Convincing old guys to take action

I'm in the middle of two initiatives. One consists of getting some consensus on a date and place for my high school reunion and the other of having a few friends produce a short memorial video for a buddy of mine who recently passed away. I've been asking, but the responses have been dismal. Why? I can't explain, but I assume that moving folks out of their comfort zone or their apathy is a major challenge. The majority don't want to venture out of the proven, comfortable path and may believe they are far too old for learning new tricks. This situation might look like a “stalemate” but I've decided to get it unstuck.

How will I handle this? By showing examples of what could be done, how it could be achieved and how easy it may be accomplished, by helping some visualize what will be missing if they don't participate - call that “shaming” them into action if you like - but I'm determined to engender some movement. For me it's a challenge, a mind game and I would feel very bad it I failed producing the desired results. So I guess, I have my work cut out for me. I'll let you know how effective my methods are...