Our Work

When a consortium of major entertainment companies that produce syndicated television programming wanted to make a splash for the New York advertising community during Spring Upfront season, they turned once again to Empire Entertainment to produce their star-studded, signature event.The Syndicated Network Television Association, whose members include Buena Vista Television, Twentieth Century Television, Universal, Paramount and others, again chose Empire Entertainment to produce their main event, following a day of presentations of their 2004 programming including shows like That 70's Show, Family Feud and Ellen.

The event, which took place in the ballrooms & foyer of the New York Grand Hyatt, was designed as a hyper-modern lounge party with décor inspired by Philippe Stark and the Delano Hotel of South Beach. The 600 or so attendees came to drink, eat, dance, and mix & mingle with some of the hottest stars of syndicated television including Ellen Degeneres, Regis Philbin, Chris Matthews, Keifer Sutherland, Tony Danza and many others. Empire created an incredible visual feast in this space that was based on colors of chocolate, cream, caramel, flaming red & rich gold. Upon arrival, guests walked through a foyer that was set with lounge furniture and dessert and coffee stations. Once they stepped through the ballroom doors, an enormous wall of white curtain that served as a faux entrance, separated the room and created a backdrop for the large central island bar on the opposite side. Into this curtain were mounted a series of plasma monitors displaying the images of the featured television programs. Turning the corner into the room guests saw a seated area of custom square tables in draped gold organza linens topped with red & cream bunches of roses before an expansive buffet of sumptuous foods.

Behind this buffet, Empire created custom screen surrounds for three large vertical projection screens that fit the contours of the ballroom's columns. Onto these screens were projected the nine sponsor logos and the 27 promoted syndicated television programs. Empire designed a matrix projection that changed throughout the night and offered each of the nine syndicated networks and 27 shows equal time on the main screens. At the center of the room stood a huge, u-shaped white bar with a white frosted plexiglass surface that was lit in flaming red from underneath. This bar was adorned with modern white, angular stools and the rear of the bar was adorned with a towering floral display designed by Michael Kowalski which stood in front of a curtain of white onto which was projected an undulating flame lighting effect. The room also featured several comfortable seating areas of funky velvet and leather couches, club chairs, ottomans and coffee tables. The other end of the room featured two custom-designed stages positioned on either side of a large dance floor. On one stage Todd Londagin (of the Flying Neutrinos) and his all star jazz combo performed upbeat and sophisticated swing jazz, while on the other stage, stunning vocalist Toby Williams (of the band Cocktail Angst) sang duets with Todd from across the room. Each stage was surrounded by comfortable club style seating arrangements and a drink shelf that was built around the bar to allow guests to sit up close and drink while watching the band. For the final portion of the evening, DJ David Chang spun a groovy mix of disco, R&B, hip hop and dance music while dancers and guests flocked the dancefloor and mixed with the guests. All of the hosting companies were thrilled with the success of the event and most people, including many of the celebrities stayed until after the house lights were turned back on.

Empire is a leading producer of trade events and event marketing programs for the television, film, music and video gaming industries among many others.

Every year one of the world's largest software companies holds a major conference and event in Las Vegas to bring together managers & developers. One of the highlights of this conference is the final night event for which Empire provides the entertainment. In 2003 Empire delivered The Blues Brothers featuring Dan Aykroyd & Jim Belushi to play for this group at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. This year's event was held outside on the Brooklyn Bridge setting and inside the ESPN Zone at the New York, NY Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The event fell on a perfect moonless night on the Las Vegas strip and Empire delivered legendary, Grammy nominee Los Lobos to bring their high-energy fusion of Mexican and East Los Angeles-flavored rock and roll to this audience.

Empire constructed a large stage at one end of the Brooklyn Bridge with self climbing truss, supporting both front and rear lighting with moving light package and state-of-the-art DV-dosc line-array speaker system, providing clear audio coverage for the entire bridge without the need for cumbersome delay speakers.These state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems created an ideal concert experience for the audience of 1800 as well as the hundreds of onlookers on the Las Vegas strip itself. Los Lobos gave the audience a screaming set of their hits including "Don't Worry Baby," and their cover of Richie Valens "La Bamba," but also included other covers such as The Who's "My Generation," and Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl." The band's screaming guitars and hard-rocking beats and Spanish & English vocals had the international audience on their feet and they brought them back for three encores.

The combination of the music, the setting and the night was the perfect, high-energy highlight of an evening in Las Vegas. For this production Empire recommended and contracted Los Lobos and provided all production including outdoor staging, sound, lighting, backline, power distribution and logistics and onsite event management.

Empire is a leading provider of headline concert entertainment for corporate meetings & events. We are very skilled and experienced at matching the right talent to each audience and setting.

At a two-day long global summit for a multinational technology company's top business partners, Empire was engaged to identify, contract and produce a headline musical artist who would appeal to the demographics of the audience, and provide an intimate concert experience in the 530 seat recital hall at Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.Empire recommended and subsequently contracted the acclaimed headliner Lyle Lovett and his band of extraordinary musicians. Lyle was selected because of the intimate and quiet nature of his music which suited the acoustically live recital hall perfectly, the vast intelligence behind his music which would appeal to a very upscale and intelligent audience, and his dry humor which we knew would endear him to the audience and create a memorable and meaningful experience that would reflect well on our client, the host company of the conference. Lyle Lovett's performance achieved this and more as he won a standing ovation for playing music ranging in style from country and blues to gospel and bluegrass, and interspersing his songs with wry commentary that had the audience laughing throughout the show. Lyle's extraordinary musicianship and the amazing talent of his band which included drums, percussion, fiddle, steel guitar, electric guitar, upright bass, cello and piano, was not lost on the audience, members of which came from more than 20 countries. Since the show took place on St. Patrick's Day, Lyle wore a bright green suit for the occasion. After the show Lyle was gracious and warm at a meet & greet in the Founders Room, taking photos with each and every VIP attendee, telling more stories and signing more than 50 CDs as gifts to the clients.

For this project Empire handled the talent selection, contracting, logistics, and all staging, sound, lighting and electrical power, coordinating our efforts with the client's events logistics company and Benaroya Hall. The evening was a resounding success and everyone from Lyle Lovett and his band, to the clients, their partners and the staff at Benaroya Hall, were delighted to have been part of such an extraordinary evening.

