‘Nothing can continue if it doesn’t start with a good story,’ says the newest addition to The Players Film Company roster, director Jordan Toms. The story of Toms’ career will continue, indeed, at Players after spending a year and a half at Revolver Films.

The 30-year-old director is excited about his chance to shine on the Players roster and says the fit with those who work with and for the company is to his liking thus far.

‘Players expressed an interest in bringing in a young director – a local, Canadian guy – and they were showing a lot of enthusiasm,’ says Toms. ‘There is a young energetic vibe going on at the office and I think Philip Mellows [Players president] seemed quite dedicated in bringing me along from the point Revolver had brought me to.’

Toms says he is grateful to those at Revolver who helped to nurture his budding career. He began at Revolver as a key grip and left a director with a three-spot reel to his name: a psa called ‘Life’s Grate,’ a spec spot for the National Post and a Radio Shack ad that made it to air.

Of his place on Players’ roster, Toms offers: ‘I think I add to the continuation of what they seem to have started there, which is a roster of really talented and aggressively marketed young Canadians.’

Thanks in part to his past as a key grip, Toms is very clear on where his strengths as a director are. He says he excels in efficiency on set and finding the most interesting shots to be had, and also comes equipped with a respect for his crew.

‘I really believe in a collective energy and having really talented people around me,’ says Toms. ‘Because I came from a technical category, I know that people who work in film are artists and craftsmen among themselves, and because I respect that, I will always surround myself with the best people and have an innate trust of them to bring more to the project.’

*Johnson-Burnett opens on T.O.

Johnson-Burnett Studios, headquartered in New York City and Hollywood, recently opened a new production office in Toronto under manager Tania Smunchilla. Johnson-Burnett, which is known among American producers primarily as a production services company, brought on Smunchilla to set up and manage the Toronto office in February. She was given the challenging task of building the office from scratch.

‘There was absolutely nothing here for Johnson-Burnett so I had to go real estate shopping and find a place and then get the construction people in here and all of that,’ Smunchilla recalls. ‘It all came together at once, and everything is going smoothly, so far.’

She says the new office was created when Johnson-Burnett owner and chairman Biff Johnson noticed many of his clients were shooting more frequently in Canada.

‘Johnson-Burnett needed a place to service clients over the border,’ says Smunchilla. ‘They noticed they were losing a lot of business because people like to shoot up here for the sake of locations, especially, and the money obviously helps.’

Through service work in the u.s., Johnson-Burnett has amassed a large list of director and executive producer clients. Smunchilla will wear a sales representative’s hat when dealing with these clients, as Johnson-Burnett will be representing its roster in Canada. This is a unique initiative for the company, since it does not represent its clients for work in the u.s.

‘All of the clients we are servicing down there [in the States], we are not only servicing up here, we are also representing them, but on the Canadian side only,’ explains Smunchilla. ‘It is a little bit of expansion with the Canadian office and we are really excited about it.’

The Johnson-Burnett roster being repped out of the Toronto office includes American directors Bruce Van Dusen, John Alper, Greg Vernon, Henry Sandbank, David Sandbank, Joe Chapura, Jim Edwards, Eric Durst, Gary Lankford, and the director teams of Matt & Kyle and Berlinger & Sinofsky.

Also being repped in Canada are directors from the u.k.’s Park Village: Roger Woodburn, Peter Webb, Mick Rudman, Charles Stebbings, Omid Nooshin, Richard Dean and Bob Spiers. The company says it will soon announce the addition of 11 directors from The Film Business in Australia.

Johnson-Burnett does not rep any Canadian directors currently, but Smunchilla says she hopes to get a few Canucks on board when the time is right.

Smunchilla, who cut her production teeth in post-production at The Post Group and d.a.v.e., says she hopes in her new role at Johnson-Burnett to also promote the city’s post talent.

‘I also want to push for u.s. work on the post-production side to be done up here,’ she says. ‘We have some really great post-production talent in Canada and it is just a matter of time before the Americans know it.’

*Grime is a B.I.G. man

Derek Grime has joined B.I.G. Animation as creative director.

A 15-year veteran of the animation and visual effects industry, Grime has worked on the Thomas and The Magic Railroad feature film (an extension of the popular Thomas the Tank Engine children’s property) with Britt Allcroft. He has also worked for The Animation House, Kellogg’s Japan and on the Robaxacet spots through Toronto’s Red Rover.

*Partners’ helps the kids

In an effort to improve conditions for children at a small school in the tiny Peruvian village of Quinden, The Partners’ Film Company is holding a raffle for an all-inclusive trip for two to the Cannes International Advertising Festival, June 19-24. Tickets cost $50 and the prize is valued $17,000. Miss Christina McLean, age 5, will pluck the winning entry on June 6. For more information contact Justin Lang at (416) 869-3500.