Pass the milk: Hello again, misfits and mini-smacks. Can’t fool Ricketts. I know that beneath your sugary frosting you’re filled with whole-wheat goodness. I know you’re a source of seven essential nutrients. And I’ll tell ya – if I could eat…

The 2001 Bessie Awards will be handed out May 24 at the Sheridan Hotel in Toronto. Among Canada’s top prizes for commercial production, Bessie is celebrating its 38th year after a huge show last year that saw ads for Lever Pond’s…

Avion Films executive producer Andria Minott produced the lcbo stills/live-action spots reported on in the Jan. 8 of On The Spot….

Montreal: Telescene Film Group and Corporation CineGroupe have announced an agreement to form a joint-venture development, production and distribution company for live-action programming. The still-to-be-named company will be based in Montreal with offices in Los Angeles, with 80% of the ownership…

Montreal: The 16-month-old crisis at Cinar Corp. lurched a step forward last week as management prepared to release new and revised financial reporting information for periods covering fiscal 1997 through to May 31, 2000, and announced it had begun legal proceedings…

Twenty-five years is a long time in any line of work, but for a commercial director it is an eternity. Director Alan Marr is celebrating his first quarter century as a director with a significant move – from Toronto production house…

Park City, UT: Unburdened by the swarms of dot.com companies that plagued the 2000 festival, a quieter, gentler Sundance unfolded this year, and with it, a small selection of Canadian films were screened. Four features and two shorts played to Park…

Established commercial directors are the subject of this regular feature. …

Someone once said the two hardest forces to work with in show business are animals and children. No one around these parts is too sure who coined that cliche, however, we are certain it was not director Larry August. …

Montreal: Vivendi Universal, through its Canadian operation Universal Studios Canada, has announced a five-year, $300-million investment in the Canadian film, new media and music industries….

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em….

Vancouver: Television anchor Kevin Newman will host Global Television’s new 30-minute national newscast from Vancouver’s bctv studios beginning in September….