I am on my own with the biggest Avanti project to date. May 1999 CBC signs on with a letter of commitment. June 1999 I take a month off to be with my wife, Sharon, whose cancer is turning for the worse. Laura Bryans joins Avanti as associate producer, responsible for funding applications, finance plans, marketing proposals etc. They are still supportive.
Negotiations begin on the transfer of rights, option extensions and so forth.
The feeling is that we have a great project at our fingertips. A very complex and arduous application to the Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund is denied, because the project is too big for their consideration, even though it fits their mandate for material with potential for distribution to schools and other non-theatrical audiences. December 1999 Alternate funding is sought. Few are responsive. We have to convince them that this TV show is very different from the live show that many helped to fund.