LMGI COMPASS
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Winter 2021
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31
COMMERCIAL SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR
ANGUS LEDGERWOOD
THE SHOW MUST GO ON…
" Let's go on with the show, let's go on
with the show…"
– There's No Business Like Show Business
PRESENTER
TIM WILLIAMS
PRESENTER TIM STACKER/LMGI
PRESENTER
DAMARIS LEWIS
RABI EL BAKKI
NOMINEE, THE SPY
SVETLANA LUKASH
NOMINEE, CATHERINE THE GREAT
KYLE "SNAPPY" OLIVER/LMGI
NOMINEE, LITTLE WOMEN
"We pivoted early on to going virtual in some form,"
adds Weiss. "I started to realize that this might be a great
opportunity for the Guild. It might be easier to book talent
and reach a wider audience—many more than the 450 guests
that had attended the show at the Broad."
"This was a learning curve for us," says Rakich. "The
team had to work through clearance issues, for instance.
Permissions for the clips we wanted to use were different than
when the show was live and in a venue for one night only."
"Going virtual actually complicated getting presenters
at fi rst," refl ects LMGI business partner Alison Miller (Reel
Estate Partners) and a member of the Event and Commercial
Subcommittees. "Some actors wanted time to shelter with
family, while others had concerns about the production
quality of virtual recordings without the attention of glam
squads and crew to perfect lighting and sound." Nevertheless,
with a background in talent wrangling, Miller jumped in to
help shape the lineup.
One of the dream hosts on Balton's wish list was Isaiah
Mustafa, who, after his enormous success as "the man
your man could smell like" in a decade of viral Old Spice
commercials, had since gone on to be a successful actor in
several seasons of Shadowhunters. "Coincidentally, I actually
knew him," says Miller. "With one phone call, he was onboard
as our host!" Says Balton, "Isaiah came on in early April and
immediately added so much to the mix!"
"We thought we would tape him live and pre-package
everything else to roll in," remembers Weiss. "We were
scrambling for studio space when a friend offered his
warehouse that had just been converted into a studio with
an LED wall and pro lights and cameras. And, his staff had
just certifi ed as COVID-compliant! Isaiah is already known for
his ease in front of a green screen, but doing anything like
that live has its own risks. So, fi nally, we decided to just pre-
record the whole thing!"
The obvious upside of being stuck at home over the spring
and summer months was having time to watch everything
and curate the submissions. This was a particularly ambitious
