Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Happy Monday Everybody! I hope your week has gotten off to a good start. Let’s get right into the news for today, shall we?:

TELEVISION

Veteran actor Scott Wilson (Dead Man Walking) and actress Lauren Cohan (Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries) will play the father/daughter team of Hershel and Maggie Greene on the second season of The Walking Dead when it returns this fall on AMC. (Zap2It)

Actor Russell Hornsby (Lincoln Heights and this falls NBC series Grimm) will guest star in an upcoming episode of the new USA series Suits, playing Quentin Sainz, someone from Jessica’s (Gina Torres) past whose company’s breakthrough drug for ALS patients may have unexpected deadly side effects. Also on tap to guest star in the same upcoming episode is actress Sharon Leal (Hellcats) who will appear as Lisa Parker, a consultant for the company that is being sued for falsifying the results of their drug trials to the FDA. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

The cast for the 8-part mini-series called World Without End, which is the follow-up to The Pillars of the Earth mini-series has been announced. Among the cast are: Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Miranda Richardson (Rubicon), Ben Chaplin (The Water Horse), Peter Firth (MI5), Charlotte Riley (The Duchess) and Tom Weston-Jones (Enlightenment). The mini-series is based on the novel by Ken Follett, which centers on Caris (Riley), a visionary woman who, with her lover Merthin, builds a community that stands up to the Crown and the Church. Nixon will play the beautiful and deadly schemer Petranilla, Richardson will play the strong and determined Mother Cecilia, Chaplin will play the mysterious Sir Thomas Langley, and Firth will play the ruthless Earl Roland. Also cast in the project are Rupert Evans (Hellboy) as the duplicitous Godwyn; Nora von Waldstaetten (Carlos) as streetwise peasant girl Gwenda; Oliver Jackson-Cohen (The Raven) as the rough and dangerous Ralph; Megan Follows (Heartland) as Maud, a lady fallen from grace; and Sarah Gadon (Cosmopolis) as the attractive and intelligent Philippa. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Ben Barnes (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian) is in talks to star in the fantasy film The Seventh Son based on the noel by Joseph Delaney, which tells the story of a teen who learns about wizardry from a forbidding spook. (Showblitz)

Actors Lily Cole and Sam Spruell have joined the cast of the upcoming film Snow White and the Huntsman with Cole playing Greta and Spruell plyaing Finn, a henchman who serves the Evil Queen (Charlize Theron). Finn is sent to kill both Snow White (Kristen Stewart) and the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) once the Queen learns they have joined forces. (Movie Web)

Actor Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: SVU) will play a military general in the upcoming Superman reboot Man Of Steel. (Deadline, First Showing and Variety)

Actress Jodie Foster is in talks to join the film adaptation of the comic book called R.I.P.D., which will star Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges as a pair of undead cops who police undead criminals causing trouble for real life people. Foster would play Proctor, the boss of Reynolds and Bridges’ undead cops. (We Got This Covered and Dark Horizons)

Aussie actors Liam Hemsworth (The Last Song) and Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four) are in negotiations to join the cast of the upcoming film called AWOL, which is based on a true story set against the anti-war movement at the University of Michigan. Stowell plays a young soldier in Vietnam who gets dumped by his hometown girl (Aimee Teegarden) and goes AWOL with his best friend (Hemsworth). Returning to the States, he tries to win back her affections. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Ray Liotta will join Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper in the upcoming film called A Place Beyond the Pines that follows a pro motorcycle rider (Gosling) who starts robbing banks to support his newborn son — until he crosses paths with a determined young cop (Cooper). Liotta will be playing a fierce, corrupt officer on the police force. (Variety and First Showing)

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

1. Cars 2, $68 million
2. Bad Teacher, $31 million
3. Green Lantern, $18.4 million
4. Super 8, $12.1 million
5. Mr. Popper’s Penguins, $10.3 million
6. X-Men: First Class, $6.6 million
7. The Hangover Part II, $5.9 million
8. Bridesmaids, $5.4 million
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, $4.7 million
10. Midnight in Paris, $4.5 million

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Watch: Disney Releases Pixar’s First Full ‘Brave’ Teaser Trailer Online

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today.

