Tag: wme entertainment

Sequel to Alamollywood Part I Cancelled

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Nine-hundred-thousand dollars for a year-long promotional contract seemed an incredibly high figure, but I was under the assumption Tony Caridi had it covered. Although I did not think much of the banner proposal with the toy-like Mexican soldiers at the bottom, I was impressed he had convinced donors to underwrite such an expensive non-bricks-and-mortar proposition.

That is why I labeled my post about it “Alamollywood Part I,” surely to be followed by updates on the glitzy, slickly produced WME marketing strategies and productions propelling entertainment standards in the Alamo, in this city, in this state to apple-pie-in-the-sky-high California levels.

I surmised the mystery philanthropist was Phil Collins. After all, he has been haunting the Alamo since it fell, according to Mail Online.

I was so wrong.

But the mystery of the anonymous philanthropist is solved.

It is No One. 

Photographer Lisa Krantz of the San Antonio Express-News captured this wink during Daughters of the Republic of Texas testimony in Austin on April 6. The photo was published on April 7 on http://www.mysanantonio.com.

According to the attorney for the Daughters of the Republic of Texas as reported by Scott Huddleston in the San Antonio Express-News, beyond the first month of funding, there were no firm commitments for the remaining $825,000.

Now, I’m a big proponent of what I call “the nonprofit leap of faith” for inspiring board members and potential funders that a nonprofit can accomplish a seemingly insurmountable fundraising goal to achieve a dream, but to sign an unfunded contract?

I am sorry Senator Wentworth. This is no winking matter. This is a breach of trust and responsibility Texas should be examining seriously.

Later Update on April 12, 2011: Senator Van de Putte is not winking….

Update on April 13, 2011: Perhaps Senator Wentworth only was winking to thank her for the Texas-shaped cake?

Update on April 17, 2011: Senator Van de Putte explains her position on the Daughters of the Republic of Texas’ management of the Alamo and how the DRT and Texas Historical Commission will interact if pending legislation passes.

Update on April 18, 2011: If the Daughters were upset by Scott Huddleston’s reporting, editorials in the San Antonio Express-News and Jan Jarboe Russell’s article in Texas Monthly, we do not think they appreciate Ken Herman’s commentary in Sunday’s Austin American Statesman: “Daughters trip over critics, script.” Herman has nominated the Daughters for “Worst Performance at a Committee Hearing.”

Herman wrote of Marketing Director Tony Caridi’s testimony:

He opposes getting the THC involved, telling the committee “Certain things wouldn’t be able to be done like they are now.” Isn’t that the goal of this exercise?

The sharpest plunges of his verbal Bowie knife were concerning the testimony of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Historian General, Karen Thompson, whose earlier email had called SB 1518 the “WORST SENATE BILL EVER!!!!!”

The senator asked Thompson if she indeed thought this was the “worst bill ever.”

“Oh, heavens no,” Thompson said, assuring Van de Putte “there’s been millions of them that have been worse.”

Look out, Mr. Herman. You and the Statesman are about to have your face slapped by the ladies of the Alamo. You will soon be in the same doghouse the Express-News has been in since July:

The Daughters also issued a release Friday, accusing the San Antonio Express-News of directing “unrelenting attacks” on the DRT through its articles and editorials.

Beware. You yourself quoted the Historian General as saying she was a “very dramatic person.”

Later Update on April 18, 2011: Senator Van de Putte continues to press the DRT’s President General for answers relating to finances at the Alamo.

Update on April 27, 2011: Editorial in the San Antonio Express-News:

A group that is truly acting as a trustee for the Alamo wouldn’t fight reasonable requests for transparency, wouldn’t be acting like the owner of the Alamo rather than its caretaker and wouldn’t neglect its primary duty to preserve the historic structure.

Update on May 2, 2011: Scott Huddleston reports on money woes and rats infesting the DRT’s headquarters in Austin….

Update on May 19, 2011: Senators had no worries about being seen crossing or not crossing the line in passing new legislation regarding the management of the Alamo. Ken Herman reports on statesman.com about how the ghosts of Senators current passed the bill placing the Daughters’ role under the supervision of the General Land Office. He also noted a change in leadership:

As I reported last month, DRT Historian General Karen Thompson perhaps was a bit more combative than she should have been at a Senate committee hearing….

But, it seems, the daughters read the legislative tea leaves about what was going to happen. This past weekend, at their state convention, they approved a resolution “in anticipation of compliance with new state laws regarding the Alamo complex….”

The resolution calls for a “transition team” to work toward the new era at the Alamo. The transition team would be appointed by the new president general elected at the weekend convention. That would be Thompson….

Thompson. A self-described “very dramatic person.”

Update on June 2, 2011: Yes, she is a very dramatic person among 8,000 others, points out Herman.

Update on June 11, 2011: Express-News editorials

Alamollywood Part I: Are the Daughters Extremely Savvy or Starstruck?