In 1998, Empire Entertainment was called upon by buy-in-bulk supermarket chain BJ's Wholesale Club to secure entertainment for their General Managers Meeting. Upon learning that Empire is a full-service event production company, BJ's asked for a comprehensive production proposal for the next year's event. Finding Empire's bid to be more creative and cost-effective than the incumbent vendor, BJ's elected to have Empire produce the 1999 conference and every meeting since.

In March 2004, BJ's celebrated their 20th year in business at the Ft. Lauderdale Marriott Marina where Empire produced the company's biggest and best General Manager's Meeting yet. For the arrival night, Empire provided a Casino evening at the hotel to kick off the conference in a way that would permit the GM's to mingle and network with each other after having not seen each other since the previous year. As the meeting theme ("Celebrating 20 Years: Here's Looking at You BJ's") was based around the film Casablanca, Empire provided décor for the Casino, including an entrance to the room with ornate hardwood doors flanked by gorgeous teak wood panels. Decorative arched signage overhead read "Rick's Café American" in script lettering. Magnificent oversized gold frames (5.5' x 7') hosting authentic Casablanca movie posters created stunning vignettes behind the craps tables and roulette wheels around the room. Vintage black wrought iron street lamps and groupings of live Areca palms uplit with colored theatrical lighting completed the setting. And to top it off, the Casablanca DVD was played on the two enormous video screens that flanked the stage for the next day's general session.

Along with the video screens, Empire provided the sound, stage, lighting, and teleprompting for the session that included multimedia presentations by top executives of the company. Using decorative pipe and drape and uplighting, Empire masked the rear two-thirds of the stage so as to create a more dramatic effect when the headline entertainment for the conference performed later in the week. For the attendees' final night, Empire presented and produced singer/impressionist Gordie Brown as the evening's entertainment. Empire had requested that Gordie customize the performance for BJ's 20th Anniversary, and he obliged, doing an incredible impression of Humphrey Bogart stating the meeting theme "Here's Looking at You, BJ's". He also had the crowd in stitches, telling them "Congratulations on 20 great years BJ's. I understand that the competition is celebrating tonight, too. But they're in a hotel down the street with a balloon artist". Gordie received a standing ovation and the attendees were still talking about him when they came back to the ballroom the following afternoon for a surprise finalé performance by Kool & The Gang. After fantastic renditions of hits including "Ladies Night", "Jungle Boogie", "Get Down on It", and others, the band asked the GM's if they were ready to celebrate 20 great years of being in business. Receiving an enthusiastic response from the crowd, the band kicked into their classic party hit "Celebration". The crowd jumped to their feet, and many actually jumped to the stage to dance with the band. It was a perfect ending to a perfect celebration of 20 years in business.

Empire is a premier producer of corporate conferences and entertainment for special events. We seek to provide the kind of value to our clients that creates long term client loyalty and encourages them to look exclusively to Empire for any and all of their meeting & event needs. BJ's Wholesale Club is one of many public companies that has turned exclusively to Empire for their production and entertainment needs for five or more consecutive years.

Each Spring most of the major broadcast and cable networks come to New York City, the advertising capital of the world, to present the coming year's programming to a community of advertisers, media buyers and planners in an effort to promote advance advertising sales. Because these presentations take place prior to the production of programming which will air later in the year, these presentations are called Upfronts. Upfront season is a time when the world's most sophisticated marketers and media organizations compete with one another to out-wow the been-there, done-that advertising community. When National Geographic Channel, the nation's fastest-growing cable network decided to hold their first Upfront event, they knew they would have to do something bold, daring, innovative and reflective of their programming in order to stand out from the crowd. Naturally, they hired Empire Entertainment to help them achieve their goal.

Working directly with the National Geographic Channel's marketing and advertising sales teams, Empire worked to develop a highly interactive, participatory and stylish event that brought to life their 2004 positioning and slogan "Dare to Explore," and utilized the careful selection of yellow & red colors that derive recognition from the venerable National geographic Magazine yellow border. Empire created an astounding event at Gotham Hall in Midtown, NYC. The event featured a giant central yellow "Border Bar" built with surfaces that matched the logo colors, which were adorned with garnet red glasses in which were served 'Venom shots' and other unique cocktails created for the evening. Surrounding the bar were comfortable seating areas of ottomans and cocktail rounds, and around the perimeter of the room were a series of immersive activities, each one themed to a different National Geographic Channel series or special.

The shows / activities included Tycoon Toys in which guests enjoyed flights on jet fighter simulator, Techno Structures in which a team of master Lego builders had created towering buildings and replicas of the Rome Coliseum and the Pyramids of Giza and guests could make their own creations, Totally Wild in which guests interacted with animals ranging from a bear cub to albino python and falcons, Expeditions to the Edge in which guests played life & death trivial pursuit against the clock hosted by real paramedics, Seconds from Disaster at which guests experienced a virtual simulation of a helicopter crash, Pharaoh's Curse where guests took their photos in front of a digital backdrop of the Great Pyramids with a mummy and Pharaoh in costume, Inside the Secret service where guests honed their shooting skills on a laser targeting range and their hand to hand combat techniques with a real combat trainer to the Navy Seals, a Paratrooper station at which guests got to meet a real life Army paratrooper and try on parachutes and other gear, and Interpol Investigates at which guests got to try the latest spy gear, had their fingerprints taken by FBI experts and took a real time polygraph test with a specialist.Also mixing and mingling with the guests was a staff of real experts including medics, a race car driver, mountaineers, explorers, animal experts, NYPD and emergency workers and an assortment of other characters.

In addition to these activities, Empire provided outstanding catering in four large themed food stations representing the major regions of the world, Europe, Middle East/Africa, Asia and the Americas. Each station had an assortment of foods reflecting that region of the world and was decorated accordingly. A giant projection screen with a giant yellow border around it towered 24' above the event and served as a focal point for a presentation of NGC's amazing new programming and footage. And of course there was extraordinary lighting reminiscent of moving targeting lasers and an amazing, eclectic soundtrack that ranged from tribal drumming to techno beats.