TELEVISION

Actress Katherine Helmond (Who’s the Boss) will guest star on True Blood, playing Caroline Bellefleur, the grandmother of Bon Temps sheriff Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer) and his sister, Portia (Courtney Ford). The actress is set to appear in two episodes of Season 4, which premieres this Sunday. (True-Blood.net and The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Annie Wersching (24) will guest star on the TNT police drama Rizzoli & Isles, playing Nicole Mateo, a mother devastated by the recent abduction of her daughter in broad daylight. She’s also a longtime friend of Detective Rizzoli (Angie Harmon), who worked undercover with Nicole’s husband during her Drug Control Unit days. (Meg Masters at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Francois Berleand (Tell No One) will reprise his role as Inspector Tarconi from the Transporter features in the new TV adaptation on Cinemax. Actress Delphine Chaneac (Splice) will recur as Olivia, a reporter who knows a lot about Frank’s (Chris Vance from Burn Notice and 24) work and actress Rachel Skarsten (Birds of Prey) will appear as Delia, the daughter of someone from Frank’s past. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

CONDOLENCES

Actor Peter Falk (Columbo and The Princess Bride) passed away. He was 83. (Variety)

ME: RIP, Mr. Falk. Condolences to his family, friends and fans.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Jams McAvoy has replaced actor Michael Fassbender in the upcoming film Trance, which follows an assistant at an auction house who masterminds an art heist with a gang of crooks. Afterwards, he suffers a blow to the head and wakes up with amnesia. The problem is he’s the only one who knows where the painting’s location is. The gang begins to get suspicious and hire a female hypnotist to get into his brain. McAvoy would play the shady leader of the gang. (Showblitz and Dark Horizons)

Actors Rumer Willis, Dominic Purcell and Billy Zane are set to star in the thriller called The Ganzfeld Experiment that follows five psychology students who gather in a secluded house to investigate their potential ESP. Actors Taylor Cole, Ryan Donowho, Toby Hemingway, Holt McCallany and Laura Wiggins also star. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Joel Courtney (Super 8 ) has entered negotiations to join both a new adaptation of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and the supernatural adventure The Healer. Courtney will play Sawyer in the new adaptation of Mark Twain’s character. The other movie will follow an ailing father who takes his two teenage kids into the woods to renew the bond they shared before a divorce. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Pablo Schreiber has been made a regular cast member of the new CBS drama A Gifted Man that will begin this fall. He plays Anton, a shaman and New Age spiritual healer to Michael Holt (Patrick Wilson). (Deadline)

Actor Jensen Ackles will take to the director’s chair once again on Supernatural when it returns for its seventh season this fall. It will be the first episode the cast films, but it will be the third aired episode of the new season. (Zap2It)

Actress Lisa Edelstein (House) will have a guest starring role on The Good Wife that will span several episodes. Her character is a lawyer — and a bit of a card shark — who has significant history with Will (Josh Charles). (TV Line and Zap2It)

Actress Natalie Dormer (The Tudors and the upcoming Captain America movie) has been added as a regular cast member for Season 2 of the HBO series Game of Thrones. She will play Margaery Tyrell, a (minor spoiler alert) beautiful and shrewd young woman from the influential House Tyrell. She’s pledged to marry the late King Robert’s brother, Renly Baratheon, as part of House Tyrell’s support for his bid to seize the Iron Throne from King Joffrey. (Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Stephen Root has been cast in a new regular role in the FX drama pilot Outlaw Country, which is undergoing tweaking and some reshoots. The crime thriller/family drama, set against the backdrop of Southern organized crime and Nashville royalty, stars Luke Grimes as twenty-something Eli Larkin who tries to leave the life of crime. Meanwhile, actor John Hawkes is Eli’s uncle Tarzen Larkin, a big-time player in the Southern crime world. Actress Haley Bennett is a country singer and Mary Steenburgen as her overprotective mother. Root will play Jack Folcum, a shrewd businessman gangster associate and rival of Tarzen’s. (Deadline)

