Each year TIME publishes the TIME 100: a list of the 100 most influential people in the world. To celebrate this highly anticipated release, TIME hosts an exclusive Gala event in New York City attended by current and past TIME 100 honorees. With its extraordinary mix of world leaders, innovators and celebrities, the TIME 100 Gala is recognized as one of the world’s most high profile annual events and for the 6th consecutive year Empire was proud to serve as the event’s producer. The 2014 TIME 100 Gala took place at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Participants and performers at this year’s TIME 100 included Carrie Underwood, Pharrell Williams, Seth Meyers, Governor Scott Walker, Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Alfonso Cuarón, Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and Megyn Kelly, as well as Time Warner Chairman and CEO, Jeff Bewkes, Time Inc. CEO, Joe Ripp, and Managing Editor of TIME, Nancy Gibbs.

The TIME 100 was also attended by a global who’s who of icons from industry, culture, sports, fashion and politics. Some of those in attendance this year included Amy Adams, Katie Couric, Rand Paul, Rupert Murdoch, Barbara Walters, Susan Sarandon, Padma Lakshmi, Christy Turlington Burns & Ed Burns, Jenji Kohan, Frank Ocean, Ronan Farrow, Alice Waters, Charlie Rose, Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, and Arianna Huffington.

The TIME 100 featured red carpets on three floors, an elegant cocktail reception, a seated dinner and program that combined keynote remarks, musical performances, toasts by the evening’s honorees, and an after-party. This year’s gala event was sponsored by Chivas Regal 25 and Citi.

As one of the world’s most high-stature events, the TIME 100 draws extensive global media coverage which this year included the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, the Today Show, Huffington Post, FOX, and many others. BizBash Media named the TIME 100 the #1 Media Event of the Year.

With the world watching through such extensive coverage, the production of the TIME 100 requires precision execution. Empire was proud to work closely with the TIME team to deliver a flawless evening.

Empire’s responsibilities as producer included event design & décor, talent booking & coordination, venue and catering logistics (provided by Great Performances), technical production, broadcast and Internet stream facilities, stage management, staffing, front of house logistics, security and sponsorship activations.

Crackle, a SONY Pictures Television digital entertainment network, partnered with Empire to produce their 2014 Digital NewFront— an annual presentation to advertisers and media covering the digital entertainment sector.

With an exciting lineup of both new, original programs and returning series, presenters such as Bryan Cranston ("The Tightrope"), Chad Michael Murray ("Chosen”), Emmanuelle Chriqui (“Cleaners”) and sportscaster Dan Patrick (“Sports Jeopardy”) were on-hand alongside Crackle executives Eric Berger and James Smith.

The NewFront was held inside Chelsea’s Cedar Lake Center, whose elegant brick walls, high ceiling and flown lighting grid, which are reminiscent of a soundstage, helped to drive home the message that Crackle is an integrated part of the SONY production operations and is actively engaged in producing the content it distributes. The venue featured a main theater as well as an adjoining reception space where guests took photos with Crackle on-air talent.

Within the concise, 60-minute program, Crackle showcased their extensive original programming in the sports, comedy, thrillers, and music categories, featuring the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, John Legend, Robert Downey Jr. and Jeremy Renner. Crackle presented itself as a dynamic and far-reaching network, actively building upon its past success and firmly focused on future growth.

In addition to securing the venue, designing the spaces, managing event logistics, catering and stage managing the complex program, Empire provided all staging and technical production support. The presentation seamlessly fused a large, main LED screen with content shown on a series of six flown plasma screens flanking the set. The stage design served as a perfect vehicle for Crackle to showcase its content for the advertisers and media in attendance.

MediaBizBlogger’s, an online blog that cover the Upfronts and NewFronts each year, gave Crackle’s NewFront a 4.5 out of 5 “Jacks” adding that the NewFront had “great attitude, flow and fun.” Cynopsis’ NewFront Poll declared Crackle’s NewFront as the winner with 65% of readers polled saying that Crackle’s NewFront was the best of this year’s presentations.

Empire continues to set the industry standard for producing outstanding presentations for clients seeking to communicate their mission, motivations and value proposition to key customers. Empire is proud to have served SONY Pictures Television and Crackle for their Digital NewFront.

When The New Museum, one of the foremost institutions for New York City’s au courant modern art scene, sought talent for their private annual spring gala, they turned to Empire for a musical solution suitable for the city’s finest tastes. In search of a singer that would not only impress, but would lift the heels of guests of this coveted invitation, we engaged a chic international sensation: Swedish singer and songwriter Lykke Li.

