Empire was thrilled to serve as producer of the Coalition for the Homeless’ 16th annual ARTWALK NY––New York City's premier contemporary art auction event. More than 900 art collectors, art appreciators, and celebrities came together in Skylight Studio for a night of festivities, including a live and silent auction. The core of ARTWALK was a silent and live auction featuring over 130 works of contemporary art donated by some of the world’s most celebrated artists. This included Andy Warhol, Francesco Clemente, Jeff Koons, Wade Guyton, Shepherd Fairey, and Yoko Ono. All of the biggest names were represented and for sale for a good cause. The evening began with hors d’oeuvres and cocktails graciously provided by Nicholas Feuillatte, Stella Artois, and Sud de France. Food was provided by several of New York City’s best restaurants, including Bethel, Ed’s Lobster Bar, Indochine, Macao Trading Company, Michael’s, and Osteria il Paiolo. For dessert, Lulu Cake Boutique provided cupcakes.

In the live auction room, Co-Chairs Alec Baldwin, Carey Lowell, and Richard Gere took the stage to acknowledge the important work and various projects of the Coalition for the Homeless. James Rosenquist, the event's honoree, further underlined the importance of fighting for housing, job training, and children’s services while he spoke about his memories of being a homeless New Yorker. When the live auction bidding began, Phillips du Pury auctioneer, Aileen Agogplan, auctioned off Rosenquist’s work as well as those by Andy Warhol, Francesco Clemente, Nan Goldin, Jenny Holzer, and others. The rest of Skylight’s cavernous space served as a gallery for the silent auction. Throughout the night, guests bid on and purchased established artists like Shepard Fairey, Yoko Ono, Olaf Breuning, and Christo. The silent auction featured works ranging from paintings and photographs to sculptures and installation pieces. The event was sponsored by FENDI and featured an exclusive FENDI Lounge where guests relaxed on lounge furnishings and drank Nicholas Feuillatte champagne between bidding sessions.

Working closely with Coalition for the Homeless’ events team, Empire served as overall producer of the event and was responsible for aspects including event design, art solicitation, layout, production, logistics, décor, restaurant coordination, and music. Empire also worked closely with Joyce Manalo and ArtForward who were responsible for overall coordination of the art solicitation, donations, delivery, and handling of all of the pieces for both the live and silent auctions. Bettina Prentice Communications handled press and the development of the art advisory and benefit committees as well as working to secure the evening’s honoree and many of the donated artworks. ARTWALK NY raised over $800,000 for the Coalition for the Homeless and reached the highest attendance in the event’s 16 years. Empire is honored to have worked in collaboration with the Coalition for the Homeless and its many supporters to make this year’s ARTWALK NY event the most successful one yet. To learn more about the Coalition for the Homeless or to get involved and donate, visit http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/

Tsukicon, the largest convention in Northern Europe featuring Japanese music and fashion, was convened in Helsinki Finland. The event took place at both the Gloria Hall and Kulttuuriarena Gloria, on November 13th and November 14h. Including live performances by Japanese rock bands on both days, the convention also feature fashion shows, panel discussions, contests and talk shows. Over 1,000 aficionados from across Europe gathered in Helsinki for the Two-day event.Empire coordinated the appearance of the charismatic "Gal" duo Yumachi & Aina at this year's Tsukicon event. Headilining the event, Yumachi & Aina performed live for the very first time on foreign soil, and were overwhelmingly well received by both foreign press and Japan press that had traveled over to witness the debut.In addition to managing the casting and coordination that allowed Yumachi & Aina to participate in this year's Tsukicon Convention, Empire Entertainment Japan also directed and stage managed the live show.

On October 18, 2010, The Center for Hearing and Communication celebrated it’s 100th Anniversary at the iconic 583 Park in New York City. Empire was proud to produce this centennial event, raising critical funds to provide high quality comprehensive services to those affected by hearing loss and deafness.

Over 400 guests were brought together for this black-tie cocktail and dinner to celebrate the achievements of CHC’s life changing services for those with hearing loss and auditory challenges. The evening’s program was hosted by ABC News anchor Bill Ritter, followed by an emotional and inspirational lineup of speakers and performers who were all supported by live interpreters and open captioning to facilitate for all guests.