MINI SERIES NEWS

The Chateau Marmont, which for the past 80 years has served as the backdrop of major events in Hollywood history and the lives of its famous inhabitants, will now take front stage in a mini-series from John Krasinski (The Office) and writer-producer extraordinaire Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin will write the mini, which will be based on the book Life At The Marmont by former Chateau Marmont co-owner Raymond R. Sarlot and Fred Basten. Krasinski is also expected to play a role in the as-yet-untitled miniseries, which will tell the inter-connected stories of the people who frequented the famed Hollywood landmark over several generations. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Joel David Moore (Bones) has joined the cast of the box office film called Savages that already stars Blake Lively, Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, Salma Hayek, Benicio del Toro, John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Emile Hirsch. It is a crime drama based on the 2010 novel written by Don Winslow. Moore will play an expert computer geek who moves on from a Washington think tank to the marijuana business. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Tom Wilkinson is in early talks to join the cast of the upcoming movie Lone Ranger, portraying a railroad tycoon in the Old West who plays a prominent role in the film about the masked Texas Ranger (Armie Hammer) and his trusty sidekick Tonto (Johnny Depp). (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actress Julia Ormond (Legends of the Fall and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) has been offered the role of Lara, Kal-El’s birth mother, in the upcoming Superman reboot Man of Steel. She would like appear opposite Russell Crowe who was recently offered the part of Superman’s Kryptonian father Jor-El. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actor Robin Williams looks to have joined the cast of wedding comedy called Gently Down The Stream, which will star Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl and Topher Grace in a story of a dysfunctional divorced couple who pretend to still be together during their adopted son’s wedding for the sake of the birth mother. (Showbiz 411 and Dark Horizons)

Actor Marshall Allman (Prison Break and True Blood) has been cast in the family comedy called Jayne Mansfield’s Car. He will play the naïve son of Robert Duvall’s character. John Hurt, Kevin Bacon, Robert Patrick, Frances O’Connor and Ray Stevenson also star. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Must Watch: Statham, De Niro & Owen in Official ‘Killer Elite’ Trailer

NOTE: Attention Chuck fans! Yvonne Strahovski is in this movie. Mark it on your calendars to see it for her if nothing else!

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Happy Over the Hump Day! I hope everyone is having a good week. Let’s get into the news for today, shall we?:

TELEVISION

Actor Scott Foley (Felicity and The Unit0 will have a major recurring role in True Blood that will kick off in the Season 4 finale and, assuming the show gets renewed, will continue into Season 5. He will play Patrick, a tough old army buddy of Terry’s (Todd Lowe) who pays him a visit. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actress Valerie Cruz (Off The Map) is joining the new Syfy series Alphas as a recurring guest star. She will play the mysterious Department of Defense Special Agent Kathy Sullivan. (E! Online)

Actor Pruitt Taylor Vince (Monster, Identity and L.A. Confidential) will appear in the new season of The Walking Dead this fall, playing Otis, the foreman at Hershel’s farm. (AMC)

Soap actress Brianna Brown (General Hospital) will guest star in the new Showtime drama Homeland. The new series will star Claire Danes as an agent investigating the circumstances involving the rescue of a U.S. soldier (Damian Lewis) missing in Iraq and presumed dead. Mandy Patinkin co-stars as a veteran CIA division chief and her superior officer. Brown will play Lynne Reed, a statuesque blonde, crowned Miss Ohio in 2009, who spent two years in the harem of Prince Farid Bin Abbud and who now works as his procurer, using her looks and smarts as commerce. Her character does not view herself as a prostitute but as someone who is setting herself up for a secure life. The role could potentially be recurring. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

French actress/model Roxane Mesquida (Kaboom) is joining the cast of Gossip Girl as the meddling sister of Blair’s fiancé, Prince Louis. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