With two albums successfully under her belt, as well as tracks on films The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Blue is the Warmest Color, and Rust and Bone, Lykke Li is the darling who is wooing the world with her unique fusion of indie, surrealist pop, and electronic music.

On the evening of Tuesday, April 1, Cipriani Wall Street buzzed with artists, dealers, curators, and editors. New York’s elite tastemakers were dressed in burgundy, cardinal, vermilion, and oxblood, befitting of the evening’s theme, “Red or Racy”. Luxury Italian sports car label Ferrari served as the evening’s sponsor, with two new models boldly parked on the sidewalk.

Following a live auction with Simon de Pury at the helm, the evening’s co-host, actress Greta Gerwig, announced that Lykke Li would take the stage by storm.

Her set included her hits “I Follow Rivers”, “I’m Good, I’m Gone”, and “Get Some”, as well as songs from her much anticipated new album, I Never Learn, dropping in May. After her hit show, the singer mingled with the crowd, including the evening’s co-host Stefano Tonchi of W magazine, Cindy Sherman, Derek Blasberg, and Jeffrey Deitch, as well as the museum’s director Lisa Phillips.

For this fantastic evening, we proudly served as entertainment producer, including securing and contracting talent and managing all talent logistics and stage management.

Whether it’s securing headline musical, comedy or variety talent, contracting or handling production or logistical needs, Empire is a leader in delivering the biggest names in entertainment for not for profit event performances.

On April 19, 2014 the independent horror comedy, Zombeavers, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. After the Zombeavers trailer was released online and went viral with millions of views the prior month, the Zombeavers premiere was a widely-anticipated event.

A sold out crowd showed up for the world premiere of the gory Summer thriller at Chelsea’s Bow Tie Cinemas. The film was directed by veteran standup comedian and writer, Jordan Rubin, and written by Al Kaplan, Jordan Rubin, and Jon Kaplan.

Immediately following the screening, guests were invited to join the filmmakers and cast at Trailer Park Lounge, located directly across the street from the theater for the film’s Official Premiere After Party.

Inside the eclectically decorated venue, guests were greeted by world-renowned DJ Mark Ronson, spinning his own mixed versions of hip hop classics for an intimate crowd of 150 guests. In addition to the cast & crew of Zombeavers, attendees include Judah Friedlander, Sean Lennon, Dave Attell, Bennett Miller, Fab Five Freddy, Matthew Lillard, Charlotte Ronson, and Josephine De La Baume.

Guests enjoyed an open bar and array of hand selected hors d’oeuvres, as an animatronic beaver that was actually used in the film provided attendees with a memorable photo opportunity. As guests departed, they were presented with gift bags full of ‘Zombeavers’ branded merchandise.

To see the trailer of this highly anticipated independent film, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7onFrBK_hKE

The location might have been TriBeCa, but the vibe was all Africa when the trustees of The Africa Center, in collaboration with Ben Bronfman, Taymour Grahne and Fab 5 Freddy, hosted the first in a series of monthly events in the lead-up to Africa Central, the Center's much-anticipated September pop-up. The eclectic crowd - including well-known figures from the worlds of art, film, fashion, finance and philanthropy - mingled easily against the backdrop of Moroccan-born photographer Hassan Hajjaj's sold-out show.

Hajjaj, whose work features in permanent collections on both sides of the Atlantic, including LACMA and The V&A, is set to design the cafe for Africa Central. Architect David Adjaye, art dealer and curator Jeffrey Deitch, fashion designer Ozwald Boateng, and African Film Festival founder Mahen Bonetti have committed to Africa Central's 10-day program and will be collaborating to produce various events.

The event drew over 400 guests to the Taymour Grahne Gallery, and DJ Rich Medina spun a set of Afro-Pop while guests sipped rum drums generously donated by Starr African Rum.

When it formally opens in 2015, The Africa Center will be the world’s leading hub for contemporary and traditional African art, culture, policy and business. Through world-class programming and a global network of partner institutions, The Africa Center will shape U.S. - Africa engagement, transform how Africa is understood in the United States, and provide a new cultural landmark in New York City.

The Africa Center is committed to to exploring a broad range of issues affecting the African continent, from education and the environment to economics and governance, while maintaining a core commitment to art and culture.

Africa Central, a cultural pop-up event, will open in The Africa Center's unfinished space at One Museum Mile in September 2014 as a temporary pop-up experience. Visitors to Africa Central will have the opportunity to participate in a various events, from performance and visual arts, to fashion and food, educational outreach and more.