When one of the world's largest and best-known software firms wants to reward its highest achievers, it flies them to Kauai for an Empire Entertainment-produced event. Once again, Empire secured disco fave KC and the Sunshine Band – top pick of the firm's CEO – and KC delivered: 300 sales representatives danced the night away. Empire's production team had an equally strong delivery. The site's ballroom was small, and not outfitted for an act of KCSB's proportions. But Empire sent a landing party months ahead of time to inspect the site, then had it specially equipped to handle a major touring act – full light show, speaker stacks, stage large enough to accommodate 15 players and 4 dancers up front, etc. The room was miraculously transformed: Somehow, the excitement of Madison Square Garden fit gracefully into a room just 60' by 120'. KC performed a high-energy 75 minute set rife with hits including "That's the Way I like It", "Shake, Shake, Shake", "Get Down Tonight", "Give it Up", and "Boogie Shoes". The afternoon before the show, Empire leveraged its warm relationship with KCSB to persuade the reclusive Harry "KC" Casey to "drop by" and enjoy beverages at a cocktail party called by the firm's CEO. KC mingled much to the attendee's delight, setting the tone for the concert and celebration that evening.

One of the most eagerly anticipated annual media events in New York is the exclusive Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue party, which is held each year in connection with the release of the best-selling Swimsuit issue. In 2004, Sports Illustrated turned to Empire to help them produce the party at the New York club Deep. The event featured appearances by all of the current issue models including international athlete Anna Kournikova, as well as many former models and cover girls including Vendela, Marissa Miller, Roshamba, Molly Sims, Daniela Pestova, Bridget Hall, and Cheryl Teigs. This incredible high-profile event was sponsored by Pontiac and Captain Morgan's Rum and was webcast live and taped for broadcast on the Spike TV network.

For this complex live event, Empire was engaged to handle most of the major elements including: catering (by Great Performances), decor, which included managing a hydraulic, mounted Pontiac GTO to food stations, step & repeat sponsor banners, model dressing rooms, staging, lighting, management of the complex audio issues and integration with club and broadcast systems, video projection, a network of plasma monitors placed throughout the club, and an elaborate red carpet installation.

Empire worked closely with Sports Illustrated creative, the club and other vendors to deliver a seamless event. Empire is a leading producer of press and media events as well as client events for media and communications industries looking to entertain a demanding audience of media buyers and planners.

Since 1999 Empire has been recommending and securing entertainment for Sears, Roebuck & Co.'s annual DealerFest conference. The conference draws more than 1,000 Sears Dealer Store owners and spouses each year. In past years, venues ranging from Reno and Nashville to New Orleans, Empire has presented performers including Legends In Concert, Neil Goldberg's Cirque, comedy-juggling duo the Raspyni Brothers, country music legends Roy Clark and Juice Newton, comedian Brian Regan, and even a seven foot tall walking and talking robot to welcome guests to the event. This year, Empire presented one of the most successful nights of entertainment yet, with up-and-coming comedian Jim Gaffigan opening the show, followed by a headline concert by classic headline rock act - America. Jim Gaffigan, who has appeared on Late Night with David Letterman an unprecedented eight times, and is now appearing as "Roy" on Fox's hit "That 70's Show", had the crowd in stitches with his jokes about Cinnabons being so big that he doesn't know whether to eat them or sit on them (his conclusion "hey....I can sit on it, AND eat it!").

With the crowd warmed up and in a good mood, America took the stage, exciting the crowd with timeless hits including "Sister Golden Hair", "Ventura Boulevard", and "Horse With No Name". The band cleverly dedicated "Lonely People" to the notoriously lonely Maytag repairman (Maytag was Sears' sponsor for the evening), and then, at the client's request, made a more serious dedication of their hit "I Need You" to a couple in the audience who were celebrating their 38th Wedding Anniversary. The couple slow-danced in front of the stage as the band played the song in their honor.When the band's set was over, the crowd jumped to its feet for a standing ovation and called the band back out for an encore. The band was as personable as could be at the meet and greet, taking photos with Sears VIP's and signing CD's and photos for them.

Empire is a leading resource to companies looking to program appropriate entertainment for a variety of different audiences.

Empire produced The Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown, at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, for a global software firm. The client needed tremendous bang for its buck as well as an electrifying act that would charge up the 1,200 company sales representatives as well as the company's executive team and CEO. Empire worked hard to deliver a living legend that was a perfect fit for the legendary House of Blues setting. The James Brown Revue exploded onto the stage and performed a high-energy 80 minute set with a band that featured two drummers, percussion, rhythm section, horns, dancers, backing vocalists and the one and only Godfather of Soul, James brown. James performed many of his time-tested funk & soul hits including "Sex Machine," "I Feel Good," and "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." The capacity audience danced throughout the show. Empire toiled behind the scenes to arrange an exceptionally large meet and greet with Mr. Brown and approximately 50 VIPs and worked with the House of Blues to ensure a smooth production and an exceptional experience for the attendees.

This show was the second time that Empire had produced James Brown for a corporate event so our familiarity with his operation and set-up benefited our client greatly. Empire is a leading producer of headline musical entertainment for classic corporate events and have produced a wide variety of living legends and master musicians from Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin to Al Green and James Brown.

Empire was engaged recently by the Starlight Children's Foundation, to produce headline singer / songwriter and Grammy Award-winner John Mayer to perform at a fundraising event for 400 people at Downtown New York's chic Capitale space. Working with the Starlight Foundation and CS Events, Empire consulted on the booking and contracting of John Mayer, and provided all production and stage management including staging, sound, lighting, electrical power & distribution, lighting design to include sponsor gobos, video projection and coordination with John Mayer, Capitale, the Foundation and other parties. John Mayer performed a 45-minute acoustic set, seated with his guitar, in which he performed all of his current hits including "Your Body is a Wonderland" along with a couple of new songs.

The enthusiastic audience gave John a standing ovation and he even brought them to their feet to dance at the end of his set. The evening also featured a silent auction, a live auction, a presentation by the event co-Chairs and a standup set by comedian Robert Schimmell, a cancer survivor and parent who lost a son to cancer. All told the smooth-running evening raised over $900,000 to support the work of the Starlight Children's Foundation and John Mayer's performance was a highlight of the evening.

Empire Entertainment is a leading source for headline talent and professional production services for fund raising events.

