guest appearance in an upcoming episode of Castle, playing Martina Kaye, a sexy art insurance investigator who joins Castle and Beckett on a murder investigation that involves the theft of a valuable sculpture; and when Martina meets Castle, the attraction is instant. The show is back for a new season on ABC, starting on September 19 at 10 PM. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Actor (and Old Spice spokesman) Isaiah Mustafa has landed a recurring role on ABC’s Charlie’s Angels. He will play Det. Ray Goodson, a hunky lawman for whom Angel Kate (Annie Ilonzeh) was once engaged. The series debuts on September 22 at 8 PM on ABC. Mustafa will debut around the show’s 4th episode. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Greg Grunberg (Heroes) could have a potential recurring role in Hawaii Five-0, playing an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agent based out of Honolulu, and whose team’s primary functions are the survey of items smuggled into the region and all Homeland Security threats. The show is back on September 19 at 10 PM on CBS. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Comic actor Jay Mohr will guest star in the new NBC drama Prime Suspect in a role that could become recurring. He will play slick New York City assistant district attorney John Bullock, who is good at his job, though not exactly on the same wavelength as Jane Timoney (Maria Bello). The series debuts on September 22 at 10 PM. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Bruckheimer TV will be producing a potential pilot for NBC with wrestling star turned actor Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock. The fictional drama will be set in the world of wrestling in the 1980’s. (Deadline)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actor Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) will star in the HBO made-for-TV movie called The Day the Laughter Stopped, revolving around silent film star Fatty Arbuckle based on the book by David A. Yallop. Arbuckle (1887-1933) was a silent film star, comedian, director and screenwriter who mentored Charlie Chaplin and discovered Buster Keaton and Bob Hope. The popular comedian also had his troubles: in 1921 Arbuckle was accused of raping and accidentally killing actress Virginia Rappe and was tried for her death three times. Though he was acquitted, the scandal plagued his career and worked sparingly in the 1920s. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica and Dollhouse) will have the starring role in the TNT movie Innocent, which is based on Scott Turow’s book of the same name. The made-for-TV movie, which will kick off the new Mystery Movie Night series on TNT on November 29 features Penikett as Jim Brand, a hot-headed, tenacious prosecutor after one guy: Judge Rusty Sabich (Bill Pullman), who has been charged with the murder of his wife. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

CONDOLENCES

Singer-songwriter Nick Ashford who along with his wife Valerie Simpson wrote tunes for Motown – like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “I’m Every Woman” passed away yesterday in New York City. He was 70 years old. (E! Online)

Celebrated songwriter Jerry Leiber – part of the legendary songwriting team Leiber and Stoller – passed away at the age of 78 from cardiopulmonary failure. The duo wrote songs for Elvis Presley, the Coasters and many others. Some of their hits included “Hound Dog,” “Yakety Yak,” “Jailhouse Rock” and “Love Potion No. 9.” (David Ng at The LA Times)

ME: Rest in peace, Mr. Ashford and Mr. Leiber. Deepest condolences are extended to their families, friends and fans.

MOMENT OF SILENCE PLEASE…

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Young actor Caleb Landry Jones (X-Men: First Class) will play the lead role the vampire drama called Byzantium, which is based on a play by Moira Buffini. Actresses Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan will play a mother-daughter vampire duo who move to a small British town and reveal their secret. Jones will play a teenager dying from leukemia whose struggle with mortality emotionally affects Ronan’s character making her question her own immortality. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Djimon Hounsou has joined the cast of the film Paradise Lost, which is an adaptation of the classic 17th Century poem by John Milton. The story follows the fallen angel Lucifer (Bradley Cooper) who, after being cast out of Heaven, mounts an army that battles the forces of good led by his Archangel brother Michael (Benjamin Walker). Hounsou will play Abdiel, the Angel of Death. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Broadway actress Lily Rabe (who also appeared in Steel Magnolias), the daughter of the late Jill Clayburgh, is joining the cast of the new FX series American Horror Story for six episodes. She will play the original owner of the haunted house that the characters played by Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott move into and her story will be told in 1920s-era flashbacks. The show premieres on FX on October 5. (E! Online)

Actress Meredith Monroe (Dawson’s Creek) will guest-star in an upcoming episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing an unhappy wife who leaves her husband for another man and takes all his money with her. Little does she know the money actually belongs to a criminal who ends up taking her hostage. The show returns on September 19 at 10 on CBS. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actress Andrea Parker (The Pretender and Less Than Perfect) will replace Jessica Hecht (Friends) in the final season of Desperate Housewives, playing the new girlfriend of Tom Scavo (Doug Savant). The show is back on September 25 at 9 PM on ABC. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Mark Your Calendars: Covert Affairs will be back with its final 6 episodes of its current season starting on November 1while Burn Notice will be back with is final 6 episodes of its current season starting on November 3. Meanwhile, White Collar won’t be back to January 2012. (TV Line)

Actor Shaun Majumder (Detroit 1-8-7) has joined the mid-season series The Firm in the role of Andrew Palmer. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

Actor Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) is set to guest star at least twice on the upcoming new TNT series Perception that stars Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) as an eccentric neuroscientist and university professor who helps the FBI solve complex crimes. Bamber will play Michael Hathaway, a professor who entices Rachael Leigh Cook’s character (the professor’s FBI handler). Perception premieres next summer. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic split-personality tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is getting a contemporary interpretation with Hyde, a drama series project from Up In the Air co-writer Sheldon Turner and ABC Studios that has been set up at ABC. Hyde centers on Grant Hyde, a thirtysomething ER doctor with a degenerative eye condition who is conflict-averse and hesitant to be captain of his own destiny. After attempting an experimental treatment to improve his eyesight, he begins to experience a strange side effect — when he goes to sleep, his id manifests itself as Hyde, a fearless, gregarious personality who takes control where Grant cannot. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 movies for this past weekend courtesy of Exhibitor Relations and E! Online:

1. The Help, $20.5 million
2. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $16.3 million
3. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D, $12 million
4. Conan the Barbarian, $10 million
5. Fright Night, $8.3 million
6. The Smurfs, $8 million
7. Final Destination 5, $7.7 million
8. 30 Minutes or Less, $6.3 million
9. One Day, $5.1 million
10. Crazy, Stupid, Love, $4.95 million

Actress Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) will have the secondary female role in the zombie comedy called R.I.P.D. that is based on a comic. The story follows a cop (Ryan Reynolds) killed in the line of duty, who is recruited by a team of undead police officers working for the Rest in Peace Department. He then tries to find the man who murdered him with the help of an eccentric partner (Jeff Bridges). Parker will play Proctor, a woman who has been involved with Bridges’ character and who informs Reynolds’ character of his new undead status. The film is expected to be released during the second half 2012 release planned. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actresses Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil franchise), Kate Beckinsale (Underworld franchise) and Sofia Vergara (Modern Family) are attached to star in the big screen adaptation of the comic book series called Danger Girl. The story is about heroes like James Bond and Indiana Jones except with curvaceous female spies as the lead characters. Here is the official synopsis of the story: “A beautiful adventuress joins forces with an all-female spy agency as they race around the world to recover a trio of powerful relics.” There is no word on which studio will be making the film, though. (Latino Review and Blastr)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Katheryn Winnick (Bones) will guest star in Nikita, playing Kelly, the athletic, tough, and no-nonsense former partner of Nikita’s who just escaped a high-security prison in Turkey. Kelly blames Division for letting her rot in jail, so chances are her reunion with Nikita is going to be a tense one. The show will be back on September 23 and Winnick will appear in the fourth episode. (E! Online)

Actor Eric Close (Without a Trace) will have a recurring role in the new FX series American Horror Story, that debuts on October 5. He will play Hugo, a charming cad with matinee idol looks who appears in a series of circa ’80s flashbacks. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Joel Gretsch (V and The 4400) will have a recurring role in the new NBC drama The Playboy Club, playing the incumbent State’s Attorney in Chicago, who is a major competitor to Nick Dalton (Eddie Cibrian). The show premieres September19. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actress Lolita Davidovich will appear on Rizzoli & Isles as one of three ex-wives to Det. Vince Korsak (Bruce McGill). She will play Melody Patterson, whose son Vince raised for 10 years. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Tricia Helfer announced the following at Twitter today: “Just signed a recurring role “Alex Clark” in NBC’s ‘The Firm’ airing this winter. Will be working with some amazing talent – very excited!”

Actor Miguel Ferrer (The Protector) will have a recurring role on Desperate Housewives, playing the recurring role of Andre Zeller, a renowned and temperamental contemporary artist who is teaching a course at the local college. He is very demanding of his students, one of whom is part-time illustrator Susan (Teri Hatcher). The series is back for its final season starting September 25. (Michael Ausiello and Megan Masters at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Liz Tigelaar, creator and executive producer of Life Unexpected will work with executive producers Gary Fleder and Mary Beth Basile on a TV adaptation of the independent film called The Joneses for ABC. The show would be a family drama, following the All-American Joneses, who’ve just moved into an upscale suburb to start a new life. But the Joneses have a secret they must keep from their new friends and neighbors – they aren’t a real family at all. (Deadline)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Carla Gugino (The Watchmen) will appear as Boston police detective D.D. Warren in the TNT made for TV movie called Hide, which is based on the book by Lisa Gardner. The story will revolve around Warren, who will investigate the mummified remains of six missing women found inside a buried chamber at an abandoned mental hospital. The case will lead Warren her to investigate Annabelle, a woman with a secret past and twisted family history. This movie is part of the network’s new lineup of original movies under its upcoming TNT Mystery Movie Night that will feature six contemporary crime dramas based on true-crime stories and fictional mysteries. (The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Watch: Official Trailer for ‘Machine Gun Preacher’ with Gerard Butler

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Goran Visnjic (ER) has joined the cast of the new ABC fall drama Pan Am for a 4-episode arc. He will play a sexy Yugoslavian immigrant torn between his communist Eastern Bloc homeland and the potential freedoms and opportunities of the West. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Ryan Rottman (the TeenNick series Gigantic) will guest star on 90210 this fall, playing Shane, a smart, handsome gay 20-something who is confident in his identity and is committed to fighting for marriage equality. The show is back with all new episodes starting on September 13. (Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

Supernatural fans rejoice – as well as Buffy and Angel fans. Charisma Carpenter and James Marsters will be playing husband and wife named Don and Maggie Stark in the fifth episode of the new season. The episode is called “Shut Up, Dr. Phil and is about a successful man (Marsters) who is married to a witch (Carpenter); but he made her angry and now the whole town is paying the price. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

With the success of Game of Thrones on HBO, Hollywood seems interested in developing other properties by author George R.R. Martin for the screen. It looks like a film adaptation of Martin’s werewolf tale The Skin Trade looks to be in the works. The story centers upon a female detective on the trail of a serial killer linked to an underground werewolf clan ruling the remains of an economically decaying city. (Dark Horizons)

Fox has given a pilot commitment to the as-yet untitled spy drama project from writer Josh Friedman (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles). No other details on the project are available at this time. (Cynthia Littleton at Variety)

TNT has given a pilot order to the western pilot called Gateway, which is an action/adventure set in a town of the same name in Colorado in the 1880s. The story chronicles three brothers who step up to save their town when their sheriff father is murdered, pitting them against a corrupt cattle baron determined to make the town his own. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Hugh Jackman will star as P.T. Barnum in the contemporary musical The Greatest Showman on Earth. A focal point of the movie is Barnum’s infatuation with opera singer Jenny Lind, called the Swedish Nightingale. So far, no actress has been cast for the role. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Looks like director Ridley Scott is committing to direct and produce a “new installment of Blade Runner,” but at this time it’s unclear if this will be a sequel, a prequel or something else. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

‘Underworld: Awakening’ Trailer: Everything’s Blue!

