Spacey, Fincher Team For "House of Cards"

Although I think he got totally robbed for Best Director for "The Social Network," David Fincher hasn't let the loss slow him down. He's hard at work on his adaptation of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and he also is directing the pilot of the series "House of Cards," which just received a new starring cast member.

According to Deadline Kevin Spacey has signed on to take the lead role in the Fincher-directed pilot of "House of Cards" for Media Rights Capital. The two have previously worked together on the 1995 film "Se7en."

The one-hour drama is based on Michael Dobbs' original novel and the famed Emmy-winning 1990 UK mini-series, which starred Ian Richardson. The premise fuses black political comedy with elements from "Macbeth" and "Richard III," and like the original series, it will follow political story lines.

In the original series, the story was set at the end of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as prime minister and follows scheming British politician Francis Urquhart who has his eye on the top job and manipulates agendas to get his way. Fincher's adaptation will change the setting to the U.S. but maintain focus on political ambition and blackmail.

Fincher doesn’t do TV all that often, so you know he must really dig the premise, which should fit very well in a US location. For as much political drama as there is in England, the United States has just as much to work with, and arguably even more so that it's Atlantic Ocean counterpart.

The teaming up of Fincher and Spacey again is sort of too good to be true, as is Finer working on a pilot at all. Spacey is one of this generations best actors and he has showed of his political drama chops numerous times through his career including in HBO's "Recount" and more recently in "Casino Jack."

Beau Willimon ("The Ides of March") adapted the script and the pilot is currently being shopped to the networks.

Christina Ricci Checks Into "Pan Am"

Maybe it's just me, but this pilot season seems to be one of the most interesting in recent memory. So many shows I read about, like J.J. Abram's show "Person of Interest," along with a couple others sound pretty good and for once there seem to be a lot of high concepts out there.

One of those interesting concepts is the series "Pan-Am," which looks like it just got a star. According to The Hollywood Reporter Christina Ricci is in negotiations to star in ABC’s 1960s-set sexy soap "Pan Am" from Sony Pictures TV.

The story revolves around the pilots and flight attendants of the once-iconic airline, which dominated the skies and had a huge building in Manhattan. Australian actress Margot Robbie has already been cast as one of Pan Am’s flight attendants, while Michael Mosley ("Scrubs") has locked to play one of the pilots.

Thomas Schlamme ("The West Wing," "Mr. Sunshine") is on board to direct while Jack Orman ("ER") penned the script and will executive produce.

While Ricci is best known for her work on films like "The Addams Family" and "The Ice Storm," she has popped up on recently on television including "Grey’s Anatomy" and "Saving Grace."

I think this pilot has a lot of promise and could turn out to be a surprise hit if ABC handles it right. It easily could turn into a fluffy, worthless drama, but with Schlamme involved I think it has a chance at being something more than a run-of-the-mill soap. Ricci also is a very solid actress and should fit well alongside Robbie and Mosley.

"Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome" Gets Underway

"Battlestar Galactica" fans around the world rejoice.

According to MovieWeb, production has officially begun in Vancouver on Syfy's anticipated two-hour pilot "Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome."

The show follows in the footsteps of "Battlestar Galactica," which ran from 2004 to 2009 and "Caprica," which premiered last year.

The show's official synopsis describes the story as having "the action set in the 10th year of the first Cylon war. As the battle between humans and their creation, the sentient robotic Cylons, rages across the twelve colonial worlds, a young, talented fighter pilot named William Adama (Luke Pasqualino) finds himself assigned to one of the most powerful Battlestars in the Colonial fleet--the Galactica.

Full of ambition and in pursuit of the intense action that the Cylon war promises, Adama quickly find himself at odds with Coker (Ben Cotton), the battle-weary officer to whom he reports. With 47 days left in his tour of duty, Coker desires an end to battle just as much as Adama craves the start of it. Though they clash at first, the two men forge an unlikely bond when a routine mission turns dangerous and becomes a pivotal one for the desperate fleet."