On Saturday, January 10, 2004, one of the coldest days of the year, Empire Entertainment again teamed up with National Geographic Channel and the Wildlife Conservation Society to present enrichment toys made from the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree to enrich the lives of zoo animals in a national press event for National Geographic Channel.This year the event was held at the Bronx Zoo, and despite the bitter cold, the press and public came out to watch as Dr. Mike Heithaus, host of National Geographic Channel's new show Crittercam, and Dr. Pat Thomas, curator of mammals at the Bronx Zoo, explained how the toys were prepared for the Siberian Tigers. Zoo-keepers baited a four inch disk cut from the trunk of the Christmas Tree with meat, deer hide and a spritz of Obsession (a scent tigers cannot resist). To the delight of the crowd, the Zoo's two female Siberian Tigers were drawn to their enrichment toy right away, and began stripping it of all the goodies the keepers had provided to the delight of the gathered audience.

Presentations continued throughout the day. The Bronx Zoo's Grizzly bears got the top twenty feet of the tree baited with bright red apples and drizzled with honey and molasses. The Asian Small Clawed Otters came out of the hollow logs where they were napping to play in the water with tree limbs filled with treats. One of the Zoo's newer residents, Biscuit, a Snow Leopard born in June of 2003, was a little leery of his enrichment toy, a disk just like the tigers'. But Dr. Mike and Dr. Thomas got the crowd to wait quietly while they whispered facts and anecdotes about Snow Leopards in the wild, and after a few minutes, Biscuit and his mother did come out to take a look.The Zoo's Polar Bears were presented with the final enrichment toy, a disk and branches baited with fish and meat, which they dug right into. Then the press and public were invited to the Zoo's cafeteria for cookies, hot cocoa and coffee, all compliments of National Geographic Channel.Empire worked with The National Geographic Channel, their PR firm, the Wildlife Conservation Societyt (operators of the Bronx and Central Park Zoos in New York City) and a variety of vendors and partners to deliver a smooth event. Empire provided event design and overall logistical management, supervised the mill process to get the world's most famous tree cut into toys that were safe for the animals, delivered staging, sound, lighting, video projection and placement of signage and branding as well as providing all staff to manage the day long event and the distribution of National Geographic Channel gift bags.

Empire is a leading producer of creative and innovative event marketing campaigns for corporations around the world.

When a major pharmaceutical company wants to inspire its sales team to surpass the previous year's record-breaking numbers, it calls on Empire Entertainment to provide the right entertainment to inspire and energize. For the main entertainment event at a multi-day sales conference for one of the world's largest drug makers, Empire delivered not one but two legendary disco acts to perform in the packed Grand Ballroom of the San Francisco Hilton: The Gap Band and KC & the Sunshine Band. The identity of the two acts was a surprise, and the attendees' astonishment at their good fortune fuelled a long night of exuberant dancing and a trip back to disco's finest era. As the bands played hits ranging from KC & The Sunshine Band's "That's The Way (I Like It)," "Shake Your Booty," "Get Down Tonight," and "Keep It Coming Love," to The Gap Band's "Get Up and Dance," and "You Dropped a Bomb on Me." By the end of the night, there wasn't a dry shirt in the house.

Empire also provided a motivational keynote speaker to rouse the audience during one of the daytime general sessions. 2,300 people sat in rapt attention as Irish Tenor, Ronan Tynan, movingly recounted his triumph over a childhood disability to become a medal-winning athlete, a physician, and a world-renowned singer. Empire worked with Dr. Tynan to ensure that he would include aspects of the conference's theme into his presentation. Following Dr. Tynan's speech, the audience swooned to his a cappella version of "God Bless America" before clamoring to their feet in a standing ovation. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Empire arranged private meet & greets, where guests were able to chat and take photographs, with both acts, as well as Ronan Tynan.

Empire is a full-service talent & speaker booking and production organization, capable of fulfilling all of our client's diverse needs for meetings and events.

In one of the most challenging international projects ever undertaken by our company, Empire was responsible for producing a Chinese New Year's Gala Celebration at The Manhattan center for the emerging, independent Mandarin language global television network, New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV). For this massive undertaking, Empire served as the overall executive producer of the program, managing every aspect of the production and working in collaboration with an enormous group of international volunteers who had never before been involved with a show of this nature or scale. The Global Gala was held in the historic Manhattan Center's Hammerstein Ballroom, built in 1912 by Oscar Hammerstein. The two-night program, for which tickets were marketed and sold to both the English-speaking and Mandarin speaking public, was completely sold out.

The program included an extraordinary cast of more than 400 performers in 20 different performing groups that came from as far away as Taiwan, Australia and Germany to participate in the show. Performers included The Ying Tang Dance Company (32 members), The NTD-TV Global Gala Chinese Instrument Ensemble (35 members), The National Taiwan University of Fine Arts Dance Company (16 members), The Juilliard String Quartet, The Peking Acrobats of China, Australia's Returning Group, pianist Oliver Folger Jia, American Ballet Theater performers Gennadi Saveliev and Irina Dvorovenko who performed the Grand Pas de Deux from the Nutcracker, Soprano singer Bai Xue, The New York Repertory Orchestra (56 members), Dancer Wei Yu, the European "I Have Come Here for You" Chorus (90 members), bass vocalist Christian Bischoff, soprano Min Jiang, Erhu master performer Xiaochun Qi accompanied by Changzi Ma, famous tenor Guimin Guan with 21 supporting dancers and the Lotus Arts Dance Ensemble (30 members). The evening was hosted by Mei Zhou and Adam Montanaro and featured many surprises including onstage remarks by New York United States Senator Charles Schumer.

Presenting a live program with over 400 performers presents many challenges in addition to the communications and cultural impediments of working with an English-speaking crew and a Mandarin speaking cast and client. Empire was able to seamlessly surmount these challenges to present a smooth running program that delighted both Chinese and American guests of all ages. Empire managed all production for the program, working with the world class Manhattan Center production team and many outside vendors & sponsors to deliver elements including a 56' wide X 48' deep stage with custom risers & sets, a series of 4 sets of legs & borders, proscenium opening, main curtain and projection/cyc surfaces that needed to be flown on old-fashioned line sets, flying set pieces and scenery, Pani image projections, elaborate sound and lighting installations to fulfill the varied needs of all of the acts, special effects including fog and hazing machines, confetti cannons and electrified scenery, in addition to a 7 camera video crew using jib crane and dolly tracks to cover the live performance for broadcast into millions of homes around the world. The resulting performances were a unprecedented spectacles of color, movement, action and entertainment of every kind. The audience responded with standing ovations and this important program helped to put NTD-TV on the map as a global alternative in the world of Chinese Broadcasting.

