Entertainment News from Eye On Weho

Eye on Entertainment
Nathaniel Grey
Entertainment Editor
September 15, 2011

No More Blood

As the True Blood finale has passed, I lament the hiatus of a show with such creative writing. Though hard to pick I have to say one of the best lines of the season came from the finale when Arlene says to her kids "you kids behave or you're gonna be trick or treating down at the trailer park again. You want a bag full of empty Coors cans & food stamps? Priceless. And I will never forget how HOT Ryan Kwanten looked, standing at his door with an open shirt eating a popsicle. Now that it's is over, series fans will have to deal with 10 months of withdrawal before new episodes return next summer. To help them through the shakes and sweats, here are details on where you can see True Blood cast members over the wait. Heart throb Alexander Skarsgard stars in the new remake of Straw Dogs with Kate Bosworth and X-Men's James Marsden. Alexander will play opposite his father Stellan Skarsgard (Thor) in director Lars Von Trier's sci fi disaster film Melancholia about a planet heading toward collision with Earth. *** Denis O'Hare, who played last year's arch nemesis Russel Edington and returns next season, has joined the cast of Ryan Murphy/Brad Falchuk's new FX series, American Horror Story. O'Hare also teams with Vincent D'Onfrio in the short film American Falls which exposes race issues in a small Idaho town. ***

Nelsan Ellis, who plays Lafayette has been cast as Dionysus in Gods Behaving Badly, a film about gods interfering with mortal lives in modern day New York *** Rutina Wesley, who plays Lafayette's cousin Tara, stars opposite Glee's Johnathan Groff in the off-Broadway play Submission currently running in NYC. *** Hunky werewolf Joe Manganiello joins the cast of the series White Collar for it's 2012 season playing an ex-con who moves across the street from Peter and Elle. *** Anna Paquin's husband and costar, Stephen Moyer plays a scared crazed and sadistic Russian assassin in this month's release of The Double, co-starring Richard Gere and Stana Katic (Castle). *** Ryan Kwanten plays a young Charles Manson in The Family for which Scott Kosar, the writer of The Machinist, makes his directorial debut. *** Merlotte's owner Sam Trammel plays a sheriff in the crime thriller Guns, Girls & Gambling with costars Christian Slater and Gary Oldman (The Fifth Element). This Fellini-like cast of characters feature a hooker, Elvis impersonators, a crooked cop, a college kid and blond assassin all trying to get their hands on a treasured indian artifact stolen from a casino. *** Lindsay Pulsipher who plays Crystal has been added to the cast of the History channel's mini-series The Hatfield's & McCoys. Kevin Reynolds (Waterworld) directs so it's no surprise that the cast includes his long time collaborator Kevin Costner, with Mare Winningham (Mildred Pierce), Bill Paxton (Titanic) and Tom Berenger (Inception). *** Anna Paquin joins Matt Damon in the 9/30 release of Margaret from director Kenneth Lonergan, screenwriter of Gangs of New York. The story follows a teenager who blames herself for a tragic bus accident and is forced to confront maturity sooner than she's ready for. Cast includes Matthew Broderick, Allison Janney (West Wing) and Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are Alright.) ***

Director Quentin Lee (The People I've Slept With) next film, White Frog, has the best cast of hunky asian men since The Joy Luck Club. There is former Law & Order: SVU star B.D. Wong, Glee actor Harry Shum Jr.,Twilight: Eclipse werewolf Boo Boo Stewart and another sexy werewolf, Tyler Posey from MTV's Teen Wolf. Described as a drama, the independent film focuses on a teenager with Asperger's Syndrome coping with the recent death of his brother. It could also be described as a B.D. Wong co-worker reunion as the film features Amy Hill and Margaret Cho, two of his fellow cast members from the ABC sitcom American Girl and David Henry Hwang, the author of M. Butterfly which featured Brad in the title role. *** On the subject of The Joy Luck Club, one of it's stars, Tamlyn Tomita, joins Keong Sim (The Last Airbender) as Harry Shum Jr. aka Mike Chang's parents on Glee. This is the first sign of creator Ryan Murphy's promise to flesh out stories on secondary cast members. *** Boo Boo Stewart received the 2011 Rising Star Award at the recent (and not exactly internationally known) 17th Annual Temecula Valley International Film & Music. ***

