Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today, few though they may be:

TELEVISION

Actor Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica) will appear in the 200th episode of Criminal Minds, playing Michael Hastings, someone who JJ Jareau (A.J. Cook) worked with during her off-camera season 6 time at the Department of Defense. It should be noted that JJ won’t be none-too-happy to see him. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

MINI-SERIES NEWS

Actors Patrick J. Adams (Suits) and Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter franchise) have joined the cast of the four-hour mini-series Rosemary’s Baby, the NBC adaptation of the 1967 best-selling suspense novel by Ira Levin. The story centers on Rosemary Woodhouse (Zoe Saldana from Avatar), a young wife and would-be mother who, with her husband Guy (Adams), moves into a Paris apartment that has a dark past. After finally getting pregnant, she becomes increasingly suspicious that both her husband and their mysterious neighbors have ulterior motives about the future of her child. Isaacs will play warlock/coven-leader Roman Castevet. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Hot Teaser: Disney’s Maleficent

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

GENERAL NEWS

Congrats are extended to the winners at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last night, including (but not limited to): Lupita Nyong’o, Jared Leto, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, Maggie Smith, Cate Blanchett and Matthew McConaughey.

TELEVISION

Actor Colin Egglesfield (Rizzoli & Isles and The Client List) will guest star on an upcoming episode of Drop Dead Diva. There are no details on what character he will play, however. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

NBC has given a 10-episode straight-to-series order for a new drama series called Emerald City, a reimagining of the Frank L. Baum classic book series. This version will be a dramatic and modern reimagining of the tales that include lethal warriors, competing kingdoms and the infamous wizard as we’ve never seen him before. A head-strong 20-year-old Dorothy Gale is unwittingly sent on an eye-opening journey that thrusts her into the center of an epic and bloody battle for the control of Oz. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Mary Steenburgen will recur on the FX drama Justified as Katherine Hale, a beautiful, southern belle who was the wife of Wynn Duffy’s (series regular Jere Burns) mentor in crime. (FX and The Futon Critic)

Actress Katharine Isabelle (Being Human) will joined the cast of Hannibal for its second season, playing Margot, a potential romantic interest for Will (series lead Hugh Dancy) who also happens to be a patient of Dr. Lechter. Hannibal returns to NBC on February 28. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Katherine Heigl is coming back to TV (possibly) in the NBC pilot called State of Affairs that revolves around a CIA officer (Heigl), who becomes the president’s daily briefer. (Kristin Dos Santos at E! Online)

MINI-SERIES NEWS

NBC has ordered an 8-episode mini-series called The Slap, which is based on the Australian series of the same name that aired back in 2011. The mini is a complex family drama that explodes from one small incident where a man slaps another couple’s misbehaving child. This seemingly minor domestic dispute pulls the family apart, begins to expose long-held secrets, and ignites a lawsuit that challenges the core American values of all who are pulled into it. (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now and Footloose) will play legendary actor Dan Akyroyd opposite Emile Hirsch as John Belushi in the upcoming Belushi biopic. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

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

1. Ride Along – $41.2 million
2. Lone Survivor – $23.2 million
3. The Nut Job – $20.6 million
4. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – $17.2 million
5. Frozen – $11.97 million
6. American Hustle – $10.6 million
7. Devil’s Due – $8.5 million
8. August: Osage County – $7.6 million
9. The Wolf of Wall Street – $7.5 million
10. Saving Mr. Banks – $4.1 million

Up-and-coming Australia actress Margot Robbie (Pan Am and The Wolf Of Wall Street) will play the female lead in the upcoming box office film Z For Zachariah that will be an adaptation Robert C. O’Brien post-apocalyptic novel that focuses on a young small-town girl who survives a nuclear war. Robbie will co-star with Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

GENERAL NEWS

Congrats to the winners of last night’s Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, including (but not limited to): 12 Years A Slave, Cate Blanchett, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong’o, Jared Leto, Frozen, Lone Survivor, Adele Exarchopoulos, Sandra Bullock, Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, Gravity, Her, American Hustle, Forest Whitaker and Alfonso Cuaron.

