Principal photography is underway in Toronto for Don McKellar's second film, Childstar through Toronto-based Rhombus Media.

Written by McKellar and Michael Goldbach, the comedy features an ensemble cast including McKellar, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mark Rendall Dave Foley, Gil Bellows, Brendan Fehr, Kristin Adams, Peter Paige, Noam Jenkins, Alan Thicke, Eric Stoltz and Michael Murphy. Producers are Niv Fichman and Daniel Iron of Rhombus and Jennifer Jonas.

Described as a wry social commentary, the film follows the travails of an extremely famous television childstar. Taylor Brandon Burns (Rendall) comes to Toronto, accompanied by his mother (Jason Leigh), to make a blockbuster action movie called 'The First Son' where he will play the son of the US president.

But in the middle of the shoot, Taylor has a crisis of confidence, only to be saved by his production driver, who just happens to be a struggling Toronto indie filmmaker (McKellar).

"Taylor Brandon Burns, the central character in Childstar, represents the American pop-culture monster let loose in Canada. This seems to be a particularly relevant moment for such an exploration," said McKellar in a statement.

The film shoots until Dec. 15 in Toronto. TVA Films will distribute in Canada in late 2004. Foreign sales will be handled by Rhombus International.