In May 2011, Empire Entertainment returned to Alice Tully Hall to produce the Film Society of Lincoln Center's annual Chaplin Award Tribute Gala. This year's star-studded Gala, the 38th annual, honored Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier. 
The Film Society's Annual Gala Tribute began in 1972 and honored Charles Chaplin – who returned to the US from exile to accept the commendation. Since then, the award has honored many of film's visionary talents, including Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Laurence Olivier, Federico Fellini, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, James Stewart, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Michael Douglas and Tom Hanks. 

This year's gala evening began with VIP cocktails in the Hauser Patron's Lounge in Alice Tully Hall and was followed by a seated dinner in the glass-walled atrium. For the dinner, Empire worked closely with Gala Co-Chair Liz Swig and the Film Society of Lincoln center’s events team to design a striking black & white abstract pattern that was printed on the surface of each dinner table and mirrored on the facades of bars and other event furnishings. Following dinner the 1000+ guests entered the Starr Theater for the all-star tribute program. The program began with a video retrospective of the Chaplin Awards through the years followed by remarks from the event committee chair Ann Tenenbaum. At the conclusion of her remarks, Tenenbaum welcomed Bill Cosby to the stage where in his legendary comedic style he praised his friend Sidney Poitier while skewering him. The evening progressed with a series of heartfelt tributes interspersed by film clips of Sidney Poitier's work. The presenters included James Earl Jones, Chris Tucker, Mary Louise-Parker, Danny Glover, Ruby Dee, Morgan Freeman, Norman Jewison, Harry Belafonte, Quentin Tarantino, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, and a video greeting from Oprah Winfrey. The clips included highlights from "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner", "Blackboard Jungle", "Uptown Saturday Night", "The Defiant Ones", "A Raisin In The Sun", "Patch of Blue", and "In The Heat of the Night” among others.One of the many highlights of the evening were comedic remarks delivered by Dan Aykroyd and Sir Ben Kingsley in which they presented a slideshow comparing Poitier to other film icons such as John Wayne and Paul Newman. A surprise moment came following a film clip of "To Sir With Love" when Poitier's co-star and singer Lulu gave a powerful, yet intimate performance of the song before an ecstatic audience. As the final presenter of the evening, Quincy Jones at last presented Sidney Poitier with the Chaplin Award. Poitier then gave his heartfelt remarks and thanks with his trademark delivery while all of the evening's presenters stood by his side.The program was followed by a lively after-party in the transformed Atrium space that stretched late into the evening. For this high stature event Empire served as overall event producer and was responsible for aspects ranging from overall creative and production design, to coordinating with presenters and talent, working with Lincoln center to provide production design and supervision, working with the Film Society to develop the run of show and stage managing the event. Empire also designed and implemented all aspects of the red carpet and presenter arrivals, press and step & repeat, VIP cocktail party, dinner design & décor, catering, and after-party design. Empire is a leading producer of high-profile award and tribute programs and is frequently engaged to present programs with international stature talent & celebrities.To learn more about the Film Society of Lincoln Center and to become a donor, visit www.filmlinc.com

On May 1st, 2011, Empire Entertainment was proud to produce the 2nd Annual Mary J. Blige Honors Concert on behalf of The Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now (FFAWN), Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute’s fast growing charitable organization. Held at NYC’s Hammerstein Ballroom, over 700 guests including Russell Simmons, Ellen Pompeo, Evan Rachel Wood, Kerry Washington and Donna Karan attended to support FFAWN and their mission to empower and encourage women by shaping and supporting programs that foster education, career development, strong self-esteem, and personal growth.

Hosted by the incomparable Queen Latifah and Elle Magazine Editor-in-Chief Robbie Myers, the event honored the 2011 FFAWN scholarship recipients and celebrated the dedication of these special young women to achieve greatness. Joining them onstage was a star studded all female line-up of extraordinary performers, leading ladies and role models, including Corinne Bailey Rae, Jill Scott, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Anita Baker and the Queen of Hip Hop Soul herself, Mary J. Blige.

Powerful video and emotive graphic images of FFAWN’s work played on a large projection screen flown over the stage while the all female cast drove FFAWN’s mission home - to inspire women from all walks of life to gain the confidence and skills they need to reach their individual potential.Guests were seated in a stunning ballroom lit by candlelight with sexy lounge décor graciously donated by Donna Karan’s Urban Zen Foundation, one of the evening’s presenting sponsors. With complete VIP treatment and bottle service donated by Moet Hennessy, attendees lounged comfortably while listening extraordinary live female vocal performances.