Empire is a leading producer of internationally oriented programming for clients from around the world. With longstanding experience and productive relationships with Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other Asian businesses & communities, Empire is the natural fit for international entertainment & media projects of this nature. Empire is a skilled manager of even the most complex and challenging international entertainment projects.

Empire produced the Mercedes-Benz Tri-State Dealers Holiday Party at the world-famous ABC Studios located at Time Square Studios, in New York City. For this high-end holiday event for Mercedes-Benz Tri-State dealers and spouses, Empire created & brought to life four different themes for the various areas and segments of the evening from arrival to departure. Empire transformed the studio entrance (which is essentially a loading dock), into a classy, warm red & white holiday celebration complete with white drapes, red carpet with gobos projections of the client logo, holiday messages and snowflakes. The flowers were done in varying shades of deep red, accented with multiple arrangements of white calla lillies. These arrangements were placed strategically to mask building features such as the security window and also to adorn the beautifully draped red velvet reception table accented with white votives.

Empire greeting staff, dressed in elegant evening gowns and matching red pashminas greeted guests and directed them to the coat check and into the party. The cocktail reception was based on an "Oraganic Seasonal" theme. All décor and lighting elements worked in harmony to present a winterberry red, forest green and natural wood environment. A band stage was flanked with evergreen Christmas trees that sparkled with green & red twinkle lights and the backdrop was a fiber optic curtain that shimmered with tiny lights that faded slowly from red to green and back. Empire also created a white dance floor that lit in theme colors and featured a bold projection of the Mercedes-Benz logo. Cocktail tables draped in cherry shimmer linens with forest green organza overlays were placed around the dance floor and the room. On top of each of these tables was specialty red & green votive lamps surrounded with floral wreath arrangements. Two bars were created that were draped in these linens, and each held beautiful, impressive seasonal arrangements. Also, arranged on top of the bars was carefully selected glassware in the theme colors. Groupings of furniture consisting of green & red ottomans, side tables with colored votives and area rugs were placed underneath hanging arrangements of Mistletoe and Holly. All catering staff wore green and red bow ties and cumber buns. Live entertainment was provided by Soul Solution who played a wonderful jazzy and holiday themed set, slowly building the music and increasing in size of the band throughout the cocktail party. The dinner portion of the evening was a themed "Winter Wonderland". Empire designed and hand picked all tabletop items including linens, chairs, cushions, chargers, plates, flatware, and crystal stemware, votives and serving trays. Impressive, towering centerpiece were also designed by Empire and featured white branches that held hanging crystal ornaments which reflected light on to the tabletop along with specialty lighting design that put a striking azure blue wash over each place setting.

Mercedes provided one of their newest vehicles, which Empire placed in a winter vignette, in which dozens of Christmas presents were displayed. Utilizing the studios' in house camera and screens, Mercedes-Benz Tri-State branding was displayed throughout the space. All service staff wore silver and blue bow ties and cumber buns. Live entertainment was comprised of a: piano, guitar and saxophone trio who played continuous background music. While guests enjoyed a spectacular meal & wines, selected by Empire and the client and served by Great Performances, Empire completely transformed the cocktail room into the evening's final theme - "Starry, Starry, Night." In this area the color scheme was black, dark blue and gold. All linens, stemware, flower arrangements and lighting elements were completely replaced to create a fresh environment for the final segment of the evening. New furnishings were added including a chaise lounge, couches, club chairs, ottomans, a new floor rug and side tables.

When the Los Angeles based event and catering company, Along Came Mary, was asked to produce the premiere party for the movie "Big Fish" in New York, they turned to Empire Entertainment to secure and manage the talent for the party. "Big Fish" is an allegorical motion picture directed by Tim Burton and starring Ewan McGregor, Danny DeVito and Albert Finney about the amazing life stories of one the characters. A central component of the motion picture is a series of scenes that take place in the mythical 'Calloway Circus' and involve a variety of sideshow performers associated with that circus. Empire was tasked by Along Came Mary to deliver performers that would complete a remarkable decorated environment and serve as ambient entertainment to entertain and amuse the guests.

Working from a series of production stills and background on the movie, and accessing Empire's extraordinary network of talent contacts, Empire was able to make this vision a reality by finding, booking and stage-managing a cast of 11 acts for the event. The talent included a barker to welcome the guests to the event, a hanging trapeze act, the Wau Wau Sisters (who closely resembled the Siamese twins depicted in the film), Flambeau, the Fire Eater, Ula the Rubber Girl (contortionist), Clark the Magnificent fire juggler, a strong man and his assistant, a stilt walker, a tarot card reader, a palm reader, a graphologist, and a crystal ball reader. All of these artists wore costumes that resembled those of the period depicted in the film and performed on satellite stages in front of painstakingly recreated sideshow backdrops. In front of the big top ring, Empire produced acoustic bluegrass band, Trail Mix, to perform upbeat music that tied together all of the circus elements and established the festive and eccentric mood for the event.

Along Came Mary transformed the cavernous Hammerstein Ballroom into a series of carefully crafted environments including a forest, the picture-perfect town of Spectre and, of course, the Calloway Circus.The event was attended by all of the film's stars including Ewan McGregor, Danny DeVito and Albert Finney, as well as Tim Burton and the other talent & studio executives. The event was an unforgettable evening for SONY Pictures, it's clients and stars.

Empire is a leading resource for booking even the most obscure forms of entertainment.

When The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation sought to produce two time Grammy Award-winning, headline concert act The Wallflowers (featuring Jakob Dylan, son of legend Bob Dylan) at their sixth annual dinner & auction, their event producer, Candace Sands of CS Events, turned to Empire Entertainment to provide all production and technical support in mounting the show. The event was held in the historic event space, Le Capitale, which is the former East River Savings Bank building located in New York's Chinatown at Bowery and Grand. The marble interiors and soaring ceilings are both magnificent and a major challenge acoustically. Empire solved these challenges by selecting the right audio system and calibrating it carefully to meet the acoustical properties of the room.

