Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Welcome to the start of August! Can you believe that it’s August already?! Where has the year gone? And, can you believe that summer is nearly over. WOW!

Anyway, here are the news items that I’d like to share for today:

TELEVISION

Actor William Baldwin will have a multi-episode arc on Hawaii Five-0, playing a former homicide detective who was kicked off the force for corruption. Since then, he’s organized a crime wave with a team of fellow dirty cops. He is the sleazy manipulator who may set his sights on Kono (Grace Park), as reported previously. The series will return for its second season starting on September 19 at 10 PM. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

ABC Family has given a second season 22-episode order to their new series Switched at Birth. The show is scheduled to return in early 2012. (Jim Halterman)

Actress Carrie –Anne Moss (best known for her role in the Matrix franchise) will appear on Chuck in a multi-episode arc, playing a new love interest for John Casey (Adam Baldwin). . She will play a character named Gertrude Verbanski, who despite her ungainly name is a ruthlessly efficient spy. She runs a private firm that competes with Chuck and Sarah’s newly launched enterprise. Gertrude also has a history with Casey, and though they’ve been professional rivals they have clicked personally. Chuck will be back for its final season on NBC starting on October 21. (Zap2It)

Actor T. R. Knight from Grey’s Anatomy will return to TV for the first time since leaving the ABC medical drama, guest starring in an upcoming episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He will play a suspected serial rapist who consistently maintains his innocence despite overwhelming evidence. The new season of SVU returns September 21 at 10 PM. (Kate Stanhope at TV Guide)

Actress Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels) will appear in the TNT police drama Southland, appearing as a member of the LAPD throughout the season. The show’s new season is expected to return in January of next year. (Turner)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 box office movies for this past weekend courtesy of Exhibitors Relations and E! Online (with a revision for the final numbers for the top 2 movies from The Wrap):

1. Cowboys & Aliens, $36.4 million
2. The Smurfs, $35.6 million
3. Captain America: The First Avenger, $24.9 million
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, $21.9 million
5. Crazy, Stupid, Love, $19.3 million
6. Friends With Benefits, $9.3 million
7. Horrible Bosses, $7.1 million
8. Transformers: Dark of the Moon, $6 million
9. Zookeeper, $4.2 million
10. Cars 2, $2.3 million

Actress Karen Gillan (Doctor Who) [and others] is set to join the cast of the Scottish independent comedy called Not Another Happy Ending where she will play a beautiful but eccentric writer of miserable, but best selling fiction who’s blocked on her latest novel since she became successful and happy. (Screen Daily and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Indie Trailer Sunday: Juno Temple Stars in Abe Sylvia’s Film ‘Dirty Girl’

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

Question: I really like The Closer and will be sorry to see it end this season. I think the cast is great but wonder if they couldn’t keep the cast, minus Brenda, hire someone like Alana de la Garza to play the female lead and name it Major Case Squad, or something like that. Kyra Sedgwick can’t be actually replaced, of course, but it seems a shame to let such a great cast go without trying something else. Has anyone thought of this before or is it just wishful thinking on my part? — Judy

Matt Roush: Actually, you’re pretty close to the mark. When The Closer in its current form signs off a year from now — this final season is being split in two — the intention is to directly transition into the spin-off titled Major Crimes, starring Mary McDonnell in her current role as the antagonistic Capt. Sharon Raydor. The new show will continue to be set in the LA Police Department, so while we don’t yet know the circumstances of Brenda Leigh Johnson’s departure, it seems likely that at least a few of the talented Closer ensemble will stay put.

Question: Will James Callis return to Eureka at some point? Dr. Grant was a great character. — Linda

Matt Roush: Nothing on the horizon. Definitely not during the current season 4.5, and apparently not yet in the fifth season, now in production. Which isn’t to say he won’t ever return, given the extraordinarily flexible nature of this show.

Question: As with all red-blooded Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans, I’m extremely excited to see Sarah Michelle Gellar back in action on the CW’s new fall pilot, Ringer. While the show is generating a lot of buzz, and not just within the Whedon-verse, I’m fairly concerned with how the show will perform. Shows on the CW tend to struggle in the ratings department in general, but with Ringer taking a fairly sizable step out of the usual CW model, I think it’s going to have a difficult time finding an audience (or rather, the audience is going to have a hard time finding it).

 In spite of potential problems with ratings, I’m thrilled to see the CW finally take a much-needed step outside the usual network brand. Ringer looks to be more mature and serious than the network’s mainstays, which are almost universally aimed at younger women. The CW brand is so well-defined that I worry Ringer may be written off by many potential viewers as being simply another teen soap before they give it a chance. 

Do you think the CW will be able to break out of its self-imposed mold? Do you think they should? Will Ringer really get a fair shake on the CW or was CBS’s decision to pass on it the first nail in the coffin? — Lacy

Matt Roush: I’m cautiously optimistic that Ringer will click with the intended audience, and then some. I don’t know if I’d call it “mature and serious,” though, given that it’s basically a lurid melodrama that reminds me of the sort of B-movie potboilers Bette Davis made during a certain phase of her career (look up Dead Ringer and A Stolen Life). But it does fall in an odd place on the demographic spectrum: too young and bizarre for CBS, but a little older and less formula than the CW model of Gossip Girl and 90210. If Sarah Michelle Gellar can lure enough people to watch the pilot, I’m betting they’ll be hooked. Even so, the bar for its success will be set much lower on the CW than it would have been on CBS (where it might have failed quickly), so that’s something in its favor. But whether it works or not, I’m glad to see the CW expanding its parameters even a wee bit — although I thought Nikita did a pretty decent job of that a year ago. What depresses me is when a network like this settles for just cloning itself, as in the case of The Secret Circle, which feels like a lesser extension of The Vampire Diaries substituting witches for vamps. Lazy programming like that shouldn’t be rewarded.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today, including some Q&A’s from Entertainment Weekly so please tread lightly if you don’t want to be spoiled:

TELEVISION

Actress Jamie Ray Newman (Eastwick and recurring stints on Drop Dead Diva and Eureka) will guest star in CSI: NY as Claire Taylor, the wife of Mac (Gary Sinise), who was lost during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. She will appear in flashbacks during the show’s Season 8 premiere which airs on September 23 at 9 PM. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Talk show host Craig Kilborn will guest star in the season premiere of Chuck, which returns for its final season on NBC on October 21. He will play Roger Bale, a charming yet conniving investor who has stolen money from some of the world’s most dangerous people. The twist? Mr. Bale is rather dangerous himself! It’s probably safe to say Kilborn will have a run-in with the episode’s other Big Bad, Star Wars alum Mark Hamill. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actress Molly Parker (Deadwood) has landed the female lead in the TV adaptation of The Firm – the book by John Grisham that was famously made into a movie starring Tom Cruise. Parker will play Abby who, ten years ago, helped her husband Mitchell McDeere (Josh Lucas from Sweet Home Alabama) bring down a Memphis law firm that was a front for the Chicago mob. The cast of the NBC series – that still has to be given an official air date – will co-star Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers) as Tammy, Mitch’s feisty, sexy receptionist and Callum Keith Rennie (The Killing and Battlestar Galactica) as Ray McDeere, Mitch’s charming yet volatile older brother whose work as an investigator in Mitch’s office is uniquely informed by his past stretch in prison for manslaughter. (TV By the Numbers)

