Slide #3

That's awesome! Was there anyone that turned down the pitch that you were upset about? Yes! Thank you for asking that question! I don't mean to say this in a rude or contemptuous way, because I don't like talking bad about anyone, but in some ways I think the bigger you are in your industry the more interesting opportunities you miss. And that’s because a lot of the bigger names have a million people standing between them and the opportunities, sort of screening them. We were able to do the show because we never, ever take no for an answer. Believe me, if it was another agency it would have been CNNCTD+19. [Laughs] But we got who we wanted because we hustle, and we try every angle until something clicks. But there were a few who escaped our grasps. Adam Sandler should have been in the show! He's New York—he wears sweatpants! I'm a huge fan of his, and I think it was a big miss that he wasn't in it. I don't think he even got a chance to see the project, and I think that if he did he would have done it. Same thing with Woody Allen. We just couldn’t get it through that front line of defense. I tried for Al Pacino, I tried for Robert DeNiro, but they're huge. They were actually nice enough to write me back, even if it was just to say no. [Laughs] We were lucky enough to have Spike Lee, for example, but there are definitely some other New York natives that should have done it. The only one I'm truly upset about that I didn't get was Miss Wallace, Christopher Wallace's mother. I couldn't get her any single way. I tried everything I could conceive. I must have sent out 75 emails, went around the neighborhood, called the charity fund—we would have donated money, we would have done anything. But at the end of the day we got 100 amazing contributions from a truly mind-boggling list of participants, and we’re just grateful to all the people who took the time. We want to thank all of them and their reps, agents, PR agents, and assistants who put up with all our emails and non-stop phone calls! So how long did it take you to get all these people? It took us about 3 months to put the show together, but the planning for the show started months and monthsbefore then... In the beginning I didn't think it was actually going to happen. It was almost too big of an idea. But once the ball was rolling everything got done really fast. We got the wall on Kenmare done in 2 days to promote the event! But honestly we were still adding people to the show even on the last day. Azealia Banks designed her button the day before the show and over-nighted it, and we got it two hours before the show. When you are working with 100 busy artists, it’s going to be like that. We were down to the wire. [Photo: The List]
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