If last week was quiet in pilot news, it’s because it was the calm before the storm. Pilot screenings began this week at the networks, and are expected to continue on into next week. At NBC Universal, I even saw signs pointing the way to screenings, but sadly no one wanted to let me in. I’ve got the latest pilot buzz here, but I warn you, it might not be pretty. There seems to be some disparity already between what people have been interested in, and what the execs have ultimately decided to choose for the fall schedule. Also: Some casting news for new pilots and movies, including one I’m very excited about.

NBC: First, one of the most disappointing pieces of news. Sorry guys, if you were hoping for a Battlestar Galactica comeback of sorts in 17th Precinct, the show appears to now be dead in the water. Meanwhile, NBC is actually under strict lockdown this year to not let any pilot results out. From what everyone’s been able to glean, Smash (Glee-style musical series produced by Steven Spielberg with Will & Grace’s Debra Messing already getting kudos) and remake of UK’s Prime Suspect (starring Maria Bello) are considered locks. Kyle Killen’s REM, my other favorite, is gaining ground and right behind the first two. Following those three are Playboy (set at Playboy Club in Chicago, 1963) and the Wonder Woman remake. I’ve heard there’s been changes to the Wonder Woman script, so maybe that’s why it’s still getting some buzz?

ABC: Thankfully, another of my favorites, Poe, seems to be doing above average at the screenings, has the backing of ABC’ chief, Paul Lee, and should be a strong contender for the fall schedule. Considered locked in already though are Identity (Angela Bassett as the head of a unit fighting identity-related crime), Good Christian Bitches (Desperate Housewives in Dallas and sure to get a name change), and the Charlie’s Angels remake. An early congrats to Vampire Diaries’ director Marcos Siega who directed the Charlie’s Angels pilot! However, two drama pilots with strong early buzz that won’t screen until next week are the magical tale Once Upon a Time and the 1960s airline soap Pan Am.

FOX: The two shows considered a lock are Weekends at Bellevue (a medical drama probably to be paired with House) and Exit Strategy (Ethan Hawke-starring spy drama, considered timely at the moment as 24 was back in the day). Trailing further behind are Locke & Key and Abrams’ Alcatraz. People are liking the way Locke & Key looks, but there seem to be questions about its pacing and potential as a series. Basically, exactly what I said in my review for the pilot script a few weeks ago. So, besides the sure to tank Terra Nova, already scheduled for the fall, there seems to not be any new genre pieces coming out this fall from FOX. However, hot and being considered for midseason, because it hasn’t even filmed yet, is Kring’s Touch starring Kiefer Sutherland as the father of an autistic child who can see the future.

CBS: Considered a lock is Rookies (cop drama produced by Robert De Niro) while Person of Interest (presumed dead ex-CIA agent teams up with a mysterious billionaire to prevent violent crimes in NYC), Hail Mary (buddy P.I. show, a suburban single mom in Atlanta teams up with a streetwise hustler to solve crimes), The Remember (Poppy Montgomery as a cop who remembers everything), and an Untitled Susannah Grant medical drama are still going strong. If you were hoping for Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Ringer to go through to series, well the buzz has been quiet and so it’s not looking good.

CW: Kevin Williamson’s The Secret Circle finally screened yesterday and I’m excited to say has lived up to the hype. I’ve heard that after he took over, the script was rewritten, and now holds the frontrunner position for the network. Also considered a lock, Schwartz and Savage’s Hart of Dixie starring Rachel Bilson, who was considered too young to be believable as a doctor from New York who inherits a medical practice in a small Southern town. Following behind are Heavenly (a young female attorney and a former angel, only recently turned human, tackle cases to save clients’ butts and their souls) and procedural Cooper & Stone (two best friends and female detectives who solve homicides while talking fashion and pop culture).

Moving on from pilot screenings, a comic turned pilot for FX I’ve been monitoring for a while now has finally cast it’s first actor. Based on the graphic novel by Brian Michael Bendis, Powers is a police procedural set in a world where superpowers are common as two Homicide detectives solve cases involving ‘powers’. Charles S. Dutton will play Captain Cross, the head of the department. Sounds a bit like 17th Precinct, huh? With 17th Precinct pretty much dead, I’m hoping this one will go through, and FX usually does well on the tone of its series. FX is looking to premiere the show in January.

In movie casting, Wes Bentley has joined The Hunger Games as Seneca Crane, the head gamesmaker of the 74th Hunger Games. They’ve also been casting a bunch of tributes, well stunt extras, for each district of the Hunger Games. The names of the last of the leads that have been cast is expected this coming week as filming begins really soon in North Carolina.

Now the one I’m very excited about, the screen adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s The Host is finally moving along. By the author of ‘Twilight’, but much better, ‘The Host’ is about Melanie Stryder, one of the last free humans, putting up a fight against an alien species called Souls who invade human bodies, fuse to each person’s consciousness, and systematically erase their personalities. Melanie is captured by these aliens and implanted by an experienced Soul called Wanderer, whose goal is to get Melanie to give up the remaining pockets of humans. Instead, the alien finds Melanie to be unique in her unwillingness to surrender her consciousness.

After waiting patiently for over a year, and sadly watching as the writer and would have been director Andrew Niccol left to go direct Now, Saoirse Ronan has been cast in the lead as Melanie Stryder. Even though she’s younger than the character is supposed to be, after watching Saoirse recently in Hanna and The Lovely Bones, I’m really excited to see her pull off the role. Even better is that since Niccol has recently finished with Now, he may even be coming back to direct. Stephenie Meyer, had been resistant to sell the novel for a film, is a big fan of Niccol like me, so I’m sure we’ll both be excited if he comes back to the film. Meyer and the producers of the film are set to be for the 2011 Cannes Film Festival this coming week.