On Friday morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hosted a press preview to reveal details for its official after-party, which takes place at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland immediately following the 91st Academy Awards ceremony on February 24.
Known as the Governors Ball, the high-profile event draws 1,500 winners, nominees, presenters, and other A-listers every year. This year's ball will be an homage to global cinema, featuring a presentation of iconic movie moments plus ballroom decor that evokes old movie-theater designs. A soundtrack of instrumental movie songs will accompany the film, aiming to create an "immersive movie-going experience," according to organizers.
Academy governor Lois Burnwell, a makeup artist and chair of the Academy's awards and events committee, will oversee the event for the second year. She will once again be working with Cheryl Cecchetto and her Los Angeles-based Sequoia Productions team on the ball's decor and production. (Cecchetto and her team have been producing the Governors Ball for 30 consecutive years.)
Decor will include a color palette of merlot and Oscar-inspired gold, using more than 2,000 yards of wine satin, textured gold, and champagne gold fabrics. Some 400 floral arrangements from longtime collaborator Mark's Garden will complement the theme, incorporating 10,000 red tulips, burgundy roses, mauve orchids, and dark purple calla lilies held in a variety of gold containers. (Find more details in our recent interview with Mark's Garden designer Michael Uncapher.)
Meanwhile, Wolfgang Puck Catering will handle food for the 25th consecutive year, working with a culinary staff of 200. The famed chef and the company's vice president of culinary, Eric Klein, are creating more than 60 dishes for the event, ranging from one-bite hors-d'oeuvres to tray-passed entrees. New dishes for this year include Miyazaki Wagyu beef tartare on puffed black rice; crab-stuffed hibiscus; and taro root tacos with spiced eggplant.
For dessert, the Wolfgang Puck Catering pastry team—made up of Kamel Guechida, Garry Larduinat, and Jason Lemmonier—will also create a variety of new dishes, including a strawberry and cream dish that uses sustainable ruby chocolate.
That's not the only step toward environmental responsibility at this year's event: Unused food will be donated to the nonprofit Chefs to End Hunger, while all plastics, glass, and other materials will be recycled. All plywood used in the ball design has been repurposed, and energy efficient LED lights and reusable gold metal straws will be used.
An event of this scale takes some jaw-dropping numbers to pull off: 13,000 glasses, 4,800 small plates, and 6,000 cocktail forks, plus 20,000 feet of power cable, more than 700 lighting instruments, and 1,000 feet of wire rope. About 850 service and support staff will be working in the ballroom.
The 91st Academy Awards will be held on February 24 at the Dolby Theatre and broadcast live on ABC in more than 225 countries. Click through the slide show to preview catering, floral, and other details for the Governors Ball.
![“It’ll have that really lush, red velvet-type feel and opulent designs that [historic movie] theaters used to have,” said Mark's Garden designer Michael Uncapher in an interview earlier this week. “The Oscars were originally over at the Roosevelt Hotel, and then they moved over to the Chinese Theatre, which was a big inspiration for us: the lush velvet red seats, the gold moldings around the room.”](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2019/02/img_9151.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
