Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Before he left Los Angeles for San Francisco on Tuesday, President Barack Obama
stopped for an undisclosed meeting with some of the entertainment
industry's high-level executives, as well as talent representatives with
access to the industry's top stars and musical acts, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Among the small group of industry insiders who were invited to
attended the early-morning meeting with the president at the Beverly
Wilshire Hotel were: Weinstein Co. studio head Harvey Weinstein, CAA managing partner and music head Rob Light, ICM president Chris Silbermann, Modern Family creator Steve Levitan, Atlantic Records chairman Craig Kallman, producer/songwriter Bruce Roberts, talent manger and producer Jason Weinberg, UTA music agent Rob Prinz, talent manager and producer Eric Ortner, Island Def Jam senior vice president Karen Kwak, Warner Bros. Records president Livia Tortella, talent manager Greg Mertz, ID PR publicists Kelly Bush and Mara Buxbaum, talent managers Bruce Flohr, Michael Green, Steve Moir and Bill Silva, Universial Music Publishing Group executive vice president and head of creative Tom Sturges, entertainment attorney Chuck Ortner and actor/activist Kal Penn.
The event was not a fundraiser, and attendees were not asked to
donate to the Obama reelection campaign. But those invited have been
ardent supporters of the president and were identified as "influencers"
with the ability to help Obama shape the national political conversation
heading into a tough race in 2012.
An insider who attended the hour-long meeting with the Obama
campaign staff tells THR that the vibe was casual. The president
appeared for about 25 to 30 minutes, telling the group that his campaign
would be tough and he needed their help to engage the Hollywood
community in particular and the general public at large.
The meeting comes at a time when Obama seems to be grappling with
how close his campaign should align itself with the entertainment
industry. The president has recently returned to Los Angeles twice for
star-studded fundraisers, and the campaign clearly knows that the
executives invited to the meeting can deliver singers and other stars
who often provide the entertainment at major campaign events.
At the very least, it sounds like the Democratic National Convention
in Charlotte, North Carolina, next year will have a great soundtrack.