Actors Tom Skerritt and Bailey Chase will guest star in an upcoming episode of White Collar with Skerritt playing Alan Mitchell, the discerning dad of Elizabeth (Tiffani Thiessen), who is a psychiatrist and a protective father. Meanwhile, Chase will step into the role of Bryan McKenzie, a Sterling-Bosch vice president whom Sara (Hilarie Burton) suspects of stealing a Stradivarius. They will appear in the same episode that is slated to air in January when the show returns for its final six episodes of the current season. (TV Guide)

Actress Aly Michalka (Hellcats and the box office film Easy A) will guest star in an episode of CSI: NY next fall. She will play a hard rocker named Miranda who explodes onto the stage of New York’s hottest underground clubs. Her character is questioned by the CSI team when the guy she’s been dating is found murdered. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Young actor Lucas Till (X-Men: First Class) has joined the cast of the box office thriller Stoker that stars Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode and was written by Prison Break actor Wentworth Miller. The film is about a teen who is mourning the death of her father at the same time her mysterious uncle appears in her life. (Joshua L. Weinstein at The Wrap)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Watch: First Trailer for George Lucas Produced WWII Film ‘Red Tails’

SPOILER ALERT!!

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

Question: Can I assume that Shawn and Jules are in a happy relationship when we come back for next season of Psych? — Stephanie

Sandra: They’re going strong, I hear! But they’re not the focus of the season by any means. James Roday told me in a chat prior to Comic-Con that he wanted to make sure the relationship wouldn’t interfere with the dynamic of the show. “My biggest fear with Shawn and Jules — and there are many examples on other shows of when the “Will they or won’t they?” finally comes together, it just isn’t good anymore, and I think because of that we’re proceeding with caution,” he said. “We’re trying to keep it real. Predominantly, their relationship is based on work because that’s where they spend the most amount of time — so not a lot changes on that front. And they’re just kind of figuring out what they are outside of work and taking very slow baby steps in doing it so that nothing feels forced or strange.” Hoping for a soap opera of love? Probably not what you’ll find this season, he says. “We really don’t want to go there. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of protecting the show so that people don’t have to worry about that. I can personally guarantee all of our fans that they will not be disappointed. We’re just as wacky and wily. At its core, this is always going to be a show about two best friends living out a childhood dream, and there’s no way around that. That’s what we are, and that’s what we’ll always be.” Anyone else feel the need to cheer right now? He gets us, he really gets us!

Question: Any scoop on Burn Notice? Framing Michael for murder was a pretty great twist. (But poor Grant Show!) — Jessica

Sandra: Expect the twists to keep coming, says creator Matt Nix. “It’s a pretty twisty season. I mean, I’d say there are a couple of big, hard twists coming up. It depends on what you think of as a twist and then the summer season-finale is one of our twistiest episodes ever. We just finished filming that,” he teases. “There’s a lot that goes on before that. It really heats up coming to the end of the season. I just got finished directing that [last] episode, and it’s very, very, very intense.” Preview Next week we’ll have dish from Nix about how Gavin Rossdale is going to put Fiona and Michael’s relationship to the test!

Question: Castle scoop, Sandra? You know you want to! — Joanne

Sandra: Don’t tell me what I want! Kidding. Actually, I’d prefer you did because, God knows I have no freaking clue. Anyway, if you followed word from Comic-Con, you already know about plans for a superhero-themed episode and a Halloween-themed episode. But executive producer Laurie Zaks told me preliminary plans to send the gang to the premiere of the Nikki Heat film in L.A.! (The show typically shoots its New York setting on a stage in L.A.) So does that mean Laura Prepon would reprise her role as the title character of the movie? Possibly, says Zaks. “That would totally depend on her schedule, and she got cast in a pilot. If you’ll remember, the character was sent off to rehab, so hopefully she’ll be out of rehab by then,” she said with a laugh.

Question: Thanks for being among the only one to give Haven some love, Sandra. I’m dying for a little intel on Jason Priestley’s character! — Martha

Sandra: Why, thank you! I’d bow, but that’s a bit much, I think. Look for Priestley’s character to bring out the “girly side of Audrey” in episode 6, according to star Emily Rose. “What happens is really fantastic and I can’t wait for it to come out,” she says. “We see a personal side of Audrey in a really unique way.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here is the news for today with some interesting casting items and more. Please read on:

TELEVISION

Actress Alicia Coppola, who has a recurring role on The Nine Lives of Chloe King (and is probably best known for her work on the short-lived but fan-favorite series Jericho) will guest star on an upcoming episode of the USA Network new series Suits as Alexandra Leeds, a woman from Harvey’s (Gabriel Macht) past who suddenly appears to stir up some big trouble for the legal eagle. Additionally, she has been promoted to recurring status on the cable network’s recently ordered-to-series buddy cop show, Common Law. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

BBC America has picked up a new drama for the summer of 2012 called Cooper, which centers on a young Irish cop operating in the immigrant communities of 19th century New York. The series received a 10 episode order. (DanielleTBD at Twitter)

Actor-Comedian Eddie Izzard (The Riches) will have a guest starring role on The Good Wife, playing Abbott Thrush, an upper-class English barrister brought in to fight Lockhart/Gardner in a libel case that finds its way into British court. The Good Wife will return on September 25 at 9 PM on CBS. (TV Guide)

Actress Paula Marshall (Cupid and Californication) will play Malificent, the nemesis of Sleeping Beauty on the new ABC series Once Upon a Time, the fairy tale drama that will debut this fall on October 23. Also, actor David Anders (Alias and The Vampire Diaries) will play a doctor in the series which stars Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Robert Carlyle, Josh Dallas and Lana Parrilla. (Maureen Ryan at AOL TV and Megan Masters at TV Line)

