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21:20 - I'm Dying Up Here - Jeffrey Nordling & Obba Babatundé to Recur in Showtime Series
Desperate Housewives alum Jeffrey Nordling and The Bold And The Beautiful‘s Obba Babatundé have joined the ensemble cast of Showtime’s new hourlong comedy series I’m Dying Up Here in recurring roles.
Executive produced by Jim Carrey, I’m Dying Up Here follows up-and-coming comedians in Los Angeles in the 1970s, who are mentored by “Goldie” (Melissa Leo), a brassy comedy club owner who rules over her business with an iron fist and nurtures her comedians with tough love. Ari Graynor, Andrew Santino, RJ Cyler, Al Madrigal, Erik Griffin and Stephen Guarino star as the main stand-ups at the club.
Nordling will play Eli Goldman, a member of Goldie’s inner circle. Babatundé will portray Barton Royce, a comedy manager.
Michael Angarano and Clark Duke play ballsy young comedians from Boston who move to L.A. with the hopes of making it big. Alfred Molina, Sebastian Stan, Robert Forster, Jon Daly, Dylan Baker, Brianne Howey, Ginger Gonzaga and Cathy Moriarty guest star.
Source:
Deadline
21:20 - MOVIES: Splash - Disney Moving Forward with Remake Starring Channing Tatum & Jillian Bell
Disney is moving forward on a remake of the 1984 film Splash with an interesting twist: Channing Tatum will star as the mermaid character that was played by Daryl Hannah while Jillian Bell will play the character originally played by Tom Hanks.
Imagine’s Ron Howard and Brian Grazer will produce along with Tatum, Reid Carolin and Peter Kieran via his Free Association banner. Anna Culp will executive produce.
The 1984 original starred Hanks as a man who as a young boy was saved from drowning by a mermaid (Hannah). The mermaid returns 20 years later and finds the boy she once saved, and gives him the option between his life on land or a life under the sea with her.
Marja-Lewis Ryan will write the script. She is currently writing Free Association's HBO College pilot Unsupervised. Free Association is also producing her Netflix film 6 Balloons which she has written and will direct. She also wrote Lean In, the film based on Sheryl Sandberg's book for Tristar. She's repped by UTA.
Source:
The Hollywood Reporter
21:50 - Son of Zorn - Fred Armisen to Guest
Fred Armisen will reunite with a fellow Saturday Night Live alum — in cartoon form.
EW has learned that Armisen will lend his voice to Jason Sudeikis’ hybrid Fox comedy Son of Zorn, which follows the adventures of an animated warrior named Zorn (Sudeikis), the defender of Zephyria who journeys back to live-action California to reconnect with his son and ex-wife. Armisen — who was at SNL during Sudeikis’ 2005-2013 tenure — will play a character named… oh, this is good… Vulchazor. As it turns out, Zorn’s evil, vulture-headed humanoid nemesis has been terrorizing the cartoon nation of Zephyria while Zorn has been off bonding with his family in Orange County.
Other famous voices will be heard coming out of the mouths of cartoon characters on Zorn, which premieres Sept. 25: Nick Offerman will play a cave-residing doctor, Olivia Wilde will pop up as Zorn’s ex-girlfriend Radiana, and Keegan-Michael Key will play Zorn’s warrior friend named Gobos the Great.
Source:
Entertainment Weekly
21:50 - Superior Donuts - Darien Sills-Evans & Anna Baryshnikov Join CBS Comedy Pilot
Darien Sills-Evans (HBO’s Treme) and Anna Baryshnikov (Wiener-Dog) have been cast as regulars opposite Jermaine Fowler and Judd Hirsch in CBS’ multi-camera comedy pilot Superior Donuts. After the end of this past pilot season, where Fowler starrer Superior Donuts was in serious consideration for a series pickup, CBS ordered a new pilot for the project with some character and casting changes.
Written and executive produced by Neil Goldman & Garrett Donovan and Bob Daily based on the play by Tracy Letts, Superior Donuts follows the relationship between the owner of a donut shop, Arthur (Hirsch), his new young employee (Fowler) and their patrons in a gentrifying neighborhood of Chicago. Sills-Evans will play James, a police officer and regular customer of Superior Donuts. Baryshnikov plays Maya, a perpetual graduate student with multiple degrees who comes to Superior Donuts to work on her Ph.D. dissertation. Maya is a new character, while Sills-Evans replays James Earl who played the role in the original pilot.
