Wendell Pierce (Photo Courtesy of Showtime)Showtime announced Emmy-winner Wendell Pierce (Treme, The Wire) has signed on to a recurring role in Ray Donovan, the dramatic series starring Liev Schreiber. Pierce will guest star in season two of the series which is currently shooting in LA. Other guest stars already revealed for the upcoming season include Hank Azaria, Vinessa Shaw, and Sherilyn Fenn.
According to the network, Pierce will play “Mr. Keith, a down on his luck parole officer who gets a payoff from Ray.”
Season two will premiere this summer.
Ray Donovan – The Plot:
Set in the sprawling mecca of the rich and famous, Ray Donovan stars Schreiber as LA’s best professional fixer, the man called in to make the city’s celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls’ most complicated and combustible situations go away. This powerful drama unfolds when his father, Mickey Donovan, played by Jon Voight in his Golden Globe-winning role, is unexpectedly released from prison, setting off a chain of events that shakes the Donovan family to its core.
Coming to theaters on February 28, 2014, Son of God is showing off a second trailer featuring Diogo Morgado as Jesus. The cast also includes Roma Downey, Amber Rose Revah, Andrew Brooke, and Louise Delamere.
The Plot:
This major motion picture event — an experience created to be shared among families and communities across the U.S. — brings the story of Jesus’ life to audiences through compelling cinematic storytelling that is both powerful and inspirational. Told with the scope and scale of an action epic, the film features powerful performances, exotic locales, dazzling visual effects and a rich orchestral score from Oscar®-winner Hans Zimmer. Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado portrays the role of Jesus as the film spans from his humble birth through his teachings, crucifixion and ultimate resurrection.
Lucy Hale, known to her Pretty Little Liars fans as ‘Aria Montgomery’, has announced the release date of her first album. Road Between will drop on June 3, 2014 through DMG Nashville/Bigger Picture Group.
“Can’t wait for you to hear my debut album ! #RoadBetween comes out on June 3rd !!” tweeted @lucyhale.
Hale’s single “You Sound Good to Me” is already out and reached #88 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. And Hale will be making her live musical debut when she takes to the Grande Ole Opry stage on February 21st. But not to worry Hale fans: she’ll be streaming the show live via a new app called Hang w/ for all those who can’t make it to the show in person.
Jada Pinkett Smith (Collateral, the Matrix films) has joined the cast of Fox and Warner Bros. Television’s new series Gotham. Pinkett Smith will be playing Fish Mooney in the one-hour drama series from writer/executive producer Bruno Heller (Rome) and director/executive producer Danny Cannon (Nikita).
The series is based on the DC Comics and tells an origin story centering on Commissioner James Gordon and Gotham’s well-known villains. Ben McKenzie will play Detective James Gordon, Donal Logue is Detective Harvey Bullock, Zabryna Guevara has been cast as Captain Essen, Erin Richards plays Barbara Kean, Sean Pertwee is on board as Alfred Pennyworth, and Robin Lord Taylor will be playing Oswald Cobblepot (aka The Penguin).
Here’s the description of Fish Mooney from the official casting announcement: “A sadistic gangster boss and nightclub owner, Fish Mooney’s got the street smarts and almost extra-sensory abilities to read people like an open book. Imposing and hotheaded, she’s not one to be crossed.”
Kristen Wiig and Jimmy Fallon on 'The Tonight Show' (Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBC)
Kristen Wiig, dressed up as One Direction’s Harry Styles, attempted to answer Jimmy Fallon’s questions about the group, Harry’s personal life, and Harry’s favorite things on the February 18, 2014 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Wiig, who showed she’s definitely not into One Direction, had Fallon laughing uncontrollably with her answers, and when she said Carnitas was Harry’s favorite food, Fallon completely lost it.
The Q&A session was followed by a cringe-worthy version of “What Makes You Beautiful” that not even Fallon could save.
Pharrell Williams is set to have a fantastic first weekend of March 2014. He’ll be taking the stage on Hollywood’s biggest night to perform his Oscar-nominated single “Happy” from Despicable Me 2 during the Oscar broadcast on March 2nd, and on March 3rd his new album, G I R L, will be released.
“When Columbia Records presented me with the opportunity to make an album, three things came to mind,” says Pharrell. “One was the sense of overwhelming honor that I felt when I realized that they were interested in partnering with me on the album that I had always dreamt of making. Two, it would have to feel festive and urgent. And three, I instantly knew it would be called G I R L. I hope you like it.”
Seven-time Grammy winner Pharrell just performed at the NBA All-Star Game, will be performing “Happy” at the BRIT Awards, and is scheduled to perform on Germany’s Wetten Das and France’s Le Grand Journal.
“Happy” has sold more than 2.3 million copies and is #1 on the iTunes Songs chart. The single also marks the highest-charting Oscar-nominated song of the past decade, according to Columbia Records.
On February 24, 2014 History will be debuting the new series Cryptid: The Swamp Beast from executive producers Mark Kadin and Will Ehbrecht of MAK Pictures along with Mike Stiller and Brian Meere from History. The new show will air at 10pm ET/PT.
