Live 8 Producer Works on World Cup: Since the International Olympic Committee's decision on Friday, talk over the past week has been all about looking to Rio 2016, but the fact remains that 2010, only three months away, has a full schedule of world-stage events. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa is one of the biggest, and this week it was announced that world soccer organization FIFA has tapped Kevin Wall to produce the three-hour kickoff concert in Soweto on June 11. An Emmy winner and producer of the Live 8 concerts, Wall and his production firm Control Room will also fund the event privately by securing broadcast rights and other sponsorships. [Bloomberg]
Microsoft Builds Forest for Product Showcase: Microsoft apparently didn't feel that any big announcement was necessary to make its first annual Open House press conference a production-heavy affair. The event, held in New York yesterday, turned the Armory into a surreal, futuristic forest, complete with a tree house, wooden docking stations for new products, and brand ambassadors dressed in elaborate bird costumes. [CNET]
Chanel Stages Extravagant Show for Paris Fashion Week: New York may be the first market to showcase spring fashions, but it doesn't have the last word on dramatic execution. During Paris Fashion Week, yesterday's Chanel show from Karl Lagerfeld brought guests to a farm scene under the glass ceiling of the city's famed Grand Palais. Models traipsed through fields of dirt, took literal rolls in the hay, and marched around a barn, while guests such as Prince and Rihanna looked on from the front row. Lagerfeld concluded his show with a surprise performance by Lily Allen. [LAT]
Disney Charges $50 for Event Screenings: Disney's latest cartoon, The Princess and the Frog, doesn't hit theaters nationwide until December 11, but people interested in seeing the film a few weeks early will get the chance in two markets—while participating in a first-time experiential tie-in. The company is staging "The Ultimate Disney Experience" at Walt Disney Studios in Los Angeles and at the Ziegfeld Theatre and Roseland Ballroom in New York City, starting November 25. The $20 to $50 tickets will get guests into a screening and a pop-up environment that aims to recreate the setting of the film. [NYP]