There were also other challenges that Empire faced including the need to fit the Wallflowers' large stage plot onto a small stage that needed to fit between existing columns of the building and not block any of the fire exits. Empire was able to solve this issue by working closely with the venue and the Wallflowers' production manager to create a solution that worked for everyone. The Wallflowers performed for over an hour and brought the audience to their feet with a set that included all of their hits as well as closing with a cover of the David Bowie song "Heroes." The event drew nearly 1,000 people and raised over $1.6 million for this worthy cause.

Empire is a leading producer of talent for not-for-profits and fundraising events.

To launch 20th Century FOX's DVD for the blockbuster motion picture XMen2, FOX turned to Empire Entertainment to create a highly-themed, celebrity-driven press event in New York City just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. For this event, Empire provided all services from original conception and event design, to site and menu selection, talent booking, activities, video projection, silver carpet staging, step & repeat signage production, decor, lighting, sound, labor, security, sidewalk and lane closure, event staffing, celebrity and sponsorship solicitation and transportation logistics for all celebrity talent. The site chosen for the event was Club 40/40, a hot new event space and club in New York City owned by several partners including hip hop superstar Jay-Z. In addition to the main event space, the club features two private rooms that were used for VIP party areas and one-on-one interviews, as well as a well-appointed cigar room for which Cohiba provided free cigars.

The Studio directed that the main thrust of the press coverage should be based on celebrity attendance by the stars of the XMen films including Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, Rebecca Romjin-Stamos, Anna Paquin and James Marsden as well as the film's producers and creatives. To supplement the attendance of these stars, Empire performed extensive outreach to the celebrity community through our own celebrity solicitation specialist, as well as leveraging relationships with Club 40/40, The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (a beneficiary of the event, arranged through Empire's relationships), and celebrity DJ Marc Ronson.

Empire also created decor for the event that mirrored the film's sleek stainless steel logo and imagery. Instead of a traditional red carpet, Empire proposed and provided a shimmering silver carpet. Silver tables, chairs, rope & stantions and a massive 50' long X 9' high silver 'step & repeat' to serve as a branded backdrop for celebrity photos were also provided. The step & repeat faced a press corps and paparazzi contingent that included more than 50 camera crews and photographers. The step & repeat and silver carpet were lit by a series of five 12' tall aluminum truss sections built on the sidewalk which also provided skytracker blue lights, animated logo projection and up-lighting of surrounding buildings and the Steel X2 logo which was mounted over the club entrance Inside the club, Empire provided a series of internally-lit blue cube tables, blue-lit floral arrangements, silver fabric accents and a dramatic lighting scheme created by blue gelling each of the club's hundreds of existing lighting instruments and accenting surfaces with blue votive candle holders. The event was DJ'd by celebrity DJ Marc Ronson and featured an oxygen bar, plexiglass chess sets featured in the film, and footage from the new XMen2 DVD playing on more than 20 monitors, plasma screens and projection screens throughout the club spaces.

Empire also managed the highly demanding ground transportation logistics, coordinating movements of the many stars and executives in a fleet of silver sedans, graciously donated for the event by Mercedes-Benz as a result of solicitation by Empire Entertainment. The resulting event was a carefully themed, smoothly run, heavily-attended and well-covered press event that generated a great deal of press coverage for a major entertainment property, just prior to the busy holiday shopping period.

Empire is a major producer of creative event marketing programs.

When a global financial services & travel company sought to entertain its' top customers at a multi-day client symposium's offsite event, they turned to Empire Entertainment to secure the right talent for the performance. The dinner and concert event took place in the outdoor courtyard at the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano. The entertainment needed to suit this environment in both character and form and provide an intimate concert experience for the 325 seated dinner guests.

Empire Entertainment was able to procure platinum-selling recording artist, Bruce Hornsby, to perform solo at a grand piano. Hornsby is best known as the leader of Bruce Hornsby and the Range. Hornsby is also an accomplished pianist and songwriter. He recorded many hits that reached the top of the Billboard charts. Hornsby has also recorded with Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, and even co-wrote and performed the hit "The End of The Innocence" with Don Henley. He has toured with the Grateful Dead and just a few nights prior to this engagement was in the United Kingdom recording with Eric Clapton and Sting. Bruce Hornsby performed all of his greatest hits, including "The Way It Is," "Mandolin Rain," "Look Out Any Window," "The End of the Innocence," and several other cover songs.The audience responded enthusiastically and the client felt Hornsby was the perfect fit for this engagement.

Empire Entertainment is uniquely qualified to selecting, book and produce the best-suited talent for any audience or event.

To celebrate the release of Avril Lavigne's highly anticipated FOX DVD, "My World," Fox Consumer Products turned to Empire Entertainment to stage and produce a red carpet press appearance to facilitate maximum press coverage. MY WORLD, is the first live concert movie by multi-platinum selling Arista recording artist Avril Lavigne. Filmed in Buffalo, NY on May 18, 2003 - the final night of her headlining five-week North American "Try To Shut Me Up Tour," "My World" Celebrates a mega-successful debut year and reprises all of Avril's hits and favorite album tracks from her six-times platinum album "LET GO. "MY WORLD offers Lavigne fans the only opportunity to own all four of Avril's MTV "TRL" #1 hit music videos - "Complicated," "Sk8er Boi," "I'm With You" and "Losing Grip," as well as an added video bonus of "Knocking On Heaven's Door."

For this collaborative promotional event held by FOX and Arista records, Empire handled all of the production and the on-site management, working with AMC Theatres and several other vendors to provide red carpet, crowd control, sidewalk permitting and lighting to facilitate press coverage. As predicted, the teen superstar and pop sensation drew a large turnout on the part of the press as well as swarms of screaming fans.Empire is a leading producer of press events.

When clients need to ensure a smooth running press conference, red carpet appearance or stunt, they turn to Empire Entertainment to manage the details.

To announce the release of Alicia Keys highly-anticipated new album, "The Diary of Alicia Keys," J Records again turned to Empire Entertainment to help create and produce their very important release events in both New York City and Los Angeles. The New York event was held at the fashionable West Village Photography center, Industria Superstudios, and was catered by Washington Park Caterers. The event included a listening and video room in which guests could view Alicia's new music video and a documentary of Alicia around the world, as well as listen to tracks from the new album. The event also featured a main performance room where Alicia performed at a grand piano in front of a photographic cyclorama with backing vocalists, bass and guitar.

