Weekly Update
Weekly Round-Up for Sept. 8 to 11
Here are the entertainment news items for this week (September 8 to 11):
CONDOLENCES
Army Archerd, whose 52-year run as a Daily Variety columnist made him unique among showbiz reporters, passed away this week in Los Angeles. He was 87. Condolences to his family, friends and readers.
Let’s take a moment to remember all the victims and the survivors of the 9-11 attacks too.
NEWS
Bear McCreary is to release Dark Void and Razor/The Plan scores per a Twitter update over this past weekend.
BBC America will hold a Being Human Halloween Marathon on Sunday, October 25, starting at 11:30 a.m. ET – 8:30 a.m/PT. Get your calendars marked.
Legendary British writer/director Richard Curtis (Notting Hill, Love Actually) will write one of the upcoming scripts for Season Five of Doctor Who, which is expected to air next year on BBC One and BBC America.
Author Richard Russo to write a pilot script for HBO for an untitled drama series about the Catskills Gas Rush and its resulting class conflicts in upstate New York. This project will be executive produced with Mark Johnson and Will Gluck.
Chuck producer Scott Rosenbaum received a script commitment from FOX for an “epic Western with a sci-fi twist” that he has been seeking to do for years.
*cough* Joss Whedon did that already with Firefly and look what FOX did to that? I’m just saying… *cough*
Jerry Bruckheimer is developing a pilot for NBC set inside a unit charged with tracking fugitives. Jennifer Johnson, a writer for Cold Case, is set to write the untitled project, which she will also executive producer with Jonathan Littman.
The Canadian sci-fi-sih series Being Erica will return to SoapNet on January 20 and the first season will re-run on October 17 and 18.
NBC is teaming with Bryan Fuller and Bryan Singer for SelleVision, a comedic one-hour set behind the scenes of a home-shopping cable channel. Fuller is writing the project, based on Augusten Burroughs‘ novel. Singer is on board to direct.
Maura Tierney has pulled out of NBC‘s upcoming drama series Parenthood because of a scheduling conflict between the show’s production and her breast cancer treatments.
For the 100th episode of Bones, series creator Hart Hanson is considering rewinding all the way back to Booth and Brennan’s first tag-team assignment.
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Steven Soderbergh will direct the spy thriller Knockout which will debut Gina Carano, a mixed martial arts circuit fighter. The story follows a tough girl from the wrong side of the tracks who takes the opportunity to use a special set of skills in a more focused, constructive environment. The script was written by Lem Dobbs and cameras are set to roll in January. Big-name actors are expected to flesh out the rest of the cast.
Quinton Jackson, a former UFC world light heavyweight champion is to portray Sgt. “B.A.” Baracus in the upcoming remake of 80’s TV series classic The A-Team. He joins Bradley Cooper as Face, Liam Neeson as Hannibal, and a still as yet undisclosed star as ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock. The Joe Carnahan-directed film will hit cinemas next June.
Will Smith and Charlize Theron will return for Hancock 2 along with director Peter Berg.
Sarah Polley (Dawn of the Dead) is to play the Queen of Sweden in the historical drama Queen Kristina, which is a portrait of the 17th century Swedish queen who ascended to the throne at age six years and became an eccentric political and military leader who eventually abdicated her throne to pursue artistic and scientific interests.
Zachary Levi (Chuck) and actress/singer Mandy Moore will voice the lead roles in Disney’s 3D-animated musical action-adventure Rapunzel.
The much-delayed film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy‘s Pulitzer-winning post-apocalyptic sci-fi story The Road has been bumped again, to Nov. 25 from its previous Oct. 16 release date,
Timothy Dalton will voice a new toy in the upcoming Toy Story 3, voicing Mr. Pricklepants – a hedgehog toy with thespian tendencies.
Jeff Bridges is in talks to reteam with the Coen Brothers on a remake of True Grit, which starred John Wayne in the original.
William Hurt and Ethan Hawke have joined the cast for an international co-production adaptation of Herman Melville‘s 1851 novel Moby Dick. Hurt will play megalomaniac captain Ahab while Hawke will play the ship’s first officer, Starbuck.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will be in theatres in the Summer of 2011 and John Carter of Mars will be out in the Summer of 2012.
Eva Green (Casino Royale) has taken on the female lead in Last Word, starring alongside Ewan McGregor and Connie Nielsen. The story revolves around two characters falling in love as the whole world starts to fall apart.
Peter Jackson‘s The Lovely Bones will open in limited theaters on December 11 before going its official release date on January 15, 2010.
Sam Trammell (True Blood) has joined the cast of the indie comedy The Details. The story follows a struggling married couple (Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks) who, already dealing with issues like infidelity, see their lives further complicated by ravenous raccoons burrowing under the sod in their back yard.
MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS
Two Hallmark Channel movies have wrapped production:
The first movie is Elevator Girl, starring Ryan Merriman (The Pretender) and Lacey Chabert (Party of Five), which revolves around two strangers: a hot-shot lawyer (Merriman) and a free-spirited artist (Chabert) — whose instant connection when they are stuck in an elevator sparks an unexpected romance. This movie is executive produced by Larry Levinson, written by Jennifer Notas and directed by Bradford May. It is slated to premiere in 2010.
The second movie is Three Gifts, starring Dean Cain, Jean Louisa Kelly (Yes, Dear), Mimi Kennedy (Dharma & Greg) and Reginald VelJohnson (Family Matters). The film centers on a childless couple (Cain, Kelly) who take in three orphan boys to spend Christmas with them and end up trying to adopt them. This movie was written by Donald Martin and Mitchell Gabourie and directed by Dave S. Cass. It will air in December.