Some of the evening’s highlights opening remarks by CHC’s President, Jeffrey Cohen, musical performance by One Life to Live actress, Kassie DePaiva, an acoustic performance by American Idol’s Crystal Bowersox and stand up comedic performance by Comedy Central’s Christian Finnegan.

Dr. Noel Kohen was honored as the pioneer for cochlear implants, while Mariella Paulino, a recipient of CHC’s services shared a personal and moving story of how CHC impacted her life. Other highlights included a live auction by Nick Dawes and a musical performance by Joey McIntyre, who shared a beautiful story about his son who was born deaf, early diagnosis and the solutions available to treat it.

Empire is a leading producer of fundraising galas and proud to support the Center for Hearing and Communication in their commitment to improving the quality of life for people with hearing loss and auditory and listening challenges. To learn more and donate to the Center for Hearing and Communication, please visit chchearing.org/

When Megane Top Corporation, one of Japan's leading eyeglass retailers, and agency partner Hakuhodo were looking for an outstanding performer for their upcoming television campaign, they turned to Empire Entertainment Japan for help.Empire Entertainment Japan proposed a wide set of candidates for the campaign, and when the client fell in love with the concept of Parkour, Empire, utilizing its vast worldwide network, contracted the youtube phenomenon performer Daniel Ilabaca. Empire further negotiating and contracted rights for Daniel's appearance in the campaign and coordinated his travel and filming in Japan.The new products, launched in December 2010, are eyeglasses called "Free Fit", and Ilabaca's performance was intended to show off how the special elastic frame allows the glasses to stay in place no matter how vigorously one's head is moved.Megane Top was excited to see their product in action as Daniel performed his stunning acrobatic moves, but overwhelmed when he performed a flipping jump off a 20 foot high building (of course without the product moving).The commercial began airing in December 2010, and is currently the subject of wider press attention including an upcoming behind-the-scenes feature on the commercial to be aired nationally on Fuji Television.

Empire is a leading source of talent for television commercials, spokesperson roles, endorsements, celebrity sponsorships and other celebrity-driven marketing initiatives.

2010 marked the 25th anniversary of American Jewish World Service – a global organization that works to alleviate poverty, hunger, and disease in the developing world. On this occasion AJWS turned to Empire Entertainment to produce a night of celebration that would focus on its past success while inspiring new and old supporters alike to look toward the future. The gala was held at the elegant Frederick P. Rose Hall at Jazz @ Lincoln Center on Thursday, October 28th. Empire worked hand in hand with AJWS executive team, board members and event committees to develop a program that both engaged and entertained the guests, while shedding light on the remarkable work of the organization.

Expanding upon traditional gala elements such as cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, a theater program and after party- Empire enhanced the program with special décor that included a specially-commissioned timeline installation that depicted AJWS’ history juxtaposed against world events over the last 25 years. Following cocktails live African drummers led guests into the theater program. To host this impressive event, Empire secured one of the world’s most respected global journalists - Christiane Amanpour. Her inspiring keynote address highlighted grantees, volunteers, and donors, who have played integral roles in the lifeline of AJWS. Other program highlights included remarks by AJWS President Ruth Messinger, event chairs Barbara Dobkin and Gigi Pritzker, and the riveting stories of two featured grantee recipients. The event also doubled as Ruth’s 70th birthday party, with a special video paying tribute to Ruth and her unwavering dedication to AJWS- Happy Birthday, Ruth!

To keep the event entertaining, Empire delivered several unique entertainment components. Working with 40 Year Old Virgin director, Judd Apatow, Empire produced and premiered a hilarious video featuring everyone from Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld and Sarah Silverman, to Brian Williams, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Lindsay Lohan which had the audience in stitches. [Click here to read more about the viral video]. As a grand finalé, the Africa Children’s Choir performed a few uplifting numbers that had the audience on their feet. Following the theater program the main body of guests joined the young professional attendees for an after party in the spectacular Allen Room that Empire converted into a lounge / club environment with DJ, drink and desserts. Empire served as the overall event producer for this 1,000 person gala managing all aspects of production including venue, lighting, staging, audio, image magnification, catering (provided by Foremost RAM and Great Performances), security, design and décor, and overall project management. Empire also consulted on creative programming aspects including scripting and show order as well as securing the evening’s headline entertainment.

