Hollywood Command Center Announcement
Tue, August 5, 2008 | The Catalyst Center
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As we announced at our event last week, we have been approached by the landlord of our interim event facility building at 763 Seward about staying at that location and taking over the entire building (6,000 sq. ft.). Many of you will recall that our plans were to move to a permanent, larger space in Culver City at the end of this year. Our current event facility was meant to be a temporary "bridge" location.
However, this opportunity brings with it some very exciting advantages, so we are moving forward to close on it. The landlord will be fully gutting the entire building and rebuilding its entire infrastructure (ie electrical, plumbing, walls, roof, flooring, parking lot). This gives us the opportunity to start with a blank slate - designing a very high-tech, fully wired and green building from the ground up. As you might imagine, Wired Magazine is extremely excited and already working with us on packaging the corporate sponsors for the facility, turning it into a year-round Wired "showcase" for hi-tech offices, event presentations, communications networks, and green technology. The landlord is a huge fan of green tech and is a screenwriter as well as HHill member, so that seems to be a good fit.
We will attempt to renovate it in sections so our event calendar can continue without disruption. The fact that we're already operating in the building will make the transition quite smooth and easy. The building is centrally located in the prestigious "Media District" of Hollywood and is on a well-known street (Seward) with lots of history (HBO used to be on the same block).
Based on our discussions to date, all parties are anticipating this deal will go through. Thus, we are moving forward rather quickly in our search for the appropriate (green/hi-tech) architect and interior designers. And as mentioned above, we are already working with Wired Magazine on corporate sponsors - both in-kind/product and cash - for the laundry list (below) of rooms/items.
If you have any ideas on architects, interior designers, product designers (ie custom chairs), or the products below, please shoot us your ideas / contacts...
It's time to design and build out our command center! :)
Rooms
Multimedia Presentation/Screening Room
Bar / Lounge
Kitchen
Intelligence Gathering & Project Tracking Lab
Filming Studio / Edit Bay
Restrooms
Offices
Multimedia Presentation/Screening Room
Custom Chairs w/tables, preferably stackable, green materials (ie wood or recycled plastic/metal)
Flat Panel TVs
Digital Projection System
Film Projection System
Sound System
Projection Screens
Video-Conferencing System
Podium
Wall & Ceiling mounted Sound Foam/Buffer
Cameras for Filming (speakers, audience)
Stage Lighting
General Lighting
Flooring
Bar
Counter tops
Cupboards
Sinks
Refrigerators
Freezers
Dishwashers
Wine Racks
Shelving
Cappuccino/Espresso Machine
Fruit Juicer
Blenders
Icemaker
Water Purifier
Glassware
Flatware
Coffee Cups w/Saucers
Utencils
General Lighting
Flooring
Bar Lounge
Couches
Chairs (regular, bar stools)
Tables (coffee, bar)
General Lighting
Flooring
Kitchen
Refrigerators
Freezers
Dishwashers
Stoves
Ovens
Microwaves
Countertops
Cupboards
Sinks
Utencils
Pots + Pans
Intelligence Gathering/Project Tracking Lab
Computers
Flat Panel TVs
Video-conferencing System
Cameras for video-conferencing
Flooring
Surveillance / Security Tech
Hi-Tech Offices
Computers
Surveillance / Security Tech
Filming Studio
Green Screen
Cameras
Lighting
General Lighting
Flooring
Sound System
Restrooms
Sinks/Faucets
Toilets
Mirrors
Cupboards
Laundry Room
Washer
Dryer
Entire Building
Energy Technology
Waste Technology
Surveillance / Security Tech
Thank you to Siobhan Mahoney + Sundance Institute
Sun, August 3, 2008 | Thank You's
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Huge THANK YOU to Siobhan Mahoney and the Sundance Institute for the large furniture donation made last week to our event facility and offices. We've enjoyed lending support to the Sundance Institute for their L.A. event needs and we're looking forward to what we can do together in the future. The furniture donation was a wonderful gift on their behalf.
