| NEWS 09.23.09 2:14 PM |
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In the News: Guerrilla Stunt Opens Dialogue With the Law, Emmys Bounce Back
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Burlington Covers Tracks for Stunt: Marketers still haven't recovered from the failure of Cartoon Network's 2007 Boston stunt, which infamously prompted the city to brace for a terrorist attack and included such fallout as network exec's resignation and a $1 million fine. In hopes of avoiding a similar stir when planting 500 unattended messenger bags around New York City last week, Burlington Coat Factory coordinated the stunt with local police to make sure nobody was caught off guard. They also made a concerted effort to keep all of the bags—each containing a gift card to the retailer's new "store in a store," the Factory—on pre-approved private property and monitored by event staff. Planners reportedly interviewed bloggers who covered the Boston incident to find out how to stay on the right track. [NYP]
Most-Watched Emmys Since 2006: Producer Don Mischer and host Neil Patrick Harris received most of the credit this week for a positively reviewed Emmy presentation and a highly watched telecast. Ratings were up to 13.3 million viewers for Sunday's show, a 1 million gain from last year's highly criticized outing. The 2009 show marks the biggest audience the Emmys have drawn since 2006, and many think the quicker pace of grouped awards—by comedy, reality, long-form, variety, and drama—made for a more accessible broadcast. [Variety]
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Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, CBS, Emmys, Neil Patrick Harris, Burlington Coat Factory, Cartoon Network, Paranormal Activity, Paramount |
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| EVENT REPORT 09.17.09 4:51 PM |
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HBO Premieres Curb Your Enthusiasm With White Party on Paramount Lot
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 | HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm party
Photo: Marianne Franco |
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Although Curb Your Enthusiasm writer, producer, and star Larry David is known more for his on-screen outbursts than his subtlety, the party following the season premiere of his HBO series was marked by just that. First, David introduced the screening of three episodes (one abridged and two in full) in the theater on the Paramount lot. After roaring with laughter, guests moved to the adjacent courtyard for a party dominated by a white palette with splashes of orange and green.
HBO's vice president of awards, events, and trade advertising, Lauren McMahon, tapped Poko Event Productions for the production and design of the party, which included white fringed chandeliers above white seating groups, and orange balls of various sizes floating in the courtyard's central fountain. A peek of orange fabric shone through pleats at the corners of white-clothed tables, and a san-serif Curb Your Enthusiasm logo hung above the DJ booth where DJ Pesce spun.
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HBO, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Paramount |
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| NEWS 09.08.09 11:52 AM |
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Fall Preview: What Los Angeles Event Pros Are Working on This Season
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With the unofficial end of summer now behind us (that would be Labor Day), event professionals are looking to the fall—a traditionally busy time—to see how the economic recovery will help the industry rebound from what has so far been a pretty slow year. We asked a group of local planners and vendors what they have in the works for the coming months. Here are some highlights.
"After a relatively quiet consumer event season during the first half of 2009, Hollywood & Highland Center anticipates a busy fall and winter to round out the year. We certainly saw an increase in activity during the summer months with our 'Wine, Jazz & Moonlight' summer concert series, and now the entertainment and consumer marketing events are kicking into high gear for the fall season. The uncertainty that brands, studios, and networks were feeling earlier this year seems to be subsiding as we prepare to host the A.F.I. Film Festival and promotional opportunities and events with Disney, a number of Fox properties, and brands including Nike, L’Oreal, Samsung, Subaru, and Maybelline. The center will welcome at least two free outdoor concerts with high-profile artists during the third week of September to kick off our live music offerings, leading up to an unprecedented Hollywood tree lighting celebration on November 28. [We are excited about] the recent opening of Madame Tussauds Wax Museum next door, weekly premieres at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and the El Capitan Theatre, the Hollywood Chamber’s Walk of Fame star ceremonies, a new Hard Rock Café opening in 2010, and at least one other major tenant announcement on the horizon, plus the new resident Cirque du Soleil production [at] the Kodak Theatre."