Universal Cable Productions will produce the series "utilizing cutting edge CGI and virtual technology" according to the official release.

I thought "Caprica" was solid, but that series was a bit more of a soapy drama compared to the original "Battlestar" series and I'm happy to see that "Blood and Chrome" is more in the latter's vein. On top of that Pasqualino, I think will be an excellent choice for the young Adama. Those that have seen the British version of "Skins" knows for sure that Pasqualino is a great young talent and I think this could be a big breakout role for him.

"Blood and Chrome" is created by the same crew that worked on the re-imagined "Battlestar Galactica" series, so this one has potential to be something special.

The pilot should debut later this year.

TV: 'Dead,' 'Boardwalk,' 'Justified' Land WGA Noms

The Writers Guild of America usually does a good job at predicting what TV series will garner major awards love come next years big ceremonies, and this time around is no different.

HBO's "Boardwalk Empire", FX's "Justified" and AMC's "The Walking Dead", are among the nominees for Best New Series, with TNT's "Men of a Certain Age" and another HBO series, "Treme" filling out the category.

The new series category is always a favorite of mine, and this year I think it really showcases some truly great series that hopefully will stick around for years to come. "Boardwalk" ended its first season on a high note and it already is gearing up for season two. "The Walking Dead" gained popularity like wildfire and I can only imagine what they'll do when they have 13 episodes up from just 6 in the first year.

But out of all the shows nominated I am most happy to see "Justified" score here because I feel it was one of the best and most underrated shows of the entire season. Timothy Olyphant's acting was superb, but even more so was the writing, which was sharp with humor and very intelligently crafted.

"Boardwalk" also scored a Best Drama nomination along with established shows such as "Breaking Bad", "Friday Night Lights", "Dexter", and "Mad Men". This category is extremely strong from the top down, with five shows that could easily take the award with no arguments from me. I say "Mad Men" is the front runner, although "Breaking Bad" had arguably its strongest season yet this past year.

On the comedy side, this year's Emmy newcomers, Fox's "Glee" and ABC's "Modern Family" made the list along with Showtime's "Nurse Jackie", and NBC's "30 Rock" and "The Office". While I absolutely love "Modern Family" and have great respect for all of the other shows nominated, no series does a better job when it comes to writing than "The Office", so I'm hoping they pull out with the award.

While the winners of the awards aren't always a perfect prediction on who will be victorious at next year's Emmy's, the WGA always seems to get their nominations right. I was hard pressed to find series that were undeserving of their nominations.

The awards will be handed out Feb. 5 at the 2011 Writers Guild Awards. The full awards list can be found at the link.

Alex O'Loughlin Set For "Hawaii Five-0"

It's official, Aussie hunk Alex O'Loughlin (TV's "Moonlight," "The Back-Up Plan") has scored the lead role of Detective Steve McGarrett in CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" remake.

According to Headline Planet: Alex O’Loughlin is set to star in CBS’ reboot of Hawaii Five-O. He’ll take on the role of Det. Steve McGarrett originated by Jack Lord. This show needs to work: O’Loughlin headlines two CBS series that lasted one season or less with “Moonlight,” “Three Rivers.”

McGarrett, the head of the Hawaii State Police, was famously portrayed by Lord in the original. O'Loughlin joins the recently cast Daniel Dae Kim (TV's "Lost," "Angel"), who co-stars as Detective Chin Ho Kelly.

One big thing this show has going for it is that the pilot is being shepherded by "Fringe" writer-producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, as well as "CSI: NY" exec producer Peter Lenkov. With talent like that behind it, this show is sure to work. Right?

CBS hopes so. After two failures for O’Loughlin, he will be working hard to make sure it’s a success. The show will be shot on location, which is lucky for everyone involved, as well as Dae Kim, who has been shooting “Lost” in Hawaii for the past six years.