David S. Goyer (one of the men behind FlashForward and the new Batman franchise) is looking to bring Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso’s comic book of the same name to the small screen. The project would be written and executive produced by Goyer and will follow the mysterious Agent Graves as he offers his clients a gun and immunity from prosecution, enabling them to get revenge against those who ruined their lives. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Jason Patric (The Losers and Lost Boys) has landed the male lead in the FX drama pilot called Powers, which is based on the graphic novel by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. The project is a police procedural set in a world where superpowers are relatively common. It centers on two detectives, Christian Walker (Patric) and Deena Pilgrim (Lucy Punch), in a Homicide department that deals with cases involving “powers” (people with superpowers). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

It is looking like UK actors Eddie Izzard, Bob Hoskins, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan and Steven Graham might be appear in the upcoming box office movie Snow White and the Huntsman that includes actor Ian McShane as one of the seven dwarves. The film is about, of course, Snow White (Kristen Stewart), a princess who escapes her evil stepmother (Charlize Theron) with the help of a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) who was to have killed her but now trains the princess to survive and fight back. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

Actor Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones, Stargate Atlantis and the upcoming Conan the Barbarian) has reportedly been cast in the as-yet titled Sylvester Stallone- action thriller based on the comic Bullet to the Head. Stallone plays a New Orleans hit man who teams up with a Gotham cop to take down the killers of their respective partners. Momoa would play the ‘bad guy’. (Latino Review and Dark Horizons)

Actor Douglas Booth (Pillars of the Earth) will star alongside Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) as Romeo in the latest adaptation of the William Shakespeare classic Romeo and Juliet. (Variety and First Showing)

Actor Idris Elba (Luthor and Thor) will star in the sci-fi monster epic called Pacific Rim, playing the lead role of Sensi. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Watch: First Official Trailer for Craig Brewer’s New ‘Footloose’ Remake

Q&A SECTION (with Natalie Abrams and Adam Bryant from TV Guide)

Question: I’m so impressed with Falling Skies. Finally, an alien-invasion show that works! What’s up with those kids in harnesses though? — Hank

NATALIE: We’ll learn more about them in this week’s episode, when Tom, Hal and a few other resistance fighters go in search of Ben, who’s next in line to be a guinea pig for Dr. Harris (Steven Weber). The new doc is testing different ways of removing the harness. This may not be good news for Tom, though, since he and Harris have a bit of a past.

Question: Have we really seen the last of Mike Franks on NCIS? How will Gibbs function without his mentor? — Julie

ADAM: Don’t you worry about Leroy Jethro Gibbs. “Gibbs is a big boy, and even though his friend is gone, the memories and recognition of what Franks provided him with won’t be gone,” executive producer Gary Glasberg tells us. So does that also mean no more Franks? “We can still revisit some of those memories, honestly, and that will probably happen,” he says.

Question: I love White Collar, and I would love some scoop! — Emily

ADAM: It sounds like somebody might be keeping tabs on Peter. I hear the show is looking for a big-name guest star to play Peter’s mysterious new neighbor later this season. He’s a good-looking bad boy who just spent four years in Rikers for possession of stolen property. Watch your back, Peter.

Question: Will we see Hoyt again on Rizzoli & Isles? — Michael

NATALIE: Jane will come face-to-face with serial killer Charles Hoyt (Michael Massee) again this season, but first she’ll have to deal with the physical and emotional scars of the hostage situation we saw in the Season 1 finale. Complicating her convalescence will be a bomb that detonates at a ceremony being held in her honor.

Question: What else can you tell me about Leverage? — Mindy

ADAM: A case later this season will deal with a secret society at Harvard that serves as a proving ground for those who want to go on to work in intelligence. But what the group doesn’t know is that its leader (we’re thinking an Armie Hammer-in-Social-Network-type) is actually using the pledges to conduct experiments on coercion.

