From Ottawa-based MTR Entertainment, the makers of The Tom Green Show and Buzz (The Comedy Network), comes another outrageous series, Celebrity Pets, hosted by – ready for this one? – Marlen Cowpland and her Maltese, Bunny.

The 13-part, half-hour series, set for broadcast on ctv in the fall and soon after on the yet-to-be-launched, 24-hour specialty Talktv, will profile two celebrities an episode in their homes and other settings in Toronto, New York and l.a.

‘All our shows are reality-based, so we go where the action is,’ says producer/creator Marilyn Read, who explains that Bunny Cowpland will act as the series’ commentator, giving the animal’s point of view with the help of a voiceover.

Ray Hagel (Tom Green) is directing the series, which will invite Canadian celebs – Dan Aykroyd, Michael J. Fox, Neve, Alanis, Pam, etc., along with a bevy of American stars – and their pets to be profiled.

Each half-hour, budgeted at roughly $40,000, will also feature actor Ian Bertrand in a three-minute segment on interesting animal trends, like pet cemeteries, etc.

The idea for the series came to Read in a flash. While associate producer Brenda Robertson was in the midst of pitching Read a health show, ‘it just came to me,’ Read recalls. ‘The topic of Marlen Cowpland came up – she’s very visible in animal charities in Ottawa – and all of sudden I said, ‘I wanna do a pet show with Marlen Cowpland.”

Read, who’s become notorious for her outlandish ideas, could very well be on to the next biggest hit out of Canada. Cowpland, an Ivana Trump/Pamela Anderson-style hybrid, notorious for her barebacked dresses and nipple-sized gems, packs an extra punch with her sidekick Bunny, who will soon be known for her couture hair-jobs and Louis Vuitton handbags.

And in addition to all the bells and whistles, including an accompanying web site, 10% of the show’s net profits will be donated to Humane Societies throughout North America and guest celebrities will be asked to make a donation to an animal protection agency of their choice.

Jonathan Gross of vsc (Tom Green) will be handling home video distribution.

Principal photography begins in May and runs through to the end of September.

*CineNova finds Egyptian tombs, lost cities

While Toronto continues to heat up as a one of the film world’s locations of choice, for one because of its ability to morph into the likes of New York or pretty much any American city, CineNova Productions tends to stray far from home to capture real-life adventures, as they happen, where they happen.

As a Toronto-based producer of factual entertainment programming for the international marketplace, CineNova is headed to some remote spots in Egypt to shoot two of its next projects, currently in development.

Lost Cities, the fourth installment of CineNova’s underwater exploration series, features underwater archeologist Frank Goddio, a Jacques Cousteau type who explores the events surrounding the lost city of Alexandria. The one-hour special follows Goddio as he discovers lost remnants of the city, as well as vestiges of other lost cities along the Mediterranean.

CineNova principal Jane Armstrong is producing and codirecting with Christopher Rowley, and ceo David Lint is exec producing. Discovery Channel holds worldwide distribution rights.

Shooting begins on location in Egypt in late spring.

Another project taking the CineNova crew to remote parts of Egypt is King Tut’s Nurse, a coproduction with Georges Hoffman of Paris-based Aquarius Productions.

The one-hour special, presold to Discovery in the u.s. and France 3, follows scientist Dr. Alain Zivie as he uncovers the tomb of King Tut’s nurse. The prodco will head over to the site this summer when Zivie is expected to break into ‘the third level,’ where they expect to find the ancient mummy.

Armstrong is producing and directing, Lint is exec producing and CineNova holds Canadian distribution rights.

A third project in development is Journey to the Center of the Earth, a sci-fi special for Channel 4 in the u.k., Channel 4 International and The Learning Channel in the u.s.

The one-hour combines live interviews with a computer-generated journey into inner space. ‘It’s based on a simulated version of what you would experience if you were to move through all the layers of the earth to its core,’ says exec producer Lint.

Armstrong is producing and directing.

