When a multinational computer company needed to find a special speaker with unique criteria for an incentive program in Hawaii, Empire worked with the company's chosen production company to identify an out-of-the ordinary choice that would far exceed the client's expectations. The speaker needed to appeal to employees throughout Asia but, if possible, would also have an American or Hawaiian connection. The client wanted the speaker to deliver a wow! factor but they also wanted a compelling and inspiring life story. Leveraging our connections in Japan, Empire was able to identify and deliver the highly respected, just-retired Sumo wrestling Yokozuna (Grand Champion), Akebono, to appear at the program. Akebono, an American (a Hawaiian native) and a sports celebrity in Japan on par with Michael Jordan in America, was a knockout with the hundreds of attendees, almost all of whom waited to greet the star personally after his speech. Empire is the industry's leading one-stop-shop for speakers of every genre and is the ideal resource when you are looking for 'Out-of-the-box' ideas that are hard to find on the 'usual suspects' speaker bureau lists.

In another example of creative cross-fertilization between industry-specific event forms and the fusion of Empire's creative, talent & production expertise, Empire produced a stunt-oriented fashion show for an automobile manufacturer to help them launch their new line of sportswear and accessories along with a new vehicle. The event was held in conjunction with the New York Auto Show at New York's notoriously challenging Jacob Javits Center. For this high-energy, one time only press event, aerial/acrobatic troupe Antigravity provided both audience thrills and the runway models to style the new line, Empire supervised all staging, sound, lighting, image projection, technical design & rigging, union labor negotiations, talent, stage management, music, costuming, choreography and special effects including a surprise vehicle reveal.

For the fourth consecutive year, Empire produced and staged the Twentieth Century FOX Retail Summit at the St. Regis Hotel, Los Angeles, CA. This year's program included a keynote presentation by movie icon Shirley Temple Black and a live performance by world-renowned ice sculptors Fear No Ice that was inspired by the FOX animated feature Ice Age. Empire was again successful in delivering a conference that greatly exceeded the expectations of our clients, managing every aspect from program development, staging, sound, lighting, video and creative design, to décor, onsite management and logistics. A leading global producer of filmed entertainment, Twentieth Century FOX repeatedly turns to Empire Entertainment for assistance with their business communications productions.

When 20th Century Fox sought to use a segment on the Today Show featuring original M*A*S*H* motion picture actors Elliot Gould, Tom Skerret and Sally Kellerman to promote the DVD release of the M*A*S*H* movie, Empire was hired to create a background for the segment. Working with limitations such as a small space on the Today Show set and an extremely short amount of set-up time, Empire created a realistic and convincing background that properly set the stage for the interview and created a visual that helped FOX to accomplish the promotion it sought. The Today Show segment aired on January 9, 2002.

When 20th Century Fox released the DVD version of their critically acclaimed film Moulin Rouge, they called upon Empire to create an engaging, interactive and exciting environment in which they could give the media a first-hand introduction. Utilizing a series of guest rooms on a single floor of New York's Morgans hotel, Empire created highly detailed vignettes depicting various scenes from the film. Media guests were treated to stimulating visual feast as they moved from room to room to experience and view the special features of the Moulin Rouge DVD.As the elevator doors opened on the Moulin Rouge floor, press members were greeted by costumed courtesans who escorted them to the reception salon and then to each of the six viewing rooms as follows: The Entrance, the Reception Salon, the Writer's Garret, Sateen's Boudoir, the Producer's Office, the Spectacular Spectacular Backstage, the Absinthe Bar, and the Moulin Rouge. At the end of their tour, guests were invited to conduct a one-on-one interview with the film's director, Baz Luhrman in a final, richly-appointed suite.