Question: Got any scoop on Covert Affairs? — Vanessa

NATALIE: Remember Annie’s professor, Dr. Mark Ramsay (Treme’s Clarke Peters), from who she sought help way back in the pilot episode? His one piece of advice was to steer clear of the CIA, but we’ll learn this season that he didn’t exactly practice what he preached.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Today’s news isn’t much longer than the news from yesterday, but there are still some good things to share. Please read on:

TELEVISION

Legendary actor Beau Bridges will appear in an upcoming episode of White Collar, starring as Agent Kramer, a well-decorated federal officer and art expert who instructed Peter (Tim DeKay) when he trained at Quantico. Kramer has been Peter’s mentor ever since, and his paternal nature offsets his intimidating presence. (Kate Stanhope at TV Guide)

Actor Josh Cooke (Better With You) will have a recurring role on Dexter, starring as Louis Greene, a new lab intern at Miami Metro and a buddy of fellow forensics nerd Masuka’s (C.S. Lee). (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Terry O’Quinn (Lost) is joining the cast of Hawaii Five-0 on a recurring basis. He will play a Navy Seal Lt. Commander who trained Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) in Coronado, and served with his father in Vietnam. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Thomas Gibson has signed a new deal to return Criminal Minds for the show’s seventh season. (TV Line and Zap2It)

Actor Griffin Dunne will appear in a multi-episode arc in the new, upcoming Showtime comedy House of Lies, which is about an acerbic management consultant. Dunne will play a world-famous consultant who teams with Don Cheadle at his firm. (The Hollywood Reporter)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The pilot adaptation of the Powers graphic novels that is being undertaken by cable channel FX has cast one of its lead roles: Actress Lucy Punch (Dinner for Schmucks and the upcoming Bad Teacher) will play homicide detective Deena Pilgrim. Powers follows two detectives, Pilgrim and the yet-to-be-cast Christian Walker, who are tasked with investigating homicide cases involving people with superpowers. (Deadline and Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Ian McShane (Deadwood) has signed to play one of the dwarfs in the upcoming movie Snow White and the Huntsman. The revisionist take on the fairy tale features Snow White (Kristen Stewart) as a princess who escapes her evil stepmother (Charlize Theron) with the help of a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) who was to have killed her but now trains the princess to survive and fight back. McShane will play Caesar, the leader of the dwarfs. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

British actress Andrea Riseborough (Made in Dagenham and Brighton Rock) will star alongside James McAvoy in the box office film Welcome to the Punch. McAvoy plays a London detective who forms an unusual partnership with his old nemesis, an armed robber called Red Diesel (Mark Strong) who has reappeared after five years absence. Together they try to uncover a conspiracy. There are no details on Riseborough’s character, though. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actress Sarah Shahi (Fairly Legal) will play Sylvester Stallone’s daughter in the upcoming action thriller that is based on the graphic novel called Bullet to the Head. Stallone will play a New Orleans hit man who teams with a Gotham cop to take down the killers of their respective partners. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Penn Badgly (Gossip Girl) will play Jeff Buckley in the biopic called Greetings from Tim Buckley, that will focus on the days leading up to Buckley’s 1991 appearance at his father’s tribute concert at Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s Church that launched his career. There is a second Buckley bio-pic in the works, based on the biography Dream Brother by David Browne, but that feature is still searching for its lead. (The Hollywood Reporter and TV Guide)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Furry Funny Alert! New Puss in Boots Trailer Is Here

Watch: First Full Trailer for David Cronenberg’s ‘A Dangerous Method’

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

The news is rather short for today, but please read on:

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Starz has greenlit another action drama series from Spartacus executive producers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert. This one will be called Noir, which is a live-action adaptation of the 2001 Japanese anime series that has been in development at the network since last fall. It follows two female assassins who team up to fight against a secret society. After discovering they’re mysteriously linked, the two, under the Noir moniker, have to work together until they get answers about why and how they are connected – or until one of them kills the other. (Deadline)

CONDOLENCES

The saxophone player Clarence Clemons, who is part of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band passed away over the weekend after suffering a stroke. He was 69 years old. (E! Online)

ME: RIP, Mr. Clemons. Deepest condolences to his family, friends and fans.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Evangeline Lilly (Lost) has joined the much anticipated two-part prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy The Hobbit that is being directed by Peter Jackson. She will take on the part of a new character – the woodland elf Tauriel. Meanwhile actor Barry Humphries, best known for his alter ego Dame Edna Everage, will play the Goblin King. The movie is expected to be released in late 2012. (E! Online)