On the miniseries front, CineNova is in development with Medical Mysteries, a three-part, one-hour look at the social and medical implications of living in the worlds of dwarfs, obese people and transsexuals.

Presold to Discovery Canada, tlc, Discovery Health in the u.s. and itel in the u.k., which has distribution outside North America, the series will be shot in Canada and the u.s. this summer.

Armstrong is producing with CineNova’s vp of production, Ian McLeod, and Lint is exec producing. A director has yet to be named.

*High def, low budget

David Woods of David J. Woods Productions, traditionally a film service and rental house, makes his foray into exec producing with God Don’t Like Ugly, a low-budget, high-definition feature film.

Penned by the film’s producer/director Jiovanni Iacovielli, God Don’t Like Ugly is part whodunit, part character study, part documentary and part dark comedy that tells the story of a group of detectives and criminologists investigating the suicide of a prominent art dealer.

Woods is funding the whole project, budgeted at roughly $250,000, and is using his company’s newly purchased high-def equipment to make it, which he says will help keep costs down. With high-def, not only does he avoid the expense of equipment rental, there’s no cost for film or film processing and you don’t have to reload the camera every 10 minutes.

‘The purpose of this project is to show Toronto that this is the future technology and a viable technology, and we hope to be leaders in this area,’ says Woods.

It is also a calling card for first-time feature film director Iacovielli, who wrote the film more than five years ago with the intention of showcasing it on the festival circuit. Likewise, he’s hoping to premier it at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

In other efforts to keep the film viable under such a tight budget, Woods is in negotiations with actra for a Clip contract, which allows actors to work on a 100% deferral. The film has yet to cast, but calls for 12 actors, a bunch of whom will be trained in police skills by the Toronto Police College.

Meantime, God Don’t Like Ugly is set to go to camera next month in Toronto for a two-week shoot.

*More high-def with The Test

Also on the high-def scene comes The Test, a 40-minute film that follows a group of convicts who think they have won their freedom in a lottery. All they have to do is pass a test, which starts off with them being told to ‘be good boys’ in a bar where drinks are free and the women are beautiful and accessible.

Written, produced and directed by three brothers, Roy (codirector/cowriter), Warren (producer) and Jason Clute (codirector), on a $250,000 budget, The Test was shot over a seven-day period, wrapping April 1, with a cast of 37 and a crew of 36.

‘We never would have got this done with film, [the high-definition format] gave us our bacon,’ says Roy Clute, who cowrote the script with Colm Caffrey.

David J. Woods Productions supplied the camera gear for free. ‘[Woods] was impressed with what we were doing and it was a great test for him to see his equipment at work,’ says Roy Clute. In addition to supplying the necessary equipment, David Woods went even further beyond the call of duty by providing a high-def monitor and staying on the set from beginning to end.

Rod Roddenberry (Gene’s son) also provided a free hand as one of the film’s associate producers.

Now the short’s off to Calibre Digital Pictures in Toronto for the creation of its computerized visual effects.

And when it’s ready, Roy Clute says he and his brothers intend to shop the project around the festival circuit, starting with the Toronto International Film Festival.

*TNT shoots Second String in T.O.

Canadian ex-pat Gil Bellows may have been killed off Ally McBeal in less than a heartbeat last month, but his film career is heating up. Not only will he be seen in upcoming films Chasing Sleep and Beautiful Joe, he’s now back in his native Canada shooting the Turner Network Television original film Second String, in which he is costarring with film veteran Jon Voight, Richard T. Jones (Judging Amy) and Teri Polo (Meet the Parents).

Second String is a comedy drama about a bunch of bench warmers who make it to the Super Bowl after the Buffalo Bills’ entire offensive squad comes down with a serious case of food poisoning a week before playoffs. The film was written by Tom Flynn (Watch ii) and will be directed by Rob Lieberman (Mighty Ducks 3, Fire in the Sky). The shoot runs April 17 to May 27 in Toronto.

Rob Roe is producing and tnt’s Michael London is exec producing.

tnt is a subsidiary of Time Warner.