Source:
Deadline
21:50 - Notorious - Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs to Guest
It’s only appropriate that ABC’s new show Notorious feature a guest star who is, well, notorious.
Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs will be appearing as himself in an upcoming episode of the drama, EW has learned exclusively.
Fictional Combs will be stopping by the set of the the show’s news program, Louise Herrick Live, to pick up the host (played by Kate Jennings Grant) and take her out for martinis at Chateau Marmont. He will also interact with star Piper Perabo’s character, Julia George, who produces the top-rated TV news program.
This isn’t the hip-hop mogul’s first go-round on ABC as an actor; he appeared in the season 1 finale of Black-ish in May 2015.
Source:
Entertainment Weekly
00:25 - Mercy Street - Season 2 - Trailer
Thanks to RD for the heads up.
Mercy Street, Season 2 premieres January 22 at 8 PM on PBS.
23:25 - Law and Order: SVU - Season 18 - Vice President, Joe Biden to Guest
So thrilled to meet Joe Biden. He made us all feel so validated about the good we do on #SVU pic.twitter.com/sdhG2rkeyC
— Julie Martin (@JulieMartinSVU) July 29, 2016
Joe is in the Building.... SVU. pic.twitter.com/ZAd4CyWFb1
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) July 29, 2016
NEW YORK — July 29, 2016 — Vice President Joe Biden will guest star on the second episode of the new season of NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU,” set to air Wednesday, Sept. 28 (9-10 p.m. ET/PT).
The Vice President will appear as himself in a press conference scene where he commends the SVU, led by Lt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), for their work in addressing the national rape kit backlog, specifically in the city of Detroit.
The issue reflects the real-life efforts of Biden and series star Hargitay, who both recently spoke at the United State of Women Summit at the White House in June to address the national backlog of untested rape kits, and the pervasive culture of violence and sexual assault against women. The Vice President was also honored by Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation last May for his commitment to ending domestic violence and sexual assault.
New statistics released today by the Wayne County Prosecutor's office reflect the success of County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Biden and Hargitay's advocacy efforts. Of the 11,341 rape kits found in Detroit, nearly 10,000 have now been tested, resulting in 2,616 hits in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), 762 suspected serial rapists identified impacting 40 states and 50 convictions.
The 18th season of “Law & Order: SVU” premieres Wednesday, Sep. 21 on NBC.
Source:
NBC
23:25 - Disjointed - Aaron Moten Joins Netflix Comedy Series
Chuck Lorre clearly has high hopes for Aaron Moten: The sitcom titan has tapped the up-and-coming actor to co-star as Kathy Bates’ son in Netflix’s pot-themed comedy series Disjointed, TVLine has learned exclusively.
Disjointed, from Lorre and ex-Daily Show writer David Javerbaum, is a workplace comedy that finds Oscar winner Bates playing Ruth, a lifelong advocate for legalization who’s finally living her dream as the owner of an L.A.–area cannabis dispensary.
Source:
TVLine
23:20 - MOVIES: Uncharted - Joe Carnahan to Write Video Game Adaptation for Sony
Sony has recruited Joe Carnahan to write the latest draft of the script for its adaptation of the popular video game “Uncharted.”
Carnahan, who is also an accomplished director and producer, told Variety that he’s unable to also helm, unless production is pushed back, due to schedule constraints. “Bad Boys 3” will be his next directing gig. Production on the sequel gears up early next year — after Will Smith wraps David Ayer’s “Bright.”
“In a perfect world I would love to do both, but right now, I’m only on board to write the script,” he said.
“Uncharted” is an action-adventure film based on the critically-acclaimed and top-selling PlayStation video game series, which follows the adventures of treasure hunter Nathan Drake.
Carnahan said entering the world of Nathan Drake is a dream come true.
“Archaeology today is in itself an antiquity, but that world has always fascinated me. Especially when you go to a museum today and wonder how a piece got there to begin with,” he said. “Plus, the property itself is so popular that it was hard to turn down an opportunity to work on it.”