TELEVISION

Actor Olivier Martinez (Unfaithful) will appear in Revenge as Pascal LeMarchal, the media mogul father of Daniel’s business partner Margaux (played by Karine Vanasse, who was recently promoted to series regular). (Tierney Bricker at E! Online and Deadline)

Actor Jamie McShane (Southland) will appear in a recurring role on the new ABC Family drama The Fosters, playing the father of Callie (series regular Maia Mitchell) and her brother Jude. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actress Jaimie Alexander will reprise her role of Lady Sif from the Thor movies in the small screen series Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. She is expected to appear in the 15th episode. (Eric Goldman at IGN)

The new ABC drama Killer Women that comes from executive producer Sofia Vergara (Modern Family) [among others] and stars Battlestar Galactica alum Tricia Helfer as one of only two female Texas Rangers has had its 8-episode order reduced by two. The show has been struggling in the ratings, but unlike the other mid-season limited event series The Assets, ABC is keeping Killer Women around albeit with only 6 episodes in total. (Jethro Nededog at The Wrap)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

It looks like ABC is moving forward with the small screen adaptation of Agent Carter, based on a “one-shot” that was featured on the Blu-ray release of Iron Man 3 with executive producers Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas (Reaper and the upcoming Resurrection) at the helm. The drama project will focus on Captain America’s girlfriend Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), chronicling her life as a budding secret agent after her boyfriend is stranded in ice. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

A&E is developing a contemporary remake of the acclaimed late-1980’s Michael Landon drama Highway to Heaven with (of all people) Mark Wahlberg on board as an executive producer. The project (like the original) will center on an angel sent down to earth to help troubled souls. (Lacey Rose at The Hollywood Reporter)

ABC has given a greenlight to a high-concept drama pilot called Clementine from box office writer Dean Georgaris (Paycheck) and ABC Studios that will center on a habitual criminal who digs into the mystery of her origins after she becomes the target of a group of zealots who fear she possesses latent supernatural abilities that she will one day harness for either profound good or monstrous evil. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

NBC is developing a pilot with Liz Heldens (the creator of the 2009 medical drama Mercy and last year’s mystery drama Deception) called Salvation that is a family saga set against the backdrop of a Texas mega church where faith, family and corruption are explored in equal measure. The pilot will center on Jennifer Strickland, who has to defend her children, church and religious beliefs after her husband dies under mysterious circumstances. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Actor Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) will star in the untitled Netflix 13-episode psychological thriller that centers on a family of adult siblings whose secrets and scars are revealed when the black sheep oldest brother returns home. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Q&ASECTION (with the TV Scoop Team at E! Online and Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Question: Revenge me, please? – Sasha

TV Scoop Team: Nolan (Gabriel Mann) is getting a new houseguest. Look for Javier, a young lad who just happens to be an accomplished hacker, to move into Nolan’s pad for quite a while…he’s under house arrest there.

Question:  This season of Teen Wolf is the best yet! I’ll take any scoop you’ve got on what’s ahead. – Beth

TV Scoop Team: Danger, danger! Starting halfway through the season, one of our beloved characters will be booking a permanent stay on the chopping block. Star Holland Roden tells us that a “very good friend” of Lydia’s will be in a vulnerable position, and warns fans, “Brace yourselves, kids.” Gulp.

Question: Do you have any final Sleepy Hollow teasers, maybe about the George Washington twist? –Gianna

Mitovich: I asked the gorgeous Nicole Beharie about the discovery that the premiere POTUS apparently lived beyond his official expiration date, and all she would say is that many characters “find themselves intimately involved, somehow, in the season finale” airing Monday. “They’re interconnected in a very complex way — and that includes George Washington. That reveal that he wrote this letter to Ichabod after he died? The finale is the culmination of them trying to figure out where he was and what it all means.”

