1. COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICERS ARE GUARDING HAMPTONS EVENTS: Swanky events in the Hamptons are starting to see the presence of police officers with machine guns, which highlight the area’s fear of terrorist attacks. Page Six: “Guests at the tony Watermill Center gala on Saturday night attended by Robert Downey Jr. and French actress Isabelle Huppert initially thought the two officers standing clad in black bulletproof vests were part of the annual art installations organized by the center’s famed director, Robert Wilson. But the officers explained to a guest that Steven Skrynecki, Southampton Town police chief, has introduced a new counterterrorism unit that will see the presence of officers with body armor and powerful firearms at swanky public events. The officer was overheard explaining that police chiefs believe the events could be ‘soft targets’ and that potential attackers could see a ‘big media opportunity’ with all the prominent people present. The Watermill Center gala attracted 1,200 people to the art performances, and 500 stayed for dinner, where awards were given to Huppert and Laurie Anderson, who performed a concert in honor of her late husband Lou Reed.” http://pge.sx/2uWb1aB
2. COUPLE ORDERED TO PAY $1 MILLION IN DAMAGES AFTER TRASHING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER: Dallas-based couple Andrew and Neely Moldovan have been ordered by a jury to pay $1 million in damages after they falsely accused their wedding photographer of withholding photos from the ceremony. Washington Post: "Three months after the ceremony, in front of a local television crew, Andrew and Neely Moldovan showed off a box of empty picture frames. Their photographer was withholding the images, they told NBC affiliate KXAS in January 2015, and was demanding an extra $150 when they’d already paid thousands. The Moldovans’ sympathizers descended on photographer Andrea Polito’s review pages, calling her a scam artist, or worse. Her reputation was ruined, her business dried up and she closed her studio. And then the story changed. Polito sued the Moldovans, claiming all they ever had to do to get their glossies was fill out a form, choose options for their wedding album and pay a small charge they had long known about. The photographer showed the court emails in which she and her employees tried to appease the couple — even as the Moldovans were calling reporters, whipping up a furor on social media and plugging their newfound fame to fans of Neely Moldovan’s beauty blog, Polito said. On Friday, a jury in Dallas decided that the tale of the ransomed wedding photos was not heartbreaking, and not even true. In fact, the jurors concluded, the accusations amounted to malicious defamation, for which the Moldovans should pay the photographer more than $1 million in damages." http://wapo.st/2hnNs7y
3. EMMY NOMINATIONS STILL HIGHLIGHT TV ACADEMY GENDER GAP: While female-driven series such as The Handmaid's Tale, The Crown, Feud: Bette and Joan, and Big Little Lies scored multiple Emmy nominations this year, important behind-the-scenes categories including writing, editing, and directing are still dominated by men. Variety: "These series run the gamut in female storytelling, proving the 21,000-plus voting members of the Academy are interested in rich, complex shows with equally complicated women at the center. But while the Academy has great made strides on the storytelling front, it still has a way to go to close the gender gap when it comes to nominees in such key categories as writing, directing and editing. Only two of those shows—'Westworld' and 'Grace and Frankie'—have women at the helm behind the scenes. And when it comes to “Westworld,” Lisa Joy co-runs the show with her husband, Jonathan Nolan. Diving deeper into the lists of the individuals in key creative roles, the low percentage of female representation is still pretty prevalent. While 17 of the picture editors nominated across categories are women, only one of them is nominated solo (Jennifer Lilly for 'Master of None'). The others made it onto the ballot as part of teams of editors submitted for their particular shows. While that double-digit number might seem like progress, consider that the overall total of editors nominated in eight categories topped out at almost 100. Suddenly the picture looks different. ... Overall, the imbalance in gender representation feels so much greater this year because of the fact that so many of the series being celebrated focus on powerful women. While the Academy has certainly taken strides to be more inclusive, there is clearly still a long way to go—not only for voters but also Hollywood at large, who, more often than not, is still relying upon men to tell female stories." http://bit.ly/2tWpcet
* INDUSTRY NEWS *
The International Live Events Association has recognized a group of event professionals who recently earned the designation of Certified Special Events Professional (C.S.E.P.) The group consists of Kaelin Caldwell of Premium Franchise Brands; Sarah Cash-Darvell of Augsburg College; Jennifer Gowers of GoPro Event Solutions L.L.C.; Jeffrey Hudson of Spacecraft Entertainment; Elaine McLoughlin-Overhold of the Ohio Union at the Ohio State University; Jessica Ruth of the Children’s Cancer Research Fund; Ondria Torres of NYC & Company; and Erica Vasquez of MorEvents.
* LOCAL NEWS *
ATLANTA: One MusicFest will take place September 8-9 at Tabernacle Atlanta and Lakewood Amphitheatre. Headliners include Damian “JR Gong” Marley and Jill Scott.
CHICAGO: Local students participating in the Careers Through Culinary Arts Programs will work with Chicago chef mentors from the Trotter Project and United Airlines to develop inflight meals using local, seasonal ingredients at an event today, taking place at University of Chicago—Bartlett Commons.
Italian restaurant Torali Italian—Steak has opened at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago. Chef Gregory Elliott and general manager of food and beverage Steve Serdar oversee the restuaurant, which specializes in pasta, prime and dry-aged meats, and seafood. The restaurant, managed by Sage Restaurant Group, was designed by San Francisco firm Bamo.
LAS VEGAS: The third annual Show Your Heart Run 5K, which benefits the Children’s Heart Foundation, will take place October 7 at Kellogg Zaher Park.
LOS ANGELES: Summer Halloween convention ScareLA will take place August 5-6 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
NEW YORK: The fifth annual Brooklyn Comedy Festival will take place August 23 at the William Vale in Brooklyn.
Stevie Wonder, Green Day, and the Killers are slated to headline the sixth annual Global Citizen Festival, taking place September 23 at the Great Lawn in Central Park.
The Ziegfeld Ballroom, an event space operated by the Gotham Hall organization that’s slated to open October 1 in Midtown, has named Matthew Tiscornia executive chef of both the ballroom and Gotham Hall.
Phish is celebrating its 13-night residency at Madison Square Garden with doughnuts. There will be promotions including doughnut-shape tickets and speciality flavors as part of a partnership with Philadelphia-based Federal Donuts. ABC News: http://abcn.ws/2f6cQOo
For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
SAN FRANCISCO: Eat Drink SF, presented by the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, will take place August 24-27 at Fort Mason Center. Events will include the Taco Knockdown presented by Milagro Tequila and grand tasting events throughout the weekend at the Festival Pavilion.
TORONTO: Graffiti Alley will host a mini-street festival on Sunday. BlogTO: http://bit.ly/2uVvDA4
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Smithsonian American Art Museum will become an arcade August 5-6. The event will offer classic arcade games, 40 new games from independent developers, and game-building workshops.
YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected].
JOB BOARD: Post a job or find a job: http://jobs.bizbash.com
With contributions from Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, Rayna Katz, and Ian Zelaya in New York.
BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
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