When a leading global company held three major events in three different cities in three days, they turned to Empire Entertainment's multi-tasking bandwidth to ensure that all three events would receive full attention and be executed flawlessly.October 20, 2010 – Las Vegas, NVWhen the client was looking for a headline act for a huge 80’s themed party to take place at The Beach @ Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Empire recommended and secured Huey Lewis and the News. In front of an audience of over 5000 attendees, Huey Lewis and the News rocked the hotel's Beach Pool Stage for 75 minutes, and had the crowd dancing and singing along to their hits such as "Power of Love," "I Want a New Drug," and "The Heart of Rock & Roll." Empire succeeded in selecting the perfect talent for this particular audience as it received the highest marks in this event's history from attendees.

Beginning with the proposal process, Empire was responsible for all contracting, scheduling, production, and logistical elements for the band's performance. In addition, Empire served as stage manager, coordinating various elements including VIP executive remarks, break-dancer performances, DJ, and the timing of a finale fireworks display set to it's own soundtrack, which went off immediately following the band's performance. October 21, 2009 – San Francisco, CAEmpire was onsite at one of San Francisco's hottest nightspots, Ruby Skye, to help produce a sponsored event surrounding a major conference. Two weeks prior to the event the client came to Empire with the desire to book an energetic headline artist to wow their attendees.

Working with the client's internal relationship managers, Empire quickly secured and contracted funky, up-and-coming hip-hop rocker Janelle Monáe to perform. Her dance moves tore up the stage, but she also found time to paint a picture and hand it to a lucky guest. As Janelle Monáe finished her hectic and eclectic set, a senior marketing executive took to the stage to announce a special surprise: the company’s new product was set to launch at midnight and this group of 500+ guests would be the first to own it. 100,000 watt DJ & drummer sensation DJ Ravi Drums joined the executives on-stage to provide a drum roll for the countdown to the midnight launch and then took over the party with a custom rendition of Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" featuring a lyrical reference of the client’s product. DJ Ravi Drums kept the party going well past two in the morning with his brand of high-energy drumming. Empire secured and provided technical and logistical support for Janelle Monáe and DJ Ravi Drums in addition to managing their performances and the flow of the evening.

October 22, 2009 – New York, NYFor the conclusion of 3-days of events for this client, Empire was onsite to globally launch the client's new product at Skylight Studios in New York City. Filled with live demonstrations, art gallery exhibits, and product vignettes, 350 journalists, bloggers and executives gathered to buzz about the new release. The company’s CEO enthusiastically welcomed the crowd while the 5 year-old star from the company’s well-known TV commercials won over the audience with her sassy and charming appeal. The event provided a fun and interactive hands on environment to showcase the product’s approachable and streamlined functions of organizing everyday life. Empire was responsible for site selection and acquisition and secured Skylight Studios for this global launch event. Empire served as main liaison with venue & client regarding contracts, payment, schedules and permits as well as providing miscellanous support services including archival photography and a makeup artist for their presenting executives.

Whether it is securing headline talent, selecting the ideal venue, or handling all production and logistical needs, Empire Entertainment is a capable of executing simultaneous or back-to-back high-profile events on opposite coasts and around the world.

Each year, America's pre-eminent film presentation organization, The Film Society of Lincoln Center presents New York’s most established film festival. For the 47th Annual New York Film Festival, The Film Society of Lincoln Center turned to Empire Entertainment to serve as the overall production company and special event producers to support the extraordinary range of premieres, screenings and events. Empire’s responsibilities would encompass nearly 50 separate events & screenings over the course of the 17-day festival with many taking place in the newly renovated, Alice Tully Hall.

Highlights of the 2009 festival included a special screening of the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, in a newly re-mastered version, never seen before by the public. Present at the screening were 5 out of 6 of the remaining Munchkins from the films original cast.Crossroads of Youth, a Korean silent film from 1934 that was recently re-discovered and restored, was screened just as it was in the 30’s - featuring a live musical orchestra and a narrator. Attendees were transported back to a time when films were viewed as live experiences.Precious, the festival’s Centerpiece selection, premiered to a sold out crowd complete with a celebrity-filled red carpet to see the Oscar buzz-worthy film. Those is attendance to introduce the film were Mariah Carey, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton and Lenny Kravitz, in addition to Gabourey Sidibe, the film’s title char acter. Academy Award-winning Spanish filmmaker, Pedro Almodovar, was on hand to introduce his latest film, Broken Embraces. Introduced by lead actress, Penelope Cruz, the film’s sold out crowd gave a standing ovation at the film’s completion, a fitting ending to the festival’s closing selection.

