‘He’s b-a-a-a-ck,’ says commercial director Christopher Gentile. He is, in fact, back – back at ltb, his old stomping grounds where he honed his craft. Now in his eighth year as a director, Gentile returns to ltb after a two-year tenure with the Players Film Company. When his contract with Players was about to end, he immediately called ltb executive producer (and old friend) Wayne Fenske.

‘He wanted to know if he could come home, as he put it,’ says Fenske.

Gentile’s specialty, Fenske confirms, is in the toy and kids advertising markets. A lot of his work can be seen throughout North America on just about any Saturday morning, when kids tune in to watch their favorite cartoons. Fenske says that is where Gentile appears happiest.

‘He enjoys working with kids and he enjoys working with special effects,’ says Fenske, who adds he also enjoys working on children’s product spots. ‘The toy business is one of the last frontiers where there is still some sort of action. In the bad old days there was always a big rush to get car commercials ready for the big day the tarps come off and the new models are introduced. The toy biz still has a bit of a buzz in getting stuff ready for Toy Fair (this year in February in New York).’

Confident in his talents, Gentile says he is ready to take on any type of spot, from emotionally charged commercials to effect heavy cg spots. ‘I have a pretty broad brush stroke,’ he says.

Gentile feels his reuniting with Fenske could mean big things for toy advertising. ‘We sort of have visions of taking over out there with international stuff, in the u.s. and overseas,’ says Gentile. ‘This is a really good opportunity for the two of us.’

‘Opportunity’ is a word often leaving Gentile’s mouth. He indicates the u.s. toy market has presented him with many opportunities and he is one Canadian director who does more work in the u.s. than at home.

‘I get a lot of calls now, mainly out of the u.s. to do mainly u.s. work, which is sad in some ways,’ Gentile admits, adding a positive to that is he believes the toy market is changing. ‘It’s becoming more global and more international. It’s opening up (so that) nobody really cares about where you are from, but more about what kind of work you do.’

Fenske confirms that although Gentile is a Canadian director working out of Toronto, a great majority of his upcoming ltb work will be coming in from the u.s. Fenske notes an interesting paradox around Gentile: ‘We can’t get him arrested in Toronto right now because everybody has to fly in an American.’