General Lee: Jason Lee has been cast for the lead role in Delta Blues, George Clooney’s pilot for TNT. The show revolves around a hirsute Memphis cop who still lives with his mom. When not solving crimes or cracking wise, he impersonates Elvis. TNT’s head of programming called Lee “the ideal choice to bring the compelling, off-kilter Dwight Hendricks to life.†Mostly because he’s already got the hair. [HR]
Great Dane: Eric Dane, best known as McSomething on Grey’s Anatomy, has joined the ensemble cast of the upcoming musical Burlesque. Cher, Christina Aguilera, Stanley Tucci, Cam Gigandet, Kristen Bell, and Alan Cumming make up the rest of the cast of the Steven Antin–directed film. The story centers on a small-town girl (Aguilera) who loves to sing, which leads her to find a new home at a burlesque club. Dane will play a charming businessman who vies for the young girl’s heart. His plan: invite another girl into the bedroom. [Variety]
The Mol: Gretchen Mol has joined the cast of HBO’s upcoming drama Boardwalk Empire. Written by Terence Winter and produced by Martin Scorsese, Boardwalk Empire tells the story of the man who ruled Atlantic City politics and crime at the start of the Prohibition era. Mol will play a showgirl, but she’s really going to be a big-time dancer — she’s just doing this showgirl thing to pay off student loans. [HR]
Not a Children’s Movie: Jennifer Hudson will play Winnie Mandela, Nelson’s former wife, in Winnie, a drama directed by Darrell J. Roodt. The film will tell Winnie’s complicated story, which includes activism and fighting apartheid, along with involvement in the torture of a 14-year-old and a fraud conviction. And at least one mom is going to take her children to this thinking it’s about Winnie the Pooh. [Variety]
Closed Curtain: Julia Stiles and Bill Pullman will each be out of a job come January 3 when Oleanna, David Mamet’s play about a college student and the professor she claims harassed her, ends its run. That means the show will end just three performances shy of 100, or the point at which a play enters syndication. [Arts Beat/NYT]