Earlier in the day, Pedro sat down with the Festival’s Program Director for a 2-hour discussion on the history of cinema.Empire was also responsible for staging a series of Directors Dialogues, intimate one-on-one conversations between Directors with selections in the festival and industry experts. Directors this year included Italian filmmaker, Marco Bellocchio, “Precious” director, Lee Daniels, Austrian disturbia king, Michael Haneke, French veteran, Claire Denis. Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler) and Noah Baumbach (The Squid and The Whale) made appearances as moderators. The dialogues were recorded and later streamed on HBO.Empire is a leading producer of high profile festival and events and is honored to work with the Film Society of Lincoln Center. For information on sponsorships for the 2010 New York Film Festival please contact Yasmine Falk at yfalk@filmlinc.com

September 2009 was a very busy and exciting month for Kurt Wenner, the amazing 3D artist known for his realistic street painting and chalk murals all over the world. When GM’s luxury brand Buick was launching their new model, the 2010 LaCrosse, they wanted to deliver a memorable and original marketing stunt. When Buick turned to Empire for ideas, Empire secured Kurt Wenner to paint beautiful 3D paintings of the 2010 LaCrosse in major cities in the US. Kurt Wenner’s works were on display for the public at; Pen’s Landing in Philadelphia(9/2-6), Herald Square in New York City(9/7-13, Union Station in Washington D.C(9/17-20) and The Millennium Park in Chicago(9/26-27).

Kurt Wenner performed live demonstrations of his painting, which was fully accessible to the public who were able to experience both the making creation of the painting and the finished product’s impact. All of the 3D painting featured the new 2010 Buick LaCrosse, on a amazing backgrounds, symbolizing the city’s location where the painting was displayed.Kurt Wenner is an artist best known for being the innovator of 3D chalk murals projection called anamorphosis. His 3D Chalk drawings on pavements have been featured in many newspapers, magazine and television shows all over the World. His anamorphic art is meant to deceive the human eye, which might look ordinary from one angle, but viewed through a curved lens, it becomes 3-D. Originally from Ann Harbor, Michigan, Kurt graduated from Rhode Island School of Design. He started his career with NASA as an advanced scientific space illustrator.

Viacom and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation formally launched their national education initiative "Get Schooled," with a groundbreaking series of events that culminated with the television premiere Get Schooled: You Have the Right. The premiere aired simultaneously across all Viacom networks including BET, MTV, VH1, CMT, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV and Nickelodeon, marking Viacom’s first-ever programming "roadblock" or simulcast across all of the media company's U.S. television properties. Surrounding the premiere was a multi-tiered, integrated series of events designed to change the paradigm of pro-social initiatives. Featuring an education conference, small group discussion, concert, and television premiere components, the day-long program of events informed, entertained, and fostered relevant discussion all focused on promoting education reform.

Thought leaders, education stakeholders, corporate and non-profit partners as well as many celebrities convened on the famed Paramount Pictures Studio Lot in Hollywood, CA to take part in the affair, which was also sponsored by AT&T, Capital One Corporation and NYSE Euronext.Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report hosted the education conference during which a distinguished line-up of well-known voices in the education field presented their riveting ideas and novel insights. In classic Colbert-style, the host dryly interjected his witty political satire in between presentations from speakers that included Bill & Melinda Gates, Viacom President & CEO Philippe Dauman, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Tony Miller, Davis Guggenheim, director of An Inconvenient Truth, New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Los Angeles school teacher Stephen Minix and political columnist Arianna Huffington among others.