I think this show has a great chance to be a success, especially considering who is involved. I hope it works out, because since “Lost” premiered, Dae Kim is one of my favorite actors to watch on screen.

The "24" Film Makes Some Progress

Twentieth Century Fox's film and TV studios are conspiring to finally bring hit television series "24" to the bigscreen, reports Variety.

According to Variety: Billy Ray ("Shattered Glass," "Breach") has been hired to pen the script for a potential feature film based on hit Fox series "24."

Ray delivered a pitch, which puts Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) in Europe. Sutherland himself was key to bringing in Ray's cinematic take on the series.

The catch, of course, is when it would happen as various factors--most notably the fate of the TV series, which currently is one-third of the way through airing its eighth season--will determine when any action takes place on the film.

Fox toppers Peter Rice and Kevin Reilly will likely want to see how the show performs over the next few weeks before deciding whether to commit to another season of Bauer racing the clock.

The allure of spinning a popular TV series into a bigscreen film is hard to ignore for studio execs, since there is a built-in audience. Also, "24" has also been a mammoth hit for the studio in foreign markets, which suggests that a feature adaptation would travel well.

“24” has been one of my favorite shows on television since the day it first aired, and Kiefer Sutherland has been one of the best actors on television during that time. The transition to film should be easy for Jack Bauer and friends, and frankly, it’s about damn time.

Producers have long planned to bring Bauer to the big screen and originally intended to shoot a film between the sixth and seventh seasons. Plans were later deferred to allow producers to focus on the series. A TV movie, "24: Redemption," aired in 2008.

A decision is needed soon--a source close to the show said the producers are preparing to write the 23rd and 24th episodes of the current season, so they need to know whether to pen a series finale. Production on the drama is scheduled to wrap March 24, 2010.

The thought of a "24" movie always has been an exciting thought for me, but the fact that Billy Ray has been brought on to write the script makes me excited for this on another level. I think “Shattered Glass” is a fantastically underrated and well-written film, and “Breach” was also an excellent piece of filmmaking. He is the perfect choice for this film.

I also think it is important to note that Sutherland himself was key to bringing in Ray onto the film. With a franchise like “24,” the lead actor is so important, and the fact that Sutherland will be involved as a producer makes me think that the “24” film adaptation will be a good one.

“24” airs Monday nights at 9 p.m. on Fox.

Television Review, "The Office": "Sabre"

Yes, it's true, there is a difference between a recap and a review. Here's my review of this week's episode of "The Office", from Week In Rewind.

"Sabre" is the 15th episode of “The Office” this season, and also the first ‘real’ episode of 2010 after “The Banker” clip show from two weeks ago. It was written by Jennifer Celotta, who previously had written "The Promotion," "Company Picnic" and "The Duel," and it was directed by John Krasinski, who made his television directorial debut with the episode.

In "Sabre," the Dunder-Mifflin crew is forced to endure a merger with Sabre, an electronics giant that purchased the infamous paper company. With a new company and new characters added to the mix, last week’s episode had the potential to be one of the funniest we’ve seen this season, but it was just so-so. It was a rare episode in which I felt some of the minor characters (Andy Bernard, David Wallace) had more funny moments than Michael (Steve Carell).

It was nice to see the storyline of the show move along. Most of 2009 was an uncertain time for Dunder Mifflin, with the threat of downsizing and bankruptcy looming. With some stability coming, as well as a new owner, change was imminent. One of the downfalls of the episode was how the writer’s made Michael handle the changes. Although it’s in Michael’s nature to be childish, it felt too similar to episodes from the fifth season, when Michael was forced out of his regional manager job.

Nevertheless, Michael still was funny. He decides the only way to stop the problems at Dunder Mifflin is to go see former boss David Wallace, who now spends his days inside with his son, who plays the drums way too loud. I always felt Wallace was an underused character, so it was nice to see him back on the show after he was fired.