The Details, Courtesy of History:
In every region of America, there are legends of strange, unidentified creatures that stretch back for centuries. In the northwest, many credible people swear to have sighted Bigfoot. In Lake Champlain, locals have sworn up and down to seeing a strange, prehistoric-like creature in the water. Down south in the swamplands, it’s no different, where some of the most deep-rooted and fearsome monster stories have endured. In the new original series Cryptid: The Swamp Beast, one of America’s oldest mysteries and bone-chilling legends comes to life through dramatizations, eyewitness accounts, real news reports and expert interviews.
In a remote southern town, the past few years have brought a dramatic uptick in strange occurrences, but now, whatever has been lurking in the swamps is intruding into human territory. There have been a rash of cattle mutilations and pets are being snatched away from backyards. With the attacks not matching up forensically with any known predators, suspicions are spreading. Terrified residents are claiming to have seen signs of voodoo and are conjuring up old Cajun legends like the “Rougarou” – a mythical shape-shifter – as a possible culprit, and others are swearing to have seen a huge, bipedal creature locally known as a “Skunk Ape” lurking about at night.
The series follows a small animal control business that starts responding to various calls and sightings, as well as a deputy sheriff who believes the real culprit is some twisted individual deep in the swamp. As the weeks pass, the sightings intensify and even the most skeptical people in town begin to wonder if its darkest legends, and their worst fears, have in fact come to life.
Cryptid: The Swamp Beast mixes legends with eyewitness accounts and crafts them into an entertaining and scary story that speaks to America’s macabre history of folklore. It features startling real interviews with those who believe the legends and have seen strange things with their own eyes. Folklore experts, biologists and original news clips play throughout each episode as well to add further real-world context.
Lucasfilm Animation’s introducing another character to the world of Star Wars with Zeb, a tough guy who’s part of the Ghost crew in Star Wars Rebels. Zeb’s the muscle of the crew and will be voiced by Steve Blum in the new series debuting later this year.
Lucasfilm Animation’s official announcement:
Every team needs a tough guy. Introducing Zeb, the (smart) muscle of the Ghost crew from Lucasfilm’s upcoming animated series Star Wars Rebels. He is revealed for the first time in this video, featuring concept art, clay sculpts, and final renderings of the character, in addition to creator interviews.
Zeb is a well-trained honor guard and is highly educated, according to executive producer Dave Filoni, which juxtaposes his brutish, alien appearance. He’s voiced by Steve Blum, who says, “He’s got a bit of a chip on his shoulder, hates Chopper, and is starting to build a relationship with Ezra, begrudgingly.”
Zeb’s favorite pastime: beating up Stormtroopers, or bucket heads, as he’s heard calling them. He’s an agile fighter, using his hands, feet, and acrobatics. But there is more to Zeb than pounding Imperials. “It’s just going to be exciting to develop him and his bizarre new species,” says Filoni, “and to explain to the audience where he came from.”
Dylan O’Brien and Tyler Posey Star in ‘Teen Wolf’ (Photo Credit: MTV/Bob Mahoney)Teen Wolf fans will be able to see every episode of every season of MTV’s popular series on Amazon Prime Instant Video as part of a new deal between Amazon and MGM. The deal makes Amazon the only service that will stream all episodes of Teen Wolf online.
The new deal between Amazon and MGM also included the addition of MGM films The Usual Suspects, Raging Bull, Thelma and Louise, The Terminator, The Silence of the Lambs, Moonstruck, and A Fish Called Wanda to Prime Instant Video.
“Teen Wolf is a dark, edgy show that really resonates with Amazon customers. We’re thrilled to offer all past seasons exclusively to Prime members so they can catch up or re-watch favorite episodes of the hit series at no additional cost,” said Brad Beale, Director of Digital Video Content Acquisition for Amazon. “We’re also excited to add more MGM classic films such as Raging Bull and Thelma and Louise to Prime Instant Video. We know our customers love these great films.”
“Teen Wolf is an exciting addition to the library of MGM content available for instant streaming exclusively to Amazon Prime customers,” said John Bryan, President of Domestic Television Distribution for MGM. “We strive to deliver our most popular TV shows and movies on a variety of platforms so our audiences can access them anywhere, and working with Amazon allows us to do exactly that.”
AMHQ with Sam Champion (Photo Courtesy of The Weather Channel)
The Weather Channel will debut the new morning show AMHQ with Sam Champion on March 17, 2014 at 7am ET. The new live show will air on weekdays and will feature Sam Champion, Maria LaRosa, and Mike Bettes (more co-hosts will be announced in the next few weeks).
The three-hour daily show will be based in Atlanta. Day one of the series will focus on St. Patrick’s Day events including a special report from the dyed-green Chicago River.
“This team just has amazing chemistry,” said David Clark, president of The Weather Channel network. “Together with an incredible bench of experts and contributors, we have created the morning show for the rest of us – a fast-moving, forward-looking, information-based hub to get you out the door informed, energized, and ready to tackle your day.”
In addition to weather updates and forecasts, AMHQ with Sam Champion will cover news, business reports, sports, and cultural events.
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