Over 500 students from local Los Angeles-area high schools joined the multitude of attendees to view an advance screening of Get Schooled: You Have the Right. Miranda Cosgrove, star of Nickelodeon’s Emmy-nominated hit show “iCarly,” was received with squeals of excitement when she introduced the premiere to the student audience.For the final event of the day, Paramount's New York City Street Lot was the stage for celebration with a Block Party hosted by MTV’s Damien Fahey that showcased performances by DJ Spooky, America's Best Dance Crew’s BREAKSK8 and Champions Quest, R&B singer songwriter Monica, and teen pop sensation Jesse McCartney. Students and attendees alike rocked out on the Rockband 2 stage and browsed through Get Schooled website kiosks, while enjoying classic NY Street fare catered by Wolfgang Puck.

The event featured an extensive press component with several red carpet and PSA taping areas. There was heavy press turnout and coverage of both the education substance of the day as well as the many celebrities such as Heidi Klum, Ben Stiller, Seal, Hank Azaria, Andre Agassi and J.J. Abrams among others that attended. With only 30 days advance, Viacom turned to Empire Entertainment to serve as the production company for all elements of the event program. The concert and conference elements were shot as a live, multi-camera television events for VOD, executed with precision timing to allow for live broadcasts including interviews with Bill & Melinda Gates and Philippe Dauman with Maria Bartiromo for CNBC. Empire’s turnkey delivery of this project included supervision and management of all front of house logistics, creation and management of media and press areas, sponsorship activation and integration, technical and production design and support, speaker and talent coordination, content management, and supervision of all broadcast elements.Empire also worked closely with Radical Media, who provided for design inspiration for graphics, and scenic elements.

Empire specializes in managing multi-faceted, high stature live events such as the Get Schooled launch. From logistics and content to production and design, Empire delivers flawlessly on events and live broadcast projects of the highest caliber.

Every year Empire secures a comedy superstar to host a large-scale annual meeting for a major global corporation and approximately 20,000 of their regional employees. In 2008, Empire brought in the star of NBC’s hit comedy, “The Office”, Rainn Wilson, whose physical humor made the event wildly successful.This year, Empire tapped Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers to take the reigns at Safeco Field.Seth Meyers is best known for his role as anchor of Sarturday Night Live’s Weekend Update segment. What is less well-known is that Seth is also the head writer of Saturday Night Live, as well as cast member. His skill as a writer paired with sharp comedic wit made him the perfect host for this highly-demanding event.

In preparation for the event Seth worked with the client’s talented creative agency, Wexley School for Girls, and Empire to develop customized material, including a monologue, video sequences, and even a Weekend Update-style presentation for the event. Upon arrival in Seattle, Seth also shot a series of brief interstitial videos to introduce speakers. These included backgrounds like the Seattle Space Needle and Seattle’s famed Pike Place Fish Market where Seth literally caught a Salmon. Each video introduction played at the meeting was met with roaring laughter and applause.The earth-shaking finalé of Seth’s performance came as he explained to all the attendees that a seismograph had been placed in the building across the street and instructed everyone to stomp their feet in order to create a human earthquake. The vibrations of the 20,000+ person audience stomping rocked the stadium and cheers rang out when the live video feed showed that they had buried the needle!Seth Meyers worked closely with Wexley School for Girls and Empire on details such as scripting, costume, special effects, staging, etc.Empire negotiated the deal for Seth and worked with his management in order to negotiate time off from his duties at Saturday Night Live. An Empire talent producer also worked with Seth onsite to work closely with Seth for rehearsals and shoots to ensure the best possible performance.

Empire is a leading source of celebrity and headline talent for corporate meeting hosts, spokesperson roles and personal appearances.

When Vogue Magazine sought to present Fashion's biggest night in Japan, they turned to Empire Entertainment's Tokyo-based Asia Division to Provide Stage Direction for this high profile event.As part of a global initiative to promote retail, restore consumer confidence, and celebrate fashion, Japan and international editions of Vogue Magazine coordinated special evening shows in the respective world fashion capitals. These evening extravaganzas, known as Fashion’s Night Out, were held in New York City, Paris, London, Milan, Tokyo, Russia, Brazil, China, Spain, Germany, Greece, India and Taiwan all on September 10th and 11th, 2009!

