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17:40 - CBS Launches Drama Diversity Casting Initiative For Actors Outside Of LA & NY
CBS ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF A NEW DRAMA DIVERSITY CASTING INITIATIVE
A Nationwide Program Timed to Pilot Season to Find New Breakout Talent Begins Oct. 13 Selected Actors Will Have Opportunity for a Network Screen Test
New Initiative Builds upon the Network’s Long-Running, Successful Sketch Comedy Showcase
CBS announced today the launch of the CBS Drama Diversity Casting Initiative, a nationwide program to find new breakout talent for CBS’s current series and upcoming pilots. The initiative, which is part of the CBS Diversity Institute, is designed to reach untapped talent across the country, including areas with limited access to industry professionals, and bring them to the attention of casting executives and CBS showrunners, culminating with a Network screen test in Los Angeles. The new initiative builds upon the Network’s long-running, successful Sketch Comedy Showcase.
Beginning Thursday, Oct. 13, through Friday, Oct. 28, actors 18 and older can submit a self-taped monologue via www.CBSDiversity.com
https://www.cbscorporation.com/diversity/diversity-institute/introduction/. The initiative is focused on increasing opportunities for people who belong to groups that have traditionally been underrepresented, including African American, Asian American, Latino, Native American, Pacific Islander, LGBTQ actors and performers with disabilities. Actors should possess strong dramatic talent and a technical skill set.
CBS casting executives will review all online submissions and make selections for regional callback auditions in Atlanta (Nov. 7-9), Austin (Nov. 3-4), Chicago (Nov. 2-4), Miami (Nov. 10-11) and San Francisco (Nov. 10-11), where the actors will rehearse with casting executives and be put on tape. Following these regional casting sessions, 14-16 actors will be selected to travel to Los Angeles for a Network screen test that will be utilized for casting opportunities for current series, pilot season and beyond.
“This outreach is a real opportunity for CBS to discover actors located across the country, outside of Los Angeles and New York, who haven’t had the chance to meet or be seen by network casting executives,” said Glenn Geller, President CBS Entertainment. “We’ve had great success with our CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase, which launched the careers of numerous actors, and we are confident this will do the same.”
The Network’s ongoing talent initiatives are part of the CBS Diversity Institute, a comprehensive program designed to identify and develop diversity and inclusion within the writing, directing and talent communities. In addition to the Comedy and Drama Showcases, the CBS Diversity Institute includes the CBS Writers Mentoring Program, the CBS Directing Initiative and numerous actor workshops conducted nationwide, as well as writer workshops conducted in Los Angeles.
For more information regarding the CBS Drama Diversity Casting Initiative and to download an application to submit a monologue, please go to www.CBSDiversity.com
Source:
CBS
17:35 - Frequency - Beth Lacke to Recur
Work It alumna Beth Lacke is set for a recurring role on the CW’s new drama series Frequency, a remagining of the 2000 New Line Cinema film. It centers on a female police detective, who in 2016 discovers she is able to speak via ham radio with her estranged father (also a detective) who died in 1996. They forge a new relationship while working together on an unsolved murder case, but unintended consequences of the “butterfly effect” wreak havoc in the present day.
Lacke will play Meghan, a troubled woman whose dark past may provide answers in Raimy’s hunt for the serial killer who took her mother’s life. Lacke most recently appeared in a guest spot on Black-ish and will be seen later this year in comedic drama Hope Springs Eternal. She’s repped by Innovative Artists and Sanders.Armstrong.Caserta Management.
Source:
Deadline
17:35 - The Magicians - Season 2 - Leonard Roberts to Recur
Leonard Roberts (American Crime Story: The People Vs O.J. Simpson) has booked a recurring role on the upcoming second season of Syfy’s The Magicians. Based on the bestselling novels from Lev Grossman, The Magicians centers on Quentin (Jason Ralph), a brilliant grad student chosen to attend Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, a secret upstate New York university specializing in magic.