Question: I am really into Reign on The CW. Any scoop? –Niki

Mitovich: A new queen is coming! Casting is underway for the recurring role of Penelope, a twentysomething kitchen servant who becomes “queen for a day” when she finds a bean in a slice of cake – as part of a yearly tradition at the castle. When Catherine assigns Penelope a little “job” in exchange for better treatment, the 24-hour royal uses that opportunity to get what she wants.

Question: I am needing/obsessing over/wanting scoop on Justified‘s Raylan and Winona, please! –Marisa

Mitovich: I asked series boss Graham Yost to confirm why Raylan didn’t pay his baby momma a visit while in Florida — even with everyone urging him to! — and he explained, “I think he’s afraid, and he doesn’t know why he’s afraid. And that’s something we’ll get into over the season, as much as Raylan’s willing to get into anything like that. But the simple answer is: Look at who his father was. That brings up a lot of concerns about what kind of father you will be.” As for whether we’ll see Winona and child again this season, Yost said that is TBD. “The plan was yes, but plans change.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!!!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

MULTI-PLATFORM NEWS

Evergreen Studios is moving forward with plans for a multi-platform adaptation of the literary sci-fi character Honor Harrington. The plan is to develop comic books, digital games, webisodes, a TV series and even a feature film for the story that is set two millennia into the future in an age where hyperspace travel has allowed colonization of the universe’s most far reaches, and humanity is largely gender blind. The action follows a brilliant genetically engineered female spaceship captain leading a crew on political, military, and personal adventures. The character appeared in at least twenty-eight books, which will serve as content for various storylines, and the tone is said to be gritty and heavily grounded in real science. (Superhero Hype and Dark Horizons)

TELEVISION

Actress Keke Palmer (Akeela and the Bee and Joyful Noise) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Grey’s Anatomy, playing a pregnant teen who seeks help from the Grey Sloan Memorial doctors. She is expected to appear in March. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Benjamin Bratt (Law & Order) will appear in FOX’s upcoming 24: Live Another Day that will air its two-hour premiere on May 5. He will play Steve Harris, who commands the CIA operation in London that is pursuing Jack, now an exile and a fugitive from justice. The cast also includes Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kim Raver (“Revolution”) and William Devane (“The Dark Knight Rises”). (The Futon Critic)

Actor Nathan Parsons (Bunheads and General Hospital) seems to be in demand right now. Not only will he appear in a recurring role on The Originals but he has also taken over for actor Luke Grimes on True Blood. On The Originals, Parsons will play Jackson, one of Haley’s (series regular Phoebe Tonkin) werewolf acquaintances. And on True Blood, he takes over the role of James, the brooding, soulful vampire. (Jean Bentley at Zap2It and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Showtime has picked up a new original drama called The Affair for a 10-episode run. The drama will explore the emotional and psychological effects of an extramarital affair. The cast of The Affair will include Dominic West (The Wire), Ruth Wilson (Luther), Maura Tierney (ER) and Joshua Jackson (Fringe). (The Futon Critic)

Legendary actress Jane Alexander will make a guest appearance on an upcoming episode of Elementary, playing C, a pen pal of Sherlock’s (series lead Jonny Lee Miller) whom he turns to for help with a case. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Veronica Mars is going to live on (so to speak) beyond the fan-funded box office film that will hit cineplexs on March 14. The CW announced they will launch an accompanying digital spin-off series. And which character will this spin-off focus on? None other than Ryan Hansen himself. (Whitney Friedlander at Variety)

Actress Joan Allen (the Bourne franchise) has joined the cast of The Killing, which will be moving over to Netflix for its final season after two difficult seasons airing on AMC. This new installment will follow a new murder investigation led by homicide detectives Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) and Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman). Allen will play Margaret O’Neal, the head of an all-boys military academy based outside of Seattle. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The CW has acquired the four-hour event series Labyrinth that will jump back and forth between modern and medieval France, following the lives of two women separated by centuries but united in their search for the Holy Grail. The project will star John Hurt (Doctor Who and Merlin), Sebastian Stan (Political Animals and Once Upon a Time), Jessica Brown-Findlay (Downton Abbey) and Tom Felton (the Harry Potter franchise). The story will be set not only in Carcassonne in the year 1209, where 17-year-old Alaïs (Brown-Findlay), is given a mysterious book by her father, who claims it contains the secret of the true Grail. Alaïs realizes that her destiny lies in keeping the secret of the labyrinth safe. Eight centuries later, at an archeological dig in the French Pyrenees, a young volunteer named Alice Tanner discovers two skeletons in a forgotten cave. Puzzled by the labyrinth symbol carved into the rock, she realizes she’s disturbed something that was meant to remain hidden. Somehow, a link to a horrific past –and Alice’s own past – has been revealed. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy! 