On September 11, 2009, stores in the popular Omotesando and Aoyama shopping districts of Tokyo stayed open late in to the night to celebrate the collaboration of fashion brands and designers at Fashion’s Night Out.The opening ceremony for Fashion’s Night Out 2009 was held at the Omotesando Hills Grand Stairs, in the heart of the Omotesando shopping district and hosted by Chris Peppler and world-renowned supermodel Ai Tomminaga. Anna Tsuchiya appeared as a guest performer and gave a spectacular performance for the fans and other guests gathered in the mall. Celebrity guests including Maki Horikita, Mika Ninagawa, Hinano Yoshikawa also appeared to present auction items and celebrate the event with late night shopping. For the finale, Anna Tsuchiya reappeared for a special acoustic performance filled with fanfare and ending in thunderous applause.

Empire Entertainment, in addition to its other duties, acted as stage director orchestrating the Grand Stairs with finesse, allowing them to be used as both the concert stage and MC dais. The Grand Stairs were set and decorated with a variety of different furnishings to maximize the performance of the musicians, guest celebrities, and MCs. Even with the challenges of limited time for rehearsals before the shops opened in the morning, and with careful and smooth co mmunication among the staff and the artists, Empire was able to direct the event to a successful conclusion.

Empire is a leading producer of fashion and retail events worldwide.

On September 9, 2009, Empire Entertainment produced Diana Ross, AntiGravity®, and a fireworks display by Fireworks by Grucci on world-renowned Ellis Island. It was the second straight year that Empire was tapped by a NYC based investment bank to produce their annual gala, and Empire again provided oversight of nearly every element of the event, including staging, audio & lighting designs, tenting, talent booking and consultation, fireworks, bus and ferry transportation, stage management, signage, catering, décor, registration, staffing, and more.Empire arranged for 15 buses to transport the attendees from the Palace Hotel to three private ferries in Battery Park, also arranged by the Empire team.

As guests disembarked the ferries at Ellis Island, they walked a red carpet that led into the Exhibit Halls. The red carpet was flanked by a number of greeters costumed in red, white, and blue which played into the "Red, White & Blue All-American Barbecue" themed dinner that had been promised on the invitation (which was designed by Empire in consultation with the client). Stiltwalkers, cowgirls, jugglers and more welcomed the attendees upon their arrival.Once inside the Museum, attendees were treated to the spectacular jazz stylings of The Neal Sugarman Quartet while they enjoyed cocktails and private guided tours of the Great Hall and other incredible exhibits of Ellis Island. Following the cocktail reception the doors were opened to allow the 1700 guests to move to the main event area - - a 100' x 182' clearspan tent outside on the famed Ellis Island "Wall of Honor" lawn.

At the client's request, Empire designed three separate seating areas for guests which were arranged in a lounge setting, with white leather ottomans, banquettes, and sofas, accented with red coffee tables, blue pillows and throws. A 20' x 20' central white bar was dressed with vibrant florals and lit in a stunning fashion.The tent was built without sidewalls in order to accommodate the client's request to keep the event's outdoor atmosphere intact. Empire's caterer provided foodstations featuring barbecue favorites such as honey-chipotle barbequed baby back ribs, all-natural fried chicken, jumbo smoked turkey legs, as well as clambake elements including Maryland crab cakes, lobster rolls, and fried clams. The great food was washed down with blackberry basil lemonade, ginger iced tea, as well as red & white sangrias. During dinner, guests enjoyed Cirque-style performance segments by AntiGravity®, such as hand-balancing acts, contortionists, sword-swallowers, and fire-breathers, all costumed in attire to match the red, white, and blue theme of the evening. And when dinner was completed, the attendees were wowed by an incredible fireworks display over the New York City skyline.

The finalé of the evening came when Diana Ross made her grand entrance onstage, opening with her song "I'm Coming Out". Changing costumes a number of times during the performance, the Motown legend turned back time with smash hits including "Upside Down", "Love Hangover", and "You Can't Hurry Love". When she invited guests onstage to dance with her to "Ease on Down The Road", more than 30 attendees obliged. After finishing the set with "I Will Survive", she graciously met with 30 of the client's top VIP's at a private meet and greet.Empire prides itself in our ability to flawlessly execute complex events with large audiences in some of the most incredible event venues in the world such as Ellis Island.