NOTE: Theo James from Bedlam, Kris Holden-Ried from Lost Girl and Michael Ealy from FlashForward are in this with Kate Beckinsale. I’m SO there!!

First Full Trailer for ‘Texas Killing Fields’

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items to share with all of you for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Carlos Bernard (24) will have a recurring role on CSI: Miami, playing a ruthless politico who uses his power to keep his depraved serial killer son safe from the law. The show will be back starting September 25 at 10 PM on CBS. Bernard’s arc is slated to kick off in late October. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

It would seem a “teen version” (yes, you read that right) of Sex and the City – otherwise known as The Carrie Diaries , based on the Candice Bushnell book about Carrie Bradshaw’s high school years is a candidate for a new TV show on…wait for it…The CW. No deals are in place, as talks are only in the preliminary stages, but Gossip Girl executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage are being courted to helm the project. The young-adult novel for which the show would be based chronicles Carrie’s senior year of high school in a small New England town. (Deadline)

Actress Viola Davis (who can be seen in the box office film The Help) is eyeing the lead role in a new HBO drama that centers on the corruption of a city as seen through the eyes of the headmaster of an exclusive prep school. Davis is also poised to executive-produce as well. (The Hollywood Reporter and TV Line)

Bruckheimer TV – yes, Jerry Bruckheimer – has set up a Navy SEALs drama pilot at ABC with Life creator/executive producer Rand Ravich. The story is based on the lives of Navy SEALs and their families. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Dakota Fanning has signed on for the title role in the Emma Thompson-scripted biopic called Effie about Euphemia ‘Effie’ Gray, who was a teenager when she married famed London art critic John Ruskin (Greg Wise) in the 1850s. The marriage turned out to be a disaster with Ruskin refusing to consummate it. Effie eventually turned her affections to Ruskin’s protégé John Everett Millais (Tom Sturridge). Thompson will portray Effie’s mentor Lady Eastlake. Also starring is Julie Walters and Derek Jacobi as Effie’s parents and Edward Fox as Lady Eastlake’s husband. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Rosamund Pike (An Education and Pride & Prejudice) has been cast as the leading lady opposite Tom Cruise in the film adaptation of Lee Child’s novel called One Shot that features the author’s recurring character, former military policeman-turned drifter Jack Reacher. The story follows Reacher as he investigates a case in which a lone sniper murders five victims before being captured. But Reacher soon learns the apprehension of the alleged sniper isn’t the end, and this case won’t be closed that easily. Pike is playing Helen Rodin, a local defense attorney defending the man arrested for the shootings who may not be the man they’re looking for at all. She then works with Reacher to apprehend the true culprits behind the murders. (Deadline and First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILERS

The Woman in Black Trailer

First Official Trailer for Legal Drama ‘Puncture’ Starring Chris Evans

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

Question: Any Chuck scoop. —Laura

Ausiello: An upcoming episode will feature Chuck and Sarah going on their first Buy More business trip. “It doesn’t sound exciting at all,” executive producer Chris Fedak acknowledges, “but let’s just put it this way — it involves an Embassy Suites.” Still underwhelmed? Fedak reveals that “we will learn much more” of Sarah’s back-story when the show returns.

Question: Chuck spoilage, please? —Jaime

Ausiello: Ellie and Awesome are going to get more immersed in the spy world in Season 5. “They know about Chuck’s spy life now,” Fedak explains. “They know about the [freelance spy] company. Things have changed. It’s much more of a family story.”

Question: Since Tamala Jones recently announced that she has become a series regular on Castle, what does that mean for Lanie and Esposito? —Danielle

Ausiello: Ironically, it could mean their relationship is (done). While Jon Huertas (Esposito) confirms that we’ll see “a lot more of [the pair] interacting as a couple” this season, he adds that producers “want to go all the way to where we may break up. It may be because of Ryan and Jenny and their relationship and where they’re going as a couple into marriage. It might make Lanie or Esposito say, ‘Maybe I want to get married’ — and maybe the other person doesn’t.”

Question: Enough beating around the bush: Is Castle going to put Beckett and Castle together this season? — Kelsey

ADAM: Signs point to “won’t they.” Why? I’m hearing that a certain gorgeous female art insurance investigator will catch Castle’s eye and their chemistry will be instant. Do I have to paint a picture for you of Beckett’s reaction to said chemistry?

Question: Happy for the McGee family back-story coming up on NCIS, but when are we going to get the Abby arc we were promised? — Tory

ADAM: Soon — like, in-the-first-few-episodes soon! “We’re going to actually get into a story line that’s going to reveal something about Abby’s past and her family that people aren’t going to see coming,” executive producer Gary Glasberg teases. “It’s a revelation that she makes on her part… and it’s going to tee up a mini-arc.” Speaking of family, Glasberg also confirms that both Ralph Waite and Robert Wagner will return this season as Papas Gibbs and DiNozzo, respectively.