Actress Julie Benz (No Ordinary Family) has changed her status on the new fall medical drama A Gifted Man, which is set to debut this fall on CBS. Her character, the sister of Michael (Patrick Wilson), an ultra-competitive surgeon whose life is changed when his dead ex-wife (Jennifer Ehle) starts visiting him, will now be a recurring character rather than a series regular. (Deadline)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actors John Corbett and Gary Cole and actresses Julie Benz and Kelly Overton have been cast in the two-hour movie Ricochet, based on the best-selling book by Sandra Brown, which will air on TNT. Det. Sgt. Duncan Hatcher (Corbett), a sexy Savannah homicide cop, falls hard for Elise Laird (Benz), a dishy damsel-in-distress. She’s married to corrupt Judge Cato Laird (Cole), who consistently subverts Hatcher’s efforts to bring a local drug lord to justice. Things get complicated when Hatcher and his feisty partner, Det. DeeDee Bowen (Overton), are called to the Laird home after Elise supposedly shoots an intruder in self-defense. This made for TV movie is part of the new Tuesday Night Mystery movie franchise slated to launch in November on TNT. The franchise will feature six contemporary crime dramas, from true-crime stories to fictional mysteries. (Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Cable network A&E has decided to not pick up the proposed pilot of Big Mike – that was to star Greg Grunberg (Alias and Heroes) as a plus-size detective with the San Diego Police Department. Meanwhile, the fate of the new pilot Longmire, which is based on the Walt Longmire Mystery series of novels by Craig Johnson, is still up in the air, but the “buzz” is strong and the network “is leaning heavily toward picking it up to series”. Longmire is about Walt Longmire (Robert Taylor from Matrix), the charismatic, dedicated and unflappable sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming. Widowed only a year, he is a man in psychic repair but buries his pain behind his brave face, unassuming grin and dry wit. The cast includes Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), Lou Diamond Phillips (Stargate Universe), Bailey Chase (Saving Grace) and Cassidy Freeman (Smallville). (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies and soon to be seen in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn and The Hobbit) has joined the cast of the upcoming film Lincoln, playing opportunistic New York City mayor Fernando Wood, a prominent early supporter of the Confederate cause. The mayor traded frequent correspondence with President Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis). (Deadline)

Actress Rosario Dawson and actor Vincent Cassel have joined the cast of the upcoming thriller called Trance, which stars James McAvoy and Cassel as partners who concoct an elaborate art heist that goes awry. Dawson will play a woman who has an unusual relationship with both men. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actress Cody Horn (Rescue Me) has joined the cast of the indie cop drama called End of Watch that follows the friendship of two long-time LAPD partners (Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña). Horn will play a policewoman opposite America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) and Anna Kendrick (The Twilight Saga franchise). (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Actress and Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) has signed on to star in the upcoming thriller called Stoker. The film is about a teen, mourning the death of her father and has to deal with an eccentric uncle who shows up unexpectedly. The cast includes Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and Matthew Goode (Leap Year and Watchmen) in a movie written by actor Wentworth Miller (Prison Break). (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actresses Jamie-Lynn Sigler (The Sopranos) and Nadia Bjorlin (Days of Our Lives) and actor Jonathan Bennett (Mean Girls) will star in the first romantic comedy from the Indian company RR Movie Makers called Divorce Invitation. The story is about Mike (Bennett), a happily married man, who runs into his high school sweetheart, realizing she is his true soul mate. The huge problem: he signed an iron-clad pre-nuptial agreement and his wife (Sigler), who will not let him out of the marriage. (The Wrap)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Must Watch: Official Trailer for George Clooney’s ‘The Ides of March’

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

The volume of the news is back to normal now that Comic Con is out of the way. Here are the tidbits that I found for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Lindsay Sloane and actor Greg Grunberg will guest star on an upcoming episode of Psych when the show returns for its sixth season this October. In a Psych parody of The Bachelorette, Sloane will play Melinda, the star of the pseudo dating show Missed Connections, on which guys she’s crossed paths with — but never met — compete for her love. Grunberg will play the show’s producer, Dimitri, a ruthless, ratings-obsessed mastermind who Shawn (James Roday) suspects may have orchestrated an attack on one of the men. (Joyce Eng at TV Guide)

Actor Mike Doyle (Law & Order: SVU) has joined the cast of the new fall medical drama A Gifted Man that will debut on CBS on September 23. Doyle will appear as Dr. Victor Lantz in what is being reported to be a potential recurring role. The series stars Patrick Wilson as an ultra-competitive surgeon whose life is turned upside down when his dead ex-wife starts visiting him from the hereafter. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Lifetime has quietly passed on its remaining two pilots, Meet Jane and the untitled Michael Sardo project. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

New Year’s Eve Trailer: Who Isn’t in This Movie?

Q&A SECTION (with Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams from TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line with additional reporting by Vlada Gelman)

Question: Got any new info on Hawaii Five-0’s new season? — Jared

ADAM: Kono, the team’s go-to bad guy lure, will catch the eye of a former crooked cop who’s now a sleazy crime boss. Infiltrating his ranks won’t be easy — nor will passing the test he gives Kono to prove she’s legit.

Question: I must know more about Bones’ new squintern! — Wesley

ADAM: He exists in the overlapping section of a Venn diagram with circles labeled “young,” “redneck” and “genius.” (Think Doogie Howser with Larry the Cable Guy’s accent.) Although Cam welcomes him to the Jeffersonian, Caroline isn’t exactly brimming with Southern hospitality. Why not? It seems that despite all his fancy book-lernin’, the Doog used to “git-r-done” in juvie.

Question: Got any Nikita spoilers? — Marco

ADAM: Get ready to meet a Robin Hood with a real mean streak. The show is casting an assassin who targets the rich and powerful and then sends videos to the media that outline his motivation for each murder. One thing the videos don’t show, though: This brash killer uses a wheelchair.

Question: There’s been a serious lack of Falling Skies scoop. What can you tease? — Dave

NATALIE: Ready to find out what that alien harness is really for? You will in this week’s episode, in which Blair Brown (Fringe) also guest-stars. She plays an eccentric survivalist whose luxurious lifestyle is highly suspicious to Tom, Hal and Captain Weaver. Even more suspicious is her connection to the long-missing Karen.

Question: Do you have any new Vampire Diaries scoop? —Samantha

Ausiello: Buffy the Vampire Slayer is set to guest on the show!!!! Well, OK, not so much Buffy. But a vampire slayer, at least. The incoming character, named Eric (a nod to True Blood’s sexiest fanger?), is a middle-aged hottie who, from what I hear, is sorta like Indiana Jones with a stake instead of a whip. In possibly related news, check out what EP Julie Plec told us at Comic-Con when asked her if there were plans to introduce a baddie bigger than Klaus this season. “I would definitely say that Klaus isn’t the worst baddie that we’ve seen so far. It will be fun to see who’s going to steal his thunder eventually as we get deep into Season 3.” Hmm…

Question: Since Castle started back filming last Thursday, got any spoilers for Season 4? —Danielle

Ausiello: Look for Ryan and Esposito to get considerable more air time this season, something Jon Huertas confirmed to me at Comic-Con. One Ryan/Esposito-centric episode revolves around “a double date with Ryan/Jenny and Esposito/Lanie,” he revealed, “and things don’t go so well.”

Question: Heard of any plans to have Carla Gallo back on Bones this season? —Rex

Ausiello: Yes. Gallo is slated to return as Daisy in Episode 3, per exec producer Stephen Nathan, who adds, “Daisy can’t live without her Lancelot.” True dat, true dat.

