Jane Lynch Presents Icon Award to John McILwee at THR's Power Business Managers Event 2024

16 hours ago

Jane Lynch presents the Business Manager Icon Award to John McILwee and sings his praises at The Hollywood Reporter's 14th Annual Power Business Managers event presented by City National Bank, held at Spago Beverly Hills.

Transcript

00:00I'm so happy to be here today.

00:03I met John McElwee, he's of course videoing this,

00:08at a party on a Friday,

00:11and we talked a bit about possibly working together.

00:14I let Saturday go by, but I called him first thing on Sunday morning,

00:19and he said, hey buddy, what took you so long?

00:22He's the one person I know that I can text at 6 a.m.,

00:25and I know that he will be up and at him,

00:27probably has been to the gym, probably did some things over in Europe,

00:31and I know that he will return my text immediately,

00:35sometimes even before I hit send.

00:39Now when I think about what John McElwee gets done in a day,

00:42it makes me want to take a good long nap.

00:45He's smart as hell.

00:47He is the most optimistic person I have ever met.

00:51He adores his clients.

00:53He sees everybody's TV shows, their movies, their commercials.

00:56He comes to every theater thing I do,

00:58and he's always in the audience cheering me on,

01:01and he deeply loves this business.

01:04He is a fan, and he's also the biggest name dropper I've ever met.

01:10But he goes above and beyond for his clients.

01:14He's also traveling the world with his wonderful husband, Bill,

01:17and they're restoring architectural treasures all over the country,

01:22going on adventure after adventure.

01:24And because he is of such a go-go nature,

01:27he has energy to do it all.

01:29He has the energy to fully enjoy it all.

01:31He embraces it all.

01:33He carpe diems the shit out of life.

01:35But what I love most about John is when I present him with something

01:41that truly confounds me, which is a very easy thing to do,

01:46and he says to me, easy peasy.

01:50It makes my heart melt, and I thank the good Lord for this man.

01:55Ladies and gentlemen, I give you this year's Hollywood Reporter sexiest.

01:59Did I say sexy?

02:00Business Manager Icon Award winner and all-round great guy, John McAuley.

02:27Hello, everybody.

02:28Thank you for coming.

02:31Obviously, this is a big deal for all of us.

02:36I needed something mindless to do this morning,

02:38so I want to start off by thanking City National, Agilink,

02:43and Exactuals for being able to do direct deposits on SAG residuals,

02:48and I sat down and recorded all of our SAG residuals this morning.

02:50So I felt very productive, kept my mind off my speech coming here today

02:54because I'm so excited.

02:55I have been doing this for 34 years,

02:59and I want to just say that I absolutely love my job.

03:02I get up every day about 5.30.

03:05Jan and I are texting.

03:06She's got a couple of questions, so I answer questions, whatever.

03:09I can do some things in the morning.

03:11I get to go to the gym.

03:12We have this amazing ability now with this technology

03:15to be able to work from anywhere, enjoy yourselves,

03:18but also be incredibly productive.

03:20I went out last night with a couple of friends from London,

03:25a couple of actors,

03:26and the girl that I was with,

03:29oh, John, congratulations on this.

03:31This is so exciting.

03:33And she was on the big award circuit last year.

03:36So she was going to all the award ceremonies and things.

03:39She said, oh, so what's this Hollywood Reporter icon thing?

03:41So is it a big, is it a dinner?

03:43Are you going to do a dinner tomorrow?

03:45I was like, no, no, it's not a dinner.

03:46Oh, it's a luncheon.

03:48You guys are going to do a luncheon.

03:49This is so exciting.

03:50Are you going to lunch somewhere?

03:52I said, no, actually, it's a breakfast.

03:54And she kind of looked at me,

03:55and they were kind of just dumbfounded by this breakfast.

03:57I said, listen, I said, we all take it very seriously.

04:00It's 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

04:02It's enough time that you can call City National.

04:06Their elite line is open at 6 a.m.

04:08But we can all get back and do our international wire approvals.

04:12So we really love, actually, this event

04:14because we all kind of take it seriously.

04:17I wanted to write my speech down

04:20because there's nothing that people want to see

04:24more than a rambling business manager.

04:26So thank you so much to the Hollywood Reporter

04:29for this amazing honor.

04:30I've really taken this business manager event seriously

04:32for the last 14 years.