For this event Alicia Keys wanted a very specific look & feel to match the vibe of the album. She wanted a loft-like setting with a relaxed and casual environment with visual elements like votive candles, oriental carpets, ottomans, pillows, burning incense and wood furniture. Empire was able to realize this vision and provided all services including site selection and contracting, design & decor, oversight of catering and bar operations, private and NYPD security, sidewalk permitting and street closure, tenting for the registration and oriental 'red carpet' arrival area for press, staging, extremely high quality concert sound, stage & decor lighting (including original lighting design and production based on album artwork), video projection (including live video & audio feed into a spillover room), video coverage of red carpet arrivals and the live performance, stage management and onsite event management.

The event drew a capacity crowd of 400 including celebrities ranging from Quincy Jones, Pink, Tommy Lee, Grandmaster Flash, Chris Judd and Starr Jones among others. J Records Chairman Clive Davis and President Charles Goldstuck introduced Alicia Keys before she wowed the audience with a 30-minute performance of her best-known songs and future hits from "The Diary of Alicia Keys."The following week Empire produced a similar event in Los Angeles at the Highlands Hollywood.

To celebrate their 185th anniversary, Brooks Brothers teamed up with Time Inc. business publication Fortune Magazine to throw a big bash at the Brooks Brothers store on Newbury Street in Boston, MA. Fortune Magazine turned to Empire Entertainment to help make the night a huge success. More than one hundred invited guests gathered at the store for a fabulous evening of drinks, passed hors d'oeuvres and shopping. The high point of the evening was the in-store concert given by jazz great and multiple Grammy nominee, Kenny Garrett and his amazing band. After performing an hour's worth of standards and hits from his eight albums, Kenny and his band were lauded with a standing ovation and, to cries of "One more, one more!" returned to the stage and played a three song encore that nearly blew the lid off of the joint.

Fortune and Brooks Brothers asked Empire to deliver and install first class production services that would compliment the sophisticated charm of the store's décor and not interfere with the store's regular retail operations. Working with the limited space, Empire provided and built a form-fitting stage that fitted around the wood paneled columns on the first floor, and washed the stage with warm amber light using ground supported instruments. Per Kenny Garrett's exacting standards, Empire provided the band's backline, grand piano and drums as well as all other instruments and sound without interrupting a single sale on the floor. The result was a successful show that celebrated Brooks Brothers history, created good will for their customers and strengthened the longstanding advertising relationship between Fortune Magazine and Brooks Brothers.

Empire has many years of experience working within the genre of "Value-added" programs within the magazine publishing industry and is expert at delivering our services in working retail environments without impeding on store operations.

When Mercedes-Benz Tri-State Dealers became a founding sponsor for Radio City's production of "Sinatra: His Voice. His World. His Way", they were given the opportunity to present a special preview night for 5,300 of their existing customers as a loyalty and retention initiative for customers coming off lease. This preview performance was a final dress rehearsal to take place two days before opening night.Empire conceived and designed a Sinatra themed event for it's 5,300 attendees which was divided into three periods of Frank Sinatra's extraordinary life that were to be setup in Radio City's main lobby, lower lobby, mezzanine and other "front-of-house" areas.

The Grand Foyer was to be setup as Sinatra's Twin Palms Estate, located in Palm Springs, California. Positioned in the center of the room were to be two 16' Palm Trees, a giant cabana in which staff in cabana shirts served sparkling water and fresh fruit juices.The Grand Lounge was to be set up as the Copa Room of The Sands Casino, Las Vegas circa 1960s complete with Vegas Showgirls and staging, a lounge singer and pianist and casino gaming tables.The Mezzanine level was to be setup as a Sinatra photographic retrospective with images ranging from Sinatra circa 1930's through to 1980's.In addition to the main reception, Empire created a VVIP reception to take place in the Radio City Suite, for the celebrities and Mercedes-Benz Tri-State Dealership owners.

For this exclusive gathering in the stunning Art Deco era backstage room at Radio City Music Hall, Empire hired caterers Fancy Girl Catering to put together a 30's style hors 'douerves menu to be served by staff costumed in 1930s attire. American Song Book Standards were to be played by one of NYC's premier jazz pianists, Matt Ray.Empire was also tasked with desiging and implementing the communications, invitation, RSVP and ticket distribution plan using Mercedes-Benz Tri-State Dealership customer databases. Empire set up an RSVP line to receive calls from attendees, updated the existing database with contact information and allocated 1,800 pairs of tickets to recipients. Empire continued to answer inquires and take down information from callers even after the show sold out, to send out gifts compliments of Mercedes-Benz Tri-State Dealers.

Empire also produced a custom "Sinatra: His Voice. His World. His Way" show compilation CD in association with Sinatra Enterprises. Empire designed the CD artwork and Mercedes printed 5,000 CD's to be given away to attendees and customers that did not make the RSVP in time.Empire also solicited celebrity attendance for the preview night and had confirmed celebrities including Spike Lee, Moby, Joan Osborne & Wyclef Jean to name a few to add sizzle to the big preview night.Empire was also responsible for several other areas of this far-reaching program including parking, logistics, vehicle placement, staffing and onsite management. Then, just a few days prior to the event, disaster struck. On Saturday night, prior to the Monday load-in for the event on Tuesday, Radio City Music Hall notified Mercedes-Benz that due to technical delays, the preview night would have to be canceled. All elements were in place and 5300 Mercedes customers throughout the Tri-State area were poised to come into attend the much anticipated event. Empire's immediate job was to notify guests who were coming from all over New York, New Jersey & Connecticut and to do so in a way that would limit their inconvenience and ensure that their experience would not reflect poorly on Mercedes-Benz. Within minutes of this notification Empire was working with Mercedes-Benz to avert a major marketing and public relations crisis, and together mobilized a force that sent out thousands of Emails, Fedexes and phone calls notifying the guests of the cancellation with a well-written and thoughtful letter of regret from Radio City Music Hall with an additional incentive for leasing new Mercedes

For the fourth year in a row, Empire Entertainment was hired by celebrity designer Colin Cowie Lifestyle and the Whitney Museum to contract and manage all talent and sound production in connection with the high profile Whitney Benefit Gala at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Each year this gala dinner draws New York City's elite art patrons as well as artists, celebrities and sponsors for a unique evening of entertainment. For this year's dinner Colin Cowie transformed the fourth floor gallery into an exquisite dining room based on the artwork of Ellsworth Kelly. Colin Cowie's unique design provided for square dining tables, dressed with gray linens and smoke colored glass, arranged symetrically on gray carpet at either side of the room. The center of the room was divided by an angular stripe of bold red carpet on which were placed unusually shaped tables, adorned in vivid matching red.

