FILMPORT STUDIO A GO IN TORONTO

Variety.com has reported that a major film studio in Toronto has the green light. Phase one of Filmport will include six soundstages, one of them a 45,000 square-foot megastage, North America's biggest constructed specifically for its purpose, and production office and support facilities totaling 232,000 square feet.

A new ruling by the Ontario Municipal Board has cleared the way for construction to begin on a long-awaited megastudio for the city.

When complete, the complex is expected to house more than a dozen soundstages totaling 550,000 square feet of production space. Filmport is part of a larger plan to revitalize Toronto's dilapidated port district. You can read more here.

ROGER CORMAN DVD SERIES

The first wave of Roger Corman DVD releases hits stores on Dec. 13 and will include Death Race 2000, with a commentary Corman recorded with star Mary Woronov (Calamity Jane). Corman also hosted a new featurette on the DVD called Playing the Game: Looking Back at Death Race 2000, which includes interviews with actor Martin Kove, writer Charles Griffith and others.

Disney owns the rights to most of Corman’s movies and plans to distribute them via Buena Vista Home Entertainment throughout the next few years, with director’s commentary. The first installment of the Corman collection will also include "Rock 'N' Roll High School," "Big Bad Mama" and "DinoCroc."

B-movie king Roger Corman told SCI FI Wire that he will record commentaries for dozens of his movies including Brain Dead, Big Doll House, School Spirit, Welcome to Planet Earth and Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold. Corman said he won't do a lot of preparation for the commentaries, he says he likes to do them fresh.

BIG BOSOMS ON THE BIG SCREEN?

"Big Bosoms and Square Jaws: The Biography of Russ Meyer, King of the Sex Film," the book by Jimmy McDonough has been optioned for a film. The Dark Horizon site notes that director/producer Rob Cohen ("Fast and the Furious", "Stealth") and former Revolution Studios player Todd Garner have picked up the rights for Cohen to direct.

Meyer, who died in September 2004 at the age of 82, was the infamous director/writer/producer of sexploitation romps such as "The Immoral Mr. Teas", "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!", and the 1970 cult classic "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls", written by that Ebert guy.

Cohen had been in charge of recutting Beyond the Valley of the Dolls when he was a 23-year-old studio flunky.

DreamWorks SKG Bought Out

DreamWorks SGK is being sold to Paramount Pictures, reports the Wall Street Journal. Buying the DreamWorks studio, formed by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, almost doubles Paramount's slate of films for 2006 and would add a library of 60 movies. Paramount may also get distribution rights to films from DreamWorks Animation SKG (producers of Shrek), which is a separate company.

Other film news: An article in USAToday says we can look forward to more ads on the big screen. According to forecasters money spent on in-theater ads increased by 18% this year to $400 million and likely will go up by about 15% each year through 2008.