Who’s your Santa?

Toronto – Principal photography wrapped early this month on the MOW Secret Santa, a holiday heartwarmer from Blueprint Entertainment for Lifetime and W Network. Noreen Halpern, John Morayniss and Joey Plager produce and Eleanor Lindo (Degrassi: TNG, Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye) directs the story of a down-on-her-luck single mom (Andrea Roth of Rescue Me) who reunites with her long-lost father. Howard Hessman and Yannick Bisson also star. Alwyn Kumst (The Divine Ryans) is DOP. Other broadcasters include Movie Central and YTV. The show is budgeted at $3 million to $5 million and set to air by the holidays. Brad Farrell

Kapow! Bang! Zoom!

Toronto – The Revolution Productions picture Zoom, starring Tim Allen, will shoot at Cinespace through July and August. The pic is based on a comic book about a young girl who discovers that her dad, Allen, is a superhero. She is sent to an academy to develop her own super talents. Peter Hewitt (Garfield, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey) directs under producers Nicholas Osborne and Trevor Engelson. Sony will distribute in mid-2006. Brad Farrell

Suicide? Or Kryptonite?

Toronto – The mysterious death of George Reeves, the TV actor who played Superman in the 1950s, is the subject of the indie pic Truth, Justice and the American Way, now shooting at Cinespace with Ben Affleck in the lead. Allen Coulter (The Sopranos, Sex and the City) directs under producers Joe Pichirallo from Focus Features and Glenn Williamson (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) from Back Lot Pictures. It’s due in theaters next year via Focus. Brad Farrell

The out-of-towners

Vancouver Island – The Vancouver Island communities of Duncan, Ladysmith and Nanaimo will provide the backdrop, not to mention some enhanced regional tax credits, for the pilot Eureka, yet another project for the Sci Fi Channel in the U.S.

In the two-hour series pilot, a U.S. marshall has a minor car accident and is stranded in a town where everyone is a genius. According to the production’s notes: ‘For years, the government has been secretly relocating the world’s geniuses (and their families) to the idyllic town of Eureka, where daily life straddles the line between unprecedented innovation and total chaos.’

The cast includes Colin Ferguson (Armistead Maupin’s More Tales of the City), Salli Richardson-Wittfield (Antwone Fisher), Greg Germann (Ally McBeal), Joe Morton (Paycheck), Debrah Farentino (The Division) and Jordan Hinson (Go Figure). Peter O’Fallon (Wonderfalls) is the director.

Four weeks of production, done in partnership with NBC Universal Television, wrap May 25.

Other television series shooting new seasons include season two of The 4400, which wraps five months of production in Vancouver July 26; season two of Battlestar Galactica, in production until Dec. 8; season four of Dead Zone, in production now until Sept. 21; and season three of Romeo, which began production April 11 and goes until June 22. Ian Edwards

Montreal’s Last Kiss

Montreal – Director Tony Goldwyn (The L Word) is in Montreal shooting The Last Kiss, a feature from L.A.-based Lakeshore Entertainment for DreamWorks. Shooting started May 9 and is set to wrap June 23.

Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, André Lamai and Marcus Viscidi produce, with Mark Sourain executive producing. Paul Haggis (Crash) penned the comdey/drama about a quiet couple whose life and future are thrown into uncertainty. The cast includes Jacinda Barrett (The Namesake), Rachel Bilson (The O.C.), Zach Braff (Scrubs) and Michael Weston (The Dukes of Hazzard). Laura Bracken