Question: Got any scoop on the new season of Vampire Diaries? — Amy

NATALIE: It may be a supernatural show, but executive producer Kevin Williamson says the story is and always will be about family. “We’re going to dive more into the relationship [between] Damon and Stefan,” he says. “You’re going to see them confront each other.” Plus, there’s that pesky family of original vampires whose diluted lineage will cause a lot of trouble for the Salvatore brothers. “This year, with the original family afoot, it’s going to be about the hybrid and about Klaus and what he’s up to, because he’s the bastard child of the original family. We’ll see his agenda and how Stefan plays into it.”

Question: Any Nikita scoop? What’s in store for Michael and Nikita? — Sammy, via Twitter

ADAM: Look for a powerful lady from Michael’s past to re-emerge: the sexy, smart first lady of Belarus, who, as luck (and the writers) would have it, first met Michael when Division was trying to overthrow her husband. Now fearing for her life, she’ll cash in on their past spark and ask Michael to help her seek asylum.

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here is the news for today:

TELEVISION

The new MTV comedy Awkward has been picked up for a second season. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Morgan Fairchild, who was last seen as Captain Awesome’s mom on Chuck, will guest star on Bones this fall. She will appear in the third episode as Bianca, the intelligent, impeccably dressed CEO of Dillio Toys. Bones is back on November 3. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Actress Cassidy Freeman (Smallville) will play the recurring role on the new drama The Playboy Club. She will play Frances Dunhill, a Chicago socialite with a secret who feigns a relationship with Nick Dalton (Eddie Cibrian) while he runs for public office and so she can please her father. The series will debut on September 19 at 9 PM on NBC. (Joyce Eng at TV Guide)

Actor Dominic Chianese (The Sopranos) will guest star in six episodes of the upcoming new season of Boardwalk Empire. He will play Leander Whitlock, a contemporary of Dabney Coleman’s Commodore. The show will have its season premiere on September 25. (TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The Mexican drama called Terminales is being adapted by the ABC Family Channel as a possible new series for the cable network. The show chronicles the life of young and successful publicist April Marquez who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. In addition to Terminales, the company also has a Miranda Lambert PI series in development at ABC Family. (Deadline)

MINI-SERIES NEWS

Actor Bill Paxton has be tapped for the second lead opposite Kevin Costner in the History’ Channels mini-series The Hatfields and McCoys, which will chronicle America’s most infamous family feud. The saga centers on “Devil” Anse Hatfield (Costner) and Randall McCoy (Paxton), who were close friends and comrades during the Civil War, but when they returned to their neighboring homes — Hatfield in West Virginia, McCoy just across the Tug River border in Kentucky – it was to increasing tensions, misunderstandings and resentments that soon exploded into all-out warfare between the families. As hostilities grew, friends, neighbors and outside forces joined the fight, bringing the two states to the brink of another Civil War. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Bradley Cooper has left the reboot of the box office movie The Crow. Two potential replacements – Channing Tatum and Mark Wahlberg – have emerged, but now decisions have been made yet. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

Actors Danny Glover and Taylor Handley (The O.C.) and actresses Beverley Mitchell (7th Heaven) and Tiffany Hines (Nikita) [among others] have joined the cast of the sci-fi thriller called Mentryville, which is set at an off the grid pharmaceutical testing facility where renowned scientist (Glover) is hired to create a vaccine for a lethal airborne virus. Handley’s character and his friends cause complications when they help clean out the house of his hoarding grandmother and save her from eviction. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Reeve Carney (the star of the Broadway play Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark) has signed on to play Jeff Buckley in an untitled biopic about the late musician which should not be confused with the rival project called Greetings from Tim Buckley that stars Penn Badgley in the lead role. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actor Walton Goggins (Justified) has joined the cast of the upcoming film/sequel G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation. He will play a character named Warden Nigel James, but little else is known about his role. It was also recently learned that Bruce Willis will play General Joe Colton, the original G.I. Joe, in the film. The film is anticipated to open on June 29, 2012. (Variety and First Showing)

Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (2012) is set to star in the independent film called 12 Years a Slave, which tells the true story of Solomon Northrup, a New York citizen who was kidnapped in Washington in 1841 and rescued from a cotton plantation in Louisiana in 1853. (Showblitz)

Actor Nolan Gerald Funk (Warehouse 13) has joined the cast of the independent thriller called Evidence that revolves around a detective who hunts down a killer using video footage shot by the victims of a massacre at an abandoned gas station. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Q&A SECTION (with Kristin at E! Online)

Question: @Katemadeleine: Caroline and Tyler are the best characters on TVD. I neeeeeeeed to know what that one second clip in the promo was about?

Kristin: Let’s just say a green little monster whose name rhymes with Melousy becomes Caroline’s (Candice Accola) friend when she sees Tyler (Michael Trevino) dancing with another girl at Elena’s (Nina Dobrev) party. Looking ahead, their Romeo and Juliet-esque relationship takes a truly Shakespearean turn when someone we know—and kind of trust—aims to hurt our favorite blonde.

Question:  Jody in Crown Point, Ind.: Anything TVD or about my favorite baddie, Klaus!

Kristin: Joseph Morgan told us that Klaus and Stefan are just having a splendid time together. “[They’re] out having fun, painting the town red,” he says. “Going dancing. Shopping. Going to garden centers. Picking out curtains. Trying out couches. Just trying to get to know each other.” Oh, how we wish he wasn’t kidding about all that. Best bromance ever. But seriously, Stefan and Klaus are up to absolutely no good. “They’ve been on a killing binge, quite frankly. Just wreaking havoc. I’ve been slowly trying to corrupt him and bring him back to the dark side,” he tells us. Since the season premiere takes place months after the season two finale, will viewers ever see what happened in the days we passed over? “I’m not sure if we’re going to flash back to that period, but [the killing] certainly hasn’t stopped,” Joseph assures us. “Things are only going to escalate from here, so we’re going to see how far these guys are willing to go. And Klaus is willing to go as far as it takes.”

