MOVES

• Leonard Asper has resigned as president and CEO of Canwest Global Communications – relinquishing his duties atop the troubled media giant to ‘avoid any concerns regarding potential conflicts of interest.’ Calgary-based Shaw Communications last month inked a deal to grab control of Canwest’s broadcasting assets.

• Michael Ghent is now VP of factual entertainment at Make Believe Media (The Devil You Know) in Vancouver, building on his professional history with CEO Lynn Booth.

• John Harding is the new secretary general of the North American Broadcasters Association, following its AGM in Toronto. He was previously NABA’s executive director.

SIGNINGS

• Adrien Brody is set to appear in the psychological thriller Wrecked, according to B.C.-based Independent Edge Films. The Pianist and Splice star plays a man struggling to survive after his car crashes into a ravine, working under first-time director Michael Greenspan.

• Alex House has taken the title role in Todd & The Book of Ultimate Evil – the series version of the horror/comic short by Craig David Wallace, now shooting in Winnipeg for Space. House, who covered similar ground while fronting Dark Orcale, is joined by Maggie Castle (Hank and Mike, The Time Traveler’s Wife), Bill Turnbull (The Jon Dore Television Show), Melanie Leishman and Chris Leavins. Wallace exec produces alongside Frantic Films’ Jamie Brown and Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen of Aircraft Pictures.

• Gene Simmons is in talks to appear in an untitled children’s show, which he and fellow Kiss bandmate Paul Stanley are exec producing with E1 Entertainment.

• The Quebec-born co-star of Passchendaele, Caroline Dhavernas, is starring in an ABC pilot produced by Shonda Rhimes, the woman behind Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. The 31-year-old actress is currently shooting Off the Map, a drama about three doctors who leave the U.S. to work in the South American jungle, according to Dhavernas’ Montreal-based agent Olivier Sirois of Opak Media. Her co-stars are Enrique Murciano (Without a Trace) and Martin Henderson (The Ring).

• Russell Peters is getting an expanded role in the sci-fi thriller Source Code. The U.S. movie by Duncan Jones (Moon) has handed additional scenes and dialogue to the celebrated comic who, as a result, has rescheduled the March stops of his current Green Card tour to May. Source Code is produced by Mark Gordon and Jordan Wynn of The Mark Gordon Company (10,000 BC) in L.A. and Philippe Rousselet (Lord of War) of Vendome Pictures. Its cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Vera Farmiga, Michelle Monaghan and Jeffrey Wright. Peters is repped by Creative Artists Agency in Beverly Hills.

• Last-minute additions to Score: A Hockey Musical’s eclectic cast include George Stroumboulopoulos and Evan Solomon – playing a hockey arena announcer and a TV news anchor, respectively. Strombo and Solomon join Olivia Newton-John, Nelly Furtado, Marc Jordan, Hawksley Workman and Dave Bidini in the musical film, scheduled to wrap earlier this month under director Michael McGowan (One Week, Saint Ralph). Stroumboulopoulos is repped by Edna Talent Management in Toronto and by Lance Klein at Endeavor.

• Music journalist Nardwuar the Human Serviette and fellow oddball Kayvon ‘The Superfan’ Zahedi have joined upstart music channel Aux. Nardwuar, a Vancouver native and frequent contributor to Chart magazine, is perhaps better known to TV audiences for his guerrilla-style, goofball interviews on MuchMusic. Zahedi hosts the popular website KanyonTV.