Source:
Variety
23:20 - The Nutcracker - Morgan Freeman in Negotiations to Join Disney's Live Action Adaptation
Morgan Freeman is in negotiations to join Disney's live-action The Nutcracker.
Interstellar actress Mackenzie Foy is starring as Clara while Misty Copeland will play the lead ballerina in the live-action film, which is based on The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffmann.
The story, set at Christmastime, follows a young girl named Clara whose favorite toy, a Nutcracker, comes alive. After he defeats the Mouse King, he takes Clara away to a magical kingdom inhabited by dolls. The story inspired the famous ballet that featured one of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s most iconic compositions.
Freeman will play the mysterious Drosselmeyer in the new film.
Source:
The Hollywood Reporter
00:25 - MOVIES: Jekyll - Chris Evans Circling Lead Role in Lionsgate's Movie Adaptation
EXCLUSIVE: Chris Evans might be diversifying from his Captain America good guy persona. Evans has come attached to play the lead role of Tom Jackman in Jekyll, the feature that Lionsgate is developing from the 2007 BBC One series. Ellen DeGeneres and Jeff Kleeman are producing through their A Very Good Production banner and scribe team Anthony Bagarozzi & Charles Mondry have written a script based on the Steven Moffatt-scripted six episode miniseries. Bagarozzi & Mondry teamed on the Shane Black-directed The Nice Guys and Doc Savage, as well as the remake of Death Note. No director, yet.
This creates a potential collision course between projects sourced from the Robert Louis Stevenson public domain novel about the doctor with the split personality. Universal’s classic monsters franchises set Russell Crowe to play the dual personality doc, first in The Mummy opposite Tom Cruise, and presumably as a standalone in a later film. The BBC miniseries wasn’t a straight adaptation of the Stevenson novella; rather, the lit classic was a jumping off point for a sequel. In the miniseries, James Nesbitt played Jackman, a modern day descent of Jekyll who is beginning to exhibit the trademark split personality. The father and husband abandons his family, without explaining why, and lives in a fortified basement with a psychiatric nurse his ally. When they strap the doctor to a metal chair, she watches him transform into an alter ego who rages, shows heightened strength and speed, and can be a charming flirtatious scoundrel as well. The two personalities try to coexist, even though one doesn’t remember what the other does while in control of the body. They use a micro cassette to leave messages for each other. Unable to stay away from the family he left behind for their own safety, he visits his wife, Hyde assumes control and learns about them, and things grow very complicated.
Source:
Deadline
23:20 - Losing It - ABC Gives Script with Penalty Commitment to Family Comedy
It’s been another very late start to the broadcast network buying season. In one of the higher-profile comedy deals so far, ABC has given a script with penalty commitment to Losing It, a single-camera family comedy from Growing Up Fisher and Truth Be Told creator DJ Nash.
Nash is executive producing the project with Aaron Kaplan from Kapital Entertainment. The comedy is set at ABC sibling ABC Studios. Nash moves to ABC Studios after a five-year stint at Universal TV where he had two back-to-back overall deals and created and executive produced two comedy projects based on personal experiences that went to series, Growing Up Fisher and Truth Be Told.
Written by Nash, Losing It is about three misfit adult siblings and their parents who — between divorce, new parenthood, early-onset dementia and let’s just say life — are all losing it in different ways. And family is the only way they’re going to find it.
Source:
Deadline
21:00 - MOVIES: The Accountant - Trailer feat Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick
21:00 - MOVIES: The Great Wall - Trailer feat Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal
21:00 - MOVIES: The Rocketeer - Reboot in Development at Disney
The Rocketeer is ready to blast off once again.
Walt Disney Studios is developing a reboot of the 1991 action adventure movie, hiring Max Winkler and Matt Spicer to pen the script, which is being titled The Rocketeers.
The project, in the early development stages, is considered a sequel-reboot and, in a modern-day twist, will be headlined by a black female character.
Brigham Taylor, who produced The Jungle Book with Jon Favreau, is producing along with Blake Griffin of the L.A. Clippers and Ryan Kalil of the Carolina Panthers. Griffin and Kalil are partners in a new venture called Mortal Media and approached Taylor with the idea for the reboot.