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

1. Green Lantern, $52.7 million
2. Super 8, $21.3 million
3. Mr. Popper’s Penguins, $18.2 million
4. X-Men: First Class, $11.5 million
5. The Hangover Part II, $9.6 million
6. Kung Fu Panda 2, $8.7 million
7. Bridesmaids, $7.5 million
8. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, $6.2 million
9. Midnight in Paris, $5.2 million
10. Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, $2.2 million

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Happy Friday Everybody! Hope everyone has some fun plans for this weekend, or at least have plans to sit back and just relax. Whatever you are going to be doing – enjoy. In the meantime, please check out the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor James Frain (The Cape and True Blood) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Burn Notice, which returns for a new season on June 23. Frain will play the powerful owner of a pharmaceutical company responsible for several medical breakthroughs who runs his business with extreme security, and is willing to go to great lengths to protect its secrets. (Entertainment Weekly)

Actors Kyle Howard (My Boys) and Wilmer Valderrama (That 70’s Show) will be showing up on episodes of Royal Pains, which returns for a new season starting on June 29. Howard will appear in multiple episodes playing Paul Van Dyke, a cocky doctor with whom Divya (Reshma Shetty) must contend once she begins her new (secret) job at Hamptons Heritage. Meanwhile, Valderrama will also have a multi-episode arc playing Eric, an art gallery owner who takes a liking to Paige’s (Brooke D’Orsay) work and quite possibly more. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

It looks like the three men behind Glee (Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan) are finally getting some help. They have hired some new staff, who will hopefully allow the show to return to a more creative completeness. The new staff includes Allison Adler (Chuck and No Ordinary Family) who will be a co-executive producer, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (the Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark musical) as co-producer, Marti Noxon (Buffy and Angel veteran ) and Michael Hitchcock will both be consulting producers and Matt Hodgson and Ross Maxwell as staff writers. (Deadline)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Laura Prepon (That 70’s Show) and country singer Naomi Judd will star in the Lifetime TV movie called The Killing Game, based on the best-seller by Iris Johansen. Prepon will play Eve Duncan, the popular heroine of the thriller, who 10 years after the disappearance and murder of her 7-year-old daughter Bonnie, is contacted by a man claiming to be her killer. Taunted by his clues about Bonnie’s case and his threats to kill again, she throws herself into her career as a forensic sculptor and works to close the case. Naomi Judd will co-star as Eve’s mother, Sandra Duncan. (The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Luke Evans (who will be seen in The Three Musketeers and this fall’s Immortals) will appear in the much-anticipated upcoming movie The Hobbit, playing Bard the Grim, who is a skilled archer and the heir of King Girion of Dale. (Deadline)

Actor Logan Lerman has signed on to reprise his role of Percy Jackson in the planned sequel to the film adaptation of the books by Rick Riordan. The sequel is to be called Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters, based on the book. It follows Percy and his group of friends as they set out to find the mythical Golden Fleece and free a friend who has been captured. (The LA Times and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Watch: Second ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’ Trailer!

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!

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Hey All,

The news is a little on the short side, but there are still some interesting items to share with everyone:

NEWS

Actor Blair Underwood (The Event) will make his Broadway debut as Stanley Kowalski in the upcoming revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. There is no word yet on who will be joining him as twisted sisters Blanche or Stella. (Entertainment Weekly)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Hugh Jackman is being sought to play Jean Valjean and actor Paul Bettany is a candidate for the part of Javert in the new upcoming adaptation of Les Miserables, the 1985 stage musical, which is actually an adaptation of the 1862 Victor Hugo novel. The story follows the struggle by ex-con Jean Valjean to outrun his past and his relentless pursuer Javert. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actress Laura Prepon (That 70’s Show) will star alongside Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Rebecca Hall in the upcoming film called Lay the Favorite, which is an adaptation of the Beth Raymer gambling memoir. Actors Vince Vaughn and Joshua Jackson co-star. (The Wrap)

