In the battle for Canadian eyeballs, CTV has conquered primetime for five consecutive years. The network finished the 2006/07 season with eight of Canada’s top-10 programs, and 16 of the top-20 shows.

The headline-grabbing scandals of many of today’s young celebrities are the inspiration for a new feature set to shoot in Alberta. Cat’s Cradle, produced by Skyline Motion Pictures of Edmonton, is the story of a young, wholesome pop star named Cat who becomes a notorious pop tart.

The exchange rate has long been one of the Canadian service industry’s most attractive calling cards to Hollywood producers. But with the loonie hovering at US$0.94 on June 19 – nearing a 30-year high – that incentive has been severely diminished. And it looks to get worse, with economic predictions suggesting the Canadian dollar will be on par with the greenback by the end of the year.

Low-budget tale of pop star turned pop tart set to shoot outside Edmonton

Calgary and Manitoba are both in line to host shooting for the big-budget Universal western Boone’s Lick, starring Tom Hanks and Julianne Moore

Kari Skogland is taking the leap from classic Canadian drama to international political thriller. The director – whose latest feature is the adaptation of Margaret Laurence’s novel The Stone Angel – will shoot her next movie, Fifty Dead Men Walking, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, this fall.

The director of the forthcoming The Stone Angel is in final talks to sign Ben Kingsley in the lead of her IRA drama Fifty Dead Men Walking

Sixtieth edition of the long-running Prairie festival opens with a visit from Allan King and Gordon Pinsent at a screening of Who Has Seen the Wind

Spurred on by a bigger appetite for programming among U.S. cable broadcasters and domestic specialty channels – and a healthier international marketplace overall – Canadian production is continuing the rebound hinted at after 2005.

While American network interest in TV movies has waned in recent years, Canadian producers are benefiting from the huge demand for MOWs from U.S. cable casters.

Canadian prodcos are growing on the strength of continued strong demand for lifestyle programming, both domestically and abroad.