Congrats to Pam Abdy - Appointed to EIF Board
Fri, July 25, 2008 | Family Watch
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Big congrats to Pam Abdy, (EVP Paramount Pics / Hollywood Hill Founding Strategy Council Member) for stepping up / being appointed to the Board of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). It's great to see them get some new blood. Per Variety's 7/18 article, they've also added Oren Aviv (Disney); Jeff Bader (ABC), Preston Beckman (Fox), Kevin Berg (CBS Par TV), Dwight Caines (Columbia TriStar), Dylan Clark (NBC Universal), Lynn Harris (Warner Bros.), Kevin Huvane (CAA), Adam Isaacs (Endeavor), David Lonner (WMA), Mitch Metcalf (NBC U), Vanessa Morrison (20th Century Fox Animation), Chris Silberman (ICM) and Jay Sures (UTA)
Steptoe & Johnson Signs Armchair Revolutionary
Wed, May 21, 2008 | Partnerships & Sponsorships
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Dear Members,
We're delighted to announce that global law firm Steptoe & Johnson (http://www.steptoe.com/) has taken on Armchair Revolutionary (our social change partner) as a "pro-bono" client for matters related to corporate contracts, licensing, and intellectual property matters.
What's Unique About Their Support?
Like Google.org, Armchair Revolutionary is a not-for-profit organization using a for-profit legal structure to maximize its flexibility to engage in innovative social projects. By taking on an entity with this unique structure, Steptoe is showing its commitment to supporting cutting-edge social change organizations.
How Does This Help Armchair Revolutionary?
As many of you know, Armchair Revolutionary will be launching hundreds of projects a year, many of which will involve intellectual property issues. They will be working on issues as diverse as patents on scientific or technology breakthroughs over to international film and documentary rights. Steptoe is a leader in international IP law and business relation contracts so this allows Armchair to have world-class council on the road ahead as it rolls into project development and BETA launch.
Wired Magazine Signs On As “Presenting Sponsor”
Wed, March 26, 2008 | Partnerships & Sponsorships
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Wired Magazine Is Making It Official
We're pleased to announce Wired as our Presenting Sponsor for
The Hollywood Hill's 2008 Event Calendar
We couldn't be more excited by this deal. Industry leader Wired Magazine is becoming the official Presenting Sponsor of The Hollywood Hill's 2008 Events Calendar.
With over 50 events and 5 conferences being planned for this year, our depth and breath of topics on innovations and trends related to the changes in Hollywood and social change are unparalleled. Wired will be the first of many sponsors we are working to bring in.
In addition to our weekly events, the magazine will be the Presenting Sponsor for all five of our 2008 conferences including Today's New Hi-Tech Robin Hoods (Micro-Philanthropy), BigBrainBoy's Mobile Media Summit (Mobile Content, Mobile Apps, Mobile Gaming, Mobile Banking, and Wireless Technologies for Social Change), Working Hollywood's Magic On Education (Open-Sourcing Interactive Textbooks, Mobile Tech for Education, Invigorating STEM learning), Hacking LA: Hollywood's Last Frontier? (Digital Overlay of Solutions For LA), and How To Shoot Your Next Film In Space (Financing & Production for Off-Planet Productions, Developing Galactic Narratives) featuring keynote speaker Elon Musk, Billionaire Founder/CEO of SpaceX and also including speakers Alex Tai, VP of Virgin Galactic, and Steve Squires, NASA's 'man behind the camera' on the Mars Rover.
We are actively rolling out this official high-profile event marketing campaign to complement our grassroots word-of-mouth growth. And are continuing talks with additional corporate sponsors. Please feel free to forward any referrals to Paris at paris@hhill.org.