Roberts will play King Idri of Loria, a skilled swordfighter who is confident in his leadership and places great value upon his kingly duty. Roberts most recently appeared in Emmy-winning American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson as reporter Dennis Schatzman. He’s repped by Greene & Associates Talent Agency.
Source:
Deadline
17:30 - Empire - Season 3 - Frank Whaley to Recur
Another Lee Daniels series is adding cast. Veteran actor Frank Whaley has booked a recurring role on Season 3 of Fox’s hit Empire, co-created and executive produced by Daniels.
He’ll play Edison Cruz, a talented, brilliant, and relentless right-wing blogger who poses an unforeseen threat to Angelo’s rising popularity in the NYC mayoral election with his vicious attacks and rhetoric. Whaley can currently be seen in a recurring role on Netflix’s Luke Cage and will next be seen in Paramount’s Monster Trucks. He’s repped by Karen Forman Management.
Source:
Deadline
17:30 - Star - Darius McCrary to Recur
Family Matters alum Darius McCrary has booked a recurring role opposite Queen Latifah in new Fox series Star, created/executive produced by Lee Daniels and Tom Donaghy. Set in Atlanta, Star revolves around three talented young singers (Jude Demorest, Ryan Destiny and Brittany O’Grady) who navigate the cutthroat music business on their road to success.
McCrary will play Otis Leecan, a nasty piece of work who’s obsessed with his foster daughter Simone (O’Grady). He will do everything in his power to drag her back from Atlanta after she runs away. He’s clever, manipulative and dangerous. But he’s met his match in Simone and her sister Star (Demorest). McCrary, known for his starring role as Eddie Winslow on Family Matters, recently recurred on Minority Report and The Leftovers.
Source:
Deadline
17:30 - Budding Prospects - Joel David Moore Joins Amazon's Pot-Themed Comedy Pilot
Forever alum Joel David Moore has been cast as one of the leads alongside Will Sasso on Amazon’s pot-themed comedy pilot Budding Prospects, a 1980s comedy from Bad Santa director Terry Zwigoff.
Written by Melissa Axelrod based on the TC Boyle novel of the same name and to be directed by Zwigoff, Budding Prospects is set in 1983 San Francisco. Three hapless city boys — Felix, Phil (Moore) and Gesh (Sasso) — move to the country to grow marijuana. Their expectations of the experience being a back-to-the-land, nurturing adventure in a beautiful rustic setting run up against the harsh truth upon their arrival at “The Summer Camp” – a miserably run-down shanty out in the middle of nowhere, where they are bedeviled by rats, snakes, mosquitoes, and harsh, unfriendly growing conditions, noisy neighbors, dangerous locals, and menacing law enforcement.
Moore’s Phil is Felix’s childhood pal, who’s less introspective than Felix, the manic to Felix’s “depressive.” Better looking, more cocky and more outgoing than Felix, he’s a little more secure in that he’s found his art, a successful niche within his peer group. He thinks of himself as mechanically inclined, but often takes things apart and can’t put them back together.
Source:
Deadline
19:00 - Monsters of God - Caitlin Gerard Joins TNT's Post Civil War Drama Pilot
American Crime alumna Caitlin Gerard has signed on for a key role opposite Garret Dillahunt in Rod Lurie’s post-Civil War drama pilot Monsters of God for TNT, from Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment.
In Monsters of God, written and to be directed by Lurie, savagery and violence are the cornerstones of Colonel “Terrible” Bill Lancaster’s (Dillahunt) holy war against the Comanche in post-Civil War Texas. Despite the peaceful co-existence between the Comanche and local townspeople, Lancaster sets out on a quest to kill off every single member of the tribe, bringing wild chaos to the town of Slater. Meanwhile, his wife, Cynthia Lancaster, will let no one get in the way of her obsessive quest to institute her wildly feminist ideals, even if she has to challenge the United States Army and make her own allegiance with the Comanche women. Whether by force or free will, change is coming to Texas, and the escalating insanity will reveal humanity at its most monstrous.