—S. Dwayne Jones, senior director of strategic alliances and special events, Hollywood & Highland Center
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Going Green, Entertainment Tonight, Emmys, Award Season, What a Pair, Target, Asics, Hollywood Life, Paramount, Audi, Oakley, MTV Video Music Awards, American Association of Museums, California Science Center, Warner Brothers, The Invention of Lying, Sherlock Holmes Movie, Macy's Passport, Disney, Fall Preview 2009 |
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| NEWS 08.05.09 2:21 PM |
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In the News: G.I. Joe Markets to the Heartland, Downsized Festivals Stand Better Chance in Economy
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Paramount Pitches G.I. Joe to Middle America: In lieu of New York and Los Angeles, Paramount is focusing its marketing campaign for G.I. Joe on less traditional locales to boost interest in the film. The company is spending the bulk of its reported $150 million campaign on outreach to Midwestern states, with outdoor advertising focused on places such as Kansas City, Missouri, and Grand Rapids, Michigan, activations at Kid Rock's current tour, promotions at Minnesota's Mall of America, and a recent premiere at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. [LA Times]
Crowds Flock to Scaled-Back Fairs and Fests: Drops in sponsorships, slashed grant budgets, and general belt-tightening have put fairs and festivals in a unique position this summer. Although many have decided to forgo the 2009 season in an effort to stay afloat, downsized efforts are being greeted with record crowds. Industry professionals attribute this to producers keeping an eye on costs, attendees' need for cheap and local entertainment, and a lack of competition now that so many of these events have been canceled. [AP]
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Paramount, G.I. Joe, Purity.Organic, Guerrilla Marketing, Junkets |
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| NEWS 07.08.09 1:31 PM |
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In the News: Obama Joins N.A.A.C.P. for 100th Convention, Planner Commissions Plummet in 2009
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N.A.A.C.P. Snags Obama for Convention Appearance: The N.A.A.C.P. will celebrate 100 years of conventions in New York next week when it returns to the New York Hilton July 11 for six days of conferences and meetings about race today. Now the country's oldest civil rights organization can add an impressive headliner to a roster of speakers that already includes Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, New York Governor David Paterson, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg: President Barack Obama will deliver the closing address to the convention on July 16. An estimated 8,000 are already expected to attend, but planners may anticipate a jump in attendance with this news. [LoHud.com]
Event Planners Take Cuts to Keep Business: Plenty of independent event planners rely on commissions from vendors—typically 10 percent of the suppliers' fees—for their own income. Unfortunately for them, what business they are getting is at negotiated rates to stay competitive in the economy. That means more work to get clients a reduced rate and a lower commission to show for it. Many planners are reporting more than a 40 percent drop in revenue so far this year. [NYT]
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Comic-Con International, Watchmen, Warner Brothers, Paramount, G.I. Joe, The Washington Post |
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| EVENT REPORT 06.24.09 11:43 AM |
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Huge Transformers Premiere Brings Linkin Park and Movie Machinery
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Paramount's new picture Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is 147 minutes of intense, nonstop visual and aural stimulation. So naturally, the studio's event team would arrange a premiere along those same lines. The event on Monday night was part of the Los Angeles Film Festival.
"We wanted to capture what [director] Michael Bay captures in his films: visually appealing, stunty, and impressive," said director of special events Elizabeth Tramontozzi, who worked with manager Amy Baker, coordinator Samantha Kolker, and assistant Jacob Marez. "We wanted to take those elements and have them be what the premiere felt like."
For simultaneous screenings at Mann's Village and Bruin theaters in Westwood, the arrivals took over Broxton Avenue with a spectacle that drew fans, U.C.L.A. students, and passersby to crowd all surrounding sidewalks. Tramontozzi tapped 15/40 Productions to design a 200-foot-long machinery-inspired arrivals area in a double-sided horseshoe design to accommodate a throng of press. A pair of the robot-vehicles from the movie flanked a double-sided 125-foot-long metal step-and-repeat wall. Fans were penned on both sides of the carpet, and occupied bleachers at the top.