› | Wed, Mar 26 2008 @ 6:12
“Thank You” To Furniture & Appliance Donors
Fri, March 21, 2008 | Thank You's
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We'd like to THANK the following members and advisors for their extremely helpful donations to the event facility:
Frances Arnold donated a Full-Size Refrigerator/Freezer
Tyler Oliver donated a Sony 48" TV
Michele Palermo donated a Microwave
Julie Inouye donated 4 Counter Stools
Tom Henry donated the use of his Pick-Up Truck
Nick Bicanic donated the use of his Jeep
John Dudley helped in securing a Discounted Projector
Event Calendar 2008 - Preliminary List
Fri, March 21, 2008 | Events + Conferences
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This is the preliminary 2008 annual event schedule for the new event facility. Events are subject to change based on scheduling and speaker availability. Further details on our website at http://www.hhill.org/hill/presentations_next. We welcome additional topic submissions from members.
1. Innovations, Trends, & Social Change
Arming Members With The Info We Need To Change The World
Friday 3/28 - Book Party: The Future of the Internet—And How To Stop It!
May - Car Party: The Return of the Electric Car! (at Tesla's New Showroom)
TBD - Re-Envisioning Privacy In The Digital Era
TBD - Synthetic Organism Invasion: The Rise of BioBricks
TBD - Internet Censorship II: Our Panel Of Experts Returns
TBD - Games4Change II: Using Games For Social Change
TBD - The Next Humans: The New Science of Advanced Body Modification
TBD - Automated Automobiles: The Self Driving Car Is Coming (Soon)
TBD - Dongtan Update: China's Zero-Carbon Scratch-Built Metropolis
TBD - Product Packaging Without The Landfill
TBD - Augmented Reality: Combining the Real World & Ubiquitous Data
TBD - Defending Ourselves From Potential Nuclear & Bio Terror
TBD - Peak Water: Solutions for the Global Clean Water Crisis
TBD - Getting To Fusion Power
TBD - Wireless Electricity & The Potential Of Air Energy
TBD - GE and The Future of Printable Solar Cells
TBD - How Nanotech Will Change Our Lives
TBD - The New Star Wars: China vs NASA vs Private Industry
TBD - Securing Cyberspace: Cyberwarfare threat or hoax?
TBD - Private Warriors: The Future of Warfare
2. Entertainment Industry Workshops
Keeping Members Up-To-Date On Changes In The Industry
TBD - The Future of Hollywood VFX: Outsourcing To India & China
TBD - Will Your Facebook Profile Enhance Your Career? Or Kill It?
TBD - Trends In Hollywood's Management Industry
TBD - Why DreamWorks, Disney, Sony, & Pixar Are Embracing 3D
TBD - On-Demand & Real-Time: How Home Distribution Is Changing
TBD - Film Financing: What's Happening With The Lower Dollar?
TBD - Foreign Production Trends
TBD - Pilot's Are Dead: What's Next In The Post-Pilot TV Season?
TBD - Future of Licensing Music
TBD - Future of Music Production
TBD - Where Is Reality TV Headed?
TBD - Packaging 2.0: How Will Agents & Managers Package In An Internet-Driven Media World
TBD - The Future of Internet Video II
TBD - The Future of Cable
TBD - The Future Searching Video: AI Video-tagging Software
3. Project Snapshots
Reviewing Potential Armchair Revolutionary Projects
April - GridRepublic & The Power of Distributed Computing
Tues 5/20 - Creating A New Voter Experience
Scheduling - Replicating The Google Bus System In Hollywood
More to be added in the next few weeks...
4. Hollywood Hill Conferences
Full-Day Conferences with Keynotes, Panels & Workshops
Saturday 5/10 - Today's New Hi-Tech Robin Hoods, a full-day conference. Our first conference will introduce the key players in the online Micro-Finance arena and delve into their efforts to build the ultimate platforms for large-scale distributed social change financing. Confirmed Speakers: Matt Flannery (Co-Founder, Kiva.org), Tracey Pettingill Turner (Founder, MicroPlace.com), Peter Bladin (Head, Grameen Foundation Technology), Donna Callejon (COO, GlobalGiving.com), Julie Lacouture (Deputy Director, DonorsChoose.org).
July - BigBrainBoy's Mobile Media Summit, a two-day conference. Anticipated Anticipated Keynotes and Panels: Mobile Apps for Social Change, Municipal Wi-Fi/WiMax Infrastructure, Global Overview of Mobile Banking, Mobile Banking & Social Change, Future of Mobile Video Content, Future of Mobile Gaming, Future of Spectrum, Future of Mobile Apps.
