JUSTIFIED’s fourth season gears up for production

My dad and I have a really hard time during the 39 weeks each year that don’t have a new episode of the excellent FX series JUSTIFIED, so I’m pretty excited that filming of its fourth season begins next week in Santa Clarita, California, for an early 2013 premiere.

The news comes from Matt Mitovich over at TV Line, who also exclusively reports that Patton Oswalt (IMDb) is joining the cast “as Bob Sweeney, a local constable who went to high school with Raylan and has been hired by the lawman to watch Arlo’s house.”

Do you think this might be the role originally intended for MODERN FAMILY’s Eric Stonestreet, per JUSTIFIED boss Graham Yost’s April interview at The Wrap? Probably not, because it sounds like Yost had a bad guy in mind for Stonestreet. It also makes me wonder if they’ve reached out yet to Jeff Goldblum, who was also on Yost’s wish list. That would be phenomenal.

And even though David Meunier (IMDB) is busy on NBC’s REVOLUTION, The Hollywood Reporter says he’ll still find time to appear as Johnny Crowder in 10 of JUSTIFIED’s 13 fourth season shows. Which is good, because Johnny’s double-crossing of Boyd in the third season finale isn’t likely to be taken lightly when it comes to light.

Meanwhile, Andrea Reiher at Zap2It has revealed her own mountain of news about new and returning characters.

“Colt” is a Desert Storm veteran and former MP who served with Boyd in Kuwait and joins up with Boyd’s backwoods brotherhood upon his return home to Harlan County. And then there’s Knoxville bail bonds-woman “Sharon Edmunds,” who’s apparently being set up as a potential love interest for Raylan now that Winona’s gone again (though I really wish they’d bring back Carla Gugino as Karen Sisco).

Among all the other new character news in Andrea’s scoop (and there’s a lot of it), this one stands out as the most intriguing:

Turning to what is possibly the season-long adversary, Billy St. Cyr will come into play in Harlan County. He’s a young, charismatic preacher at the Holy Ghost Revival Church in Black Lick Holler. His “saving” of local drug addicts is rather hilariously cutting into Boyd’s business, which Boyd is not OK with. In fact, Boyd is particularly annoyed with Hiram Pugh, a once wild drug addict turned pious man who was “saved” by Billy. Since Pugh is no longer afraid to die, he refuses to pay up to Boyd. Which should end well for all involved.

The Holy Ghost Revival is the whole nine yards — people speaking in tongues, snake bites, the works. Billy’s partner in this revival endeavor is his older sister Cassie, who is a little rougher around the edges than her baby brother. She’ll do anything to protect him and his church.

A preacher who’s trying to out-Boyd Boyd? I love it already. I’m happy to read that adorable Abby Miller’s Ellen May will be back for more hooker shenanigans, too.

And of course there’s always room for more of Raylan’s boss Art and fellow Marshals Rachel and Tim, so hopefully we’ll see more of them than we did in Season Three.

With all these new faces in play, casting news should start rolling in soon!

In a related story, I’m still furious about Trooper Tom Bergen. And we need more Wynn Duffy, please, because Jere Burns (IMDB) was especially amazing last season, particularly when discussing women’s tennis with that a twinkle in his eye and a leer in his grin. Oh, and more Dewey Crowe! This show is just too good.

UPDATED to link to this hilarious video of Timothy Olyphant on Conan last night. Great stuff. This one is really good, too! And this one from January, which may be my favorite.

Marvel seeks lady lead for CAPTAIN AMERICA 2

Fresh on the heels of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission’s announcement that CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER will film significant portions there next year, Deadline has chimed in with a list of five actresses reportedly testing for the role of Cap’s love interest.

The character’s identity hasn’t been revealed, but it’s safe to say it’ll be Sharon Carter, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and the niece of Cap’s WWII squeeze, Peggy Carter, who was played so perfectly by Hayley Atwell in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER.

I’d be happy if they’d just bring Atwell back as her original character’s niece, but that doesn’t seem to be the direction they’re taking. I’ll miss her.

(Or maybe I won’t have to.)

For now, let’s take a look at the ladies up for the new role:

ALISON BRIE (IMDb)

Alison Brie! She once starred in my dreams and brings so much variety, vivaciousness, and versatility to her best known roles as Annie Edison on COMMUNITY and Trudy Campbell on MAD MEN. She’s also got a leg or two up on the competition since the film is being directed by frequent COMMUNITY directors Anthony and Joe Russo (IMDb and IMDb, respectively). Before Amy Adams got the gig, she was one of my favorites to play the new Lois Lane in MAN OF STEEL, and I’d love to see her sinking her talents into a superhero franchise. Of all the names on this list, she’s the one I’m most familiar with, and that makes her my instant favorite for now.

EMILIA CLARKE (IMDb)

The gloriously gorgeous GAME OF THRONES goddess plays Daenerys Targaryen like a wild gust of raw feminine energy, and she’d certainly be able to match Evans in the charisma department (which is no easy feat). She’s able to project power and grace beyond her years with fire burning just below the surface (and often on it, too). We’ve got to assume she’s easily a favorite for the role.

TERESA PALMER (IMDb)

Director George Miller’s Justice League movie never made it past pre-production a few years ago, but Australian actress Palmer had been cast as the Talia Al Ghul to Armie Hammer’s Batman. Maybe this time she’ll get a chance to star in a superhero film that actually makes it to the screen. Incidentally, she’ll be seen next year in a film with the real Batman, Christian Bale, for director Terrence Malick in KNIGHT OF CUPS. More information can be found at the IMDB link up there by her name above the photo. I’ve not seen any of her work, so I really don’t have a feel for how she might be in the role.

IMOGEN POOTS (IMDb)

I thought Imogen Poots showed a lot of spunk and spark in last year’s criminally underrated FRIGHT NIGHT remake (which you should see if you love fun horror movies, along with the original, which you should especially see if you love fun horror movies). And, like Palmer, she’s also in KNIGHT OF CUPS with Christian Bale.

JESSICA BROWN FINDLAY (IMDb)

I’d never heard of Jessica Brown Findlay before reading reading her name in Deadline’s article tonight, but I developed an instant crush on her while looking for a photo, and she’s done critically acclaimed work in the critically acclaimed British series ALBATROSS and DOWNTON ABBEY. She actually kind of reminds me a bit of Hayley Atwell, which is never a bad thing in terms of this role in particular or anything else in general.

The actress ultimately chosen for the role won’t be the film’s only strong female presence, either. Deadline’s article also says we’ll be seeing the return of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, which I’m all for after her awesome work in THE AVENGERS.

Scarlett really held her own against all that testosterone, and I felt the character was written way better in THE AVENGERS than she was in IRON MAN 2. With AVENGERS writer/director Joss Whedon lending a guiding hand to Marvel’s next wave of films (including making the AVENGERS sequel), I’m confident Natasha’s cinematic future is in the best possible hands.

And will we also see Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) in CAP 2, too?

Hopefully we’ll get more official news soon! I’m working on a longer article about CAPTAIN AMERICA 2: THE WINTER SOLDIER which I’ll try to post next week.

We’ll be setting our eyes on the stars and stripes on April 4, 2014!