Upfront News and Views: Nat Geo’s Night of Living Wonders

Venueamp160 214 Lafayette St a multistory edifice near the corner of Kenmore Stamp160 Fun factamp160 The building used to be the home of Heidi Klumamp160 Black drapes used as scaffolding on either side of the front doors marked the spotamp160 The ground floor featured a redcarpet area for celebrity snapshots and the bottom of a swimming pool where a diver flashed the familiar yellow border of Neo Geoamp8217s logo at attendeesamp160 The second floor featured two roomsamp160 The largest one was home to the pool with bodypainted models at either end looking like living Pablo Picassolike mod art to highlight the upcoming second season of Geniusamp160 Noteamp160 amp160Have a hunch this room may be familiar to Mr Robot viewers amp160Was this where Sandrine Holt got zapped to death in an episode telecast almost two years agoamp160 Would a confirmation from Robot creator Sam Esmail or USA be possible amp160In the other room attendees could explore Mars via virtual reality headgear amp160A lavish dinner was served one flight up and the top floor two flights up featured exhibits tied to longrunning series Explorer and an outdoor patio where after dinner dessert was served and guests could mingle with puppies looking for a home through North Shore Animal League amp160Also Frankensteinamp8217s Monster made an appearance more belowamp160 Another fun touch Factoids were written on several steps on all of those staircases making each climb both physically and mentally beneficialamp160amp160 Grade 5 JacksPresentation amp160amp160All about positioning Nat Geo as a home for unscripted and scripted storytelling with a purpose according to Nat Geo Global Networks CEOamp160Courtney Monroe who spoke between courses during the dinner amp160amp8220Weamp8217ve become part of the zeitgeistamp8221 she said introducing clip after clip demonstrating the quality and scope of GeoGeo WILDGeo Mundo contentamp160 amp160Monroe and National Geographic Partners CEO Gary Knell interspersed their comments between dinner courses served by Lighthouse chefs Naama and Assaf Tamir amp160Grade 4 Jacks for the format 5 Jacks for the videosNewsamp160 Two new scripted miniseries are on the way The Hot Zone dealing with the Ebola virus epidemic of 1989 with Ridley Scott as executive producer and Valley of the Boom a sixpart depiction of Silicon Valley pioneers that will incorporate interviews with the real subjects and their colleagues amp160Three more scripted serieslimited series are under development including an anthologystyle adaptation of the Oscarnominated film Hidden Figures amp160Season 3 of Genius is set for 2019amp160 Nat Geo announced during dinner that its subject would be Frankenstein author Mary Shelleyamp160 New unscripted undertakings include Hostile Planet a sixpart look at extreme animal environments another season of Cosmos this one titled Possible Worlds a fourhour live wildlife travelogue from Yellowstone National Park and a twohour live Brain Games special amp160Upcoming Nat Geo WILD series announced postevent include Prairie Dog Home Companion and Babies Diary while Nat Geo Mundo will offer Bios a series about Latin America cultural icons amp160Grade 45 JacksHosts amp160Monroe and Knell stayed on point with their respective commentaries amp160Grade 4 JacksStar Time amp160A variety of celebrities from all three networks showed up for maximum face time with attendees in the various exhibit rooms and over dinner amp160Dr Jan Pol The Incredible Dr Pol himself and wife Diane were to my left The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan who will become host of longrunning series Explorer this fall sat across from me and actor Esai Morales who costars on Marsamp8217 second season this fall was a few seats awayamp160 Other notables included Morgan Freeman Katie Couric Antonio Banderas pictured at top center his Genius costar Alex Rich and Boom costar Bradley Whitford amp160Grade 5 JacksCuisine amp160Farmtotable food served family style at dinner amp160Best eats sourdoughglutenfree bread with hummus citrus and root veggie salad and bitesize or regularsize chocolate chip cookies for dessert Worst eats a slice of whole fish laden with small bones amp160Grade 4 Jacks Note amp160Cuisine ratings do not figure into the overall Jacks scoreData Insight amp160Nat Geo has more than 78 million Instagram followers amp160amp8220Weamp8217re almost on par with Kim Kardashianamp8221 Knell joked amp160Grade 3 JacksInnovative Opportunity amp160Multiplatform advertising campaigns linking TV spots with Nat Geo magazines digital and social media content amp160Grade 3 JacksOverall Grade amp16045 Jacks for a sensational combo of venue engaging content showcase and celebrity interaction amp160Not to mention having Frankensteinamp8217s Monster offering a generous swag backpack including a free pass to any national park good for one year before departing the premisesOur Jacks rating system in reviewamp160 5 Jacks Excellent 4 Jacks Very Good 3 Jacks Good 2 Jacks Fair 1 Jack Poor 0 Jacks Donamp8217t go thereClick on the social media tiles above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively those of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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Upfront News and Views: Nat Geo’s Night of Living Wonders

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Simon Applebaum

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Upfront News and Views: Nat Geo’s Night of Living Wonders

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