September - Working Hollywood's Magic On Education, a full-day conference. Anticipated Keynotes and Panels: The Future of Textbooks, Games For Education, Mobile Technology & Education, Invigorating STEM (Science, Technology, Education, and Mathematics) Education & Making Science, Tech, & Engineering Jobs Cool For Kids.
October - Hacking LA: Hollywood's Last Frontier?, a full-day conference. Anticipated Keynote: Hollywood's Mission To Re-Engineer L.A.
Anticipated Topics: As Hollywood goes green, so goes the city. We'll examine vast array of redevelopment issues from corporate transit systems (Google Bus) to renewable energy and hi-tech solutions for unifying the city.
December - How To Shoot Your Next Film In Space, a full-day conference. Anticipated Panels: Financing Your Off-Planet Film, Advantages & Pitfalls of Off-Planet Production, Developing Galactic Narratives. This daytime conference will be followed by The Hollywood Hill's Off-Planet Themed 2008 Holiday Party. Keynote: Elon Musk (Founder, SpaceX) on A Look Ahead; Additional Confirmed Speakers: Alex Tai, (VP, Virgin Galactic).
Launch of Interim Event Facility
Mon, February 25, 2008 | The Catalyst Center
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We're flying along with renovations on our new interim event center located in Hollywood. All major renovations will be done by tomorrow. For the rest of the week, we'll be focusing on walls, lighting, furniture, and installing the A/V equipment. For those interested, the bar will be set-up by Monday!
We'd like to thank the following members for assisting with the lease deposit and funding the renovations:
Dan Abrams (producer), JC Spink (manager/producer), Betty Thomas (director), and Anonymous.
Our new neighbor Laser Pacific has been kind enough to donate the usage of their parking lots for our events.
We also want to thank technical advisor Steven Cohen (Warner Bros.) for assisting with the A/V design. And a special thanks to members Stephanie Austin & Scott Thaler (line producers), and Carol Wood (environmental designer) for creating blueprints and sharing innovative ideas.
We're needing the following donations, so if you're in the process of upgrading or finally cleaning out your garage...
1. Refrigerator / Freezer
2. Bar Stools (we can mix and match)
3. Bar Tables (we can mix and match)
4. Flat Panel TVs
5. Microwaves
Our first event in the new space will be next Tuesday, March 4th at 7:30pm with Benjamin Barber on The Future of Consumerism. Invite will be sent out tomorrow.
The Hollywood Hill Event Facility - Phase 1
Thu, February 7, 2008 | The Catalyst Center
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Special Announcement:
We are thrilled to announce that we have just signed a lease for a 3,000 sq. ft. event space in Hollywood that will serve as our interim event space while we transition into our larger permanent event facility - The Catalyst Center.
It's centrally located near the corner of Highland & Melrose. Over the next two weeks, we'll be renovating the space to get it ready for a ramped-up event calendar which will include over 5 events per month... continuing our exciting thought leader series, science and tech innovation series with frequent partner Wired Magazine, entertainment industry mentorship workshops, and new member orientation events.
Gevo Website Is Live
Tue, October 9, 2007 | Events + Conferences
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Frances Arnold, our last speaker, just announced that Gevo's website has gone live... http://www.gevo.com. For those who were interested in learning more about her new company which counts Richard Branson and Vinod Khosla as investors, check it out.
I'm also pleased to announce that Frances has joined The Hollywood Hill's Science & Technology Advisory Board.
I’ll See You At The Catalyst Center!
