The 23rd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards
Jared Leto arrived at the Gotham Awards podium and held his cell phone up to the microphone. Matthew McConaughey wanted to say a few words of thanks for the 2013 Best Actor Award but could not be there in person…so he spoke through Leto's cell phone. It was weird and cool like the Gotham Awards themselves.
Weird and cool and stocked with screen stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, John Goodman, Isaiah Washington, Amy Poehler, Chiwetel Eijiofor, Forest Whitaker, Richard Linklater, Steve Buscemi, Shailene Woodley, Rashida Jones were among the famous faces milling around Cipriani Wall Street, with New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg rounding out the bill.
This was Empire Entertainment's sixth year producing the Gotham Awards, the first show of the film awards "season", and therefore hotly anticipated. "There's a lot of pressure," says executive producer James Donahower, "because you've got 900 people jam-packed into the room, and 100 of them are A-list celebrities. And it's live. So when you say 'start the show', you'd better be ready." Empire was.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