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Didn’t really want to start the year off with another post about the Alamo, but several emails I received in the past 24 hours and Jan Jarboe Russell’s column on the future of the shrine of Texas liberty in today’s San Antonio Express-News compelled me to head down this blog’s wellworn path to the door of the Alamo.

This morning’s email had brought me a summary from wordpress.com listing the top five posts on my blog during 2010.  Three of the five are Alamobsessive:

In the Express, Russell shares concerns expressed by state Senator Leticia van de Putte about the contract the Daughters of the Republic of Texas have entered into with WME Entertainment:

Meanwhile, Van de Putte and others are uncomfortable with the governing board’s recent decision to hire William Morris Endeavor Entertainment at $75,000 a month for a year to promote the Alamo.   The Daughters’ own efforts to raise significant money for an endowment have failed.

“This is an agency that represents movies stars like Madonna and promotes celebrity brands like Tommy Hilfiger,” Van de Putte said.  “This would be the first time the agency promoted a historic landmark.  I don’t think it’s appropriate.”

WME Entertainment was formed by a 2009 merger that shook up Hollywood.  According to answers.com:

What do you call an aging Hollywood star trying to regain youth and vigor by marrying a much younger starlet?  Try William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME Entertainment), the new talent agency formed by the 2009 merger of 100-year-old William Morris Agency and Endeavor, born in 1995.  The new super-agency ranks in size (boasting more than 300 agents) and scope with the Creative Artists Agency, a leader in the talent representation industry.  WME Entertainment’s roster of stars includes Adam Sandler, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, and Russell Crowe, among other A-list names.  William Morris brought its primacy in books, music, and TV to the marriage, while upstart Endeavor adds young stars and momentum.

Now add the ancient Alamo to that roster. 

Generally, the best way to quell a story and end rumors is to lay out the facts in a straightforward fashion.  But it seems the contract the Daughters signed includes a major confidentiality clause that damages their credibility in dealing with the public.  To someone unfamiliar with the high-dollar entertainment industry (as in me), the figure seems steep:

In consideration of the marketing services to be rendered by WME as set forth herein, WME shall be outlined to receive a guaranteed total of Nine Hundred Thousand Dollars ($900,000) for the term payable in equal monthly installments of Seventy Five Thousand Dollars ($75,000) for the months from November 1, 2010 until October 31, 2011.

Photo from Mail Online

Lips remain zipped over who is footing the bill to support this contract, but bets are on Phil Collins.  According to Mail Online:

He recently secretly bought a shop next to the Alamo mission ­simply so that he could dig under it in search of artifacts.  He’s also spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on memorabilia…. Collins spends weeks at a time in Texas, and his friends believe that he is preparing to buy a home there….  He’s addressed a local historical society, is thinking of writing a book, and is coming out of semi-retirement next spring in order to do a benefit gig for a restoration fund in San Antonio.

Not only does he collect everything Alamo, Collins apparently believes he was at the Alamo in 1836.  Again, according to Mail Online:

Gary Foreman, a fellow Alamo enthusiast, recalled the moment that his wife Carolyn “revealed” Phil’s former life as Texan courier John W Smith, a man who was known as El Colorado — the redhead — because of his hair.  Foreman said his wife called Collins over and shared her conviction with him.  “When she made the revelation to Phil, his face lit up. His reaction was he felt very much at home at the Alamo and now it made sense.”

If Phil Collins is the mystery philanthropist, it is great to have someone outside of San Antonio take intense interest in and demonstrate a willingness to invest in such an important landmark.  But, whoever the funder is, it takes a leap of faith to believe Hollywood marketing expertise will treat the history part of the story of the Alamo with the respect it merits.

Russell writes:

What the Alamo needs isn’t a promoter, but steady, reliable management and a staff of historians and professionals with a solid understanding of quality museum practices.

Hopefully, the Daughters will emerge from this with a new image as incredibly savvy businesswomen who have found a brilliant fundraising strategy to keep the Alamo in repair for years to come.  Or….

Update on January 5, 2011: 

In 2010, the byline of one Scott Huddleston, a longtime Express-News reporter, was most associated with the Alamo. And what a roller coast ride it was.

Ben Olivo briefly summarizes the year’s stories about the Alamo that dominated coverage of downtown San Antonio.

January 6 Update:  Phil Collins’ and Ricky Skaggs’ fans shouldn’t book their plane tickets to San Antonio yet.  While the DRT website still has March 5th posted as the date for the free concert on the plaza, the Convention and Visitors Bureau now lists it as happening on the Fourth of July….

And Scott Huddleston of the Express-News posted the news this evening that “Alamo concert now on hold.”

Update on January 24: One website suggests tongue-in-cheek that the Daughters pretty much just go all the way Alamollywood and chuck the real Alamo for the “reel” Alamo.