Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Harry Emilio Gottlieb is the City of Miami Film Czar. By Geniusofdespair


Harry Emilio Gottlieb, a contributor to Eye on Miami, has taken over the City of Miami film office. Robert Parente, his predecessor, was known to be in Joe Sanchez's camp. Harry's official title is: Director-Mayor's Office of Film, Arts, Culture & Entertainment.

We here at Eyeonmiami are fond of the personable Harry, we wish him a lot of luck in his new job.

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

For transparency purposes: How much is Mr. Gottlieb making in his position? If he is making more than Parente, than the city is losing, no matter how much experience he brings. Remember, we are in a financial crisis!

Anonymous said...

Its been reported elsewhere that Mr. Gottlieb is making $102K per year, while Parente offered to work for $40K.

Anonymous said...

$40,000 for someone who gave sweetheart deals to film companies is not a bargain. Maybe Harry will make some money in that Department.

Anonymous said...

Well he finally got the City gig he campaigned for and wanted from Tomas. PAYBACK!!!
We miss his constant campaign badgering of Sanchez and his comparisons of Tomas/Joe.
Now it all comes full circle. Harry is a Tomas crony...good luck Harry.

Anonymous said...

How is this any different from Manny? Giving plum government jobs to your campaign contributors and relatives, rather than picking people based on actual skills? Frankly, I have more respect for the lobbyists.

Anonymous said...

Names???

Anonymous said...

Miami will continue to be a mess until we get someone with a clean slate in office.

No attorneys that have political machines backing them and definitely not someone that has been involved in the system for years.

But the residents of Miami got what they wanted.

Anonymous said...

Sorry guys, I'm disappointed in you. You may be very fond of Gottlieb, but this reeks of cronyism.

I don't know either Gottlieb of Parente, but I am in the industry and everybody speaks highly of the latter. There was no reason to fire him. If in fact, Gottlieb is making more money than Parente, then it's even worse. It soils Regalado, and it soils Gottlieb's reputation as a gadfly whose heart was in the right place.

Anonymous said...

Other than Burn Notice, what did Parente do? They also got the biggest chunk of incentives, leaving smaller projects out in the cold.

Our company has been in the industry for 25 years. We've been working on projects out of New Orleans where the film industry is thriving. Too bad Miami, and that includes at the County level with Jeff Peel, are so comfy in their jobs, they forget us little non union people!

Gifted said...

The City was in financial woes for a while before Parente offered to take a pay cut. And he only offered it after he was told he was being cut. And only for two years.

Harry is making less then Parente.

Anonymous said...

Everyone in the industry speaks highly of Parente because he gave them sweetheart deals.

Anonymous said...

Its all clear now. Harry did what he did cause he was looking for a position, and Tomas came through.
PAYBACK-CRONYISM...it is what it is.

Anonymous said...

Harry is a good qualified person. Is it cronyism if he does a better job then the person he replaces?

I would like to add one more thing. Robert Parente came in about 8 years ago when Manny Diaz came into office. Mr. Parente also replaced someone else.
So things come full circle.

Anonymous said...

Responding to the last post. Mr. Parente did not replace anyone. This position did not exist before him. Filming permits were handled by the police department.

Anonymous said...

Yes he did. The "Office of Film" did not exist but there was a person that handled all permits in the City for film.

Geniusofdespair said...

Be happy someone got a job in this economy all you complainers

Anonymous said...

The City is littered with people that Money Diaz put in cushy jobs and got us into this financial mess. Regalado is the Mayor now, he should be allowed to have his own people, it’s not cronyism its real life. Why would he keep Manny's people who want to see him fail and will do everything in their power to insure that he does? I'm not a Regalado fan, but come on already the guy is criticized for everything. If he doesn't fire people then he is a hypocrite. If he fires people then he is a hypocrite. I think he has done a lot in a short time. Love him or hate him at least we know what's going on at the City which is more than we can say for the now Harvard Professor that got us into this mess.

Anonymous said...

G.O.D., just because Harry is a friend does not mean that we shouldn't scrutinize this decision. I am not sure what his qualifications are to begin with. He has been all over the blogs, Herald comments page, you name it, bashing Manny, and supporting Tomas, and now he gets hired to handle the film office? There is something here, especially if his salary is more than 2 times more than the person he is replacing. If the salary story is not a story, and he is making $40K, and he has the credentials for the job, that is fine. I just haven't seen it yet..

