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Oscar-winning writer Simon Beaufoy – behind “Slumdog Millionaire,” “127 Hours” or “The Full Monty” – has joined “S.O.L.”

The six-episode thriller, presented at Berlinale’s Co-Pro Series and developed with TV4, is produced by Warp Films (UK) and Rainy Days (Sweden). It was created by Ruth McCance. Diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, she died in December, aged 53.

“Ruth had written a pilot episode script and outlines for the remaining five episodes,” explained producer Peter Carlton.

“It had always been our intention to bring on another writer to work alongside her. When we knew Ruth was dying, we spoke about the future of the project. We felt we would like to complete the work she had started in her honor and for her kids.”

“With her blessing, we are doing just that. We were able to tell her it had been selected for Berlinale.”

Beaufoy was an “obvious first choice,” Carlton stated.

According to Blackburn's teaser trailer there's a surprise waiting for someone. For us the surprise was how good this latest indie slasher actually looks. We love us some deranged disfigured family films, I tell ya!

Lauro Chartrand directs. Calum Worthy, Emilie Ullerup, Sarah Lind, Zack Peladeau, Alexander Calvert, Brandi Alexander, Maja Aro, Lochlyn Munro, Brad Loree, and Ken Kirzinger star.

Synopsis

A forest fire and rockslide leave five bickering college friends trapped in a small Alaskan ghost town with a horrifying history. When they seek refuge inside an abandoned mine, they must band together to survive as the angry inhabitants slaughter the friends one-by-one.

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Try not to drool over this once-in-a-lifetime Thanksgivukkah menu - Food Twenty-five perfect ponytails for every occasion - Beauty UK These pictures will make you want to go directly to Australia - Smart Living Watch the brilliant alternate ending for Breaking Bad - Entertainment Video: Burn up your stubborn fat in just 10 minutes! - Fitness Which celebrity hair transformation was your favorite? - Beauty A romantic Christmas playlist for you and your lover - Love & Sex See all the adorable celebrity reactions to Batkid - Celebrity & News Plan a healthy menu for your alternative Thanksgiving - Fitness Look back at Fall's most popular fashion trends - Fashion How to have a totally geek-tastic Christmas tree - Tech Try these simple hacks for taking your pregnancy by storm - Moms How to host a wonderful wine-tasting party - Home...

From Mazzy Star to Grand Theft Auto V, your weekly pop culture digest

Greta expectations

Greta Gerwig stars in Damsels In Distress, the first film from Whit Stillman since 1998's The Last Days Of Disco and much hyped after its London Film Festival screening last week. "Like a posh Mean Girls" says our spy.

Echelon v Little Monsters v Beliebers

Nominees in an all-new "Biggest Fans" category at this year's MTV EMAs include 30 Seconds To Mars, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga. (Real showdown in carpark after.)

New Carjack City

Check www.rockstargames.com for the Grand Theft Auto V trailer on Wednesday.

Personal surveillance

Slow-jam lo-fi funk anyone? Nite Jewel's She's Always Watching You 7" comes with a handwritten letter from Ramona Gonzalez.

This Is Hard-choir

Feist's three backing singers have been stealing the show in their nerd-scout outfits. And they're a real band, too! Check out mountainman.bandcamp.com

A...

Space is Canada's specialty channel for sci-fi, fantasy and horror entertainment.

Canada’s specialty channel for sci-fi, fantasy and horror, Space, has announced the start of production on a new speculative drama pilot, Borealis, set in an unfrozen Arctic in the near future.

According to Space’s press release, Borealis is set approximately 30 years in the future and focuses on a Deadwood-like frontier town situated in the high Arctic. The proposed follow-up series would ‘explore the political, environmental and social impact of a world in which the polar icecaps have melted and countries are vying for the last vestiges of oil in the Arctic.’

The cast of Borealis includes several faces that may be familiar to fans of other science fiction and fantasy series on Space and elsewhere. They include Ty Olsson (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 and 2, Battlestar Galactica), who plays Vic, an ultimate fighter turned entrepreneur who...

Time travel, ruthless pirates, erupting volcanoes, monstrously hairy swamp cannibals, a giant octopus, and Captain Nemo armed with a steampunk raygun await the characters that have crashed landed on Jules Verne's Mysterious Island in the newest adaptation of the 1874 literary classic. The only thing missing is Doug McClure.

The other week I reported on a Syfy-bound creature feature titled Xtinction: Predator. One of that film's producers, George M. Kostuch, was nice enough to send over word of his newest production: the latest feature film adaptation of Jules Verne's classic Mysterious Island.

