Commercials are on the back burner now for The Partners’ Film Company’s Bronwen Hughes, who signed on to direct Paramount Pictures’ $15 million production of Harriet The Spy this month.

Currently in the middle of preproduction, the film will begin a nine-week shoot, split between Toronto and New York, in October. Hughes had to make a choice between a handful of scripts and offers, but says the Harriet project was the material she felt closest to, despite harboring a great dislike for tomato sandwiches (any Harrietophile will explain).

The film will be a ‘very funky’ version of the book, says Hughes. ‘It will shatter the myth that little girls’ films are for wimps.’

Challenges include making Toronto’s residential area look like New York’s, creating spy sequences as intricate and daring as people remember them, and casting children who can be themselves in front of the camera, says Hughes. Casting lists are being made up now. The film is set for release at the end of June 1996.

Hughes’ deal with Paramount sealed the outcome of round two of the Sears account battle between L.T.B. Productions and Partners’, with ltb’s Greg Gold taking it for the second year. The deal was for three spots instead of four this year. Shooting wrapped in Toronto last week.

Gold went into the Sears shoot just off a month or so of shooting in St. Bart’s in the Caribbean and Prague, Czech Republic, where he was directing the new Claudia Schiffer exercise/beauty video. Not a bad way to spend the summer

New on the roster at ltb is C.B. Harding, a Portland, Oregon-based director who has never been represented in Canada before.

Partners’ D-Day

The never-ending story may reach some kind of conclusion by Aug. 15. At this point, The Partners’ Film Company/Skyvision saga will work itself out in one of three ways: either Partners’ and Skyvision will leave together and form a joint company, Partners’ will go out by itself, or Don McLean will walk away from the company. Sources say Labatt/Interbrew is being given until the middle of next month to accept an offer.

Although Skyvision is technically still in the equation, interest in the company is reportedly waning. The u.s. backer who was once part of the deal is having second thoughts and may or may not be part of the group. Without this American interest (and his connections to the film industry), no one has the same enthusiasm for Skyvision, and the split from the mother corporation will likely be two different deals, says the source.

In other Partners’ news, effective Aug. 1, Third Floor Editing will cease to be a division of Partners’, which financed the setup of the post company starring editor extraordinaire Richard Unruh.

At the in-house Partners’ post group, there is much talk of being set up in a separate company outside the confines of 53 Ontario Street. About two years ago, a group of post-production folk, including David Baxter, went to the Partners’ powers-that-be and asked to be split off so that they could bring in work from outside the company. The idea was rejected because Third Floor was up and about, but now that it’s gone, staff is reportedly waiting for word of new digs.

The editors will most likely be set up outside after this whole Labatt issue is settled, says McLean. ‘The feeling is, and I’m not sure they’re wrong, is that being in this building is hurting them from soliciting business from outside.’

At this point, who will head up or be a part of the operation hasn’t been decided, ‘but it will be high on the list when we reach an end with Labatt,’ says McLean.

Tourism hot spot

Vickers and Benson may be taking a little heat after awarding the $1.4 million pool for Federal Tourism to American director Peter Goldschmidt, represented by Radke Films in Canada.

v&b awarded the campaign to New York-based Goldschmidt after a lot of backing and forthing between Jolly Rogers’ Steve Chase and Radke’s John Mastromonaco. Chase ended up taking a pool for Pontiac, an almost $1 million project, nine days, five spots, out of MacLaren McCann, airing after Labour Day. Mastromonaco went with Canadian Airlines, a $1.5 million job out of Chiat/Day.

The entire crew for the Tourism pool is Canadian, says Radke’s Tina Petridis. Goldschmidt is bringing no one up from the States. Although dop Paul Cameron is from the u.s., he was born in Montreal.

New additions

Andy Morahan, director of Highlander III: The Sorcerer and an acclaimed American music video director, is moving into directing commercials and has just signed on with The Players Film Company.

Morahan is behind an arm’s length list of music videos that tug the ’80s heartstrings, including singles by Wham!, Tears for Fears, Thompson Twins and Belinda Carlisle (what ever happened to?). More recent work includes the November Rain video for Guns N’ Roses, which won mtv nominations for best cinematography and best production design in 1993, and hbo specials for Michael Jackson and Elton John. Highlander III began shooting in 1994 and was released earlier this year.

Morahan came to Players last month from Figaro Films in Montreal along with executive producer Nina Valiquette, who worked at Figaro as a producer. Players is representing him Canada-wide. A deal with a u.s. commercial house is pending, says Valiquette.

Splitting his time between Los Angeles and London, Eng., Morahan is making commercial direction his focus. He has three under his belt to date: the Labatt Bleue brand campaign in Quebec through pnmd, launched last year and being rerun this year, the British Post Office through McCann Erickson, London, and Boheme’s Eau de Jeune perfume through RSG Europe.

In other movings-about, Henry Holtzman, a high-end comedy director based in New York and formerly with Industrial Artists, has defected from Partners’ to Avion Films for Canadian representation.

Baby boom

Chris Wallace, president of TOPIX Computer Graphics and Animation, and his wife Pauline are the parents of new twin boys. Christopher and Colin, six pounds and seven pounds respectively, are both incredibly healthy. ‘Whether or not we survive it is another story,’ says Wallace.