Question: SalgronQuick: Will Glee be revisiting the Puck/Quinn storyline as Shelby is returning?

Kristin: Based on this bit of casting info, I’d say definitely! Glee is looking for twin blonde baby girls to be “very, very featured extras.” Who thinks baby Beth will finally be seen again? Um, we do! And if the love child of Puck (Mark Salling) and Quinn (Dianna Agron) is coming around, it’s pretty safe to say that that the couple formerly known as Quick might be having a “remember when we had a kid?” conversation.

Question: Jennifer in N.J.: I love Mercedes! Is she graduating at the end of this season with the others?

Kristin: Officially, we don’t know if Mercedes (Amber Riley) is a senior or not. But don’t think she’s sweating the idea of graduating. While other cast members might be biting their nails in anxiety at the thought of leaving Glee, Riley is taking it all in stride. “I may not be coming back for the fourth season, so who knows? Whatever happens this season is just up in the air,” she tells us. “I am about to be 26 years old. I don’t want to play a high school student anymore. Glee was a good run. I think it’s smart to keep having new students come in and hear their stories. I think it’s good and I am really excited about the

Question: Glenn in Playa del Rey, Calif.: I did not like all the talk about roadblocks for Michael and Nikita in last week’s Spoiler Chat. Give me better news!

Kristin: Sorry, but even Maggie Q is admitting there will be tough times ahead for Nikita and Michael (Shane West.) “It’s going to be hard. They have no money!” she tells us. “They’re like a new married couple, just starting out. Except they’re trying to save the world, too.” Think they’ll survive to see their first anniversary?

Question: Emily in Pa.: Scoop on Nikita!

Kristin: The stars of Nikita want you to strap in, because the second season is going to be a wild ride. “Everything is different. It’s the same good characters, but everything has changed. I think the fans will be real into it,” Lyndsy Fonseca predicts to us. Shane West agrees with his costar, and even reveals how the first episode will be set up. “It’s basically going over what happened in the last episode of season one, and seeing where these characters might actually be now,” he says. “Obviously Michael and Nikita are on the run. Division is turned upside down. It’s nuts right now! It’s entertaining and all the actors are back, so that’s exciting, too. Knowing how Craig writes, so much will happen in four or five episodes.”

Question: Martucacomayuca: What can u get for us Castle fans?

Kristin: Penny Johnson Jerald, who’s joining the cast of Castle as the new Captain, tells us that in the season premiere (which takes place three months after the finale), she doesn’t know if she sees Beckett (Stana Katic) in the office…at all! She played it real coy, but it sounds like Beckett survives the shooting physically, but maybe not emotionally or mentally. Jerald also offered this tease on season four: “[Fans] are going to be like, ‘Wait a minute? That’s never happened on this show before!'”

Question:  Mperfectmistake: Any Fringe scoop not related to Peter? He’ll be back, that’s all I need to know for now.

Kristin: How about we check in with Walter? “He doesn’t function very well in the first couple of episodes,” John Noble tells us. “Without Peter, he’s insane. He won’t leave the lab. He hears voices and has hallucinations…he’s crazy! He still can solve problems, but he has to get Astrid (Jasika Nicole) to go out with a special [camera] so he can see the crime scenes because he won’t go out himself.” Geez, Walt. Pull yourself together!

Question: MafaldaNeto: Anything Fringe please!

Kristin: OK, now we’ll talk about Peter (Joshua Jackson). “What’s happening is we’re going to bring Josh back in as Peter, but not in the same way. Not as a person that’s been there with us all the time, but as a person that comes in our lives at this stage,” John reveals to us. “That’s very different, because the relationship that the audiences know won’t be there. Olivia (Anna Torv) won’t be in love with him, at least to start with. So we’ve started a whole possibility for relationship growth.” Sounds like season four of Fringe is going to be downright awesome, right?

Question: MrsDeWinter_2 Pam: SDCC was lacking Dean spoilers. Any word yet on an overdue storyline for Dean on Supernatural?

Kristin: We went straight to the source with your question—Supernatural star Jensen Ackles himself, during our set visit in Vancouver last week. Unfortunately, the two-time Alpha Male Madness champion said the spotlight won’t be shining specifically on the eldest Winchester brother: “Sam [Jared Padalecki] is dealing with more of a personal issue than Dean,” the dishy star dished. “Essentially the big topic [this season] is there’s a new evil in the world and the boys are going to have to combat it by pooling their [meager] resources…It’s going to be a difficult situation for both guys.” (Stay tuned for more scoop from the Supernatural set, including whether the Winchesters will get lucky in love—and life without Castiel (Misha Collins) Sniff.)

Question: @lanaya_salim: Any scoop on the Pretty Little Liars hottie Jason DiLaurentis? Is he really bad news bears?

Kristin: First of all, you get a gold star for using the phrase “bad news bears.” Well done. Your other prize? The scoop on Jason straight from the man who plays him: Drew Van Acker! We just got off the phone with Drew and he told us we’ll definitely get an explanation from Jason for all those creepy pictures of Aria (Lucy Hale) in tomorrow night’s episode. Check back with us tomorrow for more PLL intel courtesy of the show’s new bad boy.

Question: Ovaltine_Jenkins: Got any Psych scoop? I’m going through some serious withdrawal.

