Lex-cellent news

From comingsoon.net

Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Jesse Eisenberg has been set to star as Lex Luthor and Jeremy Irons will play Alfred in the upcoming Zack Snyder untitled Superman/Batman film. The dual announcement was made today by Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, and Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

Snyder stated, "Lex Luthor is often considered the most notorious of Superman's rivals, his unsavory reputation preceding him since 1940. What's great about Lex is that he exists beyond the confines of the stereotypical nefarious villain. He's a complicated and sophisticated character whose intellect, wealth and prominence position him as one of the few mortals able to challenge the incredible might of Superman. Having Jesse in the role allows us to explore that interesting dynamic, and also take the character in some new and unexpected directions."

The director added, "As everyone knows, Alfred is Bruce Wayne's most trusted friend, ally and mentor, a noble guardian and father figure. He is an absolutely critical element in the intricate infrastructure that allows Bruce Wayne to transform himself into Batman. It is an honor to have such an amazingly seasoned and gifted actor as Jeremy taking on the important role of the man who mentors and guides the guarded and nearly impervious facade that encapsulates Bruce Wayne."

Eisenberg received Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and BAFTA Award nominations for his starring role as Mark Zuckerberg in David Fincher's The Social Network. He also starred in Woody Allen's To Rome with Love and Louis Letterier's Now You See Me. He next appears in The Double and NightMoves.

Irons won the Academy Award for his portrayal of Claus von Bulow in Reversal of Fortune. His work in the film also garnered him a Golden Globe Award. He won an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for his performance in the TV miniseries "Elizabeth I," opposite Helen Mirren, and recently starred on the small screen as Rodrigo Borgia in Neil Jordan's highly acclaimed Showtime series "The Borgias," for which Irons earned a Golden Globe nomination. He was recently nominated for a SAG Award for the PBS Great Performances television miniseries "The Hollow Crown," for his performance as Henry IV.

Snyder's film stars Henry Cavill, reprising his role as Superman/Clark Kent, Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne, and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince. The film also reunites Man of Steel stars Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane.

The new film is currently being written by Chris Terrio, from a screenplay by David S. Goyer. Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder are producing, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Wesley Coller, David S. Goyer and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers.

The film is set to open worldwide on May 6, 2016, and is based on Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel &Joe Shuster, Batman characters created by Bob Kane, and Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston, appearing in comic books published by DC Entertainment.

Pawnee stars

A couple of exciting news stories related to Parks and Recreation came out today - one involving an upcoming guest star and the other about the return of a beloved favorite...

From TVGuide.com:

Kathryn Hahn is a free agent no longer. Less than two months after NBC axed her freshman comedy, Free Agents, Hahn has nabbed a recurring role on Parks and Recreation as Leslie Knope's new political rival, TVLine reports. Originally written for a male, the original casting call described the character as charming, popular and "more than a bit dim." The worst part? The opponent is heir to the Sweetums fortune, which means Leslie's opponent for Pawnee City Council is beloved by the town. In addition to introducing Leslie's new rival, Parks and Recreation is also bringing back her cop ex-boyfriend, Dave, played by Louis C.K. The Louie star appeared in several episodes early in Season 2 before his character was transferred to San Diego. Hahn's first episode will air in early 2012, as will Louis C.K.'s return.

The art of villainy

Slowly but surely we're getting information about the upcoming James Bond movie (due out next November). While a lot of it is speculation, there's one piece of news that has finally been confirmed. Actor Javier Bardem mentioned earlier this week that he will be part of the cast as a villain. The announcement came while he was being interviewed on Nightline. Here's exactly what he said:

"I am very excited, my parents took me to watch the movies, and I saw all of them, so to play that is going to be fun," he said about the James Bond film. "They chose me to play this man, but I cannot give you many details."

Now there has been speculation for some time that this latest Bond film will see the return of the classic villain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Could Bardem be the one who plays him? No word on that yet, but one thing is for sure, given his performance in No Country For Old Men, we know this guy can play bad very well. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on the latest developments so as they say in television land, 'stay tuned'.

Pac Men

It's that time of year again to unveil a whole new cast of Survivor as the show prepares for its 23rd installment, Survivor: South Pacific. This time, there will be 16 new contestants (pictured below) along with two returning castaways. The returning members won't officially be announced until Wednesday, but it has long been leaked online that they are Ozzy and Coach. One notable new contestant is 19 year old Brandon Hantz, who is the nephew of Russell Hantz, who had competed in three out of the last four seasons. Will he be just as evil and scheming as his uncle or will he play against type? From the rest of the group we have a lingerie football player, a mortician, a medical marijuana dispenser, and a former Miss Washington. For full information on the cast, as well as some news to changes being made with both the immunity idol and redemption island, you can check out Entertainment Weekly's coverage here. Survivor: South Pacific begins Sept. 14th.

NBC newbies

Over the past week, there's been a lot of casting news with a lot of big names announced as joining the casts of some of my favorite NBC shows for next season. Here are some of the familiar faces you can expect to see come this fall...

Parks and Recreation: One of the biggest questions that came out of last season's finale was who was going to play Tammy 1, the other ex-Mrs. Ron Swanson. Fans knew that the woman had to be terrifying if just the mention of her name scared both Ron and the evil Tammy 2 (Megan Mullaly). Well this wicked woman will be played by none other than Patricia Clarkson. Some of you may recognize Clarkson from recent films like Easy A or perhaps from playing Andy Samberg's mom in the Motherlovin' digital short on SNL. Clarkson was not someone I thought of when fantasy picking the role, but she's definitely a terrific actress and I think she'll do a great job at being absolutely terrifying to anyone who's in her presence.

Community: It appears the staff at Greendale Community College will continue to grow as this sitcom enters its third season. First we learned that Michael K. Williams, who played Omar on The Wire, will play a biology teacher for a multi-episode stint. Then it was announced that John Goodman had been hired to play a vice dean (and someone who will butt heads with Dean Pelton, no bout). And if those two announcements were good enough, a third bit of casting news came out that Martin Starr is also being brought on to play a political science instructor. While Starr was recently seen in the Starz' series, Party Down, I came to appreciate his immense comedic talents this summer watching the cult favorite series, Freaks and Geeks, for the first time. This guy is truly an underappreciated comic actor and I can't wait to see what he brings to table acting with Joel McHale and company.

Chuck: As this show prepares for its final season, it looks like they intend to go out with a bang. During Comic-con, word got out that Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill would be joining the cast playing this year's big villain. Then earlier this week, news broke that Craig Kilborn had also been hired to play a villainous role to go against our favorite spy team. Most people haven't seen Kilborn in a long time, but I think they'll quickly remember that this guy can play smarmy so well, that he'll easily adapt to this villainous role. Finally, we'll also see some love on the show when The Matrix's Carrie-Anne Moss comes aboard to be a romantic foil for Casey. With that trio, it appears this show is attempting to reach Nerd-vana.