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actors Michael Trucco (Killer Women and Battlestar Galactica) and Peter Coyote (ET and A Walk to Remember) will both guest star on the new CBS drama Intelligence. Trucco will play the ex-boyfriend of Riley (series regular Meghan Ory) who has taken over as the detail leader of a Secret Service unit while Coyote will play Leland Strand, the father of Lillian Strand (series regular Marg Helgenberger). (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actor Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has been promoted to series regular for the new drama Backstrom that will air on FOX. He will play Gregory Valentine, a whip-smart young gay man, who’s an ex-hustler-turned-entrepreneurial crook who is Backstrom’s (series lead Rainn Wilson from The Office) tenant and uses Backstrom’s apartment to store his high-end ill-gotten goods. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Anne Dudek (House and Covert Affairs) and Keith David (Enlisted and The Cape) will be guest-starring in the NBC fairytale drama Grimm. Dudek will play Professor Vera Gates, a bright young archeology professor excited to begin studying a 3,000-year-old sarcophagus while David will play Hedig, the ringmaster for a unique traveling carnival. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC has given an order for a pilot called American Crime from John Ridley, the writer of the box office film 12 Years A Slave. The pilot will center on a racially charged murder and the subsequent trial, which are examined through the personal lives of the players involved. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Thomas Kretschmann (Dracula) will play a major villain in the upcoming sequel film The Avengers: Age of Ultron, but no details are available on just who he will be playing. (Borys Kit at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Harrison Ford has joined the cast of the upcoming romantic drama called The Age of Adaline that will star Blake Lively (Gossip Girl) and Ellen Burstyn (the upcoming small screen adaption of Flowers in the Attic). The film will follow the miraculous life of 29-year old Adaline (Lively), who stops aging after recovering from a near-fatal accident. Over the course of the 20th century she embarks on an epic, but isolated worldwide journey, keeping her secret, until she meets a man who forever alters her life. There are no specifics on what role Ford will play in the film, though. (The Deadline Team)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Annette Bening, Ed Harris &Robin Williams in ‘The Face of Love’ Trailer

http://www.firstshowing.net/2014/annette-bening-ed-harris-robin-williams-in-the-face-of-love-trailer/

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

Question: What’s coming up on Castle? — Ginger

NATALIE: The “September” wedding is still a long way off. In the meantime, on this coming Monday’s episode, the death of a Miley Cyrus-like pop star will remind Beckett that she is marrying someone in the public eye. “What happens when stories about him appear in the press that aren’t true? How does she feel?” executive producer Andrew Marlowe asks. “She’s kind of private person.”

Question: Will there be a wedding on Downton Abbey this season? — Ellen

Natalie: Would it surprise you to learn that three Downton ladies will receive marriage proposals this season? Well, maybe not, since people love to propose on this show. Making it down the aisle, however, is another matter altogether. In possibly related news, Downton’s first black character will make his debut next week.

Question: Can you share anything about Laurel on Arrow? — Jessica

Natalie: Laurel’s spiral into drug and alcohol abuse will worsen after she learns a dangerous secret. But there’s some optimism on the horizon. “Laurel will be learning that her sister is alive,” executive producer Marc Guggenheim says.