When the CEO of a top beverage company sought to entertain his top executives, they turned to Empire to deliver the right, all-American entertainment. The event was to be held at a private home in Greenwich, CT, just before the Thanksgiving holiday. The entertainment was to be an after-dinner surprise for an intimate group of fewer than 30 top executives. To meet this challenge, Empire was able to deliver iconic American singer / songwriting Don McLean to perform with just guitar and keyboards. Empire also designed a professional sound & lighting installation that would work inside the intimate environment. McLean performed his well-known hits "American Pie" and "Vincent" as well as 5 or 6 other songs that also included a new song, which he had recently written for his daughter. To the guest's delight, Don McLean played longer than he was contracted for, interacted with the crowd and encouraged them all to join him for a group sing-along along on "American Pie". The attendees were thrilled with his performance.Whether for the largest events for hundreds of thousands of people, or for intimate settings, Empire can provide the right entertainment solution.

In November 2001, Empire Entertainment once again produced 80's and 90's superstar act Huey Lewis & The News at the Mark Etess Arena in the Trump Taj Mahal Resort & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey. This fabulous 75-minute headline performance was sponsored by Commerce Bank for The League of Municipalities. The band played a greatest hits concert which included songs such as "Power of Love," "Heart of Rock N Roll," "Hip to Be Square," and "If This Is It" among many others. The event was a huge success for the audience of over 5,000 who were dancing and singing along before the first few songs were over. Empire was responsible for contracting the talent, and handling all logistics and production including image magnification via giant video projection screens. The event concluded with an enormous balloon and beach ball drop organized by the client.

In November 2001, Empire presented Grammy Award-winning artists, The Wallflowers featuring Jakob Dylan to entertain 1,000 attendees at the conclusion of a three-day business conference for a European Investment Bank. This spectacular show was held at The Pavillion at The Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, Phoenix Arizona. The Wallflowers, an awesome roots-rock band fronted by Bob Dylan's song, Jakob, performed for over 75 minutes, playing many of their hits from their album One Headlight Missing and several cover songs. This amazing performance was very audience interactive as Dylan brought an attendee up on stage to sing David Bowie's "Heroes" alongside him. The event was produced in collaboration with Susan B. Green Associates.

When Microsoft founder & CEO Bill Gates - one of the world's most innovative entrepreneurs - launched his book, Business @ The Speed of Thought, Empire Entertainment was contracted to produce his keynote presentation at New York's Ziegfeld Theater.Business @ The Speed of Thought focuses on how business and technology – specifically digital infrastructures and information networks - are interconnected. On March 24, 1999, Gates spoke to more than 1,000 Columbia University and New York University business students at the Ziegfeld Theater. The students warmly received Bill Gates’ inspiring & engaging keynote remarks, and moderated question & answer session. He followed his speech on the future of technology with an oft-shown gag video featuring Jay Leno and his long-time friend, Microsoft President Steve Ballmer.

The event was a complete success and Empire helped to plan and implement all aspects ibncluding venue selection and contracting, production desigm, creative develiopment, staging, lighting, audio, video and graphics projection, secdurity, logistics, press integration and decor. Empire Co-President J. B. Miller also worked creatively with Bill Gates to develop the presentation for the audience.Empire is a leading provider of keynote speakers from every walk of life and is also deeply experienced in producing individual speakers in theatrical presentations. Whether you require a motivator, an inspirational speaker, an expert speaker or just someone to engage the audience, Empire is the ideal one-stop-shop for every type of keynote speaker.

When Twentieth Century Fox held their International Rental Summit, which brought together over 140 Fox clients from 17 countries, Empire Entertainment was chosen to be the producer of the entire conference. The three day, multi-function program was held in mid-December and included general sessions that explored emerging trends in the international distribution of filmed entertainment, and previewed forthcoming video releases such as "X-Men," "Me, Myself & Irene," "Bedazzled" and "Big Momma's House" among others. The presentations required simultaneous translation into 7 languages. Empire Entertainment provided full-service management of this program including site selection, contracting the Four Seasons Hotel, destination management, banquet supervision, theme attendee activities such as helicopter tours and "Cosmic Bowling" and all aspects of the design, staging and production of the business sessions as well as all entertainment. The challenge: To excite, inspire and entertain top customers from around the world in the entertainment industry who have seen and done everything. The result: in the words of Fox senior management, Empire's work created "The best Summit yet!"