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Paramount, Transformers, Linkin Park, LG, Peet's, Heineken, Monster Energy Drink |
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| EVENT REPORT 03.18.09 4:09 PM |
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I Love You, Man Premiere Kicks Off With Dude-Centric Red Carpet, Off-Color Joke Included
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Typically, the party comes after the movie premiere. But last night, for the premiere of Paramount's new dude-focused picture I Love You, Man, you might say the party started early: on a highly spirited, totally decked-out red carpet for arrivals.
Working with Paramount's Elizabeth Tramontozzi, 15/40 Productions used stills from the set to mock up three vignettes on the carpet on Broxton Avenue, all inspired by the movie's man-centric themes. The first evoked the roughly converted garage inhabited by Jason Segel's character, with a Rush poster, bookshelves full of albums, and a bottle of lotion next to a worn chair that served as a running gag in the movie and the vignettes on the carpet. "Usually [when designing events], you have it really nice and crisp," said 15/40's Travis Jackson. "We had it just the opposite: super raw, and as gnarly as can be."
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I Love You Man, Paramount |
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| EVENT REPORT 02.24.09 11:00 AM |
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Montblanc Stages Big Reveals to Heighten Drama at Charity Dinner
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Two days before the Academy Awards—with so many top-tier celebrities swirling around Hollywood—Montblanc hosted a charitable gala, dubbed Signature for Good, to benefit education and literacy programs for Unicef. Michael Friedman of Delphi Productions spearheaded the production for the event, which began on Friday when a group of 250 arrived to a red-carpet set on the Paramount’s New York Street.
During the cocktail hour that preceded the gala in the foyer, larger-than-life portraits of 12 celebrities for the cause were revealed, including portraits of Susan Sarandon, Milla Jovovich, Emily Blunt, Helen Hunt, Eva Longoria, Mira Sorvino, Andie MacDowell, Sienna Miller, Christina Ricci, Jessica Lange, Lauren Hutton, and Marcia Cross. A rigging system brought in all the portraits, which stood onstage behind the celebrities during the gala's presentation portion.
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Montblanc, Paramount, Unicef, Oscars, Award Season |
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| NEWS 11.12.08 12:05 PM |
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Paramount Strikes Holiday Party in Favor of Tree-Lighting Ceremony, Paid Time Off
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Paramount has become one of the Los Angeles-based companies to cut its holiday party rather than scale it back. But that's not to say that the studio isn't offering wintertime rewards to its employees.
First off, the studio will honor a longtime employee with the task of lighting the company tree outside of the Bronson Gate on the lot on December 1. There will be hot chocolate, cider and "a very holiday, festive" feel, the studio's executive director for special events, Uschi Wilson, said Tuesday.
Paramount will also offer its employees paid time off for the week of December 22. Cancelling the party, which had been scheduled for December 11, was "an appropriate thing to do," said Wilson. —Alesandra Dubin
RELATED TOPICS
Corporate Holiday Parties, Budgets, Paramount |
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| NEWS 09.08.08 3:02 PM |
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The Press on MTV VMAs: All Is Not Forgiven
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MTV may have been attempting to apologize for embarrassing Britney Spears at last year’s panned Video Music Awards by showering the pop star with her first three moon men at last night’s 2008 VMAs and giving her the opportunity to showcase her newfound lucidity during the broadcast's opening moments. In turn, the media seems to be apologizing to viewers today for enduring what most regard as another disappointing show.
The Los Angeles Times called the VMAs the “most unrepentantly contrived of awards shows,” and suggested the choice of Paramount Studios may have been a frugal move, as both MTV and Paramount fall under the umbrella of Viacom. The paper also noted that MTV plied the unusually small audience with free champagne throughout the night, with many already three glasses in just 20 minutes shy of the start. No one was carded.
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MTV, MTV Video Music Awards, Paramount, Kanye West, Britney Spears |
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