2.11 - Invitation

My event will be a lock-in, where all guests spend 10 hours in an overnight meeting. It is a lock-in because during the Cuban Missile Crisis, government officials were pressed for time and had to work late nights and early mornings in order to save the world from nuclear disaster. The location is the White House because that is where John F. Kennedy and his advisors primarily worked from during the crisis. The date will be October 27, because that is when the Cuban Missile Crisis was at its peak intensity, and tensions were at their height. The theme of this event will be a stressful, all night adventure where the guests will be simulating the pressure of the crisis in 1962.

John F. Kennedy (Jack) - John F. Kennedy should be invited to the lock-in because he was the president of the United States at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and was the one ultimately making all of the tough decisions throughout the thirteen day ordeal.

Robert Kennedy (Bobby) - Robert Kennedy should be invited because not only was he JFK's brother and one of his closest advisors, but he was also Attorney General at the time and had a crucial discussion with the Soviet Ambassador to the U.S. about making a deal to prevent nuclear war.

Kenneth O'Donnell (Kenny) - Kenneth O'Donnell should be invited because in the movie he was very close to the Kennedy brothers and advised John throughout his presidency, so he would know the dilemma they were facing better than anyone else in the world. I also think it would be interesting to hear him talk to the actor that portrays him in the movie, Kevin Costner, about how accurate the representation of his role in the crisis was.

Nikita Khrushchev - Khrushchev should be on the guest list because no deal could have happened without him, and nuclear war would have broken out, therefore changing the course of history forever. I think it would be interesting for him and Kennedy to talk together in person about the Crisis, and not have to guess each others intentions through indirect communication.

Adlai Stevenson II - Adlai Stevenson should be invited because of his role in showing the world that the Soviets were lying and were, in fact, constructing nuclear missiles in Cuba. He presented evidence at a United Nations meeting that was indisputable and undeniable, not letting Zorin and the other Soviet leaders off the hook.

Alexander Feklisov (Alexander Fomin) - Alexander Feklisov should be invited because of his crucial role as an intermediary who delivered information about a possible deal from the Soviet government to the White House. Without his message that a deal for peace was plausible, hope to avoid nuclear war seemed bleak.

Kevin Costner - Kevin Costner should be invited because he played the role of Kenny O'Donnell in the movie, the character through which the story was primarily told. I think it would be good for him to be able to have a discussion with the character he is playing about how the crisis really felt like, as well as get to meet the real John and Bobby Kennedy, two people he was close to in the film.

Roger Donaldson - Roger Donaldson should be at the event because he directed the movie and had to decide what parts of the crisis to include and not include, as well as where to stretch the situation's historical accuracy for the sake of telling the story and still making it entertaining. I think it would be good for him to get first hand accounts of what this major historical event was really like, and their opinions on his interpretation.