NBC’s ‘The Sound Of Music’ Celebrates Live TV, Glitches And All
Posted on Thursday December 05, 2013

NBC’s live The Sound of Music starring Carrie Underwood had a few hitches tonight. The orchestra occasionally drowned out the singers in the early going, the sound sputtered a few times, and they really should have re-thought those Von Trapp family-esque Walmart ads. Stephen Moyer and that Nazi bigwig fumbled their will-you-or-will-you-not-join-the-Navy cross-talk act, some guy momentarily pinned The Baroness when he stepped on the train of her beautiful evening gown (“Whoops!â€� giggled Laura Benanti, handling it like a pro). And, as an actress, American Idol alum Underwood is an enormously talented singer. Related: Producers Craig Zadan & Neil Meron On ‘The Sound Of Music’ On the other hand, had NBC gone with the real Von Trapp family’s choice to play Maria – Anne Hathaway — that little cute little actress playing Gretl would not have come across as the next Ethel Barrymore. Nor would Moyer be up for a Medal of Freedom for his valor during that garden love scene.  And maybe Audra McDonald’s “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” would not  be remembered as the emotional high point of an otherwise emotionally flat show. Yeah, live TV is wonderfully messy.

Relativity’s ‘Echo’ Gets A New Title
Posted on Thursday December 05, 2013

Relativity has retitled the film it picked up from Disney in July. The suspenser formerly known as Echo now is called Earth To Echo and will be released April 25. The story follows three friends (Teo Halm, Reese Hartwig and Ella Linnea Wahlestedt) who start getting weird coded messages on their cell phones and worry that something big is happening. No one pays them much mind, so they do some digging on their own and discover a mysterious being from another world who desperately needs their help. First-timer Dave Green directed the pic from a script by Henry Gayden. It’s produced by Andrew Panay , and Relativity’s Ryan Kavanaugh and Tucker Tooley are exec producing. Related: Relativity Gives Cliff Dorfman Script Deal To Crow About

Derek Luke Signs With ICM Partners
Posted on Thursday December 05, 2013

The actor has been active on both the big and small screens and was pursued by multiple agencies. ICM Partners has inked Derek Luke, the Antoine Fisher star who most recently starred on the big screen in Baggage Claim and is in next year’s Ryan Reynolds starrer Selfless and the untitled Chris Messina movie. Other feature credits include Friday Night Lights, Glory Road and Catch a Fire. On the TV side, he starred in CBS’ drama pilot Second Sight and on the NBC paramedic drama Trauma. He also had arcs on FX’s The Americans and TNT’s Hawthorne. He is managed by Greenlight Management and attorneys Matt Johnson and Wendy Kirk.

Regina King Joins FX Series ‘The Strain’
Posted on Thursday December 05, 2013

Southland alumna Regina King is set to recur on FX‘s new drama series The Strain, from Guillermo del Toro, Chuck Hogan and Carlton Cuse. The Strain is a high-concept thriller that tells the story of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll), the head of the Centers for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City. He and his team are called on to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak with hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. King will play Ruby Wain, the smart and accomplished manager of philandering rock star Gabriel Bolivar (Jack Kesy). Also cast as a recurring on the series is Melanie Merkosky as Jim Kent’s (Sean Astin) wife Sylvia, who is suffering from cancer. She is repped by The Characters Talent Agency in Toronto. King, repped by  ICM Partners, John Carrabino and Del Shaw, also is starring in Lifetime’s The Gabby Douglas Story.

Dwayne Johnson-Starrer ‘San Andreas’ Gets June 2015 Release Date
Posted on Thursday December 05, 2013

Warner Bros has slotted its earthquake actioner San Andreas for June 5, 2015. The disaster pic will be released in 2D and 3D, the studio said today. Brad Peyton directs Dwayne Johnson in the New Line-produced movie, which centers on a massive earthquake that hits California. The big-budget film was hatched by scribes Jeremy Passmore & Andre Fabrizio as a pitch, and Allan Loeb did a polish. This one’s been in the works for a while — producer New Line went out to directors on this in December 2011 before finding Peyton. Johnson, who worked with the helmer on Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, came aboard this October to star as a rescue-chopper pilot who treks across the earthquake-devastated state in search of his estranged daughter. So far, that key summer weekend slot has Fox’s B.O.O.: Bureau Of Otherworldly Operations, with Universal’s Jurassic World staking out the next weekend.