Anonymous said...

Cronyism is only if he doesn't have qualifications for the job. He has them.

al crespo said...

First, before Robert Parente the permits for filming in the city limits was handled by an employee in the Miami Police Department's Public Affairs division. That's all she did.

When Parente came in he essentially created an office that handled not only film permits - although that was and is the core responsibility of that job - but also started handling Arts and Entertainment activities. He and his a staff he organized provided assistance and coordination for Art Basel, The Grove Arts Festival and any number of smaller events. Providing those support services often called for putting in 18 - 20 hour days.

By virtue of his position Parente also worked to enlarge and attract additional filming, including Burn Notice and Marly and Me - two projects that have been widely discussed.

Last year his office budget was cut to zero. He lost his staff, and essentially any and all support for an office including janitorial services.

What remains is the issuing of film permits. This is a lot more complicated that just rubber stamping a piece of paper. I don't think that Harry - and certainly the Mayor - had any real inkling of what the job entailed, or the amount of institutional memory that would be lost by this appointment.

Harry could be the nicest guy in the world, but he really has no real experience in the real film industry and I doubt very seriously that he had a clue of what the job really entailed when he asked the Mayor to appoint him, and because this appointment was essentially political the chances are that the film industry will suffer while Harry tries to reinvent the wheel - if he in fact really decides to undertake the serious work of learning the real in's and out's of the job he got, and not the job he thought he was getting.

For the record, I'm a 25 year veteran of the film industry, and have long been a critic of much of what passes for public policy when it comes to the film industry.

al crespo
www.alcrespofilm.com

Anonymous said...

Right the same Mayor that has been in the media for over 40 years has no idea about media.

Got ya.

Anonymous said...

Nice chorus of cronyism apologists. Never imagined I would read comments like these in EOM.

Gottlieb is qualified? Maybe, I don't know him other than as a prolific letter writer and crappy Photoshopper. I haven't seen his qualifications and as far as I know the job wasn't advertised. Still doesn't justify firing another qualified individual who had proven his worth under hard conditions, as Al Crespo noted. (And G.O.D, if one person got a job, another lost one.)

Very classy, taking low blows at Parente. His work and his reputation are sterling. "Burn Notice" took most of the money because it is a huge production that has been a lifesaver for many trade shops, in a year when production was way down. My job is not union but union wages are what keeps the industry afloat.

I have to laugh at the last Anon. The media Regalado has been on, compared to "Burn Notice"? It's like saying a Little League coach can manage a MLB team.

Sorry, but this stinks to high heaven and it shouldn't get a pass because Gottlieb has been an active if kind of wacky activist. He campaigned vociferously for Regalado and looks like he got his payback. I have no illusions about Regalado. He is the worst kind of reactionary populist and it's showing. But I expect EOM and the rest of the activist community to hold his feet to the fire.

Geniusofdespair said...

Reader I removed: Don't disrespect the bloggers, I work for free, I don't take abuse on top of that. That is the one rule of this blog always has been. You can disagree but don't take cheap shots at me. Comments are a bitch, here is what the Coconut Grove Grapevine blog says about comments:

"I spend most of the day moderating comments. For every one comment you see here, there are four that come in that are libelous, stupid or insulting. I don't have the time for that anymore. Every time the computer clicks or I look at my iPhone and there are gobs of comments, I cringe.

The Grapevine is here as a community service, the money that comes in from ads every month is not worth the headaches." And the Grapevine says about Harry:

"He has over 30 years of media experience. His background includes radio, TV, print, marketing, new business development, sales, public relations, community relations and special events."

I know Parente and I like him as well but I remember when he started, he was doing local filming of shorts, he learned on the job.

Anonymous said...

Miami Today reported that Harry Gottlieb is being paid $65,000. Harry has energy and hopefully he will learn quickly. Films and commercials are crucial to Miami. It is a clean business and South Florida is dependent on tourism. Films shot in Miami are our postcards to the world.

C.L.J. said...

My problem with the affair is that we're told one day "we're eliminating the department," and the next day a Regelado support is appointed. That stinks to high hell. Parente has done a fabulous job for us; Gottlieb is an unknown quantity. If he didnt' walk in the door with more better projects in his pocket, then this was an extremely stupid move.
Since Gottlieb's first move was to go begging for ideas, I can only conclude that we're screwed.

Gifted said...

There was no mention from the administration they were destroying that department C.L.J.
I say give him a shot.