Rocketeer was based on the popular 1980s indie comic by Dave Stevens and, like Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark, was a loving homage to the serials of the 1930s and 1940s.
The story followed Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot who discovers a rocket pack and suit to die for and become embroiled with mobsters and Nazis, as well as Howard Hughes and the FBI.
The Joe Johnston-directed movie starred Billy Campbell as Secord, Jennifer Connelly as his aspiring actress (a Betty Page homage) girlfriend, Timothy Dalton as an Errol Flynn-type actor who is a Nazi spy and Alan Arkin as Secord's mechanic.
When the movie was released, it grossed only $46.6 million and came in fourth in its opening weekend (it was pummeled by Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, City Slickers and Dying Young). Its performance was considered a disappointment by the studio and its creative team.
But a rare thing happened: The movie took on a life of its own, engendering a massive following who loved its un-ironic, bright and straightforwardly heroic take on characters, all abetted by a score by James Horner.
When Disney hosted a 20th anniversary screening of the movie in Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre in 2011, fans — many in Rocketeer costumes — lined up for blocks.
It was around that time that the studio began mulling a reboot of the movie, but sources said it sought a way to differentiate it from another rocket-propelled flying hero: Iron Man.
The new take keeps the story in a period setting and offers a fresh view on the characters. Set six years after the original Rocketeer and after Secord has vanished while fighting the Nazis, an unlikely new hero emerges: a young African–American female pilot, who takes up the mantle of Rocketeer in an attempt to stop an ambitious and corrupt rocket scientist from stealing jet-pack technology in what could prove to be a turning point in the Cold War.
Tendo Nagenda and Chaz Salembier are overseeing the project for Disney.
Winkler, the son of Fonzie actor Henry Winkler, wrote and directed the 2010 indie comedy The Ceremony, which starred Michael Angarano and Uma Thurman. He has also directed episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and New Girl.
Source:
The Hollywood Reporter
21:00 - MOVIES: Jumanji Reboot - Nick Jonas in Talks to Join Cast
Welcome to the jungle, Nick Jonas.
EW has confirmed that Jonas is in talks to join Sony’s upcoming Jumanji reboot, alongside Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart. Character details have yet to be revealed, but Jonas would join the cast in the role of “Alex.”
The project is billed as a new take on Chris Van Allsburg’s beloved children’s book, which, of course, was previously adapted in 1995 with Robin Williams in the lead role. Johnson has called his Jumanji “a new re-imagining of this amazing story,” and he has said that the new script honors Williams and his character, Alan Parrish.
Source:
Entertainment Weekly
21:00 - Snowfall - Carter Hudson, Angela Lewis, Juan Javier Cardenas & Filipe Valle Costa Join FX Pilot
Carter Hudson, Angela Lewis (Top Five), Juan Javier Cardenas, and Filipe Valle Costa have been cast as series regulars in FX’s Snowfall, John Singleton’s 1980s cocaine-epidemic drama pilot. Co-created and executive produced by the Boyz N The Hood director Singleton and Erick Amadio, and directed by El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the pilot has been undergoing a revamp.
Hudson will play Teddy McDonald, a CIA operative banished to the Los Angeles office after a tragic misstep in the past. When he sees an opportunity to reverse his fortunes, Teddy risks everything to get his life back on track. Lewis will portray Louise Saint, Franklin’s (Damson Idris) party girl aunt. Cardenas will play Alejandro Usteves, a calculating rebel from the Nicaraguan Contras movement who is determined to keep his revolution alive by any means necessary. Costa will play Pedro, the cocky heir apparent of a Mexican crime family that sells marijuana throughout Los Angeles.
Source:
Deadline
21:00 - American Housewife - Meg Donnelly Joins ABC Comedy Series in Recasting
Meg Donnelly (Netflix’s Teen Toon) is set for a series regular role in ABC’s new family comedy series, American Housewife.
Donnelly will play Taylor, the eldest of the three Otto children who was an awkward homely dork up until about three months ago when she suddenly got beautiful and is embarking on a new stage in her life. Donnelly replaces Johnny Sequoyah who was originally cast in the pilot.
American Housewife follows a strong-willed mother (Katy Mixon) who struggles to raise her flawed family in a wealthy town filled with perfect wives and their perfect offspring.
Source:
Deadline