All the world’s a nightclub for Vincent Chase and his pals in the HBO dramedy Entourage, which follows the travails of a young movie star and his posse. So for Thursday’s premiere of the series’ sixth season, the cable channel’s events team, HBO vice president of special events Lauren McMahon and designer Billy Butchkavitz, worked with the studio's special events crew to transform the fountain garden outside the Paramount Theater at Paramount Pictures Studio into a beachy nightspot.
Ibiza was the inspiration for the cream-and-khaki palette used to dress the space, from the embroidered tablecloths and seat covers to the brown-and-white giraffe-patterned cocktail napkins and coconut shell-like vases holding tangerine-and-pink arrangements of mocara orchids, birds of paradise, obaki anthuriums, and pincushion protea.
After two episodes were screened, more than 500 guests emerged from the theater and walked beneath five high arches with embroidered curtains, over a walkway that bisected the space. The arches visually framed a distant 24-foot-high temporary wall emblazoned with the show’s logo and led to the V.I.P. area—a two-tiered bamboo-lined balcony that curved around the fountain. Six-foot-tall urns made of jungle vines from Indonesia flanked stairways and helped define entrances and other areas, and side tables encrusted with seashells and starfish cozied up to circular banquettes.
Revelers cruised Along Came Mary’s buffets of grilled beef, penne with tomatoes, chicken with mushroom sauce, bread pudding with caramelized onions, and parmigiana and various salads, while a crew dressed in white Entourage T-shirts and khaki pants kept platters full and tables clear of dirty dishes. Percussionist Ravi Jakhotia accompanied an eclectic mix of pop music, including a Michael Jackson medley, from a stage next to the V.I.P. area. As the evening wore on, guests filled the dance floor next to the stage and partied past midnight.