One of the episode's funniest scenes found Wallace and Michael taking a dip in the Jacuzzi to talk about the new management. Instead, David tries to get him to invest in 'Suck It,' a new invention that will help kids pick up their toys. Michael isn’t impressed, and so he leaves Wallace’s house damp and without an idea of what to do. The interaction between the two is offers big laughs, and sends Michael back to the office without a plan.

Ed Helms and Ellie Kemper as Andy and Erin continue to be adorable and funny as the oblivious, junior high school version of Jim and Pam. In this episode, Andy and Erin are flirting hardcore, both super eager to go out with the other one. Only problem? Andy thinks Erin will ask him out. Erin thinks Andy will ask her out. And round and round we go. I think the longer the writer’s drag this storyline out, the better. We all know the two are going to get together, so as long as their courtship is funny, I’m in for watching it.

In the least interesting part of the episode, Jim and Pam are preparing to go for an interview to see if they can get their as-of-yet unborn child into a top-of-the-line day care center. It goes completely wrong due to a misunderstanding when Jim walks in on someone in the bathroom. Nothing really that funny happens, and it’s pretty much filler, although it’s interesting to see Jim and Pam unable to show how ‘perfect’ their relationship is.

As with so many episodes of "The Office," this one also includedguest stars. No other show does guest stars like “The Office.” In the fifth season, they had Jack Black, Jessica Alba and Cloris Leachman, but they never set foot in the office. Instead, they all starred in a fictional bootleg movie Andy downloaded.

The guest stars pull a similar move in this episode, with Kathy Bates as the new owner only appearing on a video chat, and Christian Slater (as himself) appearing in a ‘Sabre’ introduction video. Neither star added much to the episode, although I have to admit it was pretty funny watching Christian Slater try to sell some new company methods to the employees of Dunder Mifflin.

Another solid episode for “The Office” and an awesome television-directing debut for Krasinski. Next week brings Kathy Bates to Scranton in "Manager and Salesman," whose plot goes like this: “The office is eager to welcome Sabre CEO Jo Bennett to Scranton, and are dazzled by her Southern ways. When Jo finds out there are two branch managers, she says either Michael or Jim must go back to being a salesman. Meanwhile, Andy's Valentine's Day plan backfires."

It was written by Mindy Kaling, who also wrote "Secret Santa," "Niagara," and "Golden Ticket," and was directed by Marc Webb, the helmer of “(500) Days of Summer.” It will air February 11, 2010, so be sure to tune in.

HBO, 'Entourage' Team Go to Washington

HBO is reteaming with the producers behind Entourage to develop a politically charged series reports Variety.

According to Variety: Mark Wahlberg, Doug Ellin and Stephen Levinson, the successful team behind the Emmy-winning comedy 'Entourage,' are working on a new, untitled series that follows the relationship between a political aide and his boss, the former President of the United States.

The script comes from Ben Scherwin, who will also serve as co-executive producer alongside Wahlberg, Ellin and Levinson.

The show will continue a very fruitful relationship between the 'Entourage' team and HBO. Currently, they're prepping the Prohibition-era drama 'Boardwalk Empire' from Martin Scorsese, as well as the third season of 'In Treatment,' both of which are scheduled to premiere in the fall.

I think this project has potential to be another hit for Wahlberg and Friends. Much like the way “Entourage” explores the day-to-day operations of celebrity life, the new show will focus on the day-to-day dealings of politics and government. It’s an interesting world to explore, and depending on who they cast it could turn out to be HBO’s next sleeper hit.

On the acting side, Wahlberg can currently be seen on the big screen in Peter Jackson's adaptation of 'The Lovely Bones.' He's also prepping three films to be released later this year, including 'The Fighter,' co-starring Christian Bale.

The Office Recap 2/4, "Sabre"

Check out the full recap with some added video over at the blog, Have U Heard.