Kristin: So are we, Ovaltin, so are we. Although Psych doesn’t return until Oct. 12, we got some delicious deets on William Shatner’s guest gig as Juliet’s (Maggie Lawson) con-man father. “My relationship with my father has been estranged—we’re sort of reconnecting and it’s really rocky and uncomfortable, and Shawn (James Roday, Maggie’s real-life BF) gets in the middle,” Maggie told us on set. “That’s really uncomfortable for us, and we have to work through it. It’s a very a very complicated case—it involves theft—and a complicated episode.” When we suggested Juliet has daddy issues—after all, Shawn’s essentially a con man himself—she laughed and said, “It’s interesting and eyebrow raising that Juliet would choose somebody very similar, but she doesn’t know Shawn’s a con man. She believes [in him] through and through, so this could get interesting.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Breaking Bad has been picked up for a 16-episode fifth and final season by AMC. (E! Online)

Actress Jessy Schram (Falling Skies) will appear as Cinderella in an early episode of Once Upon a Time, the new ABC fairytale series that will debut on October 23 at 8 PM. Actor David Anders (The Vampire Diaries) will also appear as a doctor who dates Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin). (Zap2It)

Actress Nathalie Kelley (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift) will have a recurring role on Body of Proof when it returns to ABC on September 20. She will play Dani, the confident, street smart driver of the M.E. van who has a real interest in forensics and ultimately wants to be a part of the team. (The Futon Critic)

The Secret Life of the American Teenager will complete its summer run on ABC Family on September 5 at 8 PM with the new ABC Family series The Lying Game taking over that time slot starting on September 12 and continuing through October. Meanwhile, Pretty Little Liars will air its mid-season finale on August 30. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Josh Duhamel has joined the cast of the Disney Jr.’s flagship animated series called Jake and the Never Land Pirates. He will voice the recurring role of Captain Flynn, a dashing young pirate who is well-known for his legendary adventures on the Never Sea with his boat The Barracuda. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actor William Sadler (Roswell) will return to Fringe as Dr. Sumner in the third episode of the fourth season. (Give Me My Remote)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Julianna Moore is considering to appear in the potential HBO mini-series based on the Sara Gran novel called Dope. The story takes place in New York around 1950, centering on a woman who re-enters her life after being away at the farm to treat her heroin addiction and becomes a private eye. (Deadline)

The show-runners behind the short-lived ABC series Detroit 1-8-7 are working on a pilot project for ABC Studios called Two Roads, which centers on a young woman who struggles with doubt on her wedding day whether to go through with it or not. (Deadline)

A script written by Josh Berman (Drop Dead Diva) and Peter Tolan has been picked up by ABC Studios. The story is about a female FBI profiler who teams up with a homicide detective for the first time since he left her at the altar after coming out of the closet. Tolan also has a script in play at FOX for an ensemble comedy with producing partner Michael Wimer and DJ Nash. (Andrew Wallenstein at Variety)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

British singer Cheryl Cole has landed a role in the upcoming film What to Expect When You’re Expecting starring alongside the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz. There is no word what character she will be playing, though. (E! Online)

Aussie actor Sullivan Stapleton (Strike Back) has joined the cast of the upcoming film Gangster Squad where he will play a mob enforcer-turned-police informant who is the childhood friend of the character to be played by Ryan Gosling. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

It looks like Disney has shut down production on The Lone Ranger, which was set to star Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer. It seems the remake was dumped due to the film’s $250 million budget. (Deadline and TV Guide)

Here are the top 10 movies for this past weekend, according to Exhibitor Relations and E! Online:

1. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $27.5 million
2. The Help, $25.5 million
3. Final Destination 5, $18.4 million
4. The Smurfs, $13.5 million
5. 30 Minutes or Less, $13 million
6. Cowboys & Aliens, $7.6 million
7. Captain America: The First Avenger, $7.1 million
8. Crazy, Stupid, Love, $6.9 million
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, $6.88 million
10. The Change-Up, $6.2 million

NOTE: The Glee movie placed in 11th place on its opening weekend, earning only 5.7 million in the box office receipts.

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Roush at TV Guide)

Question: I just finished watching the season finale of Falling Skies and I am very happy the show got renewed for another season. I just hate that we have to wait until next summer before the show comes back on again. I have seen where people have described the show as boring. Did you think it was boring? I found it interesting and suspenseful that the audience did not know any more than the characters did about what was going on in their world. When we saw the bipedal aliens for the first time, it was a shock. We thought the Skitters were in charge, but it appears they were just drones. That was shocking to me. What did you think? The cast is great! Noah Wyle did an excellent job as Tom Mason. Colin Cunningham was perfectly cast as Pope, who’s such is an interesting character. I was so happy to see Fringe’s Blair Brown on the show. I hope Falling Skies continues for a long time. The summer shows are so good. I am not nearly as excited as I once was about the fall shows coming back. Which shows do you look forward to more, summer or fall? — Susan

Matt Roush: Let’s start with Falling Skies, which I never found boring. Overly earnest and preachy at times, yes, but there was always a tension afoot given the way the series was set up, thrusting us directly into the resistance movement against the aliens, and not stalling in the build-up to the attack the way V did. I agree that the reveal late in the season of the new aliens (presumably in charge) and the harnessed nature of the Skitters were good surprises. I was even OK with the Close Encounters nature of the season cliffhanger, though I gather some were put off by it. And you called out my favorite characters. This is by far Noah Wyle’s best TV role since the glory days of ER, and Pope is a great foil. Hoping in Season 2 for there to be more unsettling cameos like the one Blair Brown performed so memorably. As for summer-vs-fall, it’s not really an issue for me, because TV pretty much goes year-round anymore with barely a pause (except around the holidays), and there are high and low points in each period of the year. Summer is especially critical for cable networks to present many of their best signature shows while attempting to launch new ones, and there was a glut of them this year, while network TV takes a step back with very little to recommend. But soon, network TV will be back in full force, and as much as I enjoy many summer series, I’ll be happy to welcome back the shows (from Modern Family to The Good Wife) that take us through much of the rest of the year. But back to Falling Skies, which has been especially prominent in my mailbag lately.