Actress Kate Winslet and actor Josh Brolin will star as a lost, lonesome mother and an escaped convicted murderer (respectively) who takes refuge with her and her young son in the upcoming film called Labor Day. The film is considered part love story, part coming-of-age tale, and part thriller. (Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Broadway actors John Gallagher Jr. (Spring Awakening) and Thomas Sadoski (Reasons To Be Pretty) have joined the Aaron Sorkin HBO drama pilot called More As This Story Develops. Meanwhile, actor Josh Pence (who will be seen in the upcoming films Battleship and The Dark Knight Rises) has been tapped to join the cast as well. The pilot centers on cable news anchor Will McCallister (Jeff Daniels) and his show’s staff led by executive producer Mackenzie (Emily Mortimer). Gallagher will play Jim, who was offered another job when Mackenzie’s show was cancelled but turned it down to come work with her on Will’s show — where he develops a crush on associate producer Maggie (Alison Pill); Pence will play Rob, a senior producer who has been in a relationship with Maggie for five months and starts to become jealous of her budding romance with Jim and Sadoski will play Will’s former executive producer who left him to go work for Will’s protege’s new show. (Nellie Andreeva at TV Line)

Actor Mark Ruffalo is confirmed and actress Zoe Saldana is negotiating to appear in the upcoming martial drama film called Infinitely Polar Bear. The story follows a bipolar husband and father (Ruffalo) who goes off his medication, and then loses both his sanity and job while struggling to hold onto his marriage. Saldana would play his wife, who, after going back to work, ends up moving out of the house, leaving him alone with the kids. (Vulture and First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Watch: Charming & Inspirational New ‘Dolphin Tale’ Theatrical Trailer

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Today’s news has been delayed due to some circumstances out of my control, but thankfully those circumstances were good ones. Here are the news items:

TELEVISION

Tony nominated actress Elizabeth Rodriguez has joined the cast of the new NBC drama series Prime Suspect that stars Maria Bello as Jane Timoney, a female detective working in a tough, male-dominated precinct in New York City. Rodriguez will play another detective on the force. The new show will air on Thursday nights at 10 PM. (Deadline)

Actor Gilles Marini (Brothers & Sisters) has been cast on the new ABC Family Channel series Switched at Birth. He will appear as the birth father of Bay (Vanessa Marano). (TV Guide)

AMC has set a premiere date for the second season of The Walking Dead on October 21. (Dark Horizons)

Oscar-winning actress Patty Duke is joining the new Lifetime drama The Protector as the mother of mother of Ally Walker’s character – homicide detective Gloria Sheppard. (The Hollywood Reporter)

While Doctor Who will be back for a new season with 14 episodes, a full season of the show will not be aired in 2012, but rather “a special run for the anniversary in 2013.” (Digital Spy and Blastr)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Caroline Dhavernas (Off the Map and Wonderfalls) has landed the female lead in the USA pilot called Over/Under, which centers on Paul (Steven Pasquale), a day trader with a massive gambling problem who is fired from his job six months after a bad trade costs his firm millions. Shut out of the job market, he and his wife (Dhavernas) — a professional photographer specializing in nude portraits and a devoted Manhattanite — move to Brooklyn. There, Paul finds an unlikely partner, expectant father Marino (Anthony Carrigan), to start a high-end bookie business. (Deadline)

Young actress Bailee Madison (Just Go With It) has joined the FX drama pilot called Powers that is based on the graphic novel by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. The pilot is a police procedural set in a world where superpowers are relatively common and centers on two detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, in a Homicide department that deals with cases involving “powers” (people with superpowers). The 11-year-old will play Calista, an otherworldly young girl raised by her stepdad Eagle, a man with powers. When Eagle’s wife is murdered and he goes on the lam, Calista comes to stay with Walker and develops a bond with him. (Deadline)

It looks like the USA Network is finalizing a deal to pick-up the new comedic buddy cop drama called Common Law, which stars Michael Ealy and Warren Kole. The series is to center on polar-opposite LAPD homicide detectives Travis Marks (Ealy) and Wes Mitchell (Kole), whose nonstop bickering and acrimony prompts their no-nonsense captain Phil Sutton (Jack McGee) to send them to a couples therapist. The role of the therapist, played in the pilot by Amy Acker, will be recast, along with another, smaller part. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actresses Anna Kendrick and Natalie Martinez are in negotiations to co-star in the cop drama called End of Watch as the love interests of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena’s characters. The story follows the longtime partnership of two LAPD officers as they confront marriage, love, fatherhood and the harsh realities of the Los Angeles streets. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

