Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

January Jones (Mad Men) has optioned the first three books in the Archie Sheriden series of thrillers by author Chelsea Cain, as a starring vehicle for the actress to portray Cain's serial killer Gretchen Lowell, first introduced in the novel Heartsick.

Ross Katz is writing and directing the action-thriller film The Amateur American as a vehicle for British actor Luke Evans (who will be seen alongside John Cusack in the upcoming Poe-based film The Raven). The film centers on a young American in Paris who accepts a job with a shadowy employer and is subsequently caught up in a web of deceit and framed for murder.

It appears there's a chance the next James Bond villain will be none other than…Anthony Hopkins. Although the enticing casting tidbit hasn't been verified, the untitled Bond film is scheduled to begin filming at the end of this year, with Daniel Craig returning as Bond.

TV

The late Stephen J. Cannell appeared on the TV series Castle a couple of times, playing himself in a poker game with Castle and other crime novelists. As an homage to the author, Castle's producers plan on mentioning Cannell in the April 11th episode that will feature another poker game with Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane.

A newly revamped Law & Order: Los Angeles will be re-launched on April 11 by NBC, before moving to its regular timeslot on Mondays. Former cast members Skeet Ulrich, Regina Hall and Megan Boone are gone, while part-time cast members Alfred Molina and Terrence Howard are now full-time regulars. Alana De La Garza will also reprise her role of A.D.A. Connie Rubirosa to team with Howard's character in the courtroom.

Jennifer Morrison, formerly of House, will star as the lead in the pilot for the supernatural TV show Once Upon a Time. Morrison plays Anna, who moves to a small town in Maine where fairy tales really do come true.  Josh Dallas will play Prince Charming and Jamie Dornan is the handsome and authoritative sheriff of Storybrooke.

Are you eagerly awaiting the fall schedule? Confused over the seemingly daily stream of changing news about casting and show possibilities? Entertainment Weekly has a casting roundup that may help, and TV Guide has compiled the latest project updates.

PODCASTS

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine both have podcasts featuring some of their stories. For one of the latest, check out Bill Crider reading "The Case of the Headless Man." 

Vick Mickunas interviews Robert Crais about his latest literary crime fiction novel, The Sentry, in which the author discusses how the series developed and talks more about his two main characters, wise-cracking private eye Elvis Cole, and Cole's mysterious and lethal sidekick, Joe Pike.