What do you get when you combine flour, colorful dyes and a body? According to Filippo Ioco, those are just the right ingredients he needs to create his illusionary body painting artworks. Ioco has done it again, but this time, for the very first time, in Japan.Empire Entertainment Japan worked with Fuji TV’s “Miracle Experience! Unbelievable,” a very popular TV show produced and hosted by Takeshi Kitano. This program presents eerie events witnessed around the world and has showcased unbelievably talented artists and performers since 1997. This time, Ioco was featured on the two-hour special program broadcasted on August 6, 2009.

His guest appearance on this show was his very first appearance in Japan. He painted five models including a famous Japanese comedian, Yoshio Kojima. The five models were camouflaged into the landscape of the park right outside the Fuji TV station. The guests and audience at the studio were asked to find the five hidden models in the park: a rock along the waterfront, two trees, a sandman covering the top layer of the surface and a buried man’s head in the dirt. The show was a great success and amazed many viewers with Ioco’s innovative techniques and never-seen talent. His appearance on this show is a starting point for launching Ioco’s exposure to the Japanese audience.

“Swatch MTV Playground”, supported by worldwide watchmaker Swatch and MTV, is a worldwide internet community created to support artists of all genres. This web community provides a variety of creative content and allows people to demonstrate their talents freely and stimulate the imaginations of young creators. Just like the title of the project suggests, it truly provides a playground for any artist who participates.When MTV Europe was planning for the shooting of “Talk@Playground” in Tokyo, they turned to Empire Entertainment Japan for location scouting, staff management, equipment acquisition and general coordination. “Talk@Playground” is a miniseries for television and the Playground website that showcases interviews with world famous artists and designers.

The location was selected based on what would best represent Japan’s creativity and artistry. For Katy Perry, America’s new pop diva, and Manish Arora, India’s leading fashion designer, the historical Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo was selected. For Will.i.am, the front man of the world’s number 1 hip hop group, Black Eyed Peas, and Fujiwara Hiroshi, the godfather of Harajuku fashion and music, the Mado Lounge and Mori Museum at Roppongi Hills in downtown Tokyo was selected. Empire was able to perfectly carry out all of the client’s requests, from managing the foreign artists, creators and producers, to coordinating the venues, equipment preparation, and of course overseeing Japanese personnel. Empire’s ability to communicate smoothly with both the Japanese and foreign personnel helped lead to a successful conclusion for the shoot.

When a Fortune 300 financial services firm needed cost-effective headline entertainment that would appeal to three different audiences for three separate incentive programs in 2009, they came to Empire Entertainment for recommendations. After speaking with the client about the demographics of each group, and the budget for each event, Empire was able to make a number of recommendations. But it was also easy for Empire to provide one top choice: Don Felder. A member of the Eagles for nearly 30 years, Felder had co-written “Hotel California” as well as a number of the band’s other hits. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Eagles in 1998. After joining the Eagles for their renowned “Hell Freezes Over” tour from 1994-1996, Felder played with the band again in 1998 at their Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Not long afterwards, however, Felder and the Eagles went separate ways, which allowed Don to start his own band, which is now one of the best on the market for corporate events with audiences of almost any age range.

At private events, Don and his band perform many of the Eagles greatest hits, including of course, “Hotel California”, which typically opens his sets featuring Don playing the original double-neck while guitar he wrote and recorded the track with. At the three shows for Empire’s client, the set lists included rock classics including “Take It Easy”, “Life In the Fast Lane”, and “Heartache Tonight”, while ballads such as “Tequila Sunrise” and “Peaceful Easy Feeling” gave the guests and their spouses an opportunity to slow dance as well. Felder’s sets also generally include a handful of songs by some of his other favorite artists, notably “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder and “Pride & Joy” by Stevie Ray Vaughn (on which Felder proves he is still one of the greatest guitarists who have ever lived).And as incredible as Felder is onstage, he is equally courteous and flexible offstage. He understands the need to listen to client concerns and requests at private shows, and in a truly accommodating gesture, he agreed to play “Hotel California” at the end of each show for Empire’s client, as well as at the start. He was also wonderful at the meet and greet following each of the three performances, happily meeting the client’s VIP’s, taking photos with them, and sharing stories.All three audiences were elated hearing their old Eagles favorites, and sang along with the band while jamming the dance floor.

Empire has been recommending, securing, and producing headline entertainment for special events since its inception in 1993. We pride ourselves on suggesting the best possible entertainers for our clients based on their attendees, budgets, and event objectives.