‘She’s been, for years, what all the young production house producers want to be – the perfect producer.’

Director Bill Irish seems unable to say enough about Elaine Miike.

In fact, there’s nothing but accolades and outpourings of respect for Miike, this year’s recipient of the Fritz Spiess Award. Presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of commercial production, the judges – all former winners – agree that Miike is the embodiment of ‘calm, cool and collected.’ Also ‘beautiful,’ ‘gracious,’ ‘strong’ and ‘perceptive.’

But the woman at the receiving end of all this praise is someone who, according to her colleagues, is least likely to think she deserves it. Her talent and competency are shadowed only by her modesty. Longtime friend Lesley Parrott, vp director of creative and broadcast services at MacLaren McCann, expects her to be ‘stunned.’

‘I think she’ll just sit there and not even recognize they’re calling her name.’

Miike’s career began in the ’60s with stints at tdf, Rabko Productions, The Partners’ Film Company and Circle Productions, but her freelance career has taken her into almost every major production house in Toronto including Kessler Irish Films, Derek Van Lint and Associates (now com.bat), Imported Artists, Avion Films, The Players Film Company and Radke Films.

Irish, a longtime collaborator with Miike, says her presence on his shoots over the past 15 to 20 years has always been a comfort to him.

‘If I knew Elaine was going to be on my shoot, I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew everything would be calm, quiet and ego-free. Instead of creating ruffles, she smoothes them out. She has a calming effect on the entire shoot.’

Parrott, who recalls fond memories of when she was a ‘baby agency producer’ and Miike a ‘baby production house producer,’ also feels compelled to mention Miike’s inability to become flustered.

‘People talk about a producer being seamless, and she truly is seamless. She can deal with a variety of temperaments like no one else, and she’s always right on the money. When she’s on a job, the agency and the director never think twice about it being done well and on time.’

On a more personal level, her many admirers comment that her perpetually black wardrobe adds to her image of a calm, competent woman with, as Parrott puts it, ‘impeccable taste and finesse.’

But not without humor. Partners’ Nancy Lee, who describes Miike as a ‘close, close friend,’ says she’s been known to dabble in poker, enjoys a j&b after work, and loves to laugh.

Parrott also says she admires Miike’s ability to find the quirks in people. ‘She has a wicked sense of humor and she sums people up so quickly. She sees exactly what makes people tick, and in a most humorous light.’

But the overall impression of Miike is one of the consummate professional. As Irish says, ‘She frees you up to do your work, whereas many producers don’t do that.

‘Ego-free, emotion-free and panic-free shoots. When you work with Elaine Miike you know she’ll put together the smoothest team and create the best working environment possible. As a director, you usually have your own panics to deal with’