J.J. Lyons has landed at Toronto’s LTB Productions and has taken on the familiar role of executive producer, working alongside LTB head Wayne Fenske.

‘Wayne has been around for a lot of years,’ says Lyons. ‘He’s a good guy and a good professional. I couldn’t find anybody that had anything bad to say about Wayne and how he operates. He said, ‘Come in and put your spin on the place,’ and it was love at first sight.’

As reported in OTS, Lyons left The Park City Film Company earlier this year. His arrival at LTB represents even more change at the spot shop. In addition to his joining, there are changes underway within the sales staff and several directors have recently entered repping agreements with LTB, many of whom signed on based partially on the fact that Lyons is now there. These directors include Americans Barry Meier, Denis Manarchy, Steve Farr, Spencer Antle, Barry Polterman and Wyre Martin, and Toronto-based helmer Jeff Butler.

‘These are some directors that I feel enjoy working with me, and I enjoy working with them,’ says Lyons. ‘They are personal friends as well as [directors I have] good working arrangements with. It wasn’t anything I went out looking for because there is a very nice roster of directors here, but something needed to be tweaked. Everyone likes to be a little busier in these times, so there were some guys that came over to complement the reel.’

LTB also recently signed an exclusive Canadian representation agreement with Santa Monica’s Area 51. Lyons and Fenske will now be repping Area 51 directors such as Craig Henderson, Scotty Bergstein, Jordan Brady, Wez Werrin and recent arrival Jayson Moyer.

‘Area 51 is, if not the hottest, one of the hottest and busiest shops in L.A.,’ says Lyons.

Ford, DNA get Steamed

Toronto’s Steam Films has hired industry vet Dan Ford as executive producer. Ford, who has spent the bulk of his career within The Partners’ Film Company and its group of production houses, joins Jennifer Sykes on the Steam executive after a brief stay as EP at LTB Productions. Sykes says she is very pleased by Ford’s arrival.

‘He brings 20 years of production experience with him and has a solid reputation in the film community,’ she says. ‘He is committed to the creative process. He’s also a super funny guy.’

Another reason for Sykes’ and Steam’s excitement is the roster from L.A.’s DNA Ford brings with him. Steam now reps directors Liz Friedlander, Francis Lawrence, Marc Webb, Guy Ritchie, Nzingha Stewart, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Rocky Schenck and L’Wren Scott in Canada. The DNA roster is largely known for its prowess in music videos.

‘We’ve had a lot of requests for music video directors as of late, so it makes sense,’ says Sykes. ‘What I like about many of the DNA directors is although they are really well known for their high-profile videos, they also have strong commercial work on their reels.’

Don’t read too much into the acquisition, however. Sykes says Steam isn’t changing its mandate from commercials.

‘We have facilitated some music videos here and have had good experiences,’ she says. ‘Right now we’re not focused on developing a music video division, but it’s something we have thought about.’

Blais Rolling into T.O. with new rep deal

Toronto’s Rolling-C-Productions has entered into a representation agreement with Montreal animation mainstay Productions Pascal Blais. According to Rolling-C head Michael Crabtree (formerly of The Animation House), he will act as a Toronto-based executive producer for PPB, representing all of its animators/directors in the Toronto market.

‘I thought if I was going to make any sort of impact on the Toronto animation market, I would have to have high-caliber animators,’ says Crabtree. ‘I’m excited about the prospects because there is some really great talent to be utilized by the art directors, creative directors here in the Toronto agencies. If they feel the same way, the proof will be in the awarding of jobs.’

Crabtree will rep Cordell Barker, Alexandre Petrov, Todd Shaffer, Denis Roy, Eric Parizeau, Steffen Schaeffler, Cathy Joritz and Pascal Blais himself.

Conversely, PPB executive producer Howard Huxam will be representing Rolling-C directors Alexandre Iliach and Terry Godfrey in Montreal and its extended marketplace, which includes affiliates throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere. *

One more Hero

Toronto’s Hero Films has signed U.K. director John Kelly to an exclusive Canadian representation deal. According to Hero, Kelly serves the car direction niche needed by the company. His heavily stylized reel includes several Jaguar spots, Adidas work, Guardian News, Cannandale Bicycles and more.

In other Hero news, Danielle Ariache will serve as interim executive producer for the shop while Chelsea Lee-Keenan is on maternity leave.