  | Producing America: A Tribute to Heroes is the highlight of Joel Gallen’s career in entertainment. | ||||||||
Defining MomentsBy Lesley Grant On a Sunday afternoon just two days before September 11, Joel Gallen sat down at his home in Studio City, Calif., to talk about the coming year. It was to have been the first in a series of interviews for a profile on Gallen scheduled to coincide with the release of his feature film directorial debut, Not Another Teen Movie. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather talk about the movie?” inquired Gallen. “Because that’s probably much more interesting than talking about, you know, myself.” For someone who makes a living showcasing the talents of others, Gallen is not eager to grab the spotlight. When he does tell his story, he says it is impossible to reflect on his career today without recalling how it began more than 20 years ago at URI. While he honed his skills as the New Talent Chairperson for the Student Entertainment Committee, Gallen maintains that it was classmate Janet Koenig who is responsible for his break into showbiz. It was Koenig who introduced him to a young hotshot music agent named Rob Light at a party in his senior year. Gallen, a marketing major, had already accepted a job with Xerox, outside of Boston, and intended to begin work in the fall. Light suggested that Gallen consider ICM (International Creative Management), the prestigious talent agency where Light worked in New York. It would mean starting in the mailroom but the opportunities looked promising. With Light’s recommendation, Gallen nabbed a coveted mailroom post at ICM that summer. Today, Gallen is arguably one of the busiest people in Hollywood. Moving up the ranks of television production over the last two decades, with a stint at MTV as a production executive in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Gallen has built a career on the exploitation of pop culture. His critically-acclaimed credit list runs the gamut from classics like MTV’s Unplugged series to MTV’s irreverent Movie Awards and Video Music Awards, and a stream of network television specials. This experience has earned Gallen and his company, Tenth Planet Productions, a reputation for the propagation of all things hip. Facing the December release of his first feature film on the heels of an Emmy nomination for the Ellen Degeneres HBO comedy special and the success of the Ben Stiller movie Zoolander, for which he served as executive producer, Gallen admitted that 2002 would likely bring new opportunities and challenges. One challenge he could not have predicted, however, came less than a week later by way of a late afternoon telephone call following the September 11th attacks. At a time when much of the world was still caught in the slow motion of disbelief, Gallen’s pace would hit warp speed when he agreed to produce a telethon broadcast to benefit the victims of September’s tragic events. On a conference call with executives from ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox, Gallen learned that the networks were pooling their resources to air the telethon live in prime time. When he asked what they had in mind, they replied, “We don’t know. We want you to figure it out.” In just six days, Gallen drew upon his many years of experience to bring America: A Tribute to Heroes to life. “To be honest, I wasn’t certain it was possible to create any show in just six days, much less one that would present the appropriate tone for such a tragic moment in our history,” he says. Against the backdrop of candle-lit stages in Los Angeles, New York, and London, Gallen combined stirring musical performances with narratives honoring the courageous acts and kindness that emerged from the tragedies. The star-studded roster of participants ranged from musical legends like Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon to younger artists like Alicia Keyes, the Dixie Chicks, and Dave Matthews, to such big name entertainers as Tom Cruise, Clint Eastwood, Julia Roberts, Jim Carrey, Tom Hanks, and Kelsey Grammar. Actor George Clooney, who delivered one of the telethon’s narratives, volunteered to organize a celebrity phone bank. Jack Nicholson, Meg Ryan, Brad Pitt, and Goldie Hawn were just a few of the celebrities who took pledges to aid victims of the terrorist attacks. The two-hour broadcast, shown in 210 countries, raised over $150 million and attracted 89 million viewers in the U.S. For Gallen, the event was life-changing. “Having the chance to contribute to such an important cause is an experience that can never be matched,” he says. Not surprisingly, the telethon attracted attention to Gallen’s talents as producer/director. “What Joel did is unparalleled,” said George Clooney. “The fact that he got the show together in six days is a miracle enough—to have it be such a fantastic show makes his accomplishment that much more awesome.” In March, the Producers Guild of America honored Gallen with its first Visionary Award inspired by the Tribute to Heroes broadcast. In their letter confirming Gallen’s accept-ance of the award, Guild representatives Debra Hill and Bruce Cohen wrote: “In a time of crisis and tragedy, your work provided a singular opportunity for national reflection and unity; in so doing, America: A Tribute to Heroes, seemed to fulfill the promise and potential of the television medium itself.” When asked to comment on his life post-Tribute, it’s a visit to Rhode Island that Gallen is most eager to talk about. He returned to URI in February to receive an Excellence Award from the Alumni Association for his contribution to the arts. “There’s something about going back to where it all started that is truly comforting,” Gallen explains. During his visit, he presented some of his work and talked with students about their own ambitions in television and film. “Of the attention that has come my way recently, this was probably the most personally satisfying.” And where might Gallen be today if he’d taken that job at Xerox? Rob Light, now head of the music division at the Creative Artists Agency in Beverly Hills, recalls his introduction to Gallen. “I remember thinking that I had never met anyone so passionate about music and entertainment.” Light feels Gallen’s path was inevitable: “That kind of passion would have led him to this industry one way or another.” Since this article was written, Joel Gallen has been honored with the Peabody Award for Broadcast Excellence for America: A Tribute to Heroes. Lesley Grant is a freelance writer in California. |
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