Some highlights of the evening included Corinne Bailey Rae’s "Put Your Records On," and "Like a Star," Jill Scott’s soulful, “Golden,” Jennifer Hudson’s "I Got This" and her powerful rendition of “I'm Every Woman." Christina Aguilera, accompanied by a pianist, singing a moving performance of “Beautiful,” Anita Baker singing an incredible surprise duet with Mary J. Blige, of "Caught Up In The Rapture,” the song that launched Mary J. Blige’s career.At the end of the evening Nine Time Grammy Award winning artist, Mary J. Blige took the stage and tore the house down with “No More Drama” and her finalé, “Just Fine.” As the audience stood for a standing ovation everyone felt the incredible power of her voice and understood that FFAWN had achieved what they had set out to do.

The memorable night was sponsored by Elle, Gucci, Moet Hennessy, Covergirl, The Urban Zen Foundation and Scholarship America as well as supported by many in-kind donations and support from others.All told, the event raised over half a million dollars for FFAWN, while paying tribute to young girls with big dreams of becoming the leaders of tomorrow.

Empire Entertainment served as overall event producer for MJB Honors and managed all aspects of the event including site selection and contracting, logistics, catering, décor, video creation, talent management and coordination, production, security and onsite management, collaborating with FFAWN and all of the other sponors, partners and donors.

To find out how you can get involved with FFAWN and help make the difference in the lives of women, visit their website at www.ffawn.org. You can also go their star-studded online auction featuring exclusive music and entertainment experiences at www.charitybuzz.com/Ffawn.

Empire Entertainment is a proud supporter of The Foundation For the Advancement of Women Now (FFAWN), and its mission to help all women gain the confidence and skills they need to reach their full individual potential.

On May 16, 2011, Empire Entertainment, in partnership with @Radical.Media, produced Conservation International’s Los Angeles Gala at the Montage Beverly Hills. The third of four, national fundraising events that Empire is producing for Conservation International, this event brought together some of Los Angeles’ leading philanthropists with some of the world’s most notable champions of the environment.The event began with an elegant cocktail reception and proceeded into a seated dinner in the Marquesa Ballroom. Once guests were seated, Conservation International Chairman’s Council Member, Gillian Wynn welcomed the audience and set the stage for the impressive evening to come.Then Conservation International Chairman, and CEO Peter Seligmann delivered a powerful keynote address highlighting critical environmental and conservation issues around the world and focusing on CI’s vital work in these areas.After dinner, Conservation International President Russ Mittermeir and motion picture superstar Harrison Ford presented an award to DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg who spoke to the audience. Katzenberg’s appearance was well timed with the release of Kung Fu Panda II which gave both him and Conservation International an opportunity to spotlight their efforts in saving natural habitats in rapidly developing China.At the conclusion of the evening, Jack Black delivered a pre-recorded greeting and then Gillian Wynn took the stage to ask the attendees to remain engaged with what hey had heard on this night and to give generously with a special Save an Acre appeal.Following the dinner, guests adjourned to an after-party dessert reception.Empire served as overall event producer for this gala and was responsible for all technical production, stage design, and stage management. @Radical.Media provided all screen content and graphics.Conservation International empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, our global biodiversity, and for the well-being of humanity. To learn more about Conservation International, visit http://www.conservation.org/Empire is a leading producer of innovative gala events and is proud to serve Conservation International.

Empire Entertainment was honored to produce the New York Foundation for the Arts 40th Anniversary Gala, which took place at the Prince George Ballroom on April 26, 2011. Although the event took place nearly a month after the first day of spring, the change in season did not seem official until the day of the 40th Anniversary Gala––an appropriate coincidence given the mission of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) support artists at budding stages in their creative lives.The gallery of the Prince George Ballroom was filled with works by several of NYFA’s most celebrated artists, including two 13 foot paintings by David Sandlin, as well as an enormous ceramic sculpture by Steven Montgomery entitled Green Door. During the cocktail reception Combo Nuvo, an improvisational jazz ensemble featuring several of New York’s most acclaimed jazz artists, played while guests enjoyed the artwork, passed hors d’oeuvres and cocktails.Guests were then ushered into the ornate ballroom for to find appetizers awaiting them. Abigail Kirsch catered an exquisite dinner, during which Kathleen Chalfant, actor and member of the NYFA leadership counsel, introduced each honored artist. The honorees included Todd Haynes, writer, director and executive producer whose most recent film I’m Not There won the Robert Altman award at the Independent Spirit Awards. Critically acclaimed choreographer and Editor-in-Chief of Dance Magazine, Wendy Perron, controversial artist Andres Serrano and NYFA trustee Kathleen O’Grady were also on the list of honorees. Following the award presentation was a performance by Suzzy Roche.

Working closely with New York Foundation for the Arts events team, Empire Entertainment served as overall producer of the event and as responsible for aspects ranging from event design, layout, technical production and logistics to décor and music.To learn more about New York Foundation for the Arts or to donate, please visit, NYFA.org.