There's also a mini-reunion of cast members from HBO's short-lived series Rome in the film John Carter, based on Edgar Rice Burroughs character John Carter of Mars. Both James Purefoy and Ciriand Hinds play opposite title role holder Taylor Kitsch. The story takes a civil war vet who finds himself transported to Mars where he encounters a damsel in distress princess and 12' tall green giants who have never seen a frozen brussel sprout. Other recognizable faces in this Sci Fi adventure include Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Dominic West (300), and Willem DaFoe (Spider-Man). The film was directed by Toy Story 3 writer, Andrew Stanton, who is currently writing the screenplay for Toy Story 4. *** As the theme song went, she could 'turn the world on with her smile' and soon the Screen Actor's Guild will honor that girl. No not Marlo Thomas. On Jan. 29, Mary Tyler Moore will receive SAG's Life Achievement Award at the 18th annual SAG Awards here in LA. In her honor I will now head to the nearest intersection to throw my hat into the air.

Have you wondered what happens to the losers on Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?. I am convinced that they are hired by Ryan Seacrest's production company. Evidence was provided when I caught up with episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians and was both shocked and amused by the Aug. 21 episode which took the family and significant others to Bora Bora for vacation. After showing the group boarding a plane, a map of North America was displayed with an animated line drawn from their departure point across the Pacific. Only the point of departure listed as LAX was actually pin-pointed over Chihuahua, Mexico. How this could happen without involvement of FEMA is beyond my comprehension considering the peninsula of Baja, California, was clearly shown off the coast. Clearly the responsible crew member never worked for the Travel Channel or subscribed to National Geographic. *** Just as Disney re-releases The Lion King, featuring the fabulous Nathan Lane, we learn that he will be joining Greg Kinnear and Julianne Moore in the comedy film, The English Teacher. The United States of Tara executive producer Craig Zisk will make his directorial debut on the project which introduces a failed playwright whose former teacher, convinces him to stage his play at the high school auditorium.

Former Will and Grace star Bobby Cannavale makes his musical debut in the role of Nick Arnstein in the heading-to-Broadway revival of Funny Girl debuting at L.A. Ahmanson Theatre Jan. 15. He'll play opposite Six Feet Under vet Lauren Ambrose in the title role as Fanny Brice. Her casting was another road block to the roller coaster success of Glee. For months, it's star Lea Michele had been on almost every body's tongues as a slam dunk for the role. Adding to what's being called a Glee losing streak is how the concert movie was a financial disaster and the reality show The Glee Project brought in less than expected ratings. *** The Devil Wears Prada co-star Emily Blunt joins Inception actor Joseph Gordon Levitt in the sci fi thriller Looper. In a future society where time travel is available, Levitt is a contract killer who works for a mob in the future and discovers his next victim to be his future self, played by Bruce Willis. This marks a reunion between Levitt & costar Noah Segan with director Rian Johnson who previously directed both actors in the movie Brick. Also in the cast are Piper Perabo (Covert Affairs), Garret Dillahunt (Raising Hope) and Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine). The project also reteams another couple, Emily Blunt with Prada costar Tracie Thoms. The film is scheduled for release in Sept. of next year.

ABC has secured Hard Target and Jericho writer, Jonathan E. Steinberg to develop a new series based on the Beauty and the Beast fairytale but unrelated to the Ron Perlman Linda Hamilton version. *** I'm still mourning the loss of ABC's wonderful series Brothers & Sisters. But creator Greg Berlanti never seems to be without a project. As part of his current contract with Warner Brothers, he has sold Guilty, a legal drama from the pen of his frequent writing partner Marc Guggenheim. The premise surround an ethically challenged attorney who employs unusual tactics to solve cases he can no longer defend, since being barred from practicing law. I thought those people went into politics. Berlanti and Guggenheim are working on a sequel to this years future raspberry award winner, The Green Lantern and the first big screen version of The Flash. *** The 9/19 debut of NBC's The Playboy Club will introduce viewers to a closeted Lesbian bunny who's married to a gay man. Which I guess makes her a bunny with a beard. While in the real world a straight bunny is played by Amber Heard who is an out actor. Audiences will recognize Heard from Zombieland and the next Johnny Depp film The Rum Diary which I think is a spin off of The Vampire Diaries but for AA members.

Til next time, you can follow the latest Entertainment News via my Twitter account @GreyAgenda.

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