To learn more about Africa Central and the Africa Center visit www.theafricacenter.org

Subaru made an appearance at the 84th Annual Geneva International Auto Show in Geneva Switzerland to unveil three new vehicles including a futuristic concept car, the “Subaru VIZIV 2 Concept” and the latest “WRX STi”. The Japanese auto manufacturer wanted to include something a little unexpected to help showcase their new concept at the Subaru Press Conference to better feature Subaru’s unique character and craftsmanship.

With the help of our Tokyo office, Subaru was able to present their new auto concepts in an innovative way by integrating famed Japanese tap dancer, Hideboh in the unveiling. Hideboh is best known for his famed dance sequence in Zatoichi, a movie directed by Takeshi Kitano.

Working under the direction of our Tokyo team, Hideboh worked with the tap dancing group LiBLAZE to create a custom performance designed for maximum impact. The performance integrated various energetic dance elements characterizing the new Subaru concept car, “VIZIV 2.”

The unconventional press conference was a big hit for Subaru, garnering media attention from all over the world.

To learn more about the new vehicles showcased and see Hideboh in action at the Subaru Press Conference, please visit: http://youtu.be/Gp50YLAzO5Y.

Empire is a leading supplier of creative talent solutions for international product launches, trade shows and exhibits.

In 2013, Empire worked with AMC to create what would become one of the most innovative and talked-about events of the year for AMC’s first-ever Upfront.

In April 2014, AMC raised the bar again, challenging us to deliver an event that would wow their guests in a completely new way and deliver on AMC’s tag line of ‘Something More’. Working together with AMC over the course of many months, we reimagined the upfront as an epic, seated dinner that would allow the guests to experience the power of AMC’s programming in a group setting. The results were, in the words of advertising media, “eye-popping” and “an imaginative bar-raiser and sure-fire candidate for best event of 2014".

The evening began with guests boarding a series of luxury coaches to transport guests from their midtown offices to the downtown venue. Upon arriving at Pier 36, guests checked in quickly and passed through a sleek reception area and into a cocktail lounge while listening to remarks by AMC’s engaging President, Charlie Collier. As Collier wrapped up his remarks, a giant wall of curtains unexpectedly parted to reveal a stunningly beautiful 100' dining room with banquet tables and over 100 waiters in formal attire lining the aisles.

Guests were awestruck by the screens lining the perimeter of the room and were in for an even bigger surprise as they were seated next to the stars and creators of AMC’s shows. Among the celebrity attendees were Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, John Slattery, Christina Hendricks and January Jones of Mad Men; Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, Steven Yeun, and Lauren Cohan of The Walking Dead; Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks of the highly-anticipated Better Call Saul.

To bring current and upcoming programs to life, custom-created wide screen trailers of AMC’s shows were shown on the surrounding screens while shock-and-awe theatrical experiences complemented each sequence. While guests enjoyed their amuse bouche, highlights of Mad Men ran on the screen to conclude with a reveal of the entire cast standing in spotlights at their tables. Next up, a series of live and projected legal incidents advertised the law practice and new series of the ever-scheming Saul Goodman of Better Call Saul. During the main course, a panoramic animation sequence turned the clock back on Manhattan from the present day to 1776. As the trailer for AMC’s newest series entitled Turn concluded, guests witnessed a full-scale Revolutionary War battle fought in the aisles by over 50 soldiers in costume amidst smoke effects and cannon and musket fire. A revolutionary war fife and drum corps conclude the battles sequence and provided a nice segue to a lone fiddle player whose music transported guests back to the old West of Hell on Wheels as expansive imagery of trains rolling across the Great Plains spread over the screens. In the final sequence, AMC executives’ closing remarks were cut short by a Walking Dead Zombie attack as over 40 authentic walkers invaded the dinner space and chased guests back into the reception area that had been transformed into an ‘80s-themed after party portraying Halt and Catch Fire - a new series about the birth of the personal computer.

MediaBizBlogger Simon Applebaum wrote that AMC’s Upfront was “An imaginative bar-raiser and sure-fire candidate for best event of 2014.” Another media executive quoted in Broadcasting & Cable was quoted as saying “Other companies will be hard pressed to beat this. They’ve raised the bar.”