Question: The more I watch Falling Skies, the more excited I get about its future. The way the first season ended opens a tremendous amount of potential directions for this show to move towards. I still believe that, at its heart, it’s a mediocre show that is elevated by some wonderful performances and a creative over-arching storyline. Most of the supporting characters are one-dimensional archetypes: the empathetic doctor, the motorcycle chick, the hardened criminal who’s never at a loss for clichéd wisecracks, etc. But at the same time, I can’t imagine a better pick for the heart of the show than Noah Wyle. His character and performance are the highlights of the series. And surprisingly, I find myself enjoying Will Patton’s Capt. Weaver, who at the outset looked like he was going to fall into a typical gruff commander stereotype, but was given some great development in the last few episodes. Nothing about the first season excited me enough to think that I needed to watch the entire series, but every episode made me want to watch the next one (if that makes any sense). What has been your opinion of the first season, and what is your outlook for the second? — Chris

Matt Roush: What you’re expressing here is ambivalence that accentuates the positive, and I get that. It’s pretty much how I felt about the show through most of the season. Completely agree about the wooden acting in many of the stock supporting roles, which only accentuated the hokeyness at times. This never actually became appointment TV for me — in part because I moved around a lot this summer, and there are very few shows I’ve been able to keep up with regularly — which meant I tended to watch Skies in multiple-hour blocks, like a miniseries, and in that regard, it played well for me. I’m very curious where the show will go in its second season in the aftermath of Tom’s Close Encounters experience, which I hope won’t defuse the tension in the story’s next act.

Question: I just saw the promo for ABC Family’s The Lying Game and it looks an awful lot like the storyline for the CW’s Ringer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Are they THAT similar? And which do you recommend? Thanks! — Diane

Matt Roush: There’s no explaining it, but yes, within the space of a few weeks, two shows will premiere (The Lying Game this week, Ringer in mid-September) involving identical twins from wildly different backgrounds: one rich, one poor, and the poor one takes over the rich twin’s life, with ensuing complications. The circumstances are different — in The Lying Game, the twins were separated at birth (one adopted, one in foster care) and only just learned of each other’s existence, while Ringer’s twins are merely estranged — and Ringer is more of a mystery/suspense thriller while I haven’t quite figured out the tone or direction of The Lying Game from the pilot. They’re not carbon copies, but it’s weird for two such similar shows to arrive at the same time. Still, these things do happen. In terms of preference, both seem like solid enough melodramas, but I’m a Sarah Michelle Gellar fan and enjoy Ringer’s more deluxe and sinister tone, while Lying Game saddles its main character (well played by Alexandra Chando, a dead ringer, so to speak, for The Vampire Diaries’ Nina Dobrev) with generic clique-ish rich brats who feel interchangeable with any number of ABC Family or CW dramas. Not exactly my thing.

Question: I’ve been a fan of Eureka since the beginning. It got off to a great start, but I’m confused about the number of episodes in each season. For the last two seasons, Syfy has had 8-10 episodes in the summer and then the 2nd half of the season the next summer. Instead of calling it season 4.0 and 4.5, wouldn’t that be seasons 4 and 5 since there are around nine months between each half-season? Will they get back to a normal summer season of 13 episodes, like Warehouse 13, or 10 episodes in the summer and then 10 episodes in the winter, like the Stargate shows? — Ryan

Matt Roush: This question came in before it was confirmed that Eureka’s fifth season, currently in production, will be its last — with an extra episode tacked on to the original order to allow the writers to bring the show to a close. It isn’t yet clear when and how Syfy will present the final episodes of Eureka, but it would be nice if the network didn’t try so hard to confuse the audience with its bizarre scheduling. Syfy has done Eureka no favors in the way its last few seasons were split over such a long period of time. Ryan is absolutely correct that to run one half of a season in July of one year, and then to finish the run the following July, it’s basically two separate seasons. Which may take some of the sting out of the recent news, if we pretend that seasons 3 and 4 were actually two seasons each, that would mean next season will be in some ways its seventh. (Got that?) Either way, it has been a nice run for what is currently my favorite Syfy series.

Question: With the news of the cancellation of Eureka, it seems like Syfy is sliding even further out of its SF niche. While Eureka has had a good run and I don’t think Syfy is making a mistake with canceling it (besides not deciding a little earlier to give them enough time to wrap it all up), the lack of any news about a replacement show is concerning. For a die-hard SF geek like myself, the fact that there are only 2-3 shows on Syfy that I watch is indicative of the lack of focus from that network. I compare that to USA, which is under the same corporate umbrella, where they have put together a great track record of solid shows from Psych to Suits, and I realize I spend more time watching USA than Syfy these days. Is there any reason why one branch of the NBC (now Comcast) umbrella is doing so well with their series and another is doing so poorly? — Jason

Matt Roush: In this case, it does seem an apples-and-oranges type of comparison. USA Network is doing very well at programming for the broadest possible audience, hewing to an escapist formula popularly described as “blue sky” while working just enough tweaks in most series so it doesn’t feel like you’re sitting through the same show hour after hour (some more successfully than others). Whereas Syfy is trying to find variations within an expansive genre, with a mix of scripted and non-scripted (quasi-reality) shows that, in the scripted arena, have tended to veer toward the whimsical light-fantasy side of late, because that’s what’s been working best for them. And while the purist may be disappointed by Syfy’s current slate, from a business point of view they’re doing pretty well, all things considered. And don’t be surprised when USA broadens out to include comedy and reality in its portfolio, which will surely earn it some critics. Personally, I’m putting almost an absurd amount of hope on the Battlestar Galactica prequel (Blood and Chrome) to return Syfy to classic form and improve upon the disappointing Caprica, because I’ve also missed the weightier (read: risky), more allegorical and less earthbound dramas that some of us tend to associate with sci-fi.

