Call Sheet #251: NFL Draft Kicks Off, Met Gala Adds Live Stream, BP Takes Heat as Shakespeare Sponsor

BIZBASH CALL SHEET — #251 — Thursday, 04.26.12

++ Sponsored by Event Leadership Institute ++

Compiled today by Beth Kormanik and Anna Sekula in New York
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* INCOMING *

1. NFL DRAFT BEGINS: The annual player selection is not just a windfall for future professional football players, but also for ESPN and the event sponsors. MarketWatch: "Companies such as Anheuser-Busch Inbev, Verizon Communications, and Electronic Arts Inc. are heavily involved in marketing during and around the event, while the live broadcast of the first round will draw more viewers than National Basketball Association regular-season games and hockey's Stanley Cup playoffs." The draft will draw 4,000 fans starting today at Radio City Music Hall, with a record 26 players invited to attend live as they compete for first-round spots. http://on.mktw.net/IgQeCN

Earlier this month the league opened its first New York pop-up store to promote the big event. Read our coverage here: http://bizba.sh/HFIc1Y

2. MET GALA'S LIVE COVERAGE: For the first time, Vogue, Amazon, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art will all live-stream the red carpet arrivals of the Costume Institute gala on May 7. Editor William Norwich and model Elettra Wiedemann will host the live coverage, interviewing attendees from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. This year's gala celebrates the "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations" exhibition. Amazon is underwriting the benefit. Vogue: http://bit.ly/JGVwGs

3. MTV AWARDS CHANGE-UP: The MTV Movie Awards are changing format. The Hollywood Reporter: "For the venerable celebration of Hollywood's 21st edition in June, multiple awards categories have been dropped, a few others added, and the network has installed an 'academy' of actors, producers, agents, and other industry insiders to vote on nominees, including a 'breakthrough performance' award voted on by directors....The panel strategy is similar to the one used for the annual MTV Video Music Awards and is designed to broaden the nominees and winners and lend some credibility to an event that has been criticized as merely a venue for Hollywood to promote its summer movies." http://bit.ly/IyxIEZ

4. SPONSOR SHOWDOWN: The World Shakespeare Festival is feeling heat because of a sponsorship from BP. The oil company has been on a PR offensive following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the largest oil spill ever. The Los Angeles Times: "As reported in the Stage UK, a group of actors on Monday staged a protest of BP's sponsorship just before a performance of The Tempest at Stratford-upon-Avon. The group has launched a website titled 'BP or not BP?'" and the Twitter account @ReclaimOurBoard. The festival, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company with Shakespeare's Globe theater, features arts groups from around the world performing at venues around Britain. http://lat.ms/IpJrVK

5. EDUCATING TALKS: Yesterday the organizers of the TED Conference launched the latest offering, tools that allow the public to turn the presentations from its speakers into instructional videos. The Atlantic: http://bit.ly/I8lcL3

6. MARKETING MOVES: Lionsgate is splitting its marketing groups. The Hollywood Reporter: "Lionsgate marketing head Tim Palen and Summit marketing chief Nancy Kirkpatrick are both staying with the company....The Hunger Games studio has closed a new long-term deal with Palen, who will now run marketing for the Lionsgate-branded film slate. Kirkpatrick will head up marketing for Summit-branded films, including the final installment of the Twilight franchise, set for release in late November." http://bit.ly/Kbgnyl

7. HOLLYWOOD BRIBERY PROBE: The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Hollywood studios bribed Chinese officials for the rights to show and film movies there, a practice possibly prompted by slow ticket sales in the U.S. The New York Times: "Hollywood has been trying to get more films into the Chinese market for decades, but efforts have picked up in recent years in large part because China has identified cinema as a growth priority. China is racing to build more modern theaters to entertain an expanding, cinema-loving middle class." http://nyti.ms/IeFsgk

8. TECH HAPPENING: The Next Web Conference takes place today and tomorrow in Amsterdam and is expected to attract nearly 1,500 developers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, journalists, bloggers, and executives. Speakers for the tech industry event include Alexis Ohanian, founder of Reddit; Mark Randall, chief strategist at Adobe; Chad Hurley, co-founder of YouTube; and Alex Huot, head of social media for the International Olympic Committee. Babelverse will offer live interpretation in Spanish and Portuguese of keynote sessions streamed online. http://bit.ly/J9l0Iz