Filmed on location in Louisiana, K2 Pictures and Leverage Entertainment present a cinematic adaptation of Jules Verne's 1874 novel "The Mysterious Island", the story begins during the American Civil War, as famine and death ravage the city of Richmond, Virginia. Five northern POWs make the decision to escape the war by hijacking a hot air balloon! Drifting through the night,...

Years ago, USA Network's "Up All Night" used to repeatedly run a cheap sucky vampire flick called Malibu Beach Vampires. When I saw the title Vampires in Venice I instantly assumed it meant Venice, Italy. Nope. The title refers to sunny Venice, California. Please let this film be better than Malibu Beach Vampires.

Newcomer Deborah S. Goodwin wrote, directed, and co-produced this tale of Califonivampification starring Edward Remington Hoffman, Aleksei Archer, Jennifer Skyler, and longtime character actor Bill Cobbs.

On his first night in his new place in Venice Beach, Keith is attacked by some kind of vampire bat and begins to feel a change coming on. Whatever’s inside him is taking over fast and he is unable to remember if the visions of blood in his head are a nightmare or reality.

Bleiberg Entertainment are handling the distribution for the film.

And, uh, well, that's really about...

The Canadian Film and Television Production Association (Cftpa), representing the interests of screen-based media companies engaged in the production/distribution of English-language TV programs, feature films and new media content in all regions of Canada, reports it is changing its name to the Canadian Media Production Association (Cmpa) "...to better reflect the multi-screen world and the future of our industry..."

"Independent producers create high-quality Canadian content and are at the heart of the feature film, broadcasting and content distribution system," said Norm Bolen, President, Chief Executive Officer, Cmpa.

"The global shift towards digital technology and new forms of distribution means we have to change with the times. The new name embraces the opportunities for our members to create new partnerships and expand into the international market place."

Founded in 1948, the Association was originally known as the Association of Motion Picture Producers and Laboratories of Canada. In 1974, it changed its name...

Victory of the Daleks has debuted in Australia to excellent ratings. TV Tonight reports that the episode averaged 915,000 viewers in the five major capital cities, despite stiff competition from the commercial networks including Masterchef Australia and the annual Logie Awards (the major Australian TV awards). The Daleks proved popular, with Doctor Who improving its ratings by 64,000 viewers from the previous week's episode. Again it was the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's top-rating program of the day, rating higher than its popular Sunday 7pm news. (By comparison, the final of the mini-series Burn Up only rated 375,000 viewers for the ABC in the following 8.30pm timeslot.) The corresponding Confidential Cutdown also rated a respectable 523,000 viewers in the five major capitals.

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The Beast Below has debuted in Australia to very respectable ratings. TV Tonight reports that the episode averaged 851,000 viewers in the five major capital cities, despite stiff competition from the commercial networks. Again it was the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's top-rating program of the day, rating higher than its popular Sunday 7pm news (By comparison, the mini-series Burn Up only rated 367,000 viewers for the ABC in the following 8.30pm timeslot). The corresponding Confidential Cutdown also rated a respectable 536,000 viewers in the five major capitals.

Meanwhile in local media, Ruth Ritchie of the Sydney Morning Herald writes of The Eleventh Hour that 'a very, very young Doctor, with an almost childlike first take on his new body, is now an obvious choice to engage younger viewers. Smith already displayed an adorable alien quality in Party Animals. Our introduction to him through the eyes of Amelia Pond, a lonely little girl who hears...

Neca Toys is known for making its collectibles as realistic and detailed as possible. So with a new line of Freddy figures coming soon to celebrate Samuel Bayer's A Nightmare on Elm Street remake for Platinum Dunes, the question beckons ... what little parts will they be coming with that could be harmful to small children if chewed or swallowed?

Below you'll find a couple of cool images of the upcoming product courtesy of Figures.com. Unfortunately even though the pictures of the pre-burn Krueger are adorned with plastic flames, they won't be included with the finished product when it ships to stores. It will, however, ship with a charred face variant. Nice.

To see the full gallery of new images, click on the photo below.

- Uncle Creepy

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The U.S. Debut of "Burn Up" on Planet Green, starring Bradley Whitford, Neve Campbell and Rupert Penry-Jones . airs for the first time Sunday, December 6 at 9Pm Et. The two-part mini series special is a high-stakes conspiracy thriller in which two friends - power players in the international oil industry - face a series of violent events and revelations that could rip their friendship, business and even civilization apart. The series spans the oil fields of Saudi Arabia, to the oil mansions of London; from Arctic villages where thawing gases burst into flame, to the United Nation convention where the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Airing to success in 2008 on BBC2, this Rose...

