Kimmel Intl. has inked a two-year Canuck distribution deal with Equinoxe Films. With the deal, Montreal-based Equinoxe will distribute all Kimmel Intl. films in all media — theatrical, pay and free TV and homevid — in English and French in the country. Agreement covers Sidney Kimmel Entertainment production and Kimmel Intl. acquisitions.
‘Shrek the Halls,’ the Christmas TV special from Dreamworks Animation, had a stellar debut on ABC this past Wednesday. Holiday Shrek specials could become the new Charlie Brown.
Japanese users to get high-definition video service. Sony Computer Entertainment plans to launch an on-demand high-definition video service in Japan for PlayStation 3 early next year, according to Japanese press reports.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced the roster of 61 foreign-language films that qualify for Golden Globe consideration, including “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” “The Kite Runner” and “Lust, Caution.”
The unstoppable ‘Enchanted’ is expected to top this weekend’s showing for second week in a row despite the new entry “Awake” starring Jessica Alba and Hayden Christensen, which many are predicting will take second place in box office. However, next weekend, “The Golden Compass” will be blowing all competition out of the water.
Well, we warned you it would happen if the WGA strike lingered on and now NBC is the first to announce that immediately falling the New Year they will go heavy on reality and game show programming in primetime. Time to dust off all those DVD’s of your favorite SF shows, since television will turn into Death Valley.
In the “Flash” fall finale Dales body is possessed by a Mongo sorceress and it’s up to Flash to set her free. An all new episode of “Stargate: Atlantis” has a corporate villain kidnapping McKay’s sister so he can acquire the secrets of nanite technology. Both shows air tonight on the SCI FI Channel.
Chris Weitz, who wrote and directed the upcoming fantasy film “The Golden Compass,” told SCI FI Wire, the SCI FI Channels official online news source, that the proposed second and third films in the series will be shot back to back, but that the go-ahead will depend on how the first film does financially. “The Golden Compass” is based on Northern Lights, the first book in Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials trilogy.”
Richard Matheson, author of the Original Series episode “The Enemy Within,” will be giving out autographs this Sunday, December 2, in Burbank, Calif., according to Star Trek.com. The genre giant will be signing a new release of his 1954 novel “I Am Legend” with Will Smith on the cover. Smith stars in the upcoming film adaptation of that book which hits theaters December 14. Matheson will also be signing movie posters. The event will take place at Dark Delicacies bookstore, 4213 W. Burbank Blvd., starting at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Visit www.DarkDel.com for more info.
On the health/science front —
A sticky molecule previously linked to inflammation also helps seal vital insulation around peripheral nerves, making it a potential target for new drugs against nerve disorders, scientists said on Thursday. The latest research suggests the molecule, known as JAM-C, could be a key player in regulating the way nerves work.
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A new strain of the deadly Ebola virus has infected 51 people and killed 16 in an area of Uganda near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo, U.S. and Ugandan health officials said on Thursday.
“The mysterious disease outbreak in Bundibugyo has now been confirmed to be Ebola disease,” Dr. Sam Zaramba, the Ugandan Health Ministry’s director of health services, said in a statement.
Genetic analysis of samples taken from some of the victims shows it is a previously unknown type of Ebola, Dr. Tom Ksiazek of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
“This virus didn’t behave as would be expected of some of the known strains,” Ksiazek said in a telephone interview. “That tipped us off that this is probably a novel or new strain of Ebola.”
In our final brief, a U.S.-based television channel investigating the existence of the legendary Yeti in Nepal has found footprints similar to those said to be that of the abominable snowman, the company said on Friday. A team of nine producers from “Destination Truth,” armed with infrared cameras, spent a week in the icy Khumbu region where Mount Everest is located and found the footprints on the bank of Manju river at a height of 2,850 meters.
