It was a boffo evening for 600 celebs, journos, and mega execs when Variety celebrated its first century covering Hollywood for Hollywood. And in the unlikely event that anyone there didn’t understand the vintage showbiz slanguage coined by the entertainment industry trade publication, there were no worries: The main party room was dressed in custom-made wallpaper printed with a black-and-white glossary of Varietese. Even the waitstaff sported red tees emblazoned with definitions and the circular logo of Target, Variety’s partner in throwing the event. The party was also sponsored by Microsoft and Moviefone.The bash took place in a historical Beverly Hills landmark that has only rarely been used as a party venue—the stately 72-year-old post office, which will be transformed into the Wallis Annenberg Cultural Center in the next few years. The shuttered facility, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, poses unique challenges for event planners, who must operate under stringent federal guidelines that bar defacing the Italianate Renaissance Revival building. But event producer Ben Bourgeois, who designed the party with Variety’s Madelyn Hammond, had the will and the contacts to make it happen—he’s on the center’s fund-raising committee.
“We wanted the party to be looking into the next hundred years, but recognize the first hundred years,” said Bourgeois, who presented the idea of using the venue to Hammond. “[The post office is] a great old building with great presence.”
Guests arrived for cocktails in the post office foyer, a grand hallway with intricate moldings and a high, domed ceiling. Bourgeois softened the towering space with amber up lighting and gray industrial carpeting. Against the longest wall, 10 large blowups of notable Variety covers from each decade hung on a truss structure specially made to protect the building’s marble walls.
The party moved to a room once used for sorting mail, which became a media Tomorrowland. White Ultrasuede furniture with brushed chrome banquettes custom made for the event gave the room a Jetsons air. Suspended from the ceiling were large plastic cubes illuminated from within by red lighting. On either side of the room, revelers grazed on meats and salads arranged on two long buffet tables—cases of plexiglass and brushed metal enclosing crushed glass lit with fiber optics. Tall, white bouquets of lilies and orchids on the buffets completed the sleek, modern environment. In one area a 16-monitor video wall played a snappy montage of photos, logos, and covers.
In a small adjoining room where stamps were once sold, guests picked up large plastic tote bags decorated with a bold, contemporary graphic that incorporated the Target logo. Inside was a trove that included a Dell DJ Ditty, an Agnès B. T-shirt, and a Bulgari fragrance.
—Irene Lacher
Photos: Nadine Froger Photography
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“We wanted the party to be looking into the next hundred years, but recognize the first hundred years,” said Bourgeois, who presented the idea of using the venue to Hammond. “[The post office is] a great old building with great presence.”
Guests arrived for cocktails in the post office foyer, a grand hallway with intricate moldings and a high, domed ceiling. Bourgeois softened the towering space with amber up lighting and gray industrial carpeting. Against the longest wall, 10 large blowups of notable Variety covers from each decade hung on a truss structure specially made to protect the building’s marble walls.
The party moved to a room once used for sorting mail, which became a media Tomorrowland. White Ultrasuede furniture with brushed chrome banquettes custom made for the event gave the room a Jetsons air. Suspended from the ceiling were large plastic cubes illuminated from within by red lighting. On either side of the room, revelers grazed on meats and salads arranged on two long buffet tables—cases of plexiglass and brushed metal enclosing crushed glass lit with fiber optics. Tall, white bouquets of lilies and orchids on the buffets completed the sleek, modern environment. In one area a 16-monitor video wall played a snappy montage of photos, logos, and covers.
In a small adjoining room where stamps were once sold, guests picked up large plastic tote bags decorated with a bold, contemporary graphic that incorporated the Target logo. Inside was a trove that included a Dell DJ Ditty, an Agnès B. T-shirt, and a Bulgari fragrance.
—Irene Lacher
Photos: Nadine Froger Photography
Related Stories
Cartier Anniversary: Out of Africa, Into L.A.
L.V. in L.A.: Logos and Luxury
Variety’s centennial bash took place in the historical 72-year-old Beverly Hills post office building.
Ten large blowups of notable Variety covers from each decade hung from a truss structure specially made to protect the building’s marble walls.
White Ultrasuede furniture with brushed chrome banquettes custom made for the event gave the room a Jetsons air.
Guest grazed at two long buffet tables—cases of plexiglass and brushed metal enclosing crushed glass lit with fiber optics.