Brian Austin Green (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) and Graham Greene (Dances With Wolves) will star in the Hallmark Channel Original Movie The Wild Girl, which is set in the 1930s and is about a group of Americans who embark on a perilous expedition to exchange a young Apache girl for the son of a wealthy Mexican land owner who has been kidnapped by her tribe.
CASTING SCOOP
Natalie Morales (Middleman) has been promoted to a series regular on the USA Network series White Collar. She will play Lauren Cruz, a smart junior FBI agent in the white-collar division who holds her own with her superiors and the master thieves she’s investigating. Also, Peter Gallagher (The OC) has been cast in the drama as CIA director Arthur Campbell, described as a regal man and former Naval officer who loves a good fight, great scotch and a filthy joke.
Eric Lively (24: Redemption), Kari Matchett (Heartland), and Eion Bailey (ER) have been cast in the USA Network’s new drama pilot Covert Affairs, with Lively and Matchett signed on as series regulars and Bailey as recurring.
Rami Malek (Night at the Museum) and Julian Morris (ER) have been cast in multiple-episode story arcs on 24. Malek will play Marcos, an Arab-American wannabe suicide bomber; Morris will play a CTU SWAT agent.
Singer Gavin Rossdale will play a Goth rock star who may or may not be moonlighting as a brutal serial killer on Criminal Minds.
Another casting tidbit from the minds behind Lost: Teenage Boy (Caucasian actor between the age of 12 and 14), sporting dirty blond hair and intense searching eyes, he’s wise beyond his years. He finds himself having to deal with a horrible family accident. This will be a recurring role.
Judd Nelson will appear on an upcoming episode of Psych, playing Dr. Reidman who works at the Centers for Disease Control and specializes in Thornburg Disease, a made-for-TV ailment.
Peggy Lipton (Twin Peaks, The Mod Squad) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on Starz‘s drama Crash, replacing Valerie Perrine, who has dropped out due to surgery. Lipton will play Suzy Fields, the ex-wife of record producer Ben Cendars (Dennis Hopper) who is now married to author Owen Fields (Keith Carradine).
Here’s another casting tidbit – this time for Dollhouse: An actor is being sought who is in his 30s or 40s to play Howard Lipman, an intelligent higher-up in the Dollhouse. Howard has a huge presence and humor. This will possibly be recurring.
Edward Norton is set to guest in a November episode of Modern Family.
Adam Rodriguez will join the cast of Ugly Betty this season, playing Bobby, an old flame of Betty’s sister Hilda.
Anna Camp, the reverend’s wife from True Blood, is playing a part in The Office wedding of the year for Jim and Pam.
Julian Sands (24) is playing (Young) Jor-El in Smallville in November.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Season 3 of Robin Hood on BBC America premieres at 9 PM on Saturday, September 12.
The Hallmark Channel will air the made-for-TV movie Citizen Jane on Saturday, September 12 at 9 PM. The movie is about a woman (Ally Sheedy) who investigates a murder with help from a detective. When the evidence begins to suggest the niece’s boyfriend is the culprit, she becomes more determined in her quest. Singer Meatloaf and Sean Patrick Flannery co-star.
The movie Lightning Strikes will air on Saturday, September 12 at 9 PM on Syfy. The movie is about a monster wrecking havoc in a small town after riding a lightning bolt to Earth. The movie stars Kevin Sorbo.
Masterpiece Mystery! on PBS will feature Inspector Lewis: Life Born of Fire at 9 PM on Sunday, September 13. This movie is about a possible serial killer.
Lincoln Heights will have its season premiere at 8 p.m. on the ABC Family Channel on Monday, September 14.
One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl will both have their season premieres on the CW at 8 and 9 p.m. respectively on Monday, September 14.
The new series The Beautiful Life will debut on the CW on Wednesday, September 16 at 9 p.m.
Bones and Fringe both return for another season on FOX at 8 and 9 p.m. respectively on Thursday, September 17.
EXTRA RUNS: There will be “extra runs” of some of the new shows this coming week and those details follow:
The Vampire Diaries and Melrose Place will reair their pilot episodes on Sunday, September 13 at 8 and 9 p.m. respectively on the CW.
The Beautiful Life will reair its pilot episode on Friday, September 18 at 9 p.m. on the CW.
Glee will reair its 2nd episode on FOX at 9 p.m. on Friday, September 18.
Here is a list of new episodes for the series that are finishing up their summer runs and some of the returning fall shows that are just getting their season started:
Sunday, September 13:
Mad Men on AMC at 10 p.m.
Defying Gravity on ABC at 10 p.m.
True Blood on HBO at 10 p.m. – SEASON FINALE
Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime at 9 p.m.
Army Wives on Lifetime at 10 p.m.
Monday, September 14:
Durham County on ION at 10 p.m.
Greek on ABC Family at 9 p.m.
Tuesday, September 15:
Ruby & the Rockits on ABC Family at 8:30 p.m.
Warehouse 13 on SyFy at 9 p.m.
The Cleaner on A&E at 10 p.m.
Sons of Anarchy on FX at 10 p.m.
Wednesday, September 16:
Glee on FOX at 9 p.m.
Dark Blue on TNT at 10 p.m.
Thursday, September 17:
The Vampire Diaries on the CW at 8 p.m.
Supernatural on the CW at 9 p.m.
Friday, September 18:
Eureka on Syfy at 9 p.m.
Monk on USA Network at 9 p.m.
Psych on USA Network at 10 p.m.
NOTE: Please check your local listings for the correct air dates and times for all of the above.
Have a great weekend!
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