Question: The biggest scoop of all would be if you could tell us when Kyle Chandler is returning to television? —Harry

Ausiello: Rumor has it the Friday Night Lights Emmy nominee has been offered every pilot under the sun, only to turn each and every offer down. “That’s not true,” Chandler humbly responds. He won’t deny, however, that he’s being very picky about choosing his FNL follow-up. “I’ve looked closely at what the next project will be,” he says. “You kind of have to. FNL went for five years. I certainly know enough now that if you’re going to climb into bed with one of these television shows and it becomes successful, you’re there for a while. When you’ve got [FNL exec producer] Peter Berg and other folks putting this thing together it’s a little bit easier. You knew you had quality people you were signing up with. I just did Super 8. I didn’t even see the script, but it’s quite obvious that’s pretty easy to do. So I am very considerate of what it is I do next. I listen to my gut for sure.”

Question: It’s really looking like Cas is going to be killed off in Episode 2 of Supernatural. Can you give us any hope at all that he’ll survive beyond that? —Tabitha

Ausiello: Nope, and neither can his portrayer Misha Collins. “I would love to tell you [but] I’m not going to,” he told TVLine over the weekend at Comic-Con. “I don’t like to give away secrets… You might see me a lot next year. If you have a poster of me on your wall, you’ll see me daily. But how much I’ll be on Supernatural is a secret. And I actually don’t know. That makes it easier to not tell you.” When we do see Cas, he will be “drunk with power,” reveals Collins. “He’s trying to do what he thinks a God should be doing on Earth and in Heaven, which is fairly righteous and wrathful. Rectifying the world’s problems. I think he’s making, in many respects, the world a better place. But there’s a fair amount of smiting going on too. You take the good with the bad.”

Question: Any Supernatural spoilers? Please? —Nic

Ausiello: Look for Sam and Dean’s already difficult lives to get even tougher. After years of skirting the law, the boys are “starting to be found,” Jared Padalecki teased at Comic-Con, which means the Winchesters are “losing a lot of our aces in the hole.” Adds executive producer Ben Edlund, “We’ve been saying that they do things a certain way. Their techniques, their methods – they know what they’re doing. They know their job. They have their support networks. Those things in their lives are going to challenged.” Insert the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid feel showrunner Sera Gamble teased to us back in May, and, “They’re going to find themselves, in a sense, running from lots of guns,” continues Edlund. “The stuff they face this season, it’s massive.” But Edlund believes there’s still room for laughs. “There’s a natural absurdity to being on the air for seven seasons and the number of times they’ve died,” he says. “There’s a quality that’s going to lend itself to a little more ambient comedy this year.”

Question: There’s been a lack of scoops on Chuck recently! Anything you can give me? —Adam

Ausiello: You already know from reading our Comic-Con recap that Casey is getting a new love interest/foil by the name of Gertrude Verbanski. The newbie runs what EP Chris Fedak calls “the best spy company in the world.” But what you may not know is that the just-released casting breakdown describes her as “tall, gorgeous and striking. She’s Miranda Priestly meets Lara Croft, with a rather wicked sense of humor.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Now that I have returned from San Diego and the annual Comic Con extravaganza, I can finally get caught up on all the news I missed, including breaking news that took place AT Comic Con (for which I had to miss out on because of a hectic schedule).

The following is a long list of news from last week as well as yesterday and today. Sit back and relax:

TELEVISION

It looks like despite what was said before about actors Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, and Cory Monteith leaving the FOX musicomedy Glee when their characters graduate at the end of this upcoming season, Executive Producer Brad Fulchuk stated at Comic Con that they will actually be back for season 4. The statement was thus: “(just) because they’re graduating doesn’t mean they’re leaving the show”. Entertainment Weekly confirmed that all of the actors have signed traditional seven-year contracts so it’s not like their deals were going to expire after next season, though the studio retains the right to drop them year after year. Actor Chord Overstreet’s exit, however, is still a go; in fact, he won’t return this fall for any episodes. Falchuk said Overstreet was offered a deal to return for 10 episodes with the possibility of becoming a series regular, but Overstreet declined in favor of other opportunities. (Mandi Bierly at Entertainment Weekly)

Legendary actor Robert Wagner (Hart to Hart) will not be providing the voice of Charlie in the reimagined Charlie’s Angels series that will debut on ABC in the fall. The reason for this change is due to scheduling conflicts. Casting is ongoing for the man who will ultimately give new angels their marching orders this fall. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Actor Liam Cunningham (Camelot) has signed on for a major role in the HBO series Game of Thrones, playing Davos Seaworth, a family man with a checkered past whom fellow Season 2 newcomer Stannis Baratheon (actor Stephen Dillane) will enlist to help steal the series’ central throne from King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson). The series is scheduled to return in 2012. (TV Guide)

Actress Monica Raymund (Lie to Me) will appear in multiple episodes of the CBS cop drama Blue Bloods, playing the new partner of Jaime Reagan (Will Estes) when his previous partner, Renzulli (Nick Turturro), gets bumped up the ranks to fill in as platoon commander. The series returns for its second season on September 23 at 10 PM. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Rhys Coiro (Entourage) has booked a recurring role on the new medical drama A Gifted Man that will debut this fall on CBS. He will play Dr. Zeke Barnes a family doctor by day and a rock musician by night. The series stars Patrick Wilson as an ultra-competitive surgeon whose life is turned upside down when his dead ex-wife starts visiting him from the hereafter. The new series will premiere on September 23. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor John Terry (Lost) will appear on the new ABC remake of Charlie’s Angels, playing Victor Sampson, the dad of cat burglar-turned-Angel Abby (Rachael Taylor). A former Wall Street titan, Victor is now behind bars for fraud, thus estranged from his daughter — until, that is, she needs some information from him to crack a case. The series will debut on September 22 at 8 PM. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actress Jorja Fox is returning to CSI this fall as a full-fledged series regular after appearing on the show in a recurring guest star capacity for the past four seasons; but she won’t appear in every episode this season. The long-running series will return with new episodes on September 21 at 10 PM. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actress Cassidy Freeman (Smallville) will guest star in the season premiere of CSI: NY, playing a bartender whose male co-worker is killed in a robbery gone bad. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Santiago Cabrera (Heroes and Merlin) will appear in an episode of Covert Affairs (alongside former Heroes co-star Sendhil Ramamurthy. There are no details on what role he will play, though. (Matt Mitovich and Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

