DR COMES IN, KING GOES OUT, & A MAN WITH A REALLY LONG NAME COMES TO AMERICA
These campaigns were some of biggest productions I had produced in my tenure at CNN. I spent weeks out in California in a hotel working with these amazing hosts. The Larry King spot started as a new much-needed image campaign for one of CNN’s longest running shows. But then turned into a retirement celebration. What do you say about a man that has talked to literally EVERYONE? And the on the other side, I had Dr. Drew, a childhood hero of mine, coming to HLN with a brand-new show. Then out of nowhere comes in Canadian host, George Stroumboulopoulos. George was probably one of the nicest and most interesting interviewers I have ever had the pleasure to work with. All completely different situations, but one common denominator. These men spent their careers talking with people. Real people, celebrities, politicians, newsmakers, anyone who is anyone. That is the connection I ran with for these campaigns. Who do you turn to for the human side of a story? Larry King, Dr Drew, and George Stroumboulopoulos. Why them? Because they are fascinated by people and the world around them. So, while they may be the “stars” of their shows, it’s the people they talk to, that conversation that only they can have, that drives us to tune in. Larry’s shoot was done with Engine Room VFX in our CNN LA Bureau in one full day. Larry and I drank way too much coffee, ate bagels, talked baseball and mugged in the mirror for pics ( see my photo olio). Dr Drew was done also in LA, but that was almost an 18 hour day with still photography on one side of the studio and video on the other. The Dr was a champion to get through it all, and by the end we were all happy to flop on that couch on set and relax. With George, the vibe was so different. We shot backstage while he did 2 shows a day, and the feel was very cinema verité, handheld cameras, talking to the guests as they made their way to the stage, and sitting with George while he prepped. I think all three campaigns captured the essence of who these hosts are and why we want to watch them.
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