"Sabre" is the fifteenth episode of “The Office” this season, and also the first ‘real’ episode of 2010 after “The Banker” clip show from two weeks ago. It was written by Jennifer Celotta, who previously written "The Promotion," "Company Picnic," and "The Duel" and was directed by John Krasinski who made his television directorial debut with the episode.

The cold open showed Michael and the office receive a gift from their new owner. A shiny new printer, fax machine and scanner, which he hands out to everyone. He also pronounces the new company that own Dunder Mifflin as Sab-re (Sab-Ray) and not Sabre. He begins to have fun with the new scanner until someone realizes the box “is for someone named Gabe.”

Quickly they manage to try to put everything back how it was, eventually taping the cardboard box back together. They finally finish, and then all of a sudden a phone rings from inside the box. As Michael tries to cut it open again, we come to the opening credits.

The new dude, Gabe, is a “Coordinating Director” from Sabre, and when he arrives, Dwight greets him with a large tray of “Scranton hotdogs.” Andy and Erin also wrote a song commemorating his arrival, which is to the tune of “Party in the U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus. Unfortunately they had listened to Michael and thought the company was pronounced Sab-rey, making the song sound a bit off.

At the same time, Jim and Pam are preparing to go for an interview to see if they can get their as of yet unborn child into a top of the line day care center. It’s the least interesting part of the episode because it’s not in the office, but you just got to love Jim and Pam.

Back at the Office Gabe shows off a video to everyone. It shows Christian Slater (yes, as himself) touring Sabre’s main office, saying how great it is to work for them. “The Office” does guest stars like no other show on TV. It’s hilarious.

Michael is slow to grasp the changes that Gabe is trying to implement, including having to watch ‘Nick’ the new IT guy, block ‘time wasting’ sites like Twitter and YouTube. Eventually Michael goes to Gabe and asks him if all the changes are necessary, to which he says, “Let me see what I can do.” Gabe speaks to Joy Bennett (Kathy Bates) over an iChat, which Michael gets caught eavesdropping on. In a not so nice way, Bennett tells Michael that he has until the end of the day to accept the changes.

Andy and Erin are flirting hardcore now, ever since the romantic gift Andy got her for Christmas. Both are super eager to go out with the other one. Only problem? Andy thinks Erin will ask him out. Erin thinks Andy will ask her out. And round and round we go.

Jim and Pam get to the day care center and are very impressed. Then Jim walks in on a guy in the child size bathroom. The guy turns out to be whom they are interviewing with. Jim acts extremely awkward in the interview, prompting Pam to ask the man if the reason the interview isn’t going so well is because he walked in on him. Pam says they are really nice people. The man says no, and says that maybe the interview isn’t going well because they aren’t as great as they say they are.

Michael decides the only way to stop the problems at Dunder Mifflin is to go see former boss David Wallace, who now spends his days inside with his son, who plays the drums way too loud. They go outside into the Jacuzzi and Michael asks him for help. Instead David tries to get him to invest in ‘Suck It’, and new invention that will help kids pick up their toys. Michael isn’t impressed, and leaves Wallace’s house damp and without an idea of what to do.

Andy and Erin still can’t find a way to go out, and Michael decides the best thing to do is accept the changes. He shows up to the office with orange juice (because Sabre is from Florida), and proposes a toast in only the way Michael Gary Scott can. He says, “I have a very good feeling about this.”

The closing scene was a hilarious moment between David Wallace and his son, who rock out in a duet and sing a theme song for ‘Suck It’.

Another great episode for “The Office” and an awesome television-directing debut for Krasinski. Next week brings Kathy Bates to Scranton in, "Manager and Salesman". The office is eager to welcome Sabre CEO Jo Bennett to Scranton, and are dazzled by her Southern ways. When Jo finds out there are two branch managers, she says either Michael or Jim must go back to being a salesman. Meanwhile, Andy's Valentine's Day plan backfires.

It was written by Mindy Kaling, who also wrote "Secret Santa," "Niagara," and "Golden Ticket" and was directed by Marc Webb, the helmer of “500 Days of Summer”. It will air February 11, 2010.

Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci Ink TV deal

Writing partners Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have decided to put down some TV roots, signing a three- year deal with Fox, says The Hollywood Reporter.

According to the Hollywood Reporter: The successful feature writers, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who made a return to the small screen with Fox's "Fringe" and CBS' reinvention of "Hawaii 5-0" this pilot season, have inked their first TV studio deal--a rich three-year overall pact with 20th Century Fox TV.

Under the deal, which begins March 1, the duo will launch a TV production company. They plan to write projects as well as work with other scribes--people they bring in or talent from 20th TV's roster. To do that, Kurtzman and Orci plan to build an infrastructure and hire executives.

Said Fox Chairman Dana Walden: “Our ideal producers are like Alex and Bob, who are incredibly versatile and talent magnets for their peers in the writing community, for actors and directors.”

Orci said the two wanted to get their DreamWorks-based feature company up and running before making a move into television.

Their biggest test came just before the November 2007 WGA strike, when they had to get four movies ready for production: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "Star Trek," which they co-wrote, and "Eagle Eye" and "The Proposal," the first films developed through their company that they produced. Add to that the "Fringe" pilot, which they were shepherding with co-creator J.J. Abrams at the same time.

Currently Kurtzman and Orci are working on a "Star Trek" sequel and the Daniel Craig starrer "Cowboys & Aliens" on the feature side, while continuing to serve as consulting producers on "Fringe" and executive producers on CBS/CBS Studios' "Hawaii 5-0," which they co-wrote with Peter Lenkov.

Kurtzman and Orci have shown that they are some of the best writers (especially science fiction) in the industry. “Star Trek” was one of the best films of 2009, and although I thought their story for "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" was a mess, I’ll chalk that up the writer’s strike and give them a pass.

They already have had some success on TV with “Fringe” and that should continue in the near future thanks in part to the deal. They are very talented writers and I think their upcoming projects, as well as their production company, have a bright future ahead of them.

The deal will kick in March 1, 2010.

Jacob, Bemesis returning to 'Lost'

With the season premiere of “Lost” just weeks away, speculation has run rampant about which mysteries will be revealed in the final season. Fans can rest a little easier now, as it seems we will find out who ‘The Man in Black’ actually is, says The Hollywood Reporter.

According to The Hollywood Reporter: Titus Welliver, who played a mysterious character in Season 5, is set to reprise his role in the second part of "Lost's" sixth season, which premieres Feb. 2.

To make things even more suspenseful, also returning for the final season is Mark Pellegrino, who played Jacob. He will appear in at least six episodes of "Lost's" final, 18-episode season.

Jacob's nemesis (aka Man in Black), who last appeared in Season 5's finale, is an inhabitant of the island who had spent a century looking for ways to kill Jacob, the mysterious leader of the Others, until finally succeeding in 2007 by assuming the appearance of the dead John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) and persuading Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson) to stab Jacob.

The Man in Black's name, identity, motives, backstory and bone of contention with Jacob were never revealed, leading to a flurry of speculation among "Lost" fans about who he really is.

Similarly, there is an ongoing discussion about the origin of Jacob, who has been a significant presence on "Lost" since Season 2 until finally revealed onscreen at the end of Season 5.

A number of castaways will be returning to the island for "Lost's" final season. Showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse recently said Harold Perrineau and Cynthia Watros are coming back to reprise their roles.

“Lost” is probably the most complicated show ever. Even this article is complicated if you haven’t been following the show since its inception.

Either way, to me, the final season of “Lost” will be one of the most culturally significant television events of all-time. The show already has established that it is one of the smartest, most unique series ever. The acting is superb; the writing is superb; the locations are superb. Honestly, where is the coolest place you could possibly shoot a series anyway? Hawaii.

Knowing that both Jacob and his mysterious nemesis will be back has me even more pumped for the premiere.

The final season of “Lost” will be begin February 2, 2010.