04:35I've always got my headshots in on time.

04:37I try and come up with interesting quotes

04:39for the articles.

04:41What you don't know about me

04:43is that I love award shows.

04:45And I get to go with clients.

04:48My husband, Bill, has won a couple of Tonys.

04:49I get to go to the Tony Awards.

04:50I'm super excited about that.

04:52I'm a great plus one.

04:54I can talk to anybody.

04:55I'm having a good time.

04:56I have a good suit.

04:57I have a good time.

05:00I kind of think of this event

05:03as the Oscars of business managers

05:05because there's so many other industries

05:08that get all of these awards

05:09and kind of accolades, and we don't.

05:11So I take this very seriously.

05:13I think everybody in this room

05:14does an incredible job

05:15for all of the work that we do for our clients.

05:17And I know everybody that I've talked to,

05:20especially today,

05:22really genuinely enjoys this.

05:24So thank you so much for the Hollywood Reporter.

05:26A couple years ago,

05:27my friend Harley Newman was honored with,

05:30I think it was the first Icon Award.

05:32And it was such an inspiration to me

05:34because of his drive and his success,

05:36but also because he got a beautiful watch as a gift.

05:41So let's see where the day takes us.

05:43I want to jump right in with the thank yous.

05:47First and foremost, my mother, Ellen,

05:49who's up here from San Diego.

05:54My mom and my family gave me the opportunity

05:56to grow and flourish in San Diego.

05:58I attended public schools.

06:00I was able to develop the skills

06:01that I think carried me through my life.

06:03So I love you, Mom.

06:04Thank you for all the sacrifices you made for me.

06:06Over here is one of my longtime clients,

06:12Annabeth Gish.

06:13Annabeth and I have worked together

06:15between 25 and 30,

06:16it might be 30 years.

06:18So it was right when she started acting at seven,

06:21which was great.

06:23So we've had a good time together.

06:26The incredible Jane Lynch.

06:28We've had a good time together.

06:30And if you've watched

06:31Only Murders in the Building,

06:32then you know

06:33what good business manager

06:34doesn't need a stunt double

06:36in his back pocket.

06:40My husband, Bill Dimashki,

06:42who unfortunately couldn't be here today,

06:44he's in London,

06:45for all of the support

06:47and all of the missed holidays

06:49that we've experienced over year-end.

06:52Bill's president of Warner Brothers Animation,

06:54also producing two Broadway shows.

06:56So when he suggested

06:58he should fly home for the event,

06:59I did as any good business manager would do

07:01and say,

07:02honey, just stay there, keep working.

07:06On to my amazing team,

07:08without who I would not be standing here,

07:10we have Alex Grissom,

07:11who took a leap of faith with me

07:14back in 2019

07:15when we started our current firm.

07:18December 2019 almost killed us.

07:21We had a new city national bank platform.

07:23We converted to Agilink.

07:27It was year-end.

07:29We had all of our clients' addresses

07:30and updates to do.

07:32And we somehow managed to get through that month.

07:35And what was critical about that was

07:36by doing it in 2019,

07:38it made 2020 perfect.

07:41So it couldn't have happened

07:43in a better time

07:44in advance of the pandemic.

07:46Jason Kazan,

07:48dare I say the best tax man in Hollywood.

07:51Okay?

07:52Jason has such a dry sense of humor

07:53and is so friendly,

07:54we actually look forward to tax season.

07:59Matt Salmerin over here,

08:01who was a senior payroll specialist

08:03at Paychex.

08:04And I will tell you,

08:05having an in-house payroll whiz is gold.

08:07Kathy Demashke,

08:10who works out of Chicago,

08:11she's a paralegal.

08:12She's in charge of all of our compliance

08:14and insurance.

08:16And I can safely say

08:17that between she and myself,

08:18we know more than anybody

08:19at any of the guild's eligibility departments.

08:23I really embraced

08:25having an office atmosphere

08:26where everybody can enjoy themselves

08:27and have a fantastic work-life balance.

08:30I'll give you a perfect example.

08:31So Matt just had a baby.

08:33And I said,

08:34Matt, why don't you take

08:35a couple of months off,

08:36really be home with your family,

08:37your girlfriend,

08:39enjoy the baby.

08:40So about 10 days later,

08:41Matt shows up at the office.