Question: Do you know anything that’s coming up for Scandal? — Mel

Natalie: It’s Election Day, and Mellie remains focused on her husband’s re-election. “We’re going to spend a lot of time with the campaign, so it’s the machinations of trying to get us back in the White House for another four years,” Bellamy Young says. So how does Mellie’s rumored love interest (Major Crimes’ Jon Tenney) fit into Fitz’s strategy? “[He’ll] throw a wrench in the works in the very best of ways,” she says.

Question: I’m really enjoying Intelligence. What can you tease? — Donna

Natalie: We haven’t seen the last of Mei Chen, the woman who got a chip implanted in her head. The chip-for-hire is actually set up as a rival for Gabriel. “She’s Gabriel without the conscience,” executive producer Michael Seitzman says. “She seems to feel that she and Gabriel are the only ones on the planet. I think she loves him in her own way. She thinks they’re Adam and Eve.”

Question: Any Watson-related Elementary scoop? Please? —Henry

Ausiello: Keep your eyes peeled for Episode 15. “A small-ish case that Joan picks up on the side forces her to share with Sherlock a little bit more of her family history and life,” shares EP Rob Doherty. “It’s an episode with a few quieter scenes in the brownstone, and it brings a few things to the surface.” Can we get a few examples? “We’ll find out where the name Watson came from,” teases Doherty, “and we will learn a little bit more about her father.”

Question: Got any Patrick/Nolan-related Revenge scoop? —Tommy

Ausiello: A guy from Nolan’s past will turn up later this season, and he sounds like trouble with a capital T that rhymes with P that stands for Prison. His name is Javier, he’s an accomplished hacker just like Nolan, and he’s on parole from the clink. He also needs a place to crash, and wouldn’t you know, he lists Nolan’s killer crib as his house-arrest address. Casting for the recurring, twentysomething role is underway.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today, few though they may be:

TELEVISION

FX has confirmed that the sixth season of Justified will be the show’s last; but the good news is the 5th season just got started so fans still have plenty of Raylan (and the rest of the gang) to look forward to seeing. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Soap actor Ignacio Serricchio (The Young and the Restless) will appear as the newest squintern on Bones. He will play a very prominent forensic anthropologist from Cuba who comes to the U.S. seeking asylum. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actress Karine Vanasse has been made a series regular on Revenge where she plays French magazine editor Margaux. This will take effect next season. (Kimberly Roots on TV Line)

ONLINE SERIES

Netflix has closed a deal on another new original series called Marco Polo, a nine-episode drama of politics, manipulation and deadly warfare among clashing empires. The project will premiere on Netflix in late 2014. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

NBC has picked up a couple new pilots, including The Mysteries Of Laura from writer Jeff Rake and Greg Berlanti’s production company, and Constantine, based on the DC Comics character. The former will be based on the popular Spanish series Los Misterios De Laura that follows the life and relationships of a female homicide detective who can handle murderous criminals, but not her evil twins. Meanwhile, Constantine will center on John Constantine, an enigmatic and irreverent con man-turned-reluctant supernatural detective who is thrust into the role of defending us against dark forces from beyond. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

First of all, congrats to all of the winners at the Golden Globe Awards from last night, including (but limited to) Cate Blanchett, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Jared Leto, 12 Years a Slave, Her, Frozen, Robin Wright, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Moss, Jon Voight and Amy Poehler.

TELEVISION

Actress Dichen Lachman (Dollhouse and King and Maxwell) will appear in the new CW drama The 100 that is set to debut on March 19. The show is a post-apocalyptic series set in a future where a nuclear war has destroyed civilization with Earth’s survivors now living in a spaceship, whose leader sends 100 juvenile delinquents back to Earth with the hope that the remaining humans can once again live there. Lachman will play Anya, a mysterious survivor that “the 100” encounters when they are on the ground. (Tierney Bricker at E! Online)

