Former Skyvision executives Howard Rosen and Albert Botha have emerged to form Roadhouse Productions, a new Toronto-based service and production company promising forays into a varied array of film and tv genres for service and/or production.

Rosen is cochairman and ceo and ex The Partners’ Film Company/Skyvision production manager. Botha is president of the new company that also owns a service outfit in Barbados, Coconut Productions.

Botha and fellow Roadhouse staffer David Rider are presently involved in a facilitating deal on the Paramount/Showtime cable features The Naked City, currently shooting in Toronto. Though The Naked City films will not be classified as official Roadhouse productions, Rosen says the company is in the process of completing some long-term equipment and post-production facility deals to strengthen Roadhouse’s service capabilities.

On the production side, Roadhouse has just completed a $200,000 music special with Lakefield, Ont. family music group Leahy. Produced in conjunction with the Celtic rock band’s record label emi, Rosen says the half-hour special will be broadcast on pbs and that negotiations with Canadian country music broadcaster cmt look promising.

With the Leahy special as a base, Rosen says the company will likely produce 10 more half-hour music specials that will take the form of a series. Michael Watt and kiss fm morning man Cliff Dumas head Roadhouse’s music and variety division.

Roadhouse sister company Coconut has been operating as a service company on the Caribbean island of Barbados since September. Coconut has already serviced an Avion Films Shoppers Drug Mart spot featuring Santa Clause and his elves by the beach.

‘There’s a lot of pent-up production in Barbados,’ says Rosen, who is negotiating projects for Coconut as the company is fully stocked with grip and camera equipment.

Back at the Toronto Roadhouse, a family/action/adventure/mystery series, The Internet Band, is in the final pitching stage.

Feature film is also a potential medium for Roadhouse, as Rosen ‘in a past life’ mentored under Independent Pictures’ (now Mission Pictures) Peter O’Brian.

‘Feature film is still in the blood,’ says Rosen, ‘and I had that first lobotomy that has helped considerably, so I don’t feel the pain of features any more.’