ASIFA-East Gets Happy with Pharrell Williams, Chris Meledandri, and Despicable Me 2

Members of ASIFA-East had the honor of attending an intimate party celebrating Pharrell Williams’ nomination for 7 Grammy awards for his musical contributions to Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainments’ Despicable Me 2.  Hosting the event was  Chris Meledandri, Founder and CEO of Illumination Entertainment, who spoke with our members about his experiences in animation and his time at Blue Sky Studios.  The cocktail party was held at The Oak Room, in Manhattan’s gorgeous Plaza Hotel.  Pharrell treated party attendees to a screening of his new music video Happy, from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack.  He spoke of his life long love for animation, and how excited and thrilled he was to be working on such a great project.  Pushing his own creative boundaries to the limit and beyond, he was able to find something deep within himself that would communicate the feeling of the main character in this second installment.   Afterwards, members got the chance to discuss their favorite cartoons growing up with Pharrell.  Below are photos from the event.  ASIFA-East would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Hollace Davids of Universal Pictures for this wonderful opportunity, as well as Stacey Zarro and Sharon Martin who were on hand to greet our members.  Many thanks to both Chris and Pharrell for the warm welcome and for taking the time to speak with us.