SkimIt
In a sad bit of casting news, Dwight Yoakam has waved goodbye to his role as the villainous Butch Cavendish in Disney's update on The Lone Ranger. The ever-plagued project still has its leading men (Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer), but who knows when the silly thing will actually get going already!
TV Casting News
Malin Akerman (Watchmen) will star opposite Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development) in the upcoming ABC comedy series The Smart One, about a clever woman (de Rossi) hired to work for her ditzy sister (Akerman). I have loads of faith in de Rossi's comedic chops, but Akerman? Not so much.
In the same episode of Up All Night where Henry Winkler will debut as Ava's (Maya Rudolph) dad, Sharon Osbourne will guest-star as Ava's rival... Sharon Osbourne. I can actually see these two women playing off each other nicely.
Jonny Lee Miller, best known recently for his sinister turn on Dexter, will portray the iconic Sherlock Holmes in CBS' new take on the detective Elementary. Miller is a fine actor, to be sure -- but can anyone top what Benedict Cumberbatch accomplished in the BBC's Sherlock?
The upcoming summer season of True Blood just announced who will play the final member of its bloodsucker organization, the Vampire Authority: nine-year-old Jacob Hopkins. I'm suddenly having flashbacks of that creepy-as-all-hell vampire kid from Salem's Lot... yeesh.
Movie Casting News
It would seem that Michael Fassbender can do no wrong. The powerhouse actor has just signed on to portray Cuchulain, a hero from Irish mythology whose "cry alone would kill a hundred warriors from fright." Right... This may be the role Fassbender was born to play. Production development has already begun, with a script by Ronan Bennett.
Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts will portray mother and daughter in the upcoming dysfunctional family drama August: Osage County, based on Tracy Letts' play. With filming set to begin later this year, we might as well sign them both up as 2014 Best Actress nominees right now.
The Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick The Tomb has nabbed its villain: Jim Caviezel. The actor has been terribly underused since playing Jesus in The Passion of the Christ, so hopefully going up against Sly and Arnie will put him back in the spotlight.
Robert Downey Jr. has officially signed on to play Perry Mason in an upcoming adaptation based on the original novels, and not the '60s TV show. Marc Guggenheim, one of the 73 writers who penned Green Lantern, is churning out the script, which doesn't exactly bode well for what I'm sure will be a memorable Downey performance.
The torch of Spanish crimefighter Zorro has been passed from Antonio Banderas to Gael Garcia Bernal (Y tu mamá también). Bernal will undoubtedly do the character justice when he portrays the legendary hero in the reboot Zorro Reborn.
Stephenie Meyer is allegedly working on more Twilight books, which would inevitably mean more seizure-inducing cinematic adventures for Bella and Edward. But with Robert Pattinson claiming he's "already too old" to reprise his role, who should replace him?
