In 25 years of production, East Main Media has focused cameras upon senators, governors, and a Grammy winner or two. But a single week this summer set a new bar: three living legends, three interviews, one story to tell.
The story belongs to Senator Bill Bradley. On September 30, 2026, the Garden State Initiative will honor him with the Governor Thomas H. Kean Leadership Award at its annual Leadership Gala, and EMM was tapped to produce short films that highlight Sen. Bradley’s career. Regina Egea, chair of the Garden State Initiative, conducted the interviews, and our job was to capture them at the highest possible quality and weave them into a film that does justice to one of New Jersey’s most remarkable public lives.
Reservoir Studios, New York City
Two of the three sat down with us at Reservoir Studios in Manhattan: Spike Lee and Frank Oz.
If the pairing seems unexpected for a tribute to a former senator, it isn’t. Both men have a direct connection to Bradley’s most recent chapter. Rolling Along, Bradley’s one-man stage show about his life in basketball and politics, was adapted for the screen with Frank Oz directing and Spike Lee producing. They know Bradley not as a headline but as a collaborator and a friend, and that showed in every answer.
Frank Oz needs little introduction, but his résumé still stops people cold. As a puppeteer with Jim Henson, he gave voice and life to Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Cookie Monster, Grover, and Bert. He is the voice of Yoda in the Star Wars films. And as a director, he built a body of work that includes Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Little Shop of Horrors, What About Bob?, Bowfinger, and The Dark Crystal. Few people alive have shaped both childhood and adulthood for so many audiences.
Spike Lee is, simply, one of the defining American filmmakers of the last four decades. Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, 25th Hour, Inside Man, and the Oscar-winning BlacKkKlansman are just the marquee names in a filmography that has never stopped taking chances. His presence in the room raised everyone’s game.
The crew for the Reservoir Studios shoot was small by design and deep in capability: Keith Kocinski on camera, Nick Capra as gaffer, and Rosemarie Bernardo handling styling. When you have a limited window with subjects of this stature, you don’t want a large footprint. You want people who know exactly what to do and do it quietly.
Governor Kean
The third legend of the week was the man whose name is on the award: former New Jersey Governor Thomas H. Kean.
Kean led the state from 1982 to 1990 and later chaired the 9/11 Commission, and he remains one of the most respected figures in American public life. His reflections on Bradley, a contemporary across the aisle during a very different era of New Jersey politics, anchor the film with the kind of perspective only a peer can offer.
Why it matters to us
East Main Media turns 25 this year. Weeks like this one are a reminder of why the company exists: to be trusted with stories that matter, by people who have every reason to be selective about who tells them. We’re grateful to the Garden State Initiative, to Regina Egea, and to the entire crew for making it happen.
The film premieres September 30 at the GSI Leadership Gala. We’ll share more once it’s out in the world.