WGN America has ordered a 10-part scripted event series called Ten Commandments that will air over 10 nights with 10 different, visionary filmmakers taking on a single commandment with their modern interpretation of that commandment. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck and Dexter) will appear in 24: Live Another Day that is set to air on FOX starting on May 5. She will play Kate Morgan, a brilliant but impulsive CIA field operative in London. This new version of 24 will pick up four years after the 24 series finale, which left Jack Bauer (series lead Kiefer Sutherland) as a fugitive from justice. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Bill Paxton (Big Love) will have a recurring role on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. where he will play agent John Garrett, who will team with Ward (series regular Brett Dalton) and May (series regular Ming-Na Wen). (Jethro Nededog at The Wrap)

The Newsroom has been renewed by HBO for its third and final season. (AJ Marechal at Variety)

TV TRAILER

Game of Thrones Season 4 Trailer: “There Is Only One Hell”

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The Hallmark Channel is developing a potential primetime series for 2015 on the Chesapeake Shores book series by New York Times best-selling author Sherryl Woods. The book series focuses on the O’Brien family, a sprawling, multi-generational clan who reunite in their charming hometown on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay after years apart, to face the memories from their past and learn the importance of reconciliation. (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

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

1. Lone Survivor – $38.5 million
2. Frozen – $15 million
3. The Wolf of Wall Street – $9 million
4. The Legend of Hercules – $8.6 million
5. American Hustle – $8.6 million
6. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – $8 million
7. August: Osage County – $7.3 million
8. Saving Mr. Banks – $6.6 million
9. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones – $6.3 million
10. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues – $6.1 million

Actor Michael Douglas (Behind the Candelabra) has joined the cast of the upcoming box office film Ant-Man. He will play Hank Pym, the scientist who becomes the original Ant-Man in the comic books. (Variety and First Showing)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Harry Lloyd (Game of Thrones) will have a regular role in the upcoming WGN drama called Manhattan that is set against the backdrop of the clandestine mission to build the world’s first atomic bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico, following the brilliant but flawed scientists and their families as they attempt to co-exist in a world where secrets and lies infiltrate every aspect of their lives. Lloyd will play one of the scientists. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Mark Deklin (GCB and Lone Star) will have a series regular role on Devious Maids when it returns for its second season on Lifetime. He will play Nicholas, a handsome, charming, well-educated and wealthy Beverly Hills businessman-philanthropist with many secrets, whose first wife died under mysterious circumstances. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Some major casting has been made for the upcoming FX dark comedy series Hoke (based on the novels by Charles Willeford) that will star Paul Giamatti as Hoke Moseley, a hardboiled homicide detective hero who investigates crimes while wrestling with his own mid-life crisis in 1980s Miami. Among the new cast members include Tammy Blanchard (Moneyball) will play Loretta Hickey, the striking mother of a murdered drug addict whose case Hoke investigates; John Carroll Lynch (Body of Proof) will play Hoke’s former partner; Robert Wisdom (Prison Break and Nashville) will play the head of the Miami PD Homicide Squad who has a long history with Hoke and Oona Chaplin (Game of Thrones) will play Ellita Sanchez, a sharp young homicide detective recently promoted from dispatcher to Hoke’s (Giamatti) new partner. (Jen Yamato at Deadline and Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Before the Lifetime adaptation of the V.C. Andrews book Flowers in the Attic has even aired the network is planning to do a sequel to the second book. The small screen adaptation will air on January 18. (Lisa de Moraes at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actors Richard Gere and David Strathairn have joined the cast of the sequel to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

Actress Glenn Close will play Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be the Grand Russian Duchess Anastasia, in the upcoming box office film called Duchess that will cover the last days of Anna and her American husband Jack Manahan. After the courts forcibly put Anna into a retirement home in Charlottesville in 1983, Jack kidnapped her, and together they evaded the authorities across rural Virginia hoping to experience the honeymoon they never had. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

Actress Kelly Lynch (Magic City) and actor Jim Beaver (Supernatural and Justified) will star in the independent film called The Frontier that will be set in 1974 along Route 66, centering on a desperate woman on the run from the law who takes a job at a remote desert motel. She soon discovers the motel’s patrons are rendezvousing after a large robbery, and deciding she has nothing to lose, hatches a plan to steal their loot. (The Deadline Team)