As with every Colin Cowie event, visual aesthetics are of the highest importance and Empire Entertainment's challenge was to seamlessly blend elements of audio production to the color scheme and design, keeping all such elements, including speakers, consoles, cables and gear out of site of the guests. To accomplish this Empire often runs cables days in advance under carpets and set installations and paints speaker cabinets and other equipment in matching colors to blend function with form. The results of this collaboration are visually astoundinging as well as fully functional.

For this year's gala dinner, Empire Entertainment secured legendary R&B singer Dionne Warwick to perform with piano accompaniment. Ms. Warwick performed favorites including "Alfi," "What The World Needs Now Is Love" (a duet with with Burt Bacharach) and "That's What Friends Are For." She also performed a special audience rendition of "Happy Birthday" to artist Ellsworth Kelly who came the the stage to be honored by the singalong. Guests including American Express Chairman Ken Chennault, Dan Aykroyd and Edgar Bronfman Jr. joined Dionne in serenading Kelly and the performance ended with a standing ovation. After the dinner, the after-party began on the lower level of the Museum for younger supporters of the museum. Mirroring the theme upstairs, the cafeteria was transformed into a night club with an energy that lasted early into the following morning.

Once again, Empire Entertainment provided invisible, high end sound coverage throughout all the rooms of the club. Yet, when one of the sponsor's talent cancelled due to illness, Empire moved swiftly to provide cutting edge entertainment with only two day's notice! Empire rose to the challenge and delivered Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, a youthful 11 piece band, and arguably the hottest new funk and soul act in New York City. If the evening's pulse was already heightened by Paris' DJ Kemedji, it was the Dap-Kings who moved the party to a frenzy. Even Colin Cowie himself couldn't resist the dance floor before jetting off the following morning to appear on Oprah Winfrey's show.

Empire is a major producer of not-for-profit events and is a loyal production and talent partner to world class event design firms such as Colin Cowie Lifestyle.

Since leaving office as Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani has published a management book, built a world-class consultancy and become one of the top speakers in the world for corporate meetings and special events. Empire has been fortunate to have many opportunities to present him to various corporate clients ranging from Wall Street banks to global computer companies.

On this particular occasion, Empire secured Rudy Giuliani to speak for the Chairman and top producers from one of America's oldest and most respected insurance firms. For this intimate dinner gathering at the St. Regis Hotel, Empire secured Mayor Giuliani to attend cocktails, to take photos with each couple in attendance and then to join the host and guests at dinner to deliver his inspirational remarks. This was the second time that Empire has presented Rudy Giuliani for this client. Mayor Giuliani is a candid, plain-talking and often entertaining speaker whose lectures typically include many colorful stories of his experiences as Mayor of New York and his career as a crime fighter and the man who turned New York into the safest large city in America. He also talks at length about his personal experiences of 9/11 and it's aftermath and how New York City was able to manage the crisis and return to greatness.

His inspirational speeches contain powerful messages of motivation and how to overcome adversity. He also enjoys participating in open Q&A sessions, which often ranges from his Presidential aspirations and thoughts on the War on Terror to his personal challenges (he is in remission following diagnosis with prostate cancer) and his beloved New York Yankees. Mayor Rudy Giuliani wowed the rapt audience with his remarks and free wheeling Q&A and left them as he usually does, on their feet applauding one of great leaders of our age.

Empire is a leading resource in the identification and acquisition of appropriate speakers for corporate meetings and events.

Whether you are the founder and CEO of a global technology giant or you would just like to party like one, Empire will help you and a couple hundred of your closest friends celebrate in style. From a tent, on a bluff overlooking the ocean, in Bermuda, guests took in the endless views and dined on gourmet food, following days filled with golf and yachting throughout a pleasure-filled weekend on the island. On Saturday night the guests were treated to the brilliant rants and references of Dennis Miller, who not only incorporated his usual panoply of cultural and political absurdities, but also worked with Empire to develop some custom material geared toward our client and his business. Following Dennis' performance the chairs were cleared and a dance floor created, for an inspired 90-minute performance by Hootie and the Blowfish.

Empire arranged for our client, a guitarist, to join the band onstage for the final 2 songs, including a special rendition of Johnny B. Goode. A special meet & greet followed in which guests were treated to photographs and private moments with the artists.The following night the tent was transformed into a beach party, outfitted with palms, surfboards, grills & parrots, for none other than the Beach Boys, who performed a high energy 90-minute set of non stop hits as guests danced the night away. Again, Empire arranged for our client to join the band onstage for the final 3 songs, and for a private meet & greet where guests were able to chat and take photographs with the Beach Boys.

When corporations look to entertain their customers, partners and employees with something extraordinary, they turn to Empire Entertainment to provide experiences that are new, unique and have never been done before for a corporate event. Such was the case when Empire delivered super group Duran Duran for their first ever-corporate event. Challenged by a global software company to deliver a unique concert experience for an international audience of 5,000 of their most important partners and customers, Empire negotiated for and secured Duran Duran just prior to the commencement of their U. S. tour.

Duran Duran featured all five original members, Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, Andy Taylor, Roger Taylor and John Taylor. The well-rehearsed and dynamic band performed many of their classic hits including "Rio," "The Reflex," "Hungry Like The Wolf," "Wild Boys," "Ordinary World" and "Notorious" among others. Their high-energy show was held on an outdoor stage on the banks of the Mississippi River and featured video projections, laser light show and plenty of onstage action for the audience. The international audience danced and sang throughout the set and brought the band back for encores. They closed the evening with a dynamic version of "Girls on Film."

Empire is the industry leader in delivering new talent to corporate stages worldwide.