The Great Gatsby premiered with one of the biggest and most glittering parties of the summer. For the event at New York's Plaza Hotel, Samantha Sackler Productions revived the '20s vibe of Gatsby's elaborate bashes, with an eight-piece live band, thousands of butterflies hanging from the ceiling, and a topiary-lined pathway with a soundscape of crackling gravel and chirping birds as the entryway. Inside, champagne-colored suede was custom-made for the event by Designer8 Event Furniture Rental, and a six-foot champagne-coupe tower was a key conversation piece.
“We wanted to recreate the elaborate, extravagant atmosphere of a Gatsby party as authentically as possible, to make everyone feel as though they were really living out the scenes they had just seen on the big screen,” explained C.E.O. Sackler. “The official costumes from the movie, the band, the food, the furniture—everything was as it would have been in Gatsby’s world.”
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For the New York premiere of Now You See Me, a film about four magicians that rob a bank, Summit Entertainment put 600 guests, carousel horses, and money in the basement of the Hudson Hotel. Held May 21, the event at Good Units was designed and produced by Chad Hudson Events. The party's eclectic lounge look was inspired by the last few scenes of the film, which were shot in a warehouse in Brooklyn.
Achieving that look included recreating the graffiti "mecca" 5Pointz by bringing in the artists that worked on the film, copying the movie's geometric light patterns, and referencing the two main cities—Las Vegas and New Orleans—with floating playing cards and staffers in Mardi Gras masks. Even the music and menu were subtle nods to Now You See Me, with DJ Vikas spinning high-energy, upbeat music that evoked the film's high-paced score and a diverse array of food, including short ribs, a pasta station with meatballs, New Orleans-style shrimp cocktail, crudite, mac 'n' cheese poppers, and pigs in a blanket.
Less implicit was the money drop, a reference to one of the final magic tricks, which littered the underground space with fake bills.