Tue, October 9, 2007 | The Catalyst Center
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I'm incredibly excited about our progress on the creation of The Catalyst Center. For those who don't know what it is, it's going to be our hi-tech permanent event facility and our global operations hub for the hundreds of projects we'll be taking on annually. One of the hardest things we grappled with as we've gotten through our first 24 months is the logistical headache of doing events. Because we constantly have to do them at different homes and offices around town, we're always having to spend a lot of time coordinating the set up, breakdown, food and beverage stocking, and transportation of all of our A/V equipment to new event locations that are never ideal for doing high-end multimedia presentations. They're also not cheap. Rentals cost a lot, as does valet. We've minimized these expenses by purchasing our own A/V equipment with member donations (Thank you Jonathan Segal & Betty Thomas!). Lawrence Bender further assisted by not only giving us use of his house once a month until we could get our own permanent event facility, but also picking up the valet costs (the approximately $20K to date) for every event we've done there (we're about to do event #10) - for this we owe him a HUGE gratitude.
Having our own permanent facility is going to completely reshape our capabilities. No longer will we have to spend time setting up or breaking down. 100% of our staff's time will be focused on crafting the content of the actual presentations. Every member will receive custom briefings before each event with videos filmed by the staff introducing them to the topic so that members come to events at an intermediate knowledge level (nothing is stupider than having experts fly in from half away around the world to do "Intro" presentations for Hollywood professionals). We'll have multimedia presentation systems, high-end projection and sound equipment, and seating for 300 vs the 90-person capacity of Lawrence Bender's living room. We'll have a web rsvp system similar to the Arclight Cinema where you'll select your seat location for the next event in advance along with a customized gourmet meal. You'll come through the front entrance, sign-in with either fingerprint or retinal scan and your name tag will automatically print out of a sticker machine. You'll have a drink with fellow industry members in the georgeous bar lounge, and then transition into the main event room. Every seat will be wired with keyboards to enable members to submit their speaker questions throughout the event into a consolidated que. And we'll be doing high-end filming of events for distribution to those who can't make it that night. It will be a seamless experience.
It will also house an Intelligence Gathering Lab where we'll be keeping tabs on the world's innovations, tracking the marketplace, and measuring the progress of our projects, as well as a small green screen room for film production. It will be a brick-and-mortar home for exciting conversations on world affairs, innovations, and social change... an intellectual hub for our community... a Centcom for our social projects... and undoubtedly a "cool" experience.
Here's a promo packet on The Catalyst Center
Related Resources - Part I
Mon, October 8, 2007 | Social Activist 3.0
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Members are always asking me for a list of videos, websites, articles, etc. that give a good glimpse of the future we're entering, the future we're going to attempt to shape. So I'm going to start listing them in chunks. Every member of The Hollywood Hill should watch these! Part I...
Cool Videos
1. Did You Know? (we use this one in our New Member Orientations)
2. Virgin Galactic Intro with Richard Branson (click on "view the movie")
3. Charlie Rose Interviews Muhammad Yunus
Some great TED.com videos to start with...
4. Craig Venter on DNA, Genes & The Sea
5. Nicholas Negroponte on The Vision behind One Laptop Per Child Project
6. Sir Ken Robinson postulates whether Schools Kill Creativity
7. Neil Gershenfeld on The Promise of Personal Fabrication in Fab Labs
8. Hans Rosling gives New Insights on Poverty and Life Around The World
9. Jefferson Han unveiling Multi-touch screens
Welcome!
Mon, October 8, 2007 | Musings
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Welcome to The Naked Hill - where we'll be pulling back the curtain on The Hollywood Hill and the other 3 organizations in our social change machine. We're in a time of tremendous change, both in Hollywood and throughout the world. And we've set out to create one of the most sophisticated nonprofit organizations on the planet.
Early on, when we started our monthly events, Ted Halstead, the founder of the New America Foundation, came to town as one of our first speakers, and mentioned over lunch that it took him a good five years to get his thinktank fully up-and-running. Now entering its eighth year, the New America Foundation is one of the largest and most important think tanks in DC. I've always viewed his five year mark as a target for us, and now that we're entering our third year of events and our fourth since we started writing the business plan, the organization is finally reaching critical mass and getting large enough to affect real change.
There are lots of people to thank for our significant growth over the past several years, and I'm going to do so periodically in postings. Buckle your seatbelt and enjoy the ride.