The Syfy hit series Eureka will air a special holiday themed episode this December and it won’t be like the show’s previous holiday episode: it will be animated. In the first-of-its-kind episode, the quaint town of geniuses will be transformed into animated versions of themselves. The stand-alone holiday episode will also feature a stellar line up of guest stars lending their voices to a variety of characters – Jim Parsons, Chris Parnell, Matt Frewer and Edward James Olmos. The airdate for the holiday episode will be announced at a later date. In the episode “Do You See What I See,” it’s Christmas again in Eureka, and Sheriff Carter (Colin Ferguson) and Allison Blake (Salli Richardson-Whitfield) are secretly planning the perfect holiday surprise for their kids. But something mysterious interferes with the super-photon generator designed to create a faux winter wonderland on Main Street, sending a kaleidoscopic wave of color crashing over Eureka, and leaving the entire town and its inhabitants animated. Adapting to the rules of their animated world, our cartoon heroes encounter talking creatures, anthropomorphized machines, and snowy foes as they race to find a solution before Christmas morning…or face potentially being a cartoon forever. Jim Parsons is set to voice Carter’s long put-on Jeep, who’s had enough of his owner’s cavalier attitude towards him. Edward James Olmos will voice Rudy, the leader of a pack of sled dogs who befriends Deputy Andy. Chris Parnell also guest stars as Dr. Noah Drummer, reprising his role from last year’s Christmas special. Matt Frewer will be featured as an animated, altered version of himself, and helps Jo (Erica Cerra) make an important realization about her tough-girl personality. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Odette Annable (Brothers & Sisters and Breaking In) has landed a series regular role on the long-running FOX medical drama House. Producers are keeping the details on her character under wraps, but word has it she meets Dr. Gregory House in prison. (Deadline)

Actor Kenny Johnson (The Shield and Saving Grace) will join the cast of the new NBC drama Prime Suspect, which is an adaptation of the popular British drama starring Helen Mirren. This new version stars Maria Bello as Jane Timoney, a female detective struggling to make her bones in a tough New York precinct dominated by men. Johnson will play Matt Webb, her boyfriend. The series will premiere on September 22 at 10 PM slot. (Deadline)

Actress Mercedes Masohn (Chuck) has landed the female lead opposite Geoff Stults and Michael Clarke Duncan in the new FOX dram The Finder, the upcoming Bones spinoff series, which is slated to launch on Fox in January. She will play Deputy US Marshall Isabel Zambada, a focused, nuclear-powered cop on the rise, who is a brilliant politician using a career in law enforcement to climb to the top of the heap in life. Also cast in the new series is 16-year-old newcomer Maddie Hasson as Willa, a second generation criminal who helps Walter (Stults) and Leo (Duncan) in their investigations. (Deadline)

Actor Jere Burns (most recently seen in Breaking Bad and Justified) will have a major recurring role on the hit USA series Burn Notice. He will play Anson Fullerton, a brilliant but understated clinical psychologist whose specialties in human behavior and experience working with covert agents proves useful in answering many of Michael’s (Jeffrey Donovan) still looming questions. As a psychologist for the Defense Intelligence Agency, Anson has high-level government clearance and security access. But when his wife is held hostage by a brutal criminal, Anson is forced to hand over his access codes to save her life and the team must work to rescue her before it’s too late. (Deadline)

Actor Reed Diamond (Franklin & Bash) will guest star in an episode of the CBS drama The Mentalist, playing Ray Haffner, a confident CBI supervising agent who will lead a group of agents assisting Lisbon (Robin Tunney) and her team with the investigation of a personal trainer’s murder. The series returns for its fourth season on September 22 at 10 PM. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Actress Zoey Deutch (The Suite Life on Deck and daughter of actress Lea Thompson) has joined the cast of the upcoming thriller Ringer that will debut this fall. She is replacing Caitlin Custer in the role of wild child Juliet, the daughter of Andrew (Ioan Gruffudd) and stepdaughter of Siobhan (Sarah Michelle Gellar). Additionally, actress Jaime Murray (Dexter and Warehouse 13) has also joined the cast as Andrew’s business partner. The series will debut on September 13 at 9PM. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actress Kelly Giddish (Chase) will guest star in one upcoming episode of The Good Wife when it returns with new episodes this fall on CBS. She will reprise her role as private investigator Sophia. The series will return on September 25 at 9 PM. (TV Line and TV Guide)

Actor Jack Coleman (Heroes) will guest star in an upcoming fall episode of The Vampire Diaries, playing Bill, a former resident of Mystic Falls who returns home with a dangerous point of view about vampires. (TV Guide)

Legendary actress Lily Tomlin will appear in NCIS playing the part of grandmother to Agent Timothy McGee (Sean Murray). She will appear early in the show’s ninth season. The show returns for its ninth season on September 20 at 8 PM on CBS. (TV Guide)

Actor Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks and Desperate Housewives) and actress Paige Turco (Damages and NYPD Blue) will both guest star in an upcoming episode of Law & Order: SVU in a story inspired by former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. MacLachlan will play Andrew Raines, a powerful politician whose family is embroiled in a headline-grabbing scandal while Turco (The Agency, NYPD Blue) plays his wife Kathleen Raines. The show will be back with new episode starting September 21 at 10 PM. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

TNT has ordered a second season of Franklin & Bash, the legal drama that stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) will guest star on Psych, playing a kooky art museum curator sometime during Season 6, which premieres in October. (Variety and Megan Masters at TV Line)

Disney Channel star Chelsea Kane will appear in one of the early episodes of the long running CW series One Tree Hill, playing Tara, a rival Café owner to Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti) and Brooke (Sophia Bush). The series is expected to return mid-season for its final run. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Despite reports to the contrary, actress Karen Gillan announced at Comic Con over the weekend that she will indeed be returning to Doctor Who for its next new season, which will air in 2012. The current season of the show – as it airs here in the United States – is anticipated to start in September. (Zap2It and Blastr)

BOX OFFICE MOVIES

Legendary actor Harrison Ford is attached to star as an aging Wyatt Earp in the upcoming box office film Black Hats, which is an adaptation of the 2007 novel by Max Allan Collins. The film will tell the story of an older Wyatt Earp, who spent his last years as a private detective and movie consultant in Los Angeles. But this story’s spin involves Earp learning that his friend and compatriot Doc Holliday had a son, now living in Prohibition-era New York City. While Holliday is long dead, the son has gotten himself in trouble with a rising mobster – Al Capone. (The Hollywood Reporter and First Showing)

Here are the top 10 box office films for the past weekend courtesy of Deadline:

1. Captain America 3D – $65.8 million
2. Harry Potter/Deathly Hallows Pt 2 – $48 million
3. Friends With Benefits – $18.5 million
4. Transformers 3 3D – $12 million
5. Horrible Bosses – $11.7 million
6. Zookeeper – $8.7 million
7. Cars 2 3D – $5.7 million
8. Winnie The Pooh – $5.1 million
9. Bad Teacher – $2.6 million
10. Midnight In Paris – $1.8 million