Gerard will play Ayasha. Seemingly a beautiful, feisty, and strong Comanche woman, Ayasha is captured by Lancaster (Dillahunt) and revealed to be Caucasian. She refuses to speak to Lancaster or go along with his attempts to assimilate her; Ayasha is loyal to her tribe and is ready to fight for her freedom.
Source:
Deadline
19:00 - The Nutcracker - Miranda Hart Joins Disney's Live Action Adaptation
“Spy” actress Miranda Hart has joined the cast of Disney’s new retelling of “The Nutcracker.”
The British actress joins Keira Knightley, who will play the Sugar Plum Fairy, Mackenzie Foy, who will play Clara, Misty Copeland and Morgan Freeman.
The live-action film — based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s 1816 story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” — is titled “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.” In the pic, one of Clara’s Christmas toys — a Nutcracker doll — comes to life and battles the evil Mouse King with seven heads.
Hart will play the fairy Dew Drop in what is described as a fun, comedic role for the film.
Source:
Variety
19:00 - MOVIES: Aladdin - Guy Ritchie to Talks to Direct Live Action Disney Adaption
Guy Ritchie is in talks with Disney to direct Aladdin, the latest in the studio’s efforts to re-imagine classic properties for contemporary audiences. Big Fish scribe John August has written the script, and The Lego Movie‘s Dan Lin is producing. Those franchise launches have included Maleficent, Cinderella and most recently the $965 million global grosser The Jungle Book. The hope is to start a new franchise here.
Ritchie, who directed the first two Sherlock Holmes films with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, most recently wrapped King Arthur: Legend of the Sword with Charlie Hunnam and Law for Warner Bros. CAA made his deal.
Source:
Deadline
19:00 - Mating - Amy Seimetz Joins Showtime Comedy Pilot
Amy Seimetz (The Girlfriend Experience) has joined the cast of Mating, Showtime’s half-hour comedy pilot from Jason Katims and Stu Zicherman and starring Taran Killam and Jim Belushi.
Mating (working title) centers on Jay (Killam), a recently divorced guy who married young and now finds himself completely unprepared for the brave new, frank and fluid world of dating and hooking up. Seimetz will play Lexi, whose trust Jay is trying to earn back. She will be a series regular if the show is picked up.
Written and executive produced by Zicherman, the project is an “annual anthology” as each season will focus on a different protagonist’s journey through modern dating and relationships. True Jack Prods.’ Katims and Michelle Lee executive produce with Zicherman for Showtime and Universal TV. Craig Johnson (The Skeleton Twins) executive produces and will direct the pilot.
Source:
Deadline
19:00 - ABC Developing Father-Son Comedy
ABC is developing a single-camera comedy from writers Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit (One Day at a Time) and Will Gluck’s Olive Bridge Entertainment. Sony Pictures TV, where Olive Bridge is based, is the studio.
Written by Hernandez and Samit, the untitled project (aka All Together Now), is inspired by Hernandez’s own family history. It centers around a free-spirit rock and roller who, in an attempt to be a better provider, gets his first real job working at a music store owned by his biological father, a former rock star who he has never met.
Hernandez and Samit executive produce with Olive Bridge’s Gluck and Richie Schwartz.
Except for Dan, everyone in his family is a musician. His mother met his dad when she joined his band, and Dan’s brother is a musician, producer, and music instructor in Atlanta. Members of his family have shared the stage with such musicians as Eddie Kendricks (from the Temptations), Commander Cody, Andre Williams, Tone Loc, and the Derek Trucks Band. They have opened for AC/DC, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, Willie Nelson, Mother’s Finest, G Love & Special Sauce, Maceo Parker, and Gregg Allman.