9. HIP-HOP TIPPLE: What's the hottest drink these days? It's a little more lowbrow than you might think. Celebrated by fans including Drake at his birthday party at Tao in Las Vegas and Lil' Kim, the Martini & Rossi Moscato d'Asti retails for about $10 a bottle. The New York Post: "A decade ago, hip-hop culture embraced Courvoisier, the luxury cognac. Then it was Cristal, the ultra-pricey champagne in the clear glass bottle touted by Jay-Z. And now it's the turn of Moscato, a white wine with seductive floral aromas and a faint spritz that make a chilled glass just right for spring sipping. Moscato has been coming on like gangbusters: US sales were up an amazing 70 percent last year over 2010." http://nyp.st/IejDO3

++ A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR: EVENT LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE ++

The Event Leadership Institute is proud to provide the most progressive training and education for event planners in the industry, through on-demand video classes, biweekly webinars, white papers as well as interviews with industry leaders. www.eventleadershipinstitute.com

* LOCAL NEWS *

BOSTON: Massachusetts General Hospital hosts its YouthCare spring gala tonight at the Four Seasons Hotel.

CHICAGO: Saks Fifth Avenue and CS magazine will host a runway show for designer Yigal Azrouël tonight at Block 37. Vendors include Event Creative, Sound Investment, Entertaining Company, and Factor Models.

The VH1 Save the Music Foundation will host an event tonight at Paris Club with a performance by Robin Thicke.

The Makeup Show Chicago is June 17 at Venue One.

LAS VEGAS: Nick Cannon will return to Chateau Nightclub & Gardens May 5 to host a Cinco de Mayo event.

Insert Coin(s) Videolounge Gamebar announced that Bree Cohen, a.k.a. DJ88, is the venue's music and program director.

LOS ANGELES: Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International will host its first "Meet West" show at the Anaheim Marriott on May 30-31.

U.S.A. Boxing hosted a benefit and meet-and-greet with the sport's icons and Olympic hopefuls Tuesday at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills.

On Wednesday, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opened the first two elements of its three-and-a-half-acre North Campus for limited use. The new sections will serve as a new front yard for the museum and a new outdoor destination in town.

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI: The Bass Museum of Art will host its annual fund-raiser, "A Night at the Museum," tonight. Five hundred guests will enjoy a private preview of the upcoming exhibition "Charles LeDray: Bass Museum of Art."

The second annual Deerfield Beach Wine & Food Festival is this weekend at Winters Park, featuring dishes from 50 top local chefs.

The 10th annual FedEx/St. Jude Angels & Stars Miami Gala is May 19 at the JW Marriott Marquis in downtown Miami. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the event will see a performance by Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Juanes.

After a $45 million makeover, the SLS South Beach is slated to open next month. Renovations include a terrace, two pools, and the addition of Asian restaurant Katsuya. USA Today: http://usat.ly/K77pmi

NEW YORK: The space shuttle Enterprise is scheduled to land in New York this Friday after rainy weather delayed the original arrival date. Metro New York: http://bit.ly/InOsuu

Superfly Presents, the company behind Bonnaroo, is organizing the "Great GoogaMooga" in Prospect Park. The public festival will turn the Brooklyn green space into an amusement park of food and drink May 19-20, with 75 food vendors, 35 brewers, 30 winemakers, and 20 live music performances.

Organizers of NYC Uncubed are turning job fairs into parties, replacing long lines with lounges, and adding music and games. AMNew York: http://bit.ly/IEwkPE

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

ORLANDO: SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment will eliminate plastic shopping bags at its 10 theme parks within the next year. Park gift shops will offer bags made from 100 percent recycled paper, or guests can purchase reusable bags. The move comes as the park plans to open a new attraction, TurtleTrek, Friday.

The Peabody Orlando is adding ChargePointe electric vehicle chargers in its self-parking garage.

TORONTO: The Canadian Public Relations Society will host its annual Achieving Communications Excellence awards gala on Thursday. CBC's Gregory J. Sinclair will host the event at the Bram and Bluma Appel Salon.

Hot Doc documentary film festival begins today and continues until May 6. Many of the 189 films will be screened from the newly renovated Bloor Hot Docs Cinema.

WASHINGTON: With a new title sponsor, the Legg Mason Classic tennis tournament was renamed the Citi Open. It also will include a WTA tournament this year. The tournament runs July 28-August 5, coinciding with the Summer Olympics.

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 



With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, Carla Warrilow in Toronto, and Anna Sekula, Beth Kormanik, and Rose Chevalier in New York.

BizBash Call Sheet is the must-read daily digest of event industry news from BizBash.com. 

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