08:43I said,

08:43Matt, what are you doing here?

08:44He said,

08:44I came in because I needed some rest.

08:49So we have a good time working together.

08:54One of the things

08:55I've always respected

08:56about the Hollywood Reporter

08:57is that they take this issue

08:58very seriously.

09:00I believe that they really consider

09:01what's good for our industry

09:02and carefully think through this process.

09:04I would especially like

09:05to acknowledge THR this year

09:06for recognizing someone

09:07like myself and my firm.

09:09Although we were a small boutique agency,

09:11firms like ours represent

09:13a large portion

09:14of the entertainment industry.

09:15Whether it's a large firm

09:16or a small firm,

09:17all of us come to work every day

09:18and try to make the world

09:19a better place for our clients.

09:20I believe culture starts at the top.

09:24I've always strived

09:24to treat my clients

09:25and my coworkers

09:26with the ultimate respect.

09:27I don't have any employees.

09:28I only have coworkers

09:29because I believe

09:31that we're all in this together

09:32and we all have a vested interest

09:33in being successful.

09:36The last couple of years

09:37have been a lot to process.

09:38Pandemic,

09:39the strike,

09:40the general contraction

09:41of the industry.

09:42On top of that,

09:43shrinking resources

09:44across the board.

09:45In my life,

09:46in my work,

09:47I've always strived

09:47to create win-win situations.

09:50A successful negotiation

09:51doesn't mean

09:51somebody else has to lose.

09:54All of our jobs

09:55have gotten so much harder.

09:57Compliance at the bank level,

09:58restrictive insurance markets,

10:00medical coverage qualifications.

10:02Technology is amazing

10:03when it works

10:03and catastrophic

10:04when it doesn't.

10:06We often discuss

10:07it's a blessing

10:08and a curse

10:08being good at our jobs

10:09because sometimes

10:11a client might not see

10:12that there are nine steps

10:13that we have done

10:14and dealt with

10:15some difficult situations

10:16to get it

10:17to that tenth step.

10:19So not really

10:20is all the work

10:20that was required

10:21is a little bit

10:22of our unsung hero situation

10:25because we really appreciate

10:26being able to do all this

10:27so when it gets to a client

10:28they think that

10:28it's been done correctly

10:31the whole time.

10:33In May of 2020,

10:35I read an article

10:35in the Wall Street Journal

10:36by Esther Perel

10:37that really stuck with me.

10:40She's a New York-based therapist

10:41and described

10:42the unbelievable fear

10:43and anxiety

10:43of living in lockdown,

10:45having her life

10:46and all of her future plans

10:48upended.

10:49It took some time

10:50but she was able

10:50to reframe

10:51this unknown fear

10:52into optimism.

10:54Instead of fearing the future,

10:56why not be excited

10:56about the undiscovered opportunities?

10:59What amazing things

11:00are out there

11:00that we don't know yet?

11:01Yes, there's fear

11:02and anxiety in the world

11:03and you can't ignore it

11:04but instead,

11:06I choose to acknowledge

11:06and embrace it

11:07and all the unknown discoveries

11:08that await.

11:10Be excited about

11:11what you don't know.

11:12Be excited about

11:13what could be better.

11:14We have a saying

11:15around the office

11:16which is

11:17it's been done that way

11:19because it's always

11:20been done that way.

11:21So why can't

11:21if there's a different opportunity

11:22do something

11:23that makes something better?

11:25Anyway,

11:26thank you again

11:27to everybody in this room.

11:28I think we're the unsung heroes

11:29of the entertainment industry.

11:31Keeping clients

11:32on the right path

11:33in this wild world

11:34of culture and politics

11:35as it relates

11:35to finance and freedom

11:36of expression

11:37can be a struggle

11:38but a necessary one.

11:40Also,

11:40when are we finally

11:41going to get

11:41our own IMDB category?

11:43So in closing,

11:49I would just like

11:50to thank everybody here.

11:51This means a tremendous

11:51amount to me.

11:53I take

11:54what we do

11:56so seriously

11:56and I have

11:58it's a pleasure

11:59to work with all my clients

11:59and my co-workers

12:01and congratulations

12:02to all of you.

Jane Lynch Presents Icon Award to John McILwee at THR's Power Business Managers Event 2024 | THR Video

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