On April 12, 2011 Empire Entertainment Japan, together with the support of our sponsors, partners and friends produced the charity event "Power to the People" to provide aid to Tsunami and Earthquake victims in Japan's hard hit Tohoku region.All proceeds from this event were donated to the not-for-profit organization Civic Force, one of the many groups doing excellent work delivering urgently needed relief services to isolated areas of Northeast Japan.Despite a strong aftershock earthquake on the day of the event, over 200 guests joined our artists and speakers for the event and over 1 million yen was donated to charity.Event Website：http://empireentertainmentjapan.web.fc2.com/Artists and Speakers (Alphabetical Order):AHN MIKA: tencarat-plume.jp/models/details/anmika.shtmlAMIGA: http: www.electrical-lovers.com/DJ ALEX from TOKYO: www.alexfromtokyo.sakura.ne.jp/en/profile.htmlDJ YUMMY: www.djyummy.net/Naomi Grace: www.naomigrace.com/Sherry: www.mh-fujiga.com/sherry/TONFU: www.mimi-e.com/tonfu/ Supporting Organizations (Alphabetical Order):Asian Tigers Japan: www.asiantigers-japan.comAZA: www.aza.co.jpConcept Artists: www.conceptartists.comEmpire Entertainment Inc.: www.empireentertainment.comEvent 21: www.event21.co.jpFashion TV Japan: www.ftv.co.jpMiss Universe Japan, IBG Japan, Co. Ltd.: www.missuniversejapan.com Santa Fe Japan: www.santafejapan.co.jpSleep Solutions Inc.: www.sleeptracker.comTAKE AND GIVE NEEDS Co., Ltd: www.tgn.co.jpWeatherly Japan: www.sleeptracker.jpHaiyuza Theater: www.haiyuzagekijou.co.jp/theater

On Thursday, April 28th at the Metropolitan Club in New York City, celebrity friends and family joined Goldie Hawn for the Hawn Foundation Gala. The Hawn Foundation promotes it’s MindUP programs that focus on equipping children with the social and emotional skills they need to navigate the challenges of the contemporary world in order to lead smarter, healthier, and happier lives. The event featured a cocktail reception, stage program and performances in the spectacular Metropolitan Club spaces on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 60th Street in New York City. During the stage program, speakers including Kurt Russell and Kate Hudson spoke on behalf of the Foundation to the packed room that included several celebrities such as Courtney Love. Kate Hudson graciously introduced her mother, Goldie, who emotionally discussed how the Foundation was her most important achievement. In addition to the speaking program, the entertainment at the event included a soloist from the Newark Boys Choir, The CityKids Dancers, jazz icon Christine Ebersole and an acoustic set from Matchbox 20's Rob Thomas. Following the stage program International DJ sensation Donna D'Cruz spun a mix of dance favorites that had Goldie Hawn, her husband Kurt Russell and the other guests dancing until late into the evening. For this worthy gala, Empire Entertainment was engaged by Elizabeth Rose Consulting who worked closely with Ms. Hawn to create the exclusive cocktail event in the century-old East side venue. Empire is a leading producer of not-for-profit events.

Each year, TIME publishes the TIME100, a list of the 100 most influential people in the world. In conjunction with this highly-anticipated editorial event, TIME hosts an exclusive Gala event in New York City attended by many current and past TIME 100 honorees, celebrities, entertainers and world leaders. Heavily covered by global media, the TIME 100 Gala is one of the highest-profile newsmaker events in the world. 
 This year's TIME 100 Gala took place on April 26, 2011 at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The event consisted of multiple red carpets, an intimate cocktail reception, a seated dinner and program that combined toasts, speeches, performances, and a cocktail party following the dinner.Performers at the 2011 TIME 100 Gala included Sting and Bruno Mars as well as remarks by Saturday Night Live’s Amy Poehler, Egyptian activist Wael Ghonim, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and a specially-taped message from Ricky Gervais. The event was also attended by a who’s who including Mark Wahlberg, Aziz Ansari, Seth Meyers, Martha Stewart, Pastor Rob Bell, Blake Lively, and Patti Smith.For this high-stature event, all of the evening's production components require seamless execution. With the help of TIME’s event and marketing services team, Empire’s responsibilities ranged from securing the performing talent to managing venue, catering (provided by Great Performances), design of all spaces, branding, step & repeat, staging, sound, lighting, video projection, video documentation, FTP media feed, talent and presenter coordination, stage management, staffing and security.Visit time.com to view a brief summary of this year's TIME 100: http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,921096954001_2067873,00.htmlEmpire Entertainment is a leading producer of high-profile media events and is proud to again have been chosen to produce this remarkable program for TIME.