It was confirmed at Comic Con that four of the original cast members of the 1960’s gothic soap opera Dark Shadows will make cameos in new film. Lara Parker (Angelique), Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans and Josette du Pres), David Selby (Quentin Collins) and Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins) will appear in cameos. (Bloody Disgusting and Dark Horizons)

It is reported that actor Hugh Jackman is firmly locked into playing Jean Valjean in the film version of the hit musical Les Miserables. Additionally, it is being said that actor Russell Crowe is apparently keen to play the determined Inspector Javert, the antagonist of the piece. However, Paul Bettany remains the front runner. (Baz Bamigboye and Dark Horizons)

Actors Helena Bonham Carter, Dwight Yoakam and Barry Pepper are all in talks to join the upcoming box office film The Lone Ranger that stars Armie Hammer as a Texas Ranger left for dead, who dons the masked identity known as the Lone Ranger and is helped along the way by an Indian named Tonto (Johnny Depp). Carter will play the madam of a brothel who deals with gentlemen and scoundrels while Pepper will play a military officer and Yoakam will play Butch Cavendish, who is the leader of the gang that attacks and leaves the Ranger for dead. Ruth Evans, Tom Wilkinson and James Badge Dale are also onboard. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

Actress Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids) has joined the cast of the indie coming-of-age comedy film Struck by Lightning that stars Chris Colfer (Glee) as a character who is struck and killed by a bolt of lightning. The film will chronicle his exploits as he blackmails his fellow senior classmates into contributing to a magazine he’s publishing. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Max Martini (The Unit) has joined the cast of the film Pacific Rim” that tells the story of an alien invasion that threatens Earth. He will play the part of the resistance that fights them. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Nick Nolte will appear in the political thriller The Company You Keep based on the Neil Gordon novel that stars Robert Redford as a former militant wanted by the FBI who must go on the run when his true identity is exposed by an ambitious young reporter (Shia LaBeouf). (Dark Horizons)

Actress Imogen Poots (Jane Eyre and the upcoming Fright Night) has landed the female lead in the upcoming bio-pic Greetings From Tim Buckley that stars Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl) in the role of musician Jeff Buckley. The film follows the true story of the days leading up to Jeff Buckley’s 1991 performance at a tribute concert for his father, who’d abandoned him. Poots plays a young woman who meets Jeff Buckley while working at the concert. They embark on a four-day journey that changes both their lives. Shooting begins next month. (Deadline)

It looks like Warner Bros has pulled The Man of Steel from a planned late 2012 release date and has slotted it to open wide on June 14, 2013 release. (Deadline)

COMIC CON TRAILERS

NOTE: These are just a small sample of all the trailers that were shared with fans over the 5-days of Comic Con:

‘Doctor Who’ trailer might give you nightmares (but it’s worth it)

‘Torchwood’ teaser trailer from Comic-Con here!

‘Homeland’ at Comic-Con: Here’s a sneak peek

First look at ABC’s new ‘Once Upon a Time’ trailer

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

A&E Network will begin production on Stephen King’s Bag of Bones, a four-hour epic mini-series that will feature Pierce Brosnan’s return to television. The two-night event is scheduled to premiere in the fourth quarter of 2011. The mini-series will also star Anabeth Gish (The X-Files and most recently seen in Pretty Little Liars) and Melissa George (Alias). The story centers on bestselling novelist Mike Noonan (Brosnan), who is unable to stop grieving after the sudden death of his wife Jo (Gish). A dream inspires him to return to the couple’s lakeside retreat in western Maine, where he becomes involved in a custody battle between the daughter of an attractive young widow (George) and the child’s enormously wealthy grandfather, the mysterious ghostly visitations, the ever-escalating nightmares and the realization that his late wife still has something to tell him. (Deadline)

Lifetime has greenlit the original movie called We Have Your Husband that will star Teri Polo and Esai Morales. The film is based on the true story of American Jayne Valseca (Polo) and her fight to free her husband Eduardo (Morales) who spent 7 and a half months at the hands of brutal kidnappers in Mexico. Eduardo, a Mexican businessman, was kidnapped at gunpoint close to the ranch where he lived with his wife Jayne and their kids, launching a race for Jayne to raise ransom money while Eduardo clings to life as he is starved, tortured and shot several times. The film is based on the book of the same name by Jayne Valseca and Mark Ebner. (Deadline)

TNT has set actor Bill Pullman (who is currently appearing in Torchwood: Miracle Day) as the lead in a two-hour telefilm called Innocent that is based on the book by Scott Turow, which is actually a sequel to his bestseller Presumed Innocent. It is the first entry in the network’s recently announced new Tuesday Night Mystery movie franchise slated to launch in November, which will feature six contemporary crime dramas, from true-crime stories to fictional mysteries. Innocent centers on Judge Rusty Sabich (Pullman) who, twenty years after being cleared in the death of his mistress, is charged with the murder of his late wife. (Deadline)

The Sundance Channel has picked up the mini-series called Appropriate Adult, which is based on true events. It tells the story of British serial killer Fred West (Dominic West) and his relationship with his appropriate adult, Janet Leach (Emily Watson). In the UK, an “appropriate adult” is appointed to sit in on police interviews with children or vulnerable adults to safeguard their interests. Fred West and his wife Rosemary were accused of murdering at least a dozen women between 1967 and 1978. It will premiere on the cable channel in the fall. (Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

USA Network has passed on its pilot Eden that was to center on a young hotel worker (Nick D’Agosto) who, with the help of his escaped con artist cousin (Enver Gjokaj), gets a job as the concierge at an elite NYC hotel. Together they manage to provide the hotel guests with whatever they desire. Eden is the first USA pilot to get a pass this cycle, which included 2 batches of 3 pilots each. (Deadline)

It looks like the Mark Cherry pilot Hallelujah may not be completely dead after all (it was not picked up to series for the 2011-2012 fall season) as Cherry is now writing a new script for the project because it is being retooled. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE TRAILERS

Watch: First Great Trailer for Soderbergh’s ‘Haywire’ with Gina Carano

Watch: First 4 Minute Sizzle Reel for Andrew Niccol’s ‘In Time’ Thriller

New Spider-Man Trailer Officially Released Day After Leak—Is It Amazing or Not?

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today. Please note that I leave for the San Diego Comic Con bright and early tomorrow morning so there won’t be any daily entertainment updates for the rest of the week. I will hopefully be back to a (somewhat) normal routine on Monday, July 25.