Empire is one of the world’s leading producers of not-for-profit events and fundraisers.

For the launch of new docu-series Running Russell Simmons, Oxygen Media enlisted Empire Entertainment to design and produce a party for 300 clients and friends of Russell Simmons at New York City’s newest hotspot Lavo. Empire worked closely with Oxygen to create an event that would provide access for their top clients to the highly exclusive celebrity party scene of entertainment and fashion mogul Russell Simmons. This goal was also coupled with seamlessly integrating the Oxygen and Running Russell Simmons brands within the event’s design. Taking cues from Russell’s well-known fondness for argyle patterns, Empire designed a green and yellow argyle print carpet for the press tent, which hosted Russell, his friends Nick Cannon, Tyson Beckford, and Al Sharpton, as well as models Petra Nemcova and Selita Ebanks, and many more. Outside on 58th Street, yellow Oxygen “O” projections on the sidewalk created a whimsical pathway leading guests to Lavo’s unmarked doorway.

Guests then descended into the subterranean nightclub through a mirror-paneled stairwell stunningly adorned with hundreds of yellow and silver Oxygen O’s bubbling upwards like effervescent champagne. Inside the party, celebrity DJ Cassidy kept the mood high with a mix of contemporary hip hop and classic tunes. Through Cassidy’s clever coaxing, legendary rap icon Rev Run – of Run DMC fame, and also Russell’s brother – took the mic and wowed the house with several of his iconic hits including “Walk This Way” and “It’s Like That.” An hour later, a second impromptu performance of “Shoop” and “Push it” by Pepa of Salt-n-Pepa, left guests feeling they had just experienced hip hop history. To further amplify the party atmosphere, Empire flanked the DJ booth with twin 10-ft LED video walls flooded with animated graphics and audio visualizations tied into the music. To enhance the adjoining VIP lounge, Empire built two shadowboxes into the corners, featuring professional dancers, backlit by green LED lights, creating the effect of sexy silhouettes grooving to the music. Throughout the evening, guests feasted on an entirely vegan selection of passed hors d’oeuvres and sweets, inspired by Russell's personal diet and devotion to animal activism. The customized menu surprised even the most skeptical of carnivores, many of whom remarked that the food was so good they didn't realize it was vegan.

To give party-goers further immersion into the event, guests were encouraged to tweet their experiences to Running Russell Simmons' twitter feed. These comments and shout-outs were displayed on plasmas throughout the space as well as on stage with the DJ. A photobooth was also on hand to capture stylish poses and handsome mugs of guests and celebrities, leaving them with printed photos they could take with them along with their memories of the engaging evening.Empire served as overall event producer and was responsible for technical production, event design, and signage design and production.

Empire is a leading producer of custom events and is a creative partner for companies seeking to deliver original and trendsetting events.

As American Jewish World Service prepared to celebrate their 25th Anniversary, they looked to Empire Entertainment for a creative idea to reach a wide audience with a young demographic to help them develop a new generation of donors and supporters. Empire’s solution? Produce a short film to premiere at their 25th Anniversary Celebration designed to go viral in a big way. AJWS loved the concept. Empire approached one of the world’s best-known comedy directors & producers, Judd Apatow. Apatow, whose credits include the 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall among many others, quickly responded, suggesting the following creative concept: “How about this idea—a bunch of people saying, I am not Jewish and I support the American Jewish World Service.” I think people sometimes hesitate to give to organizations if they are religiously titled and this could help break that barrier. Super waspy people. Someone who is so clearly Jewish saying they are not Jewish then admitting they are at the end. Muslims. Chinese people. An animal who talks. All living things. Something in that area could be weird and fun and informative. Who’s with me!?!”