In April 2011, Empire produced a Fortune 500 company’s General Managers meeting for the 14th consecutive year. The meeting was a multi-day conference at the Walt Disney Orlando & Swan Hotel, featuring a kickoff general session, two awards galas, and a vendor dinner featuring interactive entertainment.For many years the client’s kickoff session was very basic, with executives speaking and presenting powerpoint from a podium. But this year Empire consulted on the scripting and provided stage management to present the information to the attendees in a “60 Minutes” style presentation, inclusive of video roll-ins, onstage interviews, video segments, and even a spoof of Andy Rooney for some comic relief as a break from the business content.When the client wanted an entertaining, interactive, reasonably-priced teambuilding activity as entertainment following one of their evening dinners, Empire presented a fantastic “Family-Feud” inspired game show in which the client vendors and buyers were the contestants, and the questions were custom written by the executives to make the material company- specific and fun.In the spirit of keeping the conference energetic and dynamic, Empire also created a soundtrack of great movie theme songs to use as the walk-up music for award winners at one of the after-dinner galas. Winners walked to the stage to the upbeat and instantly recognizable sounds of Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Rocky, James Bond, and more.Empire provided and managed all staging, audio, video, lighting, teleprompter services, stage management, and technical direction, for the conference, and is proud to work with elite clients who have chosen to partner with us for more than a decade on their most important events. While renown for our experience producing events with A-list entertainment elements, Empire is also a premier producer of content-driven corporate meetings and conferences.

On Saturday, April 9th, 2011, Empire Entertainment produced The Flawless Foundation’s second annual Perfection Party at the Otto Khan and James Burden Mansions in New York City. Upon arrival at the Perfection Party, Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy greeted the guests of the panel discussion entitled “The Best Kind of Different” with a gracious speech, noting his own long-term commitment to Mental Health Advocacy. A lively panel discussion, featuring the world’s leading mental health experts and advocates ensued. The panel was moderated by Lisa Bloom, a civil and children’s rights attorney, television host and author of the upcoming book, Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World. The panelists included J. Stuart Ablon, PhD, of Harvard Medical School, and Director of Think:Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, one of the nation’s leading child and adolescent psychiatrists, author and founding President of the Child Mind Institute, Shonda Schilling; author of the New York Times Best Seller, The Best Kind of Different: Our Family's Journey with Asperger's Syndrome, and wife of retired Major League Baseball pitcher, Curt Schilling, as well as Garen Staglin, founder of the International Mental Health Research Organization, and co-founders of both The Next Frontier of the Brain campaign and Bring Change 2 Mind with Glenn Close and others. After the enlightining panel discussion, guests proceeded to the cavernous portico, festooned with cherry blossoms for an elegant reception featuring champagne from Knudsen Family Vineyards and Argyle white wine. Guests were then escorted to a dinner prepared by renowned Chef David Burke paired with the wines from Staglin Family Vineyard. Once guests were seated, the anchor from WPIX News at Six, Jim Watkins gave a toast to Patrick Kennedy, congratulating him on his recent engagement to Amy Petitgout.At the conclusion of the evening, guests were given Chef David Burke’s signature dessert, cheese cake lollipops and left with a lovely “Flawless Foundation” canvas gift bag including Thank-you cards by Gratitude designs and a copy of Shonda Schilling’s book, The Best Kind Of Different.Empire Entertainment served as overall event producer for the event and was responsible for all event logistics, press, and technical production. Empire worked alongside Pamela Morgan’s Flavors to create a consistent look and feel for the evening.Emnpire is a leading producer of not for profit and gala events.

The setting: The Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island, Bahamas. The purpose: An incentive program for one of the world’s leading communication technology companies. The perfect headline entertainment: International, Platinum-selling superstars Earth, Wind & Fire.The band's participation in the event was kept a secret until the moment they were announced onstage to the excited audience of 500+ guests & spouses. Once onstage the band did not disappoint. Their 90 minute set included all of their funk, R&B and soul hits including "Shining Star." "Sing a Song," "Got To Get You Into My Life," "September," "Serpentine Fire," "Reasons," "Boogie Wonderland" "Mighty, Mghty," "After The Love Has Gone," "That's The Way of the World" and "Let's Groove." The band's powerful stage presence with full horn section had the audience dancing and shouting for encores. Prior to the performance, the band's principal members Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson graciously greeted and talked with VIPs, taking photos with all of them. For this incentive program, Empire worked closely with the client’s meeting production company, Swift Media Group, to identify talent candidates, negotiate the performance contract, and facilitated the development of a working production plan with Swift Media Group and local vendors. Empire also worked to manage complicated logistics including the freight of equipment into and out of the Bahamas, and work permits & visas. Empire is a leading provider of headline entertainment for corporate meetings & events and is deeply experienced in overcoming the challenges of presenting headline entertainment outside of the United States.