Until then…

TELEVISION

Lifetime is moving the new drama The Protector to Monday nights at 10 PM starting August 1 in order to make room for the new drama Against the Wall that will debut on Sunday, July 31 at 10 PM. (The Futon Critic)

Actor David Ramsey (Dexter) will have a recurring role on Blue Bloods this fall, playing the newly elected Mayor Carter Poole. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Actress Constance Zimmer (Entourage) will appear on Royal Pains as a potential recurring love interest for Hank (Mark Feuerstein). She will play Dr. Abby Burton, a psychiatrist and an old friend of Hank’s who may be able to help an especially important HankMed patient. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actress Logan Browning (Meet the Browns and Pair of Kings) has joined the cast of the upcoming fall series The Secret Circle that will debut on The CW this fall. She will play Sally Matthews, who befriends Cassie (Britt Robertson). (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Two big roles in season 2 of Game of Thrones have been cast. Dutch stage and film actress Carice van Houten (who appeared in the films Valkyrie and Repo Men) will appear as Melisandre, a powerful woman who counsels the late King Robert’s eldest younger brother, Stannis Baratheon, in his quest to claim the Iron Throne. Meanwhile Stannis will be played by British actor Stephen Dillane (HBO’s John Adams mini-series). (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Titus Welliver (Lost, The Good Wife and Sons of Anarchy) has been cast as Triphammer in the FX pilot called Powers, which is based on a Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming comic book. The pilot stars Jason Patric and Lucy Punch as detectives who investigate crimes involving people with superhuman abilities. Triphammer is described as both a genius and a narcissist, a combination of Steve Jobs and Donald Trump. He’s not just a powerful force in his own right, he has invented technology that can both bestow and remove superhuman abilities. (Maureen Ryan)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

It looks like Universal Pictures has dropped its plan to adapt Stephen King’s seven-novel series The Dark Tower. The original plans were to produce a film trilogy as well as TV series based on books. Ron Howard was to direct the first film. But now, the studio has decided not to commit to the project. (The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and TV Guide)

Actor Dennis Quaid has joined the cast the upcoming box office film What to Expect When You’re Expecting playing Ramsey, who has a much younger wife (Brooklyn Decker) who is giving birth to twins and who has an adult son who is also expecting his first child. (Reuters and Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

There is quite a bit of casting news and some interesting film tidbits to share with everyone so let’s get right into today’s news:

TELEVISION

Broadway star and Tony winner Idina Menzel will return to Glee for a season three arc, reprise her role as Rachel Berry’s biological mother, Shelby Corcoran. She is expected to appear in up to 12 episodes throughout the season. (Deadline)

Actor Dillon Casey (Being Erica and The Vampire Diaries) has landed the recurring role on Nikita when it returns for its second season this fall. He will play Sean Pierce, a badass Army special-ops officer assigned by Oversight to both retrieve the stolen black box from Nikita (Maggie Q) and Michael (Shane West), as well as keep a watchful eye on Amanda (Melinda Clarke) as she navigates her newly implemented duties as head of Division. Of course, observing Amanda also means becoming familiar with her latest protégé, Alex (Lyndsy Fonseca), which proves to be quite the task for Pirece once he finds himself intrigued by — and distrustful of — Nikita’s former partner. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

Actor B. D. Wong has confirmed he will be leaving Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He will next appear in the new midseason series Awake that stars Jason Isaacs as a police detective who’s involved in a traumatic car accident and wakes up in two fractured realities. Wong plays a psychiatrist. (TV Guide)

TNT quietly announced the cancellation of the TNT series Men of A Certain Age at the end of last week. (Twitter)

Actor Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) has joined the new ABC drama Once Upon a Time in a major recurring role. He will play Sidney/The Magic Mirror. In Storybrooke, he is Sidney: a reporter for the local newspaper The Daily Mirror. In Fairy Tale Land, he is the vaporous visage trapped within the Evil Queen’s Magic Mirror who is always truthful. (Deadline)

Actor Mike Vogel (Miami Medical) is set to star in the new ABC drama Pan Am, which is about a group of pilots and flight attendants working at the iconic Pan Am Airlines in the 1960s. He will play the male lead, the charismatic and confident Dean who had longed to be a pilot since he was a boy and has just been made the captain of the amazing new Pan Am clipper, the Majestic, living every man’s dream, exploring the world and leading the crew. (Deadline)

Tony nominee Kelli O’Hara (South Pacific) will guest star in the season premiere of Blue Bloods when it returns on September 23 for its second season. She will play Lisa, a best friend of Erin (Bridget Moynahan). (Megan Masters and Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Tony winning actress Julie White (Transformers) will appear as Judge Hockett, a straight-taking and (literally) straight-shooting judge who operates the night courts of Las Vegas in the USA Network pilot Wild Card that revolves around lawyers Eliza Evans (Jennifer Finnigan) and Will Garratt (Ben Lawson) who solve people’s problems overnight in Las Vegas. White will be a series regular should the project be picked up to series. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

The cable network FX has placed a 13-episode order for its next original drama series: American Horror Story, which was co-created by former Nip/Tuck executive producers and current Glee co-creators/executive producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. The new series will premiere in October on the cabler and the series revolves around The Harmons, a family of three who move from Boston to Los Angeles as a means to reconcile past anguish. The cast includes Dylan McDermott (The Practice), Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights), Taissa Farmiga (sister of actress Vera Farmiga), Jessica Lange (Tootsie, Blue Sky, Grey Gardens), Evan Peters (One Tree Hill) and Denis O’Hare (The Good Wife and True Blood). Guest stars for the series include Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) and Alexandra Breckenridge (Dirt). (TV By the Numbers)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Amanda Righetti (The Mentalist) has joined the cast of the box office film The Avengers, but her role hasn’t been revealed yet. (The Daily Blam and Dark Horizons)

Actor Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill and Pirate Radio) has signed on to join the cast of the upcoming box office film Bond 23, which stars Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Javier Bardem and Naomie Harris. It is not known what role Ifans will play, though. (The Daily Telegraph and Dark Horizons)

Actor Sean Bean (Game of Thrones) has joined the cast of the upcoming as-yet untitled Snow White film that is to star Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen and Lily Collins (Priest and The Blind Side) as the title character. Bean will portray the King (and father of Snow White) who used to the rule the land before the Evil Queen destroyed the kingdom. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

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

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, $168.6 million
2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon, $21.3 million
3. Horrible Bosses, $17.6 million
4. Zookeeper, $12.3 million
5. Cars 2, $8.3 million
6. Winnie the Pooh, $8 million
7. Bad Teacher, $5.2 million
8. Larry Crowne, $2.6 million
9. Super 8, $1.9 million
10. Midnight in Paris, $1.89 million

Actress Emma Watson (the Harry Potter franchise) is set to star in the next film from director Guillermo del Toro, which is an adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. Details on this project, however, are nil. (ComingSoon.net)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Happy Friday Everybody!! Today’s news is short, once again, but still contains a few interesting tidbits:

TELEVISION

Merlin has been renewed for a fourth season on Syfy. Those new episodes will air in 2012. Season four will follow Merlin as he looks to ensure that Arthur “fulfils his destiny as the Once and Future King.” Joining the show in season four are Nathaniel Parker as Agravaine, as well as guest stars Gemma Jones as Cailleach and Phil Davis as a sinister Circus master. (TV Guide)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actresses Julia Stiles (The Prince and Me) and America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) are to star in the upcoming box office comedy called It’s A Disaster that tells the story of four couples who meet for Sunday Brunch only to discover they are stuck in a house together as the world may be about to end. (Dark Horizons)