Actress Cote de Pablo (NCIS) has joined the cast of the upcoming film called The 33 that will focus on the 2010 rescue of 33 Chilean miners who were trapped for 69 days in the Copiapo gold and copper mine. The cast already includes Antonio Banderas, Juliette Binoche and Rodrigo Santoro. de Pablo will play a wife of one of the trapped miners, who became international stars following their dramatic rescue that played out live worldwide. (The Deadline Team)

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Question: Can I get some scoop on S.H.I.E.L.D.? –George

Mitovich: Now that we’ve finally been fed scraps of info on Coulson’s resurrection, the next reveal to wow you may involve Skye’s search for her momma. “There’s a lot more to the story of Skye’s parentage than meets the eye, and that comes up in the next couple of episodes,” Clark Gregg told me. “She turns out to have a mystery of her own, one that is as existentially startling and threatening as anything Coulson’s dealing with” — which is saying something! Oh, and Ming-Na shared with us this teaser about an upcoming episode: As Melinda May, “I get to put on an interesting outfit. Let’s put it that way.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

GENERAL NEWS

Congrats to all of the winners at last night’s People’s Choice Awards, including (but not limited to): Stana Katic, Lucy Hale, Reign, Joseph Morgan, Castle, Psych, Homeland, Ian Somerhalder, Kristin Kreuk, Beauty and the Beast and Supernatural.  (TV Line)

TELEVISION

Actress Camryn Manheim (The Practice and Ghost Whisperer) has joined the cast of the upcoming CBS summer drama series Extant that will star Halle Berry as Molly, an astronaut trying to reconnect with her family when she returns after a year in outer space. Her experiences lead to events that ultimately will change the course of human history. Manheim will play Sam Barton, Molly’s best friend and closest confidant. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

TV MINI-SERIES NEWS

Actress Zoe Saldana (Avatar and Star Trek) will play the lead role in the upcoming NBC four-hour mini-series remake of Rosemary’s Baby that will center on a young wife and would-be mother who, with her husband, moves into a Paris apartment that has a dark past. After finally getting pregnant, she becomes increasingly suspicious that both her husband and their mysterious neighbors have ulterior motives about the future of her child. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Gerard Butler (300 and Chasing Mavericks) will appear in the remake of Point Break, playing the Zen adrenaline-junkie bank robber that was originated by Patrick Swayze in the original. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

Actor Rupert Friend (Homeland) will take over the lead role from the late Paul Walker in the upcoming movie Agent 47 that is a sequel to the 2007 flick Hitman that starred Timothy Olyphant (Justified), but details on the film are unknown at this time. (Justin Kroll at Variety)

Actor Bruce Willis will take over the lead role in the action thriller called Captive that will focus on a real estate developer, who gets kidnapped and held for ransom while at work in Brazil. The kidnappers think he’s wealthy, but he’s more of an ordinary guy. He frantically searches for a way out of his armored-truck prison cell hidden in a Sao Paolo landfill, while a detective specializing in kidnap and ransom cases works to find him. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

We are back in business now with the news back to its normal insane level. I think I’m the only person who loves having too much news, right?!

Anyway, here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

The CBS drama pilot Backstrom is actually getting a chance at being a series thanks to the 13-episode order made by the folks over at FOX. The series, from creator Hart Hanson (the guy behind Bones), is about Detective Everett Backstrom (to be played by Rainn Wilson of The Office fame), an offensive, irascible detective who tries and fails to change his self-destructive behavior. Throughout the series, Backstrom leads his team, the Serious Crimes Unit, as they navigate Portland’s most sensitive cases. (AJ Marechal at Variety)

Before the new season of Game of Thrones even happens, recurring actor Michiel Huisman (Nashville) is getting a promotion to series regular status. He will play Daario Naharis, the new love interest of Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Netflix has given the greenlight to a new sci-fi drama from Andy and Lana Wachowski (the siblings behind the Matrix franchise). The series is called Sense8 and each episode (in the 10-episode order) will focus on eight people scattered around the globe who are connected by a shared — violent — vision. (Michael Ausiello and Andy Patrick at TV Line)