Empire brought in comedy writer and standup comedian Jordan Rubin to flesh out the script and begin the production process. Over the period of several weeks Empire, Judd Apatow and Jordan engaged in an extensive talent outreach process, ultimately securing twenty of Hollywood’s hottest actors and comedians including Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman, Ben Stiller, Helen Hunt, Tracy Morgan, Don Johnson, Ken Jeong, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Danny Trejo, Lindsay Lohan, Patrick Stewart, Andy Samberg, Susan Sarandon, Denis Leary, John Mayer, Donald Glover, Lisa Edelstein, Keifer Sutherland, Brian Williams, and Gilbert Gottfried. Even Triumph the Insult Comedy Dog made it into the film.Talent on board, Empire worked with Los Angeles-based production company 13 Keys to book the crews, equipment, editors and studio spaces for shoots in both Los Angeles and New York City. Two weeks later, with nearly 12 hilarious hours of footage recorded, Judd and Jordan worked to edit the piece into a short, viral testament to the incredible work of AJWS that would resonate with youth audiences.

The resulting video premiered live at Jazz @ Lincoln Center, NYC on Thursday, October 28th for almost 1000 guests.

The results? Just over two weeks following the premier, website traffic and AJWS’ online activity continues to exceed all of the client’s wildest expectations. The video has been viewed over 900,000 times on YouTube, over 300,000 times on Funnyordie.com, and has been posted by over 100 other blogs and websites including The New York Times, Entertainment Tonight online, NY Magazine, Huffington Post, Comedy Central, & Jewcy.com with countless postings, repostings and shared views.

Moreover, the video was nominated for and won YouTube's DoGooder Non-Profit Video Award in the Large Organization category.Empire Entertainment is a leading producer of all forms of video, film, television, and media projects for our clients and a key partner in helping our clients achieve their objectives and exceed their goals.

On October 27, 2010, Empire produced the ONEXONE Foundation's 3rd Annual Gala which included appearances by Matt Damon, Patricia Arquette and Mia Hamm, and performances by Collective Soul, Matisyahu, and other talent.Matt Damon is the ambassador of ONEXONE, and the organization's mission is to preserve a basic quality of life for children locally and globally. ONEXONE had previously had great success with fundraising efforts in Canada and California, and the Foundation turned to Empire to produce a first-ever New York City gala that would surpass all previous efforts.Empire recommended several potential venues and then led ONEXONE staff on a full day of walkthroughs to determine the best space for the project. Capitale was eventually selected as the ideal event space, and Empire was then able to start work on the event production in earnest.

On the evening of the event guests entered the stately venue past a large step & repeat backdrop assembled on the permitted sidewalk. Once inside guests enjoyed an elegant cocktail reception in the foyer surrounded by tables displaying silent auction items. These included a guitar signed by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, and dozens of other fantastic items donated by Matt Damon, Josh Groban, New York Rangers' star Chris Drury, and others.After cocktails ended, there was a reveal into the main ballroom that was surrounded with flown banners featuring oversized close-up photos of children from around the world. This visually striking treatment not only decorated the already-ornate room but also served as a constant reminder as to what the event was really all about.

The stage program also started with a perfect fit for the event, children's chorus PS22, which has garnered millions of YouTube hits, singing Matisyahu's song "One Day" which is heard as soon as you log onto http://www.onexone.org. An even greater surprise came when Matisyahu himself joined the 60 kids onstage to sing along with them.After some very funny opening remarks by host Jay Bilas of ESPN and CBS Sports fame, ONEXONE’s President Marc Joubert took the stage along with the organization's founder Joey Adler. They provided some moving words about the organization and the cause at hand, and then turned the podium over to Matt Damon who spoke passionately about the good work accomplished by ONEXONE in many countries, and also about the tremendous amount of work still to be done. Matt also presented the 2010 ONEXONE Difference Award to Patricia Arquette for her tireless work on behalf of the Give Love Foundation.Marquis Jet co-founder Jesse Itzler then brought his incredibly high-energy, larger-than-life personality to the stage, conducting a live auction that raised over $150,000 for the organization while keeping the attendees completely entertained. Other speakers included soccer superstar Mia Hamm and United Nations Deputy Special Envoy to Haiti, Paul Farmer.