Actresses Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) and Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) and actor Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding) have joined the cast of the coming-of-age box office comedy called Struck by Lightning, which stars Chris Colfer (Glee) as a student who is struck and killed by a bolt of lightning at the beginning of the movie and through flashbacks it is shown how he blackmailed his fellow senior classmates into contributing to a literary magazine he’s publishing. (Dark Horizons)

Actor Matthew Morrison (Glee) has been added to the ever-growing cast of the upcoming box office film What to Expect When You’re Expecting, based on the self-help parenting book of the same name. He will play Evan, who is paired with Jules (played by Cameron Diaz) on a celebrity dance show. The two, of course, fall in love. With Jules’s pregnancy, the two have to figure out how to make their bi-coastal lives work. Among the other cast members are Jennifer Lopez, Brooklyn Decker, Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick and Chase Crawford. (The Wrap)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!

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Hey All,

There isn’t much news today, but still there are some interesting tidbits and a trailer to share with all of you:

NEWS

Congrats to all the Emmy nominees for whom their names were announced this morning.

TELEVISION

Even though a 4th season has not yet been guaranteed by FOX, Glee regulars Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Chris Colfer will not be back for the presumed fourth season. Series co-creator Ryan Murphy said that the three regulars will be among the characters who graduate at the end of the fall’s upcoming third season. (The Hollywood Reporter)

The new MTV series Teen Wolf has been renewed for a second season. (Twitter)

Actress Penny Johnson Jerald (24 and NCIS) has joined the cast of Castle, taking over as the new Captain – in the wake of the fatal shooting of Captain Montgomery (Ruben Santiago-Hudson) in the season finale. She will play Victoria Gates, a career-minded cop who has a background in Internal Affairs. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Rebecca Mader (Lost and No Ordinary Family) will show up on an episode of the new Syfy series Alphas, playing a mysterious Alpha. (TV Line)

Actress Emma Caulfield (Buffy and Life Unexpected) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Leverage. Details on her role are unavailable at this time, though. (Give Me My Remote)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) will star – and also produce – the box office film called The Vanguard, which will be a Viking adventure flick. The film centers on a pair of Viking warrior brothers who attempt to return to Sweden after being banished to North America. (E! Online)

Actor Holt McCallany (Lights Out) will appear in the box office movie Gangster Squad, playing the bodyguard and main enforcer to Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn). The cost also includes Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Michael Pena and Giovanni Ribisi. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

First John Carter trailer gets Taylor Kitsch’s ass to Mars

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Happy Over the Hump Day! We are getting ever closer to the weekend and to the start of Comic Con next week in San Diego.

In the meantime, here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Brian J. Smith (Stargate Universe) is joining the cast of Gossip Girl as a chef named Max in Los Angeles, which is where Serena (Blake Lively) was spending the summer. (Michael Auseillo at TV Line)

Actress Lauren German (Happy Town) has joined the cast of Hawaii Five-0 in what could potentially be a new love interest for Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin). She will play a former Homeland Security officer who has been hand-picked by the new Governor to be a part of the team. (Spoiler TV)

Actor David Gallagher (7th Heaven) will appear as a werewolf named Ray Sutton on the first two episodes of The Vampire Diaries this fall. (TV Guide)

Actor Ted Danson has joined CSI as the Las Vegas crime lab’s new graveyard-shift supervisor. He will, of course, continue to co-star with Jason Schwartzmann and Zach Galifianakis on the HBO comedy Bored to Death, which returns for a third season later this year. (E! Online)

Actor Mark Valley (Human Target) has landed a series regular role on the NBC legal drama Harry’s Law where he will play one of two new attorneys at the law firm run by Harriett “Harry” Korn (Kathy Bates). Meanwhile, actress Jean Smart has signed on for an early-season arc in the series as well. (Deadline)

ABC has renewed summer cop drama Rookie Blue for a third season. (The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Edward Norton is “in negotiations” to play the villain in the upcoming box office movie The Bourne Legacy opposite Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz. There are no details, right now, on the character or the story. (Variety and First Showing)

Actress Ruth Wilson (Luther and Jane Eyre) is in negotiations to play the female lead in the upcoming box office film The Lone Ranger. The film will star actor Armie Hammer as the Masked Man and Johnny Depp as Tonto. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (Gossip Girl) are set to produce the box office film The Luxe, which is based on the Anna Godbersen book series that tracks four teens set in 19th century New York and features conflicts between old money and new money, the upper class and lower class, and star-crossed lovers. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

NOTE: This book series comes from Alloy Entertainment, which I recently wrote an article about.

Actor Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl) will star opposite Anna Kendrick (the Twilight Saga movies) in the pregnancy-based ensemble romantic comedy What to Expect When You’re Expecting. He will play Marco, the ex-boyfriend of Kendrick who reunites with her after their food trucks get into a turf war. Their lives are changed quite drastically after a romantic encounter leads to a surprise pregnancy. (Lionsgate and First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Must Watch: First Trailer for ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’!

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

Question: I haven’t heard anything about the second season of Body of Proof. Can you correct that? —Abby

ADAM: I hear the show is on the lookout a smokin’-hot, street-smart woman in her late 20s to drive the medical examiner’s van. She’s not just a chauffeur though. Her real interest lies in forensics, and she desperately wants to join the team. To do so, she might have to grow a better filter between her brain and her mouth.

Question: What’s the scoop on The Vampire Diaries? — Grace

NATALIE: We’ll flash-back to the speakeasies of Prohibition-era Chicago early on in Season 3, where we’ll meet a vampire from Stefan’s past who will head to present-day Mystic Falls in hopes of rekindling an old flame. If a Facebook relationship status existed that said “Currently Stalking Someone,” that’s what hers would say… but about Caroline!

Question: What’s this I’m hearing about Eliza Dushku coming in as a love interest for Matt Bomer’s Neal on White Collar? What about Sara? —Katie

Ausiello: “They’re on a break” by the time Dushku’s minx shows up, reveals Eastin. “Eliza’s character happens to be there and Neal’s in a little bit of a rebound mode anyway. We get some sparks between them.” BTW, soon enough you’ll see why Neal might be “on the market” again.

ME: It should also be noted that – if no one else has mentioned it – this isn’t the first time Matt and Eliza have worked together or been a “couple” on screen. Does anyone remember Matt’s first big break on primetime TV? He was on Eliza’s short-lived FOX series Tru Calling and their characters dated. Just saying…

Question: Anything on my summertime guilty pleasure, Royal Pains? —Megan

Ausiello: Californication‘s Madeline Zima has booked a guest stint as a nanny to the asthmatic son of a movie-star couple in this season’s ninth episode.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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