Actress Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies) will star in the NBC drama pilot called Odyssey alongside actor Jake Robinson (The Carrie Diaries) in a story that centers on three families who are torn apart when a stranded female soldier, a disillusioned corporate attorney and a disrespected political activist are pulled into the same shocking international military conspiracy. Friel will play Sgt. Odelle Ballard, a fierce leader who left her husband and child at home and is the only woman in the squad. Robinson will play Harrison Wolcott, a member of a group of protesters against the G8 summit in New York. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

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

Question: Are we going to meet Monroe’s son on Revolution soon? — Trina

Natalie: Yes, but first they need to save Miles’ life. Beware! The primitive course of treatment they employ will have you reaching for the barf bags. Once you recover, you’ll see Sebastian’s relentless pursuit of his son Connor (Mat Vairo), which will lead him south of the border. In a nifty reversal of fortune, Mexico is actually quite prosperous… for one person in particular. Let’s just say that the manzana doesn’t fall far from the arbol.

Question: Got any juicy Justified tidbits? — Martin

Natalie: Boyd is pretty lonely this season. Ava’s in jail and most of his former allies are gone. Couple that with the unexpected trickiness of running his new heroin empire, and you have a Boyd on the edge. “He’s just barely treading water,” Walton Goggins says. “He’s kind of a dog wagging his tail; he’s just chasing it around and around. It’s a very dangerous place for a person like Boyd to be.” That will become even truer when he learns that someone very close to him has betrayed him.

Question: Will we find out what happened to Barry Allen when Arrow returns? — Jonah

Natalie: Yes, and Oliver won’t be too happy about the repercussions of Barry’s accident, since they will draw Felicity out of Starling City when he needs her the most. Olicity fans, brace yourself for a devastating lovers’ quarrel. (Fine, I know they’re not lovers, but a girl can dream.)

Question: Any scoop on Pretty Little Liars? — Kelli

Natalie: Yes, and it’s straight from the mouth of the recently-revealed-to-be-alive Alison! “There are a few key things you see this season that really scar you,” Sasha Pieterse says. “It’s really disturbing the way the night of Ali’s disappearance went down.” Pieterse also teases that this season’s finale will also include “a very specific thing that happens that’s scary,” but it will be the perfect way to cap off the season. Too bad we have months to wait!

Question: I really want some scoop on Queen Mary’s lady-in-waiting Greer and kitchen boy Leith from Reign. —Vroni

Ausiello: Remember how Greer essentially said, “Aw, screw it” and decided to be with her lowborn hottie — Easy, right? Not so fast, says EP Brad Silberling. “She’s now going to still have to answer this challenge of, ‘Do I pick what is real love or do I essentially try to forward my family’s fortune?’ and that’s going to come into play with some interesting consequences, midway through the back half [of the season].” And those consequences just may involve another possible suitor, he adds. “You’ll see the two of them — and a potential triangle — begin to play out.”

Question: Is there anything that you can tease about upcoming episodes of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that may have some comic-book feeling to it? —Andy B.

Ausiello: Well, short of setting foot at the Avengers Academy, the ABC drama next week will pay its first visit to S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy (which, of course, we first told you about back in November). Describing the training facility, Clark Gregg told Matt Mitovich, “It’s almost as magical as Tahiti, like Hogwarts for young S.H.I.E.L.D. padawan.” Wait, did he just magnificently merge three geek universes?

Question: Under the Dome Season 2 scoop? —Jim

Ausiello: This may strike you as odd, but the population of Chester’s Mill is about to spike. Season 2 will introduce three new characters, including Sam, a rugged gent better known to the locals as “the crazy drunk who lives alone in the woods” — and who harbors a family tie to a familiar face; Rebecca, a teacher in her 30s whom Big Jim beseeches to start back up the school, though not with the noblest of agendas; and, most curiously, a “new girl” in town (?!) who takes an avid interest in both Joe and Norrie.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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