During a spectacular dinner break in the action, guests were amazed by 9-year old piano prodigy Ethan Bortnick who handled the stage like an old pro, joking that he was "really little" when he first performed at a ONEXONE event a couple of years earlier. The incredibly talented youngster then had guests out of their seats and singing along to universal classics such as "Piano Man" and "I Will Survive".Next came a headline performance by K'naan, a Somalia-born recording artist whose sound channels Bob Marley and Michael Jackson with a very sophisticated and political protest lyricism. Having seen firsthand the damage done to children in a war-torn country, K'naan was yet another ideal fit for the event. And if that wasn't enough, the evening concluded with an acoustic headline set by Collective Soul, a band with seven #1 mainstream rock hits. The band did not disappoint, opening with "Shine", and also performing "Breathe", "December", "Better Now", "Staring Down", and others. Empire managed nearly every aspect of the gala, including site selection, step & repeat, registration, silent and live auctions, staging, sound, video, and lighting design, stage management, technical direction, florals, signage, and more. Empire was honored to be called on by ONEXONE. Learn more about this worthy organization at http://www.onexone.org/

In 1960, the birth control pill, now known simply as “The Pill” was introduced to the world in what is now acknowledged as one of the most important inventions of the 20th century. In celebration of this momentous achievement, Empire partnered with State of the Art Events to bring to life the strategic vision that Communications Strategies, Inc. created for this historic event in the form of a gala event at the Pierre Hotel. The gala program honored those women and men who have made major contributions toward ensuring that future generations will continue to have access to education and employment opportunities and level the playing field through advances in women’s health.

The event's Honorees included Kate White, editor in chief of Cosmopolitan Magazine, the National Institute for Reproductive Health, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Profamil Haiti, a member association of the International Planned Parenthood Federation – Western Hemisphere Region, Jehmu Greene, former head of the Women’s Media Center, Alexander Sanger, grandson of the founder of the Pill, Margaret Sanger, and finally – the Gloria Steinem who was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.Cybill Shepherd was host for the evening, often invoking personal stories of her own experience with The Pill. The Daily Show’s Samantha Bee lightened the mood by poking fun at Cosmo: "The GQ of the G-spot, the Newsweek of nookie, the Harper's of hitting it." Grammy nominated singer Jazmine Sullivan brought the evening to a close with her rendition of Natural Woman.

Empire was thrilled to join with State of the Art Events and Communications Strategies, Inc. to help produce this event program celebrating this historic milestone.

When a private client wanted to deliver a special surprise for a family member’s 50th birthday, they turned to Empire Entertainment to book and produce an unforgettable concert. The intimate birthday event, for just under 100 guests, would take place in a tent on a tennis court situated on the grounds of the family’s newly-completed waterfront home in the Northeastern United States. The entertainment initially requested was Steely Dan. Steely Dan was not available but fortunately Empire was aware of an extraordinary new tour featuring principal performers: Donald Fagen (Steely Dan), Michael McDonald (Doobie Brothers) and Boz Scaggs. Entitled the Dukes of September Rhythm Revue, the tour featured these three musical legends performing with a band composed largely of musicians from Steely Dan’s band. Empire was able to quickly book this tour and worked closely with their road and production management to create a production scenario that could be achieved in the intimate backyard space in a residential neighborhood.

The event featured a cocktail reception, seated dinner and a series of toasts and speeches. During the final speech at dessert, the evening’s host introduced the band and a scrim was drawn aside revealing the band to a completely surprised birthday honoree and audience. The band then launched into an 80 minute set of hits from all three of the principals that included “Reeling in the Years,” “FM,” “Taking it To the Streets,” “Lowdown,” “Shakedown Street,” “What a Fool Believes,” “Rock Steady,” “Peg,” and “Love Train” among others. Knowing that the client loved Steely Dan’s music growing up, Empire worked with the band to ensure that several of their hits and those of Donald Fagen’s solo career were included in the set list.The audience stood and danced throughout the concert and during the final encore the band invited the birthday honoree onstage to join them for their bows. The client was ecstatic. In addition to booking and logistics, Empire handled all technical production and stage management of the project working closely with event planners D&R Events and Stamford Tents to ensure a smooth experience from load-in to load-out.

Empire is a leading producer of unique, private events.