Source:
Deadline
21:35 - Trollhunters - Netflix Drops Trailer, Premiere Date & Poster
Confirmed: 26 episodes will premiere on @Netflix on December 23rd! #Trollhunters #NYCC
— Trollhunters (@trollhunters) October 8, 2016
Trollhunters is an epic saga from master storyteller Guillermo del Toro featuring a group of friends who discover a fantastical new world wrapped beneath their home town and who will face a battle between good and bad trolls. All episodes available on December 23, 2016.
Fun Fact: Tom Hiddleston is a guest voice in the series. See if you can find him when the series premieres. #Trollhunters #NYCC
— Trollhunters (@trollhunters) October 8, 2016
20:10 - MOVIES: The Great Wall - Trailer 2
20:10 - MOVIES: John Wick - Chapter 2 - Teaser Trailer
10:30 - Marvel Is Doing Something With Blade According To Kate Beckinsale
Today, during the question-and-answer portion of Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment's New York Comic Con panel for their upcoming film Underworld: Blood Wars, Kate Beckinsale — who plays vampire warrior Selene in the vampires versus werewolves franchise — was asked about a crossover with Blade (a.k.a. Eric Brooks), Marvel's most powerful vampire hunter.
"No. We had that idea. No," Beckinsale replied before dropping some tantalizing Blade information. "They're busy. They're doing something with Blade."
For anyone that has been following Blade news over the past few years, this shouldn't be too shocking, but it is nice to have confirmation that Marvel Studios (reacquired the film rights in August 2012) is indeed planning to revive Blade in some capacity. The last entry in the film series was 2004's Blade: Trinity.
Source:
ComicBook.com
10:30 - Man Seeking Woman - Season 3 - Peter Gallagher to Guest
Peter Gallagher will guest star on Season 3 of FXX’s “Man Seeking Woman,” Variety has learned exclusively.
He will play Joel Greenberg, Josh (Jay Baruchel) and Liz’s (Britt Lower) estranged father — a slick, dashing lawyer with a magical secret.
The date of Gallagher’s episode has not been set yet, but the third season of “Man Seeking Woman” will debut in early 2017.
Source:
Variety
21:00 - Frequency - Kenneth Mitchell to Recur
Kenneth Mitchell (The Astronaut Wives Club) has booked a recurring role on the CW’s drama series Frequency, a remagining of the 2000 New Line Cinema film. It centers on a female police detective, who in 2016 discovers she is able to speak via ham radio with her estranged father (also a detective) who died in 1996. They forge a new relationship while working together on an unsolved murder case, but unintended consequences of the “butterfly effect” wreak havoc in the present day.
Mitchell will play Joe Hurley, a local church Deacon who isn’t quite the family man he appears to be. He’s repped by Domain and Berwick & Kovacik.
Source:
Deadline
21:00 - Gypsy - Lucy Boynton Joins Netflix Drama Series
Sing Street star Lucy Boynton has been cast in a key role opposite Naomi Watts in Netflix’s upcoming drama series Gypsy.
The series follows the journey of Jean Holloway (Watts), a therapist who begins to develop dangerous and intimate relationships with the people in her patients’ lives. Boynton will play Allison, a 19-year-old patient of Jean’s (Watts). She has recently dropped out of school to support her addiction and is hiding this secret from her mother.
Source:
Deadline
21:00 - Tangled: The Series - Teaser for Disney Channel Series
SHE IS BACK #Tangled #TangledBeforeEverAfter pic.twitter.com/gWoalhO2ir
— DisneyTVA News (@DisneyTVA) October 7, 2016
21:00 - Voltron - Season 2 - Netflix Releases Premiere Date
MFW I found out that @Voltron Legendary Defender Season 2 comes to @Netflix on January 20, 2017, and not "late 2016". #Voltron #NYCC pic.twitter.com/z4eBmsYhOV
— Voltron (@Voltron) October 7, 2016
The Season 2 teaser video is out now at https://t.co/yEmOF3ySQp - https://t.co/DZHmJAOwMf
— Voltron (@Voltron) October 3, 2016