It is being reported that actor Russell Crowe will play Jor-El, Superman’s biological father, in the upcoming Superman reboot. (Variety and First Showing)

Q&A SECTION (with Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams from TV Guide)

Question: Who did Tony see in the photograph in the NCIS finale? Please tell me they’re not going to break up the team! — Melanie

ADAM: Executive producer Gary Glasberg gives us a hint. “It will be someone that we recognize,” he says, adding we’ll get that answer in the season premiere. We’ll also get some serious intel on that microchip that E.J. found in her co-worker’s arm. New theory: These mysteries are totally connected, right?

Question: I can’t believe Game of Thrones killed off Ned Stark! Please console me with scoop. — Mark

NATALIE: Does this help? Although Ned Stark was beheaded on the Sept of Baelor, it’s not the last we’ve seen of Sean Bean. In fact, in the finale, two of his children will see him in a way you’d probably expect of television; a third, though, will have a shocking run-in with dear old Dad.

Question: I can’t believe how long we have to wait for more Castle. Please ease the pain with scoop! — Sharon

ADAM: Unfortunately for our crime-fighters, the new captain, who will almost certainly be a woman, is a former Internal Affairs investigator who is more interested in politics than police work. But it might not be all bad: Though creator Andrew W. Marlowe previously told us she won’t look as favorably on the Castle-Beckett pairing as Montgomery (RIP!) did, she’ll ultimately be a loyal team leader.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

The news isn’t too long today, but there are some interesting items to share. Please read on:

TELEVISION

Actress Abigail Spencer (Mad Men) will guest star on the new USA Network series Suits that debuts on June 29. She will appear as a high-powered attorney who goes toe-to-toe with Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). Being onetime Harvard classmates, sparks may fly outside the courtroom as well for the opposing counsels. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actor Rob Lowe (Parks and Recreation) and actress Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory) will appear in the Lifetime movie, tentatively titled he movie, tentative titled The Drew Peterson Story aka Ladykiller. Lowe will play the lead role, Drew Peterson, who was charged with the death of his third wife after the mysterious disappearance of his fourth wife. Cuoco will appear as the fourth wife. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Josh Stewart (Dirt and No Ordinary Family) has signed on for a role in the upcoming movie The Dark Knight Rises, but his role is unspecified at this time. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Jason Clarke (The Chicago Code and Brotherhood) will appear in the film adaptation of the literary classic The Great Gatsby, playing the role of George Wilson. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the wealthy and mysterious Jay Gatsby who still pines for his former flame Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan). Clarke’s character of Wilson is the husband of Myrtle (Isla Fisher). Myrtle is having an affair with Daisy’s husband Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Tobey Maguire plays the narrator Nick Carraway. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Actors Matthew Fox (Lost) and film star Ed Harris have joined the cast of the upcoming box office film World War Z that has Brad Pitt playing a researcher for the U.N. Postwar Commission in this zombie-inspired flick. Their roles have not been released yet. (Bloody Disgusting and First Showing)

Actress Eva Mendes will star while actress Greta Gerwig is “in talks” to star in the box office film called The Place Beyond The Pines. The story follows a professional motorcycle rider named Luke (Ryan Gosling) who turns to bank robberies to support his newborn son, but when he crosses paths with a rookie police officer (Bradley Cooper) their confrontation spirals into a generational feud. Mendes will play the love interest of Gosling, and mother of his child; while Gerwig is circling the role of the wife of Gosling’s foe, a cop-turned politician. (Deadline and First Showing)

It looks like producer Joel Silver has announced a deal for a live-action movie based on the popular Cartoon Network animated series Ben 10. The series follows young Ben Tennyson who discovers a strange wrist watch that allows him to transforms into 10 different aliens with super powers. (First Showing)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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