Five Questions with SCREEN: BarkleyOKRP EVP and Putney Founder Elena Robinson
What do Oprah Winfrey, U2, and the loveliest Gibson guitar ever have in common? They’re all right here as BarkleyOKRP EVP, Head of Production and the Founder and CEO of Putney Elena Robinson stops by for a thoroughly entertaining round of Five Questions with SCREEN.
SCREEN: Most famous person you’ve ever met?
ELENA: In our business we tend to bump into a handful of famous people so I’ve stood in a car line with Jodi Foster at the Four Seasons in LA, ran into Robert Plant in an elevator at the Park Hyatt in Chicago, said hello to Kevin Bacon at Shutters and offered to help Lisa Bonet at a gas pump in Santa Monica but the best was actually working with Oprah Winfrey on her TV series The Women of Brewster Place which was shot in Chicago and was my first job out of college.
SCREEN: Best advice you’ve ever been given?
ELENA: With regard to production, It’s a marathon not a sprint.
SCREEN: On that note, Elena… what is your favorite commercial ever (not produced by you or your team)?
ELENA: Ah… so many… one of my favorites of all time is “Do You Love Me?” for Beats by Dre. The bold honesty of everything that ad says still hits every time.
Let’s take a look at this impactful spot…
SCREEN: If you could be a member of any musical group in history, what would it be?
ELENA: Any musical group in history?! I love music so my first impulse was the Jackson 5 but that didn’t end well. And then I thought of the Beatles for their sheer musicality – they could write, play and sing tight 3 part harmonies plus the impact they’ve had on everything pop music since they hit the scene but it was – all things considered a somewhat short and tumultuous run. So now I’m thinking U2 because they’re still getting out there, making tons of money and they seem like 4 people who generally still like each other.
Let’s take a listen to some U2…
SCREEN: What is your most prized possession?
ELENA: I’m not a super big possession girl but one of my favorites is this lovely old Gibson electric guitar from the 70’s called a Melody Maker.
BONUS QUESTIONS!
SCREEN: Your greatest athletic achievement?
ELENA: I played Field Hockey in high school and we went to the state championships, I think we came in second but my greatest accomplishment was a Silver medal for 8-10 year old girls in Shotokan karate in the Maine state finals.
SCREEN: Worst job ever?
ELENA: I’ve had some stinkers! I had a phone sales job for about an hour. I was in a dingy office room with about 20 people and handed a phone book and told to make calls and read this script. After about an hour the manager took out a $10 and pinned it on the wall and said the next person that makes a sale gets to take this baby home. I got up and left.
SCREEN: What is your greatest fear?
ELENA: Dust bunnies! I hate them. Or hair in the drain. So gross.
SCREEN: What’s that TV show you’re a little embarrassed to admit you love to watch? Why do you love it?
ELENA: I used to really really like Grey’s Anatomy. Long after it jumped the shark. I loved that show! It was just an easy, pleasant, gossipy escape.
Here’s a mashup of most memorable moments from the show…
Thanks for playing, Elena! Click here for more from Elena and her teams at Putney and BarkleyOKRP.
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Photo Credit: Joshua Taylor
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