Toronto-based Lenz Entertainment will be returning to its roots, rebuilding the commercial side of its music production business.

Jack Lenz, who had been involved in the spot production biz before moving into longer format work, says the new commercial initiative will be located in-house at Lenz on Toronto Street, and in addition to Lenz, will feature Pete Coulman, Richard Rodwell, Dutch Robinson, Douglas John Cameron and commercial production coordinator Danieli Nardi.

*Pecoraro in the fast lane

With the ever-lovable Jacques in the spotlight for capturing F1 glory, a documentary on the Villeneuve family will air on cbc’s Life and Times series Nov. 23, directed by Partners’ Sam Pecoraro. Villeneuve: A Legend, A Champion looks at dad Gilles’ rise to fame and untimely death in 1982 and the subsequent ascent of Jacques.

The project, produced by Peter Gentile, was shot over the summer in Montreal and Toronto as well as at events in locales including Italy, Monaco and London.

Pecoraro, a Formula 1 fan, hatched the plan for a doc, and with Gentile pitched the idea to the cbc. While the net was skittish, having never worked with the director and facing the series’ largest budget, the go-ahead was fortuitously given.

The project is now being re-edited for international sales and Gentile is talking to distributors. With F1 racing seen in 202 countries and garnering a viewership of about 700 million for each race, it looks good.

*Halloween treats

The Halloween/harvest season was kept in the finest tradition by the industry with a number of raucous shindigs.

Toronto-hq’d Avion’s party once again was a jampacked affair, with much shaking of a collective leg to the tunes of The Lincolns. With invites a precious and coveted commodity, security was picky at the door, but the hospitality fairly overflowed with pasta bar and refreshment stands strategically and generously placed throughout the shop.

The Magic Halloween party, which this year incorporated the whole 60 Sumach building, featured a fire-eater/greeter (Wal-Mart take note), bands everywhere and a bratwurst wagon among other diversions.

The costume competition was captured by Partners’ Ross McLean, who made an impromptu appearance as a masked wrestler, complete with purple and green leotards and cape.

*Comings and goings

Director Christopher Gentile has joined Toronto’s Players Film Company after three years at Toronto-based LTB Productions. Gentile, who is also repped in the u.s. by Firehouse Films, has accumulated a broad body of work and is looking to continue pursuing story-centric, edgy spots.

After a brief stint at Toronto’s Kessler Irish Films, director Charlie Carlson has resumed his spot on the roster at Imported Artists, located in the same city.

Carlson, repped exclusively in Canada by Imported Artists, is based out of New York. His Canadian director credits include Eaton’s, Bell Canada and Canada Trust.

Jeanine Sinopoli has joined Toronto’s Head Gear Animation as exec producer. Sinopoli, formerly of The Animation House, Toronto, has about 10 years’ experience in u.s. and Canadian commercials.

Producer Diana D’Amelio joins Toronto shop Mad Dog Digital, and although new to the Flame, she brings a wealth of television experience to the table including work on TMNews, MediaTelevision and Linehan.

*Big is better

After losing most of his key talent at Metro Films, Joe Ruff, executive producer and president of the late Toronto-based Partners’ affiliate, has joined forces with Dave Greenham as a partner in The Big Film Company.

Rather than trying to rebuild his company, Ruff felt it made more sense to merge and work with ‘Big’ than compete against them, and while it has only been official for a week, Ruff says he already has four jobs lined up, nothing he’ll discuss just yet.

*Name change

For the sake of name simplification Holmes Donin Alloul will hereinafter be known as The Holmes Partnership. Peter Holmes, ceo and creative director, and Gilbert Alloul, president, remain principals of the shop.

*Equipment exploration

With the announcement that Sony will be getting out of 3/4′ machines, Partners’ may make a move to Panasonic’s dvcpro format. Traditionally a Sony shop, Partners’ had planned to go digital when the company upgraded its Avids and is investigating a switch to dvcpro as a cost-effective alternative.