Experimental filmmaker R. Bruce Elder is among the winners of the Governor General’s arts awards

Licensing firm m4e has picked up the German-language rights to the Nerd Corps series

The City of Toronto and Ontario Media Development Corporation recently trumpeted the arrival of The Incredible Hulk, the Marvel Studios blockbuster shooting for four months in Ontario starting this summer.

Diversity is frequently preached as a wise philosophy for forward-looking Canadian TV enterprises – and it is also the mandate of a proposed digital service with a licence application that is – controversially – being considered by the CRTC.

The trials and tribulations of HD production weighed on the minds of more than 150 independent producers, broadcasters, filmmakers, editors and business analysts who compared notes at the Playback Production Innovations Forum, held March 8 in Toronto.

Labor trouble with ACTRA, IATSE and the AQTIS scared Hollywood movies that were looking to shoot this spring away from much of Canada, though recent settlements and the arrival of big spenders like The Incredible Hulk (in Toronto) and The Mummy 3 (in Montreal) make the summer look more promising. So we ask:

* Gemini- and Emmy-winner Scott Moore, the former head of production at Rogers Sportsnet, is the new executive director of CBC Sports, replacing Nancy Lee.

* TVOntario has picked up the second season of the preschooler Hi-5 (45 x 30) and the live-action The Shak (70 x 60) from Southern Star International.

I read with a huge amount of interest Marcus Robinson’s article ‘Where are our screenwriting stars?’ in the March 5 edition of Playback – and was immediately prompted to write to you. As a struggling Canadian writer, I wholeheartedly agree with Robinson’s position about the sorry state of Canadian film. To actually look at the figures in black and white gives one pause.

* Jeff Sagansky owns part of Peace Arch Entertainment, not Peace Point Entertainment, as written in a story in the March 5 issue.

Zombie comedy grosses in the low 100s, despite multimillion-dollar push. TVA Films boss remains ‘confident’ in picture and the power of word of mouth