| EVENT REPORT 10.18.06 12:00 AM |
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| Marie Moves French Court Into MoMA |
| The premiere party for Sofia Coppola's latest filled the musuem with a glittering set, sugary confections, and diamonds galore. |
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| The Museum of Modern Art was aglow in shades of pink for the New York premiere party for Marie Antoinette, complete with towering cakes, trays of Champagne, and sparkling Van Cleef & Arpels jewels. “It’s the French Court meets MoMA,” said Columbia Tristar vice president of special events Alison Bossert, who planned the event around the film’s screening at the New York Film Festival. “Tonight’s event definitely feels like a scene from the movie.” |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | | Event producer Chris Benarroch placed a tent outside MoMA for smokers and those who needed some fresh air (and who were willing to bear the chilly temperature). |
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 | | Topiaries, crystal chandeliers, and a nine-foot-tall bouquet of flowers by Ron Wendt Designs accented the main bar. |
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 | | Caterer Glorious Food created edible dessert towers in a nod to the film's title character. |
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 | | Sponsor Van Cleef & Arpels displayed jewels atop colorful confections. |
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 | | Benarroch placed costumes worn by both Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman in the film throughout the venue, each adorned with jewels from Van Cleef & Arpels. |
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 | | Keith Greco of Greco Decor used leather, satin, and suede in the French-theme furniture for the event. |
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 | | Ron Wendt Designs created dozens of French-style centerpieces for the seating area, each made up of pink roses, hydrangeas, tulips, lilies, hypericum berries, and lisianthus. |
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Unlike the film’s Los Angeles premiere, which was sponsored by Chanel and channeled 18th-century France, the MoMA event had a more modern vibe to it. The French-looking furniture (custom made by Keith Greco of Los Angeles-based Greco Decor) had a black, white, and silver palette of satin, suede, leather, and plexiglass, and DJ Paul Sevigny served up a play list of vintage rock. The 400 guests mixed among dessert-laden tables (a natural for the film’s let-them-eat-cake title character) and robust floral arrangements by Ron Wendt—the highlight of which was a nine-foot-tall bouquet behind the chandelier-accented bar.
MoMA was Marie Antoinette director Sofia Coppola’s first choice for the venue, and The Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition, one of the event’s unlikely sponsors and a corporate museum member, secured the space. (Sony Pictures, Columbia Tristar’s parent company, also has a membership, but already used the space for an event this year. The museum allows only one event per corporate membership.)
Event producer Chris Benarroch of Los Angeles-based Benarroch Productions had roughly two hours to get the space ready for the party, as she couldn’t unload the furniture until after the museum officially closed at 8 PM—and all museum goers finally left the building around 8:20. “It was definitely a challenge,” Benarroch said. “We had every vendor lined up outside, ready to go at 8 PM—we were like a small army. The minute the museum said we could come in, it was complete and utter silence. Everyone was just racing to get their job done.”
Capping off the night were gift bags filled with above-par swag, including Marc Jacobs perfume, Van Cleef & Arpels candles, and Marie Antoinette author Antonia Fraser’s newest book, Love & Louis XIV.
—Courtney Thompson
Posted 10.18.06
Photos: Dan Hallman for BiZBash
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