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Warehouse 13 just got renewed for a fourth season. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Erica Durance (Smallville) will guest star in an episode of the new fall ABC series Charlie’s Angels, playing Samantha Masters, a tough-as-nails, Glock-toting CIA operative who has a bit of a romantic history with Bosley (Ramon Rodriguez). The new series will debut on September 22 at 8 PM with Durance’s episode to air in mid- to late-October. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Psych is coming back for its sixth season on Oct. 12 at 10 PM (Twitter)

The USA Network has cancelled In Plain Sight, but it will have one final season with an eight-episode order. The final season will air in spring of 2012. (Variety)

The TNT series Leverage has been picked up for a fifth season. (Twitter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Summit Entertainment are interested in having former Smallville show runners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar direct an adaptation of the popular young adult novel series called Homelanders by Andrew Klavan for the big screen. The story follows the plight of a teenager who awakens one day to find himself tied to a chair after a whole year has passed him by. Once he escapes, he sets out to find those who put him in that terrible situation. There are four books planned for the series, with two having already been published. This potential franchise could possibly fill the hole left by The Twilight Saga franchise for the film studio. However, there is no set start date or cast information at this time. (Movie Web)

It looks like another Bridget Jones movie will be coming to cineplexs, but no specific details have been announced yet except that Universal and Working Title Films want the sequel to happen. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)

Plans are underway for a new film adaptation of Cinderella to be filmed with director Mark Romanek (who directed Never Let Me Go and One Hour Photo) at the helm. The pitch for this reimagined version of the fairytale is about a prince who is forced into a politically-arranged marriage, until the evil plan is threatened when he meets Cinderella. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Watch: Second Official Trailer for Craig Brewer’s ‘Footloose’ Dances In

NOTE: It is interesting (at least to me) that the song used in this trailer – “Sour Cherry” – is from the duo The Kills. This song was used in a very sexy scene between Bo and Dyson on the Canadian series Lost Girl. It’s a great song; but this remake, well; I’ll hold my judgment until I see it.

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

CBS is developing a new pilot called Ralph Lamb with GoodFellas writer Nicholas Pileggi. The pilot would be set in Las Vegas, revolving around the former Clark County sheriff, who from helped form the Las Vegas Metro Police Department from 1961 to 1979. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Show runners Shawn Ryan and Simon Mirren are working on an untitled pilot that has been sold to CBS that would be a procedural about a genetic scientist who uses his newfound discovery that he has the psychopath gene to help the FBI catch killers. (Deadline)

CONDOLENCES

Former lead singer of the 80’s metal rock band Warrant, Jani Lane, was found dead in Los Angeles last night. (E! Online)

ME: Rest in Peace, Mr. Lane. Condolences to his family, friends and fans.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

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

Question: I know how much you love Castle and that you MUST have something good up those sleeves. So spill! — Christie

Sandra: You know me too well! While roaming around the ABC party last Sunday on my last day at TCA, I got a chance to talk Penny Johnson Jerald, who was so sweet I couldn’t believe she was the one playing the new no-nonsense captain! She revealed to me that while her character (Victoria ‘Iron’ Gates) doesn’t have a dark past like Capt. Montgomery (at least, she doesn’t currently have one), she’s not there with completely pure intentions. “I think what’s interesting with this character is that she’s aspiring to be more than a captain. So any case that comes through the office is of utmost importance — anything to help cushion that launch pad she needs for the next level she’s looking for,” she said. “She’s politically driven. I think that hopefully we’ll learn she has another agenda.”

Question: Any Glee-scoop would be much appreciated! — Becks

Sandra: Remember Tina’s random crying scenes last season? There’s probably more on the way as Tina and Mike Chang will deal with being a year apart. Mike’s thinking about graduation, while Tina, a junior, is stuck in school one more year. At the Glee 3-D movie premiere in Los Angeles, Jenna Ushkowitz contemplated the possible drama and her reaction to seeing some of her fellow cast members don their cap and gowns. “I don’t even want to think about it. I will cry so hard. Those are my best friends,” she says. “Right now we’re just trying to get through 22 episodes. That’s so far in the future for us.”

Question: Supernatural! Any nugget will do. Saw on Twitter that you were talking to Jared Padalecki! – Isabell

Sandra: Indeed! And we had a rousing conversation about Sam’s hair that I’ll share with you soon. (This is mostly true, except I might never share it with you because it was hilariously random.) But the real scoop came from head honcho Sera Gamble, who dished about a very fun upcoming episode where the boys travel to Lily Dale, N.Y., which is a “true-life town with the highest concentration of psychics and spiritualists in the country.” “It’s a little tricky to go ghost hunting where everyone is calling ghosts,” she teased. “But it’s a good place to have a conversation about the difference between fake psychics and true psychics.”

Question: I’d love some spoilers for Suits, especially something on my new summer TV crush, Harvey! C’mon, a little spoiler reward to celebrate the renewal? – Angie

Sandra: I like how you think! Luckily, Mandi Bierly just spoke with Gabriel Macht, who stars as hot-shot attorney Harvey Specter, who dished on the Sept. 8 finale (which was penned by creator Aaron Korsh). In the episode, titled “Dog Fight,” Human Target‘s Chi McBride guests as a new district attorney who isn’t eager to help Harvey free an innocent man Harvey sent to jail years ago by unknowingly burying evidence. “He feels really guilty, and he needs to fix that,” Macht says. “That weighs heavy on his shoulders because he is a man of integrity, and he feels like he’s always doing the right thing, whether or not the way he does it is the right way.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!

Read Full Post »