For over 16 years, world-renowned event designer Colin Cowie and Empire have enjoyed a very special partnership creating experiences that define the very best moments in people’s lives. This partnership combines Colin Cowie’s unparalleled ability to design bespoke environments and celebrations, and Empire’s ability to animate those visions through top-tier talent acquisition, precision technical management and live event production of the highest caliber. The results of this partnership have been experienced first hand by a long list of royalty, heads of state, billionaires, and many of the leading celebrities of our age, at events across the globe from Dubai to Mexico, Monaco to the Bahamas. Our most recent collaboration brought our teams to the spectacular Bacara Resort in picturesque Santa Barbara. The occasion? A very special birthday party, hosted by the incomparable Oprah Winfrey, for one of her dearest friends. Working closely together, Colin and Oprah imagined a spectacular environment: a vision of red velvet, cut crystal, black sequins, a dozen giant mirror balls, 100’ of video walls, hidden lounges, a branded dance floor, and LED curtains, all together taking the form of a ballroom within the ballroom. The fabulous evening included an elegant cocktail reception featuring a live-electric violinist playing along with a pre-recorded electro track. When guests entered the ballroom, they gasped at the beauty of the room, and the elegant band on stage. Throughout the dinner, there were seamless transitions between the course service, live toasts, and musical accompaniment by the New York City-based Ikonix Band, led by Troy Curtis. Following dinner, Ms. Winfrey welcomed world-renowned Grammy Award-winning performer, Patti LaBelle to the stage to perform hits including: “You are my Friend,” “New Attitude,” Lady Marmalade” and “Over the Rainbow.” Immediately following her set, a huge birthday cake was rolled onto the dance floor, and Ms. LaBelle led the room full of well-wishers to sing “Happy Birthday.”When it was time to get the dance party started, giant curtains opened, revealing previously-hidden glittering lounge areas, as Ikonix and DJ Neza performed several musical mash ups punctuated by a series of special effects. The guests danced until the early hours of the morning, fueled by Espresso-laced shots and late-night snacks. The following morning, guests reappeared in the ballroom, which had been transformed overnight into a gorgeous theater for a very special Gospel performance curated by the great Bebe Winans. The Gospel performance featured a children’s choir from The Adderley School for the Performing Arts, some of the Los Angeles area’s best gospel soloists, and a rousing set by Bebe Winans, who got the entire audience on their feet and even managed to get guest Rob Lowe up to dance and sing along. Empire was honored to once again be chosen by Colin Cowie to join his team to create another extraordinary experience for one of the highest stature clients in the world.

On February 7, 2014, the Swatch Group Japan held an important event celebrating the 160th anniversary of Tissot Watches. The event entitled “TISSOT: INNOVATORS BY TRADITION” was presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo for an audience of VIPs, celebrities and top customers. As part of the celebration, Empire Entertainment Japan commissioned U.S.-based dance company “Le Ombré” to create an original performance to celebrate the company’s rich history. Swatch Group Executive Board member, Francois Thiébaud, together with Swatch Group Japan President, Christophe Savioz, gave the celebratory toast and opened the curtain on Le Ombré’s acrobatic silhouette performance, designed to reflect the spirit of challenge carried over Tissot’s 160 year history. The client described Le Ombré’s performance and the evening as “Unforgettable.” Empire is a leading producer of high-end events for luxury brands throughout the world.

When the Super Bowl came to the New York area in February 2014, many major corporations and brands marked the occasion with top-tier parties in Manhattan filled with celebrities, athletes and VIPs. As one of the world’s leading sports media companies, the Sports Illustrated party would necessarily need to stand out from all others and Empire was tapped to help ensure this.

Sports Illustrated chose to present a large-scale event on the night before the big game at one of New York’s newest venues, Skylight Modern. Located in the heart of the chic Chelsea Gallery district, this contemporary space accommodates over 600 guests with room to spare for large-scale staging, sponsor activations and kitchen facilities. Joining Sports Illustrated as co-sponsors of the Super Bowl event were several blue chip companies from the automotive, technology and liquor industries. The space was elegantly constructed into a main concert area with raised VIP areas, several bars, elegant sponsor activations and marketing installations for the participating partners.

DJ Kiss kicked off the party as VIPs arrived via Jaguar automobiles and took their turns on the red carpet. Attending VIPs included John Legend, Fantasia and several of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models. As the crowd filled the room and began dancing, multiple Grammy Award winning musician, artist and producer Wyclef Jean arrived to take the stage with his full band and DJ. Wyclef proceeded to rock the house with a high-energy set as he alternated between guitar, keyboard and bongos. His electrifying set soon had everyone in the house on their feet, including the invitation to come onstage extended to 20 ladies to dance with him mid show. When the live set ended, Wyclef remained onstage to DJ for another hour, playing mash-ups of 1980s hits evocative of New Jersey where he spent part of his youth and where the Super Bowl would soon be played. The party was a sensational success and Sports Illustrated, the sponsors, advertisers and attendees all had a great time.

Empire secured and contracted Wyclef Jean and his band for this project and coordinated all related production and logistics, working closely with Sports Illustrated and its partners. Empire is a leading provider of headline talent for high-profile sports hospitality events.