The theme of the event was “A Renaissance of Simplicity,” meant to evoke the salon-style gatherings of bygone eras, during which guests discussed important issues. Attendees included a group of influential people across various industries, including designer Diana Resnick, Nanette Lepore C.E.O. Heather Pech, Interscope Records marketing head Chris Clancy, and Modern Luxury president Alan Klein, who assumed hosting duties.

Elle’s Eric Johnson oversaw the event for the magazine and worked with Larry Abel/De-signs for production. “The aesthetic we are going with this year is very clean, crisp, fresh—something that we feel is in line with Elle,” said Caitlin Weiskopf, the magazine's special events and merchandising manager, who also worked on the event.

Gucci was the sponsor and an influence on the design. "The color palette was very rich—oranges and ambers. It had that very rich, tactile, Gucci thing going on," said the museum's acting director of communications, Sarah Stifler.

“The awards are given by Universal Studios Hollywood to actors, writers, directors, and other artists who have made a significant contribution to the evolution of the horror genre,” said Sandra Lady, vice president of Universal Studios and Citywalk special events. This year’s recipients included Julie Benz of Saw V, Bill Moseley of The Devil’s Rejects, director Roger Corman, director of the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Tobe Hooper, and the original Leatherface, Gunnar Hansen.

The multilevel venue has 22,000 square feet of event space and holds 1,800. The ground floor has indoor ponds and a bar and lounge with several semiprivate tables, as well as a banquet hall with room for 250.

Future community outreach programs for the cultural center include a joint effort with LAUSD to form a mariachi group, revolving shows featuring the works of local artists, and other Mexican cultural initiatives. Mariachi Monumental de America de Juan Jose Almaguer—which performed at the opening party—plays in the restaurant Wednesday through Sunday.

Event space at the new single-story, glass and stone structure has yet to be defined or announced; the building is intended to house special exhibitions, retail outlets, restaurants, and education space. Resnick Pavilion’s exterior will be a combination of glass and travertine marble, and its interior galleries will be laid out in a flexible open-plan style that can accommodate multiple exhibitions. The building will be situated north of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum, which opened in February 2008, and will feature glass roof and ceiling elements to provide natural light.

The 70,000-square-foot building and exterior was designed by Renzo Zecchetto with outdoor gardens, perimeter landscaping, and a lobby with stone floors and wood-paneled walls. Angstrom Lighting provided and installed all of the high-end stage lighting equipment.

Designed by Henrik Hendricksen, At Sunset offers amenities such as a high-end sound system, nine plasma TVs, a chef’s kitchen with Viking appliances, an in-wall aquarium, a Zen garden, an outdoor Jacuzzi and fire pit, and a bilevel screening room with space for 25.

Why did you pick the tour format to market the game?
We really feel that Rock Band is an authentic music experience, and we wanted to give fans and families a chance to really experience what it's like to perform live rock 'n' roll. We think that can be achieved by partnering up with some great bands whose songs are featured within our game and have a pretty broad appeal to our consumer base and let our consumers get involved with the show from playing Rock Band in their living rooms to playing Rock Band in an actual arena.

Production: "ELS is really great because we can [get full service from] them instead of reaching out to a bunch of different vendors. We are able to go to them and do everything from working with the fire marshall all the way down to lighting, carpeting, and sound systems. If they don’t have it, they would probably get a better rate [for us] than going directly to different vendors."

"Vox Entertainment is good because they cover San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles—they are able to travel to events. We did an event with Vox in a cruise ship terminal in San Diego. There was nothing there; we had to bring everything in from scratch and we turned an [unexpected] venue into something that worked out really well."

What production changes or challenges have you faced due to the move?
Any time you go into any new venue, there’s always going to be a challenge because you have to conform. The show has been at the Shrine for the past 20-something years, and it conformed to that space. There are pros and cons—there’s no proscenium at the Nokia like there would be at the Shrine—it’s basically a square box on a stage. There’s no close-down curtain. But then there’s a larger stage and three access points. It’s a balance. There’s a triple loading dock at the Nokia, and one at the Shrine. There’s parking for 8,000 across the way [at Nokia] and there were [a hodgepodge of smaller parking lots serving] the Shrine.

What was the biggest challenge behind debuting this festival?
Working with the city of Santa Monica. They have a ton of stipulations; one department might not concur with another department. I had space issues—they quoted me for half the lot when in fact they only gave me a quarter of the lot. They quote you for a price, but then [charge additional fees]. They charged $600 per fire marshal per day, and paying police overtime was $120 an hour—and you have to hire seven police officers for seven hours.

PR: “Entertainment Fusion Group. They understand our brand and what our necessities and goals are, going above and beyond for us in celebrity outreach, media, et cetera. “

Photography: "Chris Polk at WireImage has been our guy for the last six or seven events. He’s been incredible; he knows what we are looking for as far as imagery. He understands the brand and supports our product. It’s just easier to work with people you already have relationships with."

The Toms store launched on the eve of last weekend's Abbot-Kinney street festival.

Gonda left her role as the director of communications for the Americas at global private equity firm the Carlyle Group, where she handled communications initiatives in North and South America.

The Conde Nast magazine staged the shopping event in New York the past two years, but will not do so this year.

The Hollywood Reporter weighs in with the question, "Are Hollywood award shows dying?" The trade rag cites the lack of hits and stars, the ease of veiwing big moments after the fact on YouTube, and the growing number of shows themselves as some reasons why they're losing popularity—adding that, behind closed doors, execs and producers are questioning whether the broadcasts can be adjusted to survive.