In a surprising move, Andy Sykes, former VP sales and marketing at Toybox, has left the company, which was purchased earlier this year by Technicolor, for chief rival Deluxe. Sykes is Deluxe’s new VP business development, a role he has been serving since early September, although the shop did not officially announce it until six weeks later.

Famous Players thinks there could be an upside to the NHL strike, and is hitting up the sponsors of Hockey Night in Canada and other shinny shows that are now on hold to buy ad time in its theaters, hoping to scoop the unused ad dollars.

Broadcasters and cable companies are again locking horns over the question of U.S. specialty channels – arguing in recent submissions to the CRTC that a plan to insert more Canadian ads on channels such as CNN, A&E and TLC is either necessary for cablers to stay competitive, or, conversely, would undermine long-held rules regarding local and Canadian content.

Cannes, France: Record numbers streamed to MIPCOM 2004, the international TV market celebrating its 20th year in Cannes, France Oct. 4-8, and Canada was well represented with a record 205 companies attending the market, including a best-ever 93 participating in the Telefilm Canada Pavilion.

Maria Topalovich, Debbie Travis and Diane Schwalm were on top of their games this year, each taking a 2004 Crystal Award from Women in Film and Television – Toronto. Topalovich, president and CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, scored the outstanding achievement award; decorating host Travis won for creative excellence; and Schwalm, SVP of advertising and publicity at Warner Bros. Canada, got the nod for the Phyllis Switzer mentorship. The awards will be formally presented at luncheon on Nov 17.

The Oct. 12 episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation on CTV, which approached the difficult youth issues of bullying and school shootings, attracted just under a million viewers, making it the most-watched episode in the series’ four-year history, according to BBM data.

A big marketing push towards a small number of screens added up to very strong numbers for Being Julia, which during its Oct. 15 opening weekend scored $21,000 at a single theater in Toronto and another US$122,000 from south of the border, for a per-screen average of US$13,500, setting the stage for a widening release in both countries.

The dramatic series Fortier and Grande Ourse lead all nominees going into the 19th Prix Gemeaux, celebrating the best in Quebec television. Both shows received 15 noms, as finalists were announced at a press conference in Montreal on Oct. 14 by the Quebec branch of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

Vancouver: The biggest Vancouver International Film Festival to date also made the most money – passing the $1-million mark in revenue for the first time in its 23-year history, thanks in part to a record 537 screenings of 373 films, including seven world premieres.

Top talent hawks TIFF

It’s been a busy year so far at the Canadian Television Fund, so much so that applications are no longer being accepted for English-language development support at Telefilm Canada’s offices in the West, Ontario, Nunavut or Quebec.

Vancouver: The future is brightening for B.C. television series production and it’s coming from the past. Producers Kirk Shaw and James Shavick begin production Nov. 8 on Young Blades, described as a next generation of Musketeers set in 17th century Paris.
The 22 hours will air on CHUM in Canada and PAX TV in the U.S. Sony owns the foreign rights to the six-out-of-10 show.