November 10, 2014
No. 510
MAYOR DE BLASIO AND MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT COMMISSIONER LÓPEZ PRESENT THE 2014 ‘MADE IN NY’ AWARDS
2014 ‘Made in NY’ Honorees: Steve Buscemi, Louis C.K., Neil Patrick Harris, Huge, Albert Maysles, Stanley Nelson, Rosie Perez, Producers Guild of America, Jane Raab
Over 230 films, 39 primetime series shot in New York City this year
NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio and Media & Entertainment Commissioner Cynthia López will today present the 2014 “Made in NY” Awards, celebrating excellence in the New York City creative community and recognizing the achievements of individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the City’s entertainment and digital media industries.
The City also announced a donation of $160,000 from the Teamsters Local 817 to MOME through the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City to support community enrichment in local neighborhoods as part as of their commitment to New York City. Additionally, the City will today announce that Brooklyn College’s Barry R. Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema at Steiner Studios—the nation’s first public graduate school seamlessly integrated into working film lot and the city’s first public graduate school of cinema—is now accepting applications. Funding for the school is the result of an extensive public-private partnership among notable Brooklyn College alumni, MOME, Steiner Studios, the New York City Council, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, and the City University of New York.
The “Made in NY” Awards come at a time when New York City is hosting record levels of television production. So far in the 2014- 2015 season, the City has been home to 39 primetime episodic, digital and mini-series, including 20 new series. More than 230 films have also shot in New York City to date this year.
The 2014 “Made in NY” Award honorees are: Golden Globe and SAG Award-winning and Emmy-nominated actor and director Steve Buscemi; five-time Emmy Award-winning actor, executive producer, writer, director Louis C.K.; Tony and five-time Emmy Award winner Neil Patrick Harris; Brooklyn-born digital design and technology consultancy Huge; MacArthur Fellow and National Humanities Medal honoree Stanley Nelson; Oscar and Emmy Award-nominated actress, activist and The View co-host Rosie Perez; Producers Guild of America’s Lydia Dean Pilcher, VP Motion Pictures, Chair, Women’s Impact Network; Mari Jo Winkler, Chair, PGA Green and Rachel Watanabe-Batton, Vice Chair, PGA East, Chair, PGA Diversity; and Blue Bloods co-executive producer and Sex and the City producer Jane Raab. The “Made in NY” Mayor’s Award for Lifetime Achievement was presented to Albert Maysles, filmmaker and founder of the Maysles Documentary Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the exhibition and production of documentary films that inspire dialogue and action in Harlem.
“The ‘Made in NY” brand has been a tremendous success—becoming a globally recognized symbol of innovation and quality,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We’re proud to honor the talented New Yorkers working in front of the camera and behind the scenes, supporting the industries that help make up our city’s cultural soul and economic health, and creating opportunities for New Yorkers along the way.”
“The 2014 ‘Made in NY’ Award honorees are a testament to the kind of talent that is born or bred here in New York City,” said Commissioner Cynthia López. “They are the reason that the city continues to thrive as the creative capital. All the honorees have three things in common: they have a profound commitment to their craft, they possess an unflinching work ethic, and they are trail blazers in their respective fields. They do not follow trends; they create them. Their collective body of work promotes New York City as the invigorating arts scene that it is. It is an absolute honor to recognize these individuals at this year’s awards.”
“The entertainers honored in the 2014 ‘Made in NY’ Awards represent some of the most talented and civic-minded artists working today. I commend Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner López on recognizing the creative minds who call New York their home, and continue to distinguish themselves within their fields. As more media production takes place in New York City than ever before, we must continue to increase opportunities for our creative class,” said Public Advocate Letitia James.
“The City Council is proud to support the city’s thriving television and film industry helping showcase our vibrant city, while also creating and supporting thousands of jobs and small businesses throughout the city,” said Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “Not only does ‘Made in NY’ illustrate to the world what our city is all about, it’s also helped many New Yorkers connect with opportunities to work in this exciting industry.”
“There’s no business like show business, and when it comes to entertaining the world, this year’s 2014 ‘Made in NY’ honorees have helped make New York City the world’s premiere destination,” said Council Majority Leader and Chair of Cultural Affairs Jimmy Van Bramer. “From the ‘Great White Way’ to the television sets in all our homes, this incredible class of talent has remained committed to taking our City’s entertainment and digital industries to the next level.”
The City will also today announce that the Teamsters will send two graduates from the “Made in NY” Production Assistant Training Program to commercial driving school in order to receive their commercial driver’s licenses and get added to the Teamsters’ referral list in time for the upcoming TV pilot season. The recipients are Tim Valerio, who served as a corporal in the Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan before returning to New York and who, since graduating from the “Made in NY” PA Training Program, has worked as a grip, and Jimmy Gonzalez, a native New Yorker and father of two, who finished the PA program earlier this year and has been working as a set PA on an upcoming NBC comedy.