Ok fans of Stephen Dorff and Val Kilmer, don't forget to check out the upcoming premiere of "Xiii" this Sunday on NBC.     The story of Xiii will unfold in a special 2-night movie event premiering this Sunday (2/8) at 9pm on NBC and concluding the following Sunday (2/15).   See the gallery now!   Show information:     "Xiii" is a high-stakes cat-and-mouse thriller starring Stephen Dorff ("World Trade Center"), Stephen McHattie ("Watchmen"), Jessalyn Gilsig (NBC's "Heroes"), and Val Kilmer ("The Doors"). The adrenaline-charged miniseries begins dramatically as the first female U.S. president is shot dead by a sniper during her Veteran's Day speech. Three months later, a wounded man is found tattered in a forest with no memory of his identity. The only clue is a tattoo on his neck -- "Xiii." Could his lightning-fast reflexes and killer instincts betray him as the presidential assassin that the U.S. is desperately searching for?   Submerged in a far-reaching conspiracy,...

"The Insider" takes you on a wild ride with Nascar hunks Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and more! These sexy guys push the limits in their race car careers, but what about in their personal lives? Find out which hunks are single and what they look for in a girlfriend. Plus, find out what life is like on the popular Nascar racing circuit and get a peek at the luxurious travel buses that allow the drivers to travel in grand style!

[Read full story on The Insider]...

Neve Campbell may be returning to series television and a co-starring in NBC's midseason drama "The Philanthropist.""Philanthropist," from Universal Media Studios, tells of a renegade billionaire called Teddy Rist (played by James Purefoy) who amkes good use of his wealth and influential powers to help those in need around the globe.Campbell will apparently play the wife of his business partner and lifelong friend, Phillip (Jesse Martin), who runs the charitable foundation. She has strong chemistry with Teddy. Campbell has had roles in mostly lower budget releases since her "Scream" days. Her longest, most recent television run was in "Party of Five" and the actress had appearnaces in offerings like "Medium" and "Burn Up"...

BBC Two's green-themed drama thriller Burn Up lost over a third of its audience on Friday night, according to early figures. The concluding half of the show - starring Rupert Penry-Jones, Neve Campbell and Bradley Whitford - drew 1.56m (7.7%) between 9pm and 10.30pm, fourth place for the time period. The first episode drew 2.4m (11.5%) in the same timeslot last Wednesday. ITV1's A Touch Of Frost managed a decent 4.31m (21.9%) between 9pm and 11pm, comfortably winning the slot. On Channel 4, the Big Brother eviction show drew 3.65m (17.6%) in the 9pm hour. The eviction interview show averaged 3m (17.9%) between 10.35pm and 11pm. Sandwiched between Big Brother, new comedy series The Kevin Bishop Show made a decent start with 2.11m (10.8%). The final of Celebrity Masterchef - won by former Atomic Kitten star Liz McLarnon - brought in (more)...

The first instalment of oil business thriller Burn Up attracted a decent audience for BBC Two last night. The two-part drama, featuring Spooks star Rupert Penry-Jones and The West Wing's Bradley Whitford, sees suspect events in the Saudi desert spiral into a green-themed international crisis. Burn Up was watched by 2.4m (11.5%) between 9pm and 10.30pm, putting the channel well ahead of its traditional competitors. BBC One led between 9pm and 10pm, with the last part of its Cars, (more)...

TORONTO -- Neve Campbell, Bradley Whitford and Rupert Penry-Jones are toplining the BBC miniseries Burn Up, which began production Wednesday in Calgary.

The conspiracy thriller, which will also to on Global Television in Canada, is a Canadian-British co-production from Calgary-based Seven24 Films and London-based Kudos Film and Television.

The miniseries was penned by The Full Monty scribe Simon Beaufoy and portrays a clash over climate change between environmental activists, local politicians and oil company executives.

Alchemy Television is handling worldwide distribution for the CAN$15 million project, which is set for a spring broadcast in Canada and the U.K.

Omar Madha (Clocking Off) is directing Burn Up, which will shoot in Calgary through Dec. 18 and then shift to London in January.

With the new TV season in full swing, your actors from cancelled shows should be popping up all over the place. Let's hope the new series stick around long enough for their episodes to air!

Steven Weber (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) has been added to the cast of ABC's Brothers & Sisters. He'll be playing private consultant Graham Finch who is hired to expand the Walker family business. Weber's character will also become a love interest of one of the series' ladies.

And speaking of Studio 60, Bradley Whitford has been hired to star in a U.K. four-hour mini-series called Burn Up. He'll play an unscrupulous oil industry lobbyist in the environmental thriller. Talks are underway with U.S. networks to air it here in the states.

Eddie Cibrian (Fox's Vanished, ABC's Invasion) will both be joining the cast of ABC's Samantha Who? for several episodes. Cibrian will romance...