| EVENT INTELLIGENCE 09.22.08 9:00 AM |
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Green Leaders: Setting an Example
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 | Hollace Davids, senior vice president of special projects at Universal Pictures
Photo: Ramona Rosales for BizBash |
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This is the first in a series of four profiles of planners who are committed to eco-friendly events.
In 2007, Hollace Davids created an eco-friendly premiere for the Steve Carell comedy Evan Almighty. After the event, though, the senior vice president of special projects at Universal Pictures realized she had the chance to make all of the studio’s events more eco-friendly. “Once we set that precedent we didn’t want to go backwards,” she says. “These high-profile events are excellent opportunities to highlight the fact that going green is doable.”
The 4,000-guest Evan Almighty premiere used recycled paper and soy ink for invitations and other printed materials, and recyclable and biodegradable tableware. Fresh fruit and baby trees in the centerpieces were distributed to guests after the event. Guests also got the chance to purchase a tree that would be planted to offset the carbon footprint of their attendance, and the reusable gift bags included a sheet of eco-friendly tips and a CFL lightbulb, donated by Universal’s parent company, General Electric.
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RELATED TOPICS
Green Leaders, Going Green, Universal Pictures, Hollace Davids |
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| EVENT REPORT 09.19.08 3:59 PM |
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The Express Gets a Hometown Premiere in Syracuse (With Help From Visiting Vendors)
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 | The Express's makeshift football field
Photo: Dale Wilcox |
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The release of the football player Ernie Davis’ biopic, The Express, is still a month off, but that didn’t stop Universal Pictures and Syracuse University from treating the city of Syracuse—the filming location and real-life setting of the story—to a full-blown party for the official premiere. Around 3,000 guests, including Dennis Quaid, Charles Dutton, Jeff Zucker, and Bob Costas turned up for the September 12 event that transformed the OnCenter War Memorial Arena into an indoor football field.
Syracuse, as you might imagine, is not a city accustomed to hosting film premieres, least of all ones boasting a guest list in the thousands. So to produce the party, Los Angeles based Precision Event Group had to look outside the college town for partnerships that would bring the event together. The extensive list of vendors included groups from Los Angeles, New York, and even Toronto.
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RELATED TOPICS
The Express, Universal Pictures, Syracuse University |
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| EVENT REPORT 07.23.08 4:30 PM |
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Mamma Mia! Premiere Brings Greek Details to Central Park
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Contrary to box office headlines and overzealous Oscar oddsmakers, The Dark Knight was not the only film to premiere last week. The big-screen adaptation of the Abba-infused Broadway musical Mamma Mia! arrived in theaters Friday, buoyed by an all-star New York premiere for more than 1,000 guests at the Ziegfeld Theater and an after-party at the Boathouse in Central Park on July 16.
Shirtless men, in swim trunks and flippers, lined the aqua carpet at the theater, posing for photographs with stars like Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, and Colin Firth. At the conclusion of the screening, confetti cannons exploded over the audience, with some attending even singing along to the reprise of “Dancing Queen.”
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RELATED TOPICS
Universal Pictures, Mamma Mia! |
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| EVENT REPORT 10.24.07 9:18 AM |
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American Gangster Premiere Remakes Harlem Playground
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 | The inside of the after-party tent.
Photo: Francine Daveta for BizBash |
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Certain films necessitate a New York debut, and for American Gangster (a film set in 1970s Harlem), the historic Apollo Theater was a natural choice. But with so few venues nearby big enough to accommodate the massive guest list, finding a location for the after-party presented a challenge. So Universal essentially created one from scratch.
“When it was decided to go with the Apollo, ‘cause it was connected to the film, we thought that rather than going back to Midtown, [guests] could just walk outside and be right there,” said Hollace Davids, senior vice president of special projects for Universal Pictures Marketing, who worked with production company Jhada of New York to make the party happen.
Despite the uptown location and the stormy weather, onlookers and attendees crowded both sides of the 250-foot-long red carpet on 125th Street before the screening on Friday. When the movie ended, the 1,400 partygoers walked out the rear exit, where an 18,400-square-foot tent stood on the other side of 126th Street, in the playground of the Harriet Tubman Learning Center.
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RELATED TOPICS
Universal Pictures, American Gangster |
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| EVENT REPORT 06.12.07 4:14 PM |
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Universal Throws Eco-Friendly Almighty Blowout
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 | | Photo: Line 8 Photography |
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FROM LOS ANGELES
The most fashionable color in Hollywood these days is green, judging from the crop of
energy-saving lightbulbs poking out of gift bags lately. The June 10 premiere party for Universal’s environmentally aware comedy Evan Almighty was so
green that it dispensed with the usual greenery (the flower arrangements that
usually decorate these kinds of events). Instead, Edible Arrangements’ bouquets
of strawberries, pineapples, and melons carved into the shape of flowers did
double duty on the V.I.P. tables as treats for the eyes and the mouth. Bars and
buffet tables were modestly decorated with saplings planted in burlap.
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RELATED TOPICS
Universal Pictures, Evan Almighty, Conservation Fund, Going Green |
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