About the 2014 “Made in NY” Award Recipients
“Made in NY” Mayor’s Award for Lifetime Achievement: Albert Maysles
Albert Maysles is a pioneer of Direct Cinema who, along with his late brother David, was the first to make nonfiction feature films, where the drama of life unfolds without scripts, sets, interviews or narration. Maysles made his first film, Psychiatry in Russia (1955), as he transitioned from psychologist to filmmaker. Among his more than 40 films are some of the most iconic works in documentary history, including Salesman, Gimme Shelter and Grey Gardens. More recently, Maysles directed the award-winning film, Muhammad and Larry (2009) for ESPN’s 30 for 30, Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! (2009), and reunited with Paul McCartney for The Love We Make (2011). Maysles has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, two Peabody Awards, three Emmy Awards, six Lifetime Achievement Awards, the Columbia DuPont Award, and the award for best cinematography at Sundance for Lalee’s Kin: The Legacy of Cotton (2001), which was also nominated for an Academy Award. Eastman Kodak has saluted him as one of the world’s 100 finest cinematographers. This year, Maysles received the National Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama.
Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi most recently starred in the HBO drama Boardwalk Empire, which garnered him a Golden Globe Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Emmy nominations. His directing work includes numerous television credits, including HBO’s The Sopranos, for which he was nominated for an Emmy and DGA Award. He has directed episodes of the Emmy Award-winning show 30 Rock and Showtime’s critically acclaimed drama Nurse Jackie, starring Edie Falco. Buscemi started a New York-based independent film and television production company in 2008, called Olive Productions, with actor/director Stanley Tucci and producer Wren Arthur. His unscripted web series “Park Bench” features Buscemi and his titular bench in a variety of locations throughout his hometown, talking to everyday New Yorkers as well as celebrity friends. The show, which can be seen on AOL and is produced by Olive Productions and RadicalMedia, received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Short-Format Nonfiction Program. A Good Job: Stories of the FDNY, a film by Oscar nominated Director Liz Garbus and Buscemi (a former New York City firefighter), is his newest film which explores what it’s like to work in one of the most demanding fire departments in the world, where going to work means risking it all. The film premiered on HBO on September 8, 2014.
Louis C.K.
Five-time Emmy Award winner Louis C.K. is one of the most honest and respected comedic voices of his generation, finding success in both television and film as well as the live stage. Currently he serves as executive producer, writer, director and editor of FX’s Peabody Award-winning hit show Louie, which was recently picked up for a fifth season. He has received over 25 Emmy nominations throughout his career, including wins for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for his work on Louie and awards for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for his standup comedy specials. Throughout his career, he also has earned five American Comedy Awards, a Grammy Award and was honored as the 2011 “Comedy Person of the Year” at the Just for Laughs Festival. In the film world, he will next appear in Trumbo alongside Elle Fanning and Bryan Cranston. Previously, he has appeared in Blue Jasmine, American Hustle, Diminished Capacity and The Invention of Lying. He currently lives in New York.
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris is a five-time Emmy Award winner for his guest-starring role on Glee, and his role as host of the 63rd, 65th, 66th and 67th Annual Tony Awards. In addition to his numerous film and television credits, Harris has also enjoyed success in the theater. Harris made his return to Broadway in the spring of 2014 as the star of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s landmark 1998 musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. His performance as Hedwig earned him the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, in addition to Drama League, Drama Desk and Broadway.com Audience Choice awards. He also tackled the leading role of Bobby in the New York Philharmonic’s recent concert staging of Stephen Sondheim’s Company. Additionally, Harris has starred in three Broadway productions, including the Tony Award-winning production of Assassins. Harris made his Broadway debut as Anne Heche’s unexpected suitor in Proof, and he later starred as the exuberant emcee in Cabaret at Studio 54. Harris mixed his love of magic and theater in directing Nothing to Hide, which opened at the Pershing Square Signature Center in New York in October 2013.
Huge
Huge is one of the world’s fastest growing and most respected design, technology and marketing companies. Over the last decade, Huge has become famous for helping many of the world’s most important businesses reimagine themselves for today’s digital world. Huge got its start in a DUMBO apartment and has grown to nearly 1,000 people working across the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Today, in Brooklyn alone, Huge is home to more than 500 developers, designers and business strategists who have helped create some of the digital tools and services that have become part of everyday lives, from HBO GO to NYC.gov. Their clients have included everyone from technology companies like Google and Twitter to media companies CNN and Reuters, financial giants like American Express and Morgan Stanley, to institutions like TED.org, the United Nations Development Programme and MoMA. Huge has been a proud partner to the City of New York in its own digital transformation. In 2013, Huge partnered with New York’s Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications to give NYC.gov its first redesign in over a decade, making it easier than ever for people to interact with the City. Since the launch last year, traffic to the site has doubled.