Anonymous said...

"I have to laugh at the last Anon. The media Regalado has been on, compared to "Burn Notice"? It's like saying a Little League coach can manage a MLB team."

White House Press Corp Nixon-Clinton
CNN Correspondent
Various Spanish Radio and TV, Univision, Telemundo, Radio Mambi, Camacol, La Poderosa, News Director for Spanish Broadcasting System.
Diario De Las Americas Columnist
El Nuevo Herald Columnist

I mean yeah I guess it looks small potatoes to a cable sitcom.

Or are you implying that because it is in Spanish it is a lesser form of media?

Anonymous said...

Regalado has more entertainment connections than Parente ever had. Do your homework; http://www.socialmiami.com/showslides.asp?g=Emilio-Estefan-Book-Signing-at-Eden-Roc-602&p=11
I'm in the industry and Regalado is at every event. I'm sure Harry will be a success.

Anonymous said...

Both me and Gimleteye? I you mean both Gimleteye and I.... :-)

Gifted said...

You shouldn't be poking at fun at grammar with your sentence of

"I you mean both Gimleteye and I"

Geniusofdespair said...

Now you are on grammar?

Anonymous said...

Most of it is lapoderosa? You mean this past year correct? Because before that it was his wife and Mr.Regalado was never on it. Obviously you dont have you facts straight your entire argument has been put to question.

Why dont we play a little game? We both quit talking and wait one year? In one year I bet Regalado can do more then Parente did in 8.

ned said...

Yeah lets play a game...
In one year the Oversight Board will be in full swing eyeballing Miami and its finances.

Anonymous said...

Positive Change for the Residents of Miami
The First 100 Days of the Regalado's Administration
Address issues resulting from the prior administration’s mishandling of funds that ultimately led to a reoccurring deficit for the City. Working closely with city unions to quickly resolve the pension crisis in a just and fair manner.
■Determining the responsibilities of the Pension Board’s external auditors as well as Pension Administrators and Fund Investment Advisors.
■Avoiding mismanagement of pension funds invested in an unstable stock market by ensuring greater accountability.
■Creating stop-loss procedures for Investment Advisors that require stocks be converted to cash to minimize losses.
Reanalyze citywide expenditures to reflect current economic conditions. The City of Miami needs a top-to-bottom review of all public sector positions to assess the needs and benefits for taxpayers. The total costs of procuring certain services and analyzing the related benefits should also be studied. For example, the total budget of the City Attorney’s office will be confined to the costs of obtaining legal service - no more, no less.
■Similar city departments will also be consolidated to reduce costs.
■Enacting policy mandating each city department have no more than one Assistant/Deputy Director would reduce expenditures significantly.
Create the Office of Resident Affairs and Public Documents at the Mayor’s office. This will bring government directly into the different neighborhoods and foster a much more responsive administration.The Office of Resident Affairs and Public Documents will be the liaison between residents and all departments of the city to facilitate any public record request by residents. In monthly meetings attended by the Mayor, City Manager and Department Managers, public officials will meet with the community in the various neighborhoods to hear residents, get input, and respond to their needs.
■With follow-up action meetings attended by the Mayor and the Manager
■Additionally, once a month, the Mayor and Manager will meet with residents’ associations to discuss quality of life issues
Cleaning Miami One Block at a Time and Planting a Tree. The Mayor’s Clean City initiative will clean one city block at a time every day of the week, making Miami one of the cleanest cities in the U.S.
Consolidate Code Enforcement and NET (Neighborhood Enhancement Team) Relocate Code Enforcement inspectors at each NET office. This way inspectors can interact with NET employees and residents on a daily basis
■A dedicated service phone number will be operational during the weekends and holidays. Inspectors will be on hand to answer resident’s calls on urgent matters related to Code Enforcement.
■We will have Public Service Aides (PSA) from the Police Department based at NET offices to expedite solutions for any complaints.
Shaping the Future of Miami. Initiate a dialogue with residents and citizen’s associations to obtain their insight on current and future development in their area.
Working with the Chairman of the City Commission (appointed by the Mayor). Establish a new protocol where all zoning and planning matters that go before the commission will be heard after 5pm. This new system will give the public an opportunity to participate in all public hearings and not have to miss work.
Start a dialogue with Friends of the Marine Stadium. Create a workable plan for the restoration of the stadium structure.

Is anyone keeping score?

Anonymous said...

Well???