Aftershocks in Montreal

Montreal – Beau Bridges (Smile) is in Montreal until the beginning of August playing the U.S. president in the NBC miniseries 10.5: Apocalypse, a sequel to last year’s Vancouver-shot 10.5 about a catastrophic earthquake that hits North America.

In the new installment, a second giant quake threatens the continent, and again the president calls in the country’s top seismologist, played by Kim Delaney (Infidelity), to help avert disaster. David Cubitt (Bounty Hunters) also stars. Bridges, Delaney and Cubitt all appeared in the original production.

The 2 x 2 mini, produced by Jaffe/Braunstein Films, is shooting May 31 to Aug. 4 in various Quebec locations, including Montreal, Joliette and Saint-Hubert, and is scheduled for delivery in November.

Writer/director John Lafia produces with Gary Pearl. Michael Jaffe and Howard Braunstein exec produce. Laura Bracken

Vancouver goes Beneath with MTV

Vancouver – MTV Films and Paramount Classics are in Vancouver shooting Beneath (aka The Dark Within), a thriller from first-time feature director Dagen Merrill. Written by Merrill and Kevin Burke, the film is about a woman who is haunted by frightening images after a car wreck leaves her sister disfigured. Nora Zehetner (Brick) stars. Troy Craig Poon (Better Luck Tomorrow) is producing with Sean Covel and Chris Wyatt, both of whom worked on the MTV Films hit Napoleon Dynamite. The five-week shoot is scheduled to wrap July 27, and the finished product should hit theaters in 2006. Dustin Dinoff

Winnipeg: Population 436

Winnipeg – Columbia Pictures’ new dramatic thriller Population 436 from director Michelle MacLaren is using Winnipeg as the backdrop for Michael Kingston’s creepy script about a census-taker who travels to a town that has had the same population for 100 years. He discovers this may be more than just a remarkable coincidence.

Jeremy Sisto (May, Six Feet Under) stars along with Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst. Gavin Polone is producing. Filming began in mid-June and wraps later this month. Distrib Sony Pictures has not yet announced a release date. Dustin Dinoff