Stanley Nelson
Stanley Nelson received the 2013 National Medal in the Humanities from President Barack Obama and is also a multiple Emmy-winning MacArthur Fellow. Nelson’s latest film, Freedom Summer, premiered at Sundance in 2014 and was broadcast to rave reviews in June 2014, the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Summer of 1964. His previous film, Freedom Riders, premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and aired nationally in May 2011, on PBS to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides, and received four Primetime Emmys. Nelson’s oeuvre spans a range of social justice issues. Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2008) was shortlisted for the Academy Award and won the International Documentary Association Award; his 2005 film, Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice, documented one of the country’s most vibrant and progressive music ensembles; A Place of Our Own (2004), is a semi-autobiographical look at the African American middle class. Nelson’s 2003 film, The Murder of Emmett Till, won the Primetime Emmy for Best Nonfiction Directing, the Special Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, a coveted award from the International Documentary Association, and the highest honor in broadcast journalism, the George Foster Peabody Award, among many others.
Rosie Perez
Rosie Perez joined ABC’s Emmy Award-winning daytime talk show, The View, as a co-host earlier this fall. On the big screen, her performance in Peter Weir’s Fearless garnered her a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination. Perez’s film credits include Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing and Andrew Bergman’s It Could Happen to You, among others. As a producer, Perez’s credits include Nancy Savoca’s The 24 Hour Woman and HBO’s Rosie Perez Presents Society’s Ride and Subway Stories, an anthology of short films that she created. In early 2015, Perez returns to Broadway in Larry David’s new play, Fish in the Dark. She received rave reviews for her performance in The Ritz and made her Broadway debut in the hit revival of Terence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. Perez received critical acclaim for her directorial debut, Yo Soy Boricua Pa’que Tu Lo Sepas!, a documentary which celebrates Puerto Rican pride. The documentary premiered at the Miami International Film Festival and was featured at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. Throughout her career, Perez has been a vocal activist for a number of causes, especially those related to AIDS and inner city youth.
Producers Guild of America: Lydia Dean Pilcher (VP Motion Pictures; Chair, Women’s Impact Network), Mari Jo Winkler (Chair, PGA Green) and Rachel Watanabe-Batton (Vice Chair, PGA East; Chair, PGA Diversity)
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is the non-profit trade group that represents the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media, with the PGA East representing an energetic 1,500 producers of the national membership of 6,500. The PGA seeks to give its members the skills, tools and forums to make a positive difference in their careers as content creators. Among the many benefits of PGA membership is the opportunity to take a leading role in setting an agenda for change. Three key areas in which the PGA is making a significant social impact in the entertainment industry are diversity, sustainability and gender equality.
PGA DIVERSITY has worked since 2008 to foster storytelling that reflects the changing local and global landscape across race, gender, sexual orientation, class and ability. Its programming and outreach create opportunities for access and engagement through advocacy, panels, workshops, networking, screenings and curated discussion, with topics ranging from international co-productions and social action in cinema to programs for military veterans. Its dedicated members have mentored fellows with Tribeca All Access and the “Made in NY” PA Training Program and partnered with NALIP, HBO and Minority Independent Producers Summit to launch initiatives. Its latest video series, “Portraits of Diversity,” illuminates the challenges facing diverse storytellers in entertainment and is an official YouTube partner launching in early 2015.
PGA GREEN has worked since 2007 with the major studios (and in association with other industry groups) to provide workshops, educational seminars and eco-themed screenings. Its members have participated in pilot projects and consulted with production companies to develop a methodology for proactively greening productions: the PGA GREEN Unified Best Practices. GreenProductionGuide.com is a free tool for industry use provided by PGA GREEN, including a downloadable carbon calculator, cost benefit analysis and a mobile green vendor database.
PGA WOMEN’S IMPACT NETWORK (WIN) is an Allied Organization with the Women Filmmaker Initiative created by the Sundance Institute and Women In Film, with the strategic program priorities: Mentorship, Finance Education and Access; Raising Awareness through research; and Network Building. PGA WIN was created to combat the under-representation of females working on both sides of the camera and to promote opportunities for female-driven content. Launching November 2014, “The MS Factor: The Power of the Female Audience” is a tool-kit report produced by PGA WIN and Women and Hollywood, which both debunks prevailing myths and provides data demonstrating the strength of the female audience and the profitability of female-driven content and the significance of the female audience.
Jane Raab
Jane Raab is a native New Yorker and a 40-year veteran of the film and television industry. Born and raised in Washington Heights, she got her start working as an assistant to New York producer Edward Pressman and director Martin Brest. Raab dove into New York production armed with a telephone and a typewriter, coordinating on such classic New York blockbusters as Splash, Pope of Greenwich Village, Presumed Innocent, A Chorus Line and Running on Empty. After production managing Spin City, the first four camera sitcom filmed in New York since the 1950s, Darren Star turned to Raab when he conceived a show for HBO about four career girls in New York. She produced six seasons of the iconic New York show Sex and the City as well as Life on Mars, Cashmere Mafia and How to Make It in America. She is currently a co-executive producer on the hit CBS show Blue Bloods, which is filming its 100th episode. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, recording engineer Richard Alderson, and her son Harry, who attends the New School.
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