Who’s gone where? From where? And when? As the Revolving Doors spin, we put the spotlight on spot-makers on-the-move.

The search is over for Apple Box Productions: JJ Lyons is the new abp executive producer, filling the void left by Barb Walker, who left in the fall. Executive producer Clare ‘Cash’ Cashman says the search for the new exec was ‘really hard and painful.’

‘We had some really good candidates,’ says Cashman. ‘It was a combination of someone who had the production experience and who could walk in and could basically run with the ball here because there wouldn’t be a big ramp-up to the position. And also someone who has a great reputation and [who] agencies enjoy working with.’

Cashman says Lyons has a good relationship with many Canadian agencies, and has the practical experience needed to fill the post.

Lyons indicates he has somewhat mixed feelings about his jump to Apple Box.

He leaves behind a producer’s job at Toronto’s Maxx Productions and longtime colleague Harve Sherman. He says, however, the move fulfills a longtime career goal for himself, so when the opportunity presented itself, he lunged at it.

‘It was very hard to leave Harve Sherman,’ he says. ‘I’ve been with him for a long time, but it’s the evolution of me, moving on from a producer of eight years, to executive producer, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. Apple Box is a very cool, up-and-coming company. They have a great reputation and some great directors.’

The decision to bring in Lyons couldn’t have been more timely, as Cashman is about to have a baby and will be taking some time off to recuperate and enjoy the fruits of her labor. Cashman is quick to say, however, that Lyons will be very much in the picture even after she returns.

‘He is not filling in for me while I’m gone. He is here for good,’ she says.

Lyons, whose father was an agency producer for many years, grew up in the ad biz. He says his nearly 20 years of professional experience can only help the thriving company, which just ended one of its most successful and decorated years (abp director Randy Diplock placed number 19 on Campaign Magazine’s list of the top 20 most-awarded directors of 2000).

‘We’re on a really good roll right now at Apple Box,’ says Cashman. ‘We’ve had an awesome year and I am pretty positive that jj can bring in some fresh ideas. For me, to have to leave and for the company to keep going well, we had to find someone the agencies are going to be comfortable calling. With jj, [no-one would] hesitate to call him and have him quote a job, nor will the directors feel like they’ve been stranded. They’ll be well taken care of by him.’

*Maxx gets one, too

Ron Grittani has been named the new executive producer at Toronto’s Maxx Productions, reuniting him with former Rawi Sherman cohort Harve Sherman. The two are capitalizing on their more than 20-year professional relationship, and have generated a great deal of buzz within the industry since the news broke.

Grittani is no stranger to industry watchers. He started his career at Robert Lawrence Productions in Toronto in his mid-20s. He has helped put Canadian Talking Pictures, Take One, Schultz Productions (where he and Sherman first became acquainted), Rawi Sherman, Radke Films and Blink Pictures on the commercial production map. He then semi-retired, spending much of his time at his home in Alton, Ont., occasionally freelance producing for Industry Films, NewNew Films and Blink, until ‘boredom’ set in.

‘I live on a farm and you can only talk to cows for so long,’ says Grittani. ‘It just got too draggy living out there and this is in my blood. I had to come back.’

Grittani has been called a citizen of the universe, having worked, shot, and felt at home in several countries around the world. His connections in Europe and elsewhere, says Maxx honcho Sherman, are good enough reasons to bring his friend Grittani back into the fold, even without mention of their well-documented personal and professional history.

‘People are very excited to hear that we are together again, and they do know us from the many years that we spent together,’ says Sherman.

‘There are so many good people in the business that know us as a team,’ adds Grittani. ‘It’s like a marriage.’

Once word that Playback was writing an article about Grittani joining Maxx got out, many of those people Sherman mentioned were eager to share their views on Grittani. The best feedback came from freelance agency producer Carmella Prud’Homme, who offered, ‘What he doesn’t know about isn’t worth knowing.’

*Hackett helms for Directors

Michigan-based commercial director Dan Hackett has joined Toronto’s Directors Film Company for exclusive Canadian representation. Hackett, who was most recently repped on the north side of the border by Maxx Productions, says as his commercial work evolves, so must he.

‘I’ve sort of hit a new plateau with my work, for whatever reason,’ says Hackett. ‘I hit a new level and I really needed to make a change and have a refreshed approach.’

Directors’ executive producer Susi Patterson says the shop is equally excited to sign up Hackett, saying his impressive reel was the catalyst for an in-person meeting.

‘When I sat down with Dan and talked about some of the work, I was further impressed by how he came up with such clever solutions to situations,’ says Patterson. ‘I think the art direction and loads of experience made it a really nice package for me. Also, in conjunction with the rest of the people I have on the roster, it was a really nice fit to what already exists there.’

Hackett, a former agency executive creative director who was at one time a respected art director, says his strengths can be found in his versatility, with a collection of comedy, dialogue and very visual work found on his reel. He has directed spots for iti, Sprint, gm, Pier One and Budweiser, to name a few.

Hackett is represented in the u.s. by Avalon Films.

*Cuppa just got a little fuller

Just prior to what Cuppa Coffee Animation’s Adam Shaheen predicts will be one of his animation shop’s biggest years to date, the Toronto-based Cuppa has brought a pair of new staffers on board.

Hector Herrera has joined up as a Cuppa Coffee creative director. Herrera makes the jump from agency MacLaren McCann, where Shaheen says he did a lot of in-house animation for the agency.

‘He has a phenomenal background in print as well as tv,’ says Shaheen. ‘We were looking for someone with a ton of experience in print and tv. He and I share a passion for doing title sequences and we had a great experience working with [David] Cronenberg doing eXistenZ. So we have a few projects in the works that we will throw him on next year.’

The Mexico-born Herrera says he had been a fan of Cuppa’s work even before his move to Canada and is excited about the opportunity to work with Shaheen and the Cuppa clan.

The second new hire for Cuppa is Morghan Fortier, who was brought aboard as a producer. Having spent her career thus far at The Animation House, with her last job title being production manager, Fortier says she is pleased by this rather large step forward in her career.

‘I was very much attracted to the type of work they produce,’ she says. ‘Because The Animation House is very much the traditional style of animation with a little bit of stop motion, I like the idea of being able to work on so many different styles and techniques. To be able to go from live to traditional to cel animation – I don